I still remember a few years back, slogging my way through the archaic Hebrew of the book of Job when I was suddenly “tickled pink” to find the phrase “I escaped by the skin of my teeth.” I had known it as a common English expression but had no idea it came from the Bible! [ואתמלטה בעור שיני]
How many other phrases are there like that – which became an inseparable part of day-to-day language; but whose fountain, spring and “head-waters” are in the Hebrew scriptures? After some research, here are my favorites along with several of their Hebrew originals *commonly spoken in Israel today:
A drop in the bucket – Isaiah 40:15
Am I my brother’s keeper – Genesis 4:9 השומר אחי אנוכי
An eye for an eye – Exodus 21:24 עין תחת עין
Apple of his eye – Deuteronomy 32:10
At their whit’s end – Psalm 107:27
By the skin of my teeth – Job 19:20
By the sweat of your brow – Genesis 3:19 בזעת אפיך תאכל לחמך
Can a leopard change its spots – Jeremiah 13:23
Den of thieves – Jeremiah 7:11
Eat drink and be merry – Ecclesiastes 8:15
Fell flat on his face – Numbers 22:31
Heart’s desire – Psalm 20:4
How the mighty have fallen – 2 Samuel 1:19 איך נפלו גיבורים
Nothing but skin and bones – Job 19:20
Old as the hills – Job 15:7
Out of the mouth of babes – Psalms 8:2
Passing on the mantle – 2 Kings 2:8
Pride goes before a fall – Proverbs 16:18
Root of the matter – Job 19:28
See eye to eye – Isaiah 52:8
Set your house in order – Isaiah 38:1
Stumbling block – Leviticus 19:14
The writing was on the wall – Daniel 5:5
There is nothing new under the sun – Ecclesiastes 1:9 אין כל חדש תחת השמש
To everything there is a season – Ecclesiastes 3:1
Two are better than one – Ecclesiastes 4:9 טובים השניים מן האחד
White as snow – Exodus 4:6
Wise in his own eyes – Proverbs 26:12
Woe is me – 2 Samuel 1:26
You put the words in my mouth – 2 Samuel 14:3
You’re the man – 2 Samuel 12:7
Hebrew, English and German languages have been vitally influenced by the bible. It is in many ways the root book of these tongues (and probably a few others as well). In Hebrew it is obvious that the Tenach is the oldest and the most central Hebrew text. In English it comes through the centrality of the King James translation and its use in churches and homes for centuries. In German, likewise, Luther’s translation of the bible served to set a new standard unifying German dialects.
Please add one of YOUR favorite Bible-based phrases in the comments section below !
* Ironically, many of the above are not even common phrases in modern Hebrew, their source language – whereas they are common in English by way of Bible translations!
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4 responses to “Test Yourself: What 31 Famous English Phrases Originated in Biblical Hebrew?”
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Genesis 30:27 – “learned by experience”
Genesis 46:29 – “a good while”
Numbers 14:37 – “breach of promise”
Numbers 21:5 – “light bread”
Numbers 21:16 – “Beer”
Deuteronomy 28:27 – “scab” “itch”
1 Sam 24:14 – “a dead dog”
1 Sam 26:21 – “played the fool”
2 Sam 2:32 – “break of day”
1 Kings 14:3 – “cracknels”
2 Chronicles 9:19 – “not the like”
2 Chronicles 30:18 – “The good LORD”
Joshua 2:21 – “so be it”
Jonah 1:5, Judges 4:21 – “fast asleep”
Nehemiah 13:26 – “outlandish”
Job 33:28 – “see the light”
Psalm 22:20 – “my darling”
Psalm 46:5 – “right early”
Psalm 59:7 – “belch”
Proverbs 4:25 – “right on”
Isaiah 14:8 – “feller”
Isaiah 65:5 – “holier than thou”
Jeremiah 50:9 – “mighty expert”
Ezekiel 4:10 – “from time to time”
Ezekiel 27:24 – “all sorts of things”
….many more.
Good stuff, David.
Worth their weight in gold – Lamentations 4:2
(Upon Edom) I toss my sandal – Psalm 108:9 (Still an expression of contempt)
Great! Thank you AdinoBenaiah and Esther!
“Fly in the ointment” – Ecclesiastes 10:1. A term to show how a small bad thing can ruin a good thing.