Of

King James Dictionary

OF, prep. ov. Gr.

1. From or out of proceeding from, as the cause, source, means, author or agent bestowing.

I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered to you.  1 Corinthians 11 .

For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts.  Joshua 11 .

It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed.

 Lamentations 3 .

The whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.  Proverbs 16 .

Go, inquire of the Lord for me.  2 Chronicles 34 .

That holy thing that shall be born of thee.  Luke 1 .

Hence of is the sign of the genitive case, the case that denotes production as the son of man, the son proceeding from man, produced from man. This is the primary sense, although we now say, produced by man. "Part of these were slain " that is, a number separate, for part denotes a division the sense then is, a number from or out of the whole were slain. So also, "some of these were slain " that is, some from or out of others. "I have known him of old, or of a child " that is, from old times, from a child. "He is of the race of kings " that is, descended from kings. "He is of noble blood or birth, or of ignoble origin." "No particle of matter, or no body can move of itself " that is, by force or strength proceeding from itself, derived from itself.

"The quarrel is not now of fame and tribute, or of wrongs done " that is, from fame or wrongs, as the cause, and we may render it concerning, about, relating to.

"Of this little he had some to spare " that is, some from the whole. It may be rendered out of.

"Of all our heroes thou canst boast alone " that is, thou alone from the number of heroes. This may be rendered among.

"The best of men, the most renowned of all " that is, the best from the number of men, the most renowned from the whole denoting primarily separation, like part.

"I was well entertained of the English Consul " that is, entertained from the Consul my entertainment was from the Consul. This use is obsolete, and we use by in lieu of it.

"This does of right belong to us " that is, from right, de jure our title proceeds from right.

"The chariot was all of cedar " that is, made from cedar. So we say, made of gold, made of clay an application corresponding with our modern use of from manufactured from wool, or from raw materials. Hence we say, cloth consisting of wool. "This is a scheme of his own devising " that is, from his own devising or device. "If any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth " that is, as from the ability, as the source of action.

"Of happy, he is become miserable " that is, from happy from being happy, he has passed to being miserable. "Of necessity this must prove ruinous " that is, from necessity, as the cause or source. "Of a hundred take fifty " that is, from a hundred, or out of a hundred, from among a hundred.

Of sometimes implies a part or share.

It is a duty to communicate of those blessings we have received.

From is then the primary sense of this preposition a sense retained in off, the same word differently written for distinction. But this sense is appropriately lost in many of its applications as a man of genius, a man of courage, a man of rare endowments, a fossil of a red color, or of a hexagonal figure. he lost all hope of relief. This is an affair of the cabinet. He is a man of decayed fortune. What is the price of corn? We say that of, in these and similar phrases, denotes property or possession, making of the sign of the genitive or possessive case. These applications, however, all proceeded from the same primary sense. That which proceeds from or is produced by a person, is naturally the property or possession of that person, as the son of John and this idea of property in the course of time would pass to things not thus produced, but still bearing a relation to another thing. Thus we say, the father of a son, as well as the son of a father. In both senses, other languages also use the same word, as in the French de, de la, and Italian di, dell. Of then has one primary sense, from, departing, issuing, proceeding from or out of, and a derivative sense denoting possession or property.

Webster's Dictionary

(1): ( prep.) Denoting reference to a thing; about; concerning; relating to; as, to boast of one's achievements.

(2): ( prep.) Denoting the agent, or person by whom, or thing by which, anything is, or is done; by.

(3): ( prep.) Denoting part of an aggregate or whole; belonging to a number or quantity mentioned; out of; from amongst; as, of this little he had some to spare; some of the mines were unproductive; most of the company.

(4): ( prep.) Denoting that by which a person or thing is actuated or impelled; also, the source of a purpose or action; as, they went of their own will; no body can move of itself; he did it of necessity.

(5): ( prep.) Denoting nearness or distance, either in space or time; from; as, within a league of the town; within an hour of the appointed time.

(6): ( prep.) Denoting identity or equivalence; - used with a name or appellation, and equivalent to the relation of apposition; as, the continent of America; the city of Rome; the Island of Cuba.

(7): ( prep.) Denoting relation to place or time; belonging to, or connected with; as, men of Athens; the people of the Middle Ages; in the days of Herod.

(8): ( prep.) In a general sense, from, or out from; proceeding from; belonging to; relating to; concerning; - used in a variety of applications; as:

(9): ( prep.) Denoting passage from one state to another; from.

(10): ( prep.) Denoting possession or ownership, or the relation of subject to attribute; as, the apartment of the consul: the power of the king; a man of courage; the gate of heaven.

(11): ( prep.) During; in the course of.

(12): ( prep.) Denoting that from which anything proceeds; indicating origin, source, descent, and the like; as, he is of a race of kings; he is of noble blood.

(13): ( prep.) Denoting the material of which anything is composed, or that which it contains; as, a throne of gold; a sword of steel; a wreath of mist; a cup of water.

Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words

 1—John 2:5 3:16 1—John 5:3 1—John 5:9 Revelation 1:2,9 19:10 Romans 3:22 Galatians 2:16  Galatians 3:22 Ephesians 3:12 Philippians 3:9  Colossians 2:12 Ephesians 2:20 1—Corinthians 3:11 John 16:13 John 7:17 John 14:10 John 6:46 15:15 17:7 Acts 17:9 Matthew 21:25  1—Corinthians 1:30 15:6 2—Corinthians 5:1  James 4:1 Acts 5:24 1—Corinthians 1:11 1—John 1:1  John 16:8 Matthew 18:13 Acts 4:9 2—Corinthians 7:4 Matthew 1:22 2:16 11:27 Luke 9:7 Acts 15:4 1—Corinthians 14:24 2—Corinthians 8:19 Philippians 3:12

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

OF . As already noted, under By, the prep, ‘of’ is generally used in AV [Note: Authorized Version.] for the agent, as   Matthew 2:18 ‘He was mocked of the wise men.’ But there are other obsolete or archaic uses of ‘of,’ which should be carefully observed. Thus (1) it sometimes means from (the proper meaning of the A.S. ‘of’), as   Mark 11:8 ‘Others cut down branches of the trees,’   John 15:15 ‘All things that I have heard of my Father,’   John 16:13 ‘He shall not speak of himself’; (2) concerning , as   Acts 5:24 ‘They doubted of them, whereunto this would grow,’   Matthew 18:13 ‘He rejoiceth more of that sheep than of the ninety and nine,’   John 2:17 ‘The zeal of thine house’; (3) with ,   Song of Solomon 2:5 ‘I am sick of love.’

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ov  : (1) In Anglo-Saxon, had the meaning "from," "away from" (as the strengthened form "off" has still), and was not used for genitive or possessive relations, these being expressed by special case-forms. In the Norman period, however, "of" was taken to represent the French de (a use well developed by the time of Chaucer), and in the Elizabethan period both senses of "of" were in common use. But after about 1600 the later force of the word became predominant, and in the earlier sense (which is now practically obsolete) it was replaced by other prepositions. In consequence the King James Version (and in some cases the Revised Version (British and American)) contains many uses of "of" that are no longer familiar - most of them, to be sure, causing no difficulty, but there still being a few responsible for real obscurities. (2) Of the uses where "of" signifies "from," the most common obscure passages are those where "of" follows a verb of hearing. In modern English "hear of" signifies "to gain information about," as it does frequently in the King James Version (  Mark 7:25;  Romans 10:14 , etc.). But more commonly this use of "of" in the King James Version denotes the source from which the information is derived. So  John 15:15 , "all things that I have heard of my Father";  Acts 10:22 , "to hear words of thee";  Acts 28:22 , "We desire to hear of thee"; compare  1 Thessalonians 2:13;  2 Timothy 1:13;  2 Timothy 2:2 , etc. (similarly  Matthew 11:29 , "and learn of me"; compare  John 6:45 ). All of these are ambiguous and in modern English give a wrong meaning, so that in most cases (but not  Matthew 11:29 or   Acts 28:22 ) the Revised Version (British and American) substitutes "from." A different example of the same use of "of" is  2 Corinthians 5:1 , "a building of God" (the Revised Version (British and American) "from"). So  Mark 9:21 , "of a child," means "from childhood" ("from a child," the Revised Version (British and American), is dubious English). A still more obscure passage is  Matthew 23:25 , "full of extortion and excess." "Full of" elsewhere in the King James Version (and even in the immediate context,  Matthew 23:27 ,  Matthew 23:28 ) refers to the contents , but here the "of" represents the Greek ἐκ , ek , "out of," and denotes the source - "The contents of your cup and platter have been purchased from the gains of extortion and excess." the Revised Version (British and American) again substitutes "from," with rather awkward results, but the Greek itself is unduly compressed. In   Mark 11:8 , one of the changes made after the King James Version was printed has relieved an obscurity, for where the edition of 1611 read "cut down branches of the trees," the modern editions have "off" (the Revised Version (British and American) "from"). For clear examples of this use of "of," without the obscurities, compare Judith 2:21, "they went forth of Nineveh"; 2 Macc 4:34, "forth of the sanctuary"; and, especially,  Matthew 21:25 , "The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men?" Here "from" and "of" represent exactly the same Greek preposition, and the change in English is arbitrary (the Revised Version (British and American) writes "from" in both cases). (3) In a weakened sense this use of "of" as "from" was employed rather loosely to connect an act with its source or motive. Such uses are generally clear enough, but the English today seems sometimes rather curious:  Matthew 18:13 , "rejoiceth more of that sheep" (the Revised Version (British and American) "over");  Psalm 99:8 , "vengeance of their inventions" (so the King James Version);  1 Corinthians 7:4 , "hath not power of her own body" (the Revised Version (British and American) "over"), etc. (4) A very common use of "of" in the King James Version is to designate the agent - a use complicated by the fact that "by" is also employed for the same purpose and the two interchanged freely. So in  Luke 9:7 , "all that was done by him ... it was said of some...," the two words are used side by side for the same Greek preposition (the Revised Version (British and American) replaces "of" by "by," but follows a different text in the first part of the verse). Again, most of the examples are clear enough, but there are some obscurities. So in  Matthew 19:12 , "which were made eunuchs of men," the "of men" is at first sight possessive (the Revised Version (British and American) "by men"). Similarly, 2 Esdras 16:30, "There are left some clusters of them that diligently seek through the vineyard" (the Revised Version (British and American) "by them"). So  1 Corinthians 14:24 , "He is convinced of all he is judged of all," is quite misleading (the Revised Version (British and American) "by all" in both cases).  Philippians 3:12 , the King James Version "I am apprehended of Christ Jesus," seems almost meaningless (the Revised Version (British and American) "by"). (5) In some cases the usage of the older English is not sufficient to explain "of" in the King James Version. So  Matthew 18:23 , "take account of his servants," is a very poor rendition of "make a reckoning with his servants" (so the Revised Version (British and American)). In  Acts 27:5 , the "sea of Cilicia" may have been felt to be the "sea which is off Cilicia" (compare the Revised Version (British and American)), but there are no other instances of this use. In  2 Corinthians 2:12 , "A door was opened unto me of the Lord" should be "in the Lord" (so the Revised Version (British and American)).  2 Samuel 21:4 , "We will have no silver nor gold of Saul, nor of his house," is very loose, and the Revised Version (British and American) rewrites the verse entirely. In all these cases, the King James Version seems to have looked solely for smooth English, without caring much for exactness. In  1 Peter 1:11 , however, "sufferings of Christ" probably yields a correct sense for a difficult phrase in the Greek (so the Revised Version (British and American), with "unto" in the margin), but a paraphrase is needed to give the precise meaning. And, finally, in  Hebrews 11:18 , the Greek itself is ambiguous and there is no way of deciding whether the preposition employed (πρός , prós ) means "to" (so the Revised Version (British and American)) or "of" (so the King James Version, the Revised Version margin; compare  Hebrews 1:7 , where "of" is necessary).