Lexical Summary euprepeia: Comeliness, gracefulness, elegance Original Word: εὐπρέπεια Strong's Exhaustive Concordance grace, beauty From a compound of eu and prepo; good suitableness, i.e. Gracefulness -- grace. see GREEK eu see GREEK prepo NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom eu and a derivation of prepó Definition goodly appearance NASB Translation beauty (1). Thayer's Greek Lexicon STRONGS NT 2143: εὐπρέπειαεὐπρέπεια, εὐπρεπείας, ἡ (εὐπρεπής well-looking), goodly appearance, shapeliness, beauty, comeliness: τοῦ προσώπου, James 1:11. (Thucydides, Plato, Aeschines, Polybius, Plutarch; the Sept..) Topical Lexicon Concept Overview Strong’s 2143 shapes a single but vivid picture of outward attractiveness that quickly vanishes. Scripture links such transitory beauty to the broader biblical warning against trusting in temporal riches or appearances. Biblical Occurrence: James 1:11 “For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls and its beauty perishes; so also the rich man will fade away in the midst of his pursuits.” (James 1:11) Imagery and Meaning 1. A desert wind shrivels the fragile bloom; likewise prosperity secured by human effort withers under God’s providential heat. Canonical Parallels • Isaiah 40:6-8—“All flesh is grass… the grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.” Historical Context Greco-Roman society prized external elegance, from marble statuary to costly attire. James, writing to scattered Jewish believers amid economic disparity, presses the counter-cultural truth that the grandeur celebrated in marketplaces and courts cannot endure divine testing. Theological Reflection 1. Ephemerality exposes idolatry: when beauty or wealth becomes a ground of identity, the believer courts disappointment and divine rebuke. Pastoral and Ministry Implications • Stewardship: Encourage generous, open-handed living rather than accumulation of status symbols that soon lose luster. Homiletical Outline Sample 1. Illustration: Desert wildflowers after seasonal rain. Resonance in Church History From Chrysostom’s sermons denouncing luxury in Constantinople to Francis of Assisi’s embrace of poverty, the Church has regularly returned to James 1:11 to expose the spiritual peril of trusting visible affluence. Conclusion The single appearance of εὐπρέπεια in James functions like a flash of sunlight on a desert bloom—brilliant, memorable, and purposefully short-lived. It calls every generation to measure success not by the shimmer of present circumstances but by the steadfast glory of God and His enduring word. Forms and Transliterations ευπρεπεια ευπρεπεία ευπρέπεια εὐπρέπεια ευπρεπείαις ευπρέπειαν ευπρεπείας ευπρεπείς ευπρεπή ευπρεπούς euprepeia euprépeiaLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts |
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