What is an Epizeuxis?

     In my morning Bible study, I became familiar with a new word.  That word is epizeuxis.  If you are having trouble pronouncing that word, this phonetic spelling may help ‘ep uh ZOOX sis.’   Try to say that three times quickly!  Have you come across that word before?  It is a literary device used to emphasize a word or a phrase by repetition.   By repeating it multiple times, we can learn that it is something to be highly valued.  If you are familiar with the well-known preacher, Andy Stanley, you may have noticed that this is a technique that he uses in most, if not all, of his sermons.  In the movie, Forrest Gump, Bubba repeats all the things he can create from shrimp,

 “Bubba : Anyway, like I was sayin', shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. ... There's pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. 

Once you’ve heard shrimp that many times, you’re not bound to forget it.  You may be familiar with Winston Churchill speech given to the boys at Harrow in 1941, “This is the lesson: never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense.”

     So what is my point?  This morning I noticed an epizeuxis that God used when speaking to the Israelites through the prophet Jeremiah.  “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will let you dwell in this place.  Do not trust in these deceptive words: ‘This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.’”  On the first pass, I noticed the phrase, “the temple of the LORD,” which God was calling deceptive words.  On my second pass, I saw more accurately “of the LORD.”  According to Biblical commentary, the repetition was to point out that the people held extreme confidence in the building, but because they failed to acknowledge it in practice, as a place belonging to God, what they were calling God’s, He no longer wished to be associated with it.  As the passage continues, God repeated four times, “This house which is called by my name.”  If I had not caught on to the epizeuxis, I might have missed God’s repetition.  God was telling the Israelites that a temple called by His name was extremely significant.

     Allow me to digress for just a moment to talk about instructions that we give to our kids, yet they miss it, even after we repeat it multiple times.  ‘Please clear the junk from your dresser, please make your bed, would you bring your dirty clothes into the laundry room?  It can be highly frustrating, can’t it?  Sometimes it is difficult to get them to listen.  God was having the same issue with the Israelites, and if we are to be very honest, God has the same issue with us.  Can you hear an elevating pitch when God is repeating himself?  

               "This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD!" 

I would be lying if I said that I never raised my voice.  God wanted the Israelites to use his temple in a holy manner.  Then we see in Jesus' time; this still had not sunk in, as Jesus turned over the money exchanger’s tables.

     This passage also caused me to consider what it means to give something your name.  When I married my husband, it was not I who chose his name, but I received it when he offered it to me.  I became a 'Geneva.'  When my husband offered his name to me, he, in essence acknowledged that he trusted me with his name.  He expected that I would respect it, I would care for it, and I would represent it well.  I’m not sure how many women consider what it means to take their spouses' name.  In Biblical terms, it transfers responsibility of leadership from a woman’s father to her husband.  Our husbands will stand accountable on judgment day for us.  

     We also pass our name on to children.  We hope that they will be excellent representatives of the virtues that we have taught.  When we walk in the way of the LORD, we are hoping that they will also reflect the light of Jesus.  In John Piper’s book, A Holy Ambition, he talks about what it means to be an image-bearer.  He illustrates using the symbolism of a statue.  For example, a statue of George Washington is to represent George Washington and cause us to think about him as we look upon the image.  As image-bearers of God, God intends that we represent Him.  We bear witness of Him in our words and actions.  As I unpacked my Bible reading today, I realized that I was receiving guidance on how well I represent the name of Jesus.  As Paul tells us in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”  It is essential that we do not misrepresent that name.

     Lastly, I wanted to consider the temple.  In Jeremiah, God was speaking of the temple, a physical building, a representation of God’s dwelling place.  Today, the temple is no longer a building, but our bodies.  Just like God had put his name upon the temple that the Israelites had desecrated, I thought it worthwhile to consider how my actions have defiled God’s temple too.  Possibly I might use experiences like the repetitive instructions that I give to my kids, to be a reminder to evaluate my own behavior toward God.  Can I allow God’s Word to wash over me and help me return as he requested of the Israelite’s in the prophetical book of Jeremiah?  “This command I gave them: ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.” Jeremiah 7:23 (ESV)    

     The Bible contains many epizeuxes.  Can you find another example?  How about Revelations 4:8?  “And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”