Basic HTML Version
word is used to refer to a number of kinds of “rods”: A “rod” which symbolizes spiritual
power, such as Moses’ rod (Exod. 4:2), Aaron’s rod (Exod. 7:9), and the sorcerers’ rods
(Exod. 7:12), and rods symbolizing authority (Num. 17:7). This noun is often used
elliptically instead of “the rod of the tribe of”; the word signifies “tribe” (cf. Exod. 31:2).
"
is also used in the phrase “the staff of bread,” of staves around which loaves are
suspended to keep them from mice (Lev. 26:26).
Some other nouns are related to the verb
! "$
occurs once (Isa. 8:8) and
refers to the “stretching out” of wings.
"
occurs about 29 times and means
something which is stretched out.
"
is used of a couch (Song of Sol. 3:7) and of a
metal framework (Esth. 1:6).
"
may also refer to a room, a bedchamber (2 Kings
11:2).
C. Adverb.
(
6
, 4295), “downwards; beneath.” This word occurs about 17 times. It
means “beneath” (Deut. 28:13), “downward” (2 Kings 19:30), and “underneath” (Exod.
28:27).
STRIFE
A. Verb.
(
, 7378), “to strive, contend.” This verb occurs 65 times and in all periods of
biblical Hebrew.
In Exod. 21:18 is used in connection with a physical struggle: “And if men strive
together, and one smite another with a stone, or with his fist, and he die not.…”
appears in Judg. 6:32 with the meaning of “to contend against” through words.
B. Nouns.
(
, 7379), “strife; quarrel; dispute; case; contentions; cause.” This noun has a
cognate only in Aramaic. Its 60 occurrences appear in all periods of biblical Hebrew.
The noun is used of conflicts outside the realm of law cases and courts. This
conflict between individuals may break out into a quarrel, as in Prov. 17:14: “The
beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water: therefore leave off contention, before
it be meddled with.” In Gen. 13:7-8 (the first occurrence of ) the word is used of
“contention” prior to open fighting between two groups: “And there was a strife between
the herdmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle.…” In such a case the one
with the “strife” is clearly the guilty party.
sometimes represents a “dispute” between two parties. This “dispute” is set in the
context of a mutual law structure binding both parties and a court which is empowered to
decide and execute justice. This may involve “contention” between two unequal parties
(an individual and a group), as when all Israel quarreled with Moses, asserting that he had
not kept his end of the bargain by adequately providing for them. Moses appealed to the
Judge, who vindicated him by sending water from a rock (cliff?) smitten by Moses: “And
he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding [quarrel] of
the children of Israel …” (Exod. 17:7). God decided who was the guilty party, Moses or
Israel. The “contention” may be between two individuals as in Deut. 25:1, where the two