used in the plural, in Luk 2:28, originally denoted "the curve, or the inner angle, of the arm." The word is derived from a term signifying "to bend, to curve;" the Eng. "angle" is connected.
Note: Enankalizomai (en, "in," and a verb akin to No. 1), "to take into the arms, to embrace," is used in Mar 9:36, Mar 10:16, of the tenderness of Christ towards little children.
<2,,1023, brachion>
"the shorter part of the arm, from the shoulder to the elbow," is used metaphorically to denote strength, power, and always in the NT of the power of God, Luk 1:51, Joh 12:38, Act 13:17; frequently so in the OT, especially in Deuteronomy, the Psalms and Isaiah; see, e.g., Deu 4:34, Deu 5:15, Psa 44:3, Psa 71:18, where "strength" is, lit., "arm;" Psa 77:15, Isa 26:11, where "hand" is, lit., "arm;" Isa 30:30, Isa 1:40-11, etc.
