Poison (2447) (ios from híemi = to send) is something sent out and one Greek meaning is thus arrow, a meaning not found in the NT.
Ios is used in the NT to mean poison or venom. The idea is something that is emitted since venom is ejected or emitted from a serpent's fangs. Ios also means rust as if emitted by metals.
Ios is used 3 times in the NT (see below) and 7 times in the (Ps 14:3; 140:3; Pr 23:32; Lam 3:13; Ezek 24:6, 11, 12)
James uses ios with both meanings (poison and rust) writing...
(James 3:8) (Describing the Tongue James says that) "no one (Greek = absolutely no one. Have you ever tried?) can (dunamai = have power by virtue of inherent ability and resources) tame (reduce to stillness or quietness) the tongue; it is a restless (Unsettled, unsteady, unstable, staggering, reeling like a drunken man. Not having stability) evil and full of (replete, stuffed) deadly (literally death bringing) poison (ios). (James 3:8) (Comment: The tongue of an unregenerate man or even of a believer not controlled by the Spirit is like a deadly poisonous snake. The venomous evil chafes at confinement, always seeking a way to escape and to spread its deadly poison. This "poison" is more deadly than a snake's because it can destroy morally, socially, economically, and spiritually.)
(James 5:3) (Warning the materially rich James writes) Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust (ios) will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure! (Comment: Here rust is a warning against heaping up worldly wealth. The rust will not merely rot this but will serve as a testimony against its owners and sear their flesh like fire. The point is not just that rust proves the transitoriness of riches but that it accuses the rich for letting things rot rather than give them to the poor!)
"Copy and paste the address below into your web browser in order to go to the original page which will allow you to access live links related to the material on this page - these links include Scriptures (which can be read in context), Scripture pop-ups on mouse over, and a variety of related resources such as Bible dictionary articles, commentaries, sermon notes and theological journal articles related to the topic under discussion."
http://www.preceptaustin.org/romans_312-13.htm#poison
Be the first to react on this!
Greek Word Studies ( - )
Read freely Greek Word Studies from the Austin Precept text commentary of the Bible in text and pdf format. Precept Austin is an online free dynamic bible commentary similar to wikipedia with updated content and many links to excellent biblical resources around the world. You can browse the entire collection of Commentaries by Verse on the Precept Austin website.We have been "bought with a price" to be "ambassadors for Christ" and our "salvation is nearer to us than when we believed" so let us "cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God" "so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming." (1Cor 6:20, 2Cor 5:20, Ro 13:11, 2Cor 7:1, 1Jn 2:28)