Bible Dictionary
DEFER
To defer means to postpone or put off until a later time. Biblical usage may describe an indefinite postponement, a definite delay, or a temporary waiting period.
Definition
To defer means to postpone or delay something. The postponement may be indefinite or definite, according to the context. Biblical usage includes delaying an event, deferring its fulfillment, or putting it off until a later time.
Biblical Usage
In the Old Testament, defer can express an indefinite postponement in passages concerning God’s declared purposes. Its New Testament occurrence, in Acts 24:22, implies a definite postponement.
Historical Background
The word translates several Hebrew expressions meaning to postpone or delay and the Greek anaballo in Acts 24:22. The surrounding context determines whether the delay is open-ended or specifically arranged.
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>de-fur' ('achar (in Hiphil), 'arakh (in Hiphil), mashakh (in Niphal), "to postpone," more or less definitely; "delay": In Old Testament passages such as Isa 48:9; Eze 12:25,28; Da 9:19, the idea of indefinite postponement agrees with the Hebrew and with the context. In the only New Testament occurrence of the word anaballo, in the middle voice, Ac 24:22) a definite postponement is implied.</p>