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The use of
in the sense of “working or engraving” metals is not used in the
Old Testament as much as it might have been if Israel had been as given to such
craftsmanship as her neighbors, or perhaps because of the commandment against images
(Exod. 20:4). The word is used in 1 Kings 7:14: “… His father was a man of Tyre, a
worker in brass [literally, “a man who works in brass”].…” The first occurrence of
is in Gen. 4:22 where it is used of the “artificer in brass and iron.” The figurative
use of “engraving” is vividly seen in the expression describing the extent of Israel’s sin:
“The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond: it is
graven upon the table of their heart …” (Jer. 17:1).
An updating or correction of the
KJV
is called for in 1 Sam. 8:12 where
is
translated by the old English term, “to ear the ground”!
B. Noun.
(
, 2796), “engraver; artificer.” The prophets denounced the
craftsmanship of these workers in metals when they made images (Isa. 40:20; Hos. 8:6).
A more positive approach to the word is conveyed in 1 Chron. 29:5: “The gold for things
of gold … and for all manner of work to be made by the hands of artificers. And who
then is willing to consecrate his service this day unto the Lord?”
TO POLLUTE
(
, 2490), “to pollute, defile, profane, begin.” This word is used more than
225 times in the Old Testament. As a verb,
is used in what seem to be two quite
different ways. In one sense, the word means “to pollute” or “to profane.” In the second
usage the word has the sense of “to begin.”
The most frequent use of this Hebrew root is in the sense of “to pollute, defile.” This
may be a ritual defilement, such as that resulting from contact with a dead body (Lev.
21:4), or the ceremonial profaning of the sacred altar by the use of tools in order to shape
the stones (Exod. 20:25). Holy places may be profaned (Ezek. 7:24); the name of God
(Ezek. 20:9) and even God Himself (Ezek. 22:26) may be profaned. The word is often
used to describe the defilement which results from illicit sexual acts, such as harlotry
(Lev. 21:9) or violation of one’s father’s bed (Gen. 49:4—the first occurrence).
In more than 50 instances, this root is used in the sense of “to begin.” Perhaps the
most important of such uses is found in Gen. 4:26. There it is stated that after the birth of
Seth, who was born to Adam and Eve after the murder of Abel by Cain, “men began to
call upon the name of the Lord” (
RSV
). The Septuagint translates it something like this:
“he hoped [trusted] to call on the name of the Lord God.” The Jerusalem Bible says:
“This man was the first to invoke the name of Yahweh.” One must ask whether the writer
meant to say that it was not until the birth of Enosh, the son of Seth, that people “began”
to call on the name of the Lord altogether, or whether he meant that this was the first time
the name Yahweh was used. In view of the accounts in Gen. 1-3, neither of these seems
likely. Perhaps the writer is simply saying that in contrast to the apparent non-Godfearing
attitude expressed by Cain, the generation beginning with Seth and his son Enosh was
known for its God-fearing way of life. Perhaps, in view of the passive intensive verb
form used here, the meaning is something like this: “Then it was begun again to call on
the name of the Lord.”
POOR (PERSON), WEAK (PERSON)