'Êyd (אֵיד, Strong's #343), “calamity; disaster.” A possible cognate of this word appears in Arabic. Its 24 biblical appearances occur in every period of biblical Hebrew (12 in wisdom literature and only 1 in poetical literature, the Psalms).This word signifies a “disaster” or “calamity” befalling a nation or individual. When used of a nation, it represents a “political or military event”: “To me belongeth vengeance, and recompense; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste” (Deuteronomy 32:35— first occurrence). The prophets tend to use 'êyd in the sense of national “disaster,” while Wisdom writers use it for “personal tragedy.”VED-OT Calamity.2

Call

A. Verb.VED-OT Call.2

Qârâ' (קָרָא, Strong's #7121), “to call, call out, recite.” This root occurs in Old Aramaic, Canaanite, and Ugaritic, and other Semitic languages (except Ethiopic). The word appears in all periods of biblical Hebrew.Qârâ' may signify the “specification of a name.” Naming a thing is frequently an assertion of sovereignty over it, which is the case in the first use of qârâ': “And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night” (Genesis 1:5). God’s act of creating, “naming,” and numbering includes the stars (Psalms 147:4) and all other things (Isaiah 40:26). He allowed Adam to “name” the animals as a concrete demonstration of man’s relative sovereignty over them (Genesis 2:19). Divine sovereignty and election are extended over all generations, for God “called” them all from the beginning (Isaiah 41:4; cf. Amos 5:8). “Calling” or “naming” an individual may specify the individual’s primary characteristic (Genesis 27:36); it may consist of a confession or evaluation (Isaiah 58:13; 60:14); and it may recognize an eternal truth (Isaiah 7:14).VED-OT Call.3

This verb also is used to indicate “calling to a specific task.” In Exodus 2:7, Moses’ sister Miriam asked Pharaoh’s daughter if she should go and “call” (summon) a nurse. Israel was “called” (elected) by God to be His people (Isaiah 65:12), as were the Gentiles in the messianic age (Isaiah 55:5).VED-OT Call.4

To “call” on God’s name is to summon His aid. This emphasis appears in Genesis 4:26, where men began to “call” on the name of the Lord. Such a “calling” on God’s name occurs against the background of the Fall and the murder of Abel. The “calling” on God’s name is clearly not the beginning of prayer, since communication between God and man existed since the Garden of Eden; nor is it an indication of the beginning of formal worship, since formal worship began at least as early as the offerings of Cain and Abel (Genesis 44:7ff.). The sense of “summoning” God to one’s aid was surely in Abraham’s mind when he “called upon” God’s name (Genesis 12:8). “Calling” in this sense constitutes a prayer prompted by recognized need and directed to One who is able and willing to respond (Psalms 145:18; Isaiah 55:6).VED-OT Call.5

Basically, qârâ' means “to call out loudly” in order to get someone’s attention so that contact can be initiated. So Job is told: “Call now, if there be any that will answer thee; and to which of the saints wilt thou turn?” (Job 5:11). Often this verb represents sustained communication, paralleling “to say” (‘amar), as in Genesis 3:9: “And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him.…” Qârâ' can also mean “to call out a warning,” so that direct contact may be avoided: “And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean” (Leviticus 13:45).VED-OT Call.6

Qârâ' may mean “to shout” or “to call out loudly.” Goliath “shouted” toward the ranks of Israel (1 Samuel 17:8) and challenged them to individual combat (duel). Sometimes ancient peoples settled battles through such combatants. Before battling an enemy, Israel was directed to offer them peace: “When thou comest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it [call out to it in terms of peace]” (Deuteronomy 20:10).VED-OT Call.7

Qârâ' may also mean “to proclaim” or “to announce,” as when Israel proclaimed peace to the sons of Benjamin (Judges 21:13). This sense first occurs in Genesis 41:43, where we are told that Joseph rode in the second chariot; “and they cried before him, Bow the knee.” Haman recommended to King Ahasuerus that he adorn the one to be honored and “proclaim” (“announce”) before him, “Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honor” (Esther 6:9). This proclamation would tell everyone that the man so announced was honored by the king. The two emphases, “proclamation” and “announce,” occur in Exodus 32:5: “…Aaron made proclamation, and said, Tomorrow is a feast to the Lord.” This instance implies “summoning” an official assemblage of the people. In prophetic literature, qârâ' is a technical term for “declaring” a prophetic message: “For the saying which he cried by the word of the Lord … shall surely come to pass” (1 Kings 13:32). Another major emphasis of qârâ' is “to summon.” When Pharaoh discovered Abram’s deceit concerning Sarai, he “summoned” (“called”) Abram so that he might correct the situation (Genesis 12:18). Often the summons is in the form of a friendly invitation, as when Reuel (or Jethro) told his daughters to “invite him [Moses] to have something to eat” (Exodus 2:20, “that he may eat bread,” KJV). The participial form of qârâ' is used to denote “invited guests”: “As soon as you enter the city you will find him before he goes up to the high place to eat … afterward those who are invited will eat” (1 Samuel 9:13, NASB). This verb is also used in judicial contexts, to mean being “summoned to court”if a man is accused of not fulfilling his levirate responsibility, “then the elders of his city shall call him, and speak unto him …” (Deuteronomy 25:8). Qârâ' is used of “summoning” someone and/or “mustering” an army: “Why hast thou served us thus, that thou calledst us not, when thou wentest to fight with the Midianites?” (Judges 8:1).VED-OT Call.8

The meaning “to read” apparently arose from the meaning “to announce” and “to declare,” inasmuch as reading was done out loud so that others could hear. This sense appears in Exodus 24:7. In several prophetic passages, the Septuagint translates qârâ' “to read” rather than “to proclaim” (cf. Jeremiah 3:12; 2, 27; 19:2). Qârâ' means “to read to oneself” only in a few passages.VED-OT Call.9

At least once, the verb qârâ' means “to dictate”: “Then Baruch answered them, He [dictated] all these words unto me … and I wrote them with ink in the book” (Jeremiah 36:18).VED-OT Call.10

B. Noun.VED-OT Call.11

Miqrâ' (מִקְרָא, 4744), “public worship service; convocation.” The word implies the product of an official summons to worship “convocation”). In one of its 23 appearances, miqrâ' refers to Sabbaths as “convocation days” (Leviticus 23:2).VED-OT Call.12

Camp

Machăneh (מַחֲנֶה, Strong's #4264), “camp; encampment; host.” This noun derived from the verb chanah occurs 214 times in the Bible, most frequently in the Pentateuch and in the historical books. The word is rare in the poetical and prophetic literature.Those who travel were called “campers,” or in most versions (KJV, RSV, NASB) a “company” or “group” (NIV), as in Genesis 32:8. Naaman stood before Elisha “with all his company” (2 Kings 5:15 NASB, NEB, “retinue”). Travelers, tradesmen, and soldiers spent much time on the road. They all set up “camp” for the night. Jacob “encamped” by the Jabbok with his retinue (Genesis 32:10). The name Machăneh (Genesis 32:2, “camps”) owes its origin to Jacob’s experience with the angels. He called the place Machăneh in order to signify that it was God’s “camp” (Genesis 32:2), as he had spent the night “in the camp” (Genesis 32:21) and wrestled with God (Genesis 32:24). Soldiers also established “camps” by the city to be conquered (Ezekiel 4:2) Usage of machăneh varies according to context.VED-OT Camp.2

First, it signifies a nation set over against another (Exodus 14:20). Second, the word refers to a division concerning the Israelites; each of the tribes had a special “encampment” in relation to the tent of meeting (Numbers 1:52). Third, the word “camp” is used to describe the whole people of Israel: “And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled” (Exodus 19:16).VED-OT Camp.3

God was present in the “camp” of Israel: “For the Lord thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp be holy: that he see no unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee” (Deuteronomy 23:14). As a result, sin could not be tolerated within the camp, and the sinner might have to be stoned outside the camp (Numbers 15:35).VED-OT Camp.4

The Septuagint translated machăneh by the Greek parembole (“camp; barracks; army”) 193 times. Compare these Old Testament occurrences with the use of “camp” in Hebrews 13:11: “For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp.” In the English versions, the word is variously translated “camp; company; army” (KJV, RSV, NASB, NIV); “host” (KJV); “attendances; forces” (NIV)VED-OT Camp.5

Can, May

Yâkôl (יָכוֹל, Strong's #3201), “can, may, to be able, prevail, endure.” This word is used about 200 times in the Old Testament, from the earliest to the latest writings. It is also found in Assyrian and Aramaic. As in English, the Hebrew word usually requires another verb to make the meaning complete.Yâkôl first occurs in Genesis 13:6: “And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together.…” God promised Abraham: “And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered” (Genesis 13:16, NIV; cf. Genesis 15:5).VED-OT Can, May.2

The most frequent use of this verb is in the sense of “can” or “to be able.” The word may refer specifically to “physical ability,” as in 1 Samuel 17:33: “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him” (NASB). Yakol may express “moral inability,” as in Joshua 7:13: “… Thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you.” For a similar sense, see Jeremiah 6:10: “Behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken.…” In the negative sense, it may be used to express “prohibition”: “Thou mayest not eat within thy gates the tithe of thy corn …” (Deuteronomy 12:17, NIV). Or the verb may indicate a “social barrier,” as in Genesis 43:32: “… The Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians” (KJV, RSV, NIV, NASB, “could not”).
Yâkôl is also used of God, as when Moses pleaded with God not to destroy Israel lest the nations say, “Because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land … , therefore he hath slain them …” (Numbers 14:16, NASB). The word may indicate a positive sense: “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us …” (Daniel 3:17). The word yâkôl appears when God limits His patience with the insincere: “When the Lord could no longer endure your wicked actions … , your land became an object of cursing …” (Jeremiah 44:22, NIV)VED-OT Can, May.3

When yâkôl is used without another verb, the sense is “to prevail” or “to overcome,” as in the words of the angel to Jacob: “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God, and with men and have overcome” (Genesis 32:28, NIV, KJV, NASB, “prevailed”). With the word yâkôl God rebukes Israel’s insincerity: “I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly” (Isaiah 1:13, NASB, NIV, “bear”). “… How long will it be ere they attain to innocency?” (Hosea 8:5, KJV, NASB, “will they be capable of”).VED-OT Can, May.4

There is no distinction in Hebrew between “can” and “may,” since yâkôl expresses both “ability” and “permission,” or prohibition with the negative. Both God and man can act. There is no limit to God’s ability apart from His own freely determined limits of patience with continued disobedience and insincerity (Isaiah 59:1-2) and will (Daniel 3:17-18).VED-OT Can, May.5

The Septuagint translates yâkôl by several words, dunamai being by far the most common. Dunamai means “to be able, powerful.” It is first used in the New Testament in Matthew 3:9: “… God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.”VED-OT Can, May.6

Canaan; Canaanite

Kena‛an (כְּנַעַן, Strong's #3667), “Canaan”; kena‛anı̂y (כְּנַעֲנִי, Strong's #3669), “Canaanite; merchant.” “Canaan” is used 9 times as the name of a person and 80 times as a place name. “Canaanite” occurs 72 times of the descendants of “Canaan,” the inhabitants of the land of Canaan. Most occurrences of these words are in Genesis through Judges, but they are scattered throughout the Old Testament.“Canaan” is first used of a person in Genesis 9:18: “… and Ham is the father of Canaan” (cf. Genesis 10:6). After a listing of the nations descended from “Canaan,” Genesis 10:18-19 adds: “… and afterward were the families of the Canaanites spread abroad. And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest, unto Sodom, and Gomorrah,.…” “Canaan” is the land west of the Jordan, as in Numbers 33:51: “When ye are passed over Jordan into the land of Canaan” (cf. Joshua 22:9-11). At the call of God, Abram “… went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.… And the Canaanite was then in the land” (Genesis 12:5-6). Later God promised Abram: “Unto thy seed have I given this land, … [the land of] the Canaanites …” (Genesis 15:18-20; cf. Exodus 3:8, 17; Joshua 3:10).“Canaanite” is a general term for all the descendants of “Canaan”: “When the Lord thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee … the Canaanites …” (Deuteronomy 7:1). It is interchanged with Amorite in Genesis 15:16: “… for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full” (cf. Joshua 24:15, 18).VED-OT Canaan; Canaanite.2

“Canaanite” is also used in the specific sense of one of the peoples of Canaan: “… and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan” (Numbers 13:29; cf. Joshua 5:1; 2 Samuel 24:7). As these peoples were traders, “Canaanite” is a symbol for “merchant” in Proverbs 31:24 and Job 41:6 and notably, in speaking of the sins of Israel, Hosea says, “He is a merchant, the balances of deceit are in his hand …” (Hosea 7:12; cf. Zephaniah 1:11).VED-OT Canaan; Canaanite.3

Genesis 9:25-27 stamps a theological significance on “Canaan” from the beginning: “Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.… Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. And God shall enlarge Japheth … and Canaan shall be his servant.” Noah prophetically placed this curse on “Canaan” because his father had stared at Noah’s nakedness and reported it grossly to his brothers. Ham’s sin, deeply rooted in his youngest son, is observable in the Canaanites in the succeeding history. Leviticus 18 gives a long list of sexual perversions that were forbidden to Israel prefaced by the statement: “… and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do …” (Leviticus 18:3). The list is followed by a warning: “Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you” (Leviticus 18:24).VED-OT Canaan; Canaanite.4

The command to destroy the “Canaanites” was very specific: “… thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them.… ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images.… For thou art a holy people unto the Lord thy God …” (Deuteronomy 7:2-6). But too often the house of David and Judah “built them high places, and images, and groves, on every high hill, and under every green tree. And there were also sodomites in the land: and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the Lord cast out before the children of Israel” (1 Kings 14:23-24; cf. 2 Kings 16:3-4; 2 Kings 21:1-15). The nations were the “Canaanites”; thus “Canaanite” became synonymous with religious and moral perversions of every kind.VED-OT Canaan; Canaanite.5

This fact is reflected in Zechariah 14:21: “… and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts.” A “Canaanite” was not permitted to enter the tabernacle or temple; no longer would one of God’s people who practiced the abominations of the “Canaanites” enter the house of the Lord.VED-OT Canaan; Canaanite.6

This prophecy speaks of the last days and will be fulfilled in the New Jerusalem, according to Revelation 21:27: “And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie …” (cf. Revelation 22:15).VED-OT Canaan; Canaanite.7

These two words occur in Acts 7:11 and 13:19 in the New Testament.VED-OT Canaan; Canaanite.8

Cast Down

Shâlak (שָׁלַךְ, Strong's #7993), “to throw, fling, cast, overthrow.” This root seems to be used primarily in Hebrew, including modern Hebrew. Shâlak is found 125 times in the Hebrew Bible. Its first use in the Old Testament is in Genesis 21:15, which says that Hagar “cast the child [Ishmael] under one of the shrubs.”The word is used to describe the “throwing” or “casting” of anything tangible: Moses “threw” a tree into water to sweeten it (Exodus 15:25); Aaron claimed he “threw” gold into the fire and a golden calf walked out (Exodus 32:24). Trees “shed” or “cast off” wilted blossoms (Job 15:33).VED-OT Cast Down.2

Shâlak indicates “rejection” in Lamentations 2:1: “How hath the Lord … cast down from heaven unto the earth the beauty of Israel.…” The word is used figuratively in Psalms 55:22: “Cast thy burden upon the Lord.…”VED-OT Cast Down.3

Cattle

'Eleph (אֶלֶף, Strong's #504), “cattle; thousand; group.” The first word, “cattle,” signifies the domesticated animal or the herd animal. It has cognates in Aramaic, Akkadian, Ugaritic, and Phoenician. It appears only 8 times in the Bible, first in Deuteronomy 7:13: “He will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thy kine [NASB, “herd”], and the flocks of thy sheep.…”This noun is probably related to the verb 'alaph, “to get familiar with, teach, instruct.” This verb occurs 4 times, only in Job and Proverbs.VED-OT Cattle.2

The related noun 'eleph usually means “familiar; confident.” It, too, occurs only in biblical poetry. In Psalms 144:14, 'alluph signifies a tame domesticated animal: “That our oxen may be strong to labor; that there be no breaking in, nor going out.…”VED-OT Cattle.3

The second word, “thousand,” occurs about 490 times and in all periods of biblical Hebrew. It first appears in Genesis 20:16: “Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver …”VED-OT Cattle.4

The third word, “group,” first occurs in Numbers 1:16: “These were the renowned of the congregation, princes of the tribes of their fathers, heads of thousands [divisions] in Israel.” It appears to be related to the word 'elluph, “leader of a large group,” which is applied almost exclusively to non-lsraelite tribal leaders (exceptions: Zechariah 9:7; Zechariah 12:5-6). 'Alluph first occurs in Genesis 36:15: “These were [chiefs] of the sons of Esau.…”VED-OT Cattle.5

Cease

A. Verbs.VED-OT Cease.2

Châdal (חָדַל, Strong's #2308), “to cease, come to an end, desist, forbear, lack.” This word is found primarily in Hebrew, including modern Hebrew. In the Hebrew Old Testament, it is found fewer than 60 times. The first occurrence of châdal is in Genesis 11:8 where, after man’s language was confused, “they left off building the city” (RSV).The basic meaning of châdal is “coming to an end.” Thus, Sarah’s capacity for childbearing had long since “ceased” before an angel informed her that she was to have a son (Genesis 18:11). The Mosaic law made provision for the poor, since they would “never cease out of the land” (Deuteronomy 15:11; Matthew 26:11). In Exodus 14:12, this verb is better translated “let us alone” for the literal “cease from us.”VED-OT Cease.3

Shâbath (שָׁבַת, 7673), “to rest, cease.” This word occurs about 200 times throughout the Old Testament. The root also appears in Assyrian, Arabic, and Aramaic.VED-OT Cease.4

The verb first occurs in Genesis 2:2-3: “And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.”VED-OT Cease.5

The basic and most frequent meaning of shâbath is shown in Genesis 8:22: “While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” This promise became a prophetic sign of God’s faithfulness: “If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever” (Jeremiah 31:36).VED-OT Cease.6

We find a variety of senses: “… Even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses …” (Exodus 12:15). “Neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering” (Leviticus 2:13 NASB, KJV, NIV, “do not leave out”). Josiah “put down the idolatrous priests …” (2 Kings 23:5). “I will also eliminate harmful beasts from the land” (Leviticus 26:6 NASB, KJV, “rid”; RSV, NIV, “remove”).VED-OT Cease.7

B. Noun.VED-OT Cease.8

Shabbâth (שַׁבָּת, Strong's #7676), “the sabbath.” The verb sabat is the root of shabbâth “Six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you shall cease from labor …” (Exodus 23:12, NASB, KJV, “rest”). In Exodus 31:15, the seventh day is called the “sabbath rest” (NASB, “a sabbath of complete rest”).A man’s “rest” was to include his animals and servants (Exodus 23:12): even “in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest” (Exodus 34:21). “It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed” (Exodus 31:17).VED-OT Cease.9

“… Then shall the land keep a sabbath unto the Lord” (Leviticus 25:2). Six years’ crops will be sown and harvested, but the seventh year “shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the Lord …” (Leviticus 25:4). The feast of trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the first and eighth days of the Feast of Tabernacles are also called “a sabbath observance” or “a sabbath of complete rest” (Leviticus 23:24, 32, 39).VED-OT Cease.10

The “sabbath” was a “day of worship” (Leviticus 23:3) as well as a “day of rest and refreshment” for man (Exodus 23:12). God “rested and was refreshed” (Exodus 31:17). The “sabbath” was the covenant sign of God’s lordship over the creation. By observing the “sabbath,” Israel confessed that they were God’s redeemed people, subject to His lordship to obey the whole of His law. They were His stewards to show mercy with kindness and liberality to all (Exodus 23:12; Leviticus 25).VED-OT Cease.11

By “resting,” man witnessed his trust in God to give fruit to his labor; he entered into God’s “rest.” Thus “rest” and the “sabbath” were eschatological in perspective, looking to the accomplishment of God’s ultimate purpose through the redemption of His people, to whom the “sabbath” was a covenant sign. The prophets rebuked Israel for their neglect of the sabbath (Isaiah 1:13; Jeremiah 17:21-27; Ezekiel 20:12-24; Amos 8:5). They also proclaimed “sabbath” observance as a blessing in the messianic age and a sign of its fullness (Isaiah 56:2-4; 58:13; 66:23; Ezekiel 44:24; 45:17; Ezekiel 46:1, 3-4, 12). The length of the Babylonian Captivity was determined by the extent of Israel’s abuse of the sabbatical year (2 Chronicles 36:21; cf. Leviticus 26:34-35).VED-OT Cease.12

Chariotry

A. Nouns.VED-OT Chariotry.2

Rekeb (רֶכֶב, Strong's #7393), “chariotry; chariot units; chariot horse; chariot; train; upper millstone.” The noun rekeb appears 119 times and in all periods of biblical Hebrew.The word is used collectively of an entire force of “military chariotry”: “And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the [chariotry]” (Exodus 14:7, KJV, NASB, “chariots”). This use of rekeb might well be rendered “chariot-units” (the chariot, a driver, an offensive and a defensive man). The immediately preceding verse uses rekeb of a single “war-chariot” (or perhaps “chariot unit”). The following translation might better represent Exodus 14:6-7: “So he made his chariot ready and took his courtiers with him, and he took six hundred select chariot units, and all the chariotry of Egypt with defensive men.”VED-OT Chariotry.3

In its first biblical appearance, rekeb means “chariotry”: “And there went up with him both chariotry [KJV, “chariots”] and horsemen …” (Genesis 50:9). In 2 Samuel 8:4, the word represents “chariot-horse”: “… And David hamstrung [KJV, “houghed”] all the chariot horses.…” Rekeb also is used of the “chariot” itself: “… And the king was propped [KJV, “stayed”] up in his chariot against the Syrians …” (1 Kings 22:35). Next, rekeb refers to a “column” or “train of donkeys and camels”: “And he saw a chariot with a couple of horsemen, a chariot of asses, and a chariot of camels …” (Isaiah 21:7).VED-OT Chariotry.4

Finally, rekeb sometimes signifies an “upper millstone”: “No man shall take the nether or the upper millstone to pledge …” (Deuteronomy 24:6; cf. Judges 9:53; 2 Samuel 11:21).VED-OT Chariotry.5

Merkâbâh (מֶרְכָּבָה, Strong's #4818), “war chariot.” This word occurs 44 times. Merkâbâh has cognates in Ugaritic, Syriac, and Akkadian. Like rekeb, it is derived from rakab. The word represents a “war-chariot” (Exodus 14:25), which may have been used as a “chariot of honor” (Genesis 41:43—the first occurrence). It may also be translated “traveling coach” or “cart” (2 Kings 5:21).VED-OT Chariotry.6

B. Verb.VED-OT Chariotry.7

Râkab (רָכַב, Strong's #7392), “to ride upon, drive, mount (an animal).” This verb, which has cognates in Ugaritic and several other Semitic languages, occurs 78 times in the Old Testament. The first occurrence is in Genesis 24:61: “And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels.…”VED-OT Chariotry.8

Choose

A. Verb.VED-OT Choose.2

Bâchar (בָּחַר, Strong's #977), “to choose.” This verb is found 170 times throughout the Old Testament. It is also found in Aramaic, Syriac, and Assyrian. The word has parallels in Egyptian, Akkadian, and Canaanite languages.Bâchar first occurs in the Bible in Genesis 6:2: “… They took them wives of all which they chose.” It is often used with a man as the subject: “Lot chose [for himself] all the plain of Jordan …” (Genesis 13:11). In more than half of the occurrences, God is the subject of bâchar, as in Numbers 16:5: “… The Lord will show who are his, and who is holy; … even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him.”VED-OT Choose.3

Nehemiah 9:7-8 describes God’s “choosing” (election) of persons as far back as Abram: “You are the Lord God, who chose Abram … and you made a covenant with him” (NIV). Bâchar is used 30 times in Deuteronomy, all but twice referring to God’s “choice” of Israel or something in Israel’s life. “Because he loved thy fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them …” (Deuteronomy 4:37). Being “chosen” by God brings people into an intimate relationship with Him: “… The children of the Lord your God: … the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth” (Deuteronomy 14:1-2).VED-OT Choose.4

God’s “choices” shaped the history of Israel; His “choice” led to their redemption from Egypt (Deuteronomy 7:7-8), sent Moses and Aaron to work miracles in Egypt (Psalms 105:26-27), and gave them the Levites “to bless in the name of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 21:5). He “chose” their inheritance (Psalms 47:4), including Jerusalem, where He dwelt among them (Deuteronomy 12:5; 2 Chronicles 6:5, 21). But “they have chosen their own ways, and … I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them …” (Isaiah 66:3-4). The covenant called men to respond to God’s election: “… I have set before you life and death … : therefore choose life …” (Deuteronomy 30:19; cf. Joshua 24:22).VED-OT Choose.5

The Greek Septuagint version translated bâchar chiefly by eklegein, and through this word the important theological concept of God’s “choosing” came into the New Testament. The verb is used of God’s or Christ’s “choice” of men for service, as in Luke 6:13 (“of them he chose twelve …”) or of the objects of His grace: “… He hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world …” (Ephesians 1:4). John 15:16 expresses the central truth of election in both Testaments: “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, … that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain.…”VED-OT Choose.6

B. Noun.VED-OT Choose.7

Bâchı̂yr (בָּחִיר, Strong's #972), “chosen ones.” Another noun, bâchı̂yr is used 13 times, always of the Lord’s “chosen ones”: “Saul, whom the Lord did choose” (2 Samuel 21:6); “ye children of Jacob, his chosen ones” (1 Chronicles 16:13).VED-OT Choose.8

CircuMcIse

Mûl (מוּל, Strong's #4135), “to circumcise, cut off.” This verb occurs more than 30 times in the Old Testament. Its usage is continued in rabbinic and modern Hebrew. However, the verb “to cut off” is not found in other Semitic languages.Most of the occurrences in the Old Testament take place in the Pentateuch (20 times) and Joshua (8 times). Mûl occurs most frequently in Genesis (17 times, 11 of them in Genesis 17 alone) and Joshua (8 times). Mûl occurs in 3 of the 7 verb patterns and in several rare patterns. It has no derivatives other than mulot in Exodus 4:26: “At that time she said, ‘bridegroom of blood,’ referring to circumcision” (NIV).VED-OT CircuMcIse.2

The physical act of circumcision was introduced by God as a sign of the Abrahamic covenant: “This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you … Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you” (Genesis 17:10-11, NIV). It was a permanent “cutting off” of the foreskin of the male organ, and as such was a reminder of the perpetuity of the covenantal relationship. Israel was enjoined to be faithful in “circumcising” all males; each male baby was to be “circumcised” on the eighth day (Genesis 17:12; Leviticus 12:3). Not only were the physical descendants of Abraham “circumcised,” but also those who were servants, slaves, and foreigners in the covenant community (Genesis 17:13-14).VED-OT CircuMcIse.3

The special act of circumcision was a sign of God’s gracious promise. With the promise and covenantal relations, God expected that His people would joyously and willingly live up to His expectations, and thus demonstrate His rule on earth. To describe the “heart” attitude, several writers of Scripture use the verb “to circumcise.” The “circumcision” of the flesh is a physical sign of commitment to God. Deuteronomy particularly is fond of the spiritual usage of the verb “to circumcise”: “Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer” (Deuteronomy 10:16, NIV; cf. 30:6). Jeremiah took over this usage: “Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah … , because of the evil of your doings” (Jeremiah 4:4).VED-OT CircuMcIse.4

Few occurrences of the verb differ from the physical and the spiritual usage of “to circumcise.” "$ in the Book of Psalms has the meaning of “to cut off, destroy”: “All the nations surrounded me, but in the name of the Lord I cut them off” (Psalms 118:10, NIV; cf. vv. 11-12). The verb is translated as peritemno in the Septuagint.VED-OT CircuMcIse.5

The verb and the noun peritome are used in both the physical and the spiritual sense. In addition to this, it also is a figure for baptism: “In him you were also circumcised, … not with a circumcision alone by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead” (Colossians 2:11-12, NIV).VED-OT CircuMcIse.6

In the English versions, the verb is rendered “to circumcise,” “to destroy” (KJV), as well as “to cut off” and “to wither” (RSV, NASB, NIV).VED-OT CircuMcIse.7

City

‛Iyr (עָיַר, Strong's #5892), “city; town; village; quarter [of a city].” Cognates of this word appear in Ugaritic, Phoenician, Sumerian, and old Arabic. This noun occurs about 1,092 times and in every period of biblical Hebrew.The word suggests a “village.” An unwalled village is represented by the Hebrew word chatser. Qiryat, a synonym of ‛ı̂yr is an Aramaic loanword.VED-OT City.2

But ‛ı̂yr and its synonym do not necessarily suggest a walled city. This usage is seen in Deuteronomy 3:5, where ‛ı̂yr may be a city standing in the open country (perhaps surrounded by dirt or stone ramparts for protection): “All these cities were fenced with high walls, gates, and bars; beside unwalled towns a great many.” A comparison of Leviticus 25:29 and Leviticus 25:31 shows that ‛ı̂yr can be used as synonym of chatser: “And if a man sell a dwelling house in a walled city, then he may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold; … but the houses of the villages [chatser] which have no wall round about them shall be counted as the fields of the country.…”VED-OT City.3

‛Iyr can signify not only a “village consisting of permanent houses” but also one in a permanent place, even though the dwellings are tents: “And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley” (1 Samuel 15:5).VED-OT City.4

In Genesis 4:17 (the first occurrence), the word ‛ı̂yr means a “permanent dwelling center” consisting of residences of stone and clay. As a rule, there are no political overtones to the word; ‛ı̂yr simply represents the “place where people dwell on a permanent basis.” At some points, however, ‛ı̂yr represents a political entity (1 Samuel 15:5; 30:29).VED-OT City.5

This word can represent “those who live in a given town”: “And when he came, lo, Eli sat upon a seat by the wayside watching: for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city, and told it, all the city cried out” (1 Samuel 4:13).VED-OT City.6

‛Iyr can also signify only “a part of a city,” such as a part that is surrounded by a wall: “Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion: the same is the city of David” (2 Samuel 5:7). Ancient cities (especially larger ones) were sometimes divided into sections (quarters) by walls, in order to make it more difficult to capture them. This suggests that, by the time of the statement just cited, ‛ı̂yr normally implied a “walled city.”VED-OT City.7

Clean, to Be

A. Verb.VED-OT Clean, to Be.2

Ṭâhêr (טָהֵר, Strong's #2891), “to be clean, pure.” The root of this word appears over 200 times in various forms—as a verb, adjective, or noun.Since the fall of Adam and Eve, none of their offspring is clean in the sight of the holy God: “Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?” (Proverbs 20:9). Reminding Job that protestations of innocence are of no avail, Eliphaz asked: “Shall mortal man be more just than God? Shall a man be more pure than his Maker?” (Job 4:17).VED-OT Clean, to Be.3

There is hope, however, because God promised penitent Israel: “And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me …” (Jeremiah 33:8). He said: “… I will save them out of all their dwelling places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so they shall be my people, and I will be their God” (Ezekiel 37:23).VED-OT Clean, to Be.4

The baleful effect of sin was recognized when a person contracted the dread disease of leprosy. After the priest diagnosed the disease, he could declare a person “clean” only after cleansing ceremonies had been performed: “… And he shall wash his clothes, also he shall wash his flesh in water, and he shall be clean” (Leviticus 14:9).VED-OT Clean, to Be.5

God required that His people observe purification rites when they came into His presence for worship. On the Day of Atonement, for example, prescribed ceremonies were performed to “cleanse” the altar from “the uncleanness of the children of Israel” and to “hallow it” (Leviticus 16:17-19; cf. Exodus 299:36ff.). The priests were to be purified before they performed their sacred tasks. Moses was directed to “take the Levites … and cleanse them” (Numbers 8:6; cf. Leviticus 8:5-13). After they had been held captive in the unclean land of Babylon, “… the priests and the Levites purified themselves, and purified the people, and the gates, and the wall [of the rebuilt city of Jerusalem]” (Nehemiah 12:30).VED-OT Clean, to Be.6

Cleansing might be achieved by physically removing the objects of defilement. During the reform of King Hezekiah, “the priests went into the inner part of the house of the Lord, to cleanse it, and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the Lord …” (2 Chronicles 29:16).VED-OT Clean, to Be.7

Some rites required blood as the purifying agent: “And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it [the altar] with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel” (Leviticus 16:19). Sacrifices were offered to make atonement for a mother after childbirth: “… she shall bring … the one for the burnt offering, and the other for a sin offering: and the priest shall make an atonement for her, and she shall be clean” (Leviticus 12:8).VED-OT Clean, to Be.8

B. Adjective.VED-OT Clean, to Be.9

Ṭâhôr (טָהֹר, Strong's #2889), “clean; pure.” The word denotes the absence of impurity, filthiness, defilement, or imperfection. It is applied concretely to substances that are genuine or unadulterated as well as describing an unstained condition of a spiritual or ceremonial nature.Gold is a material frequently said to be free of baser ingredients. Thus the ark of the covenant, the incense altar, and the porch of the temple were “overlaid with pure gold” (Exodus 25:11; 11, 26; 2 Chronicles 3:4). Some of the furnishings and utensils in the temple—such as the mercy seat, the lampstand, the dishes, pans, bowls, jars, snuffers, trays—were of “pure gold” (Exodus 37:6, 16-24). The high priest’s vestment included “two chains of pure gold” and “a plate of pure gold” (Exodus 28:14, 22, 36).VED-OT Clean, to Be.10

God demands that His people have spiritual and moral purity, unsullied by sin. Anyone not clean of sin is subject to divine rejection and punishment. This contamination is never outgrown or overcome. Because sin pollutes one generation after another, Job asks: “Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?” (Job 14:4). All outward appearances to the contrary, it cannot be said that there is “one event … to the clean, and to the unclean” (Ecclesiastes 9:2). Hope is available even to the chief of sinners, because any man can entreat the mercy of God and say: “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalms 51:10).VED-OT Clean, to Be.11

In sharp contrast with mankind’s polluted nature and actions, “the words of the Lord are pure words …” (Psalms 12:6). The Lord is “of purer eyes than to behold evil” (Habakkuk 1:13).VED-OT Clean, to Be.12

“Clean” most frequently describes the purity maintained by avoiding contact with other human beings, abstaining from eating animals, and using things that are declared ceremonially clean. Conversely, cleansing results if ritual procedures symbolizing the removal of contamination are observed.VED-OT Clean, to Be.13

The people of the old covenant were told that “he that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days” (Numbers 19:11). A priest was not to defile himself “for the dead among his people” except “for his kin, that is near unto him” (Leviticus 21:1-2). This relaxation of the rule was even denied the high priest and a Nazarite during “all the days that he separateth himself unto the Lord” (Numbers 66:6ff.).VED-OT Clean, to Be.14

Cleansing rituals emphasized the fact that the people were conceived and born in sin. Though conception and birth were not branded immoral (just as dying itself was not sinful), a woman who had borne a child remained unclean until she submitted to the proper purification rites (Leviticus 12). Chapter 15 of Leviticus prescribes ceremonial cleansing for a woman having her menstrual flow, for a man having seminal emissions, and for “the woman also with whom man shall lie with seed of copulation” (Leviticus 15:18).VED-OT Clean, to Be.15

To be ceremonially “clean,” the Israelite also had to abstain from eating certain animals and even from touching them (Leviticus 11; Deuteronomy 14:3-21). After the Israelites settled in the Promised Land, some modifications were made in the regulations (Deuteronomy 12:15, 22; 15:22).VED-OT Clean, to Be.16

Purification rites frequently involved the use of water. The person to be cleansed was required to wash himself and his clothes (Leviticus 15:27). Water was sprinkled on the individual, on his tent, and on all its furnishings: “And a clean person shall take hyssop, and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it upon the tent, and upon all the vessels, and upon the persons that were there, and upon him that touched a bone, or the slain, or one dead, or a grave” (Numbers 19:18). Sometimes the person being cleansed also had to change garments (Leviticus 6:11).VED-OT Clean, to Be.17

However, the rites were not meritorious deeds, earning God’s favor and forgiveness. Nor did the ceremonies serve their intended purpose if performed mechanically. Unless the rites expressed a person’s contrite and sincere desire to be cleansed from the defilement of sin, they were an abomination to God and only aggravated a person’s guilt. Anyone who appeared before Him in ritual and ceremony with “hands … full of blood” (Isaiah 1:15) and did not plead for cleansing of his crimes was judged to be as wicked as the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. Zion’s hope lay in this cleansing by means of an offering: “And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the Lord out of all nations upon horses … as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord” (Isaiah 66:20).VED-OT Clean, to Be.18

Cleave, Cling

Dâbaq (דָּבַק, Strong's #1692), “to cling, cleave, keep close.” Used in modern Hebrew in the sense of “to stick to, adhere to,” dâbaq yields the noun form for “glue” and also the more abstract ideas of “loyalty, devotion.” Occurring just over 60 times in the Hebrew Old Testament, this term is found very early in the text, in Genesis 2:24: “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” This usage reflects the basic meaning of one object’s (person’s) being joined to another. In this sense, Eleazar’s hand “cleaved” to the sword as he struck down the Philistines (2 Samuel 23:10). Jeremiah’s linen waistcloth “clung” to his loins, symbolic of Israel’s “clinging” to God (Jeremiah 13:11). In time of war and siege, the resulting thirst and famine caused the tongue “to cleave” to the roof of the mouth of those who had been so afflicted.The literal statement, “My soul cleaveth unto the dust” (Psalms 119:25; RSV, “cleaves”), is better understood as one consults the other English versions: “I lie prone in the dust” (NEB); “Down in the dust I lie prostrate” (JB); “I lie prostrate in the dust” (NAB); “I lie defeated in the dust” (TEV).VED-OT Cleave, Cling.2

The figurative use of dâbaq in the sense of “loyalty” and “affection” is based on the physical closeness of the persons involved, such as a husband’s closeness to his wife (Genesis 2:24), Shechem’s affection for Dinah (Genesis 34:3), or Ruth’s staying with Naomi (Ruth 1:14). “Cleaving” to God is equivalent to “loving” God (Deuteronomy 30:20).VED-OT Cleave, Cling.3

Cleave, Split

Bâqa‛ (בָּקַע, Strong's #1234), “to cleave, split, break open, break through.” This word occurs in all the periods of the Hebrew language and is also found in ancient Ugaritic or Canaanite. It is the origin of the name of the famous Beqa Valley (which means “valley” or “cleft”) in Lebanon.In its verbal forms, bâqa‛ is found some 50 times in the Hebrew Old Testament. The word is first used there in Genesis 7:11, which states that the “fountains of the great deep [were] broken up,” resulting in the Flood. The everyday use of the verb is seen in references to “splitting” wood (Ecclesiastes 10:9) and the ground “splitting” asunder (Numbers 16:31). Serpents’ eggs “split open” or “hatch out” their young (Isaiah 59:5). City walls are “breached” or “broken into” in order to take them captive (Jeremiah 52:7). One of the horrors of war was the “ripping open” of pregnant women by the enemy (2 Kings 8:12; 15:16). Three times God is said “to split open” rocks or the ground in order to provide water for His people (Judges 15:19; Psalms 74:15; Isaiah 48:21).VED-OT Cleave, Split.2

In the figurative sense, it is said that the light of truth will “break forth as the morning” (Isaiah 58:8). Using hyperbole or exaggeration, the historian who recorded the celebration for Solomon’s coronation said that it was so loud “that the earth rent with the sound of them” (1 Kings 1:40). As here, the KJV often renders bâqa‛ by “rent.” In other contexts, it may be translated “burst; clave (cleave); tear; divide; break.”VED-OT Cleave, Split.3

Clothe

Lâbash (לָבֵשׁ, Strong's #3847), “to put on (a garment), clothe, wear, be clothed.” A common Semitic term, this word is found in ancient Akkadian and Ugaritic, in Aramaic, and throughout the history of the Hebrew language. The word occurs about 110 times in the text of the Hebrew Bible. Lâbash is found very early in the Old Testament, in Genesis 3:21: “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skin, and clothed them.” As always, God provided something much better for man than man could do for himself—in this instance, fig-leaf garments (Genesis 3:7). Lâbash is regularly used for the “putting on” of ordinary clothing (Genesis 38:19; Exodus 29:30; 1 Samuel 28:8). The word also describes the “putting on” of armor (Jeremiah 46:4). Many times it is used in a figurative sense, as in Job 7:5: “My flesh is clothed [covered] with worms.…” Jerusalem is spoken of as “putting on” the Jews as they return after the Exile (Isaiah 49:18). Often the figurative garment is an abstract quality: “For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, … he put on garments of vengeance for clothing …” (Isaiah 59:17). God is spoken of as being “clothed with honor and majesty” (Psalms 104:1). Job says, “I put on righteousness, and it clothed me …” (Job 29:14).VED-OT Clothe.2

These abstract qualities are sometimes negative: “The prince shall be clothed [RSV, “wrapped”] with desolation” (Ezekiel 7:27). “They that hate thee shall be clothed with shame” (Job 8:22). “Let mine adversaries be clothed with shame” (Psalms 109:29). A very important figurative use of lâbash is found in Judges 6:34, where the stative form of the verb may be translated, “The spirit of the Lord clothed itself [was clothed] with Gideon.” The idea seems to be that the Spirit of the Lord incarnated Himself in Gideon and thus empowered him from within. The English versions render it variously: “came upon” (KJV, NASB, JB); “took possession of” (NEB, RSV); “took control (TEV); wrapped round” (Knox).VED-OT Clothe.3

Cloud

‛Ânân (עָנָן, Strong's #6051), “cloud; fog; storm cloud; smoke.” Cognates of this word appear in Aramaic and Arabic. Its 87 appearances are scattered throughout the biblical material.The word commonly means “cloud mass.” ‛Ânân is used especially of the “cloud mass” that evidenced the special presence of God: “And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way …”(Exodus 13:21). In Exodus 34:5, this presence is represented by ‛ânân only: “And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him [Moses] there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord.”VED-OT Cloud.2

When the ark of the covenant was brought into the holy place, “The cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord” (1 Kings 8:10-11). Thus the “cloud” evidenced the presence of God’s glory. So the psalmist wrote that God was surrounded by “clouds and darkness” (Psalms 97:2); God appears as the controller and sovereign of nature. This description is somewhat parallel to the descriptions of Baal, the lord of the storm and god of nature set forth in Ugaritic mythology. The “cloud” is a sign and figure of “divine protection” (Isaiah 4:5) and serves as a barrier hiding the fullness of divine holiness and glory, as well as barring sinful man’s approach to God (Lamentations 3:44). Man’s relationship to God, therefore, is God-initiated and God-sustained, not humanly initiated or humanly sustained.VED-OT Cloud.3

In its first biblical occurrence, ‛ânân is used in conjunction with God’s sign that He would never again destroy the earth by a flood: “I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth” (Genesis 9:13). Elsewhere, the transitory quality of a cloud is used to symbolize the loyalty (Hosea 6:4) and existence of Israel (13:3). In Isaiah 44:22, God says that after proper punishment He will wipe out, “as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins.…”VED-OT Cloud.4

‛Ânân can mean “storm cloud” and is used to symbolize “an invading force”: “Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee” (Ezekiel 38:9; cf. Jeremiah 4:13). In Job 26:8, the storm cloud is said to be God’s: “He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds; and the cloud is not rent under them.” In several passages, the thick storm cloud and the darkness accompanying it are symbols of “gloom” (Ezekiel 30:18) and/or “divine judgment” (Ezekiel 30:3).VED-OT Cloud.5

‛Ânân can represent the “smoke” arising from burning incense: “And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not …” (Leviticus 16:13). This “cloud of smoke” may represent the covering between God’s presence (above the mercy seat) and sinful man. If so, it probably also symbolizes the “divine glory.” On the other hand, many scholars feel it represents the human prayers offered up to God.VED-OT Cloud.6

Come

Bô' (בּוֹא, Strong's #935), “to go in, enter, come, go.” This root appears in most Semitic languages, but with varying meanings. For example, the meaning “come” appears in the Babylonian letters of Mari (1750-1697 B.C.). The corresponding Ugaritic word (1550- 1200 B.C.) has the same significance as its Hebrew counterpart, while the Phoenician root (starting around 900 B.C.) means “come forth.” Bô' occurs about 2,570 times in Old Testament Hebrew.First, this verb connotes movement in space from one place toward another. The meaning “go in” or “enter” appears in Genesis 7:7, where it is said that Noah and his family “entered” the ark. In the causative stem, this verb can signify “cause to enter” or “bring into” (Genesis 6:19) or “bring unto” (its meaning in its first biblical occurrence, Genesis 2:19). In Genesis 10:19, the verb is used more absolutely in the phrase “as thou goest unto Sodom.” Interestingly, this verb can also mean “to come” and “to return.” Abram and his family “came” to the land of Canaan (Genesis 12:5), while in Deuteronomy 28:6 God blessed the godly who “go forth” (to work in the morning) and “return” (home in the evening).VED-OT Come.2

Sometimes bô' refers to the “going down” or “setting” of the sun (Genesis 15:12). It can connote dying, in the sense of “going to one’s fathers” (Genesis 15:15). Another special use is the “going into one’s wife” or “cohabitation” (Genesis 6:4). Bô' can also be used of movement in time. For example, the prophets speak of the “coming” day of judgment (1 Samuel 2:31). Finally, the verb can be used of the “coming” of an event such as the sign predicted by a false prophet (Deuteronomy 13:2).VED-OT Come.3

There are three senses in which God is said “to come.” God “comes” through an angel (Judges 6:11) or other incarnated being (cf. Genesis 18:14). He “appears” and speaks to men in dreams (Genesis 20:3) and in other actual manifestations (Exodus 20:20). For example, during the Exodus, God “appeared” in the cloud and fire that went before the people (Exodus 19:9).VED-OT Come.4

Secondly, God promises to “come” to the faithful wherever and whenever they properly worship Him (Exodus 20:24). The Philistines felt that God had “come” into the Israelite camp when the ark of the covenant arrived (1 Samuel 4:7). This usage associated with formal worship may appear in Psalms 24:7, where the gates of Zion are said to open as the King of glory “enters” Jerusalem. Also, the Lord is “to return” (“come back”) to the new temple described in Ezekiel 43:2.VED-OT Come.5

Finally, there is a group of prophetic pictures of divine “comings.” This theme may have originated in the hymns sung of God’s “coming” to aid His people in war (cf. Deuteronomy 33:2). In the Psalms (e.g., 50:3) and prophets (e.g., Isaiah 30:27), the Lord “comes” in judgment and blessing—a poetic figure of speech borrowed from ancient Near Eastern mythology (cf. Ezekiel 1:4).VED-OT Come.6

Bô' also is used to refer to the “coming” of the Messiah. In Zechariah 9:9, the messianic king is pictured as “coming” on a foal of a donkey. Some of the passages pose especially difficult problems, such as Genesis 49:10, which prophesies that the scepter will remain in Judah “until Shiloh come.” Another difficult passage is Ezekiel 21:27: “until he come whose right it is.” A very well-known prophecy using the verb bô' is that concerning the “coming” of the Son of Man (Daniel 7:13). Finally, there is the “coming” of the last day (Amos 8:2) and the Day of the Lord (Isaiah 13:6).VED-OT Come.7

The Septuagint translates this verb with many Greek words paralleling the connotations of the Hebrew verb, but especially with words meaning “to come,” “to enter,” and “to go.”VED-OT Come.8

Come Near, Approach

Nâgash (נָגַשׁ, Strong's #5066), “to approach, draw near, bring.” Found primarily in biblical Hebrew, this word is also found in ancient Ugaritic. It occurs 125 times in the Hebrew text of the Old Testament. Nâgash is used for the first time in the biblical text in Genesis 18:23, where Abraham is said to “draw near” to God to plead that Sodom be spared.The word is often used to describe ordinary “contact” of one person with another (Genesis 27:22; 43:19). Sometimes nâgash describes “contact” for the purpose of sexual intercourse (Exodus 19:15). More frequently, it is used to speak of the priests “coming into the presence of” God (Ezekiel 44:13) or of the priests’ “approach” to the altar (Exodus 30:20). Opposing armies are said “to draw near” to battle each other (Judges 20:23; KJV, “go up”). Inanimate objects, such as the close-fitting scales of the crocodile, are said to be so “near” to each other that no air can come between them (Job 41:16). Sometimes the word is used to speak of “bringing” an offering to the altar (Malachi 1:7).VED-OT Come Near, Approach.2

The English versions render nâgash variously, according to context: “went near” (RSV); “moved closer” (TEV); “came close” (JB, NEB, NASB).VED-OT Come Near, Approach.3

Come Up, Ascend

A. Verb.VED-OT Come Up, Ascend.2

‛Âlâh (עָלָה, Strong's #5927), “to go up, ascend, offer up.” This word occurs in all Semitic languages, including biblical Hebrew. The Old Testament attests it about 890 times.Basically, ‛âlâh suggests movement from a lower to a higher place. That is the emphasis in Genesis 2:6 (the first occurrence of the word), which reports that Eden was watered by a mist or stream that “went up” over the ground. ‛Âlâh may also mean “to rise up” or “ascend.” The king of Babylon said in his heart, “I will ascend into heaven” (Isaiah 14:13). This word may mean “to take a journey,” as in traveling from Egypt (Genesis 13:1) toward Palestine or other points northward. The verb may be used in a special sense meaning “to extend, reach”—for example, the border of Benjamin “went up [“extended, reached”] through the mountains westward” (Joshua 18:12).VED-OT Come Up, Ascend.3

The use of ‛âlâh to describe the journey from Egypt to Palestine is such a standard phrase that it often appears without the geographical reference points. Joseph told his brothers to “go up” to their father in peace (Genesis 44:17). Even the return from the Exile, which was a journey from north to south (Palestine), is described as a “going up” (Ezra 2:1). Thus, the reference may be not so much to physically “going up,” but to a figurative or spiritual “going up.” This usage appears long before Ezra’s time, when it is said that one “goes up” to the place where the sanctuary is located (cf. Deuteronomy 17:8). The verb became a technical term for “making a pilgrimage” (Exodus 34:24) or “going up” before the Lord; in a secular context, compare Joseph’s “going up” before Pharaoh (Genesis 46:31).VED-OT Come Up, Ascend.4

In instances where an enemy located himself in a superior position (frequently a higher place), one “goes up” to battle (Joshua 22:12). The verb can also refer merely to “going out” to make war against someone, even though there is no movement from a lower to a higher plane. So Israel “went up” to make war against the Moabites, who heard of the Israelites’ approach while still dwelling in their cities (2 Kings 3:21). Even when ‛âlâh is used by itself, it can mean “to go to war”; the Lord told Phinehas, “Go up; for tomorrow I will deliver them into thine hand” (Judges 20:28). On the other hand, if the enemy is recognized to be on a lower plane, one can “go down” (yarad) to fight (Judges 1:9). The opposite of “going up” to war is not descending to battle, but “leaving off” (‘alah me’al), literally, “going up from against.”VED-OT Come Up, Ascend.5

Another special use of ‛âlâh is “to overpower” (literally, “to go up from”). For example, the Pharaoh feared the Israelites lest in a war they join the enemy, fight against Egypt, and “overpower” the land (Exodus 1:10). “To go up” may also be used of “increasing in strength,” as the lion that becomes strong from his prey: The lion “goes up from his prey” (Genesis 49:9; cf. Deuteronomy 28:43).VED-OT Come Up, Ascend.6

Not only physical things can “go up.” ‛Âlâh can be used also of the “increasing” of wrath (2 Samuel 11:20), the “ascent” of an outcry before God (Exodus 2:23), and the “continual” sound of battle (although “sound of” is omitted; cf. 1 Kings 22:35). The word can also be used passively to denote mixing two kinds of garments together, causing one “to lie upon” or “be placed upon” the other (Leviticus 19:19). Sometimes “go up” means “placed,” even when the direction is downward, as when placing a yoke upon an ox (Numbers 19:2) or going to one’s grave (Job 5:26). This may be an illustration of how Hebrew verbs can sometimes mean their opposite. The verb is also used of “recording” a census (1 Chronicles 27:24).VED-OT Come Up, Ascend.7

The verb ‛âlâh is used in a causative stem to signify “presenting an offering” to God. In 63 cases, the word is associated with the presentation of the whole burnt offering (‘olah). ‛Âlâh is used of the general act of “presenting offerings” when the various offerings are mentioned in the same context (Leviticus 14:20), or when the purpose of the offering is not specifically in mind (Isaiah 57:6). Sometimes this verb means merely “to offer” (e.g., Numbers 23:2).VED-OT Come Up, Ascend.8

B. Nouns.VED-OT Come Up, Ascend.9

‛Elyôn (עֶלְיוֹן, Strong's #5945), “the upper; the highest.” This word occurs 53 times. The use of ‛elyôn in Genesis 40:17 means “the upper” as opposed to “the lower.” Where referring to or naming God, ‛elyôn means “the highest” (Genesis 14:18).Metsûllâh (מְצֻלָּה, 4699), “step; procession; pilgrimage.” In some of its 47 biblical appearances, metsûllâh signifies a “step” or “stair” (cf. Exodus 20:26). The word can also mean “procession” (Psalms 84:6).VED-OT Come Up, Ascend.10

Command

Tsâvâh (צָוָה, Strong's #6680), “to command.” This verb occurs only in biblical Hebrew (in all periods) and imperial Aramaic (starting from around 500 B C.). Biblical occurrences number around 485. Essentially, this verb refers to verbal communication by which a superior “orders” or “commands” a subordinate. The word implies the content of what was said. Pharaoh “ordered” (“commanded”) his men concerning Abraham, and they escorted Abraham and his party out of Egypt (Genesis 12:20). This “order” defines an action relevant to a specific situation. Tsâvâh can also connote “command” in the sense of the establishment of a rule by which a subordinate is to act in every recurring similar situation. In the Garden of Eden (the first appearance of this word in the Bible), God “commanded” (“set down the rule”): “Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: …” (Genesis 2:16). In this case, the word does not contain the content of the action but focuses on the action itself One of the recurring formulas in the Bible is “X did all that Y commanded him”—e.g., Ruth “did according to all that her mother-in-law bade her” (Ruth 3:6). This means that she carried out Naomi’s “orders.” A similar formula, “X did just as Y commanded,” is first found in Numbers 32:25, where the sons of Reuben and Gad say to Moses that they “will do as my lord commandeth.” These formulas indicate the accomplishment of, or the intention to accomplish, the “orders” of a superior.The verb tsâvâh can be used of a commission or charge, such as the act of “commanding,” “telling,” or “sending” someone to do a particular task. In Genesis 32:4, Jacob “commissioned” his servants to deliver a particular message to his brother Esau. They acted as his emissaries. Jacob commissioned (literally, “commanded”) his sons to bury him in the cave of Machpelah (Genesis 49:30), and then he died. This “command” constituted a last will and testament— an obligation or duty. The verb again indicates, therefore, appointing someone to be one’s emissary.VED-OT Command.2

The most frequent subject of this verb is God. However, He is not to be questioned or “commanded” to explain the work of His hands (Isaiah 45:11). He tells Israel that His “commands” are unique, requiring an inner commitment and not just external obedience, as the commands of men do (Genesis 29:13). His “ordering” is given to Moses from above the mercy seat (Exodus 25:22) and from His “commands” at Sinai (Leviticus 7:38; cf. 17:1ff.). At other times when He “commands,” the thing simply occurs; His word is active and powerful (Psalms 33:9). He also issues “orders” through and to the prophets (Jeremiah 27:4) who explain, apply, and speak His “commands” (Jeremiah 1:17).VED-OT Command.3

Commander

Śar (שַׂר, Strong's #8269), “official; leader; commander; captain; chief; prince; ruler.” This word, which has an Akkadian cognate, appears about 420 times in biblical Hebrew. The word is often applied to certain non-lsraelite “officials or representatives of the king.” This meaning appears in Genesis 12:15, its first biblical appearance: “The princes also of Pharaoh saw her [Sarah], and commended her before Pharaoh.…” In other contexts śar represents “men who clearly have responsibility over others”; they are “rulers or chieftains.” Śar may mean simply a “leader” of a profession, a group, or a district, as Phichol was the “commander” of Abimelech’s army (Genesis 21:22) and Potiphar was “an officer of Pharaoh’s and captain of the [body]guard” (Genesis 37:36). In such usage, “chief” means “head official” (cf. Genesis 40:2). Śarim (plural) were “honored men” (Isaiah 23:8).Śar is used of certain “notable men” within Israel. When Abner was killed by Joab, David said to his servants (palace officials), “Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel?” (2 Samuel 3:38; cf. Numbers 21:18). Joab, Abishai, and Ittai were “commanders” in David’s army (cf. 2 Samuel 23:19). “Local leaders in Israel” are also called śarim: “And the princes of Succoth said …” (Judges 8:6).VED-OT Commander.2

In several passages, śar refers to the task of “ruling.” Moses tried to break up a fight between two Hebrews and one of them asked him, “Who made thee a prince and a judge over us?” (Exodus 2:14). In such a context, śar means “leader,” “ruler,” and “judge”: “Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens …” (Exodus 18:21). The “commander” of Israel’s army was called a śar (1 Samuel 17:55). VED-OT Commander.3

In Judges 9:30, śar represents a “ruler” of a city. Any government official might be called a śar (Nehemiah 3:14). “Religious officiants” who served in the temple of God were also called śarim (Jeremiah 35:4).VED-OT Commander.4

The “leaders” or “chiefs” of the Levites (1 Chronicles 15:16) or priests (Ezra 8:24) are śarim. In 1 Chronicles 24:5, the word appears to be a title: “Thus were they divided by lot, one sort with another; for the governors of the sanctuary [śarim qodes] and governors of the house of God [śarim ha’elohim], were of the sons of Eleazar and of the sons of Ithamar” (NASB, “officers of the sanctuary” and “officers of God”).
In the Book of Daniel, śar is used of “superhuman beings” or “patron angels.” Thus, Michael is the “prince” of Judah (Daniel 10:21; cf. Joshua 5:14). Daniel 8:25 speaks of a king who will arise and “stand up against the Prince of princes” (i.e., the Messiah).VED-OT Commander.5

Commandment

Mitsvâh (מִצְוָה, Strong's #4687), “commandment.” This noun occurs 181 times in the Old Testament. Its first occurrence is in Genesis 26:5, where mitsvâh is synonymous with choq (“statute”) and torah (“law”): “Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” In the Pentateuch, God is always the Giver of the mitsvâh “All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers. And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no” (Deuteronomy 8:1-2). The “commandment” may be a prescription (“thou shalt do …”) or a proscription (“thou shalt not do …”). The commandments were given in thhearing of the Israelites (Exodus 15:26; Deuteronomy 11:13), who were to “do” (Leviticus 44:2ff.) and “keep” (Deuteronomy 4:2; Psalms 78:7) them. Any failure to do so signified a covenantal breach (Numbers 15:31), transgression (2 Chronicles 24:20), and apostasy (1 Kings 18:18).The plural of mitsvâh often denotes a “body of laws” given by divine revelation. They are God’s “word”: “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalms 119:9). They are also known as “the commandments of God.”VED-OT Commandment.2

Outside the Pentateuch, “commandments” are given by kings (1 Kings 2:43), fathers (Jeremiah 35:14), people (Isaiah 29:13), and teachers of wisdom (Proverbs 6:20; cf. 5:13). Only about ten percent of all occurrences in the Old Testament fit this category.VED-OT Commandment.3

The Septuagint translations are: entole (“commandment; order”) and prostagma (“order; commandment; injunction”).VED-OT Commandment.4

Companion

A. Nouns.VED-OT Companion.2

Rêa‛ (רֵיעַ, Strong's #7453), “friend; companion.” This noun is also represented in Akkadian, Ugaritic, and Aramaic. Rêa‛ appears 187 times in the Hebrew Old Testament, and it has an extensive range of meaning.The basic meaning of rêa‛ is in the narrow usage of the word. A rêa‛ is a “personal friend” with whom one shares confidences and to whom one feels very close: “And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend” (Exodus 33:11). The closeness of relationship is best expressed by those texts where the rêa‛ is like a brother or son, a part of the family: “For my brethren and companions’ sakes …” (Psalms 122:8, cf. Deuteronomy 13:6). For this reason, when Zimri became king over Israel he killed not only all relatives of Baasha, but also his “friends” (1 Kings 16:11). In this sense, the word is a synonym of ‘ah (“brother”) and of qarob (“kin”): “… Go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion and every man his neighbor” (Exodus 32:27).VED-OT Companion.3

Similar to the above is the sense of “marriage partner”: “His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend O daughters of Jerusalem” (Song of Song of Solomon 5:16). However, rêa‛ may also signify “illegitimate partners”: “… If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man’s, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou has played the harlot with many lovers (rêa‛); yet return again to me, saith the Lord” (Jeremiah 3:1). The prophet Hosea was commanded to take back his wife from her “friend” (lover), as she had played the adulteress long enough.VED-OT Companion.4

The wider usage of rêa‛ resembles the English word neighbor the person with whom one associates regularly or casually without establishing close relations. One may borrow from his “neighbor” (Exodus 22:14), but not bear false witness (Exodus 20:16) nor covet his neighbor’s possessions (Exodus 20:17-18). The laws regulate how one must not take advantage of one’s “neighbors.” The second greatest commandment, which Jesus reiterated—“Love thy neighbor as thyself” (Leviticus 19:18)—receives reinforcement in the laws of the Pentateuch. The prophets charged Israel with breaking the commandment: They oppressed each other (Isaiah 3:5) and desired their neighbors’ wives (Jeremiah 5:8); they committed adultery with these women (Ezekiel 18:6); they did not pay wages to the worker (Jeremiah 22:13); and they improperly took advantage of their “neighbors” (Ezekiel 22:12). According to Proverbs, not loving one’s neighbor is a sign of foolishness (Proverbs 11:12).VED-OT Companion.5

The wider meaning comes to expression in the proverb of the rich man and his “friends”: “Wealth maketh many friends; but the poor is separated from his neighbor” (Proverbs 19:4). Here the “friend” is a person whose association is not long-lasting, whose friendship is superficial.VED-OT Companion.6

The Septuagint gives the following translations: plesion (“near; close by”), philos (“friend”). The KJV gives these senses: “neighbor; friend; fellow; companion.” Re’eh also means “friend.” This noun appears in 1 Kings 4:5: “… Zabud the son of Nathan was principal officer, and the king’s friend.…”VED-OT Companion.7

Re’ah refers to a “female friend.” See Judges 11:37 for this usage: “And she said unto her father … let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows " (cf. Judges 11:38; Psalms 45:14). The noun re’ut means “beloved companion; bride.” Ra’yah occurs many times in the Song of Solomon: 1:9, 15; 2:2, 10, 13; 4:1, 7; 5:2; 6:4. Re’ut refers to a “fellow woman.” This word is usually translated idiomatically in a reciprocal phrase of “one another,” as in Zechariah 11:9: “Then said I, I will not feed you: that that dieth, let it die; and that that is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let the rest eat every one the flesh of another."VED-OT Companion.8

B. Verb.VED-OT Companion.9

Râ‛âh (רָעָה, Strong's #7462), “to associate with.” This word appears in Proverbs 22:24: “Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go.…”VED-OT Companion.10

Compassion, Merciful

A. Verb.VED-OT Compassion, Merciful.2

Râcham (רָחַם, Strong's #7355), “to have compassion, be merciful, pity.” The words from this root are found 125 times in all parts of the Old Testament. The root is also found in Assyrian, Ethiopic, and Aramaic.The verb is translated “love” once: “I will love thee, O Lord …” (Psalms 18:1). Râcham is also used in God’s promise to declare His name to Moses: “I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy” (Exodus 33:19). So men pray: “Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies and thy loving-kindnesses” (Psalms 25:6); and Isaiah prophesies messianic restoration: “… With great mercies will I gather thee.… But with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer” (Isaiah 54:7-8). This is the heart of salvation by the suffering Servant-Messiah.VED-OT Compassion, Merciful.3

B. Nouns.VED-OT Compassion, Merciful.4

Rechem (רֶחֶם, Strong's #7358), “bowels; womb; mercy.” The first use of rechem is in its primary meaning of “womb”: “The Lord had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech” (Genesis 20:18). The word is personified in Judges 5:30: “Have they not divided the prey; to every man a damsel or two …?” In another figurative sense, the KJV reads in 1 Kings 3:26: “Her bowels yearned upon her son,” which the NIV translates more idiomatically: "[She] was filled with compassion for her son.” The greatest frequency is in this figurative sense of “tender love,” such as a mother has for the child she has borne.Racham (רַחֲמִים, 7356), “bowels; mercies; compassion.” This noun, always used in the plural intensive, occurs in Genesis 43:14: “And God Almighty give you mercy [NASB, “compassion”].” In Genesis 43:30, it is used of Joseph’s feelings toward Benjamin: “His bowels did yearn upon his brother.” (NIV, “He was deeply moved at the sight of his brother.”) Racham is most often used of God, as by David in 2 Samuel 24:14: “Let us fall now into the hand of the Lord; for his mercies are great.…” We have the equivalent Aramaic word in Daniel’s request to his friends: “That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret …” (Daniel 2:18).VED-OT Compassion, Merciful.5

The Greek version of the Old Testament racham consists chiefly of three groups of words that come into the New Testament. Eleos is the most important, and it is used to translate several Hebrew words. Mary’s song recalls the promise in Psalms 103:11, 17, where eleos translates both rechem and chesed as “mercy”: “His mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation” (Luke 1:50). Racham is probably behind the often-heard plea: “Thou son of David, have mercy on us” (Matthew 9:27).VED-OT Compassion, Merciful.6

C. Adjective.VED-OT Compassion, Merciful.7

Rachûm (רַחוּם, Strong's #7349), “compassionate; merciful.” The adjective is used in that important proclamation of God’s name to Moses: “The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious …” (Exodus 34:6, NASB, NIV, “compassionate”).VED-OT Compassion, Merciful.8

Complete

A. Verb.VED-OT Complete.2

Shâlam (שָׁלֵם, Strong's #7999), “to finish, complete, repay, reward.” The Hebrew root denotes perfection in the sense that a condition or action is “complete.” This concept emerges when a concrete object is described. When sufficient building materials were at hand and workmen had enough time to apply them, “the wall [of Jerusalem] was finished” at the time of Nehemiah (Nehemiah 6:15). However, this Hebrew root is also found in words with so many nuances and applications that at times its original and basic intent is all but obscured. In the NASB, for example, shâlam is represented with such words as: “fulfill, make up, restore, pay, repay, full, whole, wholly, entire, without harm, friendly, peaceably, to be at peace, make peace, safe, reward, retribution, restitution, recompense, vengeance, bribe, peace offering.”Perfection and completeness is primarily attributed to God. He is deficient in nothing; His attributes are not marred by any shortcomings; His power is not limited by weakness. God reminded Job of His uninhibited independence and absolute self-sufficiency: “Who hath prevented me, that I should repay him? Whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine” (Job 41:11). And Job himself admitted: “And who shall repay him what he hath done?” (Job 21:31).VED-OT Complete.3

Without any deficiency or flaw in executing justice, God is likewise never lacking in mercy and power to bestow benevolences of every kind. Job is told by his friend: “If thou wert pure … he would make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous” (Job 8:6). He can make it happen that “… to the righteous good shall be repaid” (Proverbs 13:21). Cyrus says of the Lord: “He … shall perform all my pleasure” (Isaiah 44:28). The Lord will also “… restore comforts unto him and to his mourners” who wept in the Babylonian exile (Isaiah 57:18).VED-OT Complete.4

The God of perfect justice and goodness expects total devotion from His creatures. Job, suspected of not rendering the required obedience to his Maker, is therefore urged to “be at peace [with God]” (Job 22:21).VED-OT Complete.5

The concept of meeting one’s obligation in full is basic in human relationships. Israel’s social law required that the person causing injury or loss “… shall surely make it good” (Exodus 22:14). “And he that killeth a beast shall make it good; beast for beast” (Leviticus 24:18). In some instances, an offender “… shall pay double unto his neighbor” (Exodus 22:9). David declared that the rich man who slaughtered the poor man’s only lamb “… shall restore the lamb fourfold …” (2 Samuel 12:6). Debts were not to be left unpaid. After providing the widow with the amount needed, Elisha directed her: “Go sell the oil, and pay [shâlam] thy debt …” (2 Kings 4:7). “The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again …” (Psalms 37:21). A robber who has mended his ways “… give[s] again that he had robbed …” (Ezekiel 33:15).VED-OT Complete.6

National relationships were established on the basis of “complete” negotiations. Thus cities and peoples “made peace with Israel” after they agreed to Joshua’s stipulations (Joshua 10:1). War between the two kingdoms ended when Jehoshaphat “… made peace with the king of Israel” (1 Kings 22:44).VED-OT Complete.7

B. Adjective.VED-OT Complete.8

Shâlêm (שָׁלֵם, Strong's #8003), “perfect.” God demanded total obedience from His people: “Let [their] heart therefore be perfect with the Lord our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments …” (1 Kings 8:61). Solomon failed to meet this requirement because “… his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God” (1 Kings 11:4). Hezekiah, on the other hand, protested: “… I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart” (2 Kings 20:3).In business transactions, the Israelites were required to “… have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure …” (Deuteronomy 25:15).VED-OT Complete.9

Confess

Yâdâh (יָדָה, Strong's #3034), “to confess, praise, give thanks.” The root, translated “confess” or “confession” about twenty times in the KJV, is also frequently rendered “praise” or “give thanks.” At first glance, the meanings may appear unrelated. But upon closer inspection, it becomes evident that each sense profoundly illumines and interprets the other.VED-OT Confess.2

Yâdâh overlaps in meaning with a number of other Hebrew words implying “praise,” such as halal (whence halleluyah). Man is occasionally the object of yâdâh; but far more commonly, God is the object.VED-OT Confess.3

The usual context seems to be public worship, where the worshipers affirm and renew their relationship with God. The subject is not primarily the isolated individual, but the congregation. Especially in the hymns and thanksgivings of the Psalter, it is evident that yâdâh is a recital of, and thanksgiving for, Yahweh’s mighty acts of salvation.VED-OT Confess.4

An affirmation or confession of God’s undeserved kindness throws man’s unworthiness into sharp relief. Hence, a confession of sin may be articulated in the same breath as a confession of faith or praise and thanksgiving. The confession is not a moralistic, autobiographical catalogue of sins—individual infractions of a legal code— but a confession of the underlying sinfulness that engulfs all mankind and separates us from the holy God. God is even to be praised for His judgments, by which He awakens repentance (e.g., Psalms 51:4). So one is not surprised to find praises in penitential contexts, and vice versa (1 Kings 88:33ff.; Nehemiah 99:2ff.; Daniel 99:4ff.). If praise inevitably entails confession of sin, the reverse is also true: The sure word of forgiveness elicits praise and thanksgiving on the confessor’s part. This wells up almost automatically from the new being of the repentant person.VED-OT Confess.5

Often the direct object of yâdâh is the “name” of Yahweh (e.g., Psalms 105:1; Isaiah 12:4; 1 Chronicles 16:8). In one sense, this idiom is simply synonymous with praising Yahweh. In another sense, however, it introduces the entire dimension evoked by the “name” in biblical usage. It reminds us that the holy God cannot be directly approached by fallen man, but only through His “name”—i.e., His Word and reputation, an anticipation of the incarnation. God reveals Himself only in His “name,” especially in the sanctuary where He “causes His name to dwell” (a phrase especially frequent in Deuteronomy).VED-OT Confess.6

The vista of yâdâh expands both vertically and horizontally—vertically to include all creation, and horizontally stretching forward to that day when praise and thanksgiving shall be eternal (e.g., Psalms 29; 95:10; Psalms 96:7-9; Psalms 103:19-22).VED-OT Confess.7

Confront

Qâdam (קָדַם, 6923), “to meet, confront, go before, be before.” This verb occurs 27 times and in every period of biblical Hebrew. Most often, this verb is used in a martial context. Such confrontations may be peaceful, as in the meeting of allies: “For thou [dost meet] him with the blessings of goodness …” (Psalms 21:3). They may also be hostile: “The sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares of death confronted (KJV, “prevented”) me” (2 Samuel 22:6).VED-OT Confront.2

Congregation

‛Êdâh (עֵדָה, Strong's #5712), “congregation.” This word may have etymologically signified a “company assembled together” for a certain purpose, similar to the Greek words sunagoge and ekklesia, from which our words “synagogue” and “church” are derived. In ordinary usage, ‛êdâh refers to a “group of people.” It occurs 149 times in the Old Testament, most frequently in the Book of Numbers. The first occurrence is in Exodus 12:3, where the word is a synonym for qahal “assembly.”The most general meaning of ‛êdâh is “group,” whether of animals—such as a swarm of bees (Judges 14:8), a herd of bulls (Psalms 68:30), and the flocking together of birds (Hosea 7:12)— or of people, such as the righteous (Psalms 1:5), the evildoers (Psalms 22:16), and the nations (Psalms 7:7).VED-OT Congregation.2

The most frequent reference is to the “congregation of Israel” (9 times), “the congregation of the sons of Israel” (26 times), “the congregation” (24 times), or “all of the congregation” (30 times). Elders (Leviticus 4:15), family heads (Numbers 31:26), and princes (Numbers 16:2; 31:13; 32:2) were placed in charge of the “congregation” in order to assist Moses in a just rule.VED-OT Congregation.3

The Septuagint translation is sunagoge (“place of assembly”). The KJV has these translations: “congregation; company; assembly.”VED-OT Congregation.4

Mô‛êd (מוֹעָדָה, 4150), “appointed place of meeting; meeting.” The noun mô‛êd appears in the Old Testament 223 times, of which 160 times are in the Pentateuch. The historical books are next in the frequency of usage (27 times).VED-OT Congregation.5

The word mô‛êd keeps its basic meaning of “appointed,” but varies as to what is agreed upon or appointed according to the context: the time, the place, or the meeting itself. The usage of the verb in Amos 3:3 is illuminating: “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” Whether they have agreed on a time or a place of meeting, or on the meeting itself, is ambiguous.VED-OT Congregation.6

The meaning of mô‛êd is fixed within the context of Israel’s religion. First, the festivals came to be known as the “appointed times” or the set feasts. These festivals were clearly prescribed in the Pentateuch. The word refers to any “festival” or “pilgrimage festival,” such as Passover (Leviticus 233:15ff.), the feast of first fruits (Leviticus 233:15ff.), the feast of tabernacles (Leviticus 233:33ff.), or the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 23:27). God condemned the people for observing the mô‛êd ritualistically: “Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth …” (Isaiah 1:14).VED-OT Congregation.7

The word mô‛êd also signifies a “fixed place.” This usage is not frequent: “For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation [mô‛êd], in the sides of the north …” (Isaiah 14:13). “For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, and to the house appointed for all living” (Job 30:23).VED-OT Congregation.8

In both meanings of mô‛êd—“fixed time” and “fixed place”—a common denominator is the “meeting” of two or more parties at a certain place and time—hence the usage of mô‛êd as “meeting.” However, in view of the similarity in meaning between “appointed place” or “appointed time” and “meeting,” translators have a real difficulty in giving a proper translation in each context. For instance, “He hath called an assembly [mô‛êd] against me” (Lamentations 1:15) could be read: “He has called an appointed time against me” (NASB) or “He summoned an army against me” (NIV).VED-OT Congregation.9

The phrase, “tabernacle of the congregation,” is a translation of the Hebrew ‘ohel mô‛êd (“tent of meeting”). The phrase occurs 139 times— mainly in Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers, rarely in Deuteronomy. It signifies that the Lord has an “appointed place” by which His presence is represented and through which Israel was assured that their God was with them. The fact that the tent was called the “tent of meeting” signifies that Israel’s God was among His people and that He was to be approached at a certain time and place that were “fixed” (ya’ad) in the Pentateuch. In the KJV, this phrase is translated as “tabernacle of the congregation” (Exodus 28:43) because translators realized that the noun mô‛êd (“congregation”) is derived from the same root as mô‛êd. The translators of the Septuagint had a similar difficulty. They noticed the relation of mô‛êd to the root ‘ud (“to testify”) and translated the phrase ’ohel hamo’ed as “tabernacle of the testimony.” This phrase was picked up by the New Testament: “And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened …” (Revelation 15:5).VED-OT Congregation.10

Of the three meanings, the appointed “time” is most basic. The phrase “tent of meeting” lays stress on the “place of meeting.” The “meeting” itself is generally associated with “time” or “place.”VED-OT Congregation.11

The Septuagint has the following translations of mô‛êd: kairos (time^w), eortel (“feast; festival”). The English translators give these senses: “congregation” (KJV, RSV, NASB, NIV); “appointed time” (NASB); “appointed feast” (RSV, NASB); “set time” (RSV, NASB, NIV).VED-OT Congregation.12

Consume

A. Verb. VED-OT Consume.2

Kâlâh (כָּלָה, Strong's #3615), “to cease, be finished, perish, be completed.” This verb occurs in most Semitic languages and in all periods. In Hebrew, it occurs both in the Bible (about 210 times) and in post-biblical literature. The word does not appear in biblical Aramaic.VED-OT Consume.3

Basically, the word means “to cease or stop.” Kâlâh may refer to the “end” of a process or action, such as the cessation of God’s creating the universe: “And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made …” (Genesis 2:2—the first occurrence of the word). The word can also refer to the “disappearance” of something: “And the water was kâlâh in the bottle …” (Genesis 21:15). Finally, kâlâh can be used of “coming to an end” or “the process of ending”: “The barrel of meal shall not waste” (1 Kings 17:14).VED-OT Consume.4

Kâlâh can have the more positive connotation of “successfully completing” something. 1 Kings 6:38 says that the house of the Lord was “finished throughout all the parts thereof, and according to all [its plans].” In this same sense, the word of the Lord “is fulfilled”: “Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation …” (Ezra 1:1).VED-OT Consume.5

Kâlâh sometimes means “making a firm decision.” David tells Jonathan that if Saul is very angry, “be sure that evil is determined by him” (1 Samuel 20:7).VED-OT Consume.6

N egatively, “to complete” something may mean “to make it vanish” or “go away.” Kâlâh is used in this sense in Deuteronomy 32:23, when God says: “I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them.” In other words, His arrows will “vanish” from His possession. This nuance is used especially of clouds: “As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away …” (Job 7:9). Another negative nuance is to “destroy” something or someone: “the famine shall consume the land” (Genesis 41:30). Along this same line is the use of kâlâh in Isaiah 1:28: “… They that forsake the Lord shall be consumed”; here, however, the verb is a synonym for “dying” or “perishing.” One’s sight may also “vanish” and one may go blind: “But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and they shall not escape …” (Job 11:20). An altogether different emphasis appears when one’s heart comes “to an end” or “stops within”: “My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord” (Psalms 84:2); the psalmist probably meant that his desire for God’s presence was so intense that nothing else had any meaning for him—he “died” to be there.VED-OT Consume.7

B. Noun.VED-OT Consume.8

Kâlâh (כָּלָה, Strong's #3617), “consumption; complete annihilation.” Kâlâh appears 15 times; one occurrence is Nehemiah 9:31: “Nevertheless for thy great mercies’ sake thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them;.…”VED-OT Consume.9

Consumed, to Be

A. Verb. VED-OT Consumed, to Be.2

Tâmam (תָּמַם, Strong's #8552), “to be complete, finished, perfect, spent, sound, used up, have integrity.” Found in both ancient and modern Hebrew, this word also exists in ancient Ugaritic. Tâmam is found approximately 60 times in the Hebrew Old Testament in its verbal forms.VED-OT Consumed, to Be.3

The basic meaning of this word is that of “being complete” or “finished,” with nothing else expected or intended. When it was said that the temple was “finished” (1 Kings 6:22), this meant that the temple was “complete,” with nothing else to add. Similarly, when the notation is made in Job 31:40, “The words of Job are ended [finished],” this indicates that the cycle of Job’s speeches is “complete.” Tâmam is sometimes used to express the fact that something is “completed” or “finished” with regard to its supply. Thus, money that is all spent is “finished” or “exhausted” (Genesis 47:15, 18). Jeremiah was given bread daily until “all the bread in the city [was] spent [exhausted]” (Jeremiah 37:21). When a people came “to a full end” (Numbers 14:35, RSV), it meant that they were “consumed” or “completely destroyed.” To “consume” the filthiness out of the people (Ezekiel 22:15) meant “to destroy it” or “to make an end of it.”VED-OT Consumed, to Be.4

Tâmam sometimes expresses moral and ethical “soundness”: “Then shall I be upright” (Psalms 19:13), says the psalmist, when God helps him to keep God’s Law.VED-OT Consumed, to Be.5

B. Adjective. VED-OT Consumed, to Be.6

Tâm (תָּם, Strong's #8535), “perfect.” When the adjectival form tâm is used to describe Job (1:1), the meaning is not that he was really “perfect” in the ultimate sense, but rather that he was “blameless” (RSV) or “had integrity.”VED-OT Consumed, to Be.7

Continually

A. Adverb. VED-OT Continually.2

Tâmı̂yd (תָּמִיד, Strong's #8548), “always; continually: regularly.” This word comes from a root that means “to measure.” The root is found in Assyrian, Aramaic, Arabic, and Phoenician. Tâmı̂yd occurs 100 times in all parts of the Old Testament. It signifies what is to be done regularly or continuously without interruption.VED-OT Continually.3

Tâmı̂yd is first used in Exodus 25:30: “And thou shalt set upon the table showbread before me always” (KJV; NASB, “at all times”). Sometimes the continuity is explained by what follows, as in Isaiah 21:8: “… My lord, I stand continually upon the watchtower in the daytime, and I am set in my ward whole nights.”VED-OT Continually.4

Because of his covenant with Jonathan, David said to Mephibosheth: “… And you shall eat at my table regularly” (2 Samuel 9:7; cf. 2 Samuel 9:10, NASB; KJV, “continually”; RSV, “always”).VED-OT Continually.5

Tâmı̂yd occurs most frequently of the daily rituals in the tabernacle and temple: “Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar; two lambs of the first year day by day continually” (Exodus 29:38). The variety in the English versions indicates that both ideas—regularity and continuousness—are present in the Hebrew word. In this passage, tâmı̂yd indicates that these rituals were to be performed regularly and without interruption for the duration of the old covenant.VED-OT Continually.6

The word is also used of God. It describes His visible presence at the tabernacle: “So it was always: the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night” (Numbers 9:16). It describes His care for His people: “… let thy loving-kindness and thy truth continually preserve me” (Psalms 40:11); “And the Lord shall guide thee continually …” (Isaiah 58:11).VED-OT Continually.7

Tâmı̂yd is also used of Jerusalem: “… thy walls are continually before me” (Isaiah 49:16). The word describes man’s response to God: “I have set the Lord always before me” (Psalms 16:8); “… his praise shall continually be in my mouth” (Psalms 34:1); “So I shall keep thy law continually, for ever and ever” (Psalms 119:44). In contrast, Israel is “a people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face” (Isaiah 65:3). Finally, it is said of Zion eschatologically: “Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night” (Isaiah 60:11).VED-OT Continually.8

B. Adjective. VED-OT Continually.9

Tâmı̂yd (תָּמִיד, 8548), “continual.” In Exodus 30:7-8, Aaron is commanded to burn incense morning and evening when he trims the lamps. He is told to offer “… a perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations” (KJV). The same Hebrew expression is used often of priestly functions (cf. Numbers 28:6; Ezekiel 46:15).VED-OT Continually.10

Continuity

A. Noun. VED-OT Continuity.2

Tâmı̂yd (תָּמִיד, Strong's #8548), “continuity.” Tâmı̂yd is often used as a noun. In Numbers 4:7, the word is used with “bread,” literally meaning “the bread of continuity” (NASB, “the continual bread”) or the bread that is “always there.” In other groups of passages, the word emphasizes “regular repetition”: for example, Exodus 29:42 mentions, literally, “the burnt offering of continuity” (NASB, “continual burnt offering”), or the offering made every morning and evening. The “daily sacrifice” of Daniel 8:11 is also this continual burnt offering.VED-OT Continuity.3

The nonreligious usage indicates that tâmı̂yd describes “continuity in time,” in the sense of a routine or habit. Tâmı̂yd may also have the connotation of a routine that comes to an end when the job is completed: “And they shall sever out men of continual employment, passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search” (Ezekiel 39:14).VED-OT Continuity.4

B. Adverb. VED-OT Continuity.5

Tâmı̂yd (תָּמִיד, Strong's #8548), “continually; at all times; ever.” A cognate of this word appears in Arabic. Biblical Hebrew attests it in all periods.VED-OT Continuity.6

The word is used as an adverb meaning “continually.” In its first occurrence, tâmı̂yd represents “uninterrupted action”: “And thou shalt set upon the table showbread before me always” (Exodus 25:30). In Jeremiah 6:7, we read: “… Before me continually is grief and wounds.” In many passages, tâmı̂yd bears the nuance of “regular repetition”: “Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar; two lambs of the first year day by day continually. The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer at even …” (Exodus 29:38-39).VED-OT Continuity.7

In poetic usage, tâmı̂yd is found in the context of a fervent religious expression: “Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord; for he shall pluck my feet out of the net” (Psalms 25:15). It may express a firm belief in God’s faithfulness: “Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O Lord: let thy loving-kindness and thy truth continually preserve me” (Psalms 40:11).VED-OT Continuity.8

Copper

Nechôsheth (נְחשֶׁת, Strong's #5178), “copper; bronze; bronze chains.” Cognates of this word appear in Phoenician, Aramaic, Arabic, and Ethiopic. It is attested about 136 times in biblical Hebrew and in all periods.VED-OT Copper.2

Nechôsheth basically means “copper.” This word refers to the metal ore: “A land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig [copper]” (Deuteronomy 8:9). The word can also represent the refined ore: “And Zillah, she also bare Tubal-cain, an instructor of every artificer in copper [KJV, “brass”; NASB, “bronze”] and iron” (Genesis 4:22).VED-OT Copper.3

Inasmuch as it was a semiprecious metal, nechôsheth is sometimes listed as a spoil of war (2 Samuel 8:8). In such passages, it is difficult to know whether the reference is to copper or to copper mixed with tin (i.e., bronze). Certainly, “bronze” is intended in 1 Samuel 17:5, where nechôsheth refers to the material from which armor is made. Bronze is the material from which utensils (Leviticus 6:21), altars (Exodus 38:30), and other objects were fashioned. This material could be polished (1 Kings 7:45) or shined (Ezra 8:27). This metal was less valuable than gold and more valuable than wood (Isaiah 60:17).VED-OT Copper.4

Still another meaning of nechôsheth appears in Judges 16:21: “But the Philistines took [Samson], and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of [bronze]; and he did grind in the prison house.” Usually, when the word has this meaning it appears in the dual form (in the singular form only in Lamentations 3:7).VED-OT Copper.5

Deuteronomy 28:23 uses nechôsheth to symbolize the cessation of life-giving rain and sunshine: “And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be [bronze], and the earth that is under thee shall be iron.”VED-OT Copper.6

Cord

Chebel (חֶבֶל, Strong's #2256), “cord; rope; tackle; measuring line; measurement; allotment; portion; region.” Cognates of this word appear in Aramaic, Syriac, Ethiopic, Arabic, and Akkadian. The word appears about 50 times in the Old Testament. )VED-OT Cord.2

Chebel primarily means “cord” or “rope.” “Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was built into the city wall” (Joshua 2:15, RSV). The word is used of “tent ropes” in Isaiah 33:20: “… A tabernacle that shall not be taken down … neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken.” A ship’s “tackle” is the meaning of chebel in Isaiah 33:23.VED-OT Cord.3

Used figuratively, chebel emphasizes “being bound.” In 1 Kings 20:31, we read that the Syrians who fled into Aphek proposed to put sackcloth on their heads as a sign of repentance for attacking Israel, and to put “ropes” about their necks as a sign of submission to Israel’s authority. Snares used “cords” or “ropes,” forming a web or a noose into which the prey stepped and was caught. In this manner, the wicked would be caught by God (Job 18:10). In many passages, death is pictured as a hunter whose trap has been sprung and whose quarry is captured by the “cords” of the trap: “The cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me” (2 Samuel 22:6, RSV).VED-OT Cord.4

In other cases, the thing that “binds” is good: “I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love …” (Hosea 11:4). Ecclesiastes 12:6 pictures human life as being held together by a silver “cord.”VED-OT Cord.5

A “cord” could be used as a “measuring line”: “And he smote Moab, and measured them with a line, casting them down to the ground; even with two lines measured he to put to death, and with one full line to keep alive” (2 Samuel 8:2). This meaning of chebel also occurs in Psalms 78:55: “… And [He] divided them an inheritance by line.” Compare Micah 2:5: “Therefore thou shalt have none that shall cast a cord by lot in the congregation of the Lord.” The act referred to by Micah appears in Psalms 16:6 as an image of one’s life in general: “The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.” )VED-OT Cord.6

Chebel also means “the thing measured or allotted”: “For the Lord’s portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance” (Deuteronomy 32:9). Here the use is clearly figurative, but in 1 Chronicles 16:18 the “portion” of Israel’s inheritance is a concrete “measured thing”; this nuance first appears in Joshua 17:5. In passages such as Deuteronomy 3:4, the word is used of a “region” or “a measured area”: “… Threescore cities, all the region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan.”VED-OT Cord.7

The word may refer to a group of people, describing them as that which is tied together— “a band”: “… Thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place …” (1 Samuel 10:5).VED-OT Cord.8

Counsel, to

A. Verb.VED-OT Counsel, to.2

Yâ‛ats (יָעַץ, Strong's #3289), “to advise, counsel, consult.” Used throughout the history of the Hebrew language, this verb occurs in the Hebrew Old Testament approximately 80 times. Yâ‛ats is found first in Exodus 18:19, where Jethro says to his son-in-law Moses: “I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee.” The word is found only one other time in the Hexateuch, and that is in Numbers 24:14: “I will advise you” (NASB, RSV, “I will let you know”; JB, “let me warn you”; NEB, “I will warn you”).VED-OT Counsel, to.3

While yâ‛ats most often describes the “giving of good advice,” the opposite is sometimes true. A tragic example was the case of King Ahaziah of Judah, whose mother “was his counselor to do wickedly” (2 Chronicles 22:3). The idea of “decision” is expressed in Isaiah 23:9: “The Lord of hosts hath purposed it” (RSV, NEB, NASB, “planned it”; JB, “decision”).VED-OT Counsel, to.4

B. Nouns.VED-OT Counsel, to.5

Yâ‛ats (יָעַץ, Strong's #3289), “counselor.” Perhaps the most familiar use of this root is the noun form found in the messianic passage, Isaiah 9:6. On the basis of the syntax involved, it is probably better to translate the familiar “Wonderful Counselor” (NASB, TEV) as Wonder- Counsellor (JB, NAB) or “Wonder of a Counsellor.” The NEB renders it “in purpose wonderful.” Another possibility is that of separating the terms: “Wonderful, Counselor” (KJV).VED-OT Counsel, to.6

Yâ‛ats (יָעַץ, Strong's #3289), “those who give counsel.” Yâ‛ats is frequently used in its participial form, “those who give counsel,” especially in connection with political and military leaders (2 Samuel 15:12; 1 Chronicles 13:1).VED-OT Counsel, to.7

Court

Châtsêr (חָצֵר, Strong's #2691), “court; enclosure.” This word is related to a common Semitic verb that has two meanings: “to be present,” in the sense of living at a certain place (encampment, residence, court), and “to enclose, surround, press together.” In the Hebrew Old Testament, châtsêr appears about 190 times; its usage is welldistributed throughout, except for the minor prophets.VED-OT Court.2

In some Hebrew dictionaries, the usage of châtsêr as “settled abode,” “settlement,” or “village” is separated from the meaning “court.” But most modern dictionaries identify only one root with two related meanings.VED-OT Court.3

The first biblical occurrence of châtsêr is in Genesis 25:16: “These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their towns and by their castles; twelve princes according to their nations.” Here châtsêr is related to the first meaning of the root; this occurs less frequently than the usage meaning “court.” The châtsêr (“settlement”) was a place where people lived without an enclosure to protect them. The word is explained in Leviticus 25:31: “But the houses of the villages which have no wall round about them shall be counted as the fields of the country: they may be redeemed, and they shall go out in the jubilee.” Châtsêr signifies the “settlements” of seminomadic peoples: the Ishmaelites (Genesis 25:16), the Avim (Deuteronomy 2:23), and Kedar (Isaiah 42:11).VED-OT Court.4

Châtsêr also denotes a “settlement” of people outside the city wall. The cities of Canaan were relatively small and could not contain the whole population. In times of peace, residents of the city might build homes and workshops for themselves outside the wall and establish a separate quarter. If the population grew, the king or governor often decided to enclose the new quarter by surrounding it with a wall and incorporating the section into the existing city, in order to protect the population from bandits and warriors. Jerusalem gradually extended its size westward; at the time of Hezekiah, it had grown into a large city. Huldah the prophetess lived in such a development, known in Hebrew as the mishneh: “… she dwelt in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter” (2 Kings 22:14, RSV).VED-OT Court.5

The Book of Joshua includes Israel’s victories in Canaan’s major cities as well as the suburbs: “Ain, Remmon, and Ether, and Ashan; four cities and their villages …” (19:7; cf. 15:45, 47; 21:12).VED-OT Court.6

The predominant usage of châtsêr is “court,” whether of a house, a palace, or the temple. Each house generally had a courtyard surrounded by a wall or else one adjoined several homes: “Nevertheless a lad saw them, and told Absalom: but they went both of them away quickly, and came to a man’s house in Bahurim, which had a well in his court; whither they went down” (2 Samuel 17:18). Solomon’s palace had several “courts”— an outer “court,” an “enclosed space” around the palace, and a “court” around which the palace was built. Similarly, the temple had various courts. The psalmist expressed his joy in being in the “courts” of the temple, where the birds built their nests (Psalms 84:3); “For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness” (Psalms 84:10). God’s people looked forward to the thronging together of all the people in God’s “courts”: “… In the courts of the Lord’s house, in the midst of thee, O Jerusalem” (Psalms 116:19).VED-OT Court.7

The Septuagint translations are: aule (“courtyard; farm; house; outer court; palace”), epaulis (“farm; homestead; residence”), and kome (“village; small town”). The KJV gives these translations: “court; village; town.”VED-OT Court.8

Covenant

Berı̂yth (בְּרִית, Strong's #1285), “covenant; league; confederacy.” This word is most probably derived from an Akkadian root meaning “to fetter”; it has parallels in Hittite, Egyptian, Assyrian, and Aramaic. Berı̂yth is used over 280 times and in all parts of the Old Testament. The first occurrence of the word is in Genesis 6:18: “But with thee [Noah] will I establish my covenant.”VED-OT Covenant.2

The KJV translates berı̂yth fifteen times as “league”: “… Now therefore make ye a league with us” (Joshua 9:6). These are all cases of political agreement within Israel (2 Samuel 3:12-13, 21; 5:3) or between nations (1 Kings 15:19). Later versions may use “covenant,” “treaty,” or “compact,” but not consistently. In Judges 2:2, the KJV has: “And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land.…” The command had been also given in Exodus 23:32; Exodus 34:12-16; and Deuteronomy 7:2-6, where the KJV has “covenant.” The KJV translates berı̂yth as “covenant” 260 times. The word is used of “agreements between men,” as Abraham and Abimelech (Genesis 21:32): “Thus they made a covenant at Beer-sheba.…” David and Jonathan made a “covenant” of mutual protection that would be binding on David’s descendants forever (1 Samuel 18:3; 1 Samuel 20:8, 16-18, 42). In these cases, there was “mutual agreement confirmed by oath in the name of the Lord.” Sometimes there were also material pledges (Genesis 21:28-31).VED-OT Covenant.3

Ahab defeated the Syrians: “So he made a covenant with [Ben-hadad], and sent him away” (1 Kings 20:34). The king of Babylon “took of the king’s seed [Zedekiah], and made a covenant with him, and hath taken an oath of him …” (Ezekiel 17:13, NIV, “treaty”). In such “covenants,” the terms were imposed by the superior military power; they were not mutual agreements.VED-OT Covenant.4

In Israel, the kingship was based on “covenant”: “… David made a covenant [KJV, “league”] with them [the elders of Israel] in Hebron before the Lord …” (2 Samuel 5:3). The “covenant” was based on their knowledge that God had appointed him (2 Samuel 5:2); thus they became David’s subjects (cf. 2 Kings 11:4, 17).VED-OT Covenant.5

The great majority of occurrences of berı̂yth are of God’s “covenants” with men, as in Genesis 6:18 above. The verbs used are important: “I will establish my covenant” (Genesis 6:18)—literally, “cause to stand” or “confirm.” “I will make my covenant” (Genesis 17:2, RSV). “He declared to you his covenant” (Deuteronomy 4:13). “My covenant which I commanded them …” (Joshua 7:11). “I have remembered my covenant. Wherefore … I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians” (Exodus 6:5-6). God will not reject Israel for their disobedience so as “to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them …” (Leviticus 26:44). “He will not … forget the covenant … which he sware unto them” (Deuteronomy 4:31). The most common verb is “to cut [karat] a covenant,” which is always translated as in Genesis 15:18: “The Lord made a covenant with Abram.” This use apparently comes from the ceremony described in Genesis 15:9-17 (cf. Jeremiah 34:18), in which God appeared as “a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp [flaming torch] that passed between those pieces” (Genesis 15:17). These verbs make it plain that God takes the sole initiative in covenant making and fulfillment.VED-OT Covenant.6

“Covenant” is parallel or equivalent to the Hebrew words dabar (“word”), hoq (“statute”), piqqud (“precepts”—Psalms 103:18, NASB), ‘edah (“testimony”—Psalms 25:10), torah (“law”—Psalms 78:10), and checed (“lovingkindness”—Deuteronomy 7:9, NASB). These words emphasize the authority and grace of God in making and keeping the “covenant,” and the specific responsibility of man under the covenant. The words of the “covenant” were written in a book (Exodus 24:4, 7; Deuteronomy 31:24-26) and on stone tablets (Exodus 34:28).VED-OT Covenant.7

Men “enter into” (Deuteronomy 29:12) or “join” (Jeremiah 50:5) God’s “covenant.” They are to obey (Genesis 12:4) and “observe carefully” all the commandments of the “covenant” (Deuteronomy 4:6). But above all, the “covenant” calls Israel to “love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might” (Deuteronomy 6:5). God’s “covenant” is a relationship of love and loyalty between the Lord and His chosen people.VED-OT Covenant.8

“… If ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people … and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:5-6). “All the commandments … shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers” (Deuteronomy 8:1). In the “covenant,” man’s response contributes to covenant fulfillment; yet man’s action is not causative. God’s grace always goes before and produces man’s response.VED-OT Covenant.9

Occasionally, Israel “made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord, and to keep his commandments … , to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book” (2 Kings 23:3). This is like their original promise: “All that the Lord hath spoken we will do” (Exodus 19:8; 24:7). Israel did not propose terms or a basis of union with God. They responded to God’s “covenant.”VED-OT Covenant.10

The wholly gracious and effective character of God’s “covenant” is confirmed in the Septuagint by the choice of diatheke to translate berı̂yth. A diatheke is a will that distributes one’s property after death according to the owner’s wishes. It is completely unilateral. In the New Testament, diatheke occurs 33 times and is translated in the KJV 20 times as “covenant” and 13 times as “testament.” In the RSV and the NASB, only “covenant” is used.VED-OT Covenant.11

The use of “Old Testament” and “New Testament” as the names for the two sections of the Bible indicates that God’s “covenant” is central to the entire book. The Bible relates God’s “covenant” purpose, that man be joined to Him in loving service and know eternal fellowship with Him through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ.VED-OT Covenant.12

Create

Bârâ' (בָּרָא, Strong's #1254), “to create, make.” This verb is of profound theological significance, since it has only God as its subject. Only God can “create” in the sense implied by bârâ'. The verb expresses creation out of nothing, an idea seen clearly in passages having to do with creation on a cosmic scale: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1; cf. Genesis 2:3; Isaiah 40:26; 42:5). All other verbs for “creating” allow a much broader range of meaning; they have both divine and human subjects, and are used in contexts where bringing something or someone into existence is not the issue.VED-OT Create.2

Bârâ' is frequently found in parallel to these other verbs, such as ’asah “to make” (Isaiah 41:20; 43:7; 7, 12; Amos 4:13), yatsar, “to form” (Isaiah 43:1, 7; 45:7; Amos 4:13), and kun, “to establish.” A verse that illustrates all of these words together is Isaiah 45:18: “For thus saith the Lord that created [bara’] the heavens; God himself that formed [bârâ'] the earth and made [‘asah] it; he hath established [kun] it, he created [bara’] it not in vain, he formed [yatsar] it to be inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is none else.” The technical meaning of bârâ' (to “create out of nothing”) may not hold in these passages; perhaps the verb was popularized in these instances for the sake of providing a poetic synonym. Objects of the verb include the heavens and earth (Genesis 1:1; Isaiah 40:26; 42:5; 45:18; 65:17)man (Genesis 1:27; 5:2; 6:7; Deuteronomy 4:32; Psalms 89:47; Isaiah 43:7; 45:12); Israel (Isaiah 43:1; Malachi 2:10); a new thing (Jeremiah 31:22); cloud and smoke (Isaiah 4:5); north and south (Psalms 89:12); salvation and righteousness (Isaiah 45:8); speech (Isaiah 57:19); darkness (Isaiah 45:7); wind (Amos 4:13); and a new heart (Psalms 51:10). A careful study of the passages where bârâ' occurs shows that in the few nonpoetic uses (primarily in Genesis), the writer uses scientifically precise language to demonstrate that God brought the object or concept into being from previously nonexistent material.VED-OT Create.3

Especially striking is the use of bârâ' in Isaiah 40-65. Out of 49 occurrences of the verb in the Old Testament, 20 are in these chapters. Because Isaiah writes prophetically to the Jews in Exile, he speaks words of comfort based upon God’s past benefits and blessings to His people. Isaiah especially wants to show that, since Yahweh is the Creator, He is able to deliver His people from captivity. The God of Israel has created all things: “I have made [‘asah] the earth, and created [bârâ'] man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded” (Isaiah 45:12). The gods of Babylon are impotent nonentities (Isaiah 44:12-20; Isaiah 46:1-7), and so Israel can expect God to triumph by effecting a new creation (43:16-21; 65:17-25).VED-OT Create.4

Though a precisely correct technical term to suggest cosmic, material creation from nothing, bârâ' is a rich theological vehicle for communicating the sovereign power of God, who originates and regulates all things to His glory.VED-OT Create.5

Qânâh (קָנָה, Strong's 7069), “to get, acquire, earn.” These basic meanings are dominant in the Old Testament, but certain poetic passages have long suggested that this verb means “create.” In Genesis 14:19, Melchizedek blessed Abram and said: “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, maker [KJV, “possessor”] of heaven and earth” (RSV). Genesis 14:22 repeats this divine epithet. Deuteronomy 32:6 makes this meaning certain in that qânâh is parallel to ’asah, “to make”: “Is he not your father, who created (qânâh) you, who made (‘asah) you and established (kun) you?” (RSV). Psalms 78:54; 139:13; and Proverbs 8:22-23 also suggest the idea of creation.VED-OT Create.6

The cognate languages usually follow the Hebrew in the basic meaning of “to get, acquire.” Ugaritic, however, attests the meaning “create.” In fact, qny is the primary Ugaritic term to express creation. The close relationship of Hebrew and Ugaritic and the contextual meaning of qânâh as “create” in the Old Testament passages cited above argue for the use of qânâh as a synonym for “create” along with bârâ', ‘asah, and yatsar.VED-OT Create.7

‛Âśâh (עָשָׂה, Strong's #6213), “to create, do, make.” This verb, which occurs over 2600 times in the Old Testament, is used as a synonym for “create” only about 60 times. There is nothing inherent in the word to indicate the nature of the creation involved; it is only when ‛âśâh is parallel to bârâ' that we can be sure that it implies creation.VED-OT Create.8

Unfortunately, the word is not attested in cognate languages contemporary with the Old Testament, and its etymology is unclear. Because ‛âśâh describes the most common of human (and divine) activities, it is ill-suited to communicate theological meaning— except where it is used with bârâ' or other terms whose technical meanings are clearly established.VED-OT Create.9

The most instructive occurrences of ‛âśâh are in the early chapters of Genesis. Genesis 1:1 uses the verb bârâ' to introduce the Creation account, and Genesis 1:7 speaks of its detailed execution: “And God made [‛âśâh] the firmament.…” Whether or not the firmament was made of existing material cannot be determined, since the passage uses only ‛âśâh. But it is clear that the verb expresses creation, since it is used in that context and follows the technical word bârâ'. The same can be said of other verses in Genesis: 1:16 (the lights of heaven); 1:25, 3:1 (the animals); 1:31; 2:2 (all his work); and 6:6 (man). In Genesis 1:26-27, however, ‛âśâh must mean creation from nothing, since it is used as a synonym for bârâ'. The text reads, “Let us make [‛âśâh] man in our image, after our likeness.… So God created [bârâ'] man in his own image.…” Similarly, Genesis 2:4 states: “These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created [bârâ'], in the day that the Lord God made [‛âśâh] the earth and the heavens.” Finally, Genesis 5:1 equates the two as follows: “In the day that God created [bârâ'] man, in the likeness of God made [‛âśâh] he him.” The unusual juxtaposition of bârâ' and ‛âśâh in Genesis 2:3 refers to the totality of creation, which God had “created” by “making.”VED-OT Create.10

It is unwarranted to overly refine the meaning of ‛âśâh to suggest that it means creation from something, as opposed to creation from nothing. Only context can determine its special nuance. It can mean either, depending upon the situation.VED-OT Create.11

Cry

Tsâ‛aq (צָעַק, Strong's #6817), “to cry, cry out, call.” Found in both biblical and modern Hebrew, this word has the sense of “to shout, yell.” The word is a close parallel to the very similar sounding word, tsâ‛aq, also translated “to cry.” The verb tsâ‛aq is found about 55 times in the Hebrew Old Testament. The word occurs for the first time in Genesis 4:10: “The voice of thy brother’s blood creith unto me from the ground.”VED-OT Cry.2

This word is often used in the sense of “crying out” for help. Sometimes it is man “crying out” to man: “… The people cried to Pharaoh for bread …” (Genesis 41:55). More often it is man “crying” to God for help: “… And the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord” (Exodus 14:10). The prophets always spoke sarcastically of those who worship idols: “… One shall cry unto him, yet can he not answer …” (Isaiah 46:7). This word is frequently used to express “distress” or “need”: “… He cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry …” (Genesis 27:34).VED-OT Cry.3

Zâ‛aq (זָעַק, Strong's #2199), “to cry, cry out, call.” This term is found throughout the history of the Hebrew language, including modern Hebrew. The word occurs approximately 70 times in the Hebrew Old Testament. Its first occurrence is in the record of the suffering of the Israelite bondage in Egypt: “… And the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried [for help] …” (Exodus 2:23).VED-OT Cry.4

Zâ‛aq is perhaps most frequently used to indicate the “crying out” for aid in time of emergency, especially “crying out” for divine aid. God often heard this “cry” for help in the time of the judges, as Israel found itself in trouble because of its backsliding (Judges 3:9, 15; 6:7; 10:10). The word is used also in appeals to pagan gods (Judges 10:14; Jeremiah 11:12; Jonah 1:5). That zâ‛aq means more than a normal speaking volume is indicated in appeals to the king (2 Samuel 19:28).VED-OT Cry.5

The word may imply a “crying out” in distress (1 Samuel 4:13), a “cry” of horror (1 Samuel 5:10), or a “cry” of sorrow (2 Samuel 13:19). Used figuratively, it is said that “the stone shall cry out of the wall” (Habakkuk 2:11) of a house that is built by means of evil gain.VED-OT Cry.6

Cubit

'Ammâh (אַמָּה, Strong's #520), “cubit.” This word has cognates in Akkadian, Ugaritic, and Aramaic. It appears about 245 times in biblical Hebrew and in all periods, but especially in Exodus 25-27; Exodus 37-38 (specifications of the tabernacle); 1 Kings 6-7 (the specifications of Solomon’s temple and palace); and Ezekiel 40-43 (the specifications of Ezekiel’s temple).VED-OT Cubit.2

In one passage, 'ammâh means “pivot”: “And the posts [literally, “sockets”] of the door moved at the voice of him that cried …” (Isaiah 6:4).VED-OT Cubit.3

In almost every other occurrence, the word means “cubit,” the primary unit of linear measurement in the Old Testament. Some scholars maintain that Israel’s system of linear measurement was primarily based on the Egyptian system. In view of the history of Israel, this is a reasonable position. A “cubit” ordinarily was the distance from one’s elbow to the tip of the middle finger. Since this distance varied from individual to individual, the “cubit” was a rather imprecise measurement. Yet the first appearance of 'ammâh (Genesis 6:15) refers to the measurement of Noah’s ark, which implies that the word must refer to a more precise length than the ordinary “cubit.”VED-OT Cubit.4

There was an official “cubit” in Egypt. In fact, there were both a shorter “cubit” (17.6 inches) and a longer “cubit” (20.65 inches). The Siloam inscription states that the Siloam tunnel was 1,200 “cubits” long. This divided by its measurement in feet (1,749) demonstrates that as late as Hezekiah’s day (cf. 2 Chronicles 32:4) the “cubit” was about 17.5 inches or the shorter Egyptian cubit. Ezekiel probably used the Babylonian “cubit” in describing the temple. The Egyptian shorter cubit is only about three inches shorter than the longer cubit; on the other hand, the Babylonian shorter cubit was about four-fifths the length of the official royal “cubit,” about a handbreadth shorter: “And behold a wall on the outside of the house round about, and in the man’s hand a measuring reed of six cubits long by the cubit and a handbreadth …” (Ezekiel 40:5). In other words, it was the width of seven palms rather than six.VED-OT Cubit.5

Curse

A. Verbs.VED-OT Curse.2

Qâlal (קָלַל, Strong's #7043), “to be trifling, light, swift; to curse.” This wide-ranging word is found in both ancient and modern Hebrew, in ancient Akkadian, and (according to some) in ancient Ugaritic. The word occurs about 82 times in the Hebrew Old Testament. As will be seen, its various nuances grow out of the basic idea of being “trifling” or “light,” with somewhat negative connotations involved.VED-OT Curse.3

Qâlal is found for the first time in Genesis 8:8: “… To see if the waters had subsided …” (RSV). Other English versions translate: “abated” (KJV, NASB); “dried up” (JB); “had lessened” (NEB); “had gone down” (TEV). All of these terms indicate a lessening of what had existed.VED-OT Curse.4

The idea of “to be swift” is expressed in the Hebrew comparative form. So, Saul and Jonathan “were swifter than eagles” (2 Samuel 1:23— literally, “more than eagles they were light”). A similar idea is expressed in 1 Samuel 18:23: “And David said, Seemeth it to you a light thing to a king’s son-in-law …?”VED-OT Curse.5

Qâlal frequently includes the idea of “cursing” or “making little or contemptible”: “And he that curseth [belittles] his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death” (Exodus 21:17). “To curse” had the meaning of an “oath” when related to one’s gods: “And the Philistine cursed David by his gods” (1 Samuel 17:43). The negative aspect of “non-blessing” was expressed by the passive form: “… The sinner being a hundred years old shall be accursed [by death]” (Isaiah 65:20). Similar usage is reflected in: “… Their portion is cursed in the earth …” (Job 24:18).VED-OT Curse.6

The causative form of the verb sometimes expressed the idea of “lightening, lifting a weight”: “… Peradventure he will lighten his hand from off you …” (1 Samuel 6:5); “… so shall it be easier for thyself …” (Exodus 18:22).VED-OT Curse.7

'Ârar (אָרַר, Strong's #779), “to curse.” This root is found in South Arabic, Ethiopic, and Akkadian. The verb occurs 60 times in the Old Testament.VED-OT Curse.8

The first occurrence is in Genesis 3:14: “Thou [the serpent] art cursed above all cattle,” and Genesis 3:17: “Cursed is the ground for thy [Adam’s] sake.” This form accounts for more than half of the occurrences. It is a pronouncement of judgment on those who break covenant, as: “Cursed is the man who …” (twelve times in Deuteronomy 27:15-26). “Curse” is usually parallel with “bless.” The two “curses” in Genesis 3 are in bold contrast to the two blessings (“And God blessed them …”) in Genesis 1. The covenant with Abraham includes: “I will bless them that bless thee, and curse [different root] him that curseth thee …” (Genesis 12:3). Compare Jeremiah’s “Cursed be the man that trusteth in man” and “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord” (17:5, 7) Pagans used the power of “cursing” to deal with their enemies, as when Balak sent for Balaam: “Come … , curse me this people” (Numbers 22:6). Israel had the ceremonial “water that causeth the curse” (Numbers 55:18ff.).VED-OT Curse.9

God alone truly “curses.” It is a revelation of His justice, in support of His claim to absolute obedience. Men may claim God’s “curses” by committing their grievances to God and trusting in His righteous judgment (cf. Psalms 109:26-31).VED-OT Curse.10

The Septuagint translates 'ârar by epikatarathai, its compounds and derivatives, by which it comes into the New Testament. “Curse” in the Old Testament is summed up in the statement: “Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant …” (Jeremiah 11:3). The New Testament responds: “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree …” (Galatians 3:13).VED-OT Curse.11

B. Noun.VED-OT Curse.12

'Âlâh (אָלָה, Strong's #423), “curse; oath.” Cognates of this word appear in Phoenician and Arabic. The 36 Old Testament occurrences of this noun appear in every period of biblical literature.VED-OT Curse.13

In distinction from 'ârar (“to curse by laying an anathema on someone or something”) and qâlal (“to curse by abusing or by belittling”), 'âlâh basically refers to “the execution of a proper oath to legalize a covenant or agreement.” As a noun, 'âlâh refers to the “oath” itself: “Then shalt thou be clear from this my oath, when thou comest to my kindred; and if they give not thee one, thou shalt be clear from my oath” (Genesis 24:41—the first occurrence). The “oath” was a “curse” on the head of the one who broke the agreement. This same sense appears in Leviticus 5:1, referring to a general “curse” against anyone who would give false testimony in a court case.VED-OT Curse.14

So 'âlâh functions as a “curse” sanctioning a pledge or commission, and it can close an agreement or covenant. On the other hand, the word sometimes represents a “curse” against someone else, whether his identity is known or not.VED-OT Curse.15

Baal, Master — Buy, Acquire

Day — Dwell