The meaning of Tribulation in the Bible
(From International Standard Bible Encyclopedia)
trib-u-la'-shun (tsar, tsar, "staid," "narrow," "pent up"; compare Numbers 22:26):
1. In the Old Testament:
Closely pressed, as of seals (Job 41:15 (7)); of streams pent up (Isaiah 59:9 margin); of strength limited (Proverbs 24:10, "small"). Hence, figuratively, of straitened circumstances; variously rendered "affliction," "tribulation," "distress" (Deuteronomy 4:30; Job 15:24; Job 30:12; Psalms 4:2; Psalms 18:7; Psalms 32:7; Psalms 44:11, etc.; Psalms 78:42; Psalms 102:3; Psalms 106:44; Psalms 119:143; Isaiah 26:16; Isaiah 30:20; Hosea 5:15; Ezekiel 30:16). Frequently, the feminine form (tsarah) is similarly rendered "tribulation" (Judges 10:14 the King James Version; I Samuel 10:19 the King James Version; I Samuel 26:24); in other places "distress," "affliction" (Genesis 42:21; Psalms 120:1; Proverbs 11:8; II Chronicles 20:9; Isaiah 63:9; Jeremiah 15:11; Jonah 2:2; Nahum 1:9; Zechariah 10:11).
2. In the New Testament:
The Greek is thlipsis, a "pressing together" (as of grapes), squeezing or pinching (from verb thlibo); used figuratively for "distress," "tribulation"; Septuagint for tsar and tsarah; Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 AD) tribulatio pressura (from tribulum, "a threshing sledge"). The verb form is rendered "suffer tribulation" (I Thessalonians 3:4 the King James Version, "suffer affliction" the Revised Version (British and American)); "trouble" (II Thessalonians 1:6 the King James Version, "afflict" the Revised Version (British and American); compare II Corinthians 1:6; II Corinthians 4:8; II Corinthians 7:5; I Timothy 5:10; Hebrews 11:37). The noun form is rendered in the King James Version variously as "tribulation," "affliction," "persecution," though more uniformly "tribulation" in the Revised Version (British and American). The word is used generally of the hardships which Christ's followers would suffer (Matthew 13:21; Matthew 24:9, Matthew 24:21, Matthew 24:29; Mark 4:17; Mark 13:19, Mark 13:24; John 16:33; I Corinthians 7:28); or which they are now passing through (Romans 5:3; Romans 12:12; II Corinthians 4:17; Philippians 4:14); or through which they have already come (Acts 11:19; II Corinthians 2:4; Revelation 7:14).
Edward Bagby Pollard
See more on the meaning of Tribulation in the Bible:
Tribulation {Easton's Bible Dictionary}
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