the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
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Bible Dictionaries
Ear
Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary
or EAR, EARS
In Scripture, such frequent mention is made of the hearing ear, and the uncircumcised in heart and ears, that it ought to be noticed in a work of this kind. In Scripture language, to uncover the ear, (1 Samuel 20:2; 1Sa 20:13) as it is rendered in the margin of the Bibles, is to reveal somewhat particularly to a certain person, or persons, which, in general, to others, is not made known. And hence the Lord Jesus himself saith by the spirit of prophecy, (Psalms 11:6) Mine ears hast thou opened. So again, Isaiah 1:5 "The Lord God hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious," In the Jewish church, it was the custom, and among the appointments of the Lord himself, when a servant, after six years' service, being freed by the law, so loved his master, that he would not leave him, he was to have his ear bored with an awl unto the door post, as a token of a free and voluntary service; and then to serve for ever. (Exodus 21:2; Exo 21:5) And in allusion to this, (for this was a beautiful type of the Lord Jesus Christ), the Lord Jesus saith, Mine ears hast thou opened, or as the margin of the Bible hath, it, mine ears hast thou digged. (See Psalms 40:6) The apostle Paul commenting upon this passage, in quoting it, gives a free and full translation, and renders it, A body hast thou given me, or prepared me. (Hebrews 10:5) And certain it is, that the lesser, of boring the ear, implies the greater, of preparing the whole body. But how delightful is it to make interpretation, of what the Jewish servant said respecting the house of his servitude, in allusion to the Lord Jesus in the house of his! who, as the servant of JEHOVAH (for such he fully became, when he became our Surety), might be said thus to express himself, I love my master, I love my wife, my children; I will not go out free. Surely, it is blessed to eye Christ as our Surety, constantly represented by types in the Old Testament Scripture. As the uncovering the ear is a Scripture expression, to denote divine teaching, and the opening the heart and understanding, so the word of God abounds with figures and similitudes to represent the reverse. They are said to be uncircumcised in heart and ears, to whom the word of the Lord is unprofitable. Their ears are said to be heavy; to be waxed gross, and dull in hearing, and the like. (Isaiah 6:10) Hence! no less than seven times in the Scripture; (as, if to denote the awfulness of such a state) the dreadful condition of the ungodly is described under those characters. (See Isaiah 6:9-10; Matthew 13:14-15; Mark 4:12; Luke 8:10; John 12:40; Acts 28:26-27; Romans 11:8)
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Hawker, Robert D.D. Entry for 'Ear'. Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance and Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/pmd/e/ear.html. London. 1828.
