pûr ́fekt, pẽr-fek ́shun (שׁלם, shālēm, תּמים, tāmīm; τέλειος, téleios, τελειότης, teleiótēs):
“Perfect” in the Old Testament is the translation of shālēm, “finished,” “whole,” “complete,” used (except in Deuteronomy 25:15, “perfect weight”) of persons, e.g. a “perfect heart,” i.e. wholly or completely devoted to Yahweh (1 Kings 8:61, etc.; 1 Chronicles 12:38; Isaiah 38:3, etc.); tāmīm, “complete,” “perfect,” “sound or unblemished,” is also used of persons and of God, His way, and law (“Noah was a just man and perfect,” the Revised Version margin “blameless” (Genesis 6:9); “As for God, his way is perfect” (Psalms 18:30); “The law of Yahweh is perfect” (Psalms 19:7), etc.); tam, with the same, meaning, occurs only in Job, except twice in Psalms (Job 1:1, 1:8; 2:3, etc.; Psalms 37:37; 64:4); kālīl, “complete,” and various other words are translated “perfect.”
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Author: International Std. Bible Encyclopedia
Keywords: Perfect, Perfection
Source: James Orr (editor), The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, 5 volume set.
Page indexed by: inWORD Bible Software.