Figures of speech

How can we recognize figures of speech?

The words don’t make sense literally.

1 Corinthians 11:16-21, Paul calls himself a fool. He isn’t one, but is using the figure “sarcasm.”

Isaiah 55:12, “the trees will clap their hands.” Trees don’t have hands and don’t clap. The figure is personification.

The words are clear and literal, but meant to convey a deeper lesson or application, such as in a parable.

The words are clear and literal, but are put together in a grammatical or structural way that brings emphasis to the section. This kind of figure may be lost in translation.

Genesis 2:17, “you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.” The Hebrew reads, “dying you will die,” using the figure “many inflections,” that is the same word in different forms.

Ephesians 3:18, “to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.” The “and’s” is the figure “Many ands” and gives separate emphasis to each part, more than a comma would.

Until next time, God bless