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Bible Dictionaries
Play
Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary
or We should not have needed any attention to this word, had the general acceptation of it in Scripture been similar to the received opinion of it among men. By play we understand pastime, or sport, or diversions; but this is not always the case in Scripture language. The word Zachach, which is rendered play, means also to mock, or insult, or fight. Thus we read, (2 Samuel 2:14) "Abner said to Joab, let the young men now arise and play before us." But the Scripture shews that this play was fighting; for we are told that "they caught every one his fellow by the head, and thrust his sword into his fellow's side, so they fell down together; wherefore that place was called Helkath-hazzarim"—which the margin of the Bible renders "the field of strong men." And there was a very sore battle that day. So again we read, (Exodus 32:6) that when the people had sat down to eat and drink at their sacrifices, they rose up to play. But the history itself, as well as the New Testament explanation of it, (1 Corinthians 10:7) shews that this play was the mockery of the Lord by the grossest idolatry. Hence, therefore, it is necessary that in our reading Scripture, we should have a right apprehension of the terms and words made use of, that we may not confound things. By play is not only meant an idle frivolity, and "jesting and foolish talking," as the apostle speaks, and which he condemns, (Ephesians 5:4) but sometimes, as we have seen, yet much worse. Indeed play, and what the world calls amusements, even of the least offensive kind, are unsuited to dying creatures, and therefore ought not to be once mentioned among Christians professing godliness. The apostle's direction on these grounds is absolute and unaccommodating; and every truly regenerated heart wishes to adopt the same, though there had been no precept for it. (Ephesians 5:1-31; 2 Corinthians 6:17-18)
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Hawker, Robert D.D. Entry for 'Play'. Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance and Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/pmd/p/play.html. London. 1828.
