Basic HTML Version
Bodies may be “buried” in caves (Gen. 25:9), sepulchers (Judg. 8:32), and graves
(Gen. 50:5). In a few places,
%
is used elliptically of the entire act of dying. So in Job
27:15 we read: “Those that remain of him [his survivors] shall be buried in
&
and his
widows shall not weep.”
B. Noun.
%
(
, 6913), “grave; tomb; sepulcher.”
+
occurs 67 times and in its first
biblical appearance (Gen. 23:4) the word refers to a “tomb-grave” or “sepulcher.” The
word carries the meaning of “grave” in Jer. 5:16, and in Ps. 88:11,
%
is used of a
“grave” that is the equivalent of the underworld. In Judg. 8:32, the word signifies a
“family sepulcher.” Jeremiah 26:23 uses the word for a “burial place,” specifically an
open pit.
TO BUY, ACQUIRE
%
(
, 7069), “to get, acquire, create, buy.” A common Semitic word,
%
is found in ancient and modern Hebrew and in ancient Akkadian and Ugaritic. It occurs
in the text of the Hebrew Old Testament 84 times. The first occurrence of
%
in the
Old Testament is in Gen. 4:1: “I have gotten a man from the Lord.” In this passage,
%
expresses a basic meaning of God’s “creating” or “bringing into being,” so Eve is
really saying, “I have created a man-child with the help of the Lord.” This meaning is
confirmed in Gen. 14:19, 22 where both verses refer to God as “creator of heaven and
earth” (
KJV
,
NASB
, “possessor”;
RSV
, “maker”).
In Deut. 32:6, God is called the “father” who “created” Israel; a father begets or
“creates,” rather than “acquires” children. In the Wisdom version of the Creation story
(Prov. 8:22-36), Wisdom herself states that “the Lord created me at the beginning of his
work” (
RSV
,
NEB
,
JB
,
TEV
). “Possessed” (
KJV
,
NASB
) is surely not as appropriate in such a
context.
When the Psalmist says to God, “Thou didst form my inward parts” (Ps. 139:13,
RSV
)
he surely meant “create” (
JB
).
+
is used several times to express God’s redeeming activity in behalf of Israel,
again reflecting “creativity” rather than “purchase.” Exod. 15:16 is better translated, “…
Thy people … whom thou hast created,” rather than “thou hast purchased” (
RSV
). See
also Ps. 74:2; 78:54.
The meaning “to buy” is expressed by
%
frequently in contexts where one person
makes a purchase agreement with another. The word is used to refer to “buying” a slave
(Exod. 21:2) and land (Gen. 47:20).
C
CALAMITY
(
$
, 343), “calamity; disaster.” A possible cognate of this word appears in
Arabic. Its 24 biblical appearances occur in every period of biblical Hebrew (12 in
wisdom literature and only 1 in poetical literature, the Psalms).