Bible Dictionary
SAVE
In older biblical English, “save” often means “except” or “apart from.” It is a general English rendering rather than the translation of one particular Hebrew or Greek word.
Definition
In older biblical English, save commonly means “except” or “apart from.” It is a general English word used where the translators judged that this sense was appropriate, rather than the rendering of one particular Hebrew or Greek term.
Biblical Usage
Save and saving occur in various Old and New Testament passages with the meaning “except.” Several such occurrences were revised or omitted in the Revised Version, while the word was retained in some passages.
Historical Background
The word entered English through the French sauf. It remained in slightly archaic English use, and the Revised Version made only limited changes to its biblical occurrences.
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>sav: In the sense "except," the word came into English through the French (sauf) and is fairly common (38 times, in addition to "saving," the King James Version Ec 5:11; Am 9:8; Mt 5:32; Lu 4:27; Re 2:17). It represents no particular Hebrew or Greek terms but is employed wherever it seems useful. It is still in good (slightly archaic) use, and the Revised Version (British and American) has few modifications (De 15:4 the King James Version; Ps 18:31, etc.), but the English Revised Version has dropped "saving" in Lu 4:27 and Re 2:17 and the American Standard Revised Version also in Ec 5:11; Am 9:8, retaining it only in Mt 5:32.</p>