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In this Issue

Biblical Hebrew Word – Friend

Modern Hebrew Word – Church

Featured AHRC Product – Alphabet Wall Chart

Name Study – Philistine

Verse Study – Genesis 3:16

Q & A – Nikkudot

In the News – Clay Bulla

MT Excerpt – Genesis 19:29-38

AHRC Excerpt – Tent Dwellings

AHRC Updates

Comments & Editorial

Biblical Hebrew Word – Friend

The Hebrew word for a friend is רע (ra, Strong's #7453). This word can also mean a

"companion," and is related to many words that have to do with shepherding and the shepherd,

the companion and friend of the flock. The verb רעה (R.Ah.H, Strong's #7462) means "to feed,"

but the participle form of this verb, ירע (ro'iy) is a shepherd. The words מרעה (mir'eh, Strong's

".mean "pasture (r'iy, Strong's #7471) רעי and (mar'iyt, Strong's #4830) מרעית ,(#4829

Interestingly, the word רע (ra, Strong's #7451) can also mean "bad" or "evil." How can this one

word mean both "friend" and "evil?"

While the Modern Hebrew alphabet consists of twenty-two letters, evidence suggests that there

were additional letters in the original Semitic and Hebrew alphabets. One of the ancient Semitic

languages of Canaan was Ugarit. This ancient language is almost identical to the Hebrew

language of the Bible but, instead of consisting of twenty-two letters it has twenty-eight letters.

One of the major differences between Ugarit and Hebrew is the additional letter ghayin, which

does not exist in Hebrew, but evidence suggests that the letter ghayin did originally exist in the

Ancient Hebrew alphabet, but at some point in the past, prior to the writing of the Bible, the

letter ghayin began to be written with the letter ayin.

Issue #082, January, 2018

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Therefore, The Hebrew word רע (ra, Strong's #7451), meaning "evil," was originally spelled

resh-ghayin, whereas, the Hebrew word ער (ra, Strong's #7453), meaning "friend," was

originally spelled resh-ayin.

Modern Hebrew Word – Church

The Modern Hebrew word for a "church" is כנסייה (k'ney'si'yah), written

as נסיה with the nikkudot (vowel pointings), and can refer to the כ

building or the organization. This word is derived from the Biblical

Hebrew root word כנס (K.N.S, Strong's #3664) and means to "gather

together."

In the Greek New Testament the word for "church" is ἐκκλησία (ekklesia,

Strong's #1577) and literally means a "gathering of people." In the

Aramaic New Testament, the Peshitta, the Aramaic word עדה (ey'dah) is

used and is equivalent to the Hebrew word עדה (ey'dah, Strong's #5712).

This word is used throughout the Old Testament and is translated in various ways including;

congregation, company, assembly, multitude, people and swarm.

Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel… (Exodus 12:3, KJV)

Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together… (Numbers 20:8, KJV)

…there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion. (Judges 14:8,

KJV)

There are two other Hebrew words that can mean an "assembly," and could therefore be

translated as "church."

The Hebrew word מועד (mo'eyd, Strong's #4150) also means "assembly" or "congregation" and

is closely related to the word עדה (ey'dah). Both מועד and עדה come from the two-letter parent

root עד (eyd, Strong's #5707), which means a "witness" or "testimony."

And thou shalt bring the Levites before the tabernacle of the congregation (מועד – mo'eyd): and thou shalt gather the whole assembly (עדה – ey'dah) of the

children of Israel. (Numbers 8:9, KJV)

And Moses did as the LORD commanded him; and the assembly (עדה – ey'dah)

was gathered together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation (מועד – mo'eyd). (Leviticus 8:4, KJV)

The other Hebrew word that could be translated as "church" is the word קהל (qahal, Strong's

#6951), which also means an "assembly."

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When the sin, which they have sinned against it, is known, then the congregation

shall offer a young bullock for the sin, and bring him before the (qahal – קהל)

tabernacle of the congregation (מועד – mo'eyd). (Leviticus 4:14, KJV)

Featured AHRC Product – Hebrew Alphabet Wall Chart

This poster (16" x 20") is a chart of the history of the Hebrew Alphabet

from its original pictographic script to the Modern Hebrew alphabet and

its relationship to the Greek and Latin alphabets. Also included in the

chart are the meanings of the pictographs and the various meanings of

each letter, as well as the names and sounds for each letter. A handy

reference chart for when studying the Ancient Hebrew letters.

Hebrew Name Study – Philistine

The Anglicized word “Philistine” means “a native or inhabitant of ancient Philistia,” and comes

from the Hebrew word פלישתי (p’liysh’tiy, Strong’s #6430). To define this word we need to

examine the root of this word.

The root word פלש (P.L.Sh, Strong’s #6428) is a verb meaning “to wallow” or “to roll.” Derived

from this verb is the noun לשת (peleshet, Strong’s #6429). This noun is not used in the Biblical

text, except as the name of a place (Philistia), and it’s meaning is uncertain, but probably means

a “wallower” (one who wallows) or something to that effect.

The word פלישתי (p’liysh’tiy, Strong’s #6430) literally means “one of peleshet/Philistia.” The

plural form is פלישתים (peliyshtim) and literally means “ones of peleshet/Philistia.”

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Hebrew Verse Study – Genesis 3:16

אל־האשה אמר הרבה ארבה עצבונך והרנך בעצב תלדי בנים ואל־אישך תשוקתך והוא ימשל־בך׃

Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy pain and thy conception; in pain thou shalt

bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. (ASV)

".This word is a preposition meaning "to" or "toward (el) אל

means "woman" and is (iyshah) אשה means "the." The word ה The prefix (ha'iy'shah) האשה

derived from the word איש (iysh) meaning "man."

is a verb meaning "to say." The absence of any prefix or (A.M.R) אמר The word (a'mar) אמר

suffix identifies the subject of the verb as third person, masculine, singular and the tense of the

verb as perfect - "he said."

בה (ha) ה meaning to be multiplied. The prefix (R.B.H) רבה This is the verb (har'bah) הר

identifies the verb as a hiphil (causative) verb and means "cause to be multiplied."

בה (a) א meaning to be multiplied. The prefix (R.B.H) רבה This is again the verb (ar'beh) אר

identifies the verb as a hiphil (causative) verb and the subject of the verb as first person, singular

and means "I cause to be multiplied," but because this verb is written twice, it means "I cause to

be greatly multiplied."

בונך is (eykh) ך meaning "pain." The suffix (i'tsa'von) עצבון This is the noun (its'vo'neykh) עצ

the possessive pronoun meaning "your" (feminine) – "your pain."

הרנך ך meaning "pregnancy." The suffix (hey'ron) הרון This is the noun (v'hey'ro'neykh) ו(eykh) is the possessive pronoun meaning "your" (feminine) and the prefix ו (v) means "and" –

"and your pregnancy."

עצב עצבון meaning "pain" and is related to the word (e'tsev) עצב This is the noun (b'e'tsev) ב(i'tsa'von) above. The prefix ב (b) means "in" – "in your pain."

די meaning "to bring forth" and is often used in the (Y.L.D) ילד This is the verb (teyl'diy) תל

context of "childbirth." The prefix ת (tey) and the suffix י (iy) identify the subject of the verb as

second person, feminine, singular and the verb tense as imperfect – "you will bring forth."

ים בנ (va'niym) This is the noun בן (ben) meaning "son," with the masculine plural suffix ים

(iym) – "sons." It should be noted that this word can also mean "children" as the Hebrew

language will use the masculine plural form when speaking of a group of mixed genders.

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אל ".meaning "and (v) ו means "to" or "toward" with the prefix (el) אל The word (v'el) ו

ך איש (iy'sheykh) This is the noun איש (iysh) meaning "man" with the suffix ך (eykh) meaning

"your (feminine)" – "your man."

שוקתך meaning "desire" with the suffix (teshuqah) תשוקה This is the noun (t'shu'qa'teykh) ת

meaning "your (feminine)" – "your desire." Note that when the suffix is added, the (eykh) ך

letter ה (hey) in the word תשוקה (teshuqah) is changed to the letter ת (tav).

הוא ".meaning "and (v) ו meaning "he" with the prefix (hu) הוא This is the pronoun (v'hu) ו

של identifies the (yi) י meaning "rule." The prefix (M.Sh.L) משל This is the verb (yim'shal) ימ

subject of the verb as third person, masculine, singular and the tense of the verb as imperfect –

"he will rule."

"meaning "you (feminine) (kh) ך meaning "in" and the suffix (b) ב This is the prefix (bakh) בך

– "in you."

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

To the woman he said, I will greatly multiply your pain and your

pregnancy, in pain you will bring forth sons, and to your man is your desire, and he will rule in you.

Q & A – Nikkudot?

Q: Can the vowel pointings (the nikkudot) change the meaning of a word?

A: In Genesis 7:7 is the word ויבא (vai'ya'vo), which means "and he came." The verb is the verb

.meaning "to come." This verb form is the Qal (simple) form (B.W.A) בוא

In Genesis 2:19 is the word ויבא (vai'ya'vey). Notice that this verb is spelled exactly the same

except for the different final vowel. This is again the verb בוא (B.W.A) meaning "to come," but

this is the hiphil (caustaive) form and means "and he caused to come" or "and he brought."

As I am sure you are aware of, the vowel pointings were invented about 1000 years ago by the

Masorites and prior to this invention, Hebrew was only written with consonants. There are many

times in the Dead Sea Scrolls where the letters Vav and Yud are used, but in the Masortic text

they are removed and replaced with vowel pointings. A good example of this is the word

Elohiym, which in the Masoretic text is written as אלהים (note the hholam, the dot after the

lamed), but in the Dead Sea Scrolls as אלוהים (Note the letter vav after lamed). I cannot prove

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this, but I believe the ancient spelling of the two verb forms I discussed above, were ויבוא (vai'ya'vo) and ויביא (vai'ya'vey).

In the News – Clay Bulla

Why Israelis Are Excited About this 2,700-Year-Old Piece of Clay

Archaeologists have discovered a 2,700-year-old clay stamp

near Jerusalem's Western Wall that seems to shed some light on

the political structure of the ancient society that inhabited the

city.

The researchers who announced the discovery worked on behalf

of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), which funds

archaeology and typically focuses on discoveries that the

agency interprets to legitimize Israeli claims on the city of

Jerusalem, as has been pointed out by Haaretz and the

Jerusalem Post in past news reports.

The 0.5 by 0.6-inch (13 by 15 millimeters) clay stamp depicts two figures facing one another

above archaic Hebrew script that reads "לשרער" (roughly: l'sar'ir). The researchers said that the

word is a condensed version of the phrase " העיר לשר ," (l'sar ha-ir) which means "belonging to

the governor of the city."

MT Excerpt – Genesis 19:29-38

19:29&and it came to pass “Elohiym [Powers]” greatly damaged the cities of the roundness and

“Elohiym [Powers]” remembered “Avraham [Father lifted]” and he sent “Loth [Covering]” from

the midst of the overturning, in overturning the cities which “Loth [Covering]” settled in,

19:30&and “Loth [Covering]” and his two daughters with him, went up from “Tso'ar [Tiny]” and

settled in the hill given that he feared to settle in “Tso'ar [Tiny]” and he and his two daughters

settled in the cave, 19:31&and the firstborn woman said to the little one, our father is old and not

a man in the land to come upon us like the road of all of the land, 19:32&walk, we will make our

father drink wine and we will lay down with him and we will live from our father a seed,

19:33&and they made their father drink wine in that night and the firstborn woman came and she

laid down with her father and he did not know in her laying down and in her rising, 19:34&and it

came to pass the next day and the firstborn woman said to the little one, though I laid down last

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night with my father we will make him drink wine also tonight and come and lay down with him

and we will live from our father a seed, 19:35&and they made their father drink wine also in that

night and the little one rose and she laid down with him and he did not know in her laying down

and in her rising, 19:36&and the two daughters of “Loth [Covering]” conceived from their

father, 19:37&and the firstborn woman brought forth a son and she called out his title “Mo'av

[From father]”, he is the father of the “Mo'av [From father]” until today, 19:38&and the little

one, she also brought forth a son and she called out his title “Ben-Amiy [Son of my people]”, he

is the father of the sons of “Amon [Tribe]” until today,

AHRC Excerpt – Tent Dwellings

In the Bible, living in tents is of ancient origin. It goes back before the days of Abraham. The

first reference in the Scriptures to tent life is concerning the man Jabal, of whom it is said, "he

was the father of such as dwell in tents" (Gen. 4:20). Following the Flood the Sacred Record

says, "God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem" (Gen. 9:27).

The patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob lived most of their lives in tents, in and around the

land of Canaan. It was said of Abraham that he "pitched his tent" in the vicinity of Bethel (Gen.

12:8), that Isaac "pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar" (Gen. 26:17), and Jacob "Pitched his

tent before the city of Shechem" (Gen. 33:18).

The Children of Israel lived in tents during their forty years in the wilderness. Moses said of

them, "The children of Israel shall pitch their tents, every man by his own camp" (Num. 1:52).

And Balaam "lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel abiding in his tents according to their tribes"

(Num. 24:2).

For many years after the entering of the Promised Land, Israel still lived in tents. In the days of

David it was said to the King, "The ark and Israel and Judah, abide in tents" (2Sam. 11:11),

indicating that many of the people at that time were tent- dwellers. Even at the time of the revolt

of the ten tribes under Jeroboam and their separation from Judah, the cry went forth, "To your

tents, O Israel" (1Kings 12:16). When the tribes gathered together at such small places as Gilgal,

and Shiloh, they undoubtedly brought their tents with them. And after the temple was built at

Jerusalem the people would make their pilgrimages there to celebrate the feasts of the Lord, and

many thousands of them would sleep in tents on the mountains surrounding the city.

Like the Jews of old, the Nomad or Bedouin Arabs of Palestine, and especially those of Trans-

Jordan, have been living in tents for centuries, and their manner of life is strikingly like unto that

of the early Bible characters. A study, therefore, of these tent structures of Bible lands of today

will throw much light on how the men of early Bible times actually lived. By such a study one

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can build the proper background for understanding the life and contributions of these men of the

long ago.

AHRC Updates

New web content, articles, books, videos and DVDs produced by AHRC as well as any new events.

What is the Origin of Baptism? (Video) - 12/21/2017

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