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“water” during the sacrifice: “But his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water …”
(Lev. 1:9). Israel’s rites sometimes include consecrated “water”: “And the priest shall
take holy water in an earthen vessel; and of the dust that is in the floor of the tabernacle
the priest shall take, and put it into the water” (Num. 5:17). “Bitter water” was used in
Israel’s rituals, too: “And the priest shall set the woman before the Lord, and uncover the
woman’s head, and put the offering of memorial in her hands, which is the jealousy
offering: and the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that causeth the curse”
(Num. 5:18). It was “water” which when drunk brought a curse and caused bitterness
(Num. 5:24).
Fifth, in proper names this word is used of springs, streams, or seas and/or the area in
the immediate vicinity of such bodies of water: “Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and
stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and
upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood …”
(Exod. 7:19).
Sixth, this word is used figuratively in many senses.
"
symbolizes danger or
distress: “He sent from above, he took me; he drew me out of many waters” (2 Sam.
22:17). Outbursting force is represented by
in 2 Sam. 5:20: “The Lord hath
broken forth upon mine enemies before me, as the [break-through] of waters.” “Mighty
waters” describes the onrush of the godless nations against God: “The nations shall rush
like the rushing of many waters …” (Isa. 17:13). Thus the word is used to picture
something impetuous, violent, and overwhelming: “Terrors take hold on him as waters, a
tempest stealeth him away in the night” (Job 27:20). In other passages “water” is used to
represent timidity: “… Wherefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water”
(Josh. 7:5). Related to this nuance is the connotation “transitory”: “… Because thou shalt
forget thy misery, and remember it as waters that pass away” (Job 11:16). In Isa. 32:2
“water” represents that which is refreshing: “And a man shall be as a hiding place from
the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow
of a great rock in a weary land.” Rest and peace are figured by waters of rest, or quiet
waters: “… He leadeth me beside the still waters” (Ps. 23:2). Similar ideas are involved
when one’s wife’s charms are termed “water of life” or “water which enlivens”: “Drink
waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well” (Prov. 5:15).
Outpoured “water” represents bloodshed (Deut. 12:16), wrath (Hos. 5:10), justice (Amos
5:24;
KJV
, “judgment”), and strong feelings (Job 3:24).
(
, 8415), “deep water; ocean; water table; waters; flood of waters.”
Cognates of this word appear in Ugaritic, Akkadian (as early as Ebla, around 2400-2250
B.C.), and Arabic. The 36 occurrences of this word appear almost exclusively in poetical
passages but in all historical periods.
The word represents the “deep water” whose surface freezes when cold: “The waters
are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen” (Job 38:30). In Ps. 135:6
is used of the “ocean” in contrast to the seas: “Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that
did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places [in the entire ocean]” (cf.
Ps. 148:7 et al.).
The word has special reference to the deep floods or sources of water. Sailors in the
midst of a violent storm “mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths” (Ps.
107:26). This is hyperbolic or exaggerated poetical talk, but it presents the “depths” as