Most of us are familiar with the three words in Greek that express three levels of love: agape (unconditional love), phileo (brotherly love, friendship), and eros (erotic love). The Hebrew language also has several different words that are rendered as “love.” There are basically four common words that are translated as various forms of love, although they also have other renderings: ’ahav (בהא), “love”; racham (םחר), “tender mercies”; dodi (ידוד), “beloved,” as in spousal love; and ra’ah (הﬠר), “brotherly love,” or “friendship.”
It would be wrong to try to make a parallel between the Greek words for love and the Hebrew words for love. However, this does create a real problem for translators, because love is at the very root and center of Scripture. The Septuagint* uses the word agape for the Hebrew word ’ahav (בהא). This is probably the closest word in the Hebrew to the meaning of agape, but it is far from a perfect match. I suppose we could say that ra’ah (הﬠר) is like phileo, since it is a word for friendship, and that dodi (ידוד) could, in a certain context, be like eros. Yet these definitions would not be accurate because they are too limited.
It would be wrong to try to make a parallel between the Greek words for love and the Hebrew words for love. However, this does create a real problem for translators, because love is at the very root and center of Scripture. The Septuagint* uses the word agape for the Hebrew word ’ahav (בהא). This is probably the closest word in the Hebrew to the meaning of agape, but it is far from a perfect match. I suppose we could say that ra’ah (הﬠר) is like phileo, since it is a word for friendship, and that dodi (ידוד) could, in a certain context, be like eros. Yet these definitions would not be accurate because they are too limited.
Ahav (בהא) is used in cases where agape would not fit, and ra’ah (הﬠר), although rendered as “friendship,” is also rendered as “shepherd” and “consuming passion” and was often used by David to express his love for God. Oddly, ra’ah (הﬠר) is also used for evil in the sense in which one has a consuming passion for something that is not of God (such as when people abuse drugs or alcohol). So, in many cases, it would be very inappropriate to consider ra’ah (הﬠר) as equivalent to phileo. Additionally, Solomon used the word dodi (ידוד) with his beloved to express a sexual desire, but this word does not carry the lustfulness or self-gratification of eros.
The fourth Hebrew word for love mentioned above is racham (םחר), which is often expressed as a romantic love or rendered as “tender mercies.” It is rarely used in the Old Testament, but it is frequently found in the Aramaic New Testament, where it has a similar spelling and sounds the same in Aramaic as it does in Hebrew.
Does God Have Favorites?
In the Greek New Testament, we find that the word used for “love” in “God so loved the world” (John 3:16) is agape. In the Peshitta—the Aramaic Bible—the word for love is chav (בח), which is similar to the Hebrew word ’ahav (הבא) and means “love.” However, in John 21:20, where we read about “the disciple whom Jesus loved,” the Greek again uses the word agape, but the Peshitta uses the Aramaic word racham (םחר), which is identical to the Hebrew racham (םחר).
So, again, when Jesus said, “God so loved the world” (John 3:16), He used the Aramaic word chav (בח), but when John wrote the phrase “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (John 21:20), he used the word racham (םחר). These are two entirely different words that both mean “love.” Initially, the most logical conclusion from all this would be that we are dealing with two levels of love, and this would suggest that God either loved the world more than He loved this disciple, or that He loved this disciple more than He loved the world. In other words, we face the old dilemma of whether there are degrees to the love of God.
Note that John 21:20 does not merely say “the disciple whom Jesus loved” but “the disciple whom Jesus loved following.” In Greek and Aramaic, this phrase is more properly rendered as “the disciple whom Jesus loved who followed Him.”
Loving and Being Loved
The key difference between chav (בח), as used in John 3:16 as God loving the world, and racham (םחר), as used in John 21:20 of the disciple whom Jesus loved, is that chav (בח) is a love that is not necessarily returned. Chav (בח) speaks of a love that flows from just one person and is not always completed. For love to be completed, it must be returned. Racham (םחר) is a completed love. Love can be pretty lonely and painful if it is not returned.
God loves the world, but the world does not love Him in return. It is when we love Him in return that His love is complete; it is when we love Him in return that He is able to rejoice over us with singing. (See Zephaniah 3:17.) Salvation is not just about getting saved and going to heaven. It is about completing the love that God has for us, bringing joy and celebration to His heart—which has been loving us for years.
It is not that God loves one person more than another. He loves all equally. It is just that very few people will love Him in return and complete His love, bring Him the joy of His love, awaken Him in that love, and cause Him to sing with joy in that love. In my exploration of God’s heart, I believe the most defining element I have discovered is not only a passion in God’s heart to love, chav (בח), but also a longing to be loved in return, racham (םחר). You and I—humble, little, frail human beings—have the ability to bring joy to the heart of the God of the universe simply by saying to Him, wholeheartedly, “I love you.”
The fourth Hebrew word for love mentioned above is racham (םחר), which is often expressed as a romantic love or rendered as “tender mercies.” It is rarely used in the Old Testament, but it is frequently found in the Aramaic New Testament, where it has a similar spelling and sounds the same in Aramaic as it does in Hebrew.
Does God Have Favorites?
In the Greek New Testament, we find that the word used for “love” in “God so loved the world” (John 3:16) is agape. In the Peshitta—the Aramaic Bible—the word for love is chav (בח), which is similar to the Hebrew word ’ahav (הבא) and means “love.” However, in John 21:20, where we read about “the disciple whom Jesus loved,” the Greek again uses the word agape, but the Peshitta uses the Aramaic word racham (םחר), which is identical to the Hebrew racham (םחר).
So, again, when Jesus said, “God so loved the world” (John 3:16), He used the Aramaic word chav (בח), but when John wrote the phrase “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (John 21:20), he used the word racham (םחר). These are two entirely different words that both mean “love.” Initially, the most logical conclusion from all this would be that we are dealing with two levels of love, and this would suggest that God either loved the world more than He loved this disciple, or that He loved this disciple more than He loved the world. In other words, we face the old dilemma of whether there are degrees to the love of God.
Note that John 21:20 does not merely say “the disciple whom Jesus loved” but “the disciple whom Jesus loved following.” In Greek and Aramaic, this phrase is more properly rendered as “the disciple whom Jesus loved who followed Him.”
Loving and Being Loved
The key difference between chav (בח), as used in John 3:16 as God loving the world, and racham (םחר), as used in John 21:20 of the disciple whom Jesus loved, is that chav (בח) is a love that is not necessarily returned. Chav (בח) speaks of a love that flows from just one person and is not always completed. For love to be completed, it must be returned. Racham (םחר) is a completed love. Love can be pretty lonely and painful if it is not returned.
God loves the world, but the world does not love Him in return. It is when we love Him in return that His love is complete; it is when we love Him in return that He is able to rejoice over us with singing. (See Zephaniah 3:17.) Salvation is not just about getting saved and going to heaven. It is about completing the love that God has for us, bringing joy and celebration to His heart—which has been loving us for years.
It is not that God loves one person more than another. He loves all equally. It is just that very few people will love Him in return and complete His love, bring Him the joy of His love, awaken Him in that love, and cause Him to sing with joy in that love. In my exploration of God’s heart, I believe the most defining element I have discovered is not only a passion in God’s heart to love, chav (בח), but also a longing to be loved in return, racham (םחר). You and I—humble, little, frail human beings—have the ability to bring joy to the heart of the God of the universe simply by saying to Him, wholeheartedly, “I love you.”
- Chaim Bentorah, Hebrew Word Study, Vol 1
No comments:
Post a Comment