PRESENCE

prez'-ens: In the Old Testament nearly always the rendition of panim, "face" (Genesis 3:8; Exodus 33:14 f; Psalms 95:2; Isaiah 63:9, etc.); occasionally of `ayin, "eye" (Genesis 23:11; Deuteronomy 25:9; Jeremiah 28:1,11, etc.); and in 1 Kings 8:22; Proverbs 14:7, "the presence of" represents the preposition neghedh, "before"; compare also Aramaic qodham, in Daniel 2:27 the King James Version (the Revised Version (British and American) "before"). In Greek, "presence" has an exact equivalent in parousia, but this word is rendered "presence" only in 2 Corinthians 10:10; Philippians 2:12; the Revised Version (British and American); Philippians 1:26 (the King James Version "coming"). Elsewhere parousia is rendered "coming," but always with "presence" in the margin. Otherwise in the New Testament "presence" represents no particular word but is introduced where it seems to suit the context (compare e.g. Acts 3:13 the King James Version and Acts 3:19).

See PAROUSIA .

Burton Scott Easton

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