The meaning of Finish in the Bible
(From International Standard Bible Encyclopedia)
fin'-ish (kalah; teleo, with other Hebrew and Greek words): The proper sense of "finish" is to end or complete; so for "finish," "finished," in the King James Version, there is sometimes met with in the Revised Version (British and American) the change to "complete" (Luke 14:28; II Corinthians 8:6), "accomplish" (John 4:34; John 5:36; John 17:4), "made an end of doing" (II Chronicles 4:11; compare II Chronicles 24:14), etc. In James 1:15, for "sin, when it is finished," the Revised Version (British and American) reads "sin when it is full-grown," corresponding to "conceived" of the previous clause. On the other hand, the Revised Version (British and American) has frequently "finished" for other words, as "ended" (Genesis 2:2; Deuteronomy 31:30), "accomplished" (John 19:28), "filled up," "fulfilled" (Revelation 15:1, Revelation 15:8), etc. The grandest Scriptural example of the word is the cry upon the cross, "It is finished" (Tetelestai, John 19:30).
W. L. Walker
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