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frequently
is used of the “odor” of a sacrifice being offered up to God. The
sacrifice, or the essence of the thing it represents, ascends to God as a placating “odor”:
“And the Lord smelled a sweet [
NASB
, “soothing”] savor …” (Gen. 8:21—the first
occurrence of the word).
B. Verb.
$
(
, 7306), “to perceive, enjoy, smell.” Gen. 8:21 is the first occurrence:
“And the Lord smelled a sweet savor.…” The word appears about 14 times.
TO SAY, SPEAK, ANSWER
A. Verb.
(
, 559), “to say, speak, tell, command, answer.” This verb occurs in all
Semitic languages and in all periods of those languages although it has the meaning “to
say, speak” only in the so-called Northwest Semitic dialects (except in Ugaritic) and in
Aramaic. Elsewhere the word means “to say” or “to see.” This verb is med about 5,280
times in Old Testament Hebrew.
*
refers to the simple act of communicating with the spoken word. Usually the
word is used of direct speech (“say”), although it may be used of indirect speech as well
(“speak”).
The usual subject of this verb is some selfconscious personality—man (Gen. 2:23) or
God (Gen. 1:3—the first occurrence of the word). Infrequently animals (Gen. 3:1) or, in
figures of speech such as personification, inanimate objects “say” something (Judg.
9:8ff.). This verb bears many connotations and in some passages is better translated
accordingly. The
KJV
renders this verb “answer” 98 times (“say as a response”), while the
NASB
translates such passages “said.” In Gen. 9:8 we read: “God spoke to Noah” (
NASB
);
the specific content of the communication is not immediately detailed. In Gen. 22:2
Abraham is to offer Isaac on the “mountain of which” God “tells [says to] him” (
NASB
).
Moses requests Pharaoh to let Israel go and sacrifice to God as He “commands” them
(Exod. 8:27); the force of God’s speaking is more than merely making a statement: It is
authoritative.
In addition to these frequently occurring connotations,
is rendered with many
words representing variom aspects of spoken communication, such as “appoint” or
“assign” (1 Kings 11:18), “mention” or “name” (Gen. 43:27), “call” (Isa. 5:20), and
“promise” (2 Kings 8:19). Although not always so translated, this word can imply the act
of thinking within oneself (Gen. 44:28) and the intention to do something (Exod. 2:14).
When used of divine speaking, this verb may refer to simple communication (Gen.
1:26). Often, however, there is a much fuller sense where God’s saying effects the thing
spoken (cf. Gen. 1). The phrase “thus says the Lord,” so frequent in the prophets, has
been analyzed as a message-formula. Ancient Near Eastern letters from, for example,
Mari (1750-1697 B.C.) and Amarna (1400-1360 B.C.) contain a similar formula. One
might compare our letters which open with “Dear sir.” Divine messages are often
concluded with the words “says the Lord.” The Bible recognizes that behind the divine
speaking is divine authority and power.
The Septuagint renders this verb by over 40 different Greek words and most often by
(“to say”) and
(“he said”).
B. Nouns.