- May 12, 2024
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Another way of looking at language is to see it as the luggage in which we "package" our thoughts in order to transport them
into the minds of others. In English, we have an enormous number of "suitcases" we can use---words with various shades of
meaning and formality. You might wonder how Hebrew can communicate with fewer words. The reason is that each "suitcase"
is roomier inside---deeper, wider, more spacious. Many Hebrew words carry a wider range of meaning than the corresponding
word in English.
Unpacking the ideas within a Hebrew "suitcase" is often enormously helpful in Bible study. It's a delightful exercise in seeing how
the ancient authors organized ideas in very different ways than we do---when they use the same word for "work" as for "worship"
and the same word for "listen" and "obey."
We English speakers are used to very precise meanings, and we expect to have everything carefully defined. But Hebrew words leave
the listener to discern the meaning from the context. The prophets and other biblical writers actually seem to delight in pondering
the nuances of their language. They often made wordplays based on a word's ambiguity, deliberately invoking multiple layers of a
word's meaning.
For instance, the word ruach (roo-AKH) means "breath," "wind," or "spirit." When God's ruach blows through the Valley of Dry Bones
to bring new life in Ezekiel 37, we see that all of its various meanings are intended. Jesus was also aware of these facets of ruach when
he declared,
No one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit, Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit
gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying "You must be born again" The wind blows wherever it pleases.
You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit. (John 3:5-8)
I've always imagined that God chose to reveal his Word in Hebrew because the language invites us to think more deeply.
As we read the Scriptures, we ask God what he is saying to us again and again.
Shalom
into the minds of others. In English, we have an enormous number of "suitcases" we can use---words with various shades of
meaning and formality. You might wonder how Hebrew can communicate with fewer words. The reason is that each "suitcase"
is roomier inside---deeper, wider, more spacious. Many Hebrew words carry a wider range of meaning than the corresponding
word in English.
Unpacking the ideas within a Hebrew "suitcase" is often enormously helpful in Bible study. It's a delightful exercise in seeing how
the ancient authors organized ideas in very different ways than we do---when they use the same word for "work" as for "worship"
and the same word for "listen" and "obey."
We English speakers are used to very precise meanings, and we expect to have everything carefully defined. But Hebrew words leave
the listener to discern the meaning from the context. The prophets and other biblical writers actually seem to delight in pondering
the nuances of their language. They often made wordplays based on a word's ambiguity, deliberately invoking multiple layers of a
word's meaning.
For instance, the word ruach (roo-AKH) means "breath," "wind," or "spirit." When God's ruach blows through the Valley of Dry Bones
to bring new life in Ezekiel 37, we see that all of its various meanings are intended. Jesus was also aware of these facets of ruach when
he declared,
No one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit, Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit
gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying "You must be born again" The wind blows wherever it pleases.
You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit. (John 3:5-8)
I've always imagined that God chose to reveal his Word in Hebrew because the language invites us to think more deeply.
As we read the Scriptures, we ask God what he is saying to us again and again.
Shalom