In the Bible, three common and important figures of speech of comparison are simile, metaphor, and hypocatastasis. A simile (pronounced ’sm--lee) is a comparison by “resemblance,” usually using words such as “like” or “as.” If a person is noisy and sloppy when he eats, a person might look at him and say, “You eat like a pig.” The sloppy eater is said to “resemble” a pig, and that kind of comparison is a “simile.” Psalm 1:3 uses a simile when it says a righteous person is like a tree planted by the water.

A metaphor is a comparison by “representation.” In a metaphor, one noun represents another, usually by using the verbs “is” or “are.” If the pig example above is made into a metaphor, instead of saying, “You eat like a pig,” the person would compare the man to a pig by representing him as one and saying “You are a pig.” Jesus used a metaphor when he said to his disciples, “I am the vine; you are the branches…” (John 15:5 NIV).

A hypocatastasis (pronounced: hi-poe-cä-’täs-tä-sis) is a comparison by “implication.” The comparison is not directly stated, but it is implied. If we turn the pig example into a hypocatastasis, someone in the dinner party would simply look at the sloppy man and say, “Pig!” Just saying “Pig,” effectively communicates the implied comparison between the man and a pig. The flexibility in language and figures allows for hypocatastasis to import meaning in more ways than just factually stating the implied image. For example, at a dinner party of family members who were used to poking fun at one another, instead of saying “Pig,” one person might just look at the other and say, “Oink, oink.” Doing that would effectively communicate the implied meaning of “pig.” A linguist might point out that what seems to be going on in that example is that the sound the pig makes is put for metonymy for the pig itself, which is then being imported by hypocatastasis. However, linguistic expressions are often unique and fluid enough they cannot be easily put into tightly defined boxes, and hypocatastasis seems to handle the “oink, oink,” example well on its own. A hypocatastasis using “pigs” in the Bible is when Jesus said not to “throw your pearls in front of pigs” (Matt. 7:6). In the biblical culture, pigs were unclean, and so a “pig” was a godless, unclean person.

The figures metaphor and hypocatastasis can be confusing because the figure can be missed and people think that the figure of speech is literal. An example of this happening with metaphor is when Christ took the bread at the Last Supper and said, “This is my body.” He meant, “This bread represents my body.” An example of hypocatastasis being missed is Genesis 3:1 when the Devil is called the “serpent” by hypocatastasis. The comparison should be clear because literal snakes cannot talk, the Devil is referred to as the serpent in other verses of Scripture (Revelation 20:2 is very clear!), and when 2 Corinthians 11:3 (KJV) says that “the serpent” beguiled Eve, the context is Satan and his ministers (v. 14, 15). Nevertheless, many people miss the hypocatastasis and think that the “serpent” in Genesis was some kind of actual snake, and artists do not help much when they paint pictures of a snake with Eve in the Garden of Eden. The artists would have been more helpful to our understanding of the Bible if they had painted Eve with the Devil, appearing as a shining spiritual being.

As well as the figures of speech of comparison mentioned above, we also need to understand the figure of speech personification. “Personification” occurs when something that is not a person is described as a person. We humans relate so well to other humans that referring to something as a person often makes it easy to understand. There are many examples of personification in the Bible. Wisdom is portrayed as a woman calling out for people to listen to her (Proverbs 8:1). Ethiopia is portrayed as a woman stretching out her hands to God (Psalm 68:31 KJV, ESV, NASB). Ethiopia is “Cush” in some versions). In Joel 1:10 the ground is “mourning” because the weather has been bad and the grain, grape, and olive crops failed. Also, of course, the nation of Israel is portrayed as a woman many times, which is the subject of this study on the Bride.

The figures of comparison and personification do a good job of communicating information and emotion. For example, saying the people of Israel broke their covenant with God gives us information but does not communicate much emotion. In contrast, referring to Israel as a woman and saying she committed adultery with her pagan lovers brings up a lot of different emotions. In the Bible, Israel is personified as a woman, and then that personification is intertwined with the figures of comparison when “she” is called a virgin, daughter, wife, etc.

-- REV appendix 12 of Spirit & Truth Fellowship International

Some metaphors found in the bible are:

• Jerusalem
• The Armor of God
• The Body of Christ
• The Bride of Christ
• The Bread
• The Light
• The Word