Knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance. (Hebrews 10:34) This is well. Our substance here is very unsubstantial; there is no substance in it.
But God has given us a promise of real estate in the glorious land, and that promise comes to our hearts with such full assurance of its certainty that we know in ourselves that we have an enduring substance there. Yes, “we have” it even now. They say, “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush,” but we have our bird in the bush and in the hand too. Heaven is even now our own. We have the title deed of it, we have the earnest of it, we have the first fruits of it. We have heaven in price, in promise, and in principle, this we know not only by the hearing of the ear but ïn ourselves.”
Should not the thought of the better substance on the other side of the Jordan reconcile us to present losses? Our spending money we may lose, but our treasure is safe. We have lost the shadows but the substance remains, for our Savior lives, and the place which He has prepared for us abides. There is a better land, a better substance, a better promise, and all this comes to us by a better covenant; wherefore, let us be in better spirits, and say unto the Lord, Ëvery day will I bless thee; and praise thy name forever and ever.”
“Wherefore” is an archaic word meaning “why” (for what reason or purpose) or “therefore” (for that reason/consequently), often found in classic literature like Shakespeare (e.g., “Wherefore art thou Romeo?” means “Why are you Romeo?”) or in the phrase “the whys and wherefores” (the reasons and causes). It’s rarely used in modern everyday speech but retains its meanings in formal or literary contexts.
It does not mean “where,” but rather asks for the purpose or cause behind an action, or indicates a consequence. Common synonyms include why, therefore, for which reason, and consequently. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Usage Examples
“Wherefore art thou Romeo?” (Romeo and Juliet): Means “Why are you Romeo?” (lamenting that he is a Montague).
“Wherefore did you not come to the feast?” (Why didn’t you come…).
“He worked hard, wherefore he succeeded.” (…therefore, he succeeded).
“The whys and wherefores”: A common idiom referring to all the underlying reasons or causes of a situation. [1, 2, 3, 4]
It is most commonly found in older literature,17th-century texts, or legal contexts, often used to bridge a cause with a resulting action. [1, 2]
I am sure we both see the problems with the 1600’s King James language. And where did most people then learn to speak English? From their parents and if still alive their grandparents and so it continues until you realize there was no dictionary, and many people were speaking 1400’s English or earlier. That is why we should refer to more modern Bible translations. I like the New International Version (NIV) and New Living Translation (NLV) which you’ll find for your reference at no charge at BibleGateway.com
I saw a young man on YouTube one day saying he came to the realization that knowing word definitions was important.
Of course it is important! If you misunderstand the word meanings you read, you will misunderstand the paragraph, the page, perhaps the entire chapter and doctrine!
Wherefore is not “where” it is Why, which brought in the question of family liniage in the example of the play Romeo and Juliette, which I underlined for your quick reference. If you did not understand that word definition, the entire important issue of family and related social connections and politics would be completely missed when you tried to read that play script.
My Friend, If you want to be better educated, better informed, and a better student and learner, you must look up words which you do not understand, use the word in sentences until you own it, and then you’ll see how what you have been reading becomes understood and remains in your memory.
If you are yawning over your reading, even falling asleep; If you get to the end of a page and realize you have no idea what it is you just read, you must go back 5 or 6 lines of text before the yawn and find the word or words you are not quite certain about, look them up and continue doing that regularly, daily for perhaps a year or longer. You will see a difference in what you remember and in school test scores too. Your understand, and therefor you Intelligence Quotient will rise. Your I.Q. score could go from 120 to 135 simply by learning the languge you claim to speak.
While you are doing that, consider sentence structure and grammar. If you are one of those who resists this and then wants to correct someone with a Ph.d that his gammar and sentence structure are bad and yours is better, you’ll really become a source for interesting conversation.
