Fade
Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words [1]
was used (a) to signify "to quench a fire," and in the Passive Voice, of the "dying out of a fire;" hence (b) in various relations, in the Active Voice, "to quench, waste, wear out;" in the Passive, "to waste away," James 1:11 , of the "fading" away of a rich man, as illustrated by the flower of the field. In the Sept., Job 15:30; 24:24 .
"unfading" (a, negative, and A, above), whence the "amaranth," an unfading flower, a symbol of perpetuity (see Paradise Lost, iii. 353), is used in 1—Peter 1:4 of the believer's inheritance, "that fadeth not away." It is found in various writings in the language of the Koine, e.g., on a gladiator's tomb; and as a proper name (Moulton and Milligan, Vocab.).
primarily signifies "composed of amaranth" (see No. 1); hence, "unfading," 1—Peter 5:4 , of the crown of glory promised to faithful elders. Cp. rhodinos, "made of roses" (rhodon, "a rose").
Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types [2]
Isaiah 28:1 (a) The glory of Israel had departed and their country had been ravished and destroyed. The word "fade" is used to describe that desolation.
Isaiah 40:7-8 (a) When the curse of GOD is on the people, all their blessings depart and drought, pestilence and the sword destroy all signs of prosperity. The word "fade" is used here to describe that scene of desolation.
Isaiah 64:6 (a) This is a marvelous comparison of the autumn leaves with people who have reached old age. Some leaves fade into sear, yellow, curled, worm-eaten objects which no one admires. They are raked and burned. Other leaves fall and are more beautiful than when they were on the trees. The beautiful crimson, scarlet, or golden tints, the orange shades, the glassy surface, make some leaves a beautiful work of art. These leaves are often saved because of their beauty. So it is with people; some, as they grow older, become crabbed, sour, and most difficult to live with. When they die, they are hurried away. No one cares. Others grow more beautiful and more delightful as the years go by. They are a joy to all who know them. When they die, they are sadly missed and their memory is cherished. (See also Isaiah 1:30).
Ezekiel 47:12 (a) Here is a graphic picture of a church or a community in which the Spirit of GOD is working unhindered. The trees represent the Godly leaders, the preachers, the teachers, who are feeding the saints of GOD with heavenly manna, and whose testimonies (leaves) are bright, constant and unfailing.
James 1:11 (a) As the flower wilts and withers when there is no rain and the sun is hot, so the rich man will droop as age comes on and the pleasures of life fail.
1 Peter 1:4 (b) This is an expression used to compare the earthly inheritance that shrivels and shrinks with the heavenly inheritance which grows brighter and better.
King James Dictionary [3]
FADE, a. Weak slight faint. Not in use.
FADE,
1. To lose color to tend from a stronger or brighter color to a more faint shade of the same color, or to lose a color entirely. A green leaf fades and becomes less green or yellow. Those colors are deemed the best, which are least apt to fade. 2. To wither, as a plant to decay.
Ye shall be as an oak, whose leaf fadeth. Isaiah 1 .
3. To lose strength gradually to vanish.
When the memory is weak, ideas in the mind quickly fade.
4. To lose luster to grow dim.
The stars shall fade away.
5. To decay to perish gradually.
We all do fade as a leaf. Isaiah 64 .
An inheritance that fadeth not away. 1 Peter 1 .
6. To decay to decline to become poor and miserable.
The rich man shall fade away in his ways. James 1 .
7. To lose strength, health or vigor to decline to grow weaker. 8. To disappear gradually to vanish.
FADE, To cause to wither to wear away to deprive of freshness or vigor.
No winter could his laurels fade.
This is a man, old, wrinkled, faded, withered.
Webster's Dictionary [4]
(1): ( a.) Weak; insipid; tasteless; commonplace.
(2): ( a.) To lose freshness, color, or brightness; to become faint in hue or tint; hence, to be wanting in color.
(3): ( v. t.) To cause to wither; to deprive of freshness or vigor; to wear away.
(4): ( a.) To sink away; to disappear gradually; to grow dim; to vanish.
(5): ( a.) To become fade; to grow weak; to lose strength; to decay; to perish gradually; to wither, as a plant.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia [5]
fād ( נבל , nābhēl ; μαραίνω , maraı́nō ): "To fade" is in the Old Testament the translation of nābhēl , "to droop or wither," figuratively , "to fade," or "pass way" ( Psalm 18:45; Isaiah 1:30; Isaiah 24:4; Isaiah 28:1 , Isaiah 28:4; Isaiah 40:7 , Isaiah 40:8 ); once it is the translation of bālal "to well up," "to overflow"; perhaps from nābhal ( Isaiah 64:6 , "We all do fade as a leaf"); in the New Testament of marainō , "to come to wither or to fade away" ( James 1:11 , "So also shall the rich man fade away in his ways," the Revised Version (British and American) "in his goings"); compare The Wisdom of Solomon 28, "Let us crown ourselves with rosebuds, before they be withered" ( marainō ); amarántinos ( amaranth ), "unfading," occurs in 1 Peter 5:4 , "the crown of glory that fadeth not away," and amárantos ( 1 Peter 1:4 ), "an inheritance ... that fadeth not away"; compare The Wisdom of Solomon 6:12, "Wisdom is glorious (the Revised Version (British and American) "radiant"), and fadeth not away."
For "fade" ( Ezekiel 47:12 ), the Revised Version (British and American) has "wither"; for "fall" "falleth" "falling" ( Isaiah 34:4 ), "fade," "fadeth," "fading."
