Bible Dictionary
BROAD
Broad describes something wide, spacious, or extended, including streets, courts, and structures. Figuratively, Scripture uses it for relief and liberty, but also for the wide way that leads to destruction and for ostentatious religious display.
Definition
Broad describes something wide, spacious, or extended. It may refer to dimensions, streets, courts, fortified structures, or a place of relief and liberty. The word can also describe an expanded display of religious observance.
Biblical Usage
Scripture uses breadth literally of buildings and streets, and figuratively of deliverance from distress, liberty within God’s law, and the sufficiency of God. Jesus contrasts the broad way leading to destruction with the narrow way, and condemns broad phylacteries as ostentatious piety.
Historical Background
The underlying terms include width, a broadway or street, and spaciousness. Broad places were centers of communal life and could also designate a court before the temple.
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>brod (rochabh, "width"; rechobh, "a broadway," "street," "court"; eurchoros, "spacious"): Occurs frequently as a term of dimension (Ex 27:1; 1Ki 6:6; Eze 40:6,43 the Revised Version (British and American), "handbreadth long") and as indicative of strength (Ne 3:8; Jer 51:58). The centers of communal life are called the "broad places," often rendered "streets" (Jer 5:1; So 3:2; Na 2:4). A court before the temple: "the broad place on the east" (the King James Version "the east street," 2Ch 29:4); "broad plates" (Nu 16:38,39, the Revised Version (British and American) "beaten").</p><p>Figurative: Relief from distress: "Yea, he would have allured thee out of (Hebrew "the mouth of") distress into a broad place" (Job 36:16); the liberty of obedience or liberty within the law (Ps 119:96, "broad," "roomy," "at liberty"); the all-sufficiency of God for His people (Isa 33:21). Jerusalem could not boast of a river or navy--Yahweh's presence with and within her would more than supply these deficiencies; the road to destruction: "Broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction" (Mt 7:13); the ostentatious piety of the Pharisees: "They make broad (platuno, "widen") their phylacteries" (Mt 23:5).</p><p>See CITY; GATE.</p><p>L. Kaiser</p>