Bible Dictionary
ALL
All can mean the whole of something, everyone, everything, or a large part, depending on context. Biblical usage sometimes employs it broadly rather than as an absolute mathematical statement.
Definition
All may mean the whole, everyone, everything, or a complete extent. Depending on context, it may also refer indefinitely to a large number or a great part rather than every individual without exception.
Biblical Usage
Biblical expressions include “all along,” “all in all,” “all one,” “at all,” and “all to.” The word may describe the universe answering to God’s will, an apparent totality, or a broad group such as all Judea or all the world.
Historical Background
The supplied examples show that the scope of “all” must be determined from the context.
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>ol: Used in various combinations, and with different meanings.</p><p>(1) All along, "Weeping all along as he went" (Jer 41:6), i.e. throughout the whole way he went, feigning equal concern with the men from Shiloh, etc., for the destruction of the Temple, so as to put them off their guard.</p><p>(2) All in all, "That God may be all in all" (1Co 15:28, Greek: panta en pasin, "all things in all (persons and) things"). "The universe, with all it comprises, will wholly answer to God's will and reflect His mind" (Dummelow).</p><p>(3) All one, "It is all one" (Job 9:22), "it makes no difference whether I live or die."</p><p>(4) At all, "If thy father miss me at all" (1Sa 20:6), "in any way," "in the least."</p><p>(5) All to, "All to brake his skull" (Jud 9:53 the King James Version) an obsolete form signifying "altogether"; "broke his skull in pieces."</p><p>(6) Often used indefinitely of a large number or a great part, "All the cattle of Egypt died" (Ex 9:6; compare Ex 9:19,25); "all Judea, and all the region round about" (Mt 3:5); "that all the world should be enrolled" (Lu 2:1); "all Asia and the world" (Ac 19:27); "All (people) verily held John to be a prophet" (Mr 11:32).</p><p>M. O. Evans</p>