Bible History

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

 

A    B    C    D    E    F    G    H    I    J    K    L    M    N    O    P    Q    R    S    T    U    V    W    X    Y    Z   



ENTANGLE

en-tan'-g'-l: Found but 5 times in the Scriptures (the King James Version), once in the Old Testament, yet most significant as illustrating the process of mental, moral and spiritual confusion and enslavement.
(1) Physical:
Used of physical entanglement, as in the mazes of a labyrinth (bukh, to involve," "be perplexed"). At Moses' command the children of Israel, before crossing the Red Sea, took the wrong way in order to give Pharaoh the impression that they were lost in the wilderness and cause him to say "They are entangled in the land" (Ex 14:3).
(2) Mental:
pagideuo, "to entrap," "ensnare," with words, as birds are caught in a snare; compare Eccl 9:12. The Pharisees sought to "entangle" (the Revised Version (British and American) "ensnare") Jesus in His talk (Mt 22:15).
(3) Moral:
`empleko, "to inweave," hence, intertwine and involve. "A god soldier of Jesus Christ," says Paul, does not "entangle himself," i.e. become involved, "in the affairs of this life" (2 Tim 2:4). Having "escaped the defilements of the world," Christians are not to be "again entangled therein" (2 Pet 2:20).
(4) Spiritual:
enecho, "to hold in," hence, to hold captive, as a slave in fetters or under a burden. Having experienced spiritual emancipation, freedom, through Christ from bondage to sin and false religion (Gal 5:1; compare 4:8), the Gentiles were not to become "entangled again in a yoke of bondage" by submission to mere legal requirements, as the external rite of circumcision.
With reference to the thoroughness and irresistibleness of God's judgments, we read in Nah 1:10, "For entangled like thorns" (the King James Version "while they be folden together as thorns"), damp, closely packed and intertwined, "they are consumed utterly as dry stubble" (the King James Version "devoured as stubble fully dry").
Dwight M. Pratt Bibliography Information
Orr, James, M.A., D.D. General Editor. "Definition for 'entangle'". "International Standard Bible Encyclopedia". bible-history.com - ISBE; 1915.

Copyright Information
© International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)

ISBE Bible Encyclopedia Home
Bible History Online Home

 

Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
Online Bible (KJV)
Naves Topical Bible
Smith's Bible Dictionary
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Schaff's Bible Dictionary
Fausset's Bible Dictionary
Matthew Henry Bible Commentary
Hitchcock's Bible Dictionary

Related Bible History

Popular and Trending:

Meaning of the name Alexander, Alexander the Great, Alexander the Coppersmith, Syria and Bible Prophecy, Bible Study about Syria, What the Bible Says about Syria and Damascus, Isaiah 17, The Bible and Palm Trees, Bible Study about the Palm Tree, The Righteous Will Flourish like a Palm Tree Psalm 92:12 , Definition of Paraclete, Bible study about the Holy Spirit and the Paraclete, Paracletus in the Greek, Games in the Bible, What Games Did Kids Play in Biblical Times? Which Kinds of Games Existed in the Time of Jesus?, The Church at Thyatira, What Was the Message to Thyatira, Revelation 2 and Thyatira, history of Thyatira, David and Goliath, How Tall Was Goliath, Archaeological Discoveries and Goliath, Goliath And Philistine History, Who Was Titus in the Bible, Paul's Letter to Titus, Bible Study Lessons in Titus, Meaning of the Name Tanner, Bible Study about Simon the Tanner, Acts 10:6 Peter Was Staying at the House of Simon the Tanner, What Was a Tanner