Where Are You?

“Here are the firestone and the wood; but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?” Genesis 22:7

Where – So much is hidden from us.  Not deliberately, of course.  It is simply hidden because of the translation.  But once you see it, oh my!  What a difference it makes.  There it was, all the time, resting serenely in the text, undisguised to the Hebrew reader.  Insights into the character and nature of God in the economy of the text.

I am greatly indebted to Rabbi David Fohrman for this particular insight.  In his lectures on the story of Adam and Eve, he points out that there are two words for “where” in Hebrew. They are ‘eypoh and ‘ayyeh. Now, Hebrew is a language with a rather sparse vocabulary, so when it includes more than one word for the same idea, there is usually a very good reason for the extra word. That reason is usually because there is some important difference between the two conceptually-related words; something so important that the two ideas cannot be covered by a single word. You recognize distinctions when it comes to the Hebrew words for love (‘ahav, dodh and rayah).But you might not notice that there are also distinctions about the concept of “where.”Once again, our translations leave us in the dark.

‘eypoh occurs in Genesis 37:16.  Joseph is looking for his brothers. “Where are they shepherding the flocks?” he asks. Occurrences of ‘eypoh cover the general idea of “where” when it comes to geography.  This is the “where” of location.

But ‘ayyeh is not that kind of “where”.  Isaac is not asking about the location of the sheep for the sacrifice.  He is asking, in surprise, why the sheep is not with them. His use of ‘ayyeh indicates that he expects the offering to be along with them, but for some reason it is not.  Where is it? Once you see the difference between these two words, the verse comes to life. This isn’t a casual question about location. This is a concern about the unusual circumstances that are not as they should be.

Now that you recognize the crucial difference in Hebrew, you are ready for one more amazing insight.  In Genesis 3, God encounters Adam after he and Eve have eaten the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. God’s statement is the first question in the Bible. That’s right.  It’s the first question.  If you thought that the serpent asked the first question, then you are reading a translation. The serpent does not ask a question.  The serpent states a fact with an implied suggestion. (“God said …. So what”).  But God does ask a question.  He asks, “Where are you?”  Which Hebrew word for “where” do you suppose God uses?  Is God asking for Adam’s location?  Hardly!  God is asking why Adam is not where he is supposed to be – with Him.  The difference in the word makes an enormous difference in our understanding of the real situation.  Thank you, David Fohrman.

Where are you? Would you answer with a location, or an apology?

Topical Index: where, ‘ayyeh, ‘eypoh, Genesis 22:7, Genesis 37:16, Genesis 3:9