You may not realize how many figures of speech we use today come from the Bible.
I’m understandably fascinated by language. It’s the primary tool of my craft.
What I find especially intriguing are those phrases we use that don’t always make sense but we all seem to know what they mean—phrases like “by the skin of your teeth” and “drop in a bucket.”
How often have you used those phrases and others without realizing that you were quoting the Bible? Probably more than you realize.
Here are ten phrases and sayings we use today that have their origins in the Bible:
The blind leading the blind
When referring to people who don’t know what they’re doing and who are in charge of others who don’t know what they’re doing, we often say it’s a case of the blind leading the blind, implying the potential for disastrous results. Jesus said of the Pharisees:
“Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” (Matthew 15:14 NIV)
Bite the dust
To say someone or something bites the dust is an irreverent way to say he or it has died or are in some other way finished. We often use the phrase with a degree of lightheartedness, but Solomon was serious when he wrote:
May the desert tribes bow before him and his enemies lick the dust. (Psalm 72:9 NIV)
By the skin of your teeth
The phrase “by the skin of your teeth” is usually used to describe a narrow escape from danger (“I missed being hit by the car by the skin of my teeth”) or a barely achieved success (“I passed the exam by the skin of my teeth”). Job said it when he was enumerating his tribulations:
“…I have escaped only by the skin of my teeth.” (Job 19:20 NIV)
Wash your hands of the matter
Don’t want to have anything else to do with a situation? You might say you’re washing your hands of the matter, as Pontius Pilate did.
When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!” (Matthew 27:24 NIV)
Drop in a bucket
Referring to something as a drop in a bucket means that it’s insignificant, which is how Isaiah compared nations to God’s greatness:
To the Lord, all nations are merely a drop in a bucket or dust on balance scales; all of the islands are but a handful of sand. (Isaiah 40:15 CEV)
Fly in the ointment
The fly in the ointment is a single thing or person that is a source of annoyance or that is spoiling an otherwise positive or enjoyable situation—a phrase that dates back to the Old Testament.
Dead flies make the perfumer’s ointment give off a stench; so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor. (Ecclesiastes 10:1 ESV)
Put words in one’s mouth
When you tell someone what to say, or when you say that someone meant one thing when that person meant something else, you might be accused of putting words in that person’s mouth. We’ve been doing that since Biblical days, as shown when Joab gave the wise woman these instructions:
“… Go to the king and speak to him as follows.” And Joab put the words into her mouth. (2 Samuel 14:3 NRSV)
Rise and shine
This popular way of telling someone to wake up and get out of bed has its roots in the Old Testament.
Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. (Isaiah 60:1 KJV)
A house divided against itself cannot stand
Abraham Lincoln used this phrase in his nomination acceptance speech of 1858, but Jesus said it first.
Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.” (Matthew 12:25 NIV)
Can a leopard change its spots?
We use this phrase when we mean that people cannot change their fundamental selves. In the Bible, it meant that people can’t reform on their own but that God can work such a miraculous change in nature.
Can Ethiopians change their skin or leopards their spots? Then also you can do good who are accustomed to do evil. (Jeremiah 13:23 NRSV)
What other contemporary phrases do you know that come from the Bible? Share them below.
Jacquelyn's latest book is Christian Business Almanac: The Ultimate Daily Guide for Kingdom-Driven Entrepreneurs and Leaders.
She is the author of the nonfiction books Simple Facts About Self-Publishing (Second Edition), Words to Work By: 31 devotions for the workplace based on the Book of Proverbs and Finding Joy in the Morning: You can make it through the night as well as the novel Choices (A Joyful Cup Story). With her husband, she is the co-creator of several coloring books for adults and the novelty My Book About series.
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