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…
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