Bible Dictionary
FORBEAR
To forbear means to stop, hold back, spare, refrain, endure, or cease from an action. Scripture especially uses it of restraining anger, threats, work, or retaliation.
Definition
To forbear means to leave off, hold back, restrain, spare, endure, remain silent, or cease from an action. It may involve restraining anger, withholding retaliation, stopping work, concealing or bearing something, or refraining from threats.
Biblical Usage
Scripture uses forbear for ceasing from an action, holding back from delivering or retaliating, restraining anger, bearing with others, sparing someone, and refraining from threats. The New Testament calls believers to forbear one another and to forbear threatening.
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>for-bar' (chadhal; anechomai): In the Old Testament chadhal, "to leave off," is the word most frequently translated "forbear" (Ex 23:5, etc.); damam, "to be silent," chasakh, "to keep back," mashakh, "to draw or stretch out," occur once each; the Revised Version (British and American) renders Eze 24:17 (damam), "Sigh, but not aloud," margin "Hebrew be silent,"; Pr 24:11 (chasakh), "See that thou hold back," margin "or forbear thou not to deliver," the King James Version "if thou forbear to deliver"; Ne 9:30 (mashakh), "bear" instead of "forbear"; 'aph literally, "breathing," the "nose," hence, from violent breathing, "anger" ('erekh, "long," understood), and kul "to hold," are translated "forbearing" (Pr 25:15; Jer 20:9, respectively).</p><p>In the New Testament we have anechomai, "to hold self back or up," "with longsuffering, forbearing one another" (Eph 4:2,; Col 3:13); aniemi "to send back," the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American) "forbear threatening' (Eph 6:9); pheidomai, "to spare," "but I forbear" (2Co 12:6); meergazesthai, "not to work," "to forbear working" (1Co 9:6); stego, "to cover," "conceal": "when I could no longer forbear" (1Th 3:1,5).</p><p>W. L.Walker</p>