pastoral create an extended meditation by Peter on the difference between Roman authoritianism and Christian humility. The collision of these two cultures, urban vs. And it is contrasted with very homely images from the Galilean countryside. In fact imagery from Roman culture permeates this book. The phrase ὑμεῖς τὴν αὐτὴν ἔννοιαν ὁπλίσασθε, seems to have a close affinity with the phrase in 1 Peter 1:13 and indicates to me that Peter was possibly using military imagery from the Roman empire in his letter in an intentional way. Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. I noticed it this morning while listening to 1 Peter in NIV. While it’s a good option, I don’t think it’s the best option simply for the reason that the metaphor Peter uses here is part of an extended metaphor or at the very least a leitmotif that is threaded throughout this letter. One option is to replace the metaphor with a metaphor having a similar meaning in English and call that good. ![]() However, and this is a biggie, we shouldn’t make the opposite error of assuming that the metaphor was essentially dead and there is no need to worry about it at all. It was a metaphor that over time became semantically bleached until it added just a bit of literary color to speech without necessarily calling to mind the image itself. I suspect that “gird the loins of your mind” in Peter’s Greek is an analogous situation to “rack your brains” in modern English. Otherwise we would just say something like, “I’ve been trying without success to think of something.” Now on one hand this illustrates the danger of reading a dead metaphor in the original language as being alive. Still, the meaning exists somewhere in the background and gives a little oompf to our speech. It has its origins in medieval torture chambers but I don’t think most people necessarily have an image of a person or a brain stretched out on a torture rack every time they use that expression. “Rack your brain” is one such case in English. Much like the metaphorical language in the title of this post it is possible to use a metaphor without necessarily calling to mind a very active image represented by that metaphor. My first inclination was that it was a dead metaphor. I’ve been wondering whether “gird your loins” was a live metaphor or a dead metaphor. Pinterest: enjoyed yesterday’s discussion of the expression “gird the loins of your mind” in 1 Peter 1. Sign up for the Dot and Dash newsletter to get writing tips and tricks and exclusive deals. They are only one letter off.Įrin Servais is the founder of Dot and Dash, LLC, an author-services company focusing on women writers and offering a range of editing, coaching, and social media packages. To remember the difference between rack and wrack think: wrack = wreck. This is why some dictionaries, such as Merriam-Webster, are advocating for using the words interchangeably and treating them as spelling variants. It’s true that rack and wrack have very similar uses. This idea of torturing is why we use rack instead of wrack.Įxample: I found studying for my chemistry final nerve-racking. ![]() Something that is nerve-racking tortures your nerves. This idea of stretching is why we use rack instead of wrack.Įxample: I really racked my brain studying for my chemistry final. When you rack your brain, you are thinking really hard, stretching your brain’s capabilities. Now let’s go over a couple common phrases using one of these words. Wrack comes from a word meaning “to be shipwrecked.” Both of these words have pretty gloomy origins, don’t they? Wrack as a verb means “to wreck or ruin something.”Įxample: They sat back as they watched pollution wrack their planet. And when we use it, we signify torturing, especially stretching. Sounds like fun times.Īnyway, that’s where we get this usage of rack. When a person was placed on the rack, the torturer would crank the device, stretching the person’s limbs until they dislocated them. ![]() Have you ever heard of the medieval torture device called the rack? It was a wooden frame with a crank attached to it. Rack as a verb means “to torture or cause great suffering.” What’s the difference between rack and wrack? Let’s take a look at their definitions, how to use them in popular phrases, and a mnemonic device to help you remember which is which.
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