Handle
Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words [1]
"to feel, touch, handle," is rendered by the latter verb in Luke 24:39 , in the Lord's invitation to the disciples to accept the evidence of His resurrection in His being bodily in their midst; in 1—John 1:1 , in the Apostle's testimony (against the gnostic error that Christ had been merely a phantom) that he and his fellow Apostles had handled Him. See Feel.
signifies (a) "to touch, to handle" (though "to handle" is rather stronger than the actual significance compared with No 1). In Colossians 2:21 the RV renders it "touch," and the first verb (hapto, "to lay hold of") "handle," i.e., "handle not, nor taste, nor touch;" "touch" is the appropriate rendering; in Hebrews 12:20 it is said of a beast's touching Mount Sinai; (b) "to touch by way of injuring," Hebrews 11:28 . See Touch. In the Sept., Exodus 19:12 .
"to corrupt," is used in 2—Corinthians 4:2 , "handling (the Word of God) deceitfully," in the sense of using guile (dolos); the meaning approximates to that of adulterating (cp. kapeleuo, in 2—Corinthians 2:17 ).
"to dishonor, insult," is rendered "handled shamefully" in Mark 12:4 . Some mss. have the alternative verb antimao. See Despise , Dishonor.
"to cut straight," as in road-making (orthos, "straight," temno, "to cut"), is used metaphorically in 2—Timothy 2:15 , of "handling aright (the word of truth)," RV (AV, "rightly dividing"). The stress is on orthos; the Word of God is to be "handled" strictly along the lines of its teaching. If the metaphor is taken from plowing, cutting a straight furrow, the word would express a careful cultivation, the Word of God viewed as ground designed to give the best results from its ministry and in the life. See Divide. In the Sept., in Proverbs 3:6; 11:5 , the knowledge of God's wisdom and the just dealing of the upright are enjoined as producing a straight walk in the life.
Webster's Dictionary [2]
(1): ( n.) That part of vessels, instruments, etc., which is held in the hand when used or moved, as the haft of a sword, the knob of a door, the bail of a kettle, etc.
(2): ( v. t.) To treat; to use, well or ill.
(3): ( n.) That of which use is made; the instrument for effecting a purpose; a tool.
(4): ( v. i.) To use the hands.
(5): ( v. t.) To use or manage in writing or speaking; to treat, as a theme, an argument, or an objection.
(6): ( v. t.) To manage; to control; to practice skill upon.
(7): ( v. t.) To touch; to feel with the hand; to use or hold with the hand.
(8): ( v. t.) To deal with; to make a business of.
(9): ( v. t.) To receive and transfer; to have pass through one's hands; hence, to buy and sell; as, a merchant handles a variety of goods, or a large stock.
(10): ( v. t.) To accustom to the hand; to work upon, or take care of, with the hands.
(11): ( v. t.) To manage in using, as a spade or a musket; to wield; often, to manage skillfully.
King James Dictionary [3]
Hand'Le, L manus.
1. To touch to feel with the hand to use or hold with the hand.
The bodies we daily handle--hinder the approach of the part of our hands that press them.
2. To manage to use to wield.
That fellow handles a bow like a crow-keeper.
3. To make familiar by frequent touching.
The breeders in Flanders--handle their colts six months every year.
4. To treat to discourse on to discuss to use or manage in writing or speaking. The author handled the subject with address. The speaker handled the arguments to the best advantage. 5. To use to deal with to practice.
They that handle the law knew me not. Jeremiah 2
6. To treat to use well or
How wert thou handled?
7. To manage to practice on to transact with.
You shall see how I will handle her.
HAND'LE, n. L. ansa.
1. That part of a vessel or instrument which is held in the hand when used, as the haft of a sword,the bail of a kettle, &c. 2. That of which use is made the instrument of effecting a purpose.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia [4]
han´d ' 50 ( כּף , kaph ): The noun occurs once in Song of Solomon 5:5 , "handles of the bolt" (the King James Version "lock"). The verb "handle" represents several Hebrew ( 'āḥaz , māshakh , tāphas , etc.) and Greek (θιγγάνω , thiggánō , Colossians 2:21; ψηλαφάω , psēlapháō , Luke 24:39; 1 John 1:1 ) words in the King James Version, but is also sometimes substituted in the Revised Version (British and American) for other renderings in the King James Version, as in Song of Solomon 3:8 for "hold"; in Luke 20:11 , "handled shamefully," for "entreated shamefully"; in 2 Timothy 2:15 , "handling aright," for "rightly dividing," etc.
Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature [5]
(as a noun) occurs but once ( Song of Solomon 5:5) in the plural ( כִּפּוֹת , Kappoth', lit. Hands), for the Thumbpieces or Bzobs. of the bolt or latch to a door (compare יָדוֹת , Arms of a throne, etc., 1 Kings 10:19). (See Lock).
