BIBLE DICTIONARY + WORD STUDY

Incarnation

Original Hebrew / Aramaic / Greek connected to this term

How to read this: there is rarely one magic “true meaning” hidden behind an English word. A lexicon records a word’s semantic range. The intended meaning is narrowed by grammar, sentence, author, historical usage and context.

GREEK · G5225

ὑπάρχω

huparchō — be already

ὑπάρχω [in LXX for הָיָה, יֵשׁ, לוּן, etc.; τ. ὑπάρχοντα for מִקְנֶה, רְכוּשׁ, etc. ;] 1. to begin, make a beginning (Hom., Hdt., al.). 2. to be in existence, be ready, be at hand (Hdt., Thuc., al.): Act.19:40 27:12, 21; before ἐν, Act.28:18. 3. to be, prop, expressing continuance of an antecedent state or condition (cf. Gifford, Incarnation, 11 ff.; MM, xxv): with, nom, pred., Luk.8:41 9:48, Act.4:34 7:55 8:16 16:3 19:36 21:20, 1Co.7:26 12:22, Jas.2:15, 2Pe.3:11; ptcp. with pred., Luk.16:14 23:50, Act.2:30, 32 17:24 22:3, Rom.4:19, 1Co.2:15, 2Co.8:17 12:16, Gal.1:14 2:14; pl., Luk.11:13, Act.16:20, 37 17:29, 2Pe.2:19; before ἐν, with dative of thing(s), Luk.7:25 16:23, Act.5:4 10:12, 1Co.11:18, Php.3:20; ἐν μορφῇ θεοῦ ὑπάρχων (R, mg., being originally), Php.2:6; ἐν, with dative of person(s), (among), 1Co.11:18; μακρὰν ἀπό, Act.17:27; πρὸς τ. σωτηρίας, Act.27:34. 4. to belong to (Thuc., Xen., al.): with dative of person(s), Act.3:6 4:37 28:7, 2Pe.1:8; τὰ ὑπάρχοντα, one's belongings, possessions: with dative of person(s), Luk.8:3 12:15, Act.4:32; with genitive of person(s), Mat.19:21 24:47 25:14, Luk.11:21 12:33, 44 14:33 16:1 19:8, 1Co.13:3, Heb.10:34 (cf. προ-υπάρχω).† (AS)

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GREEK · G725

ἁρπαγμός

harpagmos — something to grasp

ἁρπαγμός, οῦ, ὁ (ἁρπάζω); 1. prop., accusative, to the rule of its formation (Bl., § 27, 2), actively, the act of seizing, robbery (Plut., Deu Puer. Educ., p. 12A), Php.2:6, AV (Waterland, Works, II, 108; Cremer, 649 f.; Meyer, in l; cf. also JThS, July, 1909, April, 1911; MM, see word). 2. Passively = ἅρπαγμα (Eze.22:25, of a lion's prey, ), a thing seized, hence, a prize: Phi, l.with, RV (Lft., Ellic., ICC, in l; Donaldson, NCrat., 450 ff.; and esp. Gifford, The Incarnation, 59-71, and reff. in DB, ii, 835 B). The lexical data favour the active meaning, but as they also admit the possibility of the alternative, most modern expositors have accepted the latter as seeming to suit the logic of the passage better. The lexical difficulty, however, remains (MM, see word, esp. the last ref.). As to the usage of St. Paul, he seems inclined to adopt the -μα form where it is appropriate (e.g. Rom.11:9, where cf. LXX; 1Co.13:9, 2 Co 19), and there is certainly a presumption in favour of the active meaning here from the fact that he does not use the LXX ἅρπαγμα. Suggestions looking to a fresh exegesis are given in JThS, ll with† (AS)

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Historical dictionary entry

That act of grace whereby Christ took our human nature into union with his Divine Person, became man. Christ is both God and man. Human attributes and actions are predicated of him, and he of whom they are predicated is God. A Divine Person was united to a human nature (Acts 20:28; Rom. 8:32; 1 Cor. 2:8; Heb. 2:11-14; 1 Tim. 3:16; Gal. 4:4, etc.). The union is hypostatical, i.e., is personal; the two natures are not mixed or confounded, and it is perpetual.

Scripture references

Source: Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897). Historical dictionary wording reflects the scholarship and language of its era.

Compare other reference traditions

Look up Incarnation in Smith’s Bible Dictionary and ISBE →