Reproach

Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament

So far as the Revised Versionrendering of the apostolic writings is concerned, this word represents the Greek ὀνειδισμός, It occurs twice in the Pauline Epistles and three times in Hebrews, and affords interesting instances of references to OT thought and employment of OT language. The word ὀνειδισμός belongs to the sphere of Hellenistic as distinct from classical Greek. It is of frequent occurrence in the Septuagintthroughout the later prophetic writings and, for the most part, represents the Hebrew חָרְפָּח.

St. Paul ( Romans 15:3), in appealing to the ‘strong’ to bear the infirmities of the ‘weak,’ adduces the example of Christ, who ‘also pleased not himself, but’-and here the Apostle breaks the grammatical construction in order to introduce intact an OT quotation-‘the reproaches of them that reproached thee fell upon me.’ This is an exact employment of the words of  Psalms 68:10 in the Septuagint(English Version Psalms 69:9), οἱ ὀνειδισμοὶ τῶν ὀνειδιζόντων σε ἐπέπεσον ἐπʼ ἐμέ. The general purport of this psalm is to describe the sufferings of the typically righteous man at the hands of the ungodly. Many passages from it are referred to our Lord in various parts of the NT. In  Psalms 69:10 the righteous sufferer is represented as speaking to God and as saying that he has to bear the reproaches uttered against God. St. Paul here puts the words into our Lord’s lips, who is conceived as speaking, not to God, but to a man, and as saying that in enduring reproaches He was bearing, not His own sufferings, but those of others.

The passage so used is an interesting example of the way in which St. Paul takes OT phraseology out of its original context and employs it for his own purpose. In the hands of one who viewed Psalms 68 as Messianic in its reference, this procedure was both legitimate and appropriate.

In  1 Timothy 3:7 the Apostle, enumerating the characteristics requisite for a bishop, says that ‘he must have good testimony from them that are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.’ There is considerable uncertainty as to the exact meaning of this passage. One question is, whether ‘reproach’ is to be taken alone, or whether ‘reproach and snare of the devil’ is to be treated as all one phrase. Some, perhaps feeling that ‘reproach of the devil’ is an impossible expression, διαβόλου here in the general sense of ‘slanderer,’ and translate, ‘lest he fall into the reproaches and snares prepared by slanderers.’ On the whole, the Revised Versionas given above seems to afford the most natural meaning. A bishop’s life must be such as not to forfeit the approval in general of surrounding non-Christian society. Should he fail to secure this general approval, there is the probability that his life is open to adverse criticism and that he may thus fall a prey to the wiles of the tempter.

 Hebrews 10:33 recalls how the readers of the Epistle had been ‘made a gazingstock both by reproaches and afflictions’; but the passages of greater interest in this book are  Hebrews 11:26 and  Hebrews 13:13. The reference in each is to the ‘reproach ‘of Christ. In  Hebrews 11:26 it is said that Moses accounted ‘the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt.’ The ‘reproach’ which Moses endured is called ‘the reproach of the Christ’ because it was on account of his belief in God’s saving purpose that he suffered it. ‘The reproach which Moses suffered in the fellowship of the People of God-the hardship, contempt, and the like, inflicted at the hands of the Egyptian world then-was the same as that inflicted on Christ in the days of His flesh, and the same as was borne by the Hebrew believers in their day, or as is borne by believers at all times. Though the reproach and the sufferings are the same, however, Christ is worthy to give name to them; to others they derive their meaning from having been endured by Him, and in Him they reached their climax’ (A. B. Davidson, The Epistle to the Hebrews, Edinburgh, n.d., p. 228). The Statement does not necessarily imply belief on the part of Moses that a personal Christ was to come. What he did believe in was the fulfilment of God’s promise, which, in point of fact, was fulfilled in the coming of Christ.

In  Hebrews 13:13 the readers are exhorted to ‘go forth unto him [Jesus] without the camp, bearing his reproach.’ They must make their choice between Christianity and Judaism, for the two cannot be amalgamated. Christ’s death ‘without the gate’ was the symbol of His being cast out of the community and religious life of the OT Israel. To realize the full power of His redeeming work, His followers must abandon ‘the camp’-the sphere within which the religious life and ordinances of Israel prevail-and must go forth to Him. To be branded as a traitor and to be deprived of Jewish privilege was ‘the reproach of the Christ.’ This His followers must share.

It is not improbable that the language of  Psalms 89:50-51 underlies both of these passages in Hebrews (SeptuagintPs 88:51, 52), μνήσθητι κύριε, τοῦ ὀνειδισμοῦ τῶν δούλων σου … οὖ ὠνείδισαν τὸ ἀντάλλαγμα τοῦ Χριστου σου.

In the Authorized Versionthe word ‘reproach’ occurs in two passages in 2 Corinthians. In  2 Corinthians 11:21 it is used to translate the Greek ἀτιμία (Revised Version‘disparagement’). In  2 Corinthians 12:10 it is used to translate ὕβρις (Revised Version‘injury’).

Dawson Walker.

Vine's Expository Dictionary of OT Words

A. Noun.

Cherpâh ( חֶרְפָּה , Strong'S #2781), “reproach.” This noun occurs in the Old Testament and in rabbinic Hebrew. Its use in modern Hebrew has been taken over by other nouns. Cherpâh occurs 70 times in the Hebrew Old Testament. It is rare in the Pentateuch and in the historical books. The noun appears most frequently in the Book of Psalms, in the major prophets, and in Daniel. The first occurrence is in Gen. 30:23: “And she conceived, and bare a son; and said, God hath taken away my reproach.”

“Reproach” has a twofold usage. On the one hand, the word denotes the state in which one finds himself. The unmarried woman (Isa. 4:1) or the woman without children (Gen. 30:23) carried a sense of disgrace in a society where marriage and fertility were highly spoken of. The destruction of Jerusalem and the Exile brought Judah to the state of “reproach”: “O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us” (Dan. 9:16). On the other hand, the disgrace found in a person or a nation became the occasion for taunting the oppressed. The disgraced received abuse by the words spoken against them and by the rumors which were spread about them.

Whatever the occasion of the disgrace was whether defeat in battle, exile, or enmity, the psalmist prayed for deliverance from the “reproach”: “Remove from me reproach and contempt; for I have kept thy testimonies” (Ps. 119:22—see context; cf. Ps. 109:25). The verbal abuse that could be heaped upon the unfortunate is best evidenced by the synonyms found with cherpâh in Jer. 24:9: “And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them.” Several prophets predicted that Israel’s judgment was partly to be experienced by the humiliating “reproach” of the nations: “And I will persecute them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will deliver them to be removed to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, and an astonishment, and a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations whither I have driven them” (Jer. 29:18; cf. Ezek. 5:14). However, the Lord graciously promised to remove the “reproach” at the accomplishment of His purpose: “He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth …” (Isa. 25:8).

The Septuagint translations are: oneidismos (“reproach; reviling; disgrace; insult”) and oneidos (“disgrace; reproach; insult”). The KVJ gives these translations: “reproach; shame; rebuke.”

B. Verb.

Châraph ( חָרַף , Strong'S #2778), “to say sharp things, reproach.” The root with the meaning “to be sharp” is found in Northwest and South Semitic languages. In Hebrew the verb refers to a manner of speech, i.e., to reproach someone. The word appears about 50 times in the Old Testament, once in Ps. 42:10: “As with a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me; while they say daily unto me, Where is thy God?”

Holman Bible Dictionary

 Genesis 30:23 Luke 1:25 Genesis 34:2-5 Joshua 5:9 1 Samuel 11:2 Nehemiah 2:17 Psalm 89:41 Psalm 31:11 Psalm 69:10 Psalm 79:4 Proverbs 14:34 Proverbs 19:26 Isaiah 4:1 Isaiah 54:4 Ezekiel 36:30 2 Nehemiah 1:3 Job 19:5 Job 27:6 Psalm 15:3 3 Jeremiah 6:10 Jeremiah 29:18 Jeremiah 42:18 Jeremiah 44:8 4 1 Samuel 17:26 2 Kings 19:16 Nehemiah 4:4 Nehemiah 5:9 5 Ruth 2:15 Nehemiah 6:13 Psalm 69:7 69:9 Psalm 89:51 Luke 6:22 2 Corinthians 12:10 Hebrews 10:33 Hebrews 11:26 1 Peter 4:14 Romans 15:3 Hebrews 13:13Shame And Honor

King James Dictionary

Reproach, L prox, in proximus.

1. To censure in terms of opprobrium or contempt.

Mezentius with his ardor warm'd his fainting friends, reproach'd their shameful flight, repell'd the victors.

2. To charge with a fault in severe language.

That shame there sit not, and reproach us as unclean.

3. To upbraid to suggest blame for any thing. A man's conscience will reproach him for a criminal, mean or unworthy action. 4. To treat with scorn or contempt.  Luke 6 .

Reproach n.

1. Censure mingled with contempt or derision contumelious or opprobrious language towards any person abusive reflections as foul-mouthed reproach. 2. Shame infamy disgrace.

Give not thine heritage to reproach.  Joel 2 .  Isaiah 4 .

3. Object of contempt, scorn or derision.

Come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we may be no more a reproach.  Nehemiah 2 .

4. That which is the cause of shame or disgrace.  Genesis 30 .

Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary

The Scriptural sense of reproach is not so generally understood. It means, in the fullest sense of the word, reproach for God or God's cause. Thus Joshua, when circumcising Israel at Gilgal, is said to have taken away their reproach. The Lord God said, "This day I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you." ( Joshua 5:9) Hence the place was called Gilgal, rolling away. Similar passages we have  Genesis 30:23;  Isaiah 4:1; Isa 54:4. In a gospel sense, the reproach for Christ's name is when a believer is content to be considered vile, rather than relinquish his christian calling. The Holy Ghost, by Peter, pronounceth peculiar happiness on such as are "reproached for the sake of Christ." ( 1 Peter 4:14)

Webster's Dictionary

(1): ( v.) An object of blame, censure, scorn, or derision.

(2): ( v. t.) To come back to, or come home to, as a matter of blame; to bring shame or disgrace upon; to disgrace.

(3): ( v. t.) To attribute blame to; to allege something disgraceful against; to charge with a fault; to censure severely or contemptuously; to upbraid.

(4): ( v.) The act of reproaching; censure mingled with contempt; contumelious or opprobrious language toward any person; abusive reflections; as, severe reproach.

(5): ( v.) A cause of blame or censure; shame; disgrace.

Charles Buck Theological Dictionary

The act of finding fault in opprobrious terms, or attempting to expose to infamy and disgrace. In whatever cause we engage, however disinterested our motives, however laudable our designs, reproach is what we must expect. But it becomes us not to retaliate, but to bear it patiently; and so to live, that every charge brought against us be groundless. If we be reproached for righteousness' sake, we have no reason to be ashamed nor to be afraid. All good men have thus suffered, Jesus Christ himself especially. We have the greatest promises of support. Besides, it has a tendency to humble us, detach us from the world, and excite in us a desire for that state of blessedness where all reproach shall be done away.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

(usually חֶרְפָּה , Ὄνειδος ) , the act of finding fault in opprobrious terms, or attempting to expose to infamy and disgrace. In whatever cause we engage. however disinterested our motives, however laudable our designs, reproach is what we must expect. But it becomes us not to retaliate, but to bear it patiently; and so to live that every charge brought against us be groundless. If we be reproached for righteousness' sake, we have no reason to be ashamed, nor to be afraid. All good men have thus suffered, Jesus Christ himself especially. We have the greatest promises of support. Besides, it has a tendency to humble us, detach us from the world, and excite in us a desire for that state of blessedness where all reproach shall be done away.