prov-o-ka'-shun, pro-vok': "Provoke," literally, "to call forth," hence, to excite or stir up, whether in a good or bad sense, appears frequently in the Old Testament as the translation of Piel, or Hiphil of ka`ac (noun, ka`ac), in the sense of "to make angry" (Deuteronomy 4:25; 9:18; 1 Kings 14:9,15, etc.); sometimes of marah (Isaiah 3:8), and of other words. In the New Testament we have parazeloo, "to make jealous" (Romans 10:19; 11:11,14); parorgizo, "to make angry" (Ephesians 6:4; compare Colossians 3:21); with parapikraino, "to embitter" (Hebrews 3:16; compare in 1 Esdras 6:15), and other Greek words. "Provocation" in Hebrews 3:8,15 (quoting Psalms 95:8) is parapikrasmos, the Septuagint for the Hebrew meribhah. An example of the good sense of the word is in Hebrews 10:24, "Consider one another to provoke (literally, "to the provoking," here paroxusmos) unto love and good works."

For "provoke" the Revised Version (British and American) has "despise" (Numbers 14:11; 31:20), "rebel against" (Psalms 78:40); for "provoked," "despised" (Numbers 14:23; 16:30; Isaiah 1:4), "moved" (Deuteronomy 32:16; 1 Chronicles 21:1), "rebelled against" (Psalms 78:56), "were rebellious" (Psalms 106:33,43); for "provoking" (Psalms 78:17), "to rebel against"; for "provoked" (2 Corinthians 9:2), "stirred up"; "provoked within" for "stirred in" (Acts 17:16); "provoked" for "limited" (Psalms 78:41 margin, "limited"); "provoketh" for "emboldeneth" (Job 16:3); instead of "Provoke not your children to anger" (Colossians 3:21), "Provoke not your children."

W. L. Walker

From the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Edited by James Orr, published in 1939 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

Are you a good person? Try the good person test.