The term "loathe" refers to a strong feeling of disgust or intense aversion. In the context of the Bible, it often describes God's attitude toward sin and idolatry, as well as the response of individuals to certain actions or conditions that are contrary to divine law and holiness.

Biblical Usage and Context

1. Divine Displeasure with Sin: The Bible frequently uses the concept of loathing to express God's profound displeasure with sin and rebellion. In Leviticus 26:30, God warns the Israelites of the consequences of their disobedience, stating, "I will destroy your high places, cut down your incense altars, and heap your dead bodies on the lifeless forms of your idols, and My soul will loathe you." This passage underscores the severity of God's reaction to idolatry and the breaking of His covenant.

2. Human Response to Sin: Believers are called to loathe sin and evil, reflecting God's own aversion to unrighteousness. In Ezekiel 20:43, the prophet speaks of a future time when the people of Israel will remember their ways and all their deeds by which they have defiled themselves, and they will loathe themselves for the evils they have committed. This self-loathing is a sign of genuine repentance and a turning back to God.

3. Covenant Relationship: The concept of loathing is also tied to the covenant relationship between God and His people. In Leviticus 26:44, despite the people's disobedience, God promises, "Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them or abhor them so as to destroy them completely, breaking My covenant with them. I am the LORD their God." Here, God's commitment to His covenant is highlighted, showing that His loathing of sin does not negate His faithfulness and mercy.

4. Moral and Ritual Purity: The call to loathe what is evil is part of the broader biblical theme of moral and ritual purity. In Romans 12:9, the Apostle Paul exhorts believers, "Love must be sincere. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good." This New Testament teaching aligns with the Old Testament emphasis on holiness and the rejection of anything that defiles.

5. Cultural and Historical Context: In the ancient Near Eastern context, loathing was a common expression of rejection and judgment. The biblical use of the term often reflects the cultural understanding of purity, holiness, and the consequences of violating divine commands.

Theological Implications

The concept of loathing in the Bible serves as a powerful reminder of God's holiness and the seriousness with which He views sin. It calls believers to align their attitudes with God's, developing a deep aversion to sin and a commitment to righteousness. This alignment is not only a matter of personal piety but also a reflection of the transformative power of God's grace in the life of the believer.1. (v. t.) To feel extreme disgust at, or aversion for; to hate.

2. (v. t.) To dislike greatly; to abhor; to hate.

3. (v. i.) To feel disgust or nausea.

1609. ekptuo -- to spit out, to spurn
... out, to spurn. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: ekptuo Phonetic Spelling:
(ek-ptoo'-o) Short Definition: I spit upon, disdain, reject, loathe Definition: ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1609.htm - 7k

948. bdelussomai -- to detest
... detest. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: bdelussomai Phonetic Spelling:
(bdel-oos'-so) Short Definition: I abhor, detest Definition: I abhor, detest, loathe ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/948.htm - 6k

8374. taab -- to loathe
... to loathe. Transliteration: taab Phonetic Spelling: (taw-ab') Short Definition:
loathe. Word Origin from taab Definition to loathe NASB Word Usage loathe (1). ...
/hebrew/8374.htm - 6k

1602. gaal -- to abhor, loathe
... 1601, 1602. gaal. 1603 . to abhor, loathe. Transliteration: gaal Phonetic Spelling:
(gaw-al') Short Definition: loathed. ... abhor, fail, loathe, vilely cast away ...
/hebrew/1602.htm - 6k

6973. quts -- to feel a loathing, abhorrence, or sickening dread
... root Definition to feel a loathing, abhorrence, or sickening dread NASB Word Usage
abhorred (2), dread (3), loathe (2), terrorize (1), tired (1). ...
/hebrew/6973.htm - 6k

6962a. qut -- to feel a loathing
... qut. 6962b . to feel a loathing. Transliteration: qut Short Definition: loathe. ...
root Definition to feel a loathing NASB Word Usage loathe (6), loathed (1). ...
/hebrew/6962a.htm - 5k

6962. quwt -- to feel a loathing
... be grieved, loathe self A primitive root; properly, to cut off, ie (figuratively)
detest -- begrieved, loathe self. 6961b, 6962. quwt. 6962a . ...
/hebrew/6962.htm - 5k

2092. zaham -- to be foul, loathsome
... root Definition to be foul, loathsome NASB Word Usage loathes (1). abhor. A primitive
root; to be rancid, ie (transitively) to loathe -- abhor. 2091, 2092. ...
/hebrew/2092.htm - 5k

3811. laah -- to be weary or impatient
... 2), wearied (4), wearies (1), weary (5). faint, grieve, loathe, be, make
weary selves. A primitive root; to tire; (figuratively) to ...
/hebrew/3811.htm - 6k

3988. ma'ac -- to reject
... A primitive root; to spurn; also (intransitively) to disappear -- abhor, cast away
(off), contemn, despise, disdain, (become) loathe(some), melt away, refuse ...
/hebrew/3988.htm - 5k

5354. naqat -- weary
... Definition: weary. Word Origin the same as qut, qv. weary A primitive root; to loathe --
weary. 5353, 5354. naqat. 5355 . Strong's Numbers.
/hebrew/5354.htm - 5k

8262. shaqats -- to detest, make detestable
... A primitive root; to be filthy, ie (intensively) to loathe, pollute -- abhor, make
abominable, have in abomination, detest, X utterly. 8261, 8262. ...
/hebrew/8262.htm - 6k

"Who Walk not after the Flesh, but after the Spirit. "
... And this likewise I speak for your use, that ye may loathe and abhor yourselves,
as much in yourselves, who are made clean by the blood of Jesus Christ, as if ...
/.../binning/the works of the rev hugh binning/sermon iii who walk not.htm

What Self Deserves
... On Lord's-day Evening, 18th December, 1870. "Ye shall loathe yourselves in your
own sight for your iniquities, and for your abominations.""Ezekiel 36:31. ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 62 1916/what self deserves.htm

That all Witting and Feeling of a Man's Own Being must Needs be ...
... Thus shalt thou do with thyself: thou shalt loathe and be weary with all that thing
that worketh in thy wit and in thy will unless it be only God. ...
/.../anonymous/the cloud of unknowing/here beginneth the three and 3.htm

At a Public Fast in July, First Sabbath, 1650. (257)
... these. Is there any more abasing and humbling principle than love? How shall
the sinner loathe himself in his glorious presence? Will ...
/.../binning/the works of the rev hugh binning/sermon i at a public.htm

The Pelagians Can Hardly Venture to Place Concupiscence in ...
... what if the aforesaid laudable lust should hanker even after such delight; I wonder
whether they should pursue it because it was sweet, or loathe it because it ...
/.../augustine/anti-pelagian writings/chapter 59 xxxv the pelagians can.htm

Love Thine Enemy.
... Shall that divine something, which, once awakened to be its own holy self in the
man, will loathe these unlovely things tenfold more than we loathe them now ...
//christianbookshelf.org/macdonald/unspoken sermons/love thine enemy.htm

Go Back? Never!
... Ah! how often will our imagination paint sin in very glowing colours, and though
we loathe the sin and loathe ourselves for thinking of it, yet how many a man ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 61 1915/go back never.htm

The Pilgrim's Longings
... how often will our imagination paint sin in very glowing colors, and, though we
loathe sin and loathe ourselves for thinking of it, yet how many a man might say ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 18 1872/the pilgrims longings.htm

Spiritual Appetite
... In the pursuit of knowledge men may come to loathe honeycombs through sheer repletion. ...
II. Secondly"there are those who loathe the sweetness of our Lord. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/spurgeon/sermons on proverbs/spiritual appetite.htm

How to Become Like Christ.
... We may loathe the character of the sensualist; no language is too strong for us
when we speak of him: but if we, in point of fact, respond to appeals made to ...
/.../dods/how to become like christ/how to become like christ.htm

Loathe (19 Occurrences)
... 3. (vi) To feel disgust or nausea. Multi-Version Concordance Loathe (19 Occurrences). ...
You who loathe idols, do you plunder their temples? (WEY). ...
/l/loathe.htm - 12k

Abhor (23 Occurrences)
... 1. (vt) To shrink back with shuddering from; to regard with horror or detestation;
to feel excessive repugnance toward; to detest to extremity; to loathe. ...
/a/abhor.htm - 14k

Loathed (13 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary (imp. & pp) of Loathe. Multi-Version Concordance Loathed
(13 Occurrences). Leviticus 26:30 And I have destroyed ...
/l/loathed.htm - 10k

Grief (252 Occurrences)
... grieve him in the desert." Of other words sometimes translated "grief" may be mentioned
quT, "to weary of," "to loathe" (Psalm 95:10), "Forty long years was I ...
/g/grief.htm - 45k

Grieve (29 Occurrences)
... grieve him in the desert." Of other words sometimes translated "grief" may be mentioned
quT, "to weary of," "to loathe" (Psalm 95:10), "Forty long years was I ...
/g/grieve.htm - 23k

Evils (26 Occurrences)
... broken with their lewd heart, which has departed from me, and with their eyes, which
play the prostitute after their idols: and they shall loathe themselves in ...
/e/evils.htm - 14k

Abomination (78 Occurrences)
... and, accordingly, he would everywhere render it specifically "refuse meat." Compare
lechem megho'al, "the loaths ome bread" (from ga'al, "to loathe") Malachi 1 ...
/a/abomination.htm - 55k

Practices (80 Occurrences)
... broken with their lewd heart, which has departed from me, and with their eyes, which
play the prostitute after their idols: and they shall loathe themselves in ...
/p/practices.htm - 29k

Vanity (100 Occurrences)
... (KJV JPS DBY WBS YLT NAS). Job 7:16 I loathe it; I would not live alway:
let me alone; for my days are vanity. (KJV JPS ASV WBS YLT). ...
/v/vanity.htm - 39k

Kick (8 Occurrences)
... Leviticus 26:15 and if at My statutes ye kick, and if My judgments your soul loathe,
so as not to do all My commands -- to your breaking My covenant -- (YLT). ...
/k/kick.htm - 10k

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