7
Feb
We all know the famous “Eshet Chayil” of Proverbs 31:10. Commonly it is translated as “Woman of Valour” to indicate great deeds. The text does go ahead and give us a long list of deeds which this woman does. The same attribute is also used to describe men of great deeds such as Exodus 18:21.
7
Feb
Many words in Hebrew can have several meanings which are based on context. Here is a case of one word which in time became a symbol for bad things, such as demonic powers and the devil, when originally it was used to describe good things.
28
Sep
I was asked the following question about the relationship between man and woman in the context of Gen 2:24, and the meaning of the words בשר אחד.
17
Aug
A Biblical text can be a field of land mines which can create many arguments over what is actually being said. This has been the main issue in biblical interpretation for the last 2500 years, and has created many interpretations to text which can be read in different ways. One of the mechanisms used is a very close reading of what is being said, and when the text does something unexpected we look for a reason. In some cases the reason can be very simple, and in some complex. The approach depends on what the reader is seeking, and how they want to read the text. The following is an example of such a case where someone proposed an idea, and I presented a different way of reading.
1
Aug
The word Olam עולם is one of those words that keeps on showing up. Most commonly it is known from the blessings used in Judaism “אלהינו מלך העולם”-Elohenu Melekh HaOlam (Our God, King of the Universe). However, Olam in Biblical Hebrew actually has a temporal meaning. Originally, it actually meant “eternal”, such as the combination of לעולם ועד-LeOlam Va’ed (forever). It can be used to indicate the past such as כל ימי עולם-all the days of the past, or future as the example given above. In Ugaritic we find combinations such as “mlk ‘lm-eternal king” or ” ‘m ‘lm-to eternity”.
Sources: Kedari.M, BH Dictionary pp.782-783Gordon.C, UT 1858, pp.456-457
Originally Published: 1 August 2016