Hebraic Thought

Torah – Law, Instruction

Lois Tverberg

by Lois Tverberg

The teaching (torah) of the LORD is perfect, renewing life; the decrees of the LORD are enduring, making the simple wise; The precepts of the LORD are just, rejoicing the heart; the instruction of the LORD is lucid, making the eyes light up. (Psalms 19:8-9)

Protestant Christians tend to have a negative attitude about the word “law,” feeling that it refers to oppressive and arbitrary regulations. But the word that we translate as “law,” torah, has a very different emphasis and connotation in Hebrew.

Torah is derived from the root word yarah, which literally means “to flow as water.” Figuratively it means “to point to,” to “teach,” “inform,” “instruct,” or “guide.” Torah could best be defined in English as “instruction,” that is, God’s instruction to man. When it’s used to speak of God’s instruction, the implication is that what God teaches us, we are obligated to obey. So the word “law” is within the bounds of the definition of torah, but not its main emphasis. Christian translations tend to reinforce our thinking by translating torah as “law” most of the time. Jewish translations like the JPS Tanakh instead translate torah as “teaching” most of the time.

One place that you might be surprised to see the word torah is in Proverbs 31. Verse 26 says that the excellent wife “opens her mouth with wisdom and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.” (ESV) Literally, she has a torah of hesed to share with others! You can see that in this verse that the word torah means teaching, not law.

Another place we see evidence of torah as “teaching” rather than “law” is when we look closely at the first five books of the Bible that are called the Torah. They contain much more than laws! The Torah contains the story of the creation and fall, God’s covenants with the family of Abraham, how he  rescued them from slavery and led them in the desert. All of the Torah teaches us about God’s ways, but only part of it is actually law. The Penteuch is specifically called “the Torah” because it is understood to be the teaching given through Moses. In Jewish parlance, the word “Torah” is often used in a larger sense to refer to all of Scripture, though.

Grasping the idea of torah as “teaching” helps us see God in a more positive light. It reminds us that rather than being primarily a lawgiver or a policeman waiting to punish us, God is a loving Father instructing his children in how to live. Jesus, who instructed his disciples and the crowds, was simply imitating his Father in teaching us how to have life, and have it more abundantly.

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Further reading:

See Listening to the Language of the Bible, by Lois Tverberg and Bruce Okkema, En-Gedi Resource Center, 2004. This is a collection of devotional essays that mediate on biblical words and cultural ideas in their original setting.

A Companion Bible Study for Listening is also available, for readers who want to explore the Scriptures from a Hebraic perspective. The set is available for a discount here.

For a friendly, bite-sized Bible study of five flavorful Hebrew words, see 5 Hebrew Words that Every Christian Should Know, by Lois Tverberg, OurRabbiJesus.com, 2014 (ebook only).

Ro’eh – Shepherd

Lois Tverberg

by Lois Tverberg

As a shepherd cares for his herd in the day when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will care for My sheep and will deliver them… Ezekiel 34:12

The picture of the shepherd was often used in the Bible for kings and leaders, in particular about God as shepherd of his people, as in Psalm 23. Interestingly, many passages in the Old Testament use images of shepherds to refer to the coming Messiah. One of the most important passages about the “Good Shepherd” is in Ezekiel 34:

For thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd cares for his herd in the day when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will care for My sheep and will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day.” “I will feed My flock and I will lead them to rest,” declares the Lord GOD. “I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken and strengthen the sick;…“As for you, My flock, thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Behold, I will judge between one sheep and another, between the rams and the male goats. …“ (Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15 -17)

This passage contains several rich things that are in the background of Jesus’ statements about himself. We can hear the background of Jesus’ parable about the shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine to look for the one lost sheep (Luke 15:4-7). We also hear Jesus words about how when he comes again, he will judge between the sheep and the goats (Matthew 25:31 – 34). Jesus was also probably referring to this passage in his words to Zacchaeus: “…the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” (Luke 19:9-10).

What is most interesting is that the Ezekiel passage clearly says that it would be God Himself who would come to seek out his lost sheep, and Jesus repeatedly says that he is the fulfillment of these words. Through this, his listeners would have heard his very bold claim that not only is he the Messiah, he is God incarnate, coming to earth to rescue his people.

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Further reading:

See Listening to the Language of the Bible, by Lois Tverberg and Bruce Okkema, En-Gedi Resource Center, 2004. This is a collection of devotional essays that mediate on the meaning of biblical words and phrases in their original setting.

For a friendly, bite-sized Bible study of five flavorful Hebrew words, see 5 Hebrew Words that Every Christian Should Know, by Lois Tverberg, OurRabbiJesus.com, 2014 (ebook).

Kanafim – Wings

Lois Tverberg

by Lois Tverberg

How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings. (Psalms 36:7)

Often in the Scriptures we hear God being given physical attributes. We hear about the “arm of the Lord” and we pray that “his face will shine upon us.” It’s important to understand that these are not an actual physical image of God. Because the Hebrew language does not contain many abstractions, the Israelites were expressing ideas about God’s nature by using physical terminology.

One picture that we often read about God is the idea of finding “refuge in the shadow of God’s wings.” This comes from the picture of eagles and other birds who spread their wings over their nests to protect their chicks from the hot sun, rain and predators. Birds are known to be extremely protective of their young, even sacrificing their own lives. We can see this as a picture of God’s powerful love, as relayed in the following story…

A great spiritual leader of the last century, Sundar Singh came upon forest fire. Most everyone was frantically trying to fight the fire, but he noticed a group of men standing and looking up into a tree that was about to go up in flames. He asked them what they were looking at; they pointed up at a nest full of young birds. Above it, the mother bird was circling wildly in the air and calling out warnings to her young ones. There was nothing she or the men could do, and soon the flames started climbing up the branches.

As the nest caught fire, they were all amazed to see how the mother bird reacted. Instead of flying away from the flames, she flew down and settled on the nest, covering her little ones with her wings. The next moment, she and her nestlings were burned to ashes. No one could believe their eyes. They stood in stunned silence.

Finally Sundar turned to those standing by and said: “We have witnessed a truly marvelous thing. God created that bird with such love and devotion, that she gave her life trying to protect her young. If her small heart was so full of love, how unfathomable must be the love of her Creator. That is the love that brought him down from heaven to become man. That is the love that made him suffer a painful death for our sake.” As quoted by Penny Newall in Pacifica, California in the Plough Reader from Sadhu

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Further reading:

See Listening to the Language of the Bible, by Lois Tverberg and Bruce Okkema, En-Gedi Resource Center, 2004. This is a collection of devotional essays that mediate on the meaning of biblical words and phrases in their original setting.

For a friendly, bite-sized Bible study of five flavorful Hebrew words, see 5 Hebrew Words that Every Christian Should Know, by Lois Tverberg, OurRabbiJesus.com, 2014 (ebook).

Shem – Name

Lois Tverberg 1 Comment

by Lois Tverberg

He said to them, “When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be your name…’ Luke 11:2

Throughout both the Old and New Testaments, we hear the phrase, “In the name of the Lord.” It is one of those Hebraic figures of speech that often is confusing for Christians. In Eastern, oral cultures a person’s name was connected with the person’s identity, reputation, or authority. So the phrase “in the name of” often means something like, “with the authority of,” or “for the reputation of.”

One phrase that raises questions is in the Lord’s prayer, “Hallowed be thy name…” What did Jesus mean by that phrase? An interesting insight comes from the Jewish understanding of what it means to “hallow” God’s name, and the opposite, to “profane” God’s name. These were considered the extreme opposites of the moral continuum — the absolute best possible action, and the absolutely most reprehensible action.

The phrase Kiddush HaShem (to hallow or sanctify the name) meant, to live in such a way as to bring God glory and praise — as when Jesus said, “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). Rabbis described it as one of three things — either to live a life of integrity, carefully observing the biblical commands; or to do some heroic deed, like risking one’s life to save another; or even to be martyred to honor God. Since the Holocaust, the emphasis has been on martyrdom, with the understanding that those who died to remain faithful were bringing God honor.

The opposite is Hillul HaShem (to profane the name) which means to act in such a way to bring God’s reputation into contempt. The rabbis said that a public sin, or a sin against a person who doesn’t know God is much worse than one against someone one who does, because it makes God himself look bad. Think of the damage that is done by TV evangelist sex scandals and how they harden non-Christians from believing in Christ. Their actions make the gospel look like a scam.

This gives us a clue as to what “Hallowed be thy name” means in the Lord’s Prayer. God’s name is already holy, but this is a statement of our desire that all people would know its holiness, and a commitment that we will do everything to sanctify it in our lives, to glorify God in the eyes of the world.

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Further reading:

See Listening to the Language of the Bible, by Lois Tverberg and Bruce Okkema, En-Gedi Resource Center, 2004. This is a collection of devotional essays that mediate on the meaning of biblical words and phrases in their original setting.

For a friendly, bite-sized Bible study of five flavorful Hebrew words, see 5 Hebrew Words that Every Christian Should Know, by Lois Tverberg, OurRabbiJesus.com, 2014 (ebook).

Pakad – To Visit

Lois Tverberg

by Lois Tverberg

What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you visit him? (Psalm 8:5)

One of the words that seems to be used in a strange way in literal translations of the Bible is the word “visit,” or pakad in Hebrew. In the King James Version, it seems to not make a lot of sense in the passages it is found in, as in Exodus 20:5 when it speaks about “visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children.” Often, the word “visit” is not being used in any sense that we normally use the word, and shows that a literal translation is sometimes quite misleading.

The word pakad in Hebrew is fascinating in its breadth of meaning, only rarely meaning the most literal usage, “to visit.” Its overall meaning is to pay attention to, but that can be in either a positive or negative way. It can mean to care for (as in Psalm 8:5), or even to come to one’s rescue:

Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely visit you (come to your aid) and take you to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” (Genesis 50:24)

But it can also mean to have God’s attention in a negative way, as judgement or punishment:

Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you. However, in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them.” (Exodus 32:34) (meaning when I bring their sins to my attention, I will punish their sins.)

Interestingly, Jesus makes a powerful statement using this word when he says, “For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side, and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.” (Luke 19:43-44) He doesn’t just mean when he “visited” them by coming to earth. He is using the Hebraic sense of the word, both positively or negatively, in the strongest possible sense. For those who repent and follow Christ, God has come to their rescue, to save them eternally, but for those who ignore him, it will be the source of their punishment, when God “visits” their sins on them in the judgment to come.

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Further reading:

See Listening to the Language of the Bible, by Lois Tverberg and Bruce Okkema, En-Gedi Resource Center, 2004. This is a collection of devotional essays that mediate on the meaning of biblical words and phrases in their original setting.

For a friendly, bite-sized Bible study of five flavorful Hebrew words, see 5 Hebrew Words that Every Christian Should Know, by Lois Tverberg, OurRabbiJesus.com, 2014 (ebook).

Adonai – My Lord

Lois Tverberg

by Lois Tverberg

If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9

The word adon (ah-DOAN) means “Lord,” as a term for royalty or authority, and of course, often in reference to God himself. With a possessive suffix, the word adonai means “my Lord,” and is used when displaying an attitude of obedient submission to a greater power. When we refer to God as Adonai, we are saying that he is sovereign and in authority over us personally.

We can learn interesting things about Jesus by how he is addressed using the term, “Lord.” Throughout the gospels Jesus is addressed with respect by strangers as “rabbi” or “teacher.” Rarely is he addressed using his common name, Jesus, and only by demons (Mark 1:24) and a few who didn’t know him. But Jesus’ disciples and others who believed in him referred to him as “Lord,”1 suggesting that they were giving him great honor, with the understanding that he is the Messianic King.

To call Jesus, “Lord” is using a term for addressing royalty, like saying “Your Majesty” or “Your Highness.” It is also a common term for addressing God himself, and has a hint of worshipping Jesus as God. It is interesting that even though the demons know that he is the Son of God, they refuse to use the word Lord to address him (Luke 4:34, 40)!

To call him Lord is to say that he is the King that God has sent who has a right to reign over us. Jesus even seems to expect that those who call him Lord obey him — he said, “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46). According to Paul, those who are saved have two things: both a belief in the atoning work of Jesus, and a commitment to honor him as their own Lord and King. As Paul says,

If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9)

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Further reading:

See Listening to the Language of the Bible, by Lois Tverberg and Bruce Okkema, En-Gedi Resource Center, 2004. This is a collection of devotional essays that mediate on the meaning of biblical words and phrases in their original setting.

For a friendly, bite-sized Bible study of five flavorful Hebrew words, see 5 Hebrew Words that Every Christian Should Know, by Lois Tverberg, OurRabbiJesus.com, 2014 (ebook).

Nephesh – Soul, Life

Lois Tverberg

by Lois Tverberg

One of them, a lawyer, asked Jesus a question saying, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And He said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul (nephesh), and with all your mind. – Matthew 22:35-37

The command to love God with all our heart, soul, mind & strength is the greatest commandment. It is part of the Shema, the “pledge of allegiance” that Jesus and all Jews since him have said morning and evening to commit themselves to follow the Lord. When we think about those words, we tend to pass by the phrase “heart and soul” quickly — probably thinking that it means that we should love God with our spirit and emotions, and very passionately.

Our understanding can be enriched by understanding the word nephesh, “soul,” better. Nephesh means life as well as soul. So the Jewish interpretation of “love the Lord with all of your soul” is actually that we should love God with all of our lives — every moment throughout our lives, even the point of sacrificing our lives for him. If Jews are able, they will quote the Shema at their death to make a final commitment to their God.

In fact, there is a powerful story told to illustrate that idea. Rabbi Akiva, who lived in the first century AD, one of the most respected Jewish rabbis, was tortured to death publicly by the Romans. It was the time of saying the morning Shema, and during the torture, his students heard him reciting the Shema instead of crying out in pain. His students called out to him, “Teacher, even now?” The dying rabbi explained, “All my life I have wondered about the phrase that says ‘Love the Lord your God with all of your soul’, wondering if I would ever have the privilege of doing this. Now that the chance has come to me, shall I not grasp it with joy?” He repeated the first verse of Shema,”Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord alone,” until his soul left him.

This is what Jesus was calling us to, and what he did himself: loved the Lord (and us) with all of his life, until he breathed his last.

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Further reading:

See Listening to the Language of the Bible, by Lois Tverberg and Bruce Okkema, En-Gedi Resource Center, 2004. This is a collection of devotional essays that mediate on the meaning of biblical words and phrases in their original setting.

For a friendly, bite-sized Bible study of five flavorful Hebrew words, see 5 Hebrew Words that Every Christian Should Know, by Lois Tverberg, OurRabbiJesus.com, 2014 (ebook).

Tov Ayin – A Good Eye

Lois Tverberg 2 Comments

by Lois Tverberg

The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! (Matthew 6:22-23 NIV)

Often things Jesus says in the gospels make little sense until we understand that they are Hebraic idioms and even lead to wrong interpretations. For instance, in the passage above, it isn’t clear why Jesus is talking about our eyes. The descriptive word for eye is translated “single,” “sound,” “healthy” or “good.” Some New Age teachers have said that Jesus was talking about the third “inner eye,” developed through meditation. An opthamologist has written a book to say that Jesus was describing a neurological condition!

Jesus’ saying appears, however, to be a Hebraic idiom that was used to describe a person’s outlook towards others. A person with a “good eye” (tov-ayin or ayin-tovah) was a person who looked at others with compassion and had a generous spirit, and gave to others as needed. The person with the evil eye (ayin ra’ah) is one who is stingy toward others and greedy with money.

This expression is still used in Hebrew today. When people go through Jerusalem raising money, they say, “Please give with a good eye!” The same idiom is also found in Proverbs: “A generous man (Literally, “A good eye”) will be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor.” (Proverbs 22:9) Jesus also uses it at the end of the parable of the landowner who pays the workers all the same, no matter how long they work. The landowner says to the complainers, literally, “Is your eye evil (greedy) because I am good?” (Matthew 20:15).

Understanding this idiom helps us understand the whole passage in Matthew 6 that begins with “Do not lay your treasures up on earth,” then talks about the good/evil eye, and then ends with “One cannot serve two masters – both God and money.” All three of these sayings are part of a greater teaching on having the right attitude toward money.

Now we know what Jesus means in terms how we can be filled with light and darkness. If we love others and help them by sharing our money and time, our life will be full of light. If we think only of ourselves and our bank accounts, turning a blind eye to the needs of others, we will be blind indeed.

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Further reading:

See Listening to the Language of the Bible, by Lois Tverberg and Bruce Okkema, En-Gedi Resource Center, 2004. This is a collection of devotional essays that mediate on the meaning of biblical words and phrases in their original setting.

For a friendly, bite-sized Bible study of five flavorful Hebrew words, see 5 Hebrew Words that Every Christian Should Know, by Lois Tverberg, OurRabbiJesus.com, 2014 (ebook).

Lechem – Bread

David Bivin

by Josa Bivin

For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world. (John 6:33)

When Richard and Lucinda (our volunteer workers) first came to Israel, they noticed plastic sacks containing pieces of bread hanging from the sides of the trash containers along the street where we live. When they asked me about this, I couldn’t give an answer, but later remembered that people here do not throw away their leftover bread. I had heard that Jews consider it a sin to throw bread away, but never knew why.

I went to David’s library, pulled out the Encyclopaedia Judaica volume with the entry “Bread” and read that since biblical times, providing bread for the poor was regarded as a great religious duty (Isa. 58:7; Prov. 22:9); the withholding of it from the hungry, a sin (Job 22:7). The importance of sharing one’s bread with the poor has remained in the Jewish consciousness until today. Instead of dumping their bread along with the rest of their garbage into the garbage carts parked along the streets, they save the bread in plastic sacks and hang it from the metal projections on the sides of the carts. That way, the bread is potentially available to the poor. Not all Jews in Israel follow this custom, but lots do, especially here in our neighborhood of Maoz Zion.

It is not unusual to see hunks of bread or part of a roll lying on a curb, or on top of a wall. One day I noticed a young, poorly dressed man walking along the sidewalk. Suddenly, he turned around and proceeded to walk in the opposite direction. Without slowing his walk or turning his head, he raised his right arm and grabbed a piece of bread that had been lying on the ledge of the wall. This was the first time I had ever seen this happen and I realized that this poor man was truly hungry.

Bread has a special, almost sacred, connotation in Jewish life. Whenever bread is eaten, even a piece the size of an olive, a blessing must be said. Jesus referred to “bread” many times in his teachings, and he taught his disciples to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” “As bread cast upon the waters will return after many days” (Eccles. 11:1), so, “He that has a generous [lit., good] eye will be blessed; for he gives his bread to the poor” (Prov. 22:9). Let us think twice before we toss our leftover bread into the trash.

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Further reading:

See Listening to the Language of the Bible, by Lois Tverberg and Bruce Okkema, En-Gedi Resource Center, 2004. This is a collection of devotional essays that mediate on the meaning of biblical words and phrases in their original setting.

For a friendly, bite-sized Bible study of five flavorful Hebrew words, see 5 Hebrew Words that Every Christian Should Know, by Lois Tverberg, OurRabbiJesus.com, 2014 (ebook).

Makor – Source

Mary Okkema

by Mary Okkema

The fear of the Lord is the source of life. (Proverbs 14:27a)

The Hebrew word makor means “source, fountain, or spring.” When I began learning Hebrew, this word sounded very familiar. I knew I had used it or read it before. It is found in a book that many have read: The Source, by James Michener. The setting of this book is a fictitious location called Tel Makor. A tel is a mound that has been built up over centuries as a result of a city being rebuilt many times on the same location.

The Source weaves a story about the archaeological digs at this fictitious tel which has a source of water — the reason for its name. In Michener’s distinct style, as artifacts are discovered from each time period, the story explains how the artifact came to be in a particular location. I found it to be a great play on the word makor, because there were so many hints at its meaning. What does a tel have to do with the word “source”? A source of fresh water is a critical need for all civilizations; so where there is a tel, there will be a water source.

Interestingly, the Bible presents a frequent image of God as the makor of living water, which is often pictured as flowing out of Jerusalem:

My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring (makor) of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water. (Jeremiah 2:13)

How priceless is your unfailing love! … you give them drink from your river of delights. For with you is the fountain (makor) of life; in your light we see light. (Psalm 36: 7-9)

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. (Psalm 46: 4-5)

And we will finally find the source at God’s throne in heaven!

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations… (Revelation 22:1-2)

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Further reading:

See Listening to the Language of the Bible, by Lois Tverberg and Bruce Okkema, En-Gedi Resource Center, 2004. This is a collection of devotional essays that mediate on the meaning of biblical words and phrases in their original setting.

For a friendly, bite-sized Bible study of five flavorful Hebrew words, see 5 Hebrew Words that Every Christian Should Know, by Lois Tverberg, OurRabbiJesus.com, 2014 (ebook).