📖 Biblical Definition
The "everlasting arms" are Moses’ final-blessing image of YHWH’s eternal sustaining strength: "The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them" (Deuteronomy 33:27). The arms hold from below — you cannot fall lower than they reach. They are everlasting — they do not weary, do not tire, do not give out. They are the LORD’s — neither the saint’s strength nor any creature’s, but God’s own arm bearing His own people. The doctrine is the basis of the great hymn "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms" (Hoffman/Showalter, 1887). Lean. The arms will not fail under your weight.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
Moses' final-blessing image: God's arms hold from below.
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Image from Moses' final blessing of Israel before his death (Deut 33:27): "The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms." The Hebrew zeroot olam — arms of eternity — describes God's eternal sustaining strength positioned below the saint, so falling cannot exceed His reach. Anthony Showalter's 1887 hymn "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms" carries the imagery into Christian devotion.
📖 Key Scripture
Deuteronomy 33:27 — "The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them."
Isaiah 40:11 — "He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom."
Isaiah 46:4 — "And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, I will bear, even I will carry, and will deliver you."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Sentimentalized as soft comfort; the actual image is muscular sustaining-strength positioned below.
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"Leaning on the Everlasting Arms" sounds gentle. The Mosaic image is muscular: arms positioned below, ready to catch any fall. The eternal God is below you, holding. You cannot fall lower than He reaches.
Recover the position: His arms are below, not just above. The fall has a floor; the floor is His strength.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Hebrew zeroot olam.
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['Hebrew', 'H2220', 'zeroa', 'arm, strength']
['Hebrew', 'H5769', 'olam', 'eternity']
Usage
"Underneath are the everlasting arms."
"His arms are below; the fall has a floor."
"Eternal God; eternal sustaining."