Dictionaries

Do you suffer from hypnopomp? Do you have hypnopompic hallucinations? Is this all Greek to you? It was for me, too, until I looked it up in a dictionary. By the way, not all dictionaries have this word!

Hypnopomp is the state that you are in just before you fully wake up. You know the feeling that you have the moment before you sip your first cup of morning coffee? It's when your lips touch the dark and aromatic cup of java! Then you're awake!

The meaning of words and the uses of the definition of words, ideas, or concepts are concretized in dictionaries. Some give robust historical facts, while others will say, "For the word xxx, please see the word yyy"!

My favourite dictionary is the Oxford Concise Dictionary. In my formative years, it was my practice to read the dictionary and highlight in yellow the words that I found interesting. My constant companion during my university years was a dictionary or two. I learned some fascinating things when I read them.

When we read, if we are unsure of a word's meaning, we scramble to the bookshelf, pull the dictionary, roll through its pages, finger the word, and find its meaning. Many words have more than one meaning, so the context becomes important when we go back to reading that adventure-packed novel.

When we read the Bible, it is also good to have a Bible dictionary. There are many from which to choose. When we read a biblical account and see a word like "Thummim", it is wise to stop reading and get a dictionary, especially a Bible dictionary. By looking up the definition of a biblical word, we will find that it helps us to understand and retain not only the word, but also what we were reading, a day or a week or a decade later!

As my primary grade teacher, Mrs. Allen, said, "Reading is the key to knowledge." I believed her then, and I still do! I also believe what the writer of Proverbs noted toward the beginning of his thirty-one-chapter book:

Proverbs 2:10-12a – When wisdom enters your heart, and knowledge is pleasant to your soul, discretion will preserve you; understanding will keep you, to deliver you from the way of evil. (NKJV)

And now you're in the know!

Prayer: From Your Word, O God, we learn that the "fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge" (Proverbs 1:7 NKJV). We understand that all knowledge begins when we learn of You and Your great and awesome character and love for us. Thank You that we know what it means when we say that You are a loving, caring, forgiving, compassionate Saviour. We acknowledge with gratitude the knowledge that we have acquired of Your goodness and grace. May we continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. We pray in His name. Amen.

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