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“rock” (or mountain) serves as a figure of security (Ps. 61:2), firmness (Job 14:18), and
something that endures (Job 19:24).
Third,
$
can mean “rocky ground” or perhaps a large flat “rock”: “And Rizpah the
daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and spread it for her upon the rock …” (2 Sam. 21:10;
cf. Prov. 30:19).
Fourth, in some passages the word means “boulder.” in the sense of a rock large
enough to serve as an altar: “… There rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the
flesh and the unleavened cakes …” (Judg. 6:21).
“Rock” is frequently used to picture God’s support and defense of His people (Deut.
32:15). In some cases this noun is an epithet, or meaningful name, of God (Deut. 32:4),
or of heathen gods: “For their rock [god] is not as our Rock [God] …” (Deut. 32:31).
Finally, Abraham is the source (rock) from which Israel was hewn (Isa. 51:1).
TO RULE
(
, 4910), “to rule, reign, have dominion.” This term is common in both
ancient and modern Hebrew. It is found approximately 100 times in the text of the
Hebrew Old Testament. The word is used for the first time in the Old Testament in Gen.
1:18, where the sun, moon, and stars are designated “to rule over the day and over the
night.…”
"
is used most frequently in the text to express the “ruling or dominion” of one
person over another (Gen. 3:16; 24:2). Cain is advised “to rule over” or “master” sin
(Gen. 4:7). Joseph’s brothers respond to his dreams with the angry question: “Shalt thou
indeed reign over us?” (Gen. 37:8; the Hebrew verb here is literally “ruling will you
rule,” the repetition of the same root giving the needed emphasis).
As Creator and Sovereign over His world, God “ruleth by his power for ever” (Ps.
66:7). When God allowed Israel to have a king, it was with the condition that God was
still the ultimate King and that first loyalty belonged to Him (Deut. 17:14-20). This
theocratic ideal is perhaps best expressed by Gideon: “I will not rule over you, neither
shall my son rule over you: the Lord shall rule over you” (Judg. 8:23). With the possible
exception of David, no king of Israel fully lived up to the theocratic ideal, and David
himself had some problems with it.
TO RUN
A. Verb.
$
(
0
, 7323), “to hasten, run.” This verb also appears in Ethiopic, Aramaic
(where it is spelled
), and Akkadian (where it means “hasten to one’s aid”). It
appears about 80 times in the Bible and in all periods of the language.
In some contexts
$
signifies moving very quickly or “hastening” rather than
running. This appears to be the emphasis in its first occurrence, where we are told that
“when [Abraham] saw them [the three men], he ran to meet them from the tent door …”
(Gen. 18:2). Abraham did not run to meet the three men but instead moved very quickly
to meet them. So, also, Abraham probably did not run but “hastened” to his herd to
choose the animal for the meal (cf. Gen. 18:7). This meaning is confirmed by Isa. 59:7,
where the verb is in synonymous parallelism with
(“to hasten”): “Their [the
wicked’s] feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood.…” The sense