EDIFICATION; EDIFY

ed-i-fi-ka'-shun, ed'-i-fi: The Greek words oikodomeo, "to build," oikodome, "the act of building," are used both literally and figuratively in the New Testament; "edify," "edifying," "edification," are the translation of the King James Version in some 20 passages, all in the figurative sense of the promotion of growth in Christian character. the Revised Version (British and American) in 2 Corinthians 10:8; 13:10; Ephesians 4:12,16; 1 Thessalonians 5:11 renders "build up," "building up," making the force of the figure clearer to the English reader. In 1 Tim 1:4 the Greek text followed by the Revised Version (British and American) has oikonomia, "dispensation," instead of oikodomia, "edifying" (the King James Version).

F. K. Farr

From the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Edited by James Orr, published in 1939 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.