Ellipsis leaves out words that the reader is expected to supply from the sentence, context, or repeated pattern.
Ellipsis leaves out words that the reader is expected to supply from the sentence, context, or repeated pattern.
A figure of omission in which a necessary word or phrase is not expressed, but is recoverable from the nature of the subject, the context, or repetition from a nearby clause.
These examples show how Ellipsis functions in biblical language, rhetoric, poetry, prophecy, narrative, or theological imagery.
the disciples to the multitude
The second clause omits the verb already implied from the previous clause; supplying 'gave' resolves the grammar while preserving the emphasis.
and he gave him tithes
The subject must be supplied from context; Abram, not Melchizedek, is the giver of the tithes.
he knew not ought he had
The ellipsis requires context to determine the subject and scope of what was known or entrusted.
be it far from thee
The idiomatic expression leaves unstated a fuller wish such as divine mercy or prevention; the sense is supplied by idiom and context.
they took him down
The actor is not the grammatical focus; the action is compressed and must be read from the narrative setting.
faith was reckoned
The argument assumes the omitted object and context from the Abraham quotation.
as... so also
Paul’s tightly parallel sentence requires supplied wording from the corresponding clauses.
milk, not meat
The implied verb/object is supplied by the teaching context: Paul gave elementary instruction, not solid food.
whether beside ourselves... sober
The sentence compresses implied predicates and objects in paired clauses.
we unto the Gentiles, they unto the circumcision
The verb of going/preaching is omitted in parallel clauses and supplied by context.
good for edifying
The construction requires supplied terms to complete the sense: speech should be suitable for edification.
after the tradition of men
The warning compresses the governing idea; the reader supplies the relation between philosophy and its human source.
if she have washed the saints' feet
The list compresses repeated conditions under the introductory 'if'.
the whole world lies in the evil one
An ellipsis is commonly supplied as 'in the power of'; the implied relation clarifies the phrase.
evil for good
The verb of repayment or returning is compressed; the paired objects carry the point.
numbered with transgressors
The phrase functions compactly and expects context to supply the implied legal or social identification.
if not, blot me
The broken/aposiopetic-like conditional leaves the consequence unstated, intensifying Moses' plea.
what if you see...
The unfinished conditional question requires the hearer to supply the implied conclusion.
one thing
The expression compresses the main pursuit and leaves the predicate/action to the following participles.
to whom Abraham gave
The sentence depends on supplied antecedent relations from Genesis 14.
add ye year to year
The sentence compresses the thought and requires supplied verbal sense from the command context.
the righteous cry, and the LORD hears
The noun subject is carried over from context; the compact line leaves understood material to be supplied.
they asked, and he brought quail
The object and fuller request are omitted because the context supplies the sense.
shall they fall, and not arise?
The rhetorical line omits expected explanatory elements while preserving force through compression.
not on the feast
The understood action is supplied from the preceding deliberation about arresting Jesus.
if it bear fruit, well
The apodosis is elliptic; the implied outcome is supplied from the agricultural warning.
for sin
The compressed sacrificial phrase requires contextual completion; the expression is not a full clause by itself.
not his own, but another's
The second clause omits the repeated object 'good/profit,' supplied from the first clause.
not having received the promises
The fuller fulfillment is supplied by context; the compact phrase does not deny all promise reception in every sense.
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