The term "benumbed" refers to a state of being deprived of physical or emotional feeling, often resulting in a lack of responsiveness or awareness. In a biblical context, this concept can be applied both physically and spiritually, illustrating a condition where individuals or groups become insensitive to God's presence, guidance, or moral truths.

Biblical Context and Usage

While the specific term "benumbed" is not directly found in the Berean Standard Bible, the concept is evident throughout Scripture, particularly in passages that describe spiritual insensitivity or hardness of heart. This condition is often portrayed as a consequence of persistent sin, rebellion, or neglect of God's Word.

Spiritual Insensitivity

One of the most illustrative examples of spiritual benumbedness is found in the narrative of Pharaoh during the Exodus. Despite witnessing numerous signs and wonders performed by God through Moses, Pharaoh's heart remained hardened. Exodus 7:13 states, "Still, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said." This hardening of the heart can be seen as a form of spiritual benumbedness, where Pharaoh becomes increasingly unresponsive to God's commands and the plight of the Israelites.

Similarly, the Israelites themselves experienced periods of spiritual benumbedness. In Isaiah 6:9-10 , God instructs the prophet Isaiah: "Go and tell this people: ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ Make the hearts of this people calloused; deafen their ears and close their eyes." This passage highlights a deliberate benumbedness as a judgment for their persistent disobedience and idolatry.

Moral and Ethical Insensitivity

The New Testament also addresses the concept of being benumbed, particularly in the context of moral and ethical insensitivity. In Ephesians 4:18-19 , Paul writes about the Gentiles, saying, "They are darkened in their understanding and alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity, with a craving for more." Here, the loss of sensitivity is linked to a lifestyle of sin and separation from God, illustrating how spiritual benumbedness can lead to moral decay.

Call to Awareness and Repentance

The Bible consistently calls for a return to spiritual awareness and sensitivity. In Hebrews 3:13 , believers are exhorted to "encourage one another daily, as long as it is called 'Today,' so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness." This encouragement serves as a remedy to spiritual benumbedness, urging believers to remain vigilant and responsive to God's voice.

Furthermore, the call to repentance is a recurring theme, as seen in Revelation 3:2-3 , where the church in Sardis is admonished: "Wake up and strengthen what remains, which was about to die; for I have found your deeds incomplete in the sight of My God. Remember, then, what you have received and heard. Keep it and repent." This passage underscores the necessity of awakening from a state of spiritual lethargy and returning to faithful obedience.

Conclusion

The concept of being benumbed, while not explicitly named in Scripture, is a significant theme that underscores the dangers of spiritual insensitivity and moral apathy. Through various biblical narratives and teachings, believers are warned against the perils of a hardened heart and are encouraged to seek continual renewal and responsiveness to God's Word and Spirit.1. (imp. & p. p.) of Benumb.

2. (a.) Made torpid; numbed; stupefied; deadened; as, a benumbed body and mind.

6313. pug -- to grow numb
... 6312, 6313. pug. 6314 . to grow numb. Transliteration: pug Phonetic Spelling:
(poog) Short Definition: benumbed. Word Origin a prim. ...
/hebrew/6313.htm - 5k

Effects of Messiah's Appearance
... He came to open the eyes of the mind; to make the obstinate will attentive and obedient
to the voice of God; to invigorate our benumbed and paralytic faculties ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/newton/messiah vol 1/sermon xii effects of messiahs.htm

I have Often Asked Myself, "Why am Ia Republican? -- Why am I The. ...
... I never starved in the People's famine; I never groaned, personally, in the People's
miseries; I never sweat with its sweat; I was never benumbed with its cold ...
/.../lamartine/atheism among the people/i i have often asked.htm

Significant Phrases
... benevolence and candor. benign and hopeful. bent and disposition. benumbed and
powerless. bewildered and stupefied. bigots and blockheads. billing and cooing. ...
/.../kleiser/fifteen thousand useful phrases/section ii significant phrases.htm

Second Sermon for the Twelfth Sunday after Trinity
... I say that something has covered man's ears, and stopped them up that he may not
hear this Word; and his sense is so benumbed that he has become dumb, not ...
/.../xxiii second sermon for the.htm

A Consecrated Ministry
... If for any reason their spiritual senses become so benumbed that they are unable
to discern danger, and through their failure to give warning the people perish ...
/.../white/the acts of the apostles/lesson 34 a consecrated ministry.htm

A Penitent Heart, the Best New Year's Gift
... hates God; but when he is turned unto the Lord, by evangelical repentance, then
his will is changed; then your consciences, nor hardened and benumbed, shall be ...
/.../whitefield/selected sermons of george whitefield/a penitent heart the best.htm

The Little Match Girl
... rents had been stopped with straw and rags. Her little hands were almost
benumbed with the cold. Ah, a match might do her good, if ...
/.../wells/bible stories and religious classics/the little match girl.htm

I Sleep, but My Heart Waketh; it is the Voice of My Beloved that ...
... The soul that watches for its God, experiences that, although its exterior appears
dead, and, as it were, stunned and benumbed, like a body in a deep sleep ...
//christianbookshelf.org/guyon/song of songs of solomon/2 i sleep but my.htm

Of one that was Cured of a Palsy at his Tomb.
... wont to relate, felt a large and broad hand touch his head, where the pain lay,
and likewise pass over all that part of his body which had been benumbed by the ...
/.../bede/bedes ecclesiastical history of england/chap xxxi of one that.htm

That David Made Great Preparations for the House of God; and That ...
... 3. David was now in years, and his body, by length of time, was become cold, and
benumbed, insomuch that he could get no heat by covering himself with many ...
/.../josephus/the antiquities of the jews/chapter 14 that david made.htm

Benumbed (1 Occurrence)
... & pp) of Benumb. 2. (a.) Made torpid; numbed; stupefied; deadened; as, a benumbed
body and mind. Multi-Version Concordance Benumbed (1 Occurrence). ...
/b/benumbed.htm - 6k

Ben-uri (1 Occurrence)
Ben-uri. Benumbed, Ben-uri. Benzoheth . Multi-Version Concordance Ben-uri
(1 Occurrence). ... (YLT). Benumbed, Ben-uri. Benzoheth . Reference Bible.
/b/ben-uri.htm - 6k

Bent (107 Occurrences)

/b/bent.htm - 36k

Benumbed: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

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