beloved adjectiveEtymology: Middle English, from past participle of beloven
to love, from be- + loven to love Date: 14th century
dearly loved ; dear to the heart • belovednoun
beloved
1. A beloved person, thing, or place is one that you feel great affection for.
He lost his beloved wife last year...ADJ: usu ADJ n, also v-link ADJ of/by n
2. Your beloved is the person that you love. (OLD-FASHIONED)
He takes his beloved into his arms.N-SING: usu poss N
Beloved \Be*loved"\, p. p. & a.
Greatly loved; dear to the heart.
Antony, so well beloved of C[ae]sar. --Shak.
This is my beloved Son. --Matt. iii.
17.
BELOVED
be-luv'-ed, be-luv'-d' (agapetos): A term of affectionate endearment common
to both Testaments; in the Old Testament found, 26 out of 42 times, in
Solomon's So of Love. Limited chiefly to two Heb words and their derivatives:
'ahebh, "to breathe" or "long for," hence, to love, corresponding to the New
Testament, agapao, "to prefer," i.e. a love based on respect and benevolent
regard; dodh, "love," chiefly love between the sexes, based on sense and
emotion, akin to phileo (Latin amare). Used occasionally, in their nobler
sense, interchangeably, e.g. the former of a husband's love for his wife
(De 21:15,16); twice of a lover (So 1:14,16), thus lifting the
affection of the So of Solomon out of mere amorousness into the realm of the
spiritual and possibly Messianic. Both words used of God's love for His chosen:
e.g. Solomon, "beloved of his God" (Ne 13:26); Benjamin "beloved of
Yahweh" (De 33:12); so even of wayward Israel (Jer 11:15).
In the New Testament "beloved" used exclusively of Divine and Christian love,
an affection begotten in the community of the new spiritual life in Christ,
e.g. "beloved in the Lord" (Ro 16:8). The beauty, unity, endearment
of this love is historically unique, being peculiarly Christian. "Brethren"
in Christ are "beloved" (1Th 1:4; 1Co 15:58; Jas 1:16; 2:5). Many
individuals are specified by name: Timothy (2Ti 1:2); Philemon (Phm
1:1); Amplias, Urbane, Stachys, Persis (Ro 16:8,9,12), etc. The aged
John is the conspicuous New Testament illustration of the depth and tenderness
of Christian love. In his epistles alone he addresses his disciples 12 times
as "beloved." Paul terms "God's elect" "holy and beloved" (Col 3:12).
The term rises to still Diviner significance as an epithet of Christ, whom
Paul, grateful for His "freely bestowed" grace, terms "the Beloved." This
is the word used repeatedly to express God the Father's infinite affection
for Jesus His "beloved Son" (Mt 3:17; 12:18; 17:5; Mr 1:11; 9:7; Lu 3:22;
20:13).
Agapetos rendered as above 47 times is 9 times "dearly beloved" (the Revised
Version (British and American) uniformly omits "dearly") and 3 times "well
beloved" (the Revised Version (British and American) omits "well"). The
former rendering found only once in the Old Testament (yedhidhuth, "something
beloved"), portraying God's tender love for His people: "dearly beloved of
my soul" (Jer 12:7). Thrice is Daniel spoken of as "greatly beloved"
of Gabriel and of God (hamudhoth, "precious," i.e. delight = beloved; Da
9:23; 10:11,19). Through the apostles the word has become familiar in
pastoral and sermonic address. Few New Testament words better illustrate the
power and impress of the Christian spirit on succeeding centuries than this.
Dwight M. Pratt
beloved
bɪˈlʌvd adj.
1 loved, cherished, adored, dear, dearest, darling, precious, treasured; admired,
worshipped, revered, esteemed, idolized, respected, esteemed; valued, prized: He denied nothing
to his beloved children. She was their beloved queen. --n.
2 sweetheart, darling, dearest, love; lover, paramour, inamorata or inamorato, Colloq
flame: He wrote poems to his beloved.
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