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When not part of another verb (usually the participle), or part of a phrase, this word
translates one of the following:—
(a) the present participle of
, “to be,” the verb of ordinary existence;
(b) the participle of
, “to become,” signifying origin or result;
(c) the present participle of
$
, “to exist,” which always involves a preexistent
state, prior to the fact referred to, and a continuance of the state after the fact. Thus in
Phil. 2:6, the phrase “who being (
$
) in the form of God,” implies His
preexistent deity, previous to His birth, and His continued deity afterwards.
In Acts 17:28 the phrase “we have our being” represents the present tense of the verb
to be, “we are.”
BELIAL
(
C &
, 955) is a word frequently used in the Old Testament, with various
meanings, especially in the books of Samuel, where it is found nine times. See also Deut.
13:13; Jud. 19:22; 20:13; 1 Kings 21:10, 13; 2 Chron. 13:7. Its original meaning was
either “worthlessness” or “hopeless ruin” (see the
RV
, margin). It also had the meanings
of “extreme wickedness and destruction,” the latter indicating the destiny of the former.
In the period between the OT and the NT it came to be a proper name for Satan. There
may be an indication of this in Nahum 1:15, where the word translated “the wicked one”
is Belial. The oldest form of the word is “Beliar,” possibly from a phrase signifying
“Lord of the forest,” or perhaps simply a corruption of the form “Belial,” due to harsh
Syriac pronunciation. In the NT, in 2 Cor. 6:15, it is set in contrast to Christ and
represents a personification of the system of impure worship connected especially with
the cult of Aphrodite.¶
BELIEF, BELIEVE, BELIEVERS
A. Verbs.
1.
$
(
"
, 4100), “to believe,” also “to be persuaded of,” and hence, “to
place confidence in, to trust,” signifies, in this sense of the word, reliance upon, not mere
credence. It is most frequent in the writings of the apostle John, especially the Gospel. He
does not use the noun (see below). For the Lord’s first use of the verb, see 1:50. Of the
writers of the Gospels, Matthew uses the verb ten times, Mark ten, Luke nine, John
ninety-nine. In Acts 5:14 the present participle of the verb is translated “believers. See
COMMIT
,
INTRUST
,
TRUST
.
2.
(
&
, 3982), “to persuade,” in the middle and passive voices signifies “to
suffer oneself to be persuaded,” e.g., Luke 16:31; Heb. 13:18; it is sometimes translated
“believe” in the
RV
, but not in Acts 17:4,
RV
, “were persuaded,” and 27:11, “gave (more)
heed”; in Acts 28:24, “believed. See
AGREE
,
ASSURE
,
OBEY
,
PERSUADE
,
TRUST
,
YIELD
.
Note:
For
, the negative of No. 1, and
, the negative of No. 2, see
DISBELIEVE
,
DISOBEDIENT
.
B. Noun.
(
&
, 4102), “faith,” is translated “belief” in Rom. 10:17; 2 Thess. 2:13. Its
chief significance is a conviction respecting God and His Word and the believer’s
relationship to Him. See
ASSURANCE
,
FAITH
,
FIDELITY
.