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2.
H
, the neuter of
, with
, “more,” is used in Mark 9:42,
“it were better (lit., ‘much better’) for him if a great millstone were hanged about his
neck.” In verses 43, 45, 47,
is used alone (
RV
, “good,” for
KJV
, “better”).
Note:
In Luke 5:39 the most authentic texts have
, “good,” instead of the
comparative,
, “better.”
BETTER (be)
1.
(
!$
, 1308), used (a) transitively, means “to carry through” or
“about” ( , “through,”
, “to carry”), Mark 11:16 (“carry … through”); Acts 13:49;
27:27 (“driven to and fro”); (b) intransitively, (1) “to differ,” Rom. 2:18; Gal. 2:6; Phil.
1:10; (2) “to excel, be better,” e.g., Matt. 6:26; 10:31 (“of more value”); 12:12; Luke
12:7, 24; 1 Cor. 15:41; Gal. 4:1; some would put Rom. 2:18 and Phil. 1:10 here (see
marg.). See
CARRY
,
DIFFER
,
DRIVE
,
EXCELLENT
,
MATTER
(
MAKE
),
PUBLISH
.¶
2.
$
(
$ "
, 4052), “to be over or above (a number), to be more than
enough, to be pre-eminent, superior,” Matt. 5:20, is translated “are we the better,” in 1
Cor. 8:8 (cf. 15:58; Rom. 15:13; 2 Cor. 3:9; 8:7; Phil. 1:9; Col. 2:7; 1 Thess. 4:1, 10). See
ABOUND
.
3.
$
(
, 3081) signifies “to indemnify, pay expenses, pay taxes” (from
$
, “to loose,”
, “toll, custom”); hence, “to be useful, advantageous, to be better”
Luke 17:2.¶
4.
$
(
% $!
, 5242) lit. means “to hold or have above” (
$
, “above,”
, “to hold”); hence, metaphorically, to be superior to, to be better than, Phil. 2:3; 1
Pet. 2:13, “supreme,” in reference to kings; in Rom. 13:1, “higher”; Phil. 3:8,
“excellency,” more strictly “the surpassing thing, (namely, the knowledge of Christ)”; in
4:7 passeth. See
EXCELLENCY
,
HIGHER
,
PASS
,
SUPREME
.¶
Notes:
(1) In Rom. 3:9 the
RV
rightly translates
(which there is used in the
passive voice, not the middle) “are we in worse case than …? ,” i.e., “are we surpassed?”
“are we at a disadvantage?” The question is, are the Jews, so far from being better off
than the Gentiles, in such a position that their very privileges bring them into a greater
disadvantage or condemnation than the Gentiles? The
KJV
“are we better” does not
convey the meaning.
(2)
-$
, in Matt. 18:6,
KJV
, is translated “it were better for him,”
RV
,
“profitable.” See Matt. 5:29—30 etc. See
BRING
,
EXPEDIENT
,
GOOD
, D,
Note
(2),
PROFITABLE
. BETTERED (to be)
(
8 !
, 5623) in the active voice signifies “to help, to succor, to be of
service”; in the passive “to receive help, to derive profit or advantage”; in Mark 5:26,
“was (nothing) bettered,” of the woman who had an issue of blood. See under
ADVANTAGE
, C, No. 1, and cf. A, Nos. 2, 3 and B.
BETWEEN
In addition to the prepositions and
(see
Note
†
, p. 1), the following have this
meaning: