ek´se -len -si ( גּאון , gā'ōn , גּאוה , ga'ăwāh ; ὑπερβολή , huperbolḗ ): "Excellency" in the Old Testament is chiefly the translation of gā'ōn , "mounting," "swelling" (Exodus 15:7; Job 37:4 the King James Version; Psalm 47:4 the King James Version; Isaiah 13:19 the King James Version, etc.); ga'ăwāh , rising, is thrice so rendered (Deuteronomy 33:26 , Deuteronomy 33:29; Psalm 68:34 ); se'ēth , "rising" (twice) (Job 13:11 the King James Version; Psalm 62:4 the King James Version); yether , "superabundance" (twice) (Genesis 49:3 the King James Version; Job 4:21 the King James Version), and ḥādhār , "honor," "beauty," "majesty" (twice) (Isaiah 35:2 ); gōbhah , "uplifted" (Job 40:10 ); yı̄thrōn , "advantage" (Ecclesiastes 7:12 ); sı̄' , "elevation" (Job 20:6 , the Revised Version (British and American) "height"). In the New Testament huperbolē , "surpassing," "a casting beyond," occurs (2 Corinthians 4:7 , "that the excellency of the power may be of God," the Revised Version (British and American) "exceeding greatness"); huperochḗ , "a holding over" or "beyond," is translated "excellency" (1 Corinthians 2:1 ), and tó huperéchon , "the pre-eminence" (Philippians 3:8 ), "the excellency of the knowledge of Christ."
Instead of "excellency" the Revised Version (British and American) has "pride" (Isaiah 13:19; Ezekiel 24:21 ), "majesty" (Job 37:4 and the American Standard Revised Version Job 13:11; Job 31:23 ), the American Standard Revised Version has "pre-eminence" (Genesis 49:3 , Genesis 49:4 ), "glory" (Psalm 47:4 ), "dignity" (Psalm 62:4 ); for "the fat of lambs" (Psalm 37:20 ), the English Revised Version has "the excellency of the pastures," with margin, "the fat of lambs"; the American Standard Revised Version retains the King James Version rendering with the English Revised Version in the margin; instead of "Doth not their excellency which is in them go away?" (Job 4:21 ), the Revised Version (British and American) has "Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them?" margin, "Is not their excellency which is in them removed?"
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE) was edited by James Orr, John Nuelsen, Edgar Mullins, Morris Evans, and Melvin Grove Kyle and was published complete in 1939. This web site includes the complete text.
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