back to articlesThe Biblical use and definition of the word "railing"
Introduction
Some people have developed this idea that railing is either an accusation or an implicit one, going against the dictionary definition or common understanding of the word. Now, going against modern dictionaries itself is not a problem since there are many modern usages of various words which differ from the way they are used in the King James Bible, among these words: "let", "meat", "quick", "charity". So what are the dictionary definitions of the word "rail"?
To revile or scold in harsh, insolent, or abusive language.
— Merriam Webster Dictionary —
Note that these dictionary definitions agree with one another: the modern ones and (highlight this mentally) the older one, the 1828 dictionary. We find ourselves in a different realm now: no longer in the one where the common usage of the word changed, but one where the word seems to have been statically defined—in other words, the "well, other words changed meaning" explanation holds less weight now. However, the only way to determine the definition is to look into the usage of the word within the King James Bible, so we start with the verses where the word makes appearence, first the old testament, then the new.
Old testament appearances
New testament appearances
Initial overview
Among these verses, there are those which give more helpful hints than others regarding the meaning of the word. Irrespective of the chosen verse, the word does carry a negative connotation to begin with. The next step would be to go through each verse and the context of it in order to determine how that word was used in that situation.
Usage in 1 Samuel 25:14
It is firstly important to understand who Nabal is in order to understand how he "railed" on the young men of David. Luckily for us, the Bible indeed describes the general character of this rich man Nabal.
Nabal is immediately pictured as someone who isn't very welcoming to say the least, even contrasted with his wife Abigail who is of good understanding—this obviously includes emotional understanding which is very likely something that Nabal lacked. Now let's understand what led up to Nabal railing on the young men, so let's read what David told the young men to say to Nabal concerning recent events.
Then David's men went Nabal to tell him the things which David told these young men to say. Nabal's response?
Where is the accusation here? How deep will you dig? Instead consider this: if Nabal were to simply respond with a plain refusal, would that be railing? The answer is no, it wouldn't have been railing. So then railing isn't just solely determined by the content of speech alone but it can also be determined by how someone delivers their speech.
Usage in 2 Chronicles 32:17
Where is the accusation here? The Bible says that Sennacherib king of Assyria railed on the LORD God of Israel, but when you read it he only casts doubt and insults God—this only makes sense if railing itself was speaking against in an insulting way, otherwise you will be digging for an accusation where there is none, since an accusation is a claim of fault about either having or not having done something.
Usage in Mark 15:29 & Luke 23:39
Here we see the passer-bys railing on Jesus by mocking him, telling him to save himself and to come down from the cross and seemingly mocking him with doubt. So then spoken forms of mockery depending on the situation can also be considered railing. We will go through this again: where is the accusation? There is none.
Usage in 1 Corinthians 5:11, 1 Timothy 6:4 & 1 Peter 3:9
These verses do not accurately indicate the nature of railing—all they really hint at is that the word railing is negative. In 1 Corinthians 5:11 is mentioned to avoid a railer: so think of Nabal. In 1 Timothy 6:4 railings emerges as one of in the category of envy, strife, evil surmisings. In 1 Peter 3:9 railing for railing is compared to evil for evil and contrasted with blessing for blessing, which is an interesting point as the most immediate negation of blessing for blessing would be cursing for cursing. we will also touch on railing for railing at the end.
Usage in 2 Peter 2:11 & Jude 1:9
Now these verses get interesting in that if you take railing to mean accusation, then the phrase "railing accusation" is likened unto "unmarried bachelor" or "frozen ice" or "wet water"... the point is that the combination of words gives no new meaning but is just a double instance of the same word—how often do you use such language in your everyday speech?
Conclusion
The conclusion in its simplicity is that the dictionary definitions which are in modern use are the same definitions the King James Bible uses—the word "railing" has not changed in its meaning and means to speak against someone harshly or in a harsh manner in a general sense. Furthermore, some may respond with "doesn't that mean rebuke is railing"? In some cases it indeed can. For instance, if I rebuke you and you rebuke me back and I rebuke you... guess what? That is the railing for railing talked about in 1 Peter 3:9, which is also talked about by Jesus "Judge not, that ye be not judged" (Matthew 7:1). Let's look at a summary verse by verse.
In 1 Samuel 25:14, Nabal speaks against the young men of David, denying them their portion and so doing gets his way (in the moment).
In 2 Chronicles 32:17, Sennacherib king of Assyria spoke against the Lord God comparing him to gods of the heathens which he has in times past conquered.
In Mark 15:29-30, the passerbys speak against Jesus Christ, mocking him for his powerlessness by appearence.
In 1 Corinthians 5:11, 1 Timothy 6:4 & 1 Peter 3:9, railing is condemned and contrasted with blessing.
In 2 Peter 2:11 & Jude 1:9, railing is used in a tautology if you believe that it means accusation which goes against general speech.
So what are the intentions of railings? To shout needlessly (1 Samuel 25:14), to bring one down (2 Chronicles 32:17, Mark 15:29-30). What are the intentions of rebuke?
Rebuke itself could have an article written about it, but the most common understanding of it is that it means to correct someone. We will now leave you with a pictorial interpretation of railing.
