Bible Encyclopedias
Presence

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

prez´ens : In the Old Testament nearly always the rendition of פּנים , pānı̄m , "face" ( Genesis 3:8; Exodus 33:14 f; Psalm 95:2; Isaiah 63:9 , etc.); occasionally of עין , ‛ayin , "eye" (Genesis 23:11; Deuteronomy 25:9; Jeremiah 28:1 , Jeremiah 28:11 , etc.); and in 1 Kings 8:22; Proverbs 14:7 , "the presence of" represents the preposition נגד , neghedh , "before"; compare also Aramaic קדם , ḳodham , in Daniel 2:27 the King James Version (the Revised Version (British and American) "before"). In Greek, "presence" has an exact equivalent in παρουσία , parousı́a , but this word is rendered "presence" only in 2 Corinthians 10:10; Philippians 2:12; the Revised Version (British and American); Philippians 1:26 (the King James Version "coming"). Elsewhere parousia is rendered "coming," but always with "presence" in the margin. Otherwise in the New Testament "presence" represents no particular word but is introduced where it seems to suit the context (compare e.g. Acts 3:13 the King James Version and Acts 3:19 ). See PAROUSIA .