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        SAFEGUARD (V) The following is an excerpt from the Ancient Hebrew Research Center Website. Many times I have heard it said that no one can keep all of the commands but, this is not true. From an Hebraic perspective of the word shamar behind the English word keep, it is possible to keep all of the commands. The problem lies in our understanding of keep as meaning obedience, but this is not the meaning of shamar. It should first be recognized that not all of the commands of the torah are for all people. Some are only for the priests, some are only for men and some are only for women. Some are only for children and some are for leaders. But, it should also be understood that even if a command is not for you, you can still keep it. The original picture painted by the Hebrew word shamar is a sheepfold. When a shepherd was out in the wilderness with his flock, he would gather thorn bushes to erect a corral to place his flock in at night. The thorns would deter predators and thereby protect and guard the sheep from harm. The word shamiyr derived from this root means a thorn. The word shamar means to guard and protect and can be seen in the Aaronic blessing, May Yahweh bless you and keep (guard and protect) you. One keeps the commands of God by guarding and protecting them. The following is an excerpt from the book The Living Words. And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. Exodus 20:6 (KJV) In the context of this verse, most would equate "keep" with "obedience," but if we look at other verses using this word, we will see that this is a poor interpretation of this word. The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: Numbers 6:24 (KJV) I don’t think any of us would interpret the word "keep" as "obey" in this verse. So, what does this word mean from a Hebraic perspective? The original picture painted by the Hebrew word שמר shamar [H:8104] is a sheepfold of thorns. When a shepherd was out in the wilderness with his flock for the night, he would gather thorn bushes to erect a corral to place his flock to protect them from predators. This protecting hedge of thorns is the picture behind the Hebrew word shamar, better translated as "preserve" or "guard," than "keep" as we can see in the following verse. The LORD will preserve (shamar) him, and keep him alive... Psalm 41:2 (KJV) Just as God preserves his people, it is his people’s responsibility to preserve his word. For thousands of years, his scribes have painstakingly copied the text by hand in order to preserve it from generation to generation. We also preserve his word by keeping it in our minds and following it, as well as teaching it to our children (Deuteronomy 6:7). The following is an excerpt from the book Ancient Hebrew Dictionary. The image painted by the Hebrew word shamar is a sheepfold. When a shepherd was out in the wilderness with his flock, he would gather thorn bushes to erect a corral to place his flock in at night. The thorns would deter predators and thereby protect and guard the sheep from harm. The word shamiyr, derived from this root means a thorn. The word shamar means to guard and protect and can be seen in the Aaronic blessing, May Yahweh respect you and guard you. One keeps the commands of Elohiym by guarding and protecting them. The following is an excerpt from the book His Name is One. The Bible often refers to the keeping and breaking of a covenant and it is usually interpreted as obedience or disobedience to the covenant. If disobedience were the meaning of "breaking", Israel would never have been able to remain in covenant relationship as long as they did because of their continual disobedience to the terms of the covenant. "Now, if you will intently listen to my voice and keep my covenant, they will be for me a treasured possession from all the people, for all the land is mine" (Exodus 19:5). In the above passage, the Hebrew word behind the English word "keep" is שמר (shamar). If we interpret this word as obedience, we can easily interpret this passage to mean, "obey the covenant". As we shall see, this translation is not always suitable to the context of the passage. "The LORD bless you and keep (shamar) you" (Numbers 6:24). Obviously the word שמר (shamar), also translated as "keep" in this verse, cannot be interpreted as "obey", otherwise it would read, "The LORD bless you and obey you". We can clearly see that the word "obey" is a poor interpretation for the Hebrew word שמר (shamar). The original use of this word is a corral constructed out of thorn bushes by the shepherd to protect his flock from predators during the night. The שמר (shamar) was built to "guard" the flock and we can see this same imagery in the passage above by interpreting it as "The LORD bless you and guard you". We now see that "keeping the covenant" is not strictly about obedience, but "guarding the covenant". The individual’s attitude toward the covenant is the issue, does he guard it as a shepherd does his flock, or does he "break" the covenant. SAY (V) The following is an excerpt from the Ancient Hebrew Research Center Website. The second most common Hebrew word in the Bible (the first being the word את et) is the verb אמר (A.M.R, Strong's #559), meaning "to say," and is found 5,379 times (5,308 in the Hebrew text and 71 times in the Aramaic text) in the Hebrew Bible.
This verbal root is a child root, where the letter א (aleph) has been added to the two –letter parent root, which would appear to be מר (MR). However, the parent root מר, a root meaning "bitter," is not the parent root of אמר, מל (ML), a parent root meaning "word" or "comment" is its root. Over time, words evolve and letters are often interchanged with other letters which are formed in the same region of the mouth. While there are countless examples of this in English, let’s just look at the English words "pedal" (a device on a bicycle for the foot) and "pedestrian" (a person on foot). These two words come from the Greek word "ped" meaning "foot." The English word "foot" is an evolved form of the word "ped" through the exchange of the "p" with the "f" and the "d" with the "t." Therefore, the original spelling of the verb אמר is אמל . While the parent root מל (ML) is not found in the Biblical text, its feminine form, מל ה (milah, Strong's #4405), is and it is used 38 times, most frequently in the book of Job.
SCROLL The following is an excerpt from the Ancient Hebrew Research Center Website. Books, as we know them today, are a fairly recent invention. Before the invention of books, codices were used. Codices are similar to books but are square or rectangular sheets of papyrus or animal skin, with hand written text, which are stacked on top of each other and stitched on one side and usually included a wooden cover and back. Prior to Codices, scrolls were used. Scrolls are long sheets of papyrus or animal skin, with hand written text, which is rolled up for storage. The Hebrew word for a scroll is ספר (seypher, Strong's #5612) and is also the Modern Hebrew word for a book. The word seypher comes from the verbal root ספר (S.Ph.R, Strong's #5608) meaning "to count."
Hebrew verbs are able to express variations of the meaning of a verb by changing the mood and voice of the verb. The qal (active voice and simple mood) form meaning of the verb ספר is to "count," but the hiphil (active voice and causative mood) form means to "give an account" (note the word "count" in the word "account") or to "tell."
The participle form of the verb ספר is סופר (sopher) and can mean "counting," "telling" or "one who counts or tells," a scribe.
From this verb comes the noun ספר (seypher), a scroll, which is used for recording counts or accounts and is written by a סופר (sopher), the scribe. Another noun derived from the root is מספר (mispar, Strong's #5457) meaning a "number."
Another noun derived from this root is ספיר (saphiyr, Strong's #5457), meaning "Sapphire" and is also the origin of the word "Sapphire." The connection between the Sapphire stone and the other words related to it, such as counting, scribe and numbers, may be that the Sapphire is something that is counted. " SECURE (V) The following is an excerpt from the Ancient Hebrew Research Center Website. Psa 78:22 Because they believed not in God, and trusted not in his salvation The word aman means to ""be firm"". When setting up a tent you always choose ""firm"" soil to drive in your tent pegs so that when the wind blows, the tent pegs will not be pulled out of the ground collapsing your tent (see Is 22:23 where the word aman is translated as ""sure"" in the KJV). This word is the verb form of the word ""amen"". When we say ""amen"", we are literally saying I stand firm on this prayer. The following is an excerpt from the book The Living Words. And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. Genesis 15:6 (KJV) What does one mean when saying, ""I believe in God""? The dictionary defines ""believe"" as ""To accept as true or real."" Is a belief in God simply knowing God exists and he is who he says he is? Not from a Hebraic perspective. The Hebrew behind this word has absolutely nothing to do with the English definition given above. Instead, it is a very concrete concept that can be experienced through the senses and not the mind. The Hebrew word behind the translation ""believe"" is the verb אמן aman [H:539]. Just a simple cursory look at the various ways this word has been translated indicates that there is much more to this word than just knowing that something exists. The King James Version uses the following translations for the verb aman: believe, assurance, faithful, sure, established, trust, verified, steadfast, continuance, father, bring up, nurse, be nursed, surely, stand fast, and trusty. The basic meaning behind the Hebrew word aman is ""to support"" as can be seen in the following passages. And bring your younger brother to me and he will be a support (aman) for your words and you will not die and they did this. Genesis 42:20 And Naomi took the child and placed him in her bosom and she was for him for a supporter (aman - as a nurse). Ruth 4:16 And your house will be supported (aman) forever and your kingdom will be before you for an eternity, your throne will be firm for an eternity. 2 Samuel 7:16 My mercy will guard him forever and my covenant will support (aman) him. Psalm 89:28 And I will thrust him like a tent peg in a place of support (aman)... Isaiah 22:23 This last passage is an excellent illustration of the concrete understanding of this word. Firm ground is chosen as the site for setting up a tent so when the tent pegs are driven into the soil, the firm ground will ""support"" the tent even in a strong wind. In this same way, Abram ""supported God."" Now, let’s look at Genesis 15:6 in its context. And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And he believed (aman) in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. Genesis 15:5,6 (KJV) At first glance, and from a Greek perspective, it appears that the word ""believe"" is referring to Abram’s knowledge that God will follow through with his promise to provide him many descendents, but as we shall see this is not what is meant by Abram’s ""belief."" God’s promise to Abram that he would have many descendents was repeated to Abram’s son Isaac. And I will make your descendants numerous like the stars of heaven and I will give to your seed all these lands and all the nations of the land will be blessed through your seed because Abraham heard (shama) my voice and obeyed my charge and my commands and my decrees and my teachings. Genesis 26:4,5 The verb שמע shama [H:8085] means ""to hear."" When the Bible speaks of ""hearing"" the voice of God, it means ""pay attention to what is spoken and respond."" The word shama is also found in a passage often called the ""sh’ma."" Hear (sh’ma), O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD Deuteronomy 6:4 (RSV) This word was used as a sort of motto in ancient Israel and is found inscribed on many objects such as the broken piece of pottery (left) and coin (right) in the images below. The word shama is a synonym of aman as can be seen in the following passage. And Moses answered and he said, ""They will not support (aman) me and they will not hear (shama) my voice..."" Exodus 4:1 Why did God promise to give Abram many descendents? Because Abram was obedient to the voice of God, as indicated in Genesis 26, and Abram supported God as indicated in Genesis 15. Will you ""support"" God through your actions (a Hebraic perspective) or only through your mind (a Greek perspective)? " SERVANT The following is an excerpt from the Ancient Hebrew Research Center Website. The Hebrew word commonly translated as servant is the noun עבד eved. However, this word more means "slave" than it does "servant." This noun comes from the verbal root עבד avad meaning "to be enslaved" as can be seen in Exodus 1:13.
The original pictographs for the word eved is    . The is a picture of an eye meaning to see or experience, the is a picture of a house and the is a picture of a door. When these three meanings of each letter are combined they define the word as "experience the house door," now compare that with Exodus 21:6;
The following is an excerpt from the book The Living Words. While the word מל אך malak [H:4397] is one who does business for another in the sense of an employee, the word עבד eved [H:5650] is one who serves another in the sense of a slave, and is derived from the verbal root עבד avad [H:5647] meaning "to serve as a slave." We understand a slave as one forced against his will to work for another such as we see with Israel in Egypt. So they made the people of Israel serve (eved) with rigor, And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage (avodah)... Exodus 1:13,14 (RSV) There is another type of slave, what we might call a bondservant, one who is forced to work for another to pay off a debt owed or one who chooses to place himself under the authority of another in exchange for something, such as we see with Jacob who offers himself as payment for Laban’s daughter (Genesis 29:18). And Moses, the slave (eved) of Yahweh, died there in the land of Moab according to the word of Yahweh. Deuteronomy 34:5 Moses was, in the truest sense of the word, a slave to Yahweh. From his first encounter with Yahweh at the burning bush until his death, he never walked away from God. Sure, he erred and made his mistakes, but he always served God in the best way he could. It is interesting to note that he is never called "a slave" until the time of his death, almost as if the only way he could prove his loyalty was to remain in the service of Yahweh until his death. Moses’ successor Joshua is also called "a slave of Yahweh" but again, not until after his death (Joshua 24:29). Only one other individual is called "a slave of Yahweh" in the Bible: "...A Psalm of David, the slave (eved) of Yahweh..." Psalm 18:1 SERVE (V) The following is an excerpt from the book The Living Words. While the word מל אך malak [H:4397] is one who does business for another in the sense of an employee, the word עבד eved [H:5650] is one who serves another in the sense of a slave, and is derived from the verbal root עבד avad [H:5647] meaning "to serve as a slave." We understand a slave as one forced against his will to work for another such as we see with Israel in Egypt. So they made the people of Israel serve (eved) with rigor, And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage (avodah)... Exodus 1:13,14 (RSV) There is another type of slave, what we might call a bondservant, one who is forced to work for another to pay off a debt owed or one who chooses to place himself under the authority of another in exchange for something, such as we see with Jacob who offers himself as payment for Laban’s daughter (Genesis 29:18). And Moses, the slave (eved) of Yahweh, died there in the land of Moab according to the word of Yahweh. Deuteronomy 34:5 Moses was, in the truest sense of the word, a slave to Yahweh. From his first encounter with Yahweh at the burning bush until his death, he never walked away from God. Sure, he erred and made his mistakes, but he always served God in the best way he could. It is interesting to note that he is never called "a slave" until the time of his death, almost as if the only way he could prove his loyalty was to remain in the service of Yahweh until his death. Moses’ successor Joshua is also called "a slave of Yahweh" but again, not until after his death (Joshua 24:29). Only one other individual is called "a slave of Yahweh" in the Bible: "...A Psalm of David, the slave (eved) of Yahweh..." Psalm 18:1 The following is an excerpt from the book His Name is One. The Hebrew verb עבד (abhad) is translated in two different ways in the following two verses. "We will worship the LORD at his sanctuary with our burnt offerings sacrifices and fellowship offerings" (Joshua 22:27). "The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it" (Genesis 2:15). The Western mind has separated our lives into two parts; secular "work" and holy "worship" and each are approached in different ways. The Eastern mind does not make this distinction and sees both "work" and "worship" as עבד (abhad). The cleaning of a restroom is just as much a service to the king as singing praises to the King from a choir. Our service to the king should include all aspects of life. SET.APART (V) The following is an excerpt from the book The Living Words. On special holidays we put on our special clothes for services and when we return home we get out the special dinnerware for a special meal. These special items are not for ordinary uses but are set aside for a special occasion or purpose. It is this concept that is behind the Hebrew verb /קדש qadash [H:6942] and the nouns קודש qodesh [H:6944] and קדוש qadosh [H:6918] that are derived from it. And God blessed the seventh day and set it aside for a special purpose (qadash)... Genesis 2:3 And he said, Do not come near here, slip off your sandals from your feet because the place where you are standing upon is ground set aside for a special purpose (qodesh). Exodus 3:5 And you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a nation set aside for a special purpose (qadosh). Exodus 19:6 When these words are translated as "holy," the original Hebraic meaning is removed and replaced with an abstract word that conveys the idea of pious, perfect or sinless. But the Hebraic concept of these words is about the position of a person or object and does not necessarily have to be a "holy" position. Two other nouns, קדש qedesh [H:6945] and קדשה qed’shah [H:6948] also derived from the verbal root קדש qadash [H:6942] and have a meaning far from pious, perfect, or sinless. There will not be a female prostitute (qed’shah-feminine form) from the daughters of Israel and there will not be a male prostitute (qedesh-masculine form) from the sons of Israel. Deuteronomy 23:17 This command is forbidding the practice of Israel’s neighbor’s who had prostitutes, a person set aside for a special purpose, within their temples for "ceremonial" purposes. Occurring three times in the Old Testament and much more frequently in the New Testament is the phrase "holy spirit." As our definitions of words in the New Testament must come from the Hebrew, we will first examine this phrase as it appears in the Old Testament. Cast me not away from thy presence, and take not thy holy Spirit from me. Psalm 51:11 (RSV) The Hebrew translated as "holy spirit" isרוח קדשך ru’ahh qad’sh’kha [H:7307 & 6944]. Previously we have defined ru’ahh as a noun meaning "wind" or "breath." Above we defined qodesh as a noun meaning someone or something that is "set aside for a special purpose" or "a special one." First, recognize in English the word "holy" in "holy spirit" is an adjective describing the word "spirit." However, in the Hebrew the word qodesh is a noun, not an adjective. Therefore, the phrase ru’ahh qad’sh’kha should be translated as "the breath of your special one" or "the character of your special one." Even if the word qodesh were being used as an adjective, the grammar of the sentence also prevents it from being translated as "holy spirit" because the word ru’ahh is feminine while the word qodesh is masculine. In Hebrew grammar, the gender of an adjective must match the gender of the described noun. So, why do all the translations have "holy spirit" instead of "spirit of the holy one"? This is an appropriate place to bring up another problem with modern translations of the Bible. Most Bible believers are aware that the Old Testament is written in Hebrew, but most Bible believers make the wrong assumption that the translators used the Hebrew text for their translations as their foundation. The evidence suggests that the translators relied more heavily on the Septuagint for their translation than the Hebrew text itself such as this example shows. The Hebrew phrase ru’ahh qodesh, from Psalm 51:11, translates as pneuma to agion pneuma to agion in the Greek Septuagint. This Greek phrase means "the holy spirit/wind" where the word "holy" is an adjective. This same Greek phrasing is also found in the New Testament. "I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Matthew 3:11 (RSV) If we translate the Greek of this verse back into Hebrew we have "the breath of the special one" and this is exactly what we find in the Shem Tov Matthew. And John answered all of them, In truth I am here, baptizing you in the days of repentance, but another comes mightier than I whose sandal I am not worthy to untie, he will baptize you with the fire of the breath (ru’ahh) of the special one (qadosh). This more Hebraic sense of the "breath of the special one" also helps to shed some light on an often misunderstood verse in the book of John. And when he said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, Receive the breath of the special one. John 20:22 Who is this "special one"? Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God [the breath of Elohiym] ever says "Jesus be cursed!" and no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit [the breath of the special one]. 1 Corinthians 12:3 (RSV) In perfect Hebrew poetry, Paul parallels the "breath of Elohiym" with the "breath of the special one." The following is an excerpt from the book Ancient Hebrew Dictionary. This word is frequently translated as "be holy," another abstract word. When we use the word holy, as in a holy person, we usually associate this with a righteous or pious person. If we use this concept when interpreting the word holy in the Hebrew Bible, then we are misreading the text, as this is not the meaning of this Hebrew verb. This verb literally means "to be set apart for a special purpose". A noun derived from this verb is qodesh, someone or something that is set apart for a special purpose. Another noun derived from this verb is qedesh, one who is also set apart for a special purpose but not in the same way we think of "holy," but is a prostitute (see Deut 23:17). Israel was qodesh because they were separated from the other nations as servants of Elohiym. The furnishings in the tabernacle were also qodesh, as they were not to be used for anything except for the work in the tabernacle. While we may not think of ourselves as "holy," we are in fact set apart from the world to be Elohiym's servants and his representatives. The following is an excerpt from the book His Name is One. The word holy is another abstract word used to translate the Hebrew word קדוש (qadosh) from the root קדש (qadash), also commonly translated as "holy". The Hebraic meaning of this word is lost due to the preconception of the English word "holy" which implies one who is exceptionally pious and righteous. The word קדש (qadesh), equivalent to the word קדש (qadash), is translated differently in other places, which will clearly show that קדש (qadash) does not mean holy in the commonly perceived sense. "No Israelite man or woman is to become a temple prostitute" (Deuteronomy 23:17). We would never consider a "prostitute" as holy and yet the Hebrew word קדש (qadesh) is translated as a "temple prostitute". The literal meaning of קדש (qadash) can be seen below. "Take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and everything in it; consecrate it and all its furnishings, and it will be holy" (Exodus 40:9). Furniture are inanimate objects that cannot be holy, pious or righteous, but they can be "set apart for a specific function", the true meaning of קדש (qadash). These can be the furnishings of the Temple that are used for this purpose alone, or a prostitute whose is set apart from the rest of society for a specific purpose. The children of God are set apart from all others; they have the specific function of living for God and showing the world who God is. God is set apart from all other gods. "There is none holy like Yahweh for there is none beside you and there is no rock like our God" (1 Samuel 2:2). SHEET The following is an excerpt from the Ancient Hebrew Research Center Website. The word רקיע raqiya [H:7549], translated as firmament, comes from the root word רקע raqa [H:7554] which can be found in several passages including Isaiah 40:19; The sculpture is poured by the craftsman and he overlays the cast with gold and castings of silver chains. Raqa is the process of hammering out a piece of gold or other metal into thin plates which was then applied to a carved or casted image such as we read in Numbers 16:39;
Here, the phrase "hammered out" is again the verb root רקע raqa [H:7554]. The word רקיע raqiya [H:7549], as found in Genesis 1:6 is literally a "hammered out sheet". There are some scientists who have speculated that before the flood there was a thick sheet of water surrounding the earth high in the atmosphere. It is then possible that the opening of the windows of heaven which brought down the floodwaters (see Genesis 7:11) is the collapse of this "hammered out sheet" of water. It is also theorized that the sheet of water would have filtered out harmful sun rays and contributed to the longevity of life on the earth prior to the flood. The following is an excerpt from the book The Living Words. And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.Genesis 1:6 (KJV) The word רקיע raqiya [H:7549], translated as firmament, comes from the root word רקע raqa [H:7554] which can be found in several passages including Isaiah 40:19. The sculpture is poured by the craftsman and he overlays (raqa) the cast with gold and castings of silver chains. Raqa was the process of hammering out a piece of gold or other metal into thin plates which was then applied to a carved or cast image as we read in Numbers 16:39. And El’azar the priest took the copper censers, which they brought near and were burned and they were hammered out (raqa) into plates for the altar. Here, the phrase "hammered out" is again the verb root רקע raqa [H:7554]. The word רקיע raqiya [H:7549], as found in Genesis 1:6, is literally a "hammered out sheet." Some scientists have speculated that before the flood a thick sheet of water surrounded the earth high in the atmosphere. It is then possible that the opening of the windows of heaven which brought down the floodwaters is the collapse of this "hammered out sheet" of water. It is also theorized that the sheet of water would have filtered out harmful radiation from the sun and contributed to the longevity of life on the earth prior to the flood. SHINE (V) The following is an excerpt from the Ancient Hebrew Research Center Website. The word praise is an abstract word that has no relationship with the ancient Hebrew's concrete way of thinking. While the word halel is translated as "praise" it is also translated as "shine" as in Job 29:3. The original meaning of halel is the North Star. This star, unlike all of the other stars, remains motionless and constantly shines in the northern sky and is used as a guide when traveling. In the Ancient Hebrew mind we praise God by looking at him as the guiding star that shines to show us our direction. The first letter in this Hebrew word (from right to left) is a picture of a man with his arms raised up as pointing toward something of greatness. The second two letters are pictures of a shepherd staff which is used by the shepherd to move his flock toward a direction. When these two letters are combined the idea of looking toward something is formed. The following is an excerpt from the book The Living Words. The verbal root הל ל halal [H:1984] means to "shine" as we see in Isaiah 13:10: For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not shine (halal) light This same word is also translated as "praise" as in Psalm 117:1: Praise (halal) Yahweh, all you nations! Extol him, all you peoples! In our western minds, we see no connection between "shine" and "praise," but in the Hebrew mind they are one and the same thing. Before we can see the ancient connection between these two concepts, we need to look at the original pictographic script once used to write the word halal which was   . This word is derived from the parent root (hal) where the letter is a picture of a man with his arms raised up looking and pointing at an amazing sight. The letter is a shepherd staff which is used to move the flock toward a direction. When combined, these two letters mean to "look toward."Since the beginning of time, men, including the Nomadic Hebrews, have used the stars as their guide for traveling. They are shining lights that are "looked toward" to guide one on the journey. While we can be sure that the word hal originally means a "star," I believe that it was specifically the North Star. Because of the rotation of the earth, all of the stars make a circular motion in the sky. The only exception is the North Star, which remains fixed at one point in the center of the moving stars due to its position directly above the North Pole. Throughout the Bible, the writers portrayed our life as a journey as can be seen in the following verse. And you shall warn them of the customs and the teachings and make known to them the path they are to walk in and the works which they are to do. Exodus 18:20 The fuller Hebraic meaning of "Praise Yahweh" is that we are to "look toward" Yahweh, the fixed and constant shining light, as our guide on our journey through life. The following is an excerpt from the book Ancient Hebrew Dictionary. The Hebrew verb halal means "to shine" as can be seen Job 29:3. But when it is written in its piel form it means "commend" (usually translated as "praise"). However, commend is an abstract word that must be understood through the ancient Hebrew's concrete way of thinking. The North Star, unlike all of the other stars, remains motionless and constantly shines in the northern sky and is used as a guide when traveling. In the Ancient Hebrew mind we praise Elohiym by looking at him as the guiding star that shines to show us our direction. " SIGN The following is an excerpt from the book The Living Words. Related to the verb tsavah (to direct) and the noun mitsvah (direction) is another set of words with similar meaning. The root צי tsiy [H:6716] is a nomad, one who travels the desert in search of water and pastures for the flocks. From this root comes two words ציה tsiyah [H:6723] meaning a dry land or desert, where nomads roam, and ציון tsiyon [H:6725] meaning a landmark. The nomad uses various landmarks, including mountains, rivers, oases, and rock outcroppings to navigate from location to location. One ""landmark"" in the desert stands out more in the Biblical text than any other. It is the landmark that points out the directions and teachings we are to follow. and many people will go and say, ""come, we will go up to the mountain of Yahweh, to the house of the Elohiym of Jacob and he will teach us from his paths and we will walk in his ways because from Zion (tsiyon) the teaching will go out and the word of Yahweh from Jerusalem."" Isaiah 2:3 The name ""Zion"" in Hebrew is ציון tsiyon [H:6726], the very same word meaning ""landmark."" If we are going to follow the path God has directed us in, then we will need to use Zion, the mountain of God, as our landmark to point the way of his teachings. " SKILLED.ONE The following is an excerpt from the book The Living Words. One aspect of the Hebrew language that fascinates me is its complex system of letters, roots, and words. The parent root חם hham [H:2525], meaning "heat," and its derivatives demonstrate this unique system. The word hham appears as   in its original pictographic script. The letter is a picture of a wall which "separates" one side from another. and the letter is a picture of "water." Combined, these two letters literally mean "separate water." When "heat" (hham) is applied to water, we have evaporation, or a "separating of water."The following Hebrew words are all derived from the parent root root חם hham [H:2525].
This word is also found in another verse which is often interpreted with difficulty because of its difficult use of the word.
When read quickly, or when spoken, many read, or hear, this as 'son of righteousness.' What, or who, is this is sun? In the Masoretic text of the Hebrew Bible the vowel sounds are added to the text by placing dots and dashes underneath the Hebrew letters. But since the orignal Hebrew Bible did not have these letters all that originally existed as שמש (sh.m.sh). In Aramaic, a sister language to Hebrew and often very similar in its vocabulary, the Hebrew word shamash (same Hebrew spelling - שמש) means 'servant.' Could this have been the word intended by the author - 'servant of righteousness?' There is a possible cultural connection between shemesh (sun) and shamash (servant) in that the Ancient Hebrews may have seen the sun as the servant to the earth as it is necessary for all life to exist. |
