Deal (Hastings' Dictionary)
A 'deal' is a part or share (A.-S. dael, Ger. theil), and it may be a large or small part. In mod. Enc. we are allowed to say only ' he gave a great deal, or a good deal, of trouble,' scarcely ' he gave a deal of trouble,' and never ' a small deal. In older Eng. Chaucer could say (Hotutt of Famt, i.
S31)— ' O, have ye men awich goodliheed In speche, and never a deel of troutheT* And Latimer could represent philosophers saying that 'God walked up and down in Heaven, and thinketh never a deal of our affairs.' In AV deal is used in the phrase ' tenth deal ' or ' tenth deals,' for Heb. ['nyy U.iArCn, wherever that word occurs (RV ' tenth part ' or ' tenth parts '). See Wbiqhts AND Measures. To ' deal' Is to divide or distribute (A.-S. datlan), a< In 2 S 6i> •he dealt among all the people ...
to every one a cake': 1 Ch 18>, Is 687 'd. thy bread to the hunitry'; and Ro 123 'accordinjf as Ood hatii dealt to every man the measure of faith.* Cf. Wyolif, Lk 01^ 'And whanne he hadde take the fyue looves and twel flschia, he bihccld in to hcuene, and blesfiide hem, anri brnk and delide to hiee didciplis, that thel schulden •ette forth bifor the cumpanyea"; and Coverdale. Dn b"^ 'Thy kynifdonie i» dcit in partes.'
From this the verb Ttaj»ed into the si'iirte of dealing well or ill with a person, and then havint: any tranwiction with, — meanings that are freelv found in AV as in mod. use, Ac 25^ ' this man, about whom ail the multitude of the Jews iiave dealt with me'(irirvx" f**'t ^^ 'made suit tome'). J. Hastings. • Mount Seir, p. 98 ; P\yi. OeoL Arabia Pttroea, rtc pp. 16-79. t The waters of the Dead Sea yiel.l 24-57 lbs. of salt in 100 lbs. of water, those of the Atlantic yiebiinn only fl lbs.
of salt in the same quantity; the fi'ntier consist of chlorirl.-s nf lime, msKin'sia, sodium, nnil jsitassiura, and in Hinsller proportions of snljilmtes ami bniinidcs rif the same nubHtances. The larse quantity of bromine (occurring as bromide of magnesium) has attrmct«Hl the attention of naturallsta, and la supposed to be a volcanic emanation.
This topic also has an entry in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Both articles offer independent scholarly perspectives.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia on Deal
Deal del: The noun "deal" is not found in the Revised Version (British and American). The King James Version translation of `issaron, "the tenth deal" (Ex 29:40; Le 14:10, et al.) is rendered uniformly "the tenth part" in the Revised Version (British and American) (see WEIGHTS AND MEASURES). The verb "to deal" often means "to apportion," "to distribute" (compare 2Sa 6:19; 1Ch 16:3; Isa 58:7; Ro 12:3), but more frequently it is used in the sense of "to act" "to do," "to have transaction of any kind with." In the Psalms "to deal" always means "to confer benefit," "to deal bountifully," with the exception of Ps 105:25, where it means "to deal subtly with." The expression "to deal," i.e. "to be engaged in," is not found in the Scriptures. The translation of sugchraomai, in Joh 4:9, "Jews have no dealings with Samaritans," conveys the idea that they have nothing in common. ⇒See the definition of deal in the KJV Dictionary A. L. Breslich ⇒See also the McClintock and Strong Biblical Cyclopedia.
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- Easton, M.G. (1893) Easton's Bible Dictionary. 3rd edn. Thomas Nelson. [Public Domain]
- Nave, O.J. (1897) Nave's Topical Bible. Topical Bible Publishing Co.. [Public Domain]
- Hastings, J. (ed.) (1909) A Dictionary of the Bible. Edinburgh: T&T Clark. [Public Domain]
- Smith, W. (ed.) (1884) Smith's Bible Dictionary. London: John Murray. [Public Domain]
- Fausset, A.R. (1878) Fausset's Bible Dictionary. [Public Domain]A Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopaedia