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Hebrew Anagrams

Friday, August 17th, 2012 | Author:

Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “Blessed be he of the LORD, who has not failed in His kindness to the living or to the dead! For,” Naomi explained to her, “the man is related to us; he is one of our redeeming kinsmen.”  Ruth 2:20  JPS

Failed – “Hebrew words suggest each other,” says Eskenazi.[1]  What she implies is not limited to common phrases.  It’s true that we need to pay attention to the connections between similar Hebrew words.  For example, it is no accident that the same word is used to describe both Adam’s unconscious state when Havvah is formed and Abraham’s deep sleep when God establishes the covenant.  The phrase “listened to voice of your wife” in the story of Adam and the story of Abraham is deliberate.  But common occurrences are not the only way Hebrew draws connections.  Some ways are much more subtle.

Tikva Frymer-Kensky points out that the name “Boaz” (b-‘z) is the reverse of the consonants found in the word “abandon” (‘ –z-b).  The author of Ruth loves word games, and this is truly one of the most subtle of them.  Obviously, it can only be seen in Hebrew.  It makes the story about Boaz’ actions even more delightful.

Boaz is the kinsman redeemer.  You might ask yourself why Naomi never bothers to mention this to Ruth prior to Ruth’s encounter with him.  Nevertheless, at this point in the story Naomi confesses that there is in fact a man who can assist them.  The meaning of his name isn’t clear.  It might mean “there is strength in him” or it might refer to one of the two pillars in the Great Hall of the Temple.  But if the character of a man is revealed in his name, then the actions of a man display that character, and in the case of Boaz, we see a man of faith, compassion and strength.  More than anything else in the story of Ruth, we see a man who brings about the blessing of God.  He is the exact opposite of azav (to abandon).  This is the point of the anagram.  Boaz and “abandon” don’t go together.

With this anagram in mind, it might be necessary to re-read the story.  Ask yourself if Boaz doesn’t fulfill each requirement in the chain of hesed while all along crediting YHWH with the actions.  Boaz is the model of a man who does all that he can without thinking he is doing anything more than what is required.  He is the picture of hesed.  And that picture demonstrates what it means to reflect the character of the Most High God in a setting that hardly ever mentions God at all.  The anagram is more than a clever trick.  It is a call to become the living display of hesed in the lives of those around us.  It is turning failure into blessing.

Do you think that God might mix up the letters of your name and produce a demonstration of His character?  There’s only one way to find out.  Do hesed and see what happens.

Topical Index:  abandon, fail, azav, Boaz, hesed, Ruth 2:20


[1] Tamara Eskenazi and Tikva Frymer-Kensky, Ruth: The JPS Bible Commentary, p. 44.

 

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Down The Rabbit Hole

Tuesday, March 13th, 2012 | Author:

“I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you.”  Hebrews 13:5  NASB

Forsake – This verse in Hebrews is really a modified quotation from a verse in Deuteronomy 31:6.

The passage in Deuteronomy reads eemach lo yarpeka velo ya’azveka (He will not fail you, nor forsake you).  The promise is very old.  It was given to all those who were to enter the Land.  It was given to all those who would enter the Land, represented in the ones who actually crossed the Jordan.  It was given to all who would become part of Israel.  Therefore, it is given to us.

The Hebrew word for “forsake” is ‘azav.  ‘Azav has a strange etymology.  It is derived from two roots, one which means “to leave, to abandon, to forsake” (cf. Genesis 44:22 and Genesis 2:24), and another which means “to restore or repair” (Nehemiah 3:8).  In this first meaning, ‘azav can be quite a condemnation.  Israel forsakes YHWH, a theme that occurs over and over in Scripture.  But how can the same word also mean “to repair or restore”?  Let’s consider the pictograph.  Ayin-Zayin-Bet paints the scene “to experience being cut off from the house.”  ‘azav means loss of family, security and covenant.  To forsake is to be put at ultimate risk.  But this has a double edge.  A man must cut himself off from prior familial responsibilities and prior household safety when he attaches himself to his wife, his ‘ezer kenegdo.  This act of forsaking establishes a new place of security, of covenant commitment.  While it cuts one tie, it cements another.  It is abandoning and restoring at one and the same time.  So the Tanakh tells us that forsaking idolatry is, at the same time, restoring covenant with YHWH.

The translation of this promise into Greek yields further insight.  The Greek word is a combination of three separate words:  en meaning “a place,” kata meaning “down” – for emphasis – and leipo meaning “to leave behind.”  Therefore, we get egkataleipo – left down in a place.  The full sense is “to abandon by leaving behind in some place.”  Now we can see that the verse really emphasizes the same idea twice because deserting and forsaking both mean abandoning in some place.  God is very clear about this.  He wants us to see how important His promise is so He doubles it up.  He will never, ever quit on us, leave us down in the dumps, abandon us to some awful place.  He is not going away, no matter what we might feel.  From the time of Moses to the end of the New Testament, the promise is the same – you can count on Me!  I am with you!

This word is used by Yeshua on the cross.  “Why have you forsaken me?”  But Yeshua’s declaration points us toward a psalm of vindication, not a statement of abandonment.  If God promises never to leave His people, why do we think He left His Son?  The antonym helps us see the strength of this promise.  The opposite of “forsake” is “to hold fast, to seize and retain” (in the Greek – krateo).  God is just not going to let go.  Ever!

Topical Index: egkataleipo, ‘azav, forsake, abandon, cut off, Deuteronomy 31:6, Hebrews 13:5

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