Question 1

What does "Fruit" mean in the King James Bible?

Accepted Answer

In the KJV, "Fruit" means "results." The diagnostic function. 'By their fruits ye shall know them' was not 'judge people by their results' but 'the visible product of a life reveals the invisible root.' Fruit was diagnostic -- it told you what kind of tree you were dealing with. The fruit of the Spirit was the evidence that God's Spirit was the root of your life.

Question 2

Why did the word "Fruit" disappear from modern English?

Accepted Answer

Hebrew peri ('the natural, visible product of a living thing/the evidence of what something truly is') reduced to 'food from trees.' The organic, evidence-bearing, identity-revealing dimension was lost to the grocery aisle. The word was at peak usage around 1611 and declined by still used but produce-ified (~1800).

Question 3

What modern word replaced "Fruit"?

Accepted Answer

"Fruit" was replaced by: "produce" (though this agricultural commodity; fruit was the visible evidence of invisible root character); "results" (though this mechanical output; fruit was the natural, organic outgrowth of what something truly was); "outcome" (though this end product; fruit was ongoing evidence of the life-source -- bad trees cannot bear good fruit).

What Does “Fruit” Mean in the Bible?

What Was Lost

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