Bible Encyclopedias
Sitting
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
sit´ing ( רשׁב , yāshabh , "to sit down or still," דּגר , dāghar , "to brood," "hatch"; καθέζομαι , kathézomai , "to sit down," ἀνάκειμαι , anákeimai , "to lie back," "recline"): The favorite position of the Orientals ( Malachi 3:3; Matthew 9:9; Matthew 26:55 (compare Matthew 5:1; Luke 4:20; Luke 5:3 ); Mark 14:18; Luke 18:35; John 2:14 , etc.).
"In Palestine people sit at all kinds of work; the carpenter saws, planes, and hews with his hand-adze, sitting upon the ground or upon the plank he is planing. The washerwoman sits by the tub, and, in a word, no one stands where it is possible to sit.... On the low shopcounters the turbaned salesmen squat in the midst of the gay wares" ( LB , II, 144,275; III, 72,75).
Figurative: (1) To sit with denotes intimate fellowship ( Psalm 1:1; Psalm 26:5; Luke 13:29; Revelation 3:21 ); (2) to sit in the dust indicates poverty and contempt ( Isaiah 47:1 ), in darkness , ignorance (Matthew 4:16 ) and trouble (Micah 7:8 ); (3) to sit on thrones denotes authority, judgment, and glory ( Matthew 19:28 ).
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Bibliography Information
Orr, James, M.A., D.D. General Editor. Entry for 'Sitting'. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. https://www.studylight.org/​encyclopedias/​eng/​isb/​s/sitting.html. 1915.