📖 Biblical Definition
To arise is to stand up, get up, rise — and Scripture loads the verb in four directions. First, the imperative of urgent obedience: "Arise, get thee to Nineveh" (Jonah 1:2); "Arise, take up thy bed, and walk" (John 5:8). Second, the cry for divine intervention: "Arise, O LORD; save me, O my God" (Psalm 3:7; 7:6; 9:19). Third, the resurrection-verb of Christ Himself: "He is not here: for he is risen" (Matthew 28:6). And fourth, the eschatological summons to the dead in Christ: "Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light" (Ephesians 5:14). The Christian life is one extended arise: get up, follow, fight, rise on the last day.
📜 KJV Continual Tense
In KJV: ariseth — the standing-up that initiates action.
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Psalm 68:1: "Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered." The cry for God's active intervention is for Him to stand up.
Mark 5:41: "Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise." The Aramaic qum is the resurrection-imperative spoken to the dead.
Ephesians 5:14: "Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light." The continuous-imperative summons of the gospel.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
To stand up, rise; to take up action.
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To rise up; to get up from sitting, lying, or being inactive; in Scripture the verb of urgent obedience, of divine intervention summoned, of resurrection, and of the gospel's wake-up call to the spiritually dead.
📖 Key Scripture
Mark 5:41 — "And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise."
Psalm 68:1 — "Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him."
Ephesians 5:14 — "Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Worn out as casual instruction ("arise and shine for your meeting") rather than the urgent imperative Scripture loads onto it.
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Modern devotional language flattens "arise" into greeting-card optimism. Scripture is sharper: arise from death, arise from despair, arise to action. Christ said it to a dead girl. Paul said it to the spiritually dead.
Recover the urgency: every biblical "arise" assumes someone has been horizontal who needs to get vertical. The verb is summons, not suggestion.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Hebrew qum; Greek anistēmi.
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['Hebrew', 'H6965', 'qum', 'to arise, stand up']
['Greek', 'G450', 'anistēmi', 'to raise up, arise']
['Aramaic', '—', 'qumi', 'arise (feminine imperative)']
Usage
"Let God arise — the cry of intervention."
"Talitha cumi — Christ to the dead."
"Arise from the dead — the gospel summons."