Biblicalisms are very popular among commonly used stable expressions. They have a deep meaning. But sometimes they are often and massively misinterpreted. For example, what does “time to collect stones” mean? Many believe that this expression is very understandable. People tend to think that it means "everything has its time." Perhaps this is partly true. However, linguists believe otherwise.
"Time to collect stones": the meaning of phraseology
“Preparing for something” - this is how M.I. Stepanova interprets this biblicalism in the school phraseological dictionary.
Many people use this expression in such a phrase as “the time has come to collect stones”, the meaning of which is “the time has come to reap the benefits”. It is also popular to use phraseologism in the meaning of "everything has its time."
Despite the divergence of interpretations, we can conclude that biblicalism, each person has the right to interpret in such a way as he understands it.
Why do linguists decipher the meaning of phraseological units as preparation for something, we learn after considering its etymology.
The history of the origin of the expression
Phraseologism is a quote from the Old Testament, which provides antonymic expressions, among which are "time to scatter and time to collect stones." This is an excerpt from the third chapter of Ecclesiastes. From it we can conclude that everything is destined for its time.
However, in ancient times, stones were collected for certain reasons. Firstly, in order to shower criminals with them until death. Thus, the expression "time to collect stones" meant "prepare for punishment."
Secondly, the meaning of phraseology is associated with agriculture in Israel. In it, the soil is rocky. To get a good harvest, it was necessary to prepare the land - remove stones. Thus, based on this feature, the expression has the meaning of "carry out preparatory work."
As we see, in ancient times people collected stones for important reasons. They were preparing for execution, earthworks, which means that it is no coincidence that linguists interpret the biblism we are considering as preparation for something.
Expression Usage Examples
This phraseology is actively used in the media and literature, less often in colloquial speech, as it has a book style. They even called the eponymous Russian war film, in which, after the war, the German collects mines that he himself scattered.
Journalists use this expression as headlines. As a rule, in such articles they write that it is time to collect stones, the meaning of which is "it is time to answer for your actions."
The expression is also used to name literary works, songs, exhibitions, festivals, and even tasks in virtual games. It is very popular in the modern world and has not lost its relevance since its inception.
Stable expression is also used as a pun. For example, it is inserted in the headline of a medical article that deals with ... kidney stones. Thus, the scientific work is revived, the narrative language becomes brighter and more interesting for readers.
Classical writers also titled their work with the help of this biblicalism. For example, V. Soloukhin named them one of his essays, published in the Optinsky Almanac.
Conclusion
Having examined phraseologism, we learned a lot about it: variants of its meanings, history of origin, noted that expression is widely used in modern journalism and not only.
Summing up, we can say with confidence that “time to collect stones” means “prepare for something.” The use of this expression in a different sense is characteristic. Often it is used to convey the idea that everything has its time and sooner or later the time comes to answer for their actions.