Pele is Wonder
December 29, 2022
The Hebrew word for "wonder" is PELE (פֶלֶא), an appropriate choice for this day as soccer fans bid farewell to the Brazilian wonder. RIP, Pele. You saved American soccer, too.
Thursday, December 29, 2022
Monday, October 3, 2022
Bible Geek Word Nerd - Evil Stories
Evil Stories
October 3, 2022
Micah Mattix writing in The Spectator reminds us that all good stories depend on real evil, which is not simply moral corruption, but rather also includes (quoting the philosopher Agnes Callard) "hunger, fear, injury, pain, anxiety, injustice, loss, catastrophe, misunderstanding, failure, betrayal, cruelty, boredom, frustration, loneliness, despair, downfall, annihilation. This list of evils is also a list of the essential ingredients of narrative fiction."
The Hebrew word for "evil" is RA (רַע), which makes its first appearance in the Text in Genesis 2:9, where we read about "the tree of the knowledge of good and EVIL". As Collard writes, even the Hebrew's use of RA extends far beyond moral corruption. RA appears 667 times in the Hebrew Bible, and the translators render it as evil, but also as calamity, displeasure, distress, and many of the words Callard mentions.
Stories that resonate with us -- that is, stories which work -- depend on the presence of real evil -- of RA -- because our own stories are suffused with evil in that broad sense. All of creation groans in anguish, waiting for its renewal by the One who is all Good (TOV (טוֹב) in the Hebrew).
Saturday, October 1, 2022
Bible Geek Word Nerd - Say #10 - DABAR
Pictures in Words
October 1, 2022
The invention of written language is a deeply fascinating subject to explore…at least for some people (ahem, nerd alert). How did cave paintings evolve into hieroglyphs and other pictographic writing? And from there, how did the alphabet emerge?
The English alphabet we use today was born in ancient Mesopotamia. Instead of using pictures to represent words or ideas, as in cuneiform and hieroglyphics, the earliest alphabet used pictures to represent consonantal sounds. There are some 30 phonemes (phonetic sounds) in the world’s known spoken languages, whether it be Mandarin or German or English. An alphabet gave mankind the ability to write the thousands of words derived from these 30 phonemes with a finite number of symbols. Imagine the glorious simplicity of recording thousands of words simply by knowing some 20 to 30 phonetic symbols, contrasted with learning more than 2000 to 4000 hieroglyphs (or 55,000 Chinese characters).
Like our modern English alphabet, ancient Hebrew uses pictographs for its letters, of which there are 22 (consonants only; ancient Hebrew does not represent vowels as letters). The first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, the ALEPH, which is now represented by “אִ”, was originally an ox head. The second letter BETH, now characterized by “בֵּ”, was a picture of a tent or house. Our name for this system derives from these first two letters: ALEPH-BETH (in Greek, it is ALPHA BETA). For real language nerds, a good summary of this history is available at The Institute of Semitic Studies (instituteofsemiticstudies.org/wordpress/languages/alphabet/).
One significance of pictographically representing phonemes is that the ancient sages of Judaism saw crucial symbolic meaning in the letters themselves which comprise the Hebrew words. So the letter AYIN (עַ) is the first letter of the word AYIN (עַיִן), which means “eye”. But symbolically, much more meaning is attached to it than mere physical sight. We could diverge into a long thread on that topic, but we shall save it for another day. Knowing the pictographic origins of the Hebrew Aleph-Beth, we can return to our ongoing and soon-to-be-concluded series on Hebrew words for “to say”.
We offered our final two selections in our previous post: AMAR and DABAR. They both can mean forms of “to say”, but we emphasized the point that their synonymous nature does not make them interchangeable. Just consider Leviticus 1:1, which in English reads: “The LORD called Moses and SPOKE to him from the tent of meeting, SAYING…”
The English word “spoke” has behind it the Hebrew AMAR, whilst “saying” is DABAR. Why would the Author of the Text use these two similar words in the same sentence, other than clunky repetitiveness? Because although similar, AMAR and DABAR are, in fact, different in profoundly significant respects. The Author intends to imply different meanings and intents with each word. Understanding this detail may not shake your theological foundations but may help you appreciate the Text in new and meaningful ways.
Let’s look at DABAR first. Like other words in our series, it can simply mean to speak or to say, but connotatively, it means to establish by decree. It is forceful or direct speech. Occasionally, DABAR is rendered as “to command” by English translators. Some (such as the writer Chaim Ben Torah) contend that it means to speak from the heart.
Pictographically, the three consonants that make up the word – D, B, and R – lead to a deeper understanding of how the Jewish sages interpreted its meaning. In Hebrew, these consonants are DALETH (דָ), BETH (בַ, pronounced as a “v” in this case), and RESH (ר).
The letter DALETH is also the Hebrew word for “door” (דֶּלֶת), and the letter originally was pictographically represented as a door (for more on this, Jeff Benner has written extensively at ancient-hebrew.org). The rabbinic sages also note that the first two letters comprise the Hebrew word for "poor person" or “weak person”, DAL (דֶּלֶ), which was also the earlier name for this letter. The sages further reasoned that all of mankind is poor in that we own nothing in this world, and this realization is a “door” unto G-d Himself, unto His household.
The Hebrew word for house or household, of course, is BETH (בּיִת), the second letter in DABAR. The rabbinic sages noted that the letter BETH, the second letter in the ALEPH BETH, is the first letter in TORAH’s first word: BE-RESHITH (בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית). They wondered why G-d chose to begin His Word with the second letter, rather than the first. One answer is that we arrive at the beginning of TORAH, NOT at its beginning. The real beginning is G-d Himself, Who preexists the world and all that He created. (The sages also note that G-d created everything by speaking. Thus the entire created order is contained in the 22 letters of the ALEPH BETH. But that side trail deserves its own article.) In other words, we begin G-d’s story on page two or in chapter two; it is already in progress.
So, the second letter of DABAR – BETH – reminds us not only that G-d spoke the world into existence, but also that He has spoken a household into existence, which we enter by His door (DALETH).
The third letter in DABAR is RESH (ר), which happens to be the Hebrew word for “head” (רֹאשׁ). As with English, the Hebrew does not just mean the part of the anatomy that sits atop your neck. Head can mean “chief” (as in head of household), beginning (as in the holiday we just experienced, ROSH HA-SHANAH, which is literally “head of the year”), or summit (as in the top of a mountain).
at DABAR represents G-d’s Word, in the person of Jesus the Messiah, who is not only our door, but also the Household of whom we are a part, and of Which He is the Head.
Getting behind the Engish translation, whichever your preferred one is, to the Hebrew or Greek text which underlies it, yields powerful dividends which can enrich your faith and your journey with Messiah. Next, we will conclude this long-running series by looking at AMAR.
Monday, September 19, 2022
Bible Geek Word Nerd - Say #9 - the Big AMAR and DABAR
Say #9 - Say it ain't so
September 19, 2022
Long, long ago, on a keyboard far away, we began typing out a series of posts on various Hebrew words translated as some form of “to say”.
We’ve made the point ad nauseam that Biblical Hebrew has orders of magnitude fewer words to work with (about 8000) than does English. Consequently, Hebrew words often do double and triple duty, which can present challenges and obstacles to translation. It is the single best argument for reading the Text in multiple translations if you want a better understanding of what’s being written. Moreover, translators are human with all of the biases and a priori commitments “that flesh is heir to”. As is often said in the world of hermeneutics, context is king. The very same Hebrew word which plainly means one thing in one part of the text, might necessarily mean something completely different in another. This is why it is literally impossible to have a literal translation of the Hebrew Bible.
As it relates to our ongoing series, there are about 27 different English words used by the NIV translators for “to say”, running from “add” and “announce” to “talk” and “utter”. These 27 words comprise 6,239 occurrences and are all derived from 11 Hebrew verbs, of which we have discussed nine. 
So much for a level set. Now let’s jump into the final two verbs, which are the Big Ones in the Hebrew Text: DABAR (דָבַר) and AMAR (אֲמַר).
AMAR is by far the more common of the two, appearing 5308 times in the Hebrew Bible. DABAR occurs 1144 times in the Text. While they are obviously similar in that they each mean some form of “to say”, there are both significant and subtle differences between them which have potentially profound implications for how you read the Text.
AMAR means “to utter, to say”. In the Hebrew Bible, it is also rendered as answer, appoint, boast, challenge, command (though there is another Hebrew verb which is more common for that English word), declare, demand, require, and utter. AMAR gives us the Hebrew nouns EMER (אֵמֶר) and IMRAH (אִמְרָה), which mean utterance, speech, or word, but also commandment and promise.
AMAR enters the Text in the beginning on the first page of the Bible. Genesis 1:3 reads, “And G-d SAID, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.” The word is used 30 times in the first three chapters of Genesis. Its final use is in Malachi 3:14, which tells us, “‘You HAVE SAID, “It is futile to serve God. What do we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the LORD Almighty?”
DABAR (or DAVAR, depending on how the “B” is pronounced) means “to speak”, and in the Text, it might be rendered as answer, declare, talk, or teach (though there is another word more commonly rendered as “teach”). Its noun form is DABAR, appearing the phrase “the word of the LORD”, for an important example.
DABAR makes its first appearance in Genesis 8:15, “Then G-d said to Noah…” And its final use, like AMAR’s, is in Malachi, one verse before AMAR’s final use: “’You HAVE SPOKEN arrogantly against me,’ says the LORD. Yet you ask, ‘What HAVE we SAID against you?’”.
It would be a grave error to think that simply because they are synonyms AMAR and DABAR are interchangeable. They are not. In our next post, we will look at some important differences which might encourage you to look behind your English translations to discover some of the hidden beauty in the Text.
Friday, September 16, 2022
Bible Geek Word Nerd - Dust
Dust in the Wind
September 16, 2022
Kerry Livgreen, founding member and lyricist for the classic rock band Kansas, channeled the Biblical book of Ecclesiastes when he wrote the seminal hit, “Dust in the Wind”. For Livgreen, it was a meditation on our mortality and how fleeting it all is. The Hebrew word that gives us the common refrain about vanity is HEVEL (הֶבֶל), which does not mean “vanity”, but rather “vapor” or “breath”.
This post is not about HEVEL. That will come later. This post is about Livgreen’s masterpiece and our inevitable dance with death. We buried a loved family cat today after she passed 
from life. We lay her still body in the ground and said the standard funeral refrain, “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust”, from the Anglican Book of Common Prayer (worth having on your shelves for lots of reasons). Here is the prayer in its entirety:
“In sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ, we commend to Almighty God our brother; and we commit his body to the ground; earth to earth; ashes to ashes, dust to dust. The Lord bless him and keep him, the Lord make his face to shine upon him and be gracious unto him and give him peace. Amen.”
The Hebrew word for “dust” is APHAR (עָפָר).
APHAR appears over 100 times in the Hebrew text, beginning with its very first use in Genesis 2:7: “Then the LORD God formed a man from the DUST of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” We will come back to this verse because there are profound implications related to the words used in the Text. But as this post is on only one of those words, we will confine ourselves to APHAR and dust.
Consider “dust” and contrast it with similar or related words like “clay” or “dirt” or “soil”. Unlike the related words, dust connotes dead, worthless, and lifeless. Dust is dry (in fact, APHAR can also mean “dry dirt”).
Genesis tells us that G-d did not form mankind from clay. He did not form mankind from fertile soil or mud. Rather, He formed us from dry, dead, lifeless dust. Like ash, which is only formed after burning what was once living, dust connotes death.
The prophet Zephaniah, in describing G-d’s coming judgment on the earth, records, “‘I will bring such distress on all people that they will grope about like those who are blind, because they have sinned against the LORD. Their blood will be poured out like DUST and their entrails like dung.”
APHAR is also connected to the curse of our Fall. In Genesis 3:14, the serpent is condemned to eat dust: “So the LORD God said to the snake, ‘Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat DUST all the days of your life.” Genesis 3 continues the theme of dust being associated with the curse when G-d speaks to Adam: “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for DUST you are, and to DUST you will return.’”
The curse on the created world – all of creation – is death, and our destiny is APHAR. For all of human history, mankind’s greatest enemy, his staunchest foe, and his everpresent companion is death, because we are dead, waiting to be buried.
At least, we were dead until the Son of G-d conquered death for all time. And though we all will pass from this world to eternity through the doorway of death, those who know Jesus do not need to fear either death or the coming Judgment. As we are reminded in the Book of Common Prayer, there is a “sure and certain hope of the Resurrection unto eternal life, through our Lord Jesus Christ; at Whose coming in glorious majesty to judge the world, the sea shall give up her dead; and the corruptible bodies of those who sleep in Him shall be changed and made like unto His glorious body; according to the mighty working whereby He is able to subdue all things unto Himself”. All things. Even dust.
Tuesday, September 13, 2022
Bible Geek Word Nerd - Annointed to Serve
Annointed to Serve
September 13, 2022
The Hebrew verb MASHACH (מָשַׁח) means “to smear” and occurs 69 times in the Hebrew Bible. You will find it in Exodus 29:2 when the Text tells us: “and from the finest wheat flour make round loaves without yeast, thick loaves without yeast and with olive oil mixed in, and thin loaves without yeast and BRUSHED with olive oil.” The Holman Christian Standard and English Standard versions have the loaves SMEARED with oil. The NASB renders the verb as “SPREAD”. You must go all the way back to the earliest English Bibles to get the sense for how we most often see this verb rendered into English. The Geneva translation (older than King James) says the bread is ANNOINTED, as does King James’s translation.
MASHACH is most often translated as “to annoint”. In fact, of the 69 occurrences in the Text, it is taken to mean annoint 93% of the time. MASHACH the verb gives us MASHIACH (מָשִׁיחַ) the noun, which we have as “messiah” or “annointed one”. In the Hebrew Bible, this noun is obviously applied to the promised Messiah, Yeshua. But it is also used for priests (Leviticus 4:3), kings (1 Samuel 16:6), and servants of the LORD (Isaiah 45:1). Which brings us to the passing of HRH Elizabeth II and this article by the eminent Rowan Williams.
“It singles out someone to occupy a position whose point is to manifest something about the whole community’s life—and to do so first by just being there, holding the ideals and aspirations of the community (and also carrying its projections). It is the rationale of the theological tradition that tells us that priesthood is not about an individual’s successful or meritorious performance but about fidelity to a position, for the sake of the community’s peace and well-being…. And this is what the royal anointing means at its most important level—a gift of the Holy Spirit to hold a fragile human person in faithfulness to this place where community can gather for restoration and renewal.”
Bible Geek Word Nerd - Honor
Honor
September 13, 2022
A very interesting and thought-provoking article from Orthodox priest Father Stephen Freeman has led us to consider the various words Hebrew has for “to honor”. There are principally three words which get translated into English as “honor”.
One Hebrew verb rendered as honor is HADAR (הָדַר), which means variously “to honor or adorn”. Famously, this verb is at the heart of a passage in Leviticus 19, where we also find Jesus’ Second Great Commandment (Leviticus 19:18). Verse 15 reads, “Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or SHOW FAVOURITISM to the great, but judge your neighbour fairly.”
But the word which we suspect sits at the center of Father Stephen’s article is likely to be KABAD (כָּבַד). Not only is it the most frequently occurring of the words which give us “to honor”, it is also the more flexible in its meanings.
Fundamentally, it means “to be weighty or heavy” and gives us both nouns and adjectives that tell us this. For instance, Eli the Priest in Samuel’s day was described as HEAVY, so heavy in fact that his weight caused his neck to break in a fall (1 Samueal 4:18). Like many Hebrew words, though, its sense is seldom simply plain and literal. For instance, the same word is rendered in Genesis 12:10 as “severe” in describing the famine in Canaan. In Genesis 50:9, the word is used to describe the company that went with Joseph to bury Jacob; in English, we read it as a “GREAT” (ASV, ESV, KJV, NASB) or “LARGE” (NIV) or “IMPRESSIVE” (HCSB) company. In Genesis 13, the word is used to describe Abram’s wealth in livestock and silver and gold.
KABAD is also at the heart of the Fifth Commandment: “HONOUR your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.” English has quite a few more words than does Hebrew in general, and this becomes quite striking in the consideration of a particular word such as KABAD. Our English thesaurus offers about 40 words which mean roughly “to honor”, while Hebrew has two or perhaps three. Father Stephen and his Orthodox tradition use “venerate”, and that word fits well with the Fifth Commandment. VENERATE your mother and father… It resonates well.
Read the article. It might provoke some thoughts.
Sunday, September 11, 2022
Bible Geek Word Nerd - Say #8: Good News
Say #8 - Good News for All
September 11, 2022
We have been at this “to say” series since the Summer…although we did take off a couple of months. Still, it has lingered for longer than we expected…like a stutter, perhaps. But we are winding down. There are three more words to present. We had been intending to discuss two of them in one post because they are the most common, but the slight differences between them might be worth two posts. We shall see.
Today we are going to talk about the news and how sharing the news gives us a fascinating word with Messianic implications.
St. Paul’s letter to the Romans, in Chapter 10 says: “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’”
“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.”
If your Bible has footnotes – or if you’ve studied the Hebrew Bible – you know that Paul is citing a passage from the prophet Isaiah. We mentioned this passage in our post on our foot obsession. Let’s have the whole poetic prophesy in its context:
“Awake, awake, Zion, clothe yourself with strength! Put on your garments of splendour, Jerusalem, the holy city. The uncircumcised and defiled will not enter you again. Shake off your dust; rise up, sit enthroned, Jerusalem. Free yourself from the chains on your neck, Daughter Zion, now a captive. For this is what the LORD says: ‘You were sold for nothing, and without money you will be redeemed.’ For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: ‘At first my people went down to Egypt to live; lately, Assyria has oppressed them. ‘And now what do I have here?’ declares the LORD. ‘For my people have been taken away for nothing, and those who rule them mock,’declares the LORD. ‘And all day long my name is constantly blasphemed. Therefore my people will know my name; therefore in that day they will know that it is I who foretold it. Yes, it is I.’ HOW BEAUTIFUL ON THE MOUNTAINS ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS, WHO PROCLAIM PEACE, WHO BRING GOOD TIDINGS, WHO PROCLAIM SALVATION, WHO SAY TO ZION, ‘YOUR GOD REIGNS!’ Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices; together they shout for joy. When the LORD returns to Zion, they will see it with their own eyes. Burst into songs of joy together, you ruins of Jerusalem, for the LORD has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem. The LORD will lay bare his holy arm in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.
Who brings Good News…
Imagine the city in tension, their army, led by the King perhaps, in the field against a hostile foe, perhaps one with superior numbers. They wait, in the Gate, on the Walls, for news of the battle’s outcome. That news comes by way of a runner, who carries the information with him. If his news is bad, that’s awful. If his tidings are good? Well, how blessed are his feet!
The Hebrew word that lies behind this phrase “who brings good news” is BASAR (בָּשַׂר).
We find BASAR in 1 Samuel 4, when the news was not good. “The man who BROUGHT THE NEWS replied, ‘Israel fled before the Philistines, and the army has suffered heavy losses. Also your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of G od has been captured.’” And overweight Eli keeled over and died from a broken neck. Another occurrence involving the bearing of tidings is the death of Saul at the hands of the Phiistines: “ They cut off his head and stripped off his armour, and they sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to PROCLAIM THE NEWS in the temple of their idols and among their people.” David, upon learning of Sau’'s death, composed a poem (because of course, he would): ‘Tell it not in Gath, PROCLAIM it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines be glad, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised rejoice.”
But let us return to the verse which begain this exploration of BASAR. We have cited Isaiah. It is a gloriously hopeful reference point (and perhaps you can understand why we have a foot obsession: we WAIT (QAVAH) for the Kingdom to be revealed in this Dark Time.
The so-called minor prophet Nahum echoes Isaiah (maybe Paul was thining of Nahum?): “Look, there on the mountains, the feet of one who brings good news, who proclaims peace! Celebrate your festivals, Judah, and fulfil your vows. No more will the wicked invade you; they will be completely destroyed.”
How often are you telling “bad news”? Salacious stories that grab attention and distract people from the main Message? We LOVE (AHEV) bad news – gossip that grabs attention and makes us more important – that elevates us at the expense of the story.
Do you remember the rest of the story about Saul’s death? It might be time to re-read 1 Samuel 31 and 2 Samuel 1. Gossip mongerers do not enjoy a reward.
Bible Geek Word Nerd - Say #8 - NEUM
Say #8 - NEUM declares...
September 11, 2022
There’s something very formal and official about the English verb “to declare”. In fact, one of its principle definitions is "to announce officially”. Thus, we Americans have a Declaration of Independence, not a Statement or Pronouncement or Announcement of Independence, though they would each work reasonably well.
To declare something seems to be more authoritative and proper.
It is actually precisely a noun that means, variously, utterance, oracle, or declaration, but one that gets rendered into English more than 360 times as the verb “to declare”. So Thomas Jefferson, were he writing in ancient Biblical Hebrew, would have penned the NEUM of CHUPHSHAH or MAMLAKHAH (or something like that…ancient Hebrew does not really have a word for “independence”, which suggests a whole range of implications beyond the scope of this post).
You will find NEUM in Genesis 22, after G-d tested (NASAH) Abraham:
“[The Angel of the LORD] said, ‘‘I swear by myself, DECLARES the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.’”
The bookend verse is in Ezekiel 44:
“‘The Levites who went far from me when Israel went astray and who wandered from me after their idols must bear the consequences of their sin. They may serve in my sanctuary, having charge of the gates of the temple and serving in it; they may slaughter the burnt offerings and sacrifices for the people and stand before the people and serve them. But because they served them in the presence of their idols and made the people of Israel fall into sin, therefore I have sworn with uplifted hand that they must bear the consequences of their sin, DECLARES the Sovereign LORD. They are not to come near to serve me as priests or come near any of my holy things or my most holy offerings; they must bear the shame of their detestable practices. And I will appoint them to guard the temple for all the work that is to be done in it.”
NEUM is almost always used with words that G-d Himself declares and occurs most often in the prophetic books Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel.
In Numbers, Balaam’s “oracle” or “prophecy” in chapter 24 uses NEUM six times, though the translators usually render it “oracle” or “prophesy”, which is not wrong, but it is an interesting choice. But even then, the source of the NEUM is G-d Himself. It’s almost as if nobody dares to declare except the LORD.
There is an interesting exception to this rule in Proverbs 30:1, “The words of Agur, the son of Jakeh, the pronouncement. The man DECLARES to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal…”
Our favorite use of NEUM is Psalm 110, which is said to be one of the most frequently cited Psalms in the New Testament. Verse 1 “declares”:
“The LORD SAYS to my lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’” When the LORD declares, we ought to listen…
Thursday, September 8, 2022
Bible Geek Word Nerd - Expelled
The Expelled
September 8, 2022
SHALOM! Peace be unto you.
The Summer has been…interesting. And it is time to renew this page. We have left things unfinished. Certainly, you have been waiting with bated breath for this very post, our first in nearly two months. August was a whopper of a month. But the doldrums have passed and we are, like Richard Nixon said, “Tanned, rested, and ready.” Except, we are not really tanned. And there’s been too much activity and too little vacation to be rested. But we are indeed ready to rumble.
We know we left off in a series about the Hebrew words for “to say” (and there have been many detours along that journey). This post will also be a detour. The “to say” series has three more posts (or three more words). But hang tight for this little sidebar. Don’t cast us out!
Hey, that leads us right to the sidebar! Talk about segue!
There are two Hebrew words for “to cast out” or “expel”: YARASH (יָרַשׁ) and GARASH (גָּרַשׁ). It’s nice that they rhyme. YARASH is by far the more popular verb in the Text, occurring 231 times to GARASH’s 47 instances. This is most likely due to YARASH having more shades of meaning. In addition to “cast out”, it means “take possession of” and its opposite “dispossess”.
So in Numbers 21, the children of Israel dispossessed the Amorites (verse 32) and took possession of their land (verse 35). Same verb, different renderings in English.
GARASH, though, is the word that interests us here.
It first appears in Genesis 3:24 during the saddest, most tragic story in Scripture. “And He DROVE OUT the man…” from the Garden of Eden. Next, it is the verb Cain uses to describe what G-d has done to him: “Today you are driving me from the land” (Gen 4:14). In Exodus 6, G-d tells Moshe that Pharoah will “DRIVE OUT” from Egypt the children of Israel, because of G-d’s might hand.
It’s later in Exodus – after Pharaoh drove them out – where we want to focus your attention because the word has significant implications for understanding the context of Jesus’ story.
Exodus 23:28 tells us: “ I will send the hornet ahead of you to DRIVE OUT of your way the Hivites, Canaanites, and Hittites.” Exodus 33:2 says, “I will send an angel before you and drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.”
All the “ites” living in the Promised Land will be expelled from the land. Where would they go? It is a question the Jews asked themselves, and in Jesus’ day, they answered it. The Galilean Jews of Jesus’ day assumed that all of the expelled “ites” drifted northeast across the Jordan to settle in that “far country” (see the Prodigal Son parable for that term). They called the land across the Jordan the territory of the GERASHIM (the expelled ones).
Those Six Nations driven out variously by the hornet and G-d’s Angel settled across the Sea of Galilee.
So, now read Mark 5 and Luke 8 about the demon-possessed man living across the Sea of Galilee. Consider how Greek (and English) have twisted the Hebrew name of YESHUA to become Jesus. Is it possible that the region of the GERASENES is supposed to be the region of the GARASHIM?
Maybe this offers a little insight into your understanding of that story.
(IMAGE: Grace Lutheran Church, Pasadena, CA)
Wednesday, July 20, 2022
Bible Geek Word Nerd - Testing Your Patience
May You Pass the Test
July 20, 2022
In the NIV translation of the Jewish Bible, the word “test” occurs 96 times, from Genesis 22:1 (G-d TESTED Abraham) to its final occurrence in Malachi 3:15 (the put G-d to the TEST). In English, the word occurs as a verb and as a noun. Sometimes its connotations are positive (in Psalm 105:19, the word of the LORD TESTED Joseph) and sometimes negative (Psalm 78:41, the Israelites put G-d to the TEST repeatedly).
The idea of testing is hugely important to understanding not only the Big Narrative of the Bible, but also to understand our part in it. The great English theologian and scholar CS Lewis wrote: “If you think of this world as a place simply intended for our happiness, you find it quite intolerable: think of it as a place for training and correction and it's not so bad.”
But to really understand what Scripture teaches us about TEST, we only need to consider Jesus the Messiah, who endured two famous tests in His journey to the Cross. Diving deeply into those stories is not the point of this page, so we won’t. But we will remind you of the two tests, with which you probably are already quite familiar.
The first was after His baptism from John in the Jordan River. The Holy Spirit led him into the wilderness, where He endured testing at the hands of SATAN (this, incidentally, is a Hebrew word which means “adversary”; it occurs 27 times in the Jewish Scriptures, most often being translated as simply “adversary”). SATAN tested Jesus three times, and He passed each one (quoting from the TORAH as He won His victory).
The second test Jesus endured was in the Garden of Gethsamane, where He sweated great drops of blood and asked this the Cup be taken from Him (that is, He would not have to endure torture, crucifixion, and death). He also passed that test.
So, the concept of the TEST is critical to our own story of faith.
We are going to detour from our final three posts on the “say” miniseries to look at five Hebrew words that Jesus would have been considering as He endured His own tests. These are five verbs which occur 117 times in the Text. Each of them offers a slightly different slant on the idea of the TEST and what G-d is about as He brings us into testing.
The first word is NASAH (נָסָה). It primarily means “to test, to try, to prove, to tempt”. It is the most frequently used of our five words. You will find it 36 times in the Hebrew Bible.
The first example is perhaps the most famous (and the most difficult to read and understand, in our opinion). In Genesis 22:1, we read, “Some time later God TESTED Abraham.” The context of this test is that Abraham and Sarah’s long-hoped-for son, Isaac, has been born. G-d’s promise has been fulfilled. But then G-d puts Abraham to the most excruciating test. G-d tells Abraham: “Take your son, your only son, whom you love – Isaac – and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain that I will show you.” Abraham is ready to obey this command, but G-d stays his hand.
The second word, occurring 33 times, is TSARAPH (צָרַף), which primarily means “to smelt, refine, test”. In Psalm 12:6, we are told: “And the words of the LORD are flawless, like silver PURIFIED in a crucible, like gold refined seven times.” In Psalm 105:19, the sense of testing is found: “till what he foretold came to pass, till the word of the LORD PROVED him true.” And in Isaiah 48:10, we read: “See, I have REFINED you, though not as silver; I have tested (note: the verb here is most often translated as “to choose”, not “to test”) you in the furnace of affliction.”
The third word for TEST is BACHAN (בָּחן). It means “examine, try,” and you will find it 29 times in the Jewish Bible. In Genesis 42, Joseph is dealing with his brothers, who do not yet recognize him. He accuses them of being spies. He is sending one of them back to Canaan to retrieve his youngest brother, Benjamin, while the rest stay in prison. He says in Gen 42:15-16, “This is how you will be TESTED: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. Send one from among you to get your brother. The rest of you will be imprisoned so that your words CAN BE TESTED to see if they are true. If they are not, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!” And in Psalm 11:5, it says, “The LORD EXAMINES the righteous, but the wicked, those who love violence, He hates with a passion.”
The fourth word is BARAR (בָּרַר). BARAR means to purify or select, and it is used 18 times in 
the Text. 2 Samuel 22:27 (and Psalm 18:26) says, “to the PURE you SHOW YOURSELF PURE, but to the devious you show yourself shrewd.” Ecclesiastes 3:18, we read, “I also said to myself, ‘As for humans, G-d TESTS them so that they may see that they are like the animals.’” And in Daniel 12:10, we are told, “Many WILL BE PURIFIED, made spotless and refined (TSARAPH)…”
The final word in our set of TESTING words is an odd one. And its inclusion in this list only confirms how challenging is the Hebrew Text. The word is AZAN (אָזַן). Used as “test”, it is only found once. And the reason for that is the word is most often translated as “give ear” or “hear”. It is the denominative verb for the Hebrew word which means “ear” (OZEN (אֹזֶן)). Confused yet? Interested in learning to be a translator? Oy vey!
AZAN’s use as “test” is in Ecclesiastes 12:9. “In addition to the Teacher being a wise man, he constantly taught the people knowledge; he WEIGHED (with the sense that he tested different theories as would a scientist), explored, and arranged many proverbs.”
Understanding the idea of the TEST is crucial to understanding how G-d works with us. He TESTED Abraham. He allowed Jesus to be tested. The TEST is for our benefit, to measure where we are, to stretch us and make us stronger.
We are even encouraged to ask G-d not to lead us into the hard test which we might fail…the test too difficult for us (one can imagine a test such as the one Abraham endured, or the tests Jesus Himself endured). “And do not bring us into TESTING” we read in Matthew 6. The Greek is PEIRASMOS, but Jesus did not teach His disciples in Greek. It is likely He used one of the five words we have discussed here. LORD, deliver us from the hard test…and let us pass it.
Tuesday, July 19, 2022
Bible Geek Word Nerd - Description vs Prescription
Describe or Prescribe
July 19, 2022
We follow The Bible for Normal People with Pete Enns. Sometimes we love what he writes or says; sometimes we do not love what he writes or says. But whatever he writes or says, he makes us think. "As iron (BARZEL בַּרְזֶל in Hebrew) sharpens (CHADAD חָדַד in Hebrew), so one man sharpens another."
This short clip is an excellent explication of the important difference between DESCRIPTIVE and PRESCRIPTIVE readings of the Bible. And we heartily endorse what he says at the end about wrestling (ABAQ אָבַק as Jacob wrestled with "the man" before crossing the river into the Promised Land) with the Bible, with thoughtfulness and patience.
Bible Geek Word Nerd - Say #7 - ANAH
Say #7 - ANAH is a good answer
July 19, 2022
We have been looking at the various Hebrew terms that mean “say” and “speak” and the like. In the NIV translation of the Hebrew scriptures, verbs of this sort appear more than 6200 times. And just as English has multiple ways of expressing this declarative, Hebrew does, as well. We are down to our final four now after previously covering MALAL, NAGAD, SAPHAR, NAVA, SIACH, and BATA.
Today’s word is ANAH (עֲנָה) which means answer, testify, or respond. Including its Aramaic form (found in Daniel and in Psalm 60), it appears 360 times in the Text. There is a Hebrew homonym which means to be bowed down or afflicted, or to abase or defile, which must give translators fits. (Jewish culture – and Hebrew language – is high context, which means context clues are necessary for understanding. Idiomatic expressions, homonyms understood incorrectly, ancient Near Eastern history, etc. are all potential stumbling blocks to rendering the Text into English. No matter which translation you prefer, be grateful for the laborious and faithful work of the countless scholars who have produced your English Bible.) Now, back to ANAH…
It first appears in Genesis 18:27, with Abraham negotiating with the LORD for his nephew LOT, before Sodom is destroyed. The NIV offers: “Then Abraham SPOKE UP again: ‘Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes…’” The Holman Christian Standard Bible stays closer to the original Hebrew with: “Then Abraham ANSWERED, ‘Since I have ventured to speak to the Lord—even though I am dust and ashes—'”
ANAH is used in discussing advice to a fool in Proverbs 26:4-5, with one of our favorite paradoxical wisdom passages: “Do not ANSWER a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him. ANSWER a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes.”
(We are reminded of the humorous quandry from the Coen Brothers classic “Raising Arizona” when bank robbers Gale and Evelle storm into the bank and Gale shouts: “All right, ya hayseeds, it's a stick-up. Everybody freeze. Everybody down on the ground.” And the feisty old timer asks, “Well, which is it, young feller? You want I should freeze or get down on the ground? Mean to say, if'n I freeze, I can't rightly drop. And if'n I drop, I'm a-gonna be in motion. You see...” So which is it, LORD? Do you want us to not answer a fool, or to answer a fool?)
While “answer” can mean to simply give an answer, there is often in the Scriptures an overtone of deliverance to its use – almost as a synonym for deliver – especially when the LORD is the one doing the answering. For instance, Psalm 3:4 reads, “I call out to the LORD, and he ANSWERS me from his holy mountain.” In Psalm 4:1, we have, “ANSWER me when I call, God, who vindicates me. You freed me from affliction; be gracious to me and hear my prayer.” In Psalm 17:6, it says, “I call on you, my God, for you WILL ANSWER me; turn your ear to me and hear my prayer.” Psalm 69:17 gives us, “Do not hide your face from your servant; ANSWER me quickly, for I am in trouble.” ANAH is used almost 40 times in the Psalms, including once when it is most often translated as “sing” in Psalm 147:7 (because it is linked with playing a lyre).
Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Zechariah seem to be partial to ANAH. Isaiah 41:17, the LORD tells us: “‘The poor and needy search for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. But I the LORD WILL ANSWER them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.” Jeremiah often uses ANAH somewhat negatively, as in NOT answering (Jeremiah is rather pessimistic at times, the weeping prophet and all). For example, G-d’s people will not listen in Jeremiah 17:27, “When you tell them all this, they will not listen to you; when you call to them, they will not ANSWER.” And Jeremiah 35:17 tells us, “Therefore this is what the LORD God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Listen! I am going to bring on Judah and on everyone living in Jerusalem every disaster I pronounced against them. I spoke to them, but they did not listen; I called to them, but they did not ANSWER.’”
ANAH’s final appearance is in Hosea 2. It is used six times between verses 15 and 23. The hope in the passage is so palpable, that we will quote it in full. Hosea, bring us home:
“There I will give her vineyards back to her and make the Valley of Achor into a gateway of hope. There she WILL RESPOND as she did in the days of her youth, as in the day she came out of the land of Egypt. In that day— this is the LORD’s declaration— you will call Me, “My husband,” and no longer call Me, “My Baal.” For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth; they will no longer be remembered by their names. On that day I will make a covenant for them with the wild animals, the birds of the sky, and the creatures that crawl on the ground. I will shatter bow, sword, and weapons of war in the land and will enable the people to rest securely. I will take you to be My wife forever. I will take you to be My wife in righteousness, justice, love, and compassion. I will take you to be My wife in faithfulness, and you will know Yahweh. On that day I WILL RESPOND — this is the LORD’s declaration. I WILL RESPOND to the sky, and it WILL RESPOND to the earth. The earth WILL RESPOND to the grain, the new wine, and the oil, and they WILL RESPOND to Jezreel. I will plant her for myself in the land; I will show my love to the one I called “Not my loved one” (LO RUCHAMAH). I will say to those called ‘Not my people’ (LO AM-I) , ‘You are my people’; and they will say, ‘You are my God.’”
The New Testament has been handed down to us in Greek, but it was originally written by Jews who spoke and wrote and knew Hebrew. ANAH seems like the verb that Peter has in mind when he writes this in his first letter: “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to GIVE AN ANSWER to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.”
We always wonder what Hebraisms lie behind the Greek text. Some day, we will know fully…
Monday, July 18, 2022
Bible Geek Word Nerd - Say #6 - BATA
Say #6 - THINK before SPEAK
July 18, 2022
If you do an Internet search of the phrase “think before you speak”, you will turn up almost 2 billion hits in less than one second. Many of the first hits are for various forms of an acronym that is supposed to help you refrain from speaking without thinking (i.e., THINK or THANK). Some of the hits are articles on why it’s important to think before speaking (e.g., “Ten Reasons Why You Should…” or “Thirteen Reasons Why You Should…”). Throw in some explainer videors and recorded sermons, and you have a significant wave pushing back against speaking rashly.
Which leads us to today’s post in our soon-to-be-ended mini-series on Bible words that mean “speak” or “say”. Today’s Hebrew word is BATA (בָּטָא), which means to speak rashly or thoughtlessly. It occurs only four times in the Hebrew Bible, but it packs a powerful punch each time. You will find it twice in Leviticus 5:4 (HCSB) in the matter of rashly swearing an oath:
“Or if someone SWEARS RASHLY to do what is good or evil—concerning anything a person may SPEAK RASHLY in an oath—without being aware of it, but later recognizes it, he incurs guilt in such an instance.”
If you’re familiar with the Jewish Scriptures, you can recount some clear instances when rash vows led to horrifying consequences. There is the story of Jephthah’s rash vow in Judges 11, and the awful fate of his only daughter. You can also read about King Saul’s rash vow in 1 Samuel 14, which nearly cost the life of his son Jonathan.
The implications of speaking rashly in the Scriptures also relate to relational damage, as rash words can hurt another person. Proverbs 12:18 likens them to a cutting blade:
“There is ONE WHO SPEAKS like the piercings of a sword, But the tongue of the wise promotes health.”
And rashly speaking can not only hurt others, it can also hurt the speaker, as Moses learned in the Exodus. Psalm 106:33 tells us that Moses spoke rashly to his rebellious Tribes:
“By the waters of Meribah they angered the LORD, and trouble came to Moses because of them; for they rebelled against the Spirit of God, and RASH WORDS CAME from Moses’ lips.”
It is no wonder that the advice from the writer James is so often cited: Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.” Rash words lead to huge consequences. In other words, THINK before you speak.
Thursday, July 14, 2022
Bible Geek Word Nerd - Say #5 - NAVA
Say #5
July 14, 2022
Biblical Hebrew has homonyms, just as English does. And not only does the Text of the Hebrew Bible love playing word games with homonyms, but the ancient sages could also tease out deep meaning for similar words that had potentially opposite implications. Today’s post in our mini-series on Bible words which mean “to say” will offer you two Hebrew verbs, which are homonymns but not synonyms. Let us explain.
The Hebrew Bible is not called the Old Testament by most Jews, many of whom find that an offensive term. We try to avoid its usage here at Bible Geek Word Nerd, preferring instead the Hebrew Bible, Jewish Scriptures, or Jesus’ Bible (when we want to be cheeky). The Jewish way to refer to the Hebrew Bible is “TaNaK”. As some readers doubtless know, TaNaK is an acronym derived from the first consonants of the names for the three sections of the Hebrew Bible. T is for TORAH (some translate that word as “law”, but this is an unfortunate choice…a topic for a future post), the first five books of the Bible. N is for NEVI’IM, which are the prophetic books (which includes not just the prophets that Christians know as the Prophets, but also Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings). The final section is K for KETHUVIM, which means “writings; this section contains all the rest of the books (e.g., Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Daniel, et al).
But this series is about Hebrew words which mean “to say” or some form of that verb. Why talk about the Jewish way of naming the Bible? First, we aim to edify and enlighten. Hopefully, some of you are now more knowledgeable about the Jewish way of talking about their Scriptures. But secondly, the word NEVI’IM (נְבִיאִים֙) is relevant for our discussion today.
NEVI’IM is the plural form of NAVI (נָבִיא), which means “prophet”. It is used 316 times in the Text, from its first appearance in Genesis 20:7 (“Now return the man’s (Abraham’s) wife, for he is a PROPHET, and he will pray for you and you will live.”) to its last one in Haggai 1:3 (“Then the word of the LORD came through the PROPHET Haggai…”). There is a feminine version of the word, as well, meaning “prophetess”: NEVIAH (נְבִיאָה) (Hebrew often adds “ah” to the end of nouns to make them feminine, so ISH/man becomes ISHAH/woman or wife).
The Hebrew way of thinking of NAVI includes what we traditionally think of with a prophet, but the word can also mean “spokesman” or “speaker”. It is used for someone who speaks for someone else (in the Bible, that is, for G-d Himself). So in contemporary use, you could say that a politician’s spokesperson is a NAVI.
NAVI, the noun, has a denominative verb form: NAVA (נָבָא). Occurring 114 times in the Hebrew Bible, it means, as you might expect, “to prophesy”. For instance, Numbers 11:25 reads: “When the Spirit rested on them, they PROPHESIED – but did not do so again.” And in Zechariah 13:4, we have “And it shall be in that day that every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he PROPHESIES…”
This verb NAVA has a homonym, obviously also NAVA (henceforth NAVA 2). In English, NAVA is both a homograph and a homophone. But in Hebrew, the two words are spelled differently, so they are not homographs in Hebrew. NAVA 1 (נָבָא) ends with an ALEPH (א), the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. NAVA 2 (נָבַע) ends with an AYIN (ע).
The difference of one letter between these homophones is hugely significant to the Jewish sages, who tease out meaning from the tiniest of details. (Do you remember Jesus’ claim that He did not come to abolish the TORAH? He says in Matthew 5:18: “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” Jesus is actually quoting a familiar Jewish proverb: “LO YOD V’LO KOTSO SHEL YOD” which means, “not a yod or a thorn of a yod,” meaning “not the most insignificant or unimportant thing.” The tiniest details matter, so whether a word ends with ALEPH or AYIN is significant not only because the word’s meaning changes.)
Of NAVA 2’s 11 uses in the Text, six are in the Psalms, five are in Proverbs, and one is in Ecclesiastes.
NAVA 2 means to flow, spring, bubble up, or pour forth. In Psalm 19:2, we have “Day after day they POUR FORTH speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.” Psalm 59:7 reads, “See what they SPEW from their mouths…” And in Ecclesiastes, the Preacher says, “Dead flies putrefy the perfumer’s ointment, and cause it to GIVE OFF a foul odor”. NAVA 2 can also mean “to utter”, as in Psalm 78:2 “…I WILL UTTER hidden things, things from of old…”
Let’s return to the AYIN. The word AYIN (עַיִן) means “eye”. One of the most important nouns in the Hebrew text, both for its denotative meaning (literally the eye) and its connotative or poetic meaning (sight, look, what you want, etc.), it appears 887 times in the Text. But apart from the concrete and poetic uses, there is also a symbolic use. The word AYIN came to mean “a spring” (as a spring of water). The prevailing etymological theory is that the sky reflected in a pool or spring resembles an eye. So to a Hebraic way of thinking, AYIN represents not just the eye and all of its symbolism but also a sping representing life.
What does a spring do? It bubbles up. That is, it NAVAs (as in NAVA 2). Let’s look at Proverbs 18:2’s rich poetic imagery: “The words of the mouth are deep waters, but the fountain of wisdom is A RUSHING (NAVA) stream.”
NAVA 2 is tricky for some commentators. Because it is a homonym, in English it reads like NAVA 1. That is, some interpreters do not understand the difference between the words. For example. The Forerunner commentary asserts that NAVA “literally means ‘to bubble up.’ It describes one who is stirred up in spirit.” Clearly this is a commentator tripped up by a small letter.
But you will not be tripped up because you know that the two words sound alike, but are separated by the “eye”. Sometimes, your English “utter” is more like a bubbling up.
Wednesday, July 13, 2022
Bible Geek Word Nerd - Say #4 - NAGAD
Joseph Got What He Deserved: Say #4
July 13, 2022
We mentioned in an earlier post that we have an unnatural affection for the musical works of Andrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice. “Jesus Christ Superstar” is a glorious composition lyrically and musically (even if we do not completely embrace Tim Rice’s modernist humanist take on Jesus the Messiah). But our favorite opus of theirs is not that one. Rather, we are very, very much in the “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour® Dreamcoat” camp. A breezy, funny, rocking re-telling of the Patriarchal narrative from Genesis about Jacob, his dysfunctional family, and the story of their arrival in Eqypt is an extremely entertaining show. Not only did we write this paragraph as a paean to that show, which we love, it also provides some context for this post about one of the Bible words which our English translators render as “say” or “said”.
You probably know the story, but if you do not, it might be a good idea to check it out. It happens in the first book of the Bible, beginning in about chapter 24 with the story of Jacob’s parents. But the bits which concern Joseph and “to say” take place in chapter 37. (Oh, do read all 50 chapters because they set the stage for every other story in both Jesus’ Bible and the ones written after He died.)to get the whole sense of it!)
Joseph is Jacob’s favorite son by his favorite wife. He had eleven brothers and one unfortunate sister (poor Dinah), as well as three step-mothers (is that the term you would used to describe his father’s other wives? We dunno. It’s a weird, strange, jarring story). Joseph is called a dreamer: he receives dreams and visions from G-d, and he also interprets them. This makes him a prophet. It’s those dreams and his willingness to talk about them that got him into trouble with everyone (but it also got him out of trouble, too, so “all’s well that ends well”).
Let’s let the Text tell us the story, from Genesis 37:5-10:
“Joseph had a dream, and when he TOLD it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. He said to them, ‘Listen to this dream I had: we were binding sheaves of corn out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered round mine and bowed down to it.’ His brothers said to him, ‘Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?’ And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said.
“Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. ‘Listen,’ he said, ‘I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.’ When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, ‘What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?’ His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.”
You will note that some form of the word “to say” or “to tell” is used in the passage cited. In fact, in eight different places there is some form of say or tell, but only one of them – the one in verse 5, in fact – is marked with upper case, and that is the word we are going to explore. And in exploring its nuances of meaning, we will have a clearer picture of why his brother reacted the way they did (well, they already hated Joseph for being a tattletale and resented him for being the favorite son; this incident may have put them over the edge).
The word used in verse 5 – he told it to his brothers – is the Hebrew verb NAGAD (נָגַד). It makes 370 appearances in the Text, beginning in Genesis 3:11 (And he said, ‘Who TOLD you
that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat?’) and ending with Isaiah 36:22 (“Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary and Joah son of Asaph the recorder went to Hezekiah, with their clothes torn, and told him what the field commander had said.”) What is interesting about this word is primary definition.
Look at another use in Isaiah 7:2: “Now the house of David WAS TOLD, ‘Aram has allied itself with[a] Ephraim’; so the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.”
How would you tell the entire household? Would you whisper it into one ear and ask them to pass it along? Or would you broadcast it, loudly for all to hear? Picture the old world town criers who made public pronouncements, ringing their bells and shouting their news. When the house of David was told (NAGAD), it was in a voice loud enough for the entire royal court to hear at once.
The primary meaning of NAGAD is “to be conspicuous”.
So now, let’s return to Joseph the Dreamer. He did not just tell his brothers in an understated way about his dream. No. Joseph made the dream CONSPICUOUS. The spoiled little brat BRAGGED about his dreams loudly and proudly. No wonder they hated the insufferable little cretin.
NAGAD is used in Genesis 9, when Ham told his brothers about his father Noah’s drunken nakedness. “Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and TOLD his two brothers outside.” Noah’s anger at his son, who made Noah’s shame conspicuous enough for even the eavesdropping Canaan to hear, makes more sense when you consider the Hebrew text.
NAGAD also used when Judah is told about the pregnancy of his daughter-in-law Tamar in Genesis 38:24: “About three months later Judah WAS TOLD, ‘Your daughter-in-law Tamar is guilty of prostitution, and as a result she is now pregnant.’” It is not too difficult to imagine this news being conveyed in loud, broadcast tones for all to hear, based on Judah’s response: “Judah said, ‘Bring her out and let her be burned to death!’” Public sin deserves public judgment.
Joseph did not just tell his family about his dreams. He broadcast his coming superiority in terms loud enough and proud enough for all to hear. NAGAD – occurring 370 times and most often translated as “tell” – means quite a bit more than simply “to tell”.
Getting behind the English to reveal the Hebrew also gives you new insights into the motives of the primary actors in G-d’s story.
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