Ancient
Hebrew Research Center
Biblical
Hebrew E-Magazine
April, 2011 Issue #059
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Issue Index
Biblical Word of the Month – Tell
Modern Word of the Month – Automobile
Name of the Month – Philip
Question of the Month – Paragogic Nun?
Verse of the Month – Genesis 2:18
MT Excerpt – Genesis 9:26-29
AHRC Excerpt – Is Strong’s enough?
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Biblical Word of the Month - Tell
By: Jeff A. Benner
There are two common Hebrew verbs that are used to convey the idea that someone is about to speak. These are אמר (A.M.R, Strong's #559), usually translated as “say” and דבר (D.B.R, Strong's #1696), usually translated as “speak.” There is one other verb that is used in a similar way, but is not as common a verb as the other two.
And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew: (ASV, Genesis 14:13)
The Hebrew verb behind the English “told,” is the verb נגד (N.G.D, Strong's #5046), but this verb does not mean to “tell,” but literally means “to be face to face.”
Hebrew verbs can be written in different forms. The three
most common are the qal (simple form), niphil (passive form) and hiphil
(causative form). As an example, the qal form of the verb ידע (Y.D.Ah, Strong’s
#3045) means to “know.” The niphil form is the passive and means to “be known”
or to “reveal.” The hiphil is the causative form and means to “cause to be
known” or to “declare.” Notice that the meaning of each of these verbs are all
related to the idea of “knowing,” but with slight nuances.
The verb נגד (N.G.D,
Strong's #5046), is never written in the qal or niphil form, but only in the
hiphil form, to “cause to be face to face.” The hiphil form of this verb is
always in the context of “telling,” in the sense of causing another to be face
to face in order to “tell” them something.
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Modern Word of the Month - Machine
By: Jeff A. Benner
The Biblical Hebrew word for a machine is חשבון (hhishbon, Strong's #2810).
In Jerusalem he set up machines, invented by skilled workers, on the towers and the corners for shooting arrows and large stones. And his fame spread far, for he was marvelously helped until he became strong. (NRS, 2 Chronicles 26:15)
This Hebrew word is derived from the verbal root חשב (Hh.Sh.B, Strong's #2803) meaning to “think,” but is used in the Biblical text for devising, planning, inventing or counting, all being forms of “thinking.” The noun form, חשב (Hheyshev, Strong's #2805), is a skillfully woven band.
And the skilfully woven band upon it, to gird it on, shall be of the same workmanship and materials, of gold, blue and purple and scarlet stuff, and fine twined linen. (RSV, Exodus 28:8)
Each of these Biblical Hebrew words has been brought into Modern Hebrew, but with slightly different meanings. The verb חשב (Hh.Sh.B) has the same meaning of “thinking.” However, the noun form חשב (Hheyshev) is an “accountant,” one who counts, and the noun חשבון (hhishbon) is an “account.”
The modern Hebrew word for a
machine is now מכונה (makonah), a
transliteration of the word “machine.” A common “machine” is an automobile,
which in Modern Hebrew is מכונית (makoniyt), a
derivative of מכונה (makonah).
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Name of the Month - Philip
By: Jeff A. Benner
In the Greek text this name is written as Φίλιππος (philippos) and is a Greek name meaning “horse lover.” In Hebrew and Aramaic texts this name is transliterated as פיליפוס (philipos). In the case of this name, no Hebrew or Aramaic name is provided for this individual.
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Question of the Month – Paragogic Nun?
By: Jeff A. Benner
Q: What is the “Paragogic Nun?”
A: Hebrew verbs can have a
variety of prefixes and/or suffixes added to the verb root. For instance, when
the letter ת (tav) is added to the front of the verb דבר (D.B.R,
Strong's #1696), the conjugated verb תדבר
(tedaber), meaning “you
(masculine singular) speak,” is formed. When the letter ו (vav) is then added to the end of this verb, it becomes תדברו (tedaberu), meaning “you (masculine
plural) speak.” On rare occasions one will find the letter ן (nun) added to the end of a verb conjugation, such as in תדברון
(tedaberun). This additional
letter is called the “paragogic nun” and adds the idea of “must” or “certainly”
to the verb. So while תדברו
(tedaberu) means “you will
speak,” תדברון
(tedaberun) means “you must
speak.”
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Verse of the Month – Genesis 2:18
By: Jeff A. Benner
וַיֹּאמֶר
יְהוָה
אֱלֹהִים לֹא טֹוב
הֱיֹות
הָאָדָם
לְבַדֹּו
אֶעֱשֶׂהּ לֹּו
עֵזֶר
כְּנֶגְדֹּו׃
And Jehovah God said,
It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for
him. (ASV)
וַיֹּאמֶר (vai-yo-mer)
This verb root is אמר (A.M.R) meaning "say." The prefix
י (y) identifies the subject of the verb as
third person, masculine singular and the tense of the verb as imperfect - he
will say. The prefix ו (v) means
"and,” but also reverse the tense of the verb – and he will say.
יְהוָה (YHWH)
This is the name often pronounced as Jehovah and Yahweh,
but literally means “he exists.”
אֱלֹהִים (eh-lo-hiym)
The base word is אלוה (e-lo-ah), which is commonly translated as "God" or "god," but more literally means "one of power and authority." The suffix ים (eem) is the masculine plural, so this word means “gods” or “ones of power and authority.” However, this plural noun is often used as a name for YHWH. Because this is being used as a name, it should be transliterated as “Elohiym” rather than translating it with the English word “God.” The phrase “YHWH Elohim” is the subject of the previous verb – and YHWH Elohiym directed.
לֹא (lo)
This word means “not.”
טֹוב (tov)
This word means “functional,” but is often translated as
“good.”
הֱיֹות (hey-yot)
This verb root is היה (H.Y.H) and is written in the
infinitive form-“exist."
הָאָדָם (ha-a-dam)
This base word is אדם (adam) meaning "man." The
prefix ה
(ha) means "the" – the man.
לְבַדֹּו (le-va-do)
This base word is בד (bad) meaning a
"stick." The prefix ל (le) means "to" and the suffix ו (o) means “his.” – to his stick.
This is an Ancient Hebrew idiom mean “by himself.”
אֶעֱשֶׂהּ (e-e-seh)
This verb root is עשה (Ah.S.H) meaning "do” or “make."
The prefix א (e) identifies
the subject of the verb as first person singular and the tense of the verb as
imperfect - I will make.
לֹּו (lo)
This is the prefix ל (l) meaning a "to" or
“for” and the suffix ו (o) meaning "him" – for him.
עֵזֶר (ey-zer)
This is a word meaning “helper.”
כְּנֶגְדֹּו (ke-neg-do)
This base word is the noun נגד (negad) meaning "face to
face," but can be used in a wide sense including, to be in front or to be
opposite. The prefix כ (ke) means “like” and the suffix ו (o) means "his" – like
his opposite.
The following is a literal rendering of this verse from its Hebraic meaning.
And YHWH Elohiym said, it is not
functional for the man to exist by himself, I will make for him a helper like
his opposite.
In following issues we will continue with this chapter.
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Mechanical Translation Excerpt - Genesis 9:26-29
26 and he said, “YHWH [He exists]” of the powers of “Shem [Character]” is respected and “Kena'an [Lowered]” will exist a servant to that one, 27 “Elohiym [Powers]” will make “Yaphet [Wonder]” spread wide and he will dwell in the tents of “Shem [Character]” and “Kena'an [Lowered]” will exist a servant to that one, 28 and “No'ahh [Rest]” existed after the flood three hundred and fifty years, 29 and all of the days of “No'ahh [Rest]” existed nine hundred and fifty years and he died,
For details on this new translation see the web site at
http://www.mechanical-translation.org
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AHRC Website Excerpt – Is Strong’s Enough?
Is Strong's Dictionary enough for
studying the Hebrew text of the Bible?
For those who do not know
Hebrew, the only tool available for studying the Hebrew text of the Bible is
Strong's Hebrew Dictionary. While this dictionary is a valuable resource, it
has many limitations.
In the King James Version of Exodus 3:16 we read, "The LORD God of your
fathers... appeared unto me..." A person might read this and ask,
"How can the LORD 'appear' to someone when he has no form?" This
person then takes out his Strong's Dictionary and looks up the word "appear"
in this verse and finds the following entry.
Translations - see 879, look 104, behold 83, shew 68, appear 66, consider
22, seer 12, spy 6, respect 5, perceive 5, provide 4, regard 4, enjoy 4, lo
3, foreseeth 2, heed 2, misc 74; 1313 |
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The reader then sees that
the Hebrew word ra'ah, Strong's #H7200, means "see" and
"look." Armed with this bit of "knowledge," the reader then
retranslates this verse as, "And the LORD God of your fathers... looked
unto me..." and then says, "ah-ha, the LORD didn't 'appear' to him,
the LORD 'saw' him." But to confirm his theory, he goes back a few verses
and reads Exodus 3:4, "And when the LORD saw that he turned aside..."
Taking out his trust Strong's Dictionary he looks up the word "saw"
and finds the following entry.
Translations - see 879, look 104, behold 83, shew 68, appear 66, consider
22, seer 12, spy 6, respect 5, perceive 5, provide 4, regard 4, enjoy 4, lo
3, foreseeth 2, heed 2, misc 74; 1313 |
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He then says, "There
it is, the Hebrew word translated as 'saw' is the very same Hebrew word
ra'ah!"
Have you ever heard the expression, "A little knowledge is a dangerous
thing?" Well, this applies in this situation. What this reader is not
aware of, is that Hebrew verbs can take on different forms and these forms are
not identified in Strong's Dictionary. In Exodus 3:4 the Hebrew verb ra'ah is written
וירא (vai'yar), which is the simple form of the verb and
means "and he saw." But in Exodus 3:16 it is written as נראה (nir'ah), which is
the passive form of the verb and means "and he was seen" or "and
he appeared." According to the verb form of this Hebrew word in Exodus
3:16, the LORD is not the one "seeing," he is the one that "was seen."
all of the resources available for going into this depth of Hebrew study
require the reader to have at least a basic knowledge of Hebrew, shutting out
all those who wish to go deeper into the text, but are unable to do so. That is
until now. The Mechanical Translation is designed to provide the reader who has
no background in Hebrew the ability to study the Hebrew language at this depth.
The following is the Mechanical Translation of the word "see" in
Exodus 3:4.
|
and~he~will~SEE |
Now the Mechanical Translation of the word "appear"
in Exodus 3:16.
|
he~did~be~SEE |
The word "be"
in this translation indicates to the reader that this verb is in the passive
form. Whenever a verb is written in the passive form, the word "be"
will be there before the verb; whenever a verb is written in the causative
form, the word "make" will be there; and whenever a verb is written
in the reflexive form, the word "self" will be there. Now the reader
has the ability view the Hebrew text without even knowing how to read Hebrew.
This article is located on the web site at
http://www.mechanical-translation.org/1-strongs.html
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What's New
We are always adding
new material to the AHRC and Mechanical Translation websites; here is what is
new on these websites.
Was the New Testament
written in Greek? A free E-Book written by Raphael Lataster - Link.
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Editorials
Do you have a comment or personal insight into the articles
in this issue of the E-Zine? If so, let us know.
In regards to the last issues Modern word of the month, "Letter," Greg Watkins wrote; "Please consider the kanji modification for "elder brother" and then the similarity in the word for wicked or violent based on Cain's action against Abel. This seems to support your observation of the "Tav" as the possible physical mark for Cain. The roots of Kanji and the ancient pictographs and idea-graphs date to tower of Babel time frame."
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Corrections
Did you find any errors needing correction in the articles
in this issue of the E-Zine? If so, let us know.
Herb Spencer pointed out that in the
last issue’s Biblical Hebrew word of the month I have written, “Let us know
return...,” but this should read, “Let us now return.” Thank you Herb.
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New Testament
Greek to Hebrew Dictionary by Jeff A. Benner (NEW) Five hundred most frequent Greek words and names
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Copyright © 2011
Jeff A. Benner
Ancient Hebrew Research
Center
Please feel free to use, copy
or distribute any material within the "Biblical Hebrew E-Magazine"
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