the Week of Proper 25 / Ordinary 30
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Bible Dictionaries
Superstitious
Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words
or "reverent to the deity" (deido, "to fear;" daimon, "a demon," or "pagan god"), occurs in Acts 17:22 in the comparative degree, rendered "somewhat superstitious," RV (AV, "too superstitious"), a meaning which the word sometimes has; others, according to its comparative form, advocate the meaning "more religious (than others)," "quite religious" (cp. the noun in Acts 25:19 ). This is supported by Ramsay, who renders it "more than others respectful of what is divine;" so Deissmann in Light from the Ancient East, and others. It also agrees with the meaning found in Greek writers; the context too suggests that the adjective is used in a good sense; perhaps, after all, with kindly ambiguity (Grimm-Thayer). An ancient epitaph has it in the sense of "reverent" (Moulton and Milligan).
These files are public domain.
Vines, W. E., M. A. Entry for 'Superstitious'. Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/ved/s/superstitious.html. 1940.
