Page 34 - Vines Expositary Dictionary

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military unit, “and with them by their generations, after the house of their fathers, were
bands of soldiers for war, six and thirty thousand men …” (1 Chron. 7:4). Bildad asks the
rhetorical question concerning God, “Is there any number [numbering] of his armies?”
(Job 25:3).
The verb
means “to gather together against” (Ps. 94:21), “to make incisions
into oneself” as a religious act (Deut. 14:1), “to roam about” (Jer. 30:23), or “to muster
troops” (Mic. 5:1).
TO BE
(
, 1961), “to become, occur, come to pass, be.” This verb occurs only in
Hebrew and Aramaic. The Old Testament attests hayah about 3,560 times, in both
Hebrew and Aramaic.
Often this verb indicates more than simple existence or identity (this may be indicated
by omitting the verb altogether). Rather, the verb makes a strong statement about the
being or presence of a person or thing. Yet the simple meaning “become” or “come to
pass” appears often in the English versions.
The verb can be used to emphasize the presence of a person (e.g., God’s Spirit—Judg.
3:10), an emotion (e.g., fear—Gen. 9:2), or a state of being (e.g., evil—Amos 3:6). In
such cases, the verb indicates that their presence (or absence) is noticeable—it makes a
real difference to what is happening.
On the other hand, in some instances
does simply mean “happen, occur.” Here
the focus is on the simple occurrence of the events—as seen, for example, in the
statement following the first day of creation: “And so it happened” (Gen. 1:7). In this
sense,
is frequently translated “it came to pass.”
The use of this verb with various particles colors its emphasis accordingly. In
passages setting forth blessing or cursing, for example, this verb not only is used to
specify the object of the action but also the dynamic forces behind and within the action.
Gen. 12:2, for example, records that God told Abram: “… I will bless thee, and make thy
name great; and thou shalt be [
] a blessing.” Abram was already blessed, so God’s
pronouncement conferred upon him a future blessedness. The use of
in such
passages declares the actual release of power, so that the accomplishment is assured—
Abram will be blessed because God has ordained it.
In another set of passages,
constitutes intent rather than accomplishment.
Hence, the blessing becomes a promise and the curse a threat (cf. Gen. 15:5).
Finally, in a still weaker use of
the blessing or curse constitutes a wish or
desire (cf. Ps. 129:6). Even here the verb is somewhat dynamic, since the statement
recognizes God’s presence, man’s faithfulness (or rebellion), and God’s intent to
accomplish the result pronounced.
In miracle accounts,
often appears at the climax of the story to confirm the
occurrence of the event itself. Lot’s wife looked back and “became” a pillar of salt (Gen.
19:26); the use of
emphasizes that the event really occurred. This is also the force