Bible Lexicons

Girdlestone's Synonyms of the Old TestamentGirdlestone's OT Synonyms

Punishment, Vengeance

The moral relationship between sin and punishment is illustrated by the fact that the latter is expressed by the words Chattath and Aven (see chap. vi. §1, §4) in Genesis 4:13; Leviticus 26:41; Leviticus 26:43; 1 Samuel 28:10; Lamentations 3:39; Lamentations 4:6; Lamentations 4:22; Zechariah 14:19. Yasar (יסר ), to chastise, is found in Leviticus 26:18, 'If ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.' Nacah (נכה ), to smite, is used in Leviticus 26:24; Nakam (נקם ), to avenge, in Exodus 21:20-21; Raa (רעע ), to bring evil, in Zechariah 8:14; Anash (ענשׁ ), to amerce or fine, five times in the Book of Proverbs in the remaining passages, all of which are in the prophetical books, Pakad (פקד ), to visit, is used, punishment being regarded as a visitation from God.

The avenging or revenging the blood of the slain is referred to under the word Gaal in Numbers 35:12, al. From the earliest period of human history God is represented as taking the part of the injured, of the oppressed, and even of the slain. Their cries ascend into his ears; their blood calls to Him even from the ground. Thus the Redeemer is necessarily an avenger, and must exercise retributive justice. Shaphath, to judge, is used in this sense in 2 Samuel 18:19; 2 Samuel 18:31. for a .similar reason, perhaps, Yasha, to save, is rendered to avenge in 1 Samuel 25:26; 1 Samuel 25:31; 1 Samuel 25:33. The R. V. offers a marginal correction in the first of these verses.

In Deuteronomy 32:42 ('The beginning of revenges up on the enemy'), and in Judges 5:2 ('Praise ye the Lord for the avenging of Israel'), a word is used which is derived from Para (פרע ), to strip.

The most usual word for revenging or avenging is Nakam (נקם ). It first appears in Genesis 4:15, 'Vengeance shall be taken on him (or rather for him, e.g. for Cain) sevenfold.' Compare verse 24, 'If Cain shall be avenged seven-fold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.' The word is used altogether about seventy-five times in the O.T. Personal and private revenge was forbidden to Israel, 'Thou shalt not avenge nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself' (Leviticus 19:18). The children of Israel were always taught to leave vengeance in God's hand, as He would avenge the blood of his servants, and would take their part against their enemies. See, for example, Deuteronomy 32:35; Deuteronomy 32:43; Psalms 18:47; Psalms 94:1; Jeremiah 11:20; Nahum 1:2. The Lord's vengeance is regarded as retribution, but not as retaliation; it is set forth not as an evil passion, but rather as the righteous and unerring vindication of his own people and of his own course of action, to the discomfiture of those who had set themselves in opposition to Him. He metes it out with justice, and on such a day or at such a time as seems fitting to Him. See Isaiah 34:8; Isaiah 61:2; Isaiah 63:4; Jeremiah 46:10; Jeremiah 51:6.

The words ἐκδικει̂ν and ἐκδίκησις stand occasionally both for Shaphath and also for Nakam. They imply the visitation of due penalty up on the criminal, whether by the h and of the human judge (Luke 18:3; Acts 7:24; Romans 13:4; 1 Peter 2:14), or by the agency of God (Luke 18:7-8; Luke 21:22; 1 Thessalonians 4:6; 2 Thessalonians 1:8; Revelation 6:10; Revelation 19:2).

There is no place given in the N.T., any more than there is in the O.T., for the avenging of personal injuries. on the contrary, the feeling of revenge is studiously condemned. Where the magistrate is not called up on to vindicate the sufferer, there God will step in. 'Vengeance belongeth unto me, saith the Lord' (Romans 12:19, Hebrews 10:30). [These words are quoted from Deuteronomy 32:35, and are translated from the Hebrew, not from the LXX, which reads ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ἐκδίκήσεως instead of ἐμοὶ ἐκδίκησις.]