Would you like to see what we have written on a subject? Use the search below.

[If you purchase anything on this site, I may make a commission. Disclosure Policy]

Feed Yourself Lesson Thirteen

Law Of First Mention and Law of Usage

"This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established." 2 Cor. 13:1

As we carry on in learning how to feed ourselves, there are two more essential rules or laws to keep in mind: The Law of First Mention and The Law of Usage.

The Law of First Mention basically states that the first time a word is used in Scripture, it gives us a definition or an idea of how it will be used later in Scripture.

Sitemap - Newsletter - Statement Of Faith - Donate
Follow us on social media for daily Scripture comments and more at MeWe, Facebook or YouTube.

This can be applied in two ways. First, we can look at the first mention of the word in the Book we are studying. Second, we can look at the first time the word is mentioned in the Bible as a whole. Looking at the first time it is mentioned in the Bible as a whole gives a more complete picture. Keep in mind that the first time a word is mentioned in English may not be the first time the Hebrew or Greek word was used. To be sure you are seeing the first time an original word is mentioned, look up the Hebrew/Greek word in the Strong’s concordance. See what other ways it has been translated, and then look up those words to see when it is first mentioned. When looking for the first mention of a Greek word, you may also want to find the equivalent Hebrew word and see where it is first mentioned to follow the concept from the beginning. To find the equivalent Hebrew word, look in the Hebrew section of the word you have looked up. Find which Hebrew word is closest in definition to the Greek word, and find the first mention of that word.

For example, if we want to find the first mention of the word "angel" using online resources, we would go to a site like Biblegateway and type in "angel." There we find 283 references listed in the order in which they appear. The first New Testament reference is Matt. 1:20. We take that reference and put it into the Strong's Concordance and then click on the word "angel" for our definition. Referring back to our list of references, we see that the first time "angel" is used in the Old Testament is in Gen. 16:7. We put that reference into our Strong's Concordance and check the definition. We see that the definitions are similar, although the Old Testament definition adds "theophanic angel." If you are using the physical Strong's concordance, you can quickly see how many different words have been translated as "angel" by looking the the different numbers in the right-hand column. [In this case, there is only one word in each Testament that is translated "angel," which makes it easier!]

Standard dictionaries are great, but sometimes there are many definitions, and sometimes the word is used differently in the Bible than elsewhere. For example, what does love mean? When we put our personal definition of love into the Bible, we often twist Scripture. We need to find out what the Bible means by the word “love” to understand Biblical teaching. We will look at this in more detail when we do a Word Study.

This may sound simple, but sometimes people twist words to make them say something other than what the original writer intended. We can be led astray if we are not careful. Sometimes people oppose capital punishment because they feel it is contrary to the Bible's teaching on love. But that is a case of putting their own definition of love on the Bible instead of looking for how the Bible defines love.

For example, some quote Matt. 5:17 - "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill." They say that Jesus did not destroy the law, but that "fulfill" means that He kept it and then abolished it. According to them, the law is no longer in effect.

Are they using the word "fulfill" correctly? If we look at the first time it is used in the Bible, we find it used in Gen. 29:27 and Job 39:2. [Many feel Job was the first book of the Bible written.] In both cases, we see the word used in the sense of completing something, not abolishing it.

Of course, the "fulfill" in Matt. 5:17 is a Greek word, not a Hebrew word, so what is the first time this Greek word is used? Actually, the first time it is used is in Matt. 3:15, where Jesus is talking about fulfilling all righteousness. Obviously, Jesus is not talking about abolishing righteousness, but completing it.

The Law of Usage simply says that how a word is used throughout the Bible gives it its definition. The Law of Usage starts with the First Mention and then builds on it. Sometimes words develop in their meaning. It looks up every time the word is used and notes how it was used. It notes any time[s] it was used in a different way than usual, and how we know it was used differently.

A good example of this is the word “day.” People who try to sneak millions of years into the Bible point out that the word “day” does not always mean 24 hours. They are right. However, if you study how the word day is used, it becomes evident that it is used as a 24-hour day in Genesis 1.

Going back to our word "fulfill," we see that it is used 90 times in the New Testament in its various forms [fulfill, fulfilling, fulfilled, etc.] To do a complete usage study, we would look up each of those verses and their context to see how the word was used. However, 2 Thess. 1:11, Col. 1:25; 4:17, and Phil. 2:2 use the same form in the same way. We can see by referring to these Scriptures that "fulfil" is never used in the sense of abolishing; therefore, it is a misinterpretation of Matt. 5:17 to say that it means abolish in that case alone.

Note: There are at least four different words which are translated as "fulfill." If you are using the Internet SEC, look at the list of Books and verses on the right-hand side to see where the word is used. If you are using a physical copy of the SEC, you can easily scan the number column to pick up the verses which use the word.

WEEK THIRTEEN PROJECT

1. Choose one of your Key Words from your Book Survey. Find out where that word was first used in the Bible and the New Testament. Look at the different ways in which the word has been translated. Follow through the context of other passages where the word is used and record what it means in those passages. If the word has a lot of references, choose about 10 references to examine.

2. Continue with your daily reading/memorizing program.

***********************

Reference Works Used In This Course:

Bible Study Methods by Mrs. Shirley Davis

The International Inductive Study Bible by Harvest House Publishers

Effective Bible Study by Howard F. Vos, Zondervan

How To Understand Your Bible by T. Norton Sterrett, IVP

How To Study Your Bible by Kay Arthur, Harvest House

Independent Bible Study by Irving L. Jensen, Moody

How To Study The Bible For Yourself by Tim LaHaye, Harvest House

Return to Feed Yourself Lessons.

Follow us on social media for daily Scripture comments and more at MeWe, Facebook or YouTube.
Sitemap - Newsletter - Statement Of Faith - Donate

Please note: We no longer have the commenting feature [maybe again in the future]. Joshua Institute students who have questions or comments on their courses can use the contact button and mention the course name and lesson number in the email. Thank you. Glenn

ShareFacebook X Pinterest Tumblr Reddit WhatsApp Messenger

Privacy - Disclosure