Desolate (Hastings' Dictionary)
An example of the primary mean- ing (de-solus, alone) ' left alone,' 'solitary,' is Ad. Est 14' ' help me, d. woman, which have no helper but thee ' ; and an example of the obsolete constr. with ' of,' is Bar 2^ ' the whole land shall be d. of inhabitants' (RV ' d. without inh. '). So I Ti 5» Wye. ' sche that is a widewe verili, and desolate ' ; ana Ru 1' Gov. ' the woman reraayned desolate of both hir sonnes and hir huszbande. For Desolation see Abomination of Desolation. J. Hastings.
DESPITE is now only a prep., though as a subst. it is still used in poetry. The subst. ( = 'contempt' actively shown, 'dishonour,' from Lat. d- spicere, to look down on) occurs Ezk 25' ' rejoiced in heart with all thy despite against the land of Israel ' (c»5J3 -f^K-^-^^^, RV ' with all the d. of thy soul ') ; and He 10^ ' hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace' {iyvfipWai ; 'doith dispit' is Wyclif's word; Tin., Gov., Gran., Gen. 'doth dishonour'; Rhem. ' hath done contumelie '). Of. Jer.
Tajlor, ' Liberality . . consists in the de- spite and neglect of money.' As a vb. 'd.' occurs in Pref. to AV, 'The Romanists . . did no lesse then despite the spirit of grace,' that is, ' treated with contempt.' Despiteful is found Ezk 25'» 'a d. heart,' 3G 'd. min.ls"; Sir 31" 'give him no d. 'V7crd5 ' (Xi>70»' dvuStap-ov, RV ' a word of reproach ') ; and Ro l (v^purral, RV ' insolent '). Despitefully, 1 Mac 9* ' used them d.' (Mvatfov oiVois); Mt 5", Lk 6" 'which d. u.
se J'ou' (^tpt;- peo'fw) ; Ac 14' ' to use them d.' {u^pi<rai aiVot't, RV 'to entreat them shamefully'). Despitefulness, Wis 2" ' Let us examine him with d. and torture ' (D/3pei, Vulg. contumelin, RV 'outrage'). Here, and in the passage.s where 'despitefully' occurs, the idea is cruelty more than contempt ; but the meani-ig of ' spite,' ' spitefulness,' is never present in these words. In Est 1" Gov., ' thus shall there aryse despytefulness and wrath ynough,' d. = con- tempt, as AV and RV. J.
Hastinqs.
This topic also has an entry in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Both articles offer independent scholarly perspectives.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia on Desolate
Desolate des'-o-lat (very frequently in the Old Testament for shamem, and its derivatives; less frequently, charebh, and its derivatives, and other words. In the New Testament it stands for eremos (Mt 23:38; Ac 1:20; Ga 4:27) eremoo (Re 17:16), and monoo (1Ti 5:5)): From Latin de, intens., solus, alone. Several shades of meaning can be distinguished: (1) Its primary sense is "left lonely," "forlorn," e.g. Ps 25:16, "Have mercy upon me; for I am desolate" (Hebrew yachidh, "alone"); 1Ti 5:5, "she that is a widow indeed, and desolate" (Greek memonomene, "left alone"). (2) In the sense of "laid waste," "destitute of inhabitants," e.g. Jer 4:7, "to make thy land desolate, that thy cities be laid waste, without inhabitant." (3) With the meaning "comfortless," "afflicted," e.g. Ps 143:4, "My heart within me is desolate." (4) In the sense of "barren," "childless," "unfruitful," e.g. Job 15:34; Isa 49:21 (Hebrew galmudh). ⇒See the definition of desolate in the KJV Dictionary D. Miall Edwards
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