Lip
Besides its literal sense (Isa. 37:29, etc.), is used in the original (saphah) metaphorically for an edge or border, as of a cup (1 Kings 7:26), a garment (Ex. 28:32), a curtain (26:4), the sea (Gen. 22:17), the Jordan (2 Kings 2:13). To "open the lips" is to begin to speak (Job 11:5); to "refrain the lips" is to keep silence (Ps. 40:9; 1 Pet. 3:10). The "fruit of the lips" (Heb. 13:15) is praise, and the "calves of the lips" thank-offerings (Hos. 14:2). To "shoot out the lip" is to manifest scorn and defiance (Ps. 22:7). Many similar forms of expression are found in Scripture.
Passages cited in this entry
Isaiah 37:29 · 1 Kings 7:26 · Exodus 28:32 · Genesis 22:17 · 2 Kings 2:13 · Job 11:5 · Psalms 40:9 · 1 Peter 3:10 · Hebrews 13:15 · Hosea 14:2 · Psalms 22:7
M. G. Easton, Illustrated Bible Dictionary, 3rd edition (1897). Public domain; text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library. A nineteenth-century Protestant reference: its dates, archaeology and judgements reflect the scholarship of its time and are not Imago Dei's editorial position.