Basic HTML Version
(
, 5144), “to separate, be separated.” This verb occurs about 10 times in the
Old Testament. The root
is a common Semitic verb. In Akkadian,
$
meant
“to curse,” but in West Semitic it connoted “to dedicate.” Students of Semitic languages
often relate Hebrew
to
(“to vow”).
“To separate” and “to consecrate” are not distinguished from one another in the early
Old Testament books. For example, the earliest use of
in the Pentateuch is in Lev.
15:31: “Thus shall ye
the children of Israel from their uncleanness; that they die
not in their uncleanness, when they defile my tabernacle that is among them.” Here
Moses uses the word in a cultic sense, meaning a kind of “consecration.” A comparison
of various twentieth-century translations will show that
in Lev. 22:2 is sometimes
rendered “to separate,” and sometimes “to dedicate.” The
NIV
translates this verse: “Tell
Aaron and his sons to treat with respect the sacred offerings the Israelites
to
me, so that they will not profane my holy name. I am the Lord.”
In the days of the prophet Zechariah, Jews asked the Lord whether certain fasts which
they had voluntarily adopted were to be continued and observed. “When they had sent
unto the home of God Sherezer and Regemmelech, and their men, to pray before the
Lord, And to speak unto the priests which were in the house of the Lord of hosts, and to
the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself [
NASB
,
“abstain”], as I have done these so many years?” (Zech. 7:2-3). The Lord’s response
stated that it was no longer necessary and therefore needed not to be continued.
In prophetic literature, the verb
indicates Israel’s deliberate separation from
Jehovah to dedication of foreign gods or idols. In Hos. 9:10, the various versions differ in
their rendering of
&
“I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers
as the firstripe in the fig tree at her first time: but they went to Baal-peor, and separated
[
NASB
, “devoted”;
NEB
,
RSV
, “consecrated”] themselves unto that shame; and their
abominations were according as they loved.” The prophet Ezekiel employed
&
“For
every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourneth in Israel, which
separateth himself from me, and setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the
stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a prophet to inquire of him
concerning me; I the Lord will answer him by myself” (Ezek. 14:7).
B. Noun.
(
, 5139), “one who is separated; Nazarite.” There are 16 occurrences of the
word in the Old Testament. The earliest use of
is found in Gen. 49:26: “The
blessings of thy father … shall be on the head of Joseph … that was
from his
brethren” (cf. Deut. 33:16). Some modern-speech translators have translated
in
these two verses as “prince” (
NIV
,
NEB
,
NAB
). The
KJV
and
RSV
render the phrase
“separate from his brethren.” This interpretation might be justified by assuming that
Joseph was separated from his brethren to become the savior of his father, his brethren,
and their families.