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was to keep herself apart from and distinct from the “heathen” (Deut. 7:1) and was an
example of true godliness before them (Deut. 4:6). On the other hand, as a blessing to all
the nations (Gen. 12:2) and as a holy “nation” and kingdom of priests (Exod. 19:6), Israel
was to be the means by which salvation was declared to the nations (heathen) and they
came to recognize God’s sovereignty (Isa. 60). So the Messiah is the light of the nations
(Isa. 49:6).
NEEDY (PERSON)
A. Noun.
(
, 34), “needy (person).” This word also occurs in Ugaritic and Ethiopic.
Biblical Hebrew attests it about 60
(
, 33), times in the Psalms alone) and in
all periods.
This noun refers, first, to someone who is poor in a material sense. Such a one may
have lost the land of his inheritance: “But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie
still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall
eat” (Exod. 23:11). He has come into difficult financial straits (Job 30:25) and perhaps
lacks clothing (Job 31:19) or food (Ps. 132:15).
Secondly,
may refer to the lack of social standing which causes a need for
protection. The first biblical occurrence bears this emphasis. God guarantees protection
for such a one: “Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause” (Exod. 23:6).
The godly man defends the needy and defenseless: “I was a father to the poor: and the
cause which I knew not I searched out” (Job 29:16; cf. Prov. 31:9; Rom. 3:14-15). Divine
provisions are encased in the Mosaic stipulations such as the seventhyear reversion of
ancestral hereditary lands (Exod. 23:11), cancellation of loans (Deut. 15:4), and special
extension of loans (Deut. 15:7, 9, 11).
Thirdly, this noun sometimes describes one’s spiritual condition before God: “Thus
saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the
punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of
shoes” (Amos 2:6). In this verse
is in synonymous parallelism to “righteous,”
which means that it describes a moral quality.
B. Verb.
(
, 14), “to accede, accept, consent.” This verb, which occurs about 52
times and in all periods of biblical Hebrew, is sometimes associated with the noun
, “needy (person).” The same radicals appear in Akkadian (“to wish”), Arabic (“to
refuse”), Aramaic (“to want”), and Egyptian (“to desire”). This verb means “to consent
to” in Deut. 13:8: “Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him.…”
NEW; NEW MOON
A. Verb.
(
$
, 2318), “to renew.” This verb occurs in post-Mosaic literature (with
the exception of Job 10:17). The root is found in all the Semitic languages with the same
sense; usually the radicals are
/ /
!
The first appearance of
in the Bible is in 1
Sam. 11:14: “Then said Samuel to the people, Come, and let us go to Gilgal, and renew
the kingdom there.”
B. Noun.