Gave up the ghost
Inspirational
I've Heard That All My Life!
Familiar Expressions from the Bible
Object:
Expression: Gave up the ghost
Location: Genesis 25:8
Verse: Then Abraham gave up the ghost [breathed his last], and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people [joined his deceased relatives in death].
The sergeant sternly stood beside his group of army recruits as he gave instructions before sending this fearful group of new recruits through the obstacle course training.
An obstacle course is made up of barriers which require some physical strength and agility. For instance, a recruit may be expected to jump a series of obstructions, climb up a rope ladder, swing on bars across a pond, crawl under various impediments, and pull up over a high wall by using only a rope.
It was this last obstacle that caused a recruit some trouble. This one timid recruit had forgotten the sergeant's instructions. The sergeant insisted that to get over the wall, one must grasp the rope up high, thereby giving strength to the body. This recruit held the rope down low and found it impossible to pull the whole weight of his body over the wall.
After many attempts and many failures, the recruit had to give up on that obstacle and walk around the wall in defeat. This is a time when we might say, "He gave up the ghost!"
We use this expression meaning anything from simply giving up on an attempt to literally dying. In the Bible this expression means that the person died.
The New Testament presents this expression a number of times. The Gospels speak of Jesus on the cross: "And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, 'Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit'; and having said thus, he gave up the ghost" (Luke 23:46).
Location: Genesis 25:8
Verse: Then Abraham gave up the ghost [breathed his last], and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people [joined his deceased relatives in death].
The sergeant sternly stood beside his group of army recruits as he gave instructions before sending this fearful group of new recruits through the obstacle course training.
An obstacle course is made up of barriers which require some physical strength and agility. For instance, a recruit may be expected to jump a series of obstructions, climb up a rope ladder, swing on bars across a pond, crawl under various impediments, and pull up over a high wall by using only a rope.
It was this last obstacle that caused a recruit some trouble. This one timid recruit had forgotten the sergeant's instructions. The sergeant insisted that to get over the wall, one must grasp the rope up high, thereby giving strength to the body. This recruit held the rope down low and found it impossible to pull the whole weight of his body over the wall.
After many attempts and many failures, the recruit had to give up on that obstacle and walk around the wall in defeat. This is a time when we might say, "He gave up the ghost!"
We use this expression meaning anything from simply giving up on an attempt to literally dying. In the Bible this expression means that the person died.
The New Testament presents this expression a number of times. The Gospels speak of Jesus on the cross: "And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, 'Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit'; and having said thus, he gave up the ghost" (Luke 23:46).
