Complete Attention in A Hug

 “You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him and cling to Him, and you shall swear by His name.” —Deuteronomy 10:20 (NASB)

 
I would like to focus on just one word in the above verse: “cling.” In the Hebrew, this word is devek (קבד). To render it as “to cling” is really to sell it short, since the idea is not like clinging to a rock or a tree during a storm so you do not get blown away. This word is an expression of love and respect—an embrace or a hug. In the context of this verse, I render the word as follows: “You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him, and you shall hug Him….”
 

The Gift of the Sabbath

 
Rabbinic literature teaches that a devek (קבד) is a high and deep stage of spiritual development in which the seeker attaches himself or herself to God and exchanges individuality for a profound partnership with Him. The force behind a devek (קבד) is a love of God and a desire for intimacy or closeness with Him. Is that or is that not the definition of a hug?
 
This would explain why many Orthodox Jews view the requirements of the Sabbath as the gift of the Sabbath. The requirements are not a burdensome bother, filled with restrictions, but an opportunity to draw closer to God in order to enter into a devek (קבד) and receive a hug from Him. The “dos and don’ts” of the law are thus opportunities to connect with Him. This is why David said in Psalm 1:2, “But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.”
 
How could anyone get so excited about laws? The Orthodox Jews could because reading, studying, and meditating on the law of God was an opportunity to enter into a devek (קבד) and receive an embrace from God. Why Do You Go to Church? Consider the gift of the Sabbath. Why do you keep the Sabbath?
 

Why do you go to church?

 
Some people see it merely as a family or social obligation, or maybe as a way to win favor with God so they can receive some blessings, get some good luck, or secure a passport to heaven. But for others, observing the Sabbath is an opportunity to draw closer to God.
 
You cannot get to heaven by keeping the law. You can get to heaven only by receiving the finished work of Jesus Christ. The law, however, enables you to come to know this Jesus who is taking you to heaven. When you start to really know God and understand His heart, your love for Him grows; and when you love Him, you begin to desire a devek (קבד).
 
When reading Deuteronomy 10:20, therefore, we must take note that God is not calling us to cling to Him like a parasite or a leech. This thing is two-sided. God will cling to us if we will cling to Him. He will give us a hug if we will give Him a hug. The picture is that of two lovers embracing each other. Devek (קבד) is not a group hug. It is a hug between two individuals—you and God. When God embraces you, it is as if there is no other being in this universe but you. He gives you His full, complete attention in a devek (קבד).
 

- Chaim Bentorah, Hebrew Word Study, Vol 1 . 

Weep and Meditate for Joy

Weeping is an expression of the heart. Many times, when your meditation brings you into the heart and mind of God, you begin to weep. Other times, you might weep for pure joy. There is something so cleansing when you have a time of weeping before the Lord. Sometimes, you might weep out of heartbreak as God shares with you that part of His heart and mind that weeps for a lost world, for the suffering of the world.

 The Hebrew word for “meditate” in Psalm 1:2 is hagah (הגה), which has many usages. It is sometimes rendered as “to moan,” “to growl,” “to utter,” “to muse,” “to devise,” “to plot,” “to roar,” or “to imagine.” I can see “imagining” and “musing” as meditation, but what is this “moaning” and “roaring” business?

Meditation is more than just musing over something. It is intense concentration, focusing all of your attention on the Word of God. If you are to know God’s heart and mind, you must focus your own heart and mind on Him. 

                                        - Chaim Bentorah & Laura Bertone, Hebrew Word Study , Vol 2.

What Does It Mean to “Rest”?

God had commanded His people to “rest” on the seventh day. (See Exodus 16:23.) The phrase “so the people rested” in Exodus 16:30 is translated from the Hebrew word yisheveth (ותבשׁי). It is from the root word Shabbat (תבּשׁ), which means “to rest” and “to cease.”

In addition to Shabbat, there are twelve words in Hebrew that begin with shin (שׁ) beth (ב).

Here are the other 12 words that begin with shin beth (בשׁ):

1. Shin beth (בשׁ), aleph (א) = shava’ (אבשׁ): “God’s passion.” The first letter of the alphabet is aleph (א) and represents God. Shin (שׁ), beth (ב), aleph (א), or shava’ (אבשׁ), refers to God’s passionate love. The first thing you are to do on this day of rest is to just sit back and let God love you, enjoying His passionate love.
 
2. Shin beth (בשׁ), beth (ב) = shavav (בבשׁ): “Kindle a fire.” The next thing that should follow on the Sabbath is shavav (בבשׁ), which is to allow this passionate love of God to kindle in you a fire of love and affection that you can return to Him.
 
3. Shin beth (בשׁ), hei (ה) = shavah (הבשׁ): “To take as captive.” When you and God express love to each other, He will take you as His personal “captive.” Shavah (הבשׁ) is the same word used when a groom comes for his bride, takes her from her father’s house, and carries her to his father’s house to make her his bride and to enter into intimacy with her. So, the next thing God wants to do after He has expressed His love to you, and you have expressed your love to Him, is to shavah (הבשׁ), or to take you away as a bride to His bridal chamber to spend a time of intimacy with you.
 
4. Shin beth (בשׁ), chet (ח) = shavach (חבשׁ): “To soothe, calm, relax.” When God takes you away as His bride, the first thing He will do is what a bridegroom will do for his new bride—he will seek to make her comfortable and relaxed, to assure her that everything is all right, that he will make certain nothing will happen that will shame her or harm her. During this time with God, you will become shavach (חבשׁ); the pressures and stresses of the prior six days will settle down and be soothed, and you will find your frayed nerves being calmed.
 
5. Shin beth (בשׁ), teth (ט) = shavat (טבשׁ): “To measure.” Once you are in the bridal chamber, God will measure you. He will lovingly gaze upon you as a husband would gaze upon his bride and measure her beauty. Then he will softly, quietly, whisper to her that she is beautiful. This is the moment when God reminds you that through the sacrificial death of His Son Jesus Christ, all your iniquities and sins have been cleansed, and He has made something beautiful out of you.
 
6. Shin beth (בשׁ), kap (כ) = shavak (כבשׁ): “To mingle, interweave, have intercourse.” After a time of just enjoying your beauty as His bride, God will then share a more passionate intimacy with you.
 
7. Shin beth (בשׁ), lamed (ל) = shaval (לבשׁ): “To grow.” During this time of intimacy, God and you will grow closer together, more in love and more passionate with each other.
 
8. Shin beth (בשׁ), mem (מ) = shavam (מבשׁ): “To share hidden secrets and hidden knowledge.” When two lovers are being intimate, speaking lovingly to each other, they cannot help but share their deepest secrets. They will share things that they would express to no one else. Thus, during this Sabbath rest, God will share the secrets of His heart with you as His bride, as you share the secrets of your heart with Him as your Bridegroom.
 
9. Shin beth (בשׁ), nun (נ) = shavan (ןבשׁ): “To be tender and delicate.” (The word shavan (ןבשׁ) uses the final form** of the letter nun.) During this time of intimacy, having trusted each other with the deep secrets of your hearts, you enter a period of just sharing intimate words with each other. This will be a time when God speaks tenderly to you as His bride. He will speak of love. He will call you His dearest, His most precious, His treasure, and other gentle, loving, sweet names.
 
10. Shin beth (בשׁ), ayin (ﬠ) = shava’ (ﬠבשׁ): “To become satisfied, fulfilled.” After a time in which God and you share love, intimacy, and the secrets of your hearts, you, as His bride, will feel a great, overwhelming sense of satisfaction and fulfillment.
 
11. Shin beth (בשׁ), sade (צ) = shavats (צבשׁ): “To weave or intermingle together to create something beautiful.” During this time of intimacy, God as Bridegroom and you as His bride will intermingle together, will weave together, to create something beautiful from your relationship.
 
12. Shin beth (בשׁ), resh (ר) = shavar (רבשׁ): “To examine in order to make pure.” As the Sabbath concludes, and God has cleansed you, shared His secrets with you, and made you an intimate part of Him, He will then do a final examination of you as His bride and declare that you are indeed pure and holy before Him. 

- Chaim Bentorah, Hebrew Word Study, Vol 1 . 

 

Why 'Amen'?

 “Amen” comes from a cluster of words that refers to what’s true, trustworthy, reliable, and faithful.
 
Truth implies a commitment to reality, and faithfulness implies a commitment to others.
 
Words related to amen and emet describe not only God and people but also “solid,” “secure” ground into which a tent peg can be hammered (Isa 22:23). In fact, they’re also used to describe “reliable” sources of water. Because of how arid Israel could be, many springs and streams would run dry, placing people in life-threatening situations. The Bible uses words related to amen and emet to describe sources of water that were “trustworthy,” no matter how bad the surrounding drought (Isa 33:16).
 
So, why do we say “amen” at the end of prayers? One way of seeing the word is as an affirmation that God is dependable, reliable, and faithful.45 We end prayers with a vivid reminder that God is like an ever-flowing stream that provides life-giving water.
 
A more popular way of interpreting the word is that it reaffirms our agreement with the words of the prayer. As one scholar puts it, saying “amen” is like saying, “Precisely! I feel the same way about it, may God do it!” When we say this word at the end of prayers, we’re signaling not only that we agree with the prayer but also that we’ll do what’s needed on our part for the prayer to come true. We commit to living in a way that helps see the prayer reach fruition.
 

--- Matthew Richard Schlimm, 70 Hebrew Words Every Christian Should Know. Abingdon Press. 

The Lost Meaning in the Names

While it’s nice to hear the Hebrew approximated, each Hebrew name in these chapters is loaded with meaning that does not translate into English:
 

The Hebrew for Adam means “Humanity.”

The Hebrew for Eve means “Life.”

The Hebrew for Eden means “Delight.”

The Hebrew for Cain means “Spear.”

The Hebrew for Abel means “Fleeting Breath”

 
Our English Bibles could be summarized as follows:

Adam and Eve initially live in the garden of Eden.

After God kicks them out, Cain kills his brother Abel.

 
However, if we focus on the meaning rather than the sound of these names, Genesis 2–4 looks a bit different.
 
The Hebrew could be summarized like this:
 

Humanity and Life initially live in the garden of Delight.

After God kicks them out, Spear kills his brother Fleeting Breath.

 
Names alone don’t determine whether a story is symbolic or historical. However, Genesis 2–4 has other clues that it’s more symbolic in nature. There’s a talking snake—with no explanation of why the snake can do more than hiss (3:1). The directions to the garden in Genesis 2:10-14 describe the world as a whole, rather than a single location. No one has ever found angelic beings guarding the entrance to the forbidden garden (3:24). The Hebrew text has poetic qualities, and Hebrew poetry is filled with symbolism. These factors, combined with highly meaningful names, suggest that the story as a whole should be seen as symbolic.
 
But when we see what the Hebrew names actually mean, then Genesis 2–4 appears less about science or history and more a symbolic story that helps us understand who we are, who God is, and why the world works the way it does. The words behind “Adam” and “Eve” are invitations to see ourselves in these characters. When translators kept the Hebrew sounds for “Adam,” “Eve,” and their children’s names, they also surrendered the rich meanings of these names that allow us to see what the opening of Genesis is really all about.
 

--- Matthew Richard Schlimm, 70 Hebrew Words Every Christian Should Know. Abingdon Press.

A Basket of Summer Fruit

The book of Amos rages with disturbing images. Because of Israel’s harsh treatment of poor people, God’s judgment is coming with furious destruction. Toward the end of the book, just before describing a new round of horrors, God shows the prophet Amos a basket of summer fruit. Without explaining the fruit basket, the text jumps to God’s coming judgment. Here’s the passage:
 
This is what the LORD God showed me: a basket of summer fruit.

He said, “Amos, what do you see?”

I said, “A basket of summer fruit.”

Then the LORD said to me,

“The end has come upon my people Israel;

I will never again forgive them.

On that day, the people will wail the temple songs,”

says the LORD God;

“there will be many corpses,

thrown about everywhere.” (Amos 8:1-3 CEB)

 
Most English readers of this text are left confused. Why did God show Amos the summer fruit? How could that be terrifying? What on earth does it have to do with what follows?
 
The text actually makes perfect sense in Hebrew… This word is associated with the last crop to be picked during the agricultural calendar. In fact, one of the oldest inscriptions from Israel is a tenth-century BCE calendar that lists what farming activities take place during the year.
 
The last word in this inscription is what we have here: “summer fruit.” This word sounds similar to the Hebrew word for “end” that God uses to talk about Israel’s demise in this passage: This word evokes ideas of death not only here but also when it’s used to describe Noah’s flood (Gen 6:13) and the destruction of Jerusalem (Lam 4:18; Ezek 7:2-3).
 
So, although in English the words “summer fruit” and “end” look and sound nothing alike, in Amos the two are closely related. God shows Amos a basket of qayits as an ominous sign of Israel’s qets. English readers wonder what’s horrifying about a fruit basket, but Hebrew readers see the ominous potential in Amos’s vision. Together, qayits and qets make over one hundred appearances in the Bible.
 

--- Matthew Richard Schlimm, 70 Hebrew Words Every Christian Should Know. Abingdon Press.

 

Loving and Being Loved

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.

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.”
 

 - Chaim Bentorah, Hebrew Word Study, Vol 1

God Joins His Heart with Ours

“Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck.” —Song of Solomon 4:9

Let us look at the words “Thou hast ravished my heart.” This is one of the most beautiful—and, at the same time, one of the most heartbreaking—words that I have ever run across in my forty years of studying biblical Hebrew. You see, this phrase is only one word in Hebrew: livabethini (יניבבל). It comes from the root word levav (בבל), which means “heart.” The first thing to understand is that this is one of the rare cases where the double beth (בב) is used. 

The ancient Jewish sages used to teach that the beth (ב) represents not only the home but also the heart. As the saying goes, “Home is where the heart is.” A double beth (בב) represents God’s heart and our hearts joined in a love relationship. It is a picture of two hearts opening up to each other and becoming equally vulnerable.

So, what is Solomon expressing when he says to his beloved, “Livabethini” (יניבבל), or “Thou hast ravished my heart”? He is saying that with just one glance from his beloved, he has fallen hopelessly in love with her. She has stripped him of the hard shell that he had built around his heart to protect it, and he has made himself vulnerable. He is a king with the most powerful security force in the world surrounding him to protect him, yet one little peasant woman, with a mere look, has caused him to open his heart and say, “I am giving you the ability to break this heart. You have my heart in your hands—please be careful with it. There is no one to protect my heart from you; only you can protect it.”

If we are the bride of Christ, and He is our Bridegroom, does it not follow that He is saying to us, “Livabethini” (יניבבל), “You have ravished My heart”? If He is saying that, He is also indicating, “Although I am God, and although I may be to you a towering giant who seems invulnerable, I am stripping the bark off My tree; I am voluntarily making Myself vulnerable to you; I am giving you My heart. You have the ability to deeply wound My heart; no one but you can protect it, so please be gentle with My heart.”

- Chaim Bentorah, Hebrew Word Study, Vol 1 . 

Fastings and Prayers

 “[Anna] did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.” —Luke 2:37 (nkjv)

God. In Luke 2:37, we learn that Anna served God with “fastings and prayers.” To fast is to go without food, right? Well, not exactly. Going without food is just an expression of fasting. The Aramaic word used for “fastings” is tsom (םוצ), which is identical to the Hebrew word tsom (םוצ). The Greek word used in this verse is nesteials, and the Septuagint* (the Old Testament translated into Greek) uses the word nesteials for the Hebrew word tsom (םוצ). The Aramaic word tsom (םוצ), with its Hebrew equivalent, does offer some insight. In its Semitic form, the Aramaic and Hebrew word tsom (םוצ) has the idea of submitting the very necessities of one’s life in order to receive some knowledge. 

In ancient times, the term was used for a soldier who gave up his life to be recognized by one of his gods and receive the knowledge of the gods. In the biblical context, it means to submit to God’s will in order to bring about a transformation through the revelation of His hidden knowledge. That is the very essence of fasting. It is why going without food, the very basic necessity of life, is one of the most common expressions of fasting. But there are other ways to fast.

Anna lived a fasted lifestyle. She continually stayed in the temple, denying herself fleshly desires to pursue God’s will. This was called a service to God.

The meaning of prayer in the Greek, Aramaic, and Hebrew is not only prayers of petition, but also intercessory prayers—prayers of petition for others rather than oneself. Anna continually remained in the temple living a life of fleshly denial and interceding for others day and night. That also is called a service to God. It was not being a prophetess that was called her service; it was her “fastings and prayers.”

- Chaim Bentorah & Laura Bertone, Hebrew Word Study , Vol 2.

Song of Peace

The word for “Song” in Hebrew is shur (רושׁ), which means “song,” and the root word in Hebrew for “Psalm” is zamar (רמז), which also means “song.” Yet shur (רושׁ) is a song of peace, joy, and celebration of the power of God, while zamar (רמז) is a song of praise that comes when one is being pruned or tried by God.

Yet this psalm was written in praise to God, and then it was given to the sons of Korah, who made up the temple choir, and to the chief musician. It says it was given upon mahalath (תלחמ), which some say is a musical instrument. No English translation is provided for mahalath (תלחמ), and it is uncertain if the root word is chalah (הלח), which means “to be exhausted,” “to be diseased,” “to be weak,” “to be feeble,” or “to be afflicted,” or if it comes from the root word chul (לוח), which means “to be in pain,” “to tremble,” or “to shake.” Either way, it was given in great distress to the choir and to its director. 

The next word is leannoth (תונﬠל), which comes from the root word ’anah (הנﬠ) and means “to be humbled by affliction.” This word is in a piel* infinitive form and suggests this rendering: “He has been humbled like no other man.” The following word is maschil (ליכשׂמ), which comes from the root word sakal (לכשׂ) and means “to prosper” or “to understand.” This word is in hiphil participle* form, so we could render it as “He has caused him to understand,” or “He has caused him to prosper.”

The experience of the Heman in this psalm does not fit the profile of any other Heman in Scripture. However, in Jewish literature, I have found a description of a Heman that does fit the profile of the Heman of Psalm 88. Jewish literature and tradition teach that this Heman was a gifted musician and vocalist—but he was also a leper.

Here, then, is the picture we see in this psalm. Heman is a diseased, broken, poverty-stricken beggar. He has called out to God all his life to be healed of his leprosy, but he has not been healed. Nevertheless, God has still done a wonderful work of healing in him. He has healed his soul. Although God gave him a beautiful voice, Heman was not allowed to sing in the temple because of his affliction. However, he could sing on the street corner; and, if Jewish literature is correct, that is what he did.

- Chaim Bentorah, Hebrew Word Study, Vol 1