Copyright © AHRC -1-

Subscribe/Unsubscribe | eZine Archives | AHRC Home Page | HTML Version

Biblical Hebrew Word – Work (5)

Modern Hebrew Word – Shekel

Featured AHRC Book or DVD

Name Study – Nun

Verse Study – Genesis 3:11

Q & A – Sons or Children

In the News

MT Excerpt

AHRC Excerpt

AHRC Updates

Comments & Editorial

The King James Version of the Bible translates thirteen different Hebrew

words (listed below) with the word "work," but each one of these Hebrew

words have a specific meaning that means more than just "work."

(m'la'khah, Strong's #4399) מלאכה

(Ah.B.D, Strong's #5647) עבד

(avodah, Strong's #5656) עבודה

(Ah.S.H, Strong's #6213) עשה

(ma'a'seh, Strong's #4639) מעשה

(P.Ah.L, Strong's #6466) פעל

(po'al, Strong's #6467) פועל

(p'ul'lah, Strong's #6468) פעולה

(davar, Strong's #1697) דבר

(y'gi'a, Strong's #3018) יגיע

(yad, Strong's #3027) יד

(a'li'li'yah, Strong's #5950) עליליה

In this Issue of the BH eZine

Biblical Hebrew Word – Work (5)

Issue #076, March, 2017

Copyright © AHRC -2-

In this issue we will look at the word דבר (davar, Strong's #1697). In the King

James Version this Hebrew word is usually translated as "word," which is the

literal meaning of the word. But only once is it translated as work.

So he left there before the ark of the covenant of the LORD

Asaph and his brethren, to minister before the ark continually,

as every day's work required. (KJV, 1 Chronicles 16:37)

The literal translation of the phrase "every day's work required" from the

Hebrew is "to the word of the day in his day," which is similar to the Young's

Literal Translation that has "according to the matter of a day in its day." The

word דבר (davar, Strong's #1697) is also frequently translated as "matter," such

as in the following passage.

When they have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge

between one and another, and I do make them know the statutes

of God, and his laws. (KJV, Exodus 18:16)

In Biblical Hebrew the word שקל (sheqel, Strong's #8255) was used as unit of

measure for measuring the weight of gold, silver or copper. The root of this

word is שקל (Sh.Q.L, Strong's #8254) and means "to weigh."

When Israel became an independent nation in 1947 they inherited the

"Palestinian Pound" as their form of currency, but in 1952 they replaced the

"Palestinian Pound" with a new form of currency, the "Shekel." While the

word "shekel" was used as a unit of weight in ancient times, in Modern

Hebrew it is strictly used as a unit of currency. In 1985 the "Shekel," which

suffered from hyperinflation, was replaced with the "New Shekel."

The Hebrew text in the lower left corner reads, Bank of Israel (top line); One

new Shekel (bottom line).

Modern Word – Shekel

Copyright © AHRC -3-

A History of Hebrew: Its Language and Philosophy

Available through the Ancient Hebrew Bookstore

This video explores the history of the Hebrew Bible, called

the Old Testament by Christians and the Tanakh by Jews

and its language and philosophy. The Hebrew Bible is an

Ancient Near Eastern text, which was written millennia ago

within a time and culture that is vastly different from our

own. The author's perspectives on life and the world around

them are steeped with their own traditions, lifestyles,

manners and thoughts. When reading and studying this text

we cannot interject our own cultural perspectives into the text, to do so would

bring about interpretations and conclusions that are far removed from the

authors intended meaning.

We will be examining the Hebrew alphabet, language, philosophy and culture

to uncover the evidence that supports a perspective of these ancient Near

Eastern texts that is very different from the way they are normally perceived

and we will dig into the deeper meanings of these texts from an ancient

perspective.

In the last issue we looked at the name Joshua. In this issue we will look at the

name of Joshua's father, Nun (pronounced noon).

And Joshua the son of Nun... (KJV, Numbers 11:28)

The name נון (nun, Strong's #5126) is derived from the Hebrew verb נון

(N.W.N, Strong's #5125), meaning "to continue." Also derived from this verb is

the noun מנון (manon, Strong's #5126), meaning "heir," in the sense of the heir

being the "The continuation of a lineage."

The word נון (nun) is also the name of the fourteenth letter of the Hebrew

alphabet, the letter נ (nun). In the ancient pictographic script of Hebrew this

letter is a picture of a sprouting seed (see below), which "continues" the plant

for the next generation.

Featured AHRC Book or DVD

Name Study – Nun

Copyright © AHRC -4-

אמר ם אתה המ וי העץ אשר ןמי הגיד לך כי עיר

אכלת ממנו צויתיך לבלתי אכל And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of

the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? (ASV)

אמר meaning "to say". The (A.M.R) אמר The base word is (vai-yo-mer) וי

prefix י (y) identifies the verb as third person, masculine, singular and the tense

of the verb as imperfect tense and would be translated as "he will say" or "he

says". The prefix ו (v) means "and" and when prefixed to a verb will usually

reverse the tense, in this case from imperfect to perfect tense and would be

translated as "and he said".

".This word means "who (miy) מי

דגנ The base word is (hi-giyd) הגיד (N.G.D) meaning "to be face to face." The

prefix ה (hi) and the infix י (iy) identify the form of this verb as a "hiphil"

(causative) verb and literally means "to cause to be face to face," but always

used in the context of "to tell." The lack of any other prefixes or suffixes

identify the subject of the verb as masculine, singular (he) and the tense of the

verb as perfect tense – "he told." (Note that when this verb is conjugated, the

letter נ (nun) is dropped, hence this letter is often called the "disappearing nun"

when used in a verb.)

The first letter is the prefix meaning "to" or "for." The second letter (l-kha) לך

is the suffix meaning "you." Combined this word means "to you."

This word means "for" or "because" and is used to explain what came (kiy) כי

previously.

ם ".This noun means "naked (ey-rom) עיר

"This Hebrew word is the pronoun meaning "you (a-tah) אתה

(masculine,singular).

".meaning "from (miyn) מן The base word is the preposition (ha-miyn) המן

The letter ה (ha) is the "interrogative" prefix, which makes the following

sentence a question.

(ha) ה means "tree" or "trees." The prefix (eyts) עץ The noun (ha-eyts) העץ

means "the" - "the tree(s)."

Verse Study – Genesis 3:11

Copyright © AHRC -5-

."This is a common Hebrew word meaning "which" or "who (a-sher) אשר

meaning "to (Ts.W.H) צוה The base word is the verb (tsi-viy-tiy-kha) צויתיך

direct." The suffix תי (tiy) identifies the subject of the verb as first person

singular (I) and the tense of the verb as perfect tense "I directed." The suffix ך

(kha) identifies the object of the verb as second person, masculine, singular

(you) – "I directed you." (Note that when this verb is conjugated the letter ה (h)

is dropped.)

,is a preposition that can mean; except (bil'tiy) בלתי The word (l-vil-tiy) לבלתי

but, inasmuch, not etc. In the context of this passage it can be translated as

"not." The prefix ל (l) means "to" – "to not."

meaning "to eat." The form of this (A.K.L) אכל This is the verb (a-khal) אכל

verb is in the infinitive and simply means "eat."

and is a preposition meaning (miyn) מן The base word is (mi-me-nu) ממנו

"from." The suffix ו (u) means "him" – from him. But this word is never

written as מנו (minu), but as ממנו (mi-me-nu). Why the extra מ (m) is added I do

not know, it is probably an artifact from an ancient form of this word.

meaning "to eat." The (A.K.L) אכל The base word is the verb (a-khal-ta) אכלת

suffix ת (ta) identifies the subject of the verb as second person, masculine,

singular (you) and the tense of the verb as perfect tense "you ate."

The following is a literal rendering of this verse from its Hebraic meaning.

And he said, "Who told to you that you are naked? Did you eat from the tree

which I directed you to not eat from?

Q: In your article "The Culture of the Hebrew Language" you quote Numbers

15:38 as saying "Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, make tsiytsiyt on

the corners of your garment." The site says this command is only addressed to

the sons, which is a shocker because the English translations say "children," as

well as some other concordances. I am wondering how you came to conclude

this and where can I further research this?

A: This is a very good question and one I should probably address on my

website, so thank you for bringing it up. The Hebrew word for "son" is בן (ben)

and "sons" is בנים (benim). The Hebrew word for "daughter" is בת (bat) and

"daughters" is בנות (banot). However, if there is a group of mixed genders, in

this case "sons" and "daughters," the Hebrew will use the masculine plural, in

this case בנים (benim). When I am translating the Hebrew I will always

translate it literally, so I will always translate בנים (benim) as "sons." Usually

Q&A – Sons or Children

Copyright © AHRC -6-

the context of the passage will dictate if this masculine plural is referring to

only male children or male and female children. However, in the case of the

tzitziyt there is no context to help with this interpretation. Traditional Judaism

has decided that this is only referring to sons and not daughters, which is why

Jewish women do not wear tzitziyt. Outside of Judaism, some believe that it is

referring to only sons and others believe it is referring to sons and daughters.

This is a decision each person or group must make.

1,800 Year-Old Column Engraved With Paleo-Hebrew

Inscriptions Discovered

An 1,800-year-old limestone column capital engraved with two Hebrew

inscriptions was discovered by the Council for Conservation of Heritage Sites

during restoration and conservation work at an ancient synagogue in Israel’s

northern Galilee village of Peqi’in.

The stone was found in the synagogue courtyard, and archaeologists from the

Israel Antiquities Authority arrived at the site to examine the special find. The

Authority said in a statement, "A preliminary analysis of the engravings

suggests that these are dedicatory inscriptions honoring donors to the

synagogue."

"The ancient Hebrew letters on

this stone look very different

from modern Hebrew text,"

explained Roni Segal, academic

adviser for The Israel Institute

of Biblical Studies, an online

language academy, to Breaking

Israel News. "The ancient

alphabet is referred to as Paleo-

Hebrew and was the common

alphabet of the Levant and

Sinai areas. These letters have

been found on various stone engravings all over Israel and shed light on the

Jewish presence in the land and their way of life since the time of the Second

Holy Jerusalem Temple."

The ancient synagogue under excavation is adjacent to a newer one that served

the Jewish community in Peki’in long before the establishment of the State of

Israel. The older building dates back to the Talmudic era (2nd century), and is

considered the place where renowned scholars Rabbi Joshua Ben Hananiah

In the News

Copyright © AHRC -7-

and Rabbi Akiva taught. That building was destroyed in a major earthquake in

1837 and a new synagogue was constructed in 1873 by a wealthy Lebanese

Jew, Rabbi Raphael Halevy.

Article from BreakingIsraelNews

For additional details on this new translation, check out the MT Website.

18:1&and “YHWH [He exists]” appeared to him in the great trees of “Mamre [Bitter

place]” and he was settling in the opening of the tent in the heat of the day,

18:02&and he lifted up his eyes and he saw and look, three men were standing erect

upon him and he saw and he ran from the opening of the tent to meet them, he bent

himself down unto the land, 18:3&and he said, “Adonai [My lords]”, please, if I find

beauty in your eyes please do not cross over from upon your servant, 18:04&Please, a

small amount of water will be taken and wash your feet and lean under the tree,

18:05&and I will take a fragment of bread and hold up your heart after you cross over

since you crossed over upon your servant and they said, you will do so just as you

said, 18:06&and “Avraham [Father lifted]” much hurried unto the tent to “Sarah

[Noblewoman]” and he said hurry, knead three se'ahs of grain flour and make bread

cakes, 18:07&and “Avraham [Father lifted]” ran to the cattle and he took a son of the

cattle, tender and functional and he gave it to the young man and he much hurried to

make him, 18:08&and he took cheese and fat and a son of the cattle which he made

and he gave it to their face and he was standing upon them under the tree and they ate,

18:09&and they said to him, where is “Sarah [Noblewoman]” your woman, and he

said, look, in the tent, 18:10&and he said, I will surely turn back to you at the

appointed time of life and look, a son for “Sarah [Noblewoman]” your woman and

“Sarah [Noblewoman]” was hearing in the opening of the tent and he was behind him,

18:11&and “Avraham [Father lifted]” and “Sarah [Noblewoman]” were bearded ones

coming in the days, the path like the women terminated to exist for “Sarah

[Noblewoman]”, 18:12&and “Sarah [Noblewoman]” laughed within her saying, after I

am worn out, pleasure exists for me and my lord is a bearded one, 18:13&and

“YHWH [He exists]” said to “Avraham [Father lifted]”, why is this, “Sarah

[Noblewoman]” laughed saying, moreover indeed, will I bring forth and I am old,

18:14&can the word from “YHWH [He exists]” perform at the appointed time, I will

turn back to you at the appointed time of life and to “Sarah [Noblewoman]” will be a

son, 18:15&and “Sarah [Noblewoman]” denied saying, I did not laugh, given that she

feared and he said, no, given that you laughed,

MT Excerpt – Genesis 18:1-15

Copyright © AHRC -8-

The process of translating and defining words in the

Mechanical Translation of the Torah

While working on the Mechanical Translation, I was working on Leviticus

14:21 and the Hebrew word דל (dal), which means one who is poor, sick or

weak. The investigation into this word provides an example of the process that

I go through when translating and defining Hebrew words for this translation.

Years ago, when working on the Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible I

identified the Hebrew word דל (dal) as a parent (two-letter) root word. I found

that all of the words derived from this parent root had the common theme of

something "dangling." The word דלת (delet) is a "door" that dangles down

from the tent roof. The verb דלל (D.L.L) means "to hang down" and the verb

.means "to draw water" as with a bucket that dangles on a rope (D.L.H) דלה

Derived from the verb דלה (D.L.H) are the words דליה (dal-yah), meaning a

branch, which hangs in the tree, and דלי (deliy), a bucket, which hangs down in

the well. From this I concluded that the word דל (dal) meant one who is poor,

sick or weak in the sense of one who "dangles" his head down in weakness or

shame.

Another word closely related to דל (dal) is דלה (dal-lah), a feminine noun with

the same meaning as דל (dal). In the Masoretic Hebrew text and Hebrew

dictionaries this feminine noun is written as ה ל The dots and .(dal-lah) ד

dashes, called the nikkudot, represent vowels and other characteristics of

Hebrew pronunciation. The dot in the center of the lamed (ל) is a dagesh which

doubles the Hebrew letter, so this word could be written as דללה (d-l-l-h). If

this were true, then this noun would have been derived out of the verb דלל

(D.L.L), meaning "to hang down." However, the original Hebrew text did not

include the dagesh or the other nikkudot, as they were created about 1000 years

ago. So I surmised that the word ה ל -da) דלה was in fact the word (dal-lah) ד

lah) without the dagesh, and was simply the feminine form of דל (dal). I

should note that feminine nouns are commonly formed by adding the letter ה (h) to a masculine noun.

In the Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible I assigned the number 1081-A

(Nm

) to the masculine word דל(dal) and translated this word as "weak" and

defined it as "one who dangles the head in poverty or hunger." I then assigned

the number 1081-A (Nf1

) to the feminine word דלה (dal-lah) and translated it

as "poor" and defined it as "one who hangs the head low in weakness."

AHRC Excerpt – Translating

Copyright © AHRC -9-

However, there was one problem. The Hebrew word דלה (dal-lah) was used in

Song of Solomon 7:5 for "hair," which has no relationship with being sick,

poor or weak. So I included two different translations for the word דלה (dal-

lah), the first being "poor" and the second being "hair," which I defined as

"what hangs from the head and is easily blown by the wind."

Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible entry for

דלה and דל

Nm

) ( DL) — Weak: One who dangles the head in דל

poverty or hunger. [freq. 48] |kjv: poor, needy, weak, lean|

{str: 1800}

Nf1

) ( D-LH) — I. Poor: One who hangs head דלה

low in weakness. II. Hair: What hangs from the head and is

easily blown by the wind. [freq. 8] |kjv: poor, pinning,

sickness, hair| {str: 1803}

The Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible was completed and published in

2005. A few years later I began working on the Mechanical Translation, using

the Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible as the foundation for the translation.

As I work on this translation I am working to better define Hebrew words. I

took another look at the Hebrew word דל (dal), which appears in Leviticus

14:21. I determined that since the words דל (dal) and דלה (da-lah) have the

same meaning, but one being a masculine word and the other feminine, I chose

to combine these two words into one entry. I also decided to change the

translation of this word, from "weak" and "poor," to "helpless," which is a

better descriptive translation of this word.

Mechanical Translation of the Torah entry for

דלה and דל

da-lah (f.) Trans: HELPLESS Def: Unable דלה dal (m.) דל

to care or provide for one's self; one who is weak, sick or

poor. Rel to root: The helpless dangle their head down in

illness or poverty. Occurences: 6 Strong's: 1800

But I was still left with the problem of Song of Solomon 7:5 where this word is

translated as "hair." It then occurred to me that while I had previously

determined that the word ה ל was actually the word (dal-lah, with the dagesh) ד

it was quite possible that the word in Song of ,(da-lah, without the dagesh) דלה

Solomon 7:5 was in fact the word דללה (dal-lah, with the dagesh) and was

derived from the verb דלל (D.L.L), meaning "to hang down." This worked well

as "hair" is what "hangs down" from the head.

Copyright © AHRC -10-

Strong's Dictionary has assigned the number 1803 to the word ה ל ,(dal-lah) ד

which I have determined to be the words דלה (da-lah) and דללה (dal-lah), and

identifies it as being derived from the verb דלה (D.L.H) meaning "to draw

water with a dangling bucket." But the Brown-Driver-Briggs Lexicon identifies

the root of ה ל meaning ,(D.L.L) דלל as being derived from the verb (dal-lah) ד

"to hang down." Strong's and Brown-Driver-Briggs agree that the word in

question is ה ל but they disagree on the root of the word. While I do ,(dal-lah) ד

not claim to be smarter than any of these Hebraists, I do believe their work can

be improved upon, such as I have done with the word ה ל .(dal-lah) ד

New web content, articles, books, videos and DVDs produced by AHRC as

well as any new events.

The Leningrad Codex (Images of the Torah) - 2/7/2017

Do you have a comment or personal insight into the articles in this issue of the

E-Zine or found any errors needing correction? If so, let us know.

AHRC Updates

Comments & Editorials