Topical Bible: Pursuing

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Topical Encyclopedia

In the biblical context, the concept of pursuing often involves a determined effort to follow or chase after something or someone, whether it be physical, spiritual, or moral. The act of pursuing can be seen throughout Scripture in various narratives and teachings, reflecting both positive and negative connotations depending on the object of pursuit.

Old Testament Instances

1. Pursuit in Warfare: The Old Testament frequently describes the pursuit of enemies in the context of warfare. For example, in the book of Exodus, the Egyptians pursued the Israelites as they fled from slavery. "The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen and troops—pursued and overtook them as they camped by the sea" (Exodus 14:9). This pursuit was ultimately thwarted by divine intervention, illustrating God's protection over His people.

2. Pursuit of Righteousness: The pursuit of righteousness is a recurring theme in the wisdom literature. Proverbs 21:21 states, "He who pursues righteousness and loving devotion finds life, righteousness, and honor" . This pursuit is encouraged as a path to divine favor and personal integrity.

3. David's Pursuits: King David's life is marked by various pursuits, both physical and spiritual. In 1 Samuel 30:8, David inquires of the Lord whether he should pursue a raiding band that had taken captives from Ziklag. The Lord responds affirmatively, "Pursue them, for you will surely overtake them and rescue the captives" . This narrative highlights the importance of seeking God's guidance in our pursuits.

New Testament Teachings

1. Pursuit of Peace and Holiness: The New Testament encourages believers to pursue peace and holiness. Hebrews 12:14 exhorts, "Pursue peace with everyone, as well as holiness, without which no one will see the Lord" . This pursuit is essential for maintaining harmonious relationships and spiritual purity.

2. Pursuit of Love: The apostle Paul emphasizes the pursuit of love as a fundamental Christian virtue. In 1 Corinthians 14:1, he writes, "Pursue love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy" . Love is presented as the highest goal, guiding the believer's actions and interactions.

3. Pursuit of the Heavenly Prize: Paul also speaks of pursuing the ultimate goal of eternal life with Christ. In Philippians 3:14, he declares, "I press on toward the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus" . This pursuit involves a steadfast commitment to faith and the hope of resurrection.

Moral and Spiritual Implications

The Bible presents the act of pursuing as a reflection of one's priorities and desires. Pursuing worldly gains or sinful desires is often depicted negatively, leading to destruction or separation from God. Conversely, pursuing God, His righteousness, and His kingdom is portrayed as the path to true fulfillment and eternal life. Jesus Himself instructs, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you" (Matthew 6:33).

In summary, the biblical concept of pursuing encompasses a wide range of activities and intentions, urging believers to align their pursuits with God's will and purposes. Whether in the context of seeking justice, peace, love, or spiritual growth, the act of pursuing is integral to the life of faith, demanding diligence, perseverance, and divine guidance.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

(p. pr. & vb. n.) of Pursue.

Greek

1377. dioko -- to put to flight, pursue, by impl. to persecute
... 1377 -- properly, chase, like a pursuing a catch (prize). 1377 () is used
("earnestly pursue") and ("zealously persecute, hunt down"). ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1377.htm - 9k

5389. philotimeomai -- to love or seek after honor
... is (). 5389 ("aspiring for what is honorable") refers to pursuing (devoting
oneself to) what has . Word Origin mid. from a comp. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/5389.htm - 7k

Strong's Hebrew

7873. sig -- pursuing
... 7872, 7873. sig. 7874 . pursuing. Transliteration: sig Phonetic Spelling:
(seeg) Short Definition: pursuing. Word Origin the same as sig, qv. pursuing ...
/hebrew/7873.htm - 5k

310. achar -- the hind or following part
... 16), followed* (24), following (35), following and followed (1), following* (5),
follows* (3), forsaking* (1), later (1), long* (1), pursuing (4), rear (3 ...
/hebrew/310.htm - 6k

7291. radaph -- to pursue, chase, persecute
... passed (1), persecute (6), persecuted (5), persecutors (4), press (1), pursue (36),
pursued (37), pursuer (1), pursuers (9), pursues (9), pursuing (13), puts ...
/hebrew/7291.htm - 6k

Library

September 21. "Faint, yet Pursuing" (Judges viii. 4).
... SEPTEMBER 21. "Faint, yet pursuing" (Judges viii. 4). "Faint, yet pursuing"
(Judges 8:4). It is a great thing thus to learn to ...
/.../simpson/days of heaven upon earth /september 21 faint yet pursuing.htm

The Author Sinful, yet Pursuing.
... The Second Epistle of Clement. Chapter XVIII."The Author Sinful, Yet Pursuing.
And let us, then, be of the number of those who ...
/.../keith/the epistles of clement/chapter xviii the author sinful yet.htm

Cestius Sends Ambassadors to Nero. The People of Damascus Slay ...
... The People Of Damascus Slay Those Jews That Lived With Them. The People
Of Jerusalem After They Had [Left Off] Pursuing Cestius. ...
/.../chapter 9 cestius sends ambassadors.htm

Further Concerning Volitions and Free-Wills: Minds, Too, and ...
... impulse for action. And thus they do not win praise or happiness for pursuing
virtue, nor punishment for doing evil. But the rational ...
/.../chapter xviii further concerning volitions and.htm

Faith
... As Israel in their wilderness march, behind them saw Pharaoh and his chariots pursuing,
before them the Red Sea ready to devour; so the sinner behind sees ...
//christianbookshelf.org/watson/a body of divinity/1 faith.htm

Gideon's Brave Band
... Then Gideon came to the Jordan and crossed it, and the three hundred men
were with him, faint yet pursuing. And he said to the men ...
//christianbookshelf.org/sherman/the childrens bible/gideons brave band.htm

Whether Desires for Pleasures of Touch are the Matter of ...
... to those passions which urge a man towards the pursuit of something, wherein it
is praiseworthy that reason should withhold man from pursuing: whereas it is ...
/.../aquinas/summa theologica/whether desires for pleasures of.htm

Dedication.
... souls! Oh, when shall we take pleasure in pursuing after this happiness
that will not flee from us, but is rather pursuing us! when ...
/.../brown/christ the way the truth and the life/dedication.htm

Christ Manifesting Himself to his People
... We give the spirit time, he flies round the world, and he returns. "I have seen,"
says he, "a multitude of men; they are all pursuing one common path, with one ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 1 1855/christ manifesting himself to his.htm

Yea, Though I Walk in the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I Will ...
... Safety from all harm there cannot be for the shepherd's flock. They must in their
journeys encounter many perils, even while pursuing the proper paths. ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/callan/the shepherd of my soul/vii yea though i walk.htm

Thesaurus

Pursuing (50 Occurrences)
...Pursuing (50 Occurrences). ... that nations who are not pursuing righteousness did attain
to righteousness, and righteousness that 'is' of faith, (YLT). ...
/p/pursuing.htm - 21k

Pursues (15 Occurrences)
... (WEB NAS RSV NIV). Proverbs 12:11 Whoso is tilling the ground is satisfied 'with'
bread, And whoso is pursuing vanities is lacking heart, (See NAS). ...
/p/pursues.htm - 10k

Pursuit (35 Occurrences)
... (See NIV). Judges 8:4 And Gideon came to the Jordan, and passed over, he, and the
three hundred men that were with him, faint, yet pursuing. (See NIV). ...
/p/pursuit.htm - 17k

Wearied (36 Occurrences)
... (YLT). Judges 8:4 And Gideon cometh in unto the Jordan, passing over, he and the
three hundred men who 'are' with him -- wearied, and pursuing, (YLT). ...
/w/wearied.htm - 17k

Tilling (4 Occurrences)
... (YLT). Proverbs 12:11 Whoso is tilling the ground is satisfied 'with' bread,
And whoso is pursuing vanities is lacking heart, (YLT). ...
/t/tilling.htm - 7k

Pursuits (4 Occurrences)
... (WEB NAS RSV). Proverbs 12:11 Whoso is tilling the ground is satisfied 'with' bread,
And whoso is pursuing vanities is lacking heart, (See RSV). ...
/p/pursuits.htm - 7k

Weary (77 Occurrences)
... Judges 8:4 And Gideon cometh in unto the Jordan, passing over, he and the three
hundred men who 'are' with him -- wearied, and pursuing, (See NAS). ...
/w/weary.htm - 29k

Succoth (18 Occurrences)
... The princes of this city churlishly refused to afford help to Gideon and his 300
men when "faint yet pursuing" they followed one of the bands of the fugitive ...
/s/succoth.htm - 16k

Pursue (104 Occurrences)
... that nations who are not pursuing righteousness did attain to righteousness, and
righteousness that 'is' of faith, (See NAS RSV NIV). Romans 9:32 And why? ...
/p/pursue.htm - 38k

Troops (92 Occurrences)
... Judges 8:5 He said to the men of Succoth, "Please give loaves of bread to the people
who follow me; for they are faint, and I am pursuing after Zebah and ...
/t/troops.htm - 34k

Resources

Why should I consider going to a Bible college? | GotQuestions.org

What does it mean that godliness with contentment is great gain (1 Timothy 6:6)? | GotQuestions.org

What is the meaning of “chasing the wind” in Ecclesiastes? | GotQuestions.org

Pursuing: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

Bible Concordance • Bible Dictionary • Bible Encyclopedia • Topical Bible • Bible Thesuarus

Concordance

Pursuing (50 Occurrences)

Acts 26:11
Punishing them often in all the synagogues, I tried to make them blaspheme. Being exceedingly enraged against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities.
(See NAS)

Romans 9:30
What, then, shall we say? that nations who are not pursuing righteousness did attain to righteousness, and righteousness that 'is' of faith,
(YLT)

Romans 9:31
But Israel, pursuing after a law of righteousness, has not attained to that law.
(DBY YLT NAS)

Romans 9:32
And why? Because they were pursuing a righteousness which should arise not from faith, but from what they regarded as merit. They stuck their foot against the stone which lay in their way;
(WEY)

Romans 12:13
to the necessities of the saints communicating; the hospitality pursuing.
(YLT)

1 Timothy 3:8
Servants, in the same way, must be reverent, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for money;
(See NIV)

Titus 1:7
For the overseer must be blameless, as God's steward; not self-pleasing, not easily angered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for dishonest gain;
(See NIV)

1 Peter 4:3
For you have given time enough in the past to the doing of the things which the Gentiles delight in-- pursuing, as you did, a course of habitual licence, debauchery, hard drinking, noisy revelry, drunkenness and unholy image-worship.
(WEY)

Genesis 14:15
And he divided himself against them by night, he and his servants, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus.
(See NIV)

Leviticus 26:17
and I have set My face against you, and ye have been smitten before your enemies; and those hating you have ruled over you, and ye have fled, and there is none pursuing you.
(YLT NAS NIV)

Leviticus 26:36
And those who are left of you -- I have also brought a faintness into their heart in the lands of their enemies, and the sound of a leaf driven away hath pursued them, and they have fled -- flight from a sword -- and they have fallen, and there is none pursuing.
(YLT NAS NIV)

Leviticus 26:37
And they have stumbled one on another, as from the face of a sword, and there is none pursuing, and ye have no standing before your enemies,
(YLT NAS NIV)

Deuteronomy 11:4
and that which He hath done to the force of Egypt, to its horses, and to its chariot, when He hath caused the waters of the Red Sea to flow against their faces in their pursuing after them, and Jehovah destroyeth them, unto this day;
(YLT NAS NIV)

Joshua 2:7
And the men pursued after them the way to the Jordan unto the fords; and as soon as they that pursued after them were gone out, the gate was shut.
(See NAS)

Judges 4:22
And lo, Barak is pursuing Sisera, and Jael cometh out to meet him, and saith to him, 'Come, and I shew thee the man whom thou art seeking;' and he cometh in unto her, and lo, Sisera is fallen -- dead, and the pin in his temples.
(YLT)

Judges 8:4
Gideon came to the Jordan, and passed over, he, and the three hundred men who were with him, faint, yet pursuing.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV)

Judges 8:5
He said to the men of Succoth, "Please give loaves of bread to the people who follow me; for they are faint, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian."
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Samuel 14:46
Then Saul went up from following the Philistines; and the Philistines went to their own place.
(See NAS RSV NIV)

1 Samuel 23:28
So Saul returned from pursuing after David, and went against the Philistines: therefore they called that place Sela Hammahlekoth.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV)

1 Samuel 24:1
It happened, when Saul was returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, "Behold, David is in the wilderness of En Gedi."
(See NAS NIV)

1 Samuel 24:14
After whom hath the king of Israel come out? after whom art thou pursuing? -- after a dead dog! after one flea!
(YLT NAS NIV)

1 Samuel 25:29
And though man be risen up to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul, yet the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the LORD thy God; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, as from the hollow of a sling.
(See NIV)

1 Samuel 26:18
and he saith, 'Why 'is' this -- my lord is pursuing after his servant? for what have I done, and what 'is' in my hand evil?
(YLT NAS NIV)

2 Samuel 2:26
Then Abner called to Joab, and said, "Shall the sword devour forever? Don't you know that it will be bitterness in the latter end? How long shall it be then, before you bid the people return from following their brothers?"
(See NIV)

2 Samuel 2:30
Joab returned from following Abner: and when he had gathered all the people together, there lacked of David's servants nineteen men and Asahel.
(See NIV)

2 Samuel 3:22
And, behold, the servants of David and Joab came from pursuing a troop, and brought in a great spoil with them: but Abner was not with David in Hebron; for he had sent him away, and he was gone in peace.
(KJV WBS)

2 Samuel 18:16
Joab blew the trumpet, and the people returned from pursuing after Israel; for Joab held back the people.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

2 Samuel 24:13
And Gad cometh in unto David, and declareth to him, and saith to him, 'Do seven years of famine come in to thee in thy land? or three months art thou fleeing before thine adversary -- and he pursuing thee? or are three days' pestilence in thy land? now, know and see what word I take back to Him sending me.'
(YLT)

1 Kings 18:27
And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked.
(KJV WBS YLT)

1 Kings 22:33
It happened, when the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

2 Chronicles 18:32
It happened, when the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Psalms 35:6
Let their way be dark and slippery, Yahweh's angel pursuing them.
(WEB JPS ASV NAS RSV NIV)

Psalms 38:20
And those paying evil for good accuse me, Because of my pursuing good.
(YLT)

Psalms 57:3
He will send from heaven, and save me, he rebukes the one who is pursuing me. Selah. God will send out his loving kindness and his truth.
(WEB)

Proverbs 11:19
Rightly 'is' righteousness for life, And whoso is pursuing evil -- for his own death.
(YLT)

Proverbs 12:11
Whoso is tilling the ground is satisfied 'with' bread, And whoso is pursuing vanities is lacking heart,
(YLT)

Proverbs 15:9
An abomination to Jehovah 'is' the way of the wicked, And whoso is pursuing righteousness He loveth.
(YLT)

Proverbs 19:7
All the brethren of the poor have hated him, Surely also his friends have been far from him, He is pursuing words -- they are not!
(YLT)

Proverbs 21:21
Whoso is pursuing righteousness and kindness, Findeth life, righteousness, and honour.
(YLT)

Proverbs 28:1
The wicked flee when no man pursueth; but the righteous are secure as a young lion.
(See NAS)

Proverbs 28:19
Whoso is tilling his ground is satisfied 'with' bread, And whoso is pursuing vanity, Is filled 'with' poverty.
(YLT)

Isaiah 1:23
Thy princes 'are' apostates, and companions of thieves, Every one loving a bribe, and pursuing rewards, The fatherless they judge not, And the plea of the widow cometh not to them.
(YLT)

Isaiah 14:6
He who is smiting peoples in wrath, A smiting without intermission, He who is ruling in anger nations, Pursuing without restraint!
(YLT)

Isaiah 51:1
Hearken unto Me, ye pursuing righteousness, Seeking Jehovah, Look attentively unto the rock -- ye have been hewn, And unto the hole of the pit -- ye have been digged.
(YLT)

Isaiah 58:13
If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, and the holy of Jehovah honorable; and shalt honor it, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
(See JPS)

Isaiah 65:2
All day my hands have been stretched out to an uncontrolled people, who go in an evil way, after the purposes of their hearts;
(See NIV)

Jeremiah 2:33
With what care are your ways ordered when you are looking for love! so ... your ways.
(See NIV)

Hosea 5:11
Ephraim is oppressed, he is crushed in judgment; Because he is intent in his pursuit of idols.
(See NIV)

Hosea 12:1
Ephraim is enjoying wind, And is pursuing an east wind, All the day lying and spoiling he multiplieth, And a covenant with Asshur they make, And oil to Egypt is carried.
(YLT)

Amos 1:11
Thus said Jehovah: For three transgressions of Edom, And for four, I do not reverse it, Because of his pursuing with a sword his brother, And he hath destroyed his mercies, And tear perpetually doth his anger, And his wrath -- he hath kept it for ever,
(YLT)

Subtopics

Pursuing

Related Terms

Eager (43 Occurrences)

Scribes (85 Occurrences)

Quest (2 Occurrences)

Fugitive (12 Occurrences)

Earnest (33 Occurrences)

Aner (3 Occurrences)

Ammah (2 Occurrences)

Steady (10 Occurrences)

Suit (15 Occurrences)