Sometimes the Bible sounds stranger than it actually is. A student reads “not a few of the leading women” in Acts 17:4 and naturally wonders, “Does that mean fewer than a few? Does that mean almost none?” That confusion is not silly; it is what happens when we accidentally read a normal figure of speech as if it were a math formula. The challenge is that human communication uses emphasis, understatement, irony, and comparison to make meaning land with force and it’s easy to miss across the hermeneutical gap. Good reading slows down. Wooden reading rushes past it.
Don’t panic! When a sentence feels awkward on the surface, the answer is not to abandon the plain meaning, nor is it to force a stiff “literal” meaning that nobody would use in ordinary speech. A figure of speech can still be part of the author’s plain meaning. The question is not, “Literal or fake?” The better question is, “How is this sentence communicating its meaning?” One such method is litotes. Litotes is emphasis by denial: the writer denies the opposite in order to imply the positive. “Not bad” usually means “pretty good.” “No small problem” means “a serious problem.” The negative wording often intensifies the point.
Use three questions:
- “Does the wooden reading make good sense?” If “not a few” makes you think “none,” but the paragraph is describing people being persuaded, the reading is probably too wooden.
- “Is a negative word being attached to an obvious opposite?” Words like “not,” “no,” or “without” often signal this: “not few,” “no small,” “not far,” “not unwise.”
- “Does the surrounding context confirm emphasis rather than simple denial?” Context keeps us honest. Litotes points us in the opposite direction, but context tells us how far to go.
Read it. Reverse it. Check it.
It’s no different in modern English. If someone says, “That sermon was not short,” they probably mean it was long. If a friend says, “That test was no joke,” he means it was difficult. If a parent says, “That attitude isn’t helping,” she probably means it is harmful or immature. If a cook says, “This chili is not mild,” you should expect some heat. In each case, ask the same questions: 1) Does the wooden reading sound odd? 2) Is an opposite being denied? 3) Does the situation confirm the stronger meaning?
The New Testament uses this pattern too. In Acts 17:4, Luke says “not a few of the leading women” were persuaded of Paul’s good news, meaning a significant number of prominent women. In Acts 17:12, he says “not a few of the Greeks, prominent women as well as men,” again stressing a meaningful response among the Greeks. Luke uses similar phrasing elsewhere: Acts 12:18 says there was “no small stir” after Peter’s escape; Acts 19:23 says “no small commotion” arose about the Way. These phrases point to serious commotion, controversy, and unrest.
Other New Testament writers use similar moves. Matthew 2:6 says Bethlehem was “by no means least among the rulers of Judah,” meaning Bethlehem was highly significant because the ruler would come from there. Mark 12:34 records Jesus saying, “You are not far from the kingdom of God,” meaning the scribe was near, though the context should keep us from saying more than Jesus says. Paul does this in 2 Corinthians 11:5: “I consider that I am not at all inferior to the most eminent apostles.” He is defending the legitimacy of his apostleship. Each of these examples contains a negative wording that carries positive force.
Still, be disciplined; not every negative phrase is litotes. “Do not steal” does not mean “be generous” by litotes; instead, it is a direct prohibition. “He did not believe” does not mean “he strongly believed”; it means he did not believe. The negation must be followed by an obvious opposite and the context should clarify that emphasis is implied. The three questions matter because they prevent guesswork. We test the wording, the opposite, and the context.
When students learn to recognize litotes, they are not learning a secret code for experts; they are learning to notice how normal communication works inside Scripture. The plain sense of the Bible is not always woodenly literal. Sometimes the plain sense is carried through a figure of speech, and the faithful reader’s job is to receive the author’s meaning on the author’s terms. Ask critical questions, and let the sentence do its work.
Take five minutes and examine the following examples, only some of which contain instances of litotes, by asking the three questions:
- “That movie was not terrible.”
- “And some of them were persuaded; and a great multitude of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women…” (Acts 17:4)
- “I did not put the keys on the table.”
- “My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.” (James 3:1)
- “That shortcut was no help at all.”
- “Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them…” (Acts 15:2)
- “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.” (1 Corinthians 1:26)
