Metzudah – God is Our Refuge

July 2, 2015March 27, 2020Bruce Okkema

by Bruce Okkema

In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame. Rescue me and deliver me in your righteousness; turn your ear to me and save me. Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress. – Psalm 71:1-3

Masada stands as a huge outcropping of rock jutting 1,440 feet above the desert floor on the western shore of the Dead Sea. It is located fourteen miles north of the southern end of the sea and eleven miles south of En-gedi. Masada remains today one of the Jewish people’s greatest symbols, and except for Jerusalem, it is the most popular destination of people visiting Israel.

Its history as a desert fortress goes back far into the past. David moved throughout this region of the southern Judean desert as he was hiding from Saul, and quite likely spent time on this mountain. Although Masada is not mentioned by name in the Bible, we see glimpses of it in several places where God is called a “rock of refuge,” or “my fortress.” Metzudah means “refuge” or “fortress” in Hebrew. (In addition to our text above, see also 1 Sam 22:4-5, 23:14, 24:22, and Psalms 18:2, 31, and 144:2.)

The remains that we we see today are from the time of Herod, who not only increased the fortifications, but built magnificent garden palaces on either end of the mountain. It almost never rains here, yet Herod built an elaborate water system to divert water that originated in the Judean mountains into cisterns at Masada. Servants carried water from there to upper reservoirs servicing the palaces, to an Olympic size swimming pool!

The reason Masada is one of the Jewish people’s greatest symbols is for what occurred there during the Jewish revolt against Rome during 66 – 72AD. A group of Zealots took Masada and it became a place of refuge for other Jews fleeing the Roman terrorism. For three years they were able to fend off the Romans and worship the Living God while enduring the rigors of desert life. Finally, faced with certain capture and torture, the group of 960 chose to take their own lives, rather than become slaves of Rome. “The valor of the Jewish zealots residing on Masada during the Roman siege is celebrated as the supreme example of self-sacrifice for the preservation of the nation of Israel. Today, when the recruits of the Israel Armored Corps take their oath of allegiance, they do so on Masada to remind each generation of the price their forefathers paid for their nation. They cry: “Masada shall not fall again!” (1)

A view of the snake path from the top of Masada

To climb the arduous snake path in the 120° sun, to imagine looking down helplessly from above on your fellow countrymen enslaved to build a siege ramp against you, to stand at the precipice thinking across history about all the many who have served the Lord at the cost of their lives is to wonder if I will have the courage to stand that test for my Lord one day.

Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him. – Psalm 2:10-12

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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).

Tzarah – When Times Are Tight

July 2, 2015January 24, 2020Lois Tverberg

by Lois Tverberg

In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the angel of His presence saved them; in His love and in His mercy He redeemed them, and He lifted them and carried them all the days of old. (Isaiah 63:9)

When we’re feeling a lot of stress because of problems in life, we speak of ourselves as feeling crushed, low, burdened, or weighed down with our troubles. In English, our idioms picture ourselves as if we are carrying a heavy object that is pressing down on us.

Interestingly, in Hebrew, a different picture is used for the same idea. The word for distress is tzar or tzarah, and it also means “narrow” or “tight.” The picture is that of being hemmed in, squeezed, or trapped with no options. Often King David speaks about being pressed, tzarah, by his enemies. When God gives relief, rahav, the word literally means widening. For instance, in this translation of Psalm 4 it says:

When I call out, answer me, O God who vindicates me! Though I am hemmed in (tzarah), you will lead me into a wide, open place. [lit., you will widen, rahav me] Have mercy on me and respond to my prayer! (Ps. 4:1-2, NET)

There is an interesting verse that uses this image. In Isaiah 63:9, it says that when God’s people were distressed and afflicted (tzar), he himself was afflicted (tzar). God wasn’t just sitting back, relaxing comfortably in heaven while his people were in distress. When his people were squeezed in a tight spot, God was feeling squeezed too! God feels our distress and our worries, he doesn’t just shake a scolding finger at our lack of faith we have. He is always intimately near, caring for us in our troubles more than we can ever realize.

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Further reading:

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).

Photo: Archesnps

Tzel – The Necessity of Shade

July 2, 2015March 27, 2020Lois Tverberg

by Lois Tverberg

The LORD is your keeper; The LORD is your shade on your right hand. The sun will not smite you by day, nor the moon by night. – Psalm 121:5-6 NASB

Many times in the Psalms, God is referred to as “shade,” tzel in Hebrew, and the Bible speaks of us under the “shadow of his wings” (Psalm 63:7). This image didn’t speak to me powerfully until I experienced the heat and sun of the land of Israel myself, especially in the mountains near Jerusalem.

Many days reached nearly 100° F, and near the Dead Sea, it was over 120° F. Clouds are extremely rare in the summer, so nothing protects a person from the power of the sun’s rays. When we stood in the sunshine we could quickly feel our skin burning, but under a tree, the breeze made us quite comfortable. We also sensed the sun’s heat as the temperature rose each day from below 60° F at dawn to almost 100° F by afternoon.

It is interesting to see how in Psalm 121, it speaks of the sun “smiting” us, the same word also translated as “to hit, attack, or strike down.” In ancient times, it was thought that just as the sun was the source of heat that “attacks” us by day, the moon is the source of cold that “attacks” us by night. So when God led his people in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, God was sheltering them from the ever-present enemies of cold and heat in the desert .

We can also see why the image of “shade” is often used to mean protection. For instance, in Numbers 14:9, Joshua reassures the people that the Canaanites will not be able to win against them because their protection (shade, tzel, literally) has been removed from them. Without shade, it is impossible to survive in that land, and if their shade has been removed, they are defenseless.

Now that we have a better understanding of the great need for the cool of shade, which was a picture of protection by God, we can better appreciate the following psalm, among many others:

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow (tzel) of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” – Psalm 91:1-2

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Further reading:

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).

Ganav – Another Way to Steal

July 2, 2015February 20, 2024Lois Tverberg

by Lois Tverberg

You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another. (Leviticus 19:10)

We can learn a good lesson from an interesting Hebrew idiom that uses the word ganav, “to steal.” The phrase to “steal someone’s mind” means to deceive – to keep information from another. It is found in Genesis 31:20, which very literally reads, “Jacob stole Laban’s mind (literally, heart) by not telling him he was running away with his daughters.” Many translations render the idiom as “to deceive” — that Jacob deceived Laban and thereby “stole his mind.”

A synonymous idiom that is still used today is geneivat daat, meaning “stealing knowledge.” It has a fascinating definition that we don’t often consider. To “steal knowledge” is to fool someone into having a mistaken assumption, belief, or impression, even if no lying is involved. If a shopper is convinced that he is buying a top quality item and the clerk never mentions that it is defective, that would be geneivat daat. Or, if a store increases its prices temporarily so that it can advertise huge markdowns, that is geneivat daat.

We all know what it is like to be taken in by this type of deception, and often when we realize we have been “duped,” we feel as if someone has stolen something from us. And interestingly, the rabbinic thinking is that we have been robbed. The sages saw that the phrase includes the word ganav, to steal, and concluded that the commandment, “Do not steal” also prohibits “stealing another’s mind,” or deceiving others. Indeed, the rabbis spoke of seven types of thieves and the worst was the one who “steals the mind” (Tosefta, Bava Kama 7:3).¹

As angry as we get when it happens to us, often we see that we are guilty of it ourselves. Geneivat daat is when we offer to pay the bill at a restaurant, knowing that the other person won’t accept, or when we invite someone to a party that we know they can’t attend, both ways of creating a false impression of generosity. When we take credit for something we didn’t really do, or pad our job resume² — all these things “steal” others’ goodwill, understanding, or deliberately create a false impression of ourselves.

When we remember that we are serving the God of truth, we realize that he doesn’t approve of such forms of verbal manipulation. How many times a day do our words not match our intentions? We may not give a second thought about all the little ways we are deceptive, but we should if we want to be God’s people of integrity.

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Further reading:

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).

¹ http://www.jlaw.com/Articles/geneivatdaat.html
² http://www.orthodoxcaucus.org/addpdf/CaucusThouShalt.pdf

Amar – You Have Heard it Said

July 2, 2015January 7, 2020Lois Tverberg

by Lois Tverberg

You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
– Matthew 5:43-44

Many times Jesus uses the phrase “You have heard it said.” It is helpful to know that Jesus was using a rabbinic idiom in that phrase – the word “say,” amar, was used by the rabbis to mean “interpret” in terms of giving the proper interpretation of the scriptures as to how to apply its laws. Jesus often preceded his legal rulings with “You have heard it said” (meaning, others have interpreted God’s word to mean one thing) and “but I say unto you” (meaning, I interpret it differently, in the following way).

One verse that is clarified by knowing this is Matt 19:17 and its parallels in other Gospels:

And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” – Matt 19:17

Jesus responds to the man’s question about doing a good thing in order to earn eternal life with the phrase commonly translated as “Why do you call me good?” or “Why do you ask me about what is good?” The Greek there is awkward – the line is actually something more like “Why do you say (amar) ‘good'”? Meaning, why do you interpret “good” in the way that you do? He was objecting to the man’s idea that he could use a good deed as a bargaining tool, to earn his way to heaven. He tells the man to obey God’s law as he should, but that to have eternal life he needs to follow after him.¹

It may surprise us that Jesus did not throw out God’s law, but instead brought it to its pinnacle in his teaching, showing that it was all built on the central commands to love God and to love your neighbor. Whenever we read any of God’s Word to find out how it applies to our lives, we need to read it through the eyes of Jesus and let his words be its final interpreter.

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Further reading:

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).

Hesed – Long Acting Love

July 2, 2015January 7, 2020Lois Tverberg

by Lois Tverberg

Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy (hesed). (Micah 7:18)

To Protestants, there is no more wonderful theological concept than “grace,” which we understand to mean undeserved forgiveness of sin. In older Bible versions, the word “grace” is often the translation of the Hebrew word hen in the Old Testament, which really means “favor” or “beauty.” According to David Bivin, this is actually an error on the part of translators.¹

The Hebrew word that really comes much closer to our theological concept of “grace” is the word hesed (HEH-sed). It is a very rich and active word that is much deeper than just “mercy” or “lovingkindness,” as it is usually translated, and maybe even “grace” as we understand it. Hesed is to love as God loves. Based in a covenantal relationship, hesed is sometimes translated “unfailing love,” which endures to eternity:

Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love (hesed) for you will not be shaken. Isa 54:10a

Hesed isn’t just cheap forgiveness of sin or a disregard for God’s laws. It is the gracious forgiveness that comes from love that is so enduring that it persists beyond any sin, always seeking to forgive:

For men are not cast off by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love (hesed). Lam. 3:31-32

The word hesed has another aspect that also goes beyond “grace” as unmerited forgiveness of sin. Hesed also describes unmerited kindness that seeks to actively intervene to help a loved one. It is love in action, not just in our heads. Without a word for this, translators needed to invent the word “loving-kindness” or sometimes just “kindness.” An example is when the Lord helped Abraham’s find a wife for Isaac and he blessed God, “who has not abandoned his kindness (hesed) and faithfulness to my master” (Gen 24:27).

Together, both of these meanings of hesed describe the enduring nature of God’s love, and reflect the fact that God doesn’t just show his mercy by forgiving our sins, but in actively intervening in all of our lives. It is the merciful, faithful love that God extends to us, and what he wants us to extend to each other.

¹See the article “Grace Compared” at www.jerusalemperspective.com.

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Further reading:

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).

M’agal – Righteous Paths

July 2, 2015January 7, 2020Lois Tverberg

by Lois Tverberg

I have directed you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in upright paths.
When you walk, your steps will not be impeded; and if you run, you will not stumble. (Proverbs 4:11-12)

The Hebrew of the Bible usually uses physical pictures to express abstract truths, and many of these have surprisingly deep meanings for us. One common picture is the idea of the “path” or “way” to represent a person’s lifestyle — the direction of a person’s life, whether it follows God or wanders off.

My picture of this “path” was the idea of traveling on a highway that God plotted out and constructed. I think of roads as institutional structures planned out to go to certain places, and constructed by governments of countries using earth-moving equipment and pavement for permanence. Of course God would build good roads and give me a map, the Bible to find my way.

It was a surprise, then, to find out that the common picture of a path is not a modern road. The word m’agal comes from the word for cart agalah and it refers to the rut carved into the ground from a heavy wagon, or a person’s footprints. It is the track left behind on a journey that reflects the kind of person who was there and where they chose to go.

When we speak of walking in God’s path, we are talking not just about traveling impersonal roads. Rather, God is calling us to put our feet in God’s own footprints, and travel on a journey that he himself has lovingly walked before us. When we know that in Christ, God came to walk with us as his people, we can then understanding that his reason was to walk before us in the way we ought to live.

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Further reading:

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).

Tal – The Dew of Unity

July 2, 2015January 7, 2020Lois Tverberg

by Lois Tverberg

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, coming down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard, coming down upon the edge of his robes. It is like the dew of Hermon coming down upon the mountains of Zion; – Psalm 133:1-3

In the dry land of Israel, rain doesn’t fall for six months between May and October. Between that time dew, tal, is just as essential as rain, coming nightly in the summer as the fruit is growing. Without it, the fruit will shrivel and not mature.

Because water was so important to the livelihood of the country, abundant rains were understood to be a sign of prosperity and blessing, like a good paying job with nice benefits would be today. But just like our lives, people could plan that part of the year would be bountiful with rain, and part of the year would be parched and dry. In the same way, we can count on some times of blessing and some times of want in our lives.

With those things in mind, Psalm 133:1-3 has been very meaningful to me. This verse speaks about the dew of Mt. Hermon falling on the mountains of Jerusalem. Mt. Hermon, in the north, receives enormous amounts of dew from the Mediterranean during much of the year — plants are drenched every night. Jerusalem is in the south and receives much less. But in a year that it receives a lot of dew, the fruit grows extremely well — it’s like a super-powered fertilizer has been poured on the land.

I find it fascinating that this image of abundant dew producing a bumper-crop of fruit is used to describe the effect of unity. In our individualistic culture, we tend to emphasize individual acheivement rather than learning to submit ourselves and work along side of others to acheive a greater goal. It seems that the only time we tend to do that is when we are under pressure because of lack of resources, like when the summer is very dry. But it is during this time that fruit is maturing, and when we learn to mutually submit and come together in true unity, that is when God is most able to produce an amazing bumper crop.

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Further reading:

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).

Echad – Loving God Alone

July 2, 2015January 7, 2020Lois Tverberg

by Lois Tverberg

Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, [one of the teachers] asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: `Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'” – Mark 12:28-30

Jesus’ words that the most important commandment is to “love the Lord your God with all of your heart” are very familiar to us. Many readers also know that Jesus was quoting Deuteronomy 6:4-5 when he said this. By starting with the words “Hear O Israel…” he was beginning to say the Shema, a prayer of daily commitment to God that Jews have said since Jesus’ time up until today. One thing that that may strike us as odd is that the first line reads, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one,” in many translations. Why is that so important to declare that God is one?

In Hebrew, the word is echad, which can mean one. It can also mean together, alone, only or unified. Jews have used the fact that it means “one” to see it as a reason that they cannot believe in a trinity or the deity of Christ. Christian evangelists say in response that echad can mean a compound unity, as when Adam and Eve together were echad (Gen. 2:24). This discussion of the word echad hinges on the idea that “the Lord is one” is a creedal statement about monotheism, and what kind of being God is.

Interestingly, the most authoritative Jewish text, the Tanakh by the Jewish Publication Society, says that the best reading of this phrase in this case really is not “one” but “alone.” So instead of reading this sentence as, “The Lord our God, the Lord is one,” it is more accurate to read it as “The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.” This changes the whole sentence so that instead of being a statement of monotheism, it is actually a command for a person’s absolute allegiance to God. God alone is the one we should worship, him only shall we serve. This also fits better into the rest of the passage, which tells us to love God whole-heartedly and to obey his commands.

Western Christians are very used to reciting statements of belief, so we might misunderstand this as saying that Jesus saw it as extremely critical that we believe in God’s “one-ness.” But when properly understood, it shows that the greatest commandment is not just the mental belief in monotheism, but is actually a call to entirely commit ourselves to the true God, him and him alone.

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Further reading:

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).

Nasag – Overtaken by God

July 2, 2015January 7, 2020Lois Tverberg

Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the LORD your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the LORD your God. (Deuteronomy 28:1-2)

Several Hebrew words come out of the practice of hunting. One was radaf, to “chase after” or “pursue”; another was nasag, meaning “to overtake” or “to catch up to.” Of course these words were used in their literal sense, as when Laban pursued (radaf) and overtook (nasag) Jacob fleeing with his daughters (Genesis 31:23).

In our fast-paced culture, most of us seem to be chasing after something. Even Christians feel like they need to be pursuing more and more. When we describe how we are doing spiritually, we say that we’re “in pursuit” of a deeper walk with God or a greater ability to serve. We’re always striving.

But listen to the delightful imagery in Deuteronomy 28:1-2. When Israel seeks after doing God’s will, what happens is not that they will “catch up to” God or his blessings. Instead, God’s blessings will catch up to them! The text says, “All these blessings will come upon you and overtake (nasag) you if you obey the LORD your God.”

The imagery is hilarious here, as if God is running after people with armloads of gifts. What a thought. If we pursue righteousness, we don’t have to worry about finding our reward, because God is chasing after us with it!

Another lovely place where we find imagery like this is Psalm 23:6

“Surely goodness and mercy will pursue (radaf) me all of my life….”

Most translations say that “goodness and mercy will follow me,” but the word here is radaf, which means “pursue”! The psalmist has no worries about his enemies who are after him, because he is utterly convinced that God is chasing him down with his love.

(Photo: Lee Lilly)

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Further reading:

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).