Diminish (Hastings' Dictionary)
To diminish is to make less, and that primary meaning is alone in use now. We do not even use the word fiL;uratively, ' to lessen the influence of,' 'belittle,' as Ezk 5" 'therefore will I alsod. thee ' ; 29" ' I will d. them, that they shall no more rule over the nations' ; ls21" ' the mighty men . . shall be diminished ' (RV ' shall be few ') ; Ro 11" 'if . . the diminishing of them [be] the riches of the Gentiles ' (ri ij-mj/ia airrCm, RV ' their loss,' Sanday-Headlam ' their defeat ').
Cf. Argu- ment of Ep. to Heb. in Gen. NT : ' For seing the Spirit of God is the autor thereof, it diminisheth nothing the autoritie, althofjh we knowe not with what penne he wrote it.' Still less can we speak of diminishing one thing from another, i.e. witlulraw- ing or withholding, so as to cause diminution, as Dt 4- 'Ye shall not add unto the word which I oommand you, neither .shall ye d. ouglit from it' ; Jer 26" ' d. not a word ' (KV ' keep not back '). So in Atkinson's tr.
(1504) of De Imitatione, IV. ix. : ' Take from our hertis ... all that may . . dimynyshe vg from thy eternal! loue.' J. Hastings.
This topic also has an entry in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Both articles offer independent scholarly perspectives.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia on Diminish
Diminish di-min'-ish: the Revised Version (British and American) has retained nearly all passages of the King James Version where "to diminish" is used. Some of these uses have become obsolete: De 4:2, "neither shall ye diminish from it." "Diminish" generally means "to reduce," "to lessen." In this sense it is employed in Eze 5:11 from the Hebrew gara`, literally, "to shear." The picture of shearing the beard, expressing degradation and loss of manhood, may underlie this passage. ⇒See the definition of diminish in the KJV Dictionary
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