Loading…

Looking to help your church and family stay connected to the Word while social distancing?
Check out our free church library, church online resources, and family resources.

Learn more
Tongue
Body and body parts
Expand all
Dictionaries
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised
Tongue
Tongue [Heb. lāšōn (e.g., Job 5:21; Ps. 5:9 [MT 10]; Prov. 6:17; Isa. 11:15; 66:18; Jer. 9:3, 5, 8); Gk. glṓssa (e.g., Mk. 7:33, 35; Acts 2:3f, 11, 26; 10:46; 19:6; Rom. 3:13; 14:11; 1 Cor. 12–14 [21 times]; Phil. 2:11; Jas. 1:26; 3:5f, 8; 1 Pet. 3:10; Rev. 5:9; 7:9; 10:11; 11:9; 13:7; 14:6; 17:15),
The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary (Revised and Updated)
Tongue
tongue1 The bodily organ of taste and speech. It is the latter function that accounts for most references in the Bible (but see Job 6:30). The tongue can produce words of praise (Pss. 51:14; 119:172), deceit (Pss. 10:7; 78:36; Prov. 21:6; Mic. 6:12; Jer. 9:3, 5, 8), boasting (Ps. 12:3); slander (Ps.
The Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia
Tongue
TONGUE. This word is used to denote the physical organ of man in such actions as thirst (Lam 4:4), dumbness (Job 29:10), holding a choice morsel (Job 20:12), and lapping, “Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself” (Jdg 7:5).It is also used
The New Bible Dictionary, Third Edition
Tongue
TONGUE. Heb. lāšôn, Gk. glōssa, both of the tongue of man and, by extension, of man’s language. The Heb. is also used of the tongue of animals and reptiles (Jb. 20:16), with the still common misapprehension that the poison of a snake lies in its tongue. It is also used of tongue-shaped objects or
Eerdmans Bible Dictionary
Tongue
Tongue (Heb. lāšôn; Gk. glṓssa).† In biblical usage not only the physical organ (e.g., Ps. 22:15 [MT 16]; Mark 7:33), but also, by extension, the capacity for speaking (Exod. 4:10; Jas. 1:26; KJV, 1 John 3:18; RSV “speech”), different manners of speaking (Job 5:21; Prov. 6:24), and any
Catholic Bible Dictionary
Tongue
TONGUE The Hebrew and Greek words for “tongue” were used both for the physical organ and for a spoken language. The tongue may be good or evil. On the one hand, it could be mendacious and deceitful (Ps 109:2; 120:2), seductive (Prov 6:24), whetted like a sword (Ps 64:3; 140:3), and wielded like a bow
The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary
Tongue
TONGUE (Heb. lāshôn; Gk. glōssa) is variously used in Scripture.1. Literally for the human tongue (Judg. 7:5; Job 27:4; Ps. 35:28; Prov. 15:2; Zech. 14:12; Mark 7:33, 35; etc.); the tongue of the dog (Ps. 68:23); of the viper (Job 20:16; “fangs,” NIV).2. A particular language or dialect spoken by
Harper’s Bible Dictionary
Tongue
Tonguetongue, a word that often has a biological meaning as a part of the body, namely, the organ of taste and speech. It may become parched and cleave to the roof of the mouth, thus leaving one mute (Ps. 137:6). As the organ of speech, it can produce words of praise (cf. Ps. 51:14, 119:172), deceit
Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary
Tongue
TONGUE — the organ of taste and speech. In addition to its many literal references to the tongue, the Bible also uses the word “tongue” for a particular language or dialect (Deut. 28:49; Acts 1:19). The word “tongue” also refers to a people or race with a common language (Is. 66:18; Rev. 11:9).Figuratively
Dictionary of Biblical Imagery
Tongue
TongueJust as the words uttered by the tongue are symbols, so too the word tongue occurs frequently with symbolic import. These symbolic uses fall into four main categories. (1) By metonymy, tongue stands for the language used by the tongue. Glossolalia, speaking in tongues, is a subset of this use.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
TONGUE
TONGUE<tung>: Almost invariably for either לָשׁוֹן‎ [lashon], or [γλω̂σσα, glossa] the latter word with the cognates [ἑτερόγλωσσος, heteroglossos], “of strange tongues” (1 Cor 14:21), [γλωσσώδης, glossodes], “talkative,” English Versions of the Bible “full of tongue” (Sirach 8:3; 9:18),
Compton’s Encyclopedia
tongue
tongueParts of the tongueEncyclopædia Britannica, Inc.An organ of both speech and digestion in humans, the tongue is composed mostly of muscle cells interspersed with glands, sensory cells, and fatty tissue. The tongue moves food around in the mouth during chewing, and it helps
See also
Topics & Themes
Speech