International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
EMPTY; EMPTIERemp'-ti, emp'-ti-er (kenos):
"Empty," adjective meaning void, etc., as the translation of req, riq, reqam, etc., occurs in the literal sense of "with nothing" (Genesis 31:42 Job 22:9); in 2 Samuel 1:22, it is equivalent to "in vain," "hungry" (Isaiah 29:8); in some instances the meaning is comparative only; baqaq, "to gush out," "to pour out," "to empty" is used adjectivally (Hosea 10:1, "Israel is an empty vine"; but the Revised Version (British and American) takes the Hebrew word in its original sense of "pouring out," rendering "Israel is a luxuriant vine"); tohu, "emptiness" (Job 26:7); kenos, "empty" is so translated (Mark 12:3); in Matthew 12:44, the Greek word is scholazo, "to be free," "unoccupied"; "to empty" (verb) is the translation of baqaq (Nahum 2:2), of dalal, "to become poor," etc. (Isaiah 19:6, the English Revised Version "minished," the American Standard Revised Version "diminished"). the Revised Version (British and American) has "empty" for "vain" (Ephesians 5:6), "emptied himself" for "made himself of no reputation" (Philippians 2:7), "emptied out" for "gathered" (2 Kings 22:9 2 Chronicles 34:17, margin "poured out").
W. L. Walker
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
1. (
n.) One who, or that which, empties.
2. (compar.) of Empty.