<strong>NATURAL.</strong> 1. The word is used once (<bibleref ref="Deut.34.7">Deut.34.7</bibleref>) for Moses’ physical ability (natural force <span class="small-caps">kjv, rsv</span>; strength <span class="small-caps">niv</span>). The Hebrew word is <em>lēah</em> (“moist,” “full of sap”).<br /><br />

<hr />

<h2>International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915)</h2>

nat’-u-ral, na’-tur (leach; psuchikos, phusikos, phusis) :<br /><br />

1. As Used in the <span class="auto-link">[[Old Testament]]</span>:

"Natural" is the translation of leach, "freshness or vigor" (<bibleref ref="Deut.34.7">De 34:7</bibleref>). Of Moses it is said, "His eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated."

"Nature" in the sense of a system or constitution does not occur in the Old Testament. The world and men, each individual, were conceived as being the direct creation of a supra-mundane God, and conserved by His power and Spirit. The later conception of "nature" came in through Greek influences.<br /><br />

In the Apocrypha, we find "nature" in the sense of innate character or constitution (<span class="auto-link">[[The Wisdom of Solomon]]</span> 7:20, "the natures (phuseis) of living creatures"; The <span class="auto-link">[[Wisdom of Solomon]]</span> 13:1, "Surely vain are all men by nature" (phusei), 3 Macc 3:29, "mortal nature" (phusis)).

2. As Used in the <span class="auto-link">[[New Testament]]</span>:

<hr />