Die (Hastings' Dictionary)
To die by a specified form of death is a common expression ; as Caxton (1477), Jason, 42 : ' If I dye not of bodily deth I shal dye of spirituel deth' ; and so Caxton, G. de la Tour, Gv v. : ' Your sone deyd this nyght of a good dethe.' Similar is the phrase Nu 16-'" ' If these men die the common death of all men ' ; and 23" ' Let me die the death of the righteous,' and other examples in which the prep, is omitted. But the expression 'die the death ' is un-English, and is prob.
everywhere due to a literal rendering of the Heb. idiom. It occurs Sir 14" ' the covenant from the beginning is, Thot shalt die the death ' (Gr. 6ava.Tif i.Troda.v%, from Gn 2" 'thou shalt surely die,' Heb. mon nio, lit. ' dying thou shalt die,' LXX 9av6.T<f diro8avet<rt>e) ; and Mt 15* ' He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death ' (Gr. SaKdrv TcXtwdTu, lit. ' let him end by death, Vulg. morte moriatur, Cov. 'shal dye the death,' after whom Cran., Gen., Bish., AV, RV ; but Rhem.
'dying let him dye '). The phrase ' die the death ' is not uncommon in Shaks., and is generally interpreted as meaning ' die the death appointed for the particular otl'ence ' ; but it is probably a reminiscence of the phrase in Mt,* and means 'let him assuredly die.' Thus Midi. Night's Dream, I. i. 65 — • Either to die the death, or to abjur« For ever the society of men.' J. Hastings. DIET (fr. Gr. Slaira, mode of life, through late Lat. dieta) is used in AV in the obsol.
sense of ' an allowance of food,' Jer 52" ' And for his [Jehoia- chin's] diet, there was a continual diet given him ' (Tcij noii; 'inrint;, RV 'allowance,' as AV in par. passage 2 K 25*". In Pr 15" the same Heb. is tr. 'dinner,' with 'portion' in RVm ; in Jer 40' 'victuals,' RVm 'an allowance'). The Eng. word is rare in this sense, and is not used in any previous version here. In the more usual sense it occurs Sir 30^ ' A cheerful and good heart will have a care of his meat and diet ' ; cf.
Chaucer {Prol. 435) — Of his diet measurable was he. For it was of no superfiuilee. But of greet norianng and digestible. J. HA.sTraos.
This topic also has an entry in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Both articles offer independent scholarly perspectives.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia on Die
Die (muth, gawa`; apothnesko, teleutao): "To die," etc., is of very frequent occurrence, and in the Old Testament is generally the translation of muth, meaning perhaps originally, "to be stretched out" or "prostrate." "To die," should be the consequence of eating the forbidden fruit (Ge 2:17; compare Ge 20:7; 2Ki 1:4,6). "Die" is commonly used of natural death (Ge 5:8; 25:8). It is used also of violent death (Ge 26:9,11; Ex 21:20); punitive (Ex 19:12; 21:12,14; 28:43; Nu 4:15; Eze 3:1:Eze 8:1-18 ff); as the result of willfulness or indifference (Pr 10:21; 15:10; 19:16). To die "the death of the righteous" is something to be desired (Nu 23:10). ⇒See the definition of die in the KJV Dictionary In the New Testament the word for "to die," etc., is generally apothnesko, "to die off or away," used of dying in all forms: of natural death (Mt 22:24); of violent death (Joh 11:50-51; 19:7; Ac 25:11); of the death of Christ (Joh 12:33); of death as the consequence of sin (Joh 8:21,24; Ro 8:13); teleutao, "to end (life)," also occurs several times (Mt 15:4); thnesko, "to die," occurs once (Joh 1…
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