Bible Dictionary
WRINKLE
A wrinkle is a fold or crease in the skin. In Ephesians, the church is figuratively described as Christ’s bride, presented without spot or wrinkle—pure, holy, and spiritually beautiful.
Definition
A wrinkle is a fold or crease in the skin. The word can also serve as a figure for blemish, age, or diminished attractiveness.
Biblical Usage
In Ephesians 5:27, Paul describes the church figuratively as a bride presented without spot or wrinkle, indicating perennial youth and attractiveness.
Historical Background
In Job 16:8, the Revised Version understands the expression not as wrinkles but as God having laid fast hold of Job, with “shrivelled me up” in the margin.
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>rin'-k'-l (qamaT, "to lay hold on"; rhutis, "a wrinkle"): In Job 16:8, the Revised Version (British and American) substitutes, "Thou hast laid fast hold on me" (margin "shrivelled me up") for the King James Version "Thou hast filled me with wrinkles." In Eph 5:27, Paul's figurative reference to the church as a bride, "not having spot or wrinkle," is indicative of the perennial youth and attractiveness of the church.</p>