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104:3) or in the heavens (Job 22:14); these are probably anthropomorphisms (God is
spoken of as if He had bodily parts). Even more often God is said to accompany His
people (Exod. 33:14), to go to redeem (deliver) them from Egypt (2 Sam. 7:23), and to
come to save them (Ps. 80:2). The idea of God’s “going” (“walking”) before His people
in the pillars of fire and cloud (Exod. 13:21) leads to the idea that His people must “walk”
behind Him (Deut. 13:5). Quite often the people are said to have “walked” or to be
warned against “walking behind” foreign gods (Deut. 4:3). Thus, the rather concrete idea
of following God through the wilderness moves to “walking behind” Him spiritually.
Some scholars suggest that “walking behind” pagan gods (or even the true God) arose
from the pagan worship where the god was carried before the people as they entered the
sanctuary. Men may also “walk … after the imagination of their evil heart,” or act
stubbornly (Jer. 3:17). The pious followed or practiced God’s commands; they “walked”
in righteousness (Isa. 33:15), in humility (Mic. 6:8), and in integrity (Ps. 15:2). They also
“walk with God” (Gen. 5:22), and they live in His presence, and “walk before” Him
(Gen. 17:1), in the sense of living responsibly before Him.
B. Nouns.
(
'
, 1979), “course; doings; traveling company; caravan; procession.”
This noun occurs 6 times in the Old Testament.
This word conveys several nuances. In Nah. 2:5
refers to a “course”: “He
shall recount his worthies: they shall stumble in their walk.…” The word means “doings”
in Prov. 31:27. It may also mean “traveling-company” or “caravan as in Job 6:19 or a
“procession as in Ps. 68:24.
Several other related nouns occur infrequently.
"
, which appears 5 times,
means “passage” (Ezek. 42:4) and “journey” (Neh. 2:6).
B
occurs twice and means a
“visitor” (2 Sam. 12:4).
B
appears once with the meaning “steps” (Job 29:6).
$
occurs once to mean “procession,” specifically a thanksgiving procession
(Neh. 12:31).
WALL
(
, 2346), “wall.” This word is found in several Semitic languages and
even in Egyptian. In Phoenician, it has the more restricted significance of “fortifications.”
It is thought that the root meaning is “to protect,” as in the Arabic
, “to protect.”
)
occurs about 120 times in the Hebrew Bible. Its first occurrence is in Exod.
14:22: “And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and
the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.” It is rare in the
Pentateuch, in the historical books, and in the poetical books. The most frequent use is in
Nehemiah, where Nehemiah is in charge of the rebuilding of the “wall” of Jerusalem.
The primary meaning of
is a “wall” around a city, since in ancient Israel
people had to protect themselves by constructing such a well-fortified “wall” (cf. Lev.
25:29-30). Stones were used in the construction of the “wall”: “Now Tobiah the
Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall
even break down their stone wall” (Neh. 4:3). The “wall” was also strengthened by
thickness and other devices. From Solomonic times double walls (casemate) served a