International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Gain

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International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Gain


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gān: In the Old Testament the translation of three Hebrew substantives, בּצע, beca‛, “unjust gain,” “any gain” (; ; ; ; ; ; , ; ); מחיר, meḥı̄r, “price” for which a thing is sold (, the only place where the Hebrew word is translated “gain” in the King James Version, though it occurs in other places translated “price”); תּבוּאה, tebhū'āh, “produce,” “profits,” “fruit” (). It is the translation of one Hebrew verb, בּצע, bāca‛, “to gain dishonestly” (); of one Aramaic verb, זבן, zebhan, “to buy,” “procure for oneself” (, here used of buying time, i.e. “seeking delay” (Gesenius)).

In the New Testament, the translation of three Greek substantives, ἐργασία, ergası́a, “gain gotten by work,” “profit” (, ; (the King James Version)); κέρδος, kérdos, “gain,” “advantage” (Phil ; , in the former, Paul asserting that to him to die was a personal advantage, because then he would “be with Christ”; in the latter, he counts as “loss” his personal privileges in the flesh, when compared with “the excellency of the knowledge of Christ”); πορισμός, porismós, “gain,” “a source of gain” (, , where the apostle asserts, not “gain” (earthly) is godliness, but godliness is “gain” (real, abiding)). It is the translation of three Greek vbs., κερδαίνω, kerdaı́nō, “to gain,” “acquire,” in , where Jesus teaches that the soul, or life in its highest sense (“his own self,” ), is worth more than the “gaining” of the whole (material) world; , concerning the winning of a sinning brother by private interview; , , the parable of the Talents; the King James Version, injury “gained,” sustained, by sailing from Crete; , bis, 21, 22, all referring to Paul's life-principle of accommodation to others to “gain,” win, them to Christ; in used in a commercial sense; ποιέω, poiéō, “to make,” “make gain” ( the King James Version, the parable of the Pounds); προσεργάζομαι, prosergázomai, “to gain by trading” (, commercial use, in the same parallel).