Basic HTML Version
his judgments, and his testimonies …” (1 Kings 2:3). In Ps. 122:4 the annual pilgrimage
feasts are called “the testimony of Israel.”
THERE IS
(
, 3426), “there is; substance; he/she/ it is/are.” Cognates of this word are
attested in Ugaritic, Aramaic, Akkadian, Amorite, and Arabic. It appears about 137 times
and in all periods of biblical Hebrew.
This particle is used substantively only in Prov. 8:21: “… That I may cause those that
love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures.”
In all other appearances the word asserts existence with emphasis. Sometimes
appears with a predicate following, as it does in Gen. 28:16: “And Jacob awaked out of
his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not.” In a few
passages the word is used as a response to an inquiry: “Is the seer here? And they [the
young maidens] answered them, and said, He is; behold, he is before you …” (1 Sam.
9:11-12). Used absolutely the word can mean “there is/are/was/were,” as it does in Gen.
18:24 (the first biblical appearance): “Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city
…?” In many contexts
used in framing questions or protestations suggests doubt
that the matter queried exists or is to be found: “As the Lord thy God liveth, there is no
nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee: and when they said, He is
not there; he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they found thee not” (1 Kings
18:10). This is especially clear in Jer. 5:1, where God commands the prophet to go and
seek “if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the
truth.…”
There are several other special uses of
!
Used with the particle
and a
participle, it emphasizes abiding intention: “And I came this day unto the well, and said,
O Lord God of my master Abraham, if now thou do prosper my way which I go [literally,
if there surely is a prospering of my way; or if it surely is that you intend to prosper] …”
(Gen. 24:42). Possession is sometimes indicated by
plus the preposition : “And
Esau said, I have enough, my brother …” (Gen. 33:9). Used with the infinitive and the
preposition
signifies possibility—Elisha told the Shunammite woman: “…
Behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for thee?
( $
thou be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the host [is it possible that
you want me to speak a word in your behalf to]?” (2 Kings 4:13).
TO THINK, DEVISE
A. Verb.
(
, 2803), “to think, devise, purpose, esteem, count, imagine, impute.”
This word appears 123 times in the Old Testament, and it implies any mental process
involved in planning or conceiving.
)
can be translated as “devise” in association with the sense of “to think and
reckon.” A gihed person of God “devises” excellent works in gold and other choice
objects (Exod. 35:35). The word may deal with evil, as when Haman “devised” an evil
plot against the Jewish people (Esth. 8:3). David issued his prayer against those who
“devise” evil toward him as a servant of the Lord (Ps. 35:4), and the scoundrel “devises”