Now that you know how the NIV translates the word and where it is found in
the New Testament, examine each occurrence in context as a means of
identifying the word’s range of meaning. All this is part of determining what the
word could mean before you decide what it does mean in Matthew 6:25. This
step is probably the most important, but also the most dicult. There is an art
to identifying a word’s semantic range. Don’t give up. Keep working at it and
you’ll nd that it gets easier with practice. Answer the following questions about
how the word is used in each context as a way of getting at its range of
meaning:
a. What things are we told not to worry about in Matthew
6:25, 27, 28, 31, 34; Luke 12:22, 25, 26?
b. What is the context in Matthew 10:19 and Luke 12:11?
Is this a dierent kind of worry than that prohibited in
Matthew 6:25?
c. What stands in contrast to Martha’s worry (Luke
10:41)? How does this contrast help to dene Martha’s
worry?
d. In 1 Corinthians 7 Paul uses the word four times.
Describe the context of this usage.
e. What do the contexts of 1 Corinthians 12 and
Philippians 2 have in common?
f. What kind of worry is Paul describing in Philippians 4?
How do you know?