YHWH yireh

[itisdeliciouscake]

(As I ask this question I am using a computer where I haven't installed Hebrew yet, and I do not have my Hebrew Bible at hand, so please excuse my lack of specificity)

So in Genesis 22 when it talks about God 'providing' (in most English translations) a ram, and the place being called 'YHWH will see/provide,' because on the mount of YHWH it will provide provide/He will be seen, etc...

So when I came to this passage a coupla weeks ago I was confused because it uses the verb RAH where I had always heard it translated as 'provide'. I was pretty confused by this....

I unfortunately do not have access to HALOT or decent commentaries (doing an internship in Florida, away from my books...), but only my copy of BDB, which lists 'provide' as a meaning for RAH, but only with the verses from this section with no rationale listed.


Could someone help shed light on why RAH in this passage seems to be ubiquitously translated or understood to mean 'provide' rather than simply 'see'?

Thanks!!!

 

[Yitzchak]

(As I ask this question I am using a computer where I haven't installed Hebrew yet, and I do not have my Hebrew Bible at hand, so please excuse my lack of specificity)

So in Genesis 22 when it talks about God 'providing' (in most English translations) a ram, and the place being called 'YHWH will see/provide,' because on the mount of YHWH it will provide provide/He will be seen, etc...

So when I came to this passage a coupla weeks ago I was confused because it uses the verb RAH where I had always heard it translated as 'provide'. I was pretty confused by this....

I unfortunately do not have access to HALOT or decent commentaries (doing an internship in Florida, away from my books...), but only my copy of BDB, which lists 'provide' as a meaning for RAH, but only with the verses from this section with no rationale listed.


Could someone help shed light on why RAH in this passage seems to be ubiquitously translated or understood to mean 'provide' rather than simply 'see'?

Thanks!!!

(JPS) And Abraham called the name of that place Adonai-jireh; as it is said to this day: 'In the mount where the LORD is seen.'

I cannot give you the full answer. But i will help with what I know. First let me point out some other verses where the same word is translated as provide.

Jewish Publication Society translation...

Gen 22:8 And Abraham said: 'God will provide Himself the lamb for a burnt-offering, my son.' So they went both of them together.

Gen 22:8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

1Sa 16:17 And Saul said unto his servants: 'Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me.'

1Sa 16:1 And the LORD said unto Samuel: 'How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from being king over Israel? fill thy horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Beth-lehemite; for I have provided Me a king among his sons.'

There are hundreds of places where this word is translated as see or behold. Only a few where it is translated as provide.


I am not sure what your back round is in Hebrew , but just to clarify , the root for see is resh aleph hey.... ra'ah

We actually see the same Hebrew word three times in the two verses here. It seems to be a play on words.

Gen 22:13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt-offering in the stead of his son.
Gen 22:14 And Abraham called the name of that place Adonai-jireh; as it is said to this day: 'In the mount where the LORD is seen.'

Anyway , I always thought of it this way ; if God is looking at us , then he will provide. Meaning that if we have his attention, then provision will follow.

There are places in the Bible that say that God heard or God remembered. The word for looked upon is the same word ra'ah. But here , in this verse in Exodus , we have God hearing , remembering and seeing.

Exo 2:24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.
Exo 2:25 And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.

They had God's full attention and provision for their situation automatically followed.




Another thing that I find interesting is the use of the same word ra'ah , in Genesis chapter one. In this case it is Elohim ra'ah. But we see the same pattern of God seeing and then God taking action. I think the choice of which name of God is paired with the action has meaning , but that is another discussion subject.

Gen 1:4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.

By the way , the name Reuben is the combination of two words. Our word raah and the word ben which means son. Again , we have the Lord looking ( ra'ah ) and then taking action or to put it another way , making provision.

Gen 29:32 And Leah conceived, and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben; for she said: 'Because the LORD hath looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me.'

http://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Reuben.html#.UfZ4WqzAG-c


I hope that helps a little....

 

[4LivingCreations]

To start, always throw out man's vowel points and replace with "schwa", non-letter vowel points have no meaning.

R Eh H
Sounds like Reh-H' or ReyHuh (I use ' to represent the "schwa" vowel, which is always the assumed non-descript quick vowel that follows every consonant)

Root letter meanings form the words, and the words are self contained "phrases" or "ideas" that transcend verb, noun, adjective, tense, etc. constraints.
In addition, the articulation of the letter is a physical model for the meaning of the letter. For example, "aleph" or "eh" is the most simple sound that is made, coming entirely from the "origin", the lungs, and the "origin", the most basic tweak, of the vocal chords.

Very complex concepts that wouldn't be complex if we had not lost the language by shouting from the top of the tower of babel so workers below could hear, inadvertently changing the "schwa" into the letter vowels that had meaning and therefore saying words that didn't fit the intended message, causing confusion and frustration.
"Send more bricks!"
"Did he just say send more llamas? what the heck? I've had enough of this job."

R = something like "highest" or "boss" - think of an animal or human growling
Eh = something like "origin" or "source" or "start" - think of getting someone's attention to begin something. "aleph" is the ox which is the first to step foot into the field at the start of the season.
H = something like "ability to see beyond" or "ability to see inwardly" - think of the sound you make when you see something for the first time.

R-Eh-H' = something like "really really comprehend"

and the preceding Yod is more of a nature of "always does" or "will continue" instead of just "will in the future"
Most of the OT verbs are written in "was, is, and is to come" tense.

"God does make the Lamb truly understandable"
has both a reveal and a provide concept to it.

Hope that helps.

Who knows what the translators knew, but either way, "reveal" or "provide" both work. "provides higher revelation" might be a nice way to look at the word, especially considering that a lamb was noted at first, yet a ram was revealed/provided in the thicket.
...which brings up yet another debacle for the reader's understanding.

Scripture and the reader each have 4 "faces."
Lion: it looks chaotic and deadly at first
Ox: the "earth" must be "tilled"
Man: all characters are personalities of the reader, to change the heart towards brotherly love, and nitty gritty but clean and responsible human nature. A restoration of Eden. Simon of Cyrene's name for example.
Eagle: secrets of the big picture

It gets REALLY tedious and rewarding, and nobody has to understand any of it, except Love God, Love each other, Turn away from sinful intent.

Peace.