The concept of being "entangled" in the Bible often carries a negative connotation, symbolizing the spiritual and moral complications that can ensnare individuals, leading them away from a righteous path. The term is used metaphorically to describe the spiritual and ethical traps that can hinder one's relationship with God and impede spiritual progress.

Old Testament Context

While the specific term "entangle" is not frequently used in the Old Testament, the concept is present in various narratives and teachings. For example, the Israelites were warned against becoming entangled with the pagan practices and idolatry of the surrounding nations. In Exodus 34:12, God commands, "Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land where you are going, or they will be a snare among you." This warning highlights the danger of becoming spiritually ensnared by foreign influences, which could lead to a departure from God's commandments.

New Testament Usage

In the New Testament, the idea of entanglement is more explicitly addressed. The Apostle Paul, in his letters, often warns against becoming entangled in sin and worldly affairs. In 2 Timothy 2:4 , Paul writes, "No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him." Here, Paul uses the metaphor of a soldier to illustrate the importance of remaining focused on one's spiritual mission without being distracted by worldly concerns.

The Apostle Peter also addresses the concept of entanglement in 2 Peter 2:20 : "If indeed they have escaped the corruption of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ only to be entangled and overcome by it again, their final condition is worse than it was at first." This passage warns of the dangers of returning to sinful behaviors after having experienced the redemptive power of Christ, emphasizing the severity of spiritual relapse.

Spiritual Implications

Entanglement in the biblical sense often refers to the spiritual bondage that results from sin and disobedience. It suggests a loss of freedom and a hindrance to spiritual growth. The Bible encourages believers to remain vigilant and to avoid situations or behaviors that could lead to spiritual entrapment. Hebrews 12:1 exhorts believers to "lay aside every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with endurance the race set out for us." This verse underscores the need for spiritual discipline and the active rejection of sin to maintain a faithful walk with God.

Practical Application

For Christians, the concept of entanglement serves as a cautionary reminder to remain steadfast in faith and to avoid the snares of sin and worldly distractions. It calls for a life of holiness and dedication to God's will, free from the spiritual and moral complications that can lead one astray. Believers are encouraged to seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit, engage in regular prayer and study of the Scriptures, and maintain fellowship with other believers to avoid becoming entangled in the affairs of the world.1. (v. t.) To complicate; to enmesh; to twist or interweave in such a manner as not to be easily separated; to make tangled, confused, and intricate; as, to entangle yarn or the hair.

2. (v. t.) To involve in such complications as to render extrication a bewildering difficulty; hence, metaphorically, to ensnare; to perplex; to bewilder; to puzzle; as, to entangle the feet in a net, or in briers.

ENTANGLE

en-tan'-g'-l:

Found but 5 times in the Scriptures (the King James Version), once in the Old Testament, yet most significant as illustrating the process of mental, moral and spiritual confusion and enslavement.

(1) Physical:

Used of physical entanglement, as in the mazes of a labyrinth (bukh, to involve, "be perplexed"). At Moses' command the children of Israel, before crossing the Red Sea, took the wrong way in order to give Pharaoh the impression that they were lost in the wilderness and cause him to say "They are entangled in the land" (Exodus 14:3).

(2) Mental:

pagideuo, "to entrap," "ensnare," with words, as birds are caught in a snare; compare Ecclesiastes 9:12. The Pharisees sought to "entangle" (the Revised Version (British and American) "ensnare") Jesus in His talk (Matthew 22:15).

(3) Moral:

`empleko, "to inweave," hence, intertwine and involve. "A god soldier of Jesus Christ," says Paul, does not "entangle himself," i.e. become involved, "in the affairs of this life" (2 Timothy 2:4). Having "escaped the defilements of the world," Christians are not to be "again entangled therein" (2 Peter 2:20).

(4) Spiritual:

enecho, "to hold in," hence, to hold captive, as a slave in fetters or under a burden. Having experienced spiritual emancipation, freedom, through Christ from bondage to sin and false religion (Galatians 5:1; compare Galatians 4:8), the Gentiles were not to become "entangled again in a yoke of bondage" by submission to mere legal requirements, as the external rite of circumcision.

With reference to the thoroughness and irresistibleness of God's judgments, we read in Nahum 1:10, "For entangled like thorns" (the King James Version "while they be folden together as thorns"), damp, closely packed and intertwined, "they are consumed utterly as dry stubble" (the King James Version "devoured as stubble fully dry").

Dwight M. Pratt

1707. empleko -- to weave in, to entwine, ie to involve with
... to entwine, ie to involve with. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: empleko Phonetic
Spelling: (em-plek'-o) Short Definition: I enfold, entangle Definition: I ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1707.htm - 6k

1758. enecho -- to hold in or upon, ie to ensnare, by impl. to ...
... to keep a grudge. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: enecho Phonetic Spelling:
(en-ekh'-o) Short Definition: I am angry with, entangle Definition: (a) I have ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1758.htm - 6k

3802. pagideuo -- to set a trap
... Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: pagideuo Phonetic Spelling: (pag-id-yoo'-o)
Short Definition: I ensnare, entrap Definition: I ensnare, entrap, entangle. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3802.htm - 6k

2760. charak -- perhaps to scorch, parch
... roast. A primitive root; to braid (ie To entangle or snare) or catch (game) in a
net -- roast. 2759, 2760. charak. 2761 . Strong's Numbers.
/hebrew/2760.htm - 5k

5670. abat -- to take or give a pledge
... A primitive root; to pawn; causatively, to lend (on security); figuratively, to
entangle -- borrow, break (ranks), fetch (a pledge), lend, X surely. ...
/hebrew/5670.htm - 6k

7672. shebash -- to be perplexed
... be astonished. (Aramaic) corresponding to shabats; to entangle, ie Perplex -- be
astonished. see HEBREW shabats. 7671, 7672. shebash. 7673 . Strong's Numbers
/hebrew/7672.htm - 6k

Cheth.
... Therefore when they threaten evils, with which to alarm the righteous, that they
may not suffer for the law of God, they, so to speak, entangle them with bands ...
//christianbookshelf.org/augustine/exposition on the book of psalms/cheth.htm

There Remains the Pleasure of These Eyes of My Flesh...
... Thou ceasest not to pluck them out, while I often entangle myself in the snares
on all sides laid; because Thou that keepest Israel shalt neither slumber nor ...
/.../the confessions of saint augustine/chapter xxxiv there remains the.htm

Whether Observances Directed to the Purpose of Fortune-Telling are ...
... are brought forward, not on divine authority, but rather by human vanity with the
cooperation of the malice of the demons, who strive to entangle men's minds ...
/.../aquinas/summa theologica/whether observances directed to the 2.htm

The Tables Turned: the Questioners Questioned
... Their questions were cunningly contrived to entangle Him in the cobwebs of casuistry
and theological hair-splitting, but He walked through the fine-spun snares ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture b/the tables turned the questioners.htm

An Account of the Organization of the Methodist Episcopal Church ...
... them. And how grievously would this entangle us! 4. As our American brethren
are now totally disentangled both from the state and ...
/.../chapter 3 an account of.htm

The Beatific vision.
... neither just nor peaceful"Is not a man's soul, I say, sometimes among lions?"among
greedy, violent, tyrannous persons, who are ready to entangle him in a ...
/.../kingsley/westminster sermons/sermon xxvii the beatific vision.htm

The Festival of Games, in Honor of Augustus, were About to Begin ...
... Each tried to entangle the other in his net and secure a hold. ... Down came the net,
grazing his head. Swiftly he sprang upon the Jew, striving to entangle him. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/bacheller/vergilius/chapter 24 the festival of.htm

All Internal Livers Obliged to Attend to God's Inspirations. ...
... to adhere to former customs, because she finds them commended in books, &c., or
because she did formerly reap profit by them, this is to entangle, fetter, and ...
/.../chapter v all internal livers.htm

The Third Day in Passion-Week - the Events of that Day - the ...
... cunningly concocted. The object was to spy' out His inmost thoughts, [5124]
and, if possible, entangle' Him in His talk. [5125] For ...
/.../edersheim/the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter iii the third day.htm

Of Repentance, in the Case of Such as have Lapsed after Baptism.
... observes, assaults, besieges him, in the hope that he may be able in some way either
to strike his eyes with carnal concupiscence, or else to entangle his mind ...
/.../tertullian/on repentance/chapter vii of repentance in the.htm

Entangle (7 Occurrences)
... complicate; to enmesh; to twist or interweave in such a manner as not to be easily
separated; to make tangled, confused, and intricate; as, to entangle yarn or ...
/e/entangle.htm - 11k

Entangled (11 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary (imp. & pp) of Entangle. Multi-Version Concordance
Entangled (11 Occurrences). Galatians 5:1 Stand firm ...
/e/entangled.htm - 9k

Numerous (88 Occurrences)
... Luke 11:53 After He had left the house, the Scribes and Pharisees commenced a vehement
attempt to entangle Him and make Him give off-hand answers on numerous ...
/n/numerous.htm - 33k

Off-hand (1 Occurrence)
... Luke 11:53 After He had left the house, the Scribes and Pharisees commenced a vehement
attempt to entangle Him and make Him give off-hand answers on numerous ...
/o/off-hand.htm - 6k

Lime (4 Occurrences)
... plastering, mortar, etc. 6. (vt) To smear with a viscous substance, as birdlime.
7. (vt) To entangle; to ensnare. 8. (vt) To treat ...
/l/lime.htm - 11k

Web (5 Occurrences)
... See Feather. 20. (vt) To unite or surround with a web, or as if with a web; to
envelop; to entangle. Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. WEB. ...
/w/web.htm - 9k

Involve (2 Occurrences)
... 6. (vt) To envelop, enfold, entangle, or embarrass; as, to involve a person in debt
or misery. 7. (vt) To engage thoroughly; to occupy, employ, or absorb. ...
/i/involve.htm - 7k

Fold (23 Occurrences)
... as thorns," the English Revised Version "like tangled thorns" the American Standard
Revised Version "entangled like thorns"; see ENTANGLE); helisso "to roll or ...
/f/fold.htm - 17k

Folding (14 Occurrences)
... as thorns," the English Revised Version "like tangled thorns" the American Standard
Revised Version "entangled like thorns"; see ENTANGLE); helisso "to roll or ...
/f/folding.htm - 11k

Foul (41 Occurrences)
... (vt) To entangle, so as to impede motion; as, to foul a rope or cable in paying
it out; to come into collision with; as, one boat fouled the other in a race. ...
/f/foul.htm - 21k

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