Topical Encyclopedia
In biblical terminology, the word "stout" is often associated with strength, firmness, and sometimes arrogance or pride. The term is not frequently used in most modern translations of the Bible, but its implications can be found in various passages that discuss strength, boldness, and the human tendency towards pride.
Strength and FirmnessThe concept of stoutness as strength or firmness can be seen in the context of physical and spiritual resilience. In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word often translated as "strong" or "mighty" can carry the connotation of being stout-hearted or resolute. For example, in the Psalms, the faithful are encouraged to be strong and take heart: "Wait patiently for the LORD; be strong and courageous. Wait patiently for the LORD!" (
Psalm 27:14). Here, the call to be strong is akin to being stout-hearted in faith and trust in God.
Arrogance and PrideConversely, stoutness can also refer to a negative form of boldness, characterized by arrogance or pride. This is particularly evident in prophetic literature, where nations or individuals are often rebuked for their haughty attitudes. In the book of Daniel, the little horn is described as having a "stout" appearance, symbolizing its arrogance and oppressive power: "I considered the horns, and behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. And behold, this horn possessed eyes like those of a man and a mouth that spoke words of arrogance" (
Daniel 7:8). Here, the stoutness of the horn is emblematic of its prideful defiance against God.
Moral and Spiritual ImplicationsFrom a moral and spiritual perspective, stoutness can serve as a dual-edged concept. On one hand, believers are called to be stout-hearted in their faith, standing firm against trials and adversities. On the other hand, they are warned against becoming stout in spirit in a way that leads to pride and self-reliance, which are contrary to the humility and dependence on God that Scripture advocates.
The Bible consistently emphasizes the importance of humility and warns against the dangers of pride.
Proverbs 16:18 states, "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." This serves as a reminder that while strength and courage are virtues, they must be tempered with humility and submission to God's will.
ConclusionIn summary, the concept of stoutness in the Bible encompasses both positive and negative attributes. It calls believers to be strong and courageous in their faith while cautioning against the perils of pride and arrogance. Through the lens of Scripture, stoutness is a reminder of the balance between strength and humility in the life of a believer.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
1. (
superl.) Strong; lusty; vigorous; robust; sinewy; muscular; hence, firm; resolute; dauntless.
2. (superl.) Proud; haughty; arrogant; hard.
3. (superl.) Firm; tough; materially strong; enduring; as, a stout vessel, stick, string, or cloth.
4. (superl.) Large; bulky; corpulent.
5. (n.) A strong malt liquor; strong porter.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
STOUT; STOUTNESSstout, stout'-nes: In modern English the word signifies strength firmness, corpulence, etc., but in English Versions of the Bible (Psalm 76:5 Isaiah 10:12; Isaiah 46:12 Daniel 7:20 Malachi 3:13 with stoutness" in Isaiah 9:9) it always means "bold" or "proud" and invariably in a bad sense; compare the German stolz, with which "stout" is allied.
Greek
1340. diischurizomai -- to lean upon, affirm confidently ... confidently affirm. From dia and a derivative of ischuros; to
stout it through,
ie Asservate -- confidently (constantly) affirm. see GREEK dia.
... //strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1340.htm - 7k100. hadrotes -- thickness, abundance
... abundance. From hadros (stout); plumpness, ie (figuratively) liberality -- abundance.
(adroteti) -- 1 Occurrence. 99, 100. hadrotes. 101 . Strong's Numbers
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/100.htm - 6k
Strong's Hebrew
820. ashmannim -- perhaps stout... 819, 820. ashmannim. 821 . perhaps
stout. Transliteration: ashmannim
Phonetic Spelling: (ash-mawn') Short Definition: vigorous.
... /hebrew/820.htm - 6k 2389. chazaq -- strong, stout, mighty
... 2388, 2389. chazaq. 2390 . strong, stout, mighty. Transliteration: chazaq
Phonetic Spelling: (khaw-zawk') Short Definition: mighty. ...
/hebrew/2389.htm - 6k
553. amets -- to be stout, strong, bold, alert
... 552, 553. amets. 554 . to be stout, strong, bold, alert. Transliteration: amets
Phonetic Spelling: (aw-mats') Short Definition: courageous. Word Origin a prim ...
/hebrew/553.htm - 6k
3833. labiy' -- a lion
... labiy'. 3833a . a lion. Transliteration: labiy' Phonetic Spelling: (law-bee')
Short Definition: great. great, old, stout lion, lioness, young lion Or (Ezek. ...
/hebrew/3833.htm - 5k
7229. rab -- great
... captain, chief, great, lord, master, stout. (Aramaic) corresponding to rab -- captain,
chief, great, lord, master, stout. see HEBREW rab. 7228, 7229. ...
/hebrew/7229.htm - 6k
2388. chazaq -- to be or grow firm or strong, strengthen
... lean, maintain, play the man, mend, become (wax) mighty, prevail, be recovered,
repair, retain, seize, be (wax) sore, strengthen (self), be stout, be (make ...
/hebrew/2388.htm - 8k
3820. leb -- inner man, mind, will, heart
... of anything -- + care for, comfortably, consent, X considered, courag(-eous),
friend(-ly), ((broken-), (hard-), (merry-), (stiff-), (stout-), double) heart((- ...
/hebrew/3820.htm - 7k
47. abbir -- mighty, valiant
... angel, bull, chiefest, mighty one, stouthearted, strong one, valiant. For 'abiyr;
--angel, bull, chiefest, mighty (one), stout(-hearted), strong (one), valiant. ...
/hebrew/47.htm - 6k
5810. azaz -- to be strong
... A primitive root; to be stout (literally or figuratively) -- harden, impudent, prevail,
strengthen (self), be strong. 5809, 5810. azaz. 5811 . ...
/hebrew/5810.htm - 6k
451. alyah -- the fat tail (of sheep)
... rump. From 'alah (in the original sense of strength); the stout part, ie The fat
tail of the Oriental sheep -- rump. see HEBREW 'alah. 450, 451. alyah. 452 > ...
/hebrew/451.htm - 6k
Library
'Stout Words,' and their Confutation
... MALACHI 'STOUT WORDS,' AND THEIR CONFUTATION. 'Your words have been stout against
Me, saith the Lord: yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against Thee? 14. ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture a/stout words and their confutation.htm
A Righteousness Near and a Swift Salvation
... A RIGHTEOUSNESS NEAR AND A SWIFT SALVATION. 'Hearken unto Me, ye stout-hearted,
that are ... It shall not be far off,' though the stout-hearted maybe 'far from' it. ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture h/a righteousness near and a.htm
On the Road
... He carried a bundle on his staff, because he laughed merrily at fine clothes and
had in the bundle a coarse tunic and a stout pair of brogans, which he meant ...
/.../greater things the story of saint stanislaus kostka /chapter i on the road.htm
The Adventures of Saint Patrick of Ireland.
... Though Terence was a stout fellow, and had been in many a hot fight in foreign lands,
and not a few scrimmages in Old Ireland, he never had had such a struggle ...
/.../kingston/the seven champions of christendom/chapter nine the adventures of.htm
Preface. And as to Christ Thy Lord
... of its direct opposition to a holy God, and his most holy will, of its woful
soul-damning effects, as may convince the most profane and stout-hearted carnalist ...
/.../binning/the works of the rev hugh binning/preface and as to christ.htm
Jowett -- Apostolic Optimism
... to which the apostle had appended his own approval, and then, with sober satisfaction,
had laid it aside, as a practical irrelevancy, in the stout chests of ...
/.../various/the worlds great sermons volume 10/jowett apostolic optimism.htm
One Thing is Needful;
... OF DEATH. 1. Death, as a king rampant and stout The world he dare engage; He conquers
all, yea, and doth rout The great, strong, wise, and sage. ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/one thing is needful.htm
Christianity Requires the Temper of Childhood.
... The muscles of the stout man must give way, the knees must bend, the hands must
be uplifted deprecatingly, the eyes must gaze with a straining gaze upon the ...
/.../shedd/sermons to the natural man/christianity requires the temper of.htm
A Memorial Sketch by John Watson (Ian Maclaren)
... For his work, it is necessary"besides earnestness, which is taken for granted "to
have a loud voice, a broad humour, a stout body, a flow of racy anecdote ...
//christianbookshelf.org/drummond/the ideal life/a memorial sketch by john.htm
Letter S
... Received 1825, Located 1836 * Story, Asa "Received 1829 * Story, Cyrus "Received
1818 * Story, Elias W. "Received 1836 * Stout, Edward "Received 1814 ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/bangs/an alphabetical list of m e preachers/letter s.htm
Thesaurus
Stout (6 Occurrences)... 3. (superl.) Firm; tough; materially strong; enduring; as, a
stout vessel, stick,
string, or cloth. 4. (superl.) Large; bulky; corpulent.
...STOUT; STOUTNESS.
.../s/stout.htm - 9kStout-hearted (3 Occurrences)
Stout-hearted. Stouthearted, Stout-hearted. Stoutly . Noah Webster's Dictionary ...
Multi-Version Concordance Stout-hearted (3 Occurrences). ...
/s/stout-hearted.htm - 7k
Stoutness (2 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary (n.) The state or quality of being stout. Int.
Standard Bible Encyclopedia. STOUT; STOUTNESS. stout, stout...
/s/stoutness.htm - 7k
Stoutly (1 Occurrence)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary (adv.) In a stout manner; lustily; boldly; obstinately;
as, he stoutly defended himself. Multi-Version Concordance ...
/s/stoutly.htm - 6k
Arrogant (60 Occurrences)
... it shall come to pass, that, when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount
Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the ...
/a/arrogant.htm - 22k
Uttering (10 Occurrences)
... other horn which came up, and before which three fell, even that horn that had eyes,
and a mouth that spoke great things, whose look was more stout than its ...
/u/uttering.htm - 9k
Lion's (14 Occurrences)
... lion. (See NIV). Job 4:11 The old lion perisheth for lack of prey, and the
stout lion's whelps are scattered abroad. (KJV WBS). Job ...
/l/lion's.htm - 10k
Lusty (3 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (superl.) Exhibiting lust or vigor; stout; strong;
vigorous; robust; healthful; able of body. 2. (superl ...
/l/lusty.htm - 7k
Giddel (4 Occurrences)
... gid'-el (giddel, "very great," "stout"): (1) The name of the head of a family of
Nethinim (Ezra 2:47 = Nehemiah 7:49 = APC 1Esdras 5:30 (here as Cathua)). ...
/g/giddel.htm - 8k
Whelps (10 Occurrences)
... (KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS). Job 4:11 The old lion perisheth for lack of prey, and the
stout lion's whelps are scattered abroad. (KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV). ...
/w/whelps.htm - 9k
Resources
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