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Bible Dictionaries
Way
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
or WAY
1. OT usage . ( a ) Of a road or journey ( 1Sa 6:9; 1 Samuel 6:12 , 2 Kings 3:20 , Jeremiah 2:18 ). ( b ) Figuratively, of a course of conduct or character ( Job 17:9 , Psalms 91:11 ), either in a good sense as approved by God ( Deuteronomy 31:29 , Psalms 50:23 , Isaiah 30:21 ), or in a bad sense of man’s own choosing ( Psalms 139:24 , Isaiah 65:2 , Jeremiah 18:11 ). ( c ) Of the way of Jehovah, His creative power ( Job 26:14 ), His moral rule and commandments ( Job 21:14 , Psalms 18:30 , Proverbs 8:32 ).
2. NT usage . ( a ) In the literal sense ( Matthew 4:16; Matthew 10:5 , Acts 8:25 ). ( b ) Figuratively, as in OT of human conduct, or God’s purpose for man ( Matthew 21:32 , Acts 14:16 , Romans 11:33 , 1 Corinthians 4:17 , James 5:20 ). But the gospel greatly enriched the ethical and religious import of the word. Though Jesus was addressed as one who taught ‘the way of God in truth’ ( Matthew 22:16 ), He Himself claimed to show the way to the Father because He is ‘the Way, the Truth, and the Life’ ( John 14:4-6 ). By Him ‘the two worlds were united’ (Westcott). This is equivalent to the Apostolic doctrine that Christ is the gospel ( Mark 1:1 , Romans 15:18 ). In Hebrews 9:8; Hebrews 10:20 there is the similar thought that Jesus by His life, death, and exaltation has opened a way whereby men may enter into the holy presence of God, and enables them also to walk therein. In Acts ‘the Way’ is used with the distinctive meaning of the Christian faith and manner of life, which is the only ‘way’ that leads to salvation ( Acts 9:2; Acts 19:9; Acts 19:23; Acts 24:22 ). This is the ‘way of the Lord’ so often referred to in the OT, of which Jesus became the final and perfect revealer. The development of the conception may be traced in Acts 16:17; Acts 18:25-26 .
R. A. Falconer.
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Hastings, James. Entry for 'Way'. Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/hdb/w/way.html. 1909.
