Synecdoche is figure of speech in which a PART of something is used to signify the WHOLE (or vice-versa). In fact, it’s derived from the Greek word synekdoche: “simultaneous meaning.” As a literary device, synecdoche allows for a smaller component of something to stand in for the larger whole, in a rhetorical manner.
Synecdoche can work in the opposite direction as well, in which the larger whole stands in for a smaller component of something. Synecdoche is a helpful device for writers to express a word or idea in a different way by using an aspect of that word or idea. This allows for variation of expression and produces an effect for the reader.
In the Bible there are thousands of literary devices (hyperbole, metaphor, et al) used.
Jeremiah 26:9b (ESV) And all the people gathered around Jeremiah in the house of the LORD.
[Not “everyone” did, as is clear from the context, but a large number did. The Synecdoche adds a powerful punch to the verse, as we come face-to-face with the large number of people who rejected God, and Jeremiah His prophet.]
Matthew 3:5 (ESV) Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to John the Baptist
[Not “all” the people were going, but a large number were. The Synecdoche gives us a feel for the large numbers of people that responded to John the Baptist.]
Acts 10:12 (YLT) in which [in the sheet let down from heaven for Peter to see] were all the four-footed beasts of the earth, and the wild beasts, and the creeping things, and the fowls of the heaven
[Not every single animal, bird, and insect was in the sheet, but the majority of the kinds of animals were represented. The Synecdoche helps us understand why Peter was recoiled instinctively from all these creatures and said, “Surely not, Lord!” Even the average American, who has no problem eating some of the creatures in the sheet, would have recoiled at the sight.]
James 2:15a (KJV) If a brother or sister be naked…
[“Naked” is put by Synecdoche for “scantily clothed.” This is a common Synecdoche in the Bible]
Psalm 1:1a (ESV) Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked…
[In this verse, and hundreds of others in the Bible, the specific word, “man,” which is put for the whole of “mankind,” both men and women. In the culture of the Bible, women were understood to be included. In biblical times this was not considered an affront to women, although it often is today.]
Psalm 44:6a (NASB) For I will not trust in my bow…
[“Bow” is put by Synecdoche for all weapons. The point is David will not trust his weapons, he will trust Yahweh, his God. God’s use of the Synecdoche packs an important punch. If the verse had said, “I will not trust in my human resources, such as weapons,” we are left with no clear picture in our minds. However, by saying “bow,” we can all picture David holding a bow but not trusting it to deliver him.]
Genesis 3:19a (ESV) By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground…
[“Bread” is put for all the foods man will eat. Bread was such a staple in biblical times that “bread” is used as the general term for food dozens of times in the Bible, and the phrase, “break bread” meant much more than that, it meant to eat a meal.]
Ephesians 6:12a (ESV) For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood…
[In this case, “flesh and blood” means “people.” The verse could have been written in a simple literal way, using “people” instead of “flesh and blood,” but the use of the Synecdoche more powerfully contrasts people with demons, who are not flesh and blood.]
Synecdoche can work in the opposite direction as well, in which the larger whole stands in for a smaller component of something. Synecdoche is a helpful device for writers to express a word or idea in a different way by using an aspect of that word or idea. This allows for variation of expression and produces an effect for the reader.
In the Bible there are thousands of literary devices (hyperbole, metaphor, et al) used.
Jeremiah 26:9b (ESV) And all the people gathered around Jeremiah in the house of the LORD.
[Not “everyone” did, as is clear from the context, but a large number did. The Synecdoche adds a powerful punch to the verse, as we come face-to-face with the large number of people who rejected God, and Jeremiah His prophet.]
Matthew 3:5 (ESV) Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to John the Baptist
[Not “all” the people were going, but a large number were. The Synecdoche gives us a feel for the large numbers of people that responded to John the Baptist.]
Acts 10:12 (YLT) in which [in the sheet let down from heaven for Peter to see] were all the four-footed beasts of the earth, and the wild beasts, and the creeping things, and the fowls of the heaven
[Not every single animal, bird, and insect was in the sheet, but the majority of the kinds of animals were represented. The Synecdoche helps us understand why Peter was recoiled instinctively from all these creatures and said, “Surely not, Lord!” Even the average American, who has no problem eating some of the creatures in the sheet, would have recoiled at the sight.]
James 2:15a (KJV) If a brother or sister be naked…
[“Naked” is put by Synecdoche for “scantily clothed.” This is a common Synecdoche in the Bible]
Psalm 1:1a (ESV) Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked…
[In this verse, and hundreds of others in the Bible, the specific word, “man,” which is put for the whole of “mankind,” both men and women. In the culture of the Bible, women were understood to be included. In biblical times this was not considered an affront to women, although it often is today.]
Psalm 44:6a (NASB) For I will not trust in my bow…
[“Bow” is put by Synecdoche for all weapons. The point is David will not trust his weapons, he will trust Yahweh, his God. God’s use of the Synecdoche packs an important punch. If the verse had said, “I will not trust in my human resources, such as weapons,” we are left with no clear picture in our minds. However, by saying “bow,” we can all picture David holding a bow but not trusting it to deliver him.]
Genesis 3:19a (ESV) By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground…
[“Bread” is put for all the foods man will eat. Bread was such a staple in biblical times that “bread” is used as the general term for food dozens of times in the Bible, and the phrase, “break bread” meant much more than that, it meant to eat a meal.]
Ephesians 6:12a (ESV) For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood…
[In this case, “flesh and blood” means “people.” The verse could have been written in a simple literal way, using “people” instead of “flesh and blood,” but the use of the Synecdoche more powerfully contrasts people with demons, who are not flesh and blood.]
