shāp : In the King James Version the translation of εἶδος , eı́dos , "form," "appearance" ( Luke 3:22; John 5:37 ), and of ὁμοίωμα , homoı́ōma , "likeness," "resemblance" (Revelation 9:7 ). The meaning of these words is not so much "tangible shape," in which sense we use the word in modern English, but rather "aspect," "appearance," the looks of a thing or a person. This is even the case where the word is joined with the adjective σωματικός , sōmatikós , "bodily" as in the passage Luke 3:22 , "The Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form (i.e. "in a corporeal appearance," the King James Version "in a bodily shape"), as a dove, upon him." The second passage also refers to the "appearance" of God, and cannot therefore be regarded as material shape: "Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his form" (the King James Version "shape") (John 5:37 ). As has been seen from the above quotations, the Revised Version (British and American) which retains the translation "shape" for homoiōma , has translated eidos with "form," which also serves to render several other Greek synonyms, such as μορφή , morphḗ (Mark 16:12; Philippians 2:6 f), μόρφωσις , mórphōsis (Romans 2:20; 2 Timothy 3:5 ), τύπος , túpos (the Revised Version margin "pattern" Romans 6:17 ), and ὑποτύπωσις , hupotúpōsis (the Revised Version (British and American) "pattern," 2 Timothy 1:13 ). In the King James Version The Wisdom of Solomon 18:1 "shape" translates morphē , the Revised Version (British and American) "form."
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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