The meaning of Forbear in the Bible
(From International Standard Bible Encyclopedia)

for-bar' (chadhal; anechomai): In the Old Testament chadhal, "to leave off," is the word most frequently translated "forbear" (Exodus 23:5, etc.); damam, "to be silent," chasakh, "to keep back," mashakh, "to draw or stretch out," occur once each; the Revised Version (British and American) renders Ezekiel 24:17 (damam), "Sigh, but not aloud," margin "Hebrew be silent,"; Proverbs 24:11 (chasakh), "See that thou hold back," margin "or forbear thou not to deliver," the King James Version "if thou forbear to deliver"; Nehemiah 9:30 (mashakh), "bear" instead of "forbear"; 'aph literally, "breathing," the "nose," hence, from violent breathing, "anger" ('erekh, "long," understood), and kul "to hold," are translated "forbearing" (Proverbs 25:15; Jeremiah 20:9, respectively).

In the New Testament we have anechomai, "to hold self back or up," "with longsuffering, forbearing one another" (Ephesians 4:2,; Colossians 3:13); aniemi "to send back," the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American) "forbear threatening' (Ephesians 6:9); pheidomai, "to spare," "but I forbear" (II Corinthians 12:6); meergazesthai, "not to work," "to forbear working" (I Corinthians 9:6); stego, "to cover," "conceal": "when I could no longer forbear" (I Thessalonians 3:1, I Thessalonians 3:5).

W. L.Walker

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