Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

FRIEND

In biblical usage, a term covering a broad spectrum of relationships, from the intimate to the remote. The OT captures the sense of these relationships in the substantives drawn basically from the roots ʾhb and rʿh. In the LXX and NT the usual word is Gk. phílos, and occasionally hetaíros. The Vulg. almost always translates Lat. amicus.

In the OT the terms express quite normal human relationships that are governed by the friendship conventions of the ancient Near East. They can simply connote the relationship of neighbors and acquaintances (Lev. 19:18; Jer. 6:21; Mic. 7:5), as well as closer ones that stress equality between friends (Deut. 13:6[MT 7]) and verge on the familial (Ps. 35:14; Prov. 18:24; 27:10). Legendary in this regard is the friendship between David and Jonathan (1 Sam. 18:1-3; 20:17; 2 Sam. 1:26). Friendship with God is also possible, as Moses is called a friend of God and speaks with God face to face, as friends speak (Exod. 33:11). Judg. 5:31 reflects the conventional wisdom that one should help one’s friends and harm one’s enemies. The Wisdom Literature gives special attention to the importance of loyal friendship (Sir. 6:14-16), advises on its value (Prov. 18:24; Eccl. 4:9-12; Sir. 6:1; 25:1), and warns of its fragility (Prov. 19:4; Sir. 6:8-13; 9:10; 13:21; 22:20; 37:1). Sir. 22:21-22 stresses the possibility of repair for damaged friendship.

The NT does not present a unified teaching on friends and friendship, but NT authors do show some interest in the topic. Although Paul does not use the word “friend,” he shows familiarity with the conventions of friendship (Rom. 5:6-8; 13:8-10; 1 Cor. 1:10; Gal. 4:12-20; Phil. 2:2-4; 4:14-16) and even employs elements of the friendly letter in his correspondence (Phil. 1:3-4, 7-8, 27; 2:12). Matthew uses Gk. phílos only once (Matt. 11:19), and is the only NT author to use hetaíros, three times in the vocative (20:13; 22:12; 26:50). Luke uses phílos more than other NT authors (e.g., Luke 7:6, 34; 11:5-8; 12:4; 16:9; 23:12; Acts 10:24; 19:31). Luke is the only Gospel author to include the Parable of the Persistent Friend (Luke 11:5-8). The peculiarly Lucan Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) reflects aspects of the Greco-Roman topos on friendship, and even challenges the reciprocity ethic (6:34-35a; 14:12-14; Acts 20:35), which governed friendship in his day. In John’s Gospel the term “friend” takes on a special meaning connoting close relationship to Jesus (John 3:29; 11:11; 15:14-15). The Gospel of John reflects the common friendship motifs of sharing (John 15:15) and loyalty to the point of death (10:11, 15, 17-18; 15:13; cf. 11:16; 1 John 3:16). In these ways, NT authors appropriate and adapt to their own needs the Hellenistic-Jewish and Greco-Roman friendship traditions of their day.

Bibliography. A. C. Mitchell, “ ‘Greet the Friends by Name’: New Testament Evidence for the Greco-Roman Topos on Friendship,” in Greco-Roman Perspectives on Friendship, ed. J. T. Fitzgerald. SBLRBS 34 (Atlanta, 1997), 225-62.

Alan C. Mitchell

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

FRIEND

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)