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        BE.FACE.TO.FACE (V) The following is an excerpt from the Ancient Hebrew Research Center Website. There are two common Hebrew verbs that are used to convey the idea that someone is about to speak. These are אמר (A.M.R, Strong's #559), usually translated as "say" and דבר (D.B.R, Strong's #1696), usually translated as "speak." There is one other verb that is used in a similar way, but is not as common a verb as the other two.
The Hebrew verb behind the English "told," is the verb נגד (N.G.D, Strong's #5046), but this verb does not mean to "tell," but literally means "to be face to face." Hebrew verbs can be written in different forms. The three most common are the qal (simple form), niphil (passive form) and hiphil (causative form). As an example, the qal form of the verb ידע (Y.D.Ah, Strong’s #3045) means to "know." The niphil form is the passive and means to "be known" or to "reveal." The hiphil is the causative form and means to "cause to be known" or to "declare." Notice that the meaning of each of these verbs are all related to the idea of "knowing," but with slight nuances. The verb נגד (N.G.D, Strong's #5046), is never written in the qal or niphil form, but only in the hiphil form, to "cause to be face to face." The hiphil form of this verb is always in the context of "telling," in the sense of causing another to be face to face in order to "tell" them something. BE.ZEALOUS (V) The following is an excerpt from the book His Name is One. From a Western perspective, the idea of one being named "Jealous" seems odd, especially as a name for God. As a name represents the character, this implies that God is by nature jealous. Our cultural understanding of the word is a type of anger felt over the suspected unfaithfulness of a spouse. As we shall see the Hebrew word has a very different meaning. The parent root קן (qen) is a nest. The first letter of the parent root is a picture of the sun at the horizon where the light is gathered during the sunrise or sunset. The second letter is a sprouting seed, the beginning of new life that came from the parent plant. Combined, these letters form the meaning, "A gathering for the seeds". A bird goes about "gathering" materials for building a nest for her "seeds", eggs, of the next generation. Several words are derived from the parent root קן (qen - nest), all related in meaning to the building of a nest. The child root קנה (qanah) is the construction of a nest by the parent bird. "And he blessed him and he said blessed is Abram to God most high, builder of heaven and earth" (Genesis 14:19). Some translations translate the above verse as, "Creator of heaven and earth". The ancient Hebrews did not see God as an unknowable force that creates the universe for some unknown reason; rather he is the bird that goes about gathering all the necessary materials for building a home for his children. Man was not created as an additional component to the creation; the earth was created as a home for man. Another word derived from קן (qen) is קנא (qana). This is the word translated as "jealous" in our introductory passage. The Hebraic meaning of this word is the passion with which the parent guards over the chicks in the nest. While our Western mind may see the term a "jealous God" in his feelings and actions toward us, it is in fact his feelings and actions toward our enemies. The heathens and false gods are like predators invading the nest and God fights them protecting his children from their clutches. BEAUTY The following is an excerpt from the Ancient Hebrew Research Center Website. Most theologians will define "grace" as "unmerited favor." But we must be careful not to interject a theological bias into the text. So first we need to understand what the English word "grace" means outside of theology. The dictionary provides two basic definitions for grace. 1. Elegance or beauty of form, manner, motion or action. 2. Mercy; clemency; pardon Because the Hebrew language is vastly different from English, we need to examine the Hebrew meaning of this word to see if one or both English definitions are appropriate definitions for the Hebrew word translated as grace. The Hebrew word translated as grace is חן (hhen, Strong's #2580) and is a two-letter parent root. In order to uncover the original meaning of this word it is important that we first examine each of the roots and words that are derived from this parent root. From חן (hhen) comes the verbal root חנה (Hh.N.H, Strong's #2583), spelled exactly the same except with the addition of the letter ה (h) at the end. The following verse provides a good example of the meaning of this verb.
This verb means "to pitch a tent" or "to camp." The noun derived from this verb is מחנה (mahhaneh, Strong's # 4264).
When we think of a camp we think of tents scattered about in a general area, but the camps of the Ancient Hebrews was a little different. The tents were set up in a sort of circle and these tents serve as a "wall" separating the inside of the camp from the outside. At this point it would be helpful to examine the pictographic Hebrew script that was used to originally write the word חן (hhen). The first letter is the letter hhet, which was written as  and is a picture of a wall and having the meaning of "separation" as the wall separates the inside from the outside. The second letter is the letter nun, which was written as  and is a picture of a sprouting seed having the meaning of "continue" as the seed continues a lineage to the next generation. When these two letters are combined they mean "the wall that continues." The tents in the picture above are a wall that continues around the camp.A second verbal root derived from the parent root חן (hhen) is חנן (Hh.N.N, Strong's #2603), spelled exactly the same except with the addition of the letter ן (n) at the end. This verb is often translated as "to be gracious" or "have mercy," however these are abstract terms and do not help us understand the meaning of this verb from an Hebraic perspective, which always relates words to something concrete. One of the best tools to use to find the more concrete meaning of a word is to look at how that word is paralleled with other words in poetical passages. In the following verses the translation of the verb חנן (Hh.N.N) will be underlined and the word that it is paralleled with will be in bold.
Through this process we find that this Hebrew verb is paralleled with such ideas as healing, help, being lifted up, finding refuge, strength and salvation (literally rescue). From a concrete Hebraic perspective, חנן (Hh.N.N) means all of this, which we can sum up with "providing protection." Where does one run to for protection? The camp, and now we see how חנה (Hh.N.H), the camp, and חנן (Hh.N.N), protection, are related. Now we need to see how these words are related to the parent root חן (hhen).
In this verse, the Hebrew word חן (hhen) is translated as "precious," something of beauty and value.
In this verse the "grace," or "beauty," of the woman is contrasted with the strength of a man.
Again, this Hebrew word is being paralleled with "beauty." This "beauty" is something that is precious and graceful, which is exactly how the Hebrews would have seen the "camp of protection," a graceful and precious place." Let us know return to our original definition of the English word "grace." 1. Elegance or beauty of form, manner, motion or action. 2. Mercy; clemency; pardon While these definitions do apply to the Hebrew word חן (hhen), they do not completely convey the full emotion and spectrum of the Hebrew word. This is the problem with translating Hebrew into English. The English vocabulary is limited in how it can express the full meaning of a given Hebrew word. The following is an excerpt from the book The Living Words. A nomadic camp might have as many as fifty tents, all members of the extended family and their servants. This was "home," a place of serenity, beauty, love, compassion and protection. These descriptions are the meaning behind חן hhen [H:2580]. A very common style of writing found in the Bible, especially in Psalms and Proverbs, is a form of poetry called parallelism where the writer expresses one idea in two or more different ways using synonyms. When doing Hebrew word studies, this is very beneficial, as the synonyms of the word you are studying will help to define that word. Here are a few examples where we will see the word חן hhen [H:2580] being paralleled with some of the descriptions provided in the paragraph above. The underlined words are also parallels. She will give to your head a wreath of hhen, a crown of splendor she will deliver to you. Proverbs 4:9 The doe is loving and the female goat is hhen... Proverbs 5:19 Hhen is a deception and beauty is a vapor... Proverbs 31:30 When reading an English translation of the Bible, an English dictionary is somewhat useless. Instead, one needs to examine the Hebrew word behind the English to find the real meaning of the word. The same is true for the Greek translation of the New Testament. When working with words in the Greek New Testament, we need to find the Hebrew word behind the Greek and take our definitions from it. A common New Testament word is carij hharis [G:5485] and while this word is usually translated as "grace," such as in "unmerited favor," we need to take our definition from the Hebrew which is the word hhen. And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace (hharis) of God was upon him. Luke 2:40 (KJV) A more Hebraic view of this verse is the child grew in the "beauty of God," he received love, compassion and protection from God. Derived from the parent root חן hhen [H:2580] is the verbal root חנן hhanan [H:2603] with the same meaning as hhen. Another verbal root derived from hhen is חנה hhanah [H:2583] meaning "to camp" or "encamp" and its noun מחנה mahhaneh [H:4264] meaning "camp." The verb hhanah and the noun mahhaneh can be found in the following verse. And the sons of Israel encamped (hhanah) each to his camp (mahhaneh) and each to his standard, to their army. Numbers 1:52 BEING The following is an excerpt from the Ancient Hebrew Research Center Website. What is the soul? Webster' Dictionary gives the following definition. "The spiritual nature of humans, regarded as immortal, separable from the body at death, and susceptible to happiness or misery in a future state." In most cases people will understand the soul through this definition. But, as I have so often stated, our interpretation of Biblical words should be from a Hebraic perspective, not a modern western perspective such as English. The Hebrew word translated as "soul" is the word nephesh (Strong's #5315). If we look at the various ways in which this word is translated in an English translation, such as the KJV, we will see a wide variation in its interpretation. Some of these translations include; soul, life, person, mind, heart, creature, body, dead, desire, man, appetite, lust, thing, self, beast, pleasure, ghost, breath and will. What exactly does this word mean? I had always assumed that only humans had a soul but, it was during a study of the word "soul" that I discovered that translations often influence how we interpret Biblical concepts. In Genesis 2:7 we find that man is a "living soul" and in Genesis 1:21 we find that animals are "living creatures". When I first started using a concordance to look up the original Hebrew words I was amazed to find out that these two phrases were the identical Hebrew phrases - nephesh chayah. Why would the translators translate nephesh chayah as "living soul" in one place and "living creatures" in another? It was this discovery that prompted me to learn the Hebrew language. In the Hebrew mind we are composed of three entities; body, breath and mind. The body is the flesh, bones and blood, the vessel. The mind is ones thoughts and emotions. The breath is ones character, what makes a person who they are. The soul is the whole of the person, the unity of the body, breath and mind. It is not some immaterial spiritual entity it is you, all of you, your whole being or self. The following is an excerpt from the book The Living Words. My first exposure to Hebrew was with an English translation of the Bible, a concordance and Strong’s dictionary. Using these tools a door into a new world was opened to me—the world of the Ancient Hebrews. However, I became quickly frustrated with the English translations, which rarely translated one Hebrew word consistently. When I did a study on the word "soul," I found it was the Hebrew word נפש nephesh [H:5315], but I discovered this one word was translated in the King James Version as any, appetite, beast, body, breath, creature, dead, desire, fish, ghost, heart, life, lust, man, mind, one, person, pleasure, self, thing, will, and soul. I think you get the picture. At this point I determined if I was really going to be able to study the Bible correctly, I must learn the language for myself. I had always assumed only humans had a soul, but I discovered translations often influence how we interpret Biblical concepts. And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. Genesis 2:7 (KJV) And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. Genesis 1:24 (KJV) According to these two verses, man is a "living soul" and animals are "living creatures." However, when these two phrases are read in the Hebrew, they are identical; נפש חיה nephesh hhayah [H:5315 and H:2416]—"a living soul." So, what is the soul? The dictionary gives the following definition. "The spiritual nature of humans, regarded as immortal, separable from the body at death, and susceptible to happiness or misery in a future state." In most cases people will understand the soul through this definition. But, as I have so often stated, our interpretation of Biblical words should be from a Hebraic perspective, not a modern Western one. In the Hebrew mind, we are composed of a multiple of entities: flesh, bone, breath, mind, emotion, organs, etc. The soul is the whole of the person, the unity of the body, breath, and mind. It is not some immaterial spiritual entity; it is you, all of you, your whole being or self. This idea of the soul is used in our own language such as when the number of persons on a aircraft or ship are identified as souls, as in "one hundred souls on board." The following is an excerpt from the book His Name is One. To demonstrate how a Translator's interpretation of a text can influence the readers understanding of the text, let us examine two passages from the New International Version. "Let the land produce living creatures". (Genesis 1:25) "and the man became a living being". (Genesis 2:7) From these passages the reader could conclude that animals are classified as "creatures" and humans as "beings" (The KJV uses the word "soul" here). When the Hebrew text is uncovered, we find that the above "interpretation" would never have occured as we find that the phrase "living creature" in the first verse and the phrase "living being" in the second verse are two different translations of the same Hebrew phrase "nephesh chayah". Because of the translator’s opinion that there is a difference between men and animals, the translation of these verses reflects the translator’s opinions. The reader, not knowing the Hebrew background to the passages, is forced to base his interpretation on the translator’s personal opinion. BEND.DOWN (V) The following is an excerpt from the Ancient Hebrew Research Center Website. Webster’s Dictionary defines "worship" as; 1. The reverent love and devotion accorded a deity, an idol, or a sacred object. 2. The ceremonies, prayers, or other religious forms by which this love is expressed. As I have stated many times but worth repeating, when we read the Old Testament/Tenach we must define our words from a Hebraic perspective, not English. Unfortunately, when we see the word "worship" in the Bible we automatically assume the above definition causing miss-interpretation of the Biblical text. If I asked the average Christian/Jew/Messianic, "Is it okay to worship a man?" The answer would be, "Absolutely not, we are only to worship God.". The first question we must ask is, "What is the Hebrew word behind the English word ‘worship’ and what does it mean?" Below are a couple of verses in English using the word "worship".
In each of these verses the Hebrew word behind the English word "worship" is "shahhah" (the hh is pronounced hard like the ch in the name Bach). This Hebrew word appears 172 times in the Biblical text but is only translated as "worship" 99 times in the KJV. Below are some other translations of this same word.
In this passage other nations will bow down/worship the descendents of Jacob.
In this passage Adonijah was found righteous when he bowed down/worshiped Solomon. Whenever the Hebrew word "shahhah" is used as an action toward God, the translators translate this word as "worship". But, whenever this same Hebrew word is used as an action toward another man, the translators translate this word as "obeisance", "to bow" or "bow down". As you can see, the translators are preventing the reader from viewing the text in its proper Hebraic context. The literal meaning of the Hebrew word "shahhah" can be seen in Numbers 22:31 - "and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face". "shahhah" means to bow down with the face to the ground. The concept of "worship" as defined by Webster’s dictionary is not Hebraic in any way and is not found in the Bible. We would be better off to remove the idea of "worship" from our Biblical vocabulary and replace it with "bow down". The only true way to bow down/worship God or a man from a true Hebraic perspective is to bow down with the face to the ground. Of course, this concept of bowing is an eastern custom that is not practiced in our western culture. The following is an excerpt from the book The Living Words. The word "worship" is defined as "the reverent love and devotion accorded a deity, an idol, or a sacred object; the ceremonies, prayers, or other religious forms by which this love is expressed." When we read the word "worship," such as in the verses below, we apply the above definition to it. And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the LORD. Genesis 24:26 (KJV) So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped the LORD. 1 Samuel 15:31 (KJV) Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness. Psalm 29:2 (KJV) As I have stated many times but is worth repeating, when we read the Bible we must define our words from a Hebraic perspective, not from an English dictionary. Unfortunately, when we see the word "worship" in the Bible, we automatically assume the above definition, causing a misinterpretation of the Biblical text. Would you apply the English definition of worship in the verse below? And Moses went out to meet his father in law, and did obeisance, and kissed him...Exodus 18:7 (KJV) Probably not, but the Hebrew behind the word "worship" and "obeisance" in all four passages above are the very same word שחה shahhah [H:7812]. This word has nothing to do with what we would call "worship"; however, its literal meaning can be seen in the following verse. And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed (shahhah) himself with his face toward the ground;Genesis 19:1 (KJV) Again we have a case where the translators chose different English words to translate one Hebrew word depending on the context. This action causes the reader to draw conclusions in the text that were not originally intended by the author. Whenever the Hebrew word shahhah is used as an action toward God, the translators translated it with the word "worship." But, when this same Hebrew word is used as an action toward another man, the translators used the word "obeisance" or "bow down." The concrete meaning of shahhah from a Hebraic perspective is getting down on the knees with the face to the ground to show high respect to God or another person. The following is an excerpt from the book Ancient Hebrew Dictionary. In our modern western culture worship is an action directed toward Elohiym and Elohiym alone. But this is not the case in the Hebrew Bible. The word shahhah is a common Hebrew verb meaning to prostrate oneself before another in respect, or simply, obeisance. We see Moses doing this to his father-in-law in Exodus 18:7. From a Hebraic perspective obeisance is the act of getting down on ones knees and placing the face down on the ground before another worthy of respect. BONE The following is an excerpt from the book The Living Words. And the human said, this one is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh because of this he called her woman because this was taken from man. Genesis 2:23 Bone in Hebrew is עצם etsem [H:6106]. The parent root of this word is עץ eyts [H:6086] meaning a "tree." The connection between these two words is obvious—the bones are the tree of the body. Another derivative of eyts is יעץ ya’ats [H:3289], a verb meaning "to counsel." The participle form of this verb, יועץ yo’eyts, is a counselor, one who is a tree, in the sense of support and firmness, to another. " BOY The following is an excerpt from the book The Living Words. The Hebrew word for ""boy"" is יל ד yeled [H:3206] and the feminine form of this word is יל דה yal’dah [H:3207], ""girl."" Both of these words come from the verbal root יל ד yalad [H:3205] meaning ""to bring forth"" and usually used in the context of bearing children. Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth (yalad) children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. Genesis 3:16 (KJV) Another verse worthy of a look at is Genesis 20:17. So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare (yalad) children. (KJV) While the Hebrew word behind the word ""bare"" is the verb yalad, translators added the word ""children"" which does not exist in the Hebrew text. Because of the translator’s insertion of this word, the reader assumes Abimelech’s punishment by God was that his women could not ""bear children."" However, there is another interpretation of this verse. First note God healed not only the women but Abimelech as well as is stated in the verse above, ""and God healed Abimelech..."" But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man's wife. Genesis 20:3 (KJV) Here God tells Abimelech, because of his sin, he is a dead man, and evidently the punishment is something that causes death, possibly an illness, but definitely not the inability to bear children. Now, let’s look at verse 17 again but this time with a literal translation from the Hebrew text. And Abraham interceded to Elohiym and Elohiym healed Abimelech and his woman and his maid servants and they brought forth (yalad). It is my opinion that they were constipated. " BREAD The following is an excerpt from the book The Living Words. With the sweat of your brow you will eat bread (lehhem)... Genesis 3:19 Bread dough is placed on a table and is kneaded by hitting it with the fists, rolling it back and forth, picking it up and turning it over, and... Kind of sounds like a fight, doesn't it? Actually, the Hebrew noun ל חם lehhem [H:3899], meaning "bread," comes from the verbal root ל חם lahham [H:3898] meaning to "fight." Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight (lahham) against us, and so get them up out of the land. Exodus 1:10 (KJV) Could this also be because we have to fight the ground to bring up the crop, fight the grain to remove the husk from the seeds, fight the seeds to turn them into flour, and fight the dough to make the bread? BREAK (V) The following is an excerpt from the book The Living Words. Because he hath despised the word of the LORD, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off; his iniquity shall be upon him. Numbers 15:31 (KJV) Just as the word "keep" does not mean "obey," the word "break" does not mean "disobey." At harvest time the grain that has been gathered is thrown onto the threshing floor where it is tread upon by oxen, breaking open the hulls and releasing the seeds. This image is the background to the Hebrew word פרר parar [H:6565], which is better translated as "trample" than "break." These two words we just examined, shamar and parar, relate to one’s attitude toward the commands. A child who disobeys his parents and is genuinely apologetic shows honor and respect to his parents. But, a child who willfully disobeys with no sign of remorse has trampled on his parents’ teachings and deserves punishment. The following is an excerpt from the book Ancient Hebrew Dictionary. The verb parar is often translated as "break," as in "Do not break the commands of Elohiym." This word does not mean "disobey," as we often perceive it, but something much more concrete. Each Hebrew word is a picture of action. In this case, the picture is an ox treading on the grain on the threshing floor to open up the hulls to remove the seeds. To the Ancient Hebrews, breaking the commands of Elohiym was equated with throwing it on the ground and trampling on it. A child who disobeys his parents, but is genuinely apologetic, shows honor and respect to his parents. But a child who willfully disobeys with no sign of remorse has trampled on his parents teachings and deserves punishment. 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. The word "break" is often misunderstood, as the word does not mean "disobedience". "If you reject my decrees and if you cast away my judgments and you do not do all my commands, breaking my covenant, then, I will do this to you; I will bring upon you sudden terror, disease and fever" (Leviticus 26:15, 16). The Hebrew translated as "break" in the above passage is פרר (parar). The original use of this word was the "treading" over grain. The harvested grain was thrown onto the threshing floor where oxen would trample over the grain breaking the hull open, releasing the edible seeds inside. The "breaking" of a covenant is the total disrespect for the covenant where one literally throws it to the ground and tramples on it. As we can see, the keeping and breaking of a covenant is the respect, or lack of, that one has for the covenant. BREATH The following is an excerpt from the book The Living Words. The Hebrew word for "breath" is נשמה neshemah [H:5397], but the meaning of this word goes far beyond the simple exchange of air in the lungs in Hebraic thought. To the Ancient Hebrews, the breath is the character of the individual. This is apparent in a related word, שם shem [H:8034], the parent root of the word neshemah. And Solomon’s wisdom was greater than all the sons of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt. and he was wiser than all the men, more than Eytan the Ezarite and Heyman and Kalkol and Darda the sons of Mahhol and his character (shem) was in all the nations around. 1 Kings 4:30,31 The character of Solomon, specifically his wisdom, was so great that all the people in the nations around them knew it. In Hebraic thought, breath is the essence of the individual, the character of the individual that makes him unique. The word shem is frequently translated as "name." And he called his name (shem) Noah saying, this one will give comfort from our work and from the toil of our hands from the ground which Yahweh cursed. Genesis 5:29 The name נח no’ahh [H:5146] (Noah) means "rest" and was given to him because he will give נחם nahham [H:5126], meaning comfort. These two Hebrew words are both derived from the same parent root, נח nahh, and because they are both derived from the same root they are also related in their meanings—rest and comfort. A "name" identifies the "character" of the individual, as we see with Noah, whose character and name is "a bringer of rest/comfort." Many times I have heard people comment, "יהוה Yahweh [H:3068] is God’s name while אל הים elohiym [H:430] is his title." This is similar to saying, "the word "king" is a title and "David" is a name." Hebrew does not make a distinction between a "name" and a "title" as both are shem, descriptive of one’s character. The word מל ך melek [H:4428], meaning king, describes the character as "one who reigns" and דוד daviyd [H:1732] describes the character as "the beloved one." The name יהוה Yahweh [H:3068] describes his character as "He is existing" while אל הים elohiym [H:430] describes his character as "the one of power." With a proper Biblical understanding of the word "name," passages in the New Testament take on a new light. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do... John 14:13 (ASV) Is this verse saying whenever we pray we should conclude the prayer with "in the name of Jesus"? Not really. In Hebrew, "in" can also mean "with." Also, if we replace the word "name" with "character," a completely new perspective of this verse is revealed. And whatsoever ye shall ask with my character, that I will do... Yeshua is saying if we ask what he would ask, then he will do it. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Matthew 1:21 (KJV) While there are many verses that can show an original Hebrew behind the Greek Matthew, this verse is one of the best to demonstrate this. Just as we saw in the example of Noah’s name being connected with his character of comfort, we see the same formula here, not in the Greek or English, but only in the Hebrew. The Greek name for Jesus is Ihsouj Iesous [G:2424] but his Hebrew name is ישוע Yeshua [H:3442] meaning, "he saves." Below is a translation of this verse from the Shem Tov Hebrew Matthew. And she brought forth a son and she called his name "he saves" (Yeshua) because "he will save" (yoshia) his people from their iniquity. The following is an excerpt from the book His Name is One. The word "name" is the usual translation for the Hebrew word שם (shem). Though the word "shem" has the meaning of a "name", the Hebraic meaning of the word goes far beyond our simple Western understanding of a "name". Depending on the translation, this Hebrew word is also translated as; fame, famous, honor, renown or report. Obviously, this Hebrew word has a broader meaning in the ancient Hebrew language. The Hebrew word נשמה (neshemah) is formed by adding the letter ה (h) to the adopted root נשם (nasham) which comes from the parent root שם (shem). While the Western mind simply sees "breath" as the exchange of air within the lungs, the ancient Hebrew mind understood the "breath" in an entirely different way as can be seen in Job 32:8; "The wind within man and the breath (נשמה) of the Almighty teach them". Our Western understanding of the breath does not easily grasp the concept that a breath can teach. While our Western understanding can easily associate thoughts and emotions as the function of the "mind", the Easterner sees the same function in the "breath". The "breath" of both men and God has the ability to carry thought and emotion.The next word that we will examine is the child root שמה (shamah) meaning "heaven", "sky" or "the place of the winds". It is always used in the plural form שמים (shamayim). The Hebrew mind sees נשמה (neshemah) and שמה (shamah) as synonyms. The נשמה is the breath/wind of a man, and the שמה is the breath/wind of the skies. Just as we saw above where the נשמה can teach, so also the שמים (shamayim) can also speak; "The skies (~ymX) proclaim his righteousness, and all the people see his glory". (Psalms 97:6) The root word שמם (shamam) is formed by doubling the second letter of the parent root. By adding the letter ה (h) to the end, the word שממה (shememah) is formed. Both words mean, "desolate" and are used in the following passage; "Many shepherds will ruin my vineyards, they will trample my fields, they will turn the fields of my delight into a desert of desolation (hmmX). And it will be made into desolation (shememah), parched and desolate (shamam) before me, all the land will be desolate (shamam) because there is no man to care for it." (Jeremiah 12:10, 11) When the dry winds blow through the desert, any moisture in the ground or air is removed causing the desert to become dry and parched. שמם (shamam) and שממה (shememah) are dry and desolate places formed by a dry wind. Another child root ישם (yasham), with the same meaning as שמם (shamam), a dry desolating wind, can be seen in the following verse; "All your resting places of the cities will become dry, and the high places will be desolate (ישם)". (Ezekiel 6:6) By gathering together all the words derived from the parent root שם (shem), and looking for the common thread that each have in common, we can discover the original Hebraic meaning of the parent root. Each of the words has the basic meaning of a "wind" within them. נשמה (neshemah) is the wind, or breath, of man, שמים (shamayim) is the wind of the skies, שמם (shamam), שממה (shememah) and ישם (yasham) is the desolation caused by a dry wind. From this we can conclude that the ancient Hebraic meaning of שם is "breath". BROTHER The following is an excerpt from the book Ancient Hebrew Dictionary. The first letter is the picture of an ox. As the ox is strong, the letter also has the meaning of strong. The second letter is the picture of a tent wall. The wall is a wall of protection which protects what is inside from what is outside. When combined these letters form the word meaning "the strong wall" and represents the "brother" as the protector of the family. The following is an excerpt from the book Ancient Hebrew Language and Alphabet. The word  begins with a picture of an ox, meaning "strong". The second letter is a picture of a wall. These letters give us the meaning "strong wall" or "strong barrier". The English concept of a wall is descriptive of anything with a tall vertical appearance. The Hebrew concept of a wall is any barrier, no matter the construction. Combined, these letters mean "one who acts as a strong barrier to protect the family."BUCK The following is an excerpt from the Ancient Hebrew Research Center Website. The Hebrew word איל (ayil, Strong's #352) means a "buck," the male of the flocks.
However, this very same Hebrew word is used for a post and a chief.
Hebrew nouns are descriptive of character rather than appearance. Therefore, a Hebrew noun is oftentimes used for different things that are related in character. To understand the character of the word איל (ayil) we need to look at its root which is the word אל (el, Strong's #410). While this word is frequently translated as God or god, it literally means might, mighty or mighty one as can be seen in the following passage.
From this we can gather that איל (ayil) literally means "one that stands tall in might," like a buck, a post or a chief. |