Quote:
Originally Posted by BornAgainBibleBeliever514
My question is, what is the correct rule for deciding whether to cap or not to cap when there is not a clear scriptural or grammatical precedent?
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Suffer me to make it even more confusing:
Genesis 1:5-10 And God called the light
Day, and the darkness he called
Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament
Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land
Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he
Seas: and God saw that it was good.
In our King James Bible note that 5 words in this portion of the creation narrative are in caps (aside from the word "God" and the first letter of proper sentences). I believe the reason this was done was to call the readers attention to terms in the Bible that will appear in different contexts.
For example, the word "Day" can be used to express:
a. A day of the week.
b. A time in prophecy, not necessarily 24 hours long.
c. Physical light.
d. Spiritual light.
The word Night can be:
a. The dark part of a day.
b. A time of darkness in prophecy, not necessarily 24 hours long.
c. Physical darkness.
d. Spiritual darkness.
The word Heaven can be:
a. The air above the Earth
b. The vastness of space
c. The abode of God's throne
(There are three heavens)
The word Earth:
a. The planet, as a whole
b. The land
The word Seas:
a. There are seas on the surface of the earth.
b. There is a "sea" between the second and third heaven.
c. There are roaring seas that represent peoples in prophecy.
I'm sure I missed a few, but I think you get the idea. I hope this is helpful.