Biblical phraseological units, their meaning and origin

The article presents some biblical phraseological units - both well-known and those whose meanings can not be explained by all. The Bible is certainly one of the greatest books of all time. Its comprehension is an endless process that has dragged on for many centuries. Today, there are many schools whose representatives study this book, explain its content.

The Bible as a monument of literature

It must be said that the Bible is not only the banner of Christianity, the "sacred scripture," the code of life rules. It is also a historical chronicle and a great monument of literature. The Bible (its ancient Greek text) in translation into the Old Slavonic language was known to our distant ancestors. The modern reader gets acquainted with the text already in Russian translation. However, both Russian and Old Slavonic variants are sources of stable combinations and aphorisms of the modern language.

Mythological and biblical phraseological units have firmly entered our life. Today in Russian there are more than 200 stable expressions that are associated with the text of the holy book of Christians. Many biblical phraseological units were borrowed from the New Testament, mainly from the Gospel. The adoration of the Magi, the parable of the foolish and clever virgins, the prodigal son, the truncation of the head of I. Baptist, the Judas kiss, the Last Supper, the abdication of Peter, the resurrection of Christ - this is by no means a complete list of fragments from the main sacred book of Christians that are used in everyday usage. Widespread related to these subjects are biblical phraseological units; And their meaning and origin are known even to people far from religion. After all, these stories were re-interpreted by many writers, poets, artists, directors, etc. They left a big mark in world culture.

Let's look at some biblical phraseological units. You will find out the meaning and origin of each of them.

Beads throwing

Biblical phraseological units, examples of which are presented in the article, are used not only in oral speech. They are often sent to quote from works of writers and poets, and sometimes the names of the works themselves. For example, one of the novels of Hermann Hesse - "The game of beads." This work was first published in 1943, and in 1946 the author for him and other achievements in literature received the Nobel Prize.

Surely the title of the novel causes you to associate with the expression "throwing beads." It means "to pay attention to unworthy people, to be humiliated." If you swear beads before pigs, you show your inner feelings and thoughts to those who are unable to appreciate, accept and understand them. The origin of this phraseology is biblical. We meet him in the Gospel of Matthew, when it speaks of the conversations of Christ with his followers. In the Sermon on the Mount, which is considered "programmed" in Christianity, it is said that one should not give "holy things to dogs", nor do they need to throw pearls in front of pigs, otherwise they will tear it with their feet and tear you to pieces.

You may ask: "Why beads, not pearls?". The fact is that beads were called small river pearls in Russia . It was extracted by our ancestors in the northern rivers. After a while, any small bone, glass and metal beads, which were used for embroidering, began to bead. Pearls were drilled, then threaded and used to decorate clothes. So there was one more expression (not Biblical) - "beaded pattern".

To contribute

This is what they say, in particular, about a person who took part in anything. In its origin, this expression is evangelical. In one of the parables, it is said of a poor widow who put only 2 small coins during the collection of donations. The word "coins" in Greek sounds like "mites." Despite the apparent modesty, her donation was more important and more than a lot of rich gifts. It was made from a pure heart. His contribution to the common cause is made by one who, without committing to all notable and grandiose acts, acts honestly and sincerely.

Quite curious are other biblical phraseological units. Examples and their meaning will surely interest many. We suggest to get acquainted with one more expression.

Voice in the wilderness

From ancient times, this expression came to us, denoting calls that were in vain and left unanswered. The Bible speaks of the prophet Isaiah. He screamed (crying out) to the Israelites from the desert, warning that God is coming, so we need to prepare his way. His words were then repeated by John the Baptist. He told them just before Jesus Christ came to him. In the Bible, therefore, this expression had a slightly different meaning than it is now. It was a call to listen to the voice of truth, to listen.

People do not often do it. Therefore, the emphasis in turnover over time began to be made on the ineffectiveness and hopelessness of the appeal addressed to someone.

Antediluvian times

In Russian, to denote prehistoric, ancient times there are many expressions: in times immemorial, under Tsar Gorokh, a long time ago, during it . From the Bible came one more - in the antediluvian times .

Of course, this is a flood, which God, angry at people, sent to the ground. The heavenly heavens opened and it began to rain. It lasted for 40 days and 40 nights, as the Bible says. Up to the highest mountains, the earth was flooded. Only Noah and his family managed to escape. This righteous man, at the command of God, built Noah's Ark - a special ship, where he placed all the birds and animals in pairs. After the flood was over, the earth was again populated by them.

Bury talent in the land

This expression is used when talking about a person who does not develop natural abilities. He neglects what he is gifted with. Do you know that the word "talent" in this expression was originally a monetary unit?

In the Gospel parable it is said how one person, having gone to distant lands, gave money to his slaves. He gave one of them 5 talents, another - 3, and the last - only one talent. Returning from the journey, this man called his slaves and asked them to tell how they ordered the gifts. It turned out that the first and the second made a profit by investing talents in the business. And the third slave just buried him in the ground. Of course, he saved money, but did not multiply them. Is it worth talking about who was convicted and whom the owner praised?

Today this expression reminds us that talents, talents, and talents should be used. They must not perish within us without bearing fruit.

We have already considered 5 biblical phraseological units. We proceed to the next.

Egyptian executions

This expression also occurs in the Bible, when it is told how the Egyptian pharaoh did not agree for a long time to grant freedom to the people who lived on the slaves in his country. According to legend, God was angry with him for this. He sent 10 severe punishments that consistently hit the prinil country. In the old Slavonic "punishments" are "executions". They were the following: the transformation into the blood of the Nile water, the invasion of Egypt of toads and various reptiles, a lot of gnats, the arrival of "dog" flies (especially evil ones), the plague of cattle, a terrible epidemic that covered the whole population with boils, a hail that was interrupted by fiery downpours. Then came the invasion of the locusts, the darkness that lasted for many days, the death of the first-born, not only among humans, but also among livestock. Pharaoh, frightened by these disasters, allowed Egypt to leave the enslaved people. Today, the "Egyptian penalty" refers to any torture, a serious disaster.

Manna of Heaven

In modern Russian there is another interesting expression - to wait like manna from heaven . It means passionately and for a long time, while hoping only for a miracle. Indeed, the manna of heaven was a miracle. Thanks to her, a whole nation was saved from hunger.

The Bible says that the famine came when the Jews traveled through the wilderness for many years. People would be doomed to perish, if manna from heaven did not begin to fall from the sky suddenly. What is it? It resembled modern semolina. The latter was named so in memory of the manna, which was given to the chosen people by God.

However, scientists today have established that in the desert there is an edible lichen. When it ripens, it cracks, and then folds into balls. Many nomadic tribes used this lichen for food. Probably, the wind brought these edible balls, which were described in the legend of the Bible. Despite this explanation, until now the expression "manna from heaven" means miraculous help, unexpected luck.

We continue to describe biblical phraseological units and their meanings. The origin of the next of them is no less interesting.

Burning bush

Most likely, this beautiful image was borrowed by our ancestors from Hebrew traditions. In the Bible, "a burning bush" is a thorn bush that burns without burning, because Moses in his flame was God Himself. Today, we rarely use this image. One of the variants of its application is when it is necessary to depict a person who "burns" in any case (for example, at work), however he does not lose his strength, he becomes more active and cheerful.

Thirty pieces of silver

Judas Iscariot is considered the most despicable traitor in history. He was one of the disciples of Jesus Christ. This man betrayed the teacher for only 30 pieces of silver, that is, for 30 silver coins. That is why such an expression in our time is understood as the "price of blood", "the price of betrayal." On the same legend, many other allegorical words and phraseological units of biblical origin are based. The very name "Judas" is used to refer to a traitor. And the "kiss of Judas" refers to the concept of treacherous caress, a hypocritical and insidious flattery.

These biblical phraseological units and their meanings have long been used in fiction. When Saltykov-Shchedrin, a well-known Russian satirist, endowed one of his characters, Golovlev Porfiry Vladimirovich, with all kinds of negative features-a predator, a hypocrite, a saint, a keeper, a tormentor, etc.-it was clear that the prototype of this hero is Judas Iscariot. It is no coincidence that Golovlyov was nicknamed Judas and his own brothers.

There is an opinion that the phrase "shakes like an aspen leaf" is connected with stories about this biblical character. Repenting, the traitor hanged himself on the bough of this tree. So it was desecrated. Now the aspen is supposedly destined to tremble forever.

From Pontius to Pilate

This expression is one of many ancient, based on error. According to the legend, when Jesus was seized and brought to trial, neither Herod (the Jewish king) nor Pontius Pilate (the Roman governor) wished to take responsibility for the execution himself. Several times they sent Jesus to each other under various pretexts. One might say that Christ was "driven from Herod to Pilate." However, our ancestors were confused by the fact that Pontius Pilate is like the names of two Romans, although such names were quite natural. There were such historical characters as Julius Caesar, Septimius Severus, Sergius Catilica. In the heads of our ancestors Pilate was divided into 2 people - "Pilate" and "Pontius". And then the story itself was confused. Thus came the notion that Christ was transmitted "from Pontius to Pilate." Today these words act as a mocking definition of red tape, when people are chased from the boss to the boss, instead of solving the case.

doubting Thomas

We have already described 10 phraseological units of biblical origin. Many of those that we did not talk about are noteworthy, but within the framework of one article, only a few can be presented. The following expression simply can not be missed - it is widely used, and its origin is very interesting.

Very often you have to hear the phrase: "Eh you, Thomas unbeliever!". It has become so familiar that we sometimes do not pay any attention to it when we say it ourselves or hear from someone. Have you ever thought about where it came from? Do you know who Thomas is? It is believed that we are talking about one of the 12 apostles that Jesus Christ chose for himself. Foma stood out because he was incredulous to everything and to everyone.

However, there is not one, but two initial versions of the origin of this expression. The first of them appeared in ancient Jerusalem even before Jesus chose as his apostle Thomas.

Foma had a brother named Andrei. He saw one day that Jesus walked on water, and told Thomas about it. As a sensible person, the future apostle did not believe him. Then Andrew invited him to go with him and ask Jesus that he once again walked on the water. They went to Christ. He repeated his miracle. Foma had no choice but to admit his own wrong. It was from this time on that he began to be called Thomas the unbeliever.

The second version is considered more significant. After the crucifixion of Jesus and his subsequent resurrection, as the Bible says, Thomas did not exist when Christ appeared to the apostles. Those who met him told him about what had happened. However, Thomas did not believe it. He said he would not believe until he saw the wounds from the nails in Jesus' hands and put his finger in these wounds. The second time that the Savior appeared before his apostles in the presence of Thomas, Christ invited him to do so. Probably, you guessed that Thomas after that believed in the resurrection.

The Importance of Biblical Phraseologisms

Of course, this is not all biblical phraseological units. There are a lot of them, we only talked about some of them. Phraseological units of biblical origin, as you can see, are still widely used in the language. And this is not surprising, because the Bible is one of the most important books in the history of mankind. It greatly influenced the development of many spheres of life. Did not stay away and language. It includes numerous phraseological units of biblical origin. Examples and their meaning are still studied by linguists. And writers and poets draw inspiration from biblical stories. For example, the collection of Maximilian Voloshin, which includes poems about the revolution and war, is called "Burning Bush".

Lermontov Mikhail, Nikolay Gogol, Anton Chekhov, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Alexander Pushkin ... Mythological and biblical phraseologisms are found in the works of each of them. Probably, there is no such Russian writer in whose works one could not find a single biblical turnover.

What other things do you know about biblical origin? Examples of them you can leave in the comments to this article.