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.
Blog
7
Feb
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.
17
Dec
A question is raised on the following verse:
אֱלֹהֵי אַבְרָהָם וֵאלֹהֵי נָחוֹר, יִשְׁפְּטוּ בֵינֵינוּ–אֱלֹהֵי, אֲבִיהֶם; וַיִּשָּׁבַע יַעֲקֹב, בְּפַחַד אָבִיו יִצְחָק
“May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.” So Jacob took an oath in the name of the Fear of his father Isaac. Gen 31:53
13
Dec
Probably one of the more misunderstood Hebrew verbs is להשתחוות. This verb has been translated as “to worship”, which has spun many ideas which are not true. The verb’s root is debated, varying from שחה to חוה. The main issue is the context this verb appears in. It is true that as a general idea the verb can be used as “to worship”, however it actually means “to bow down”. Cases where the verb would mean “to worship” are only if it is used as a lone verb of worshiping, and when it is directed to God. Any other case only means “to bow down”.
2
Nov
While preparing for my weekly Tanakh class, I came across a word which had an interesting memory for me. The word is סלת-Solet, and is associated mostly with Temple service. In modern Hebrew Solet usually means Semolina, however in the past it probably had a different meaning. As I have demonstrated in the past, words can change meaning as time progresses.
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.
15
Sep
An interesting term found both in ANE text and Jewish sources is “Black headed peoples”. This term is found in Sumerian poetry and legal documents, and seems to relate to humans as a subject of any specific case discussed. It is uncertain if it means all humans, and it might be used differently in each document. We will look at two examples used in ancient sources and see how they are used.
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
11
Jul
The prophet Yisha’ayahu tells the story of a vineyard:
אָשִׁירָה נָּא לִידִידִי, שִׁירַת דּוֹדִי לְכַרְמוֹ: כֶּרֶם הָיָה לִידִידִי, בְּקֶרֶן בֶּן-שָׁמֶן
“I want to sing a song for someone I love, a song about my loved one and his vineyard. My loved one had a vineyard on a very fertile hill.” Isaiah 5:1
The section in question is a parable where the prophet compares Israel to a vineyard with a high potential for growth. The owner, who is very devoted to his field, does every action possible to help his investment to grow. This investment is one of the most important plants in the Mediterranean, and functioned as a catalyst in generating surplus and wealth. However, the translation “vineyard” can be incorrect, and we might be looking at a late interpretation of the word כֶּרֶם-Kerem.
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