Biblical Hebrew E-Magazine
April, 2004

Word of the Day
דבר (DBR)

Last weeks word of the day "dor" introduced the Biblical Hebrew concept of "order". In this weeks issue we will examine the Hebrew root דבר (davar). Notice that the same דר parent root meaning, "order" is also found within this "adopted root" (a three letter root derived by placing another consonant within the parent root).

The word "davar" is commonly found in the Biblical text meaning "speak" as in the phrase "vayidaber YHWH el moshe l'mor" (and YHWH spoke to Moses saying). The ancient Hebrew understanding of "speaking" or a "speach" is an ordered arrangement of words. The feminine form of this word is דברה (devorah) and is the name Deborah, but also means "bee". A bee hive is an colony of insects that live in a perfectly ordered society.

Another common word derived from the root davar is מדבר (midvar) meaning a "wilderness". In the ancient Hebrew mind the wilderness, in contrast to the cities, is a place of order. Many people today live in the cities, a place of hurrying, rushing and busying ourselves with all the day-to-day tasks and high crime. The city can easily be seen as a place of chaos. Continued...



For anyone studying the Biblical text in it's original Hebrew language must have a good lexicon. I have found that Benjamin Davidson's "The Analytical Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon" is one of the best.

The Analytical Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon

This Lexicon lists every Hebrew word, including its prefixes and suffixes, and identifies its grammatical properties and gives you the root it is from. You then go to that root entry and it will list all of the words from that root and their meanings. This book is available through our affiliate store "Hebrew Studies Bookstore".

Come join the "Ancient Hebrew Forum" and read the articles or post questions and comments on this new forum related to the ancient Hebrew Bible, language and alphabet.

Name of the Day
ישראל (YSRAL - Israel)

This name has been translated several different ways including "he wrestles with God", "Prince of God", "he struggles with God", and several others. The name "Israel" is actually a complete sentence in one word. The name has three components - Y, SR and AL. The "Y" is a prefix meaning "he". The "AL" usually pronounced as "el" is the Hebrew word for "God". The "SR" is the part that seems to cause most of the problems in translation.

The Hebrew word "SR" literally means "turn the head". It is often translated as "prince" or "ruler", one who turns the head of the people. The feminine form of this word is "SRH" or "Sarah". Abraham's wife Sarah was very beautiful and probably "turned the head" of the men who saw her. Another word related to "SR" is "yasar" meaning "discipline". When you discipline your children you are turned their head from a path of bad to a path of good.

Because the "Y" is in front of the word "SR" we know that this is a verb and not a noun (this is standard Hebrew grammar) and can literally be translated as "he turns the head of God". The way I like to understand this is that when Israel (either Jacob or his descendents) speaks to God, God, the father of Israel, stops what he is doing and turns to his son and says "What do you want my son".


Excerpt from "From Writer To Reader"
Coming in 2005 (click here for more details)



Block logic

A Western writer records his story or account in a chronological fashion where time is always viewed as a series of consecutive events that occur one after the other. This style of writing is called "step logic" as events are recorded step by step.

As an example, the following story is written in step logic.

I got out of bed and went to the kitchen for my coffee and breakfast. After reading the paper I drove to work. I read the daily reports and finalized the yearly report. I drove to the restaurant for lunch with my wife. I attended a meeting with the office staff. I drove to the market for our evening desert. At home we ate a leisurely dinner and ate our desert.

The story traces the events of the day from morning to evening in a chronological order. We have no difficulty reading or comprehending this style of logic as we use it every day.

Now let us read the same story written in block logic. Not one word or sentence has been changed, only the order in which the sentences are recorded. Continued...


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Have you heard proponents against the accuracy of the Biblical text say that many of the characters, like King David, or the Temple never existed and that their is no ancient written account of their existence outside of the Biblical text? The inscription to the left is written in Aramaic (a sister language of Hebrew and written in the same Middle Semitic script as Hebrew). The Arameans were not Hebrews but did write about the King of Israel and the house of David.


Other ancient inscriptions mentioning Biblical Characters or Items
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Word (cont.)
On the other hand, when we want to "get away from it all" and slow down and really rest we go out to the "wilderness" to camp. We take walks out into the woods or sit by a lake and feel the peace in these places. These are places of order where all of nature is in a perfect balance of harmony.

The word דבר (davar) may better be translated as "order" as in the phrase "And YHWH gave orders to Moses saying". A commanding officer does not speak to his troops. he has formulated his action plans and has determined the best means to have these plans carried out. Once all of this is determined, he gives his "orders" to his troops. These orders are "an ordered arrangement".

The phrase "Ten Commandments" does not actually appear in the Hebrew Bible, instead it is aseret hadevariym" and is literally translated as "ten orders". The "Ten Commandments" are our orders from God (the general). They are an ordered arrangement of ideas that if followed will bring about peace and harmony. Back...


Excerpt (cont.)
I got out of bed and went to the kitchen for my coffee and breakfast. At home we ate a leisurely dinner and ate our desert. After reading the paper. I read the daily reports and finalized the yearly report. I attended a meeting with the office staff. I drove to the restaurant for lunch with my wife. I drove to the market for our evening desert. I drove to work.

The first thing we notice in this story is that we cannot determine the chronology of each event and our minds are attempting to do this as we read it. But, the author is not trying to place the events in a "step by step" chronology but instead grouping all like events in a series of related "blocks". The first block of events are those that occurred at home. The second block describe the actions of reading and working while the third are those events that involve driving.

Several examples of this block logic style of writing can be found in the creation story. The western mind reads this account of the creation assuming that the author is describing events in a precise chronological order. We can clearly see that this is not the authors intention when we compare the events of the first day of creation with the the fourth day.

And God said, "Let there be light" and there was light. And God saw the light that it was good and God separated between the light and the darkness. (Genesis 1:3, 4 - First Day)

And God said there will be lights in the expanse of the skies to separate between the day and the night. (Genesis 1:14 - Fourth Day)

If God created light to separate light and darkness on the first day, why do we read of the creation of light to separate day and on the fourth day?

If we compare the first three days of creation with the last three days of creation, we discover that the author has divided the six days into two separate blocks. The first block of three days describe the act of separating the heavens and the earth while the second block of three days describe the act of filling the heavens and the earth.

Day 1 Separating light and darkness
Day 2 Separating water and sky
Day 3 Separating the land from water
Day 4 Filling the light with the sun and the darkness with the moon.
Day 5 Filling water with fish and the skies with birds
Day 6 Filling the land with plants and animals Back...