King James Bible Dictionary

See God, Grace of
God, Grace of

FA'VOR, noun [Latin favor faveo.]

1. Kind regard; kindness; countenance; propitious aspect; friendly disposition.

His dreadful navy, and his lovely mind,

Gave him the fear and favor of mankind.

The king's favor is as dew on the grass. Proverbs 19:1.

God gave Joseph favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh. Acts 7:1.

Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain. Proverbs 31:30.

2. Support; defense; vindication; or disposition to aid, befriend, support, promote or justify. To be in favor of a measure, is to have a disposition or inclination to support it or carry it into effect. To be in favor or a party, is to be disposed or inclined to support it, to justify its proceedings, and to promote its interests.

3. A kind act or office; kindness done or granted; benevolence shown by word or deed; any act of grace or good will, as distinguished from acts of justice or renumeration. To pardon the guilty is a favor; to punish them is an act of justice.

4. Lenity; mildness or mitigation of punishment.

I could not discover the lenity and favor of this sentence.

5. Leave; good will; a yielding or concession to another; pardon.

But, with your favor I will treat it here.

6. The object of kind regard; the person or thing favored.

All these his wondrous works, but chiefly man.

His chief delight and favor

7. A gift or present; something bestowed as an evidence of good will; a token of love; a knot of ribbons; something worn as a token of affection.

8. A feature; countenance. [Not used.]

9. Advantage; convenience afforded for success. The enemy approached under favor of the night.

10. Partiality; bias. A challenge to the favor in law, is the challenge of a juror on account of some supposed partiality, by reason of favor or malice, interest or connection.

FA'VOR, verb transitive

1. To regard with kindness; to support; to aid or have the disposition to aid, or to wish success to; to be propitious to; to countenance; to befriend; to encourage. To favor the cause of a party, may be merely to wish success to it, or it may signify to give it aid, by counsel, or by active exertions. Sometimes men professedly favor one party and secretly favor another.

The lords favor thee not. 1 Samuel 29:1.

Thou shalt arise, and have mercy on Zion; for the time to favor her, yea, the set time is come. Psalms 102:1.

O happy youth! and favored of the skies.

2. To afford advantages for success; to facilitate. A weak place in the fort favored the entrance of the enemy; the darkness of the night favored his approach. A fair wind favors a voyage.

3. To resemble in features. The child favors his father.

4. To ease; to spare. A man in walking favors a lame leg.

FA'VORABLE, adjective [Latin favorabilis.]

1. Kind; propitious; friendly; affectionate.

Lend favorable ear to our request.

Lord, thou hast been favorable to thy land. Psalms 85:1.

2. Palliative; tender; averse to censure.

None can have the favorable thought that to obey a tyrant's will they fought.

3. Conducive to; contributing to; tending to promote. A salubrious climate and plenty of food are favorable to population.

4. Convenient; advantageous; affording means to facilitate, or affording facilities. The low price of labor and provisions is favorable to the success of manufactures. The army was drawn up on favorable ground. The ship took a station favorable for attack.

The place was favorable for making levies of men.

5. Beautiful; well favored. obsolete

FA'VORABLENESS, noun

1. Kindness; kind disposition or regard.

2. Convenience; suitableness; that state which affords advantages for success; conduciveness; as the favorableness of a season for crops; the favorableness of the times for the cultivation of the sciences.

FA'VORABLY, adverb Kindly; with friendly dispositions; with regard or affection; with an inclination to favor; as, to judge or think favorably of a measure; to think favorably of those we love.

FA'VORED, participle passive

1. Countenanced; supported; aided; supplied with advantages; eased; spared.

2. adjective Regarded with kindness; as a favored friend.

3. With well or ill prefixed, featured.

Well-favored is well-looking, having a good countenance or appearance, fleshy, plump, handsome.

Ill-favored is ill-looking, having an ugly appearance, lean. See Genesis 39:1. Genesis 41:3. etc.

Well-favoredly, with a good appearance. [Little used.]

Ill-favoredly, with a bad appearance. [Little used.]

FA'VOREDNESS, noun Appearance.

FA'VORER, noun One who favors; one who regards with kindness or friendship; a wellwisher; one who assists or promotes success or prosperity.

FA'VORING, participle present tense Regarding with friendly dispositions; countenancing; wishing well to; contributing to success; facilitating.

FA'VORITE, noun

A person or thing regarded with peculiar favor, preference and affection; one greatly beloved. Select favorites from among the discrete and the virtuous. Princes are often misled, and sometimes ruined by favorites. Gaveston and the Spencers, the favorites of Edward II, fell a sacrifice to public indignation.

FA'VORITE, adjective Regarded with particular kindness, affection, esteem or preference; as a favorite walk; a favorite author; a favorite child.

Instances of:

Jacob, for Rachel
Genesis 29:30; Genesis 29:34

Elkanah, for Hannah
1 Samuel 1:4-5

Rebekah, for Jacob
Genesis 27:6-17

Jacob, for Joseph
Genesis 37:3-4

Joseph, for Benjamin
Genesis 43:34

Forbidden in parents
Deuteronomy 21:15-17
Partiality

FA'VORITISM, noun

1. The act or practice of favoring, or giving a preference to one over another.

2. The disposition to favor, aid and promote the interest of a favorite, or of one person or family, or of one class of men, to the neglect of others having equal claims.

It has been suggested that the proceeds of the foreign bills were calculated merely to indulge a spirit of favoritism to the bank of the United States.

Which consideration imposes such a necessity on the crown, as hath, in a great measure, subdued the influence of favoritism

3. Exercise of power by favorites.

FA'VORLESS, adjective

1. Unfavored; not regarded with favor; having no patronage or countenance.

2. Not favoring; unpropitious.