מרא As “Fear”?
The מרא passages are thus translated in the ESV•••
There are many words translated as “fear” in Scripture. This will be a discussion about one word that could have a larger meaning.
fear[h4172][מרא]
p.143 מרא expand; enlarge
GV p.144 מרר arouse [bitterness]; p.143 מרה oppose; p.143 מרא expand [enlarge]; p.137 מור exchange; p.105 יםר exchange; (p.157 נמר spotting) CM ימר effect change
DV אמר – p.144 מרר arouse [bitterness]; p.143 מרה oppose; p.137 מור exchange > p.12 אמר organize speech to be heard and understood
DV מהר – p.144 מרר arouse [bitterness]; p.143 מרה oppose; p.137 מור exchange > p.136 מהר hasten to act, usually to cement a relationship
CM (מרר no cognates); מרה spread (B69); מרא spread (B69); (מור no cognates); ימרeffect change (C33); אמר bring together (A52); מהר move in directed manner (B51); (נמר no cognates)
Recall, p.299 “In addition, words that contain similar consonants have similar meanings irrespective of the order of the consonants (Lv 7:18, Dt 25:18, Ps 17:14, 31:23, 60:5).” Should look at אמר and מרא from that perspective! And keep in the context of the entire Variant Family.
Strong’s (notice his derivation is from ירא)
h4172. מוֹרָא môrâ’; or מֹרָא morâ’; or מוֹרָה morah(Psa. 9:20), mo-raw«; from h3372. יָרֵאyârê’; fear; by implication, a fearful thing or deed: — dread, (that ought to be) fear(-ed), terribleness, terror.
AV (13) – fear 8, terror 3, dread 1, terribleness 1; fear, reverence, terror; fear, terror; reverence; object of reverence; awe-inspiring spectacle or deed
I am going to make an argument to you that the derivation that James Strong came up with may not be correct, but possibly the word h4172. מוֹרָא môrâ’; or מֹרָא morâ’; or מוֹרָה morah is of the root מרא, and should not be translated as fear or terror, but more along the lines of “expand/enlarge,” as is seen in the root מרא in EDBH. Please read and feel very free to accept or reject my argument. I am here to convert no one, nor to build a following. I am here to help you to see the God that I see, to see one aspect of God that Scripture describes. And again, please feel free to reject this sharing.
First I will share all the passages where h4172. מוֹרָא môrâ’ appears, and then we will get to some verses to help strengthen the witness. As you read these passages where h4172. מוֹרָאmôrâ’ is translated as fear or terror, in your head re-read as “expand/enlarge.” It is not that there is not an element of fear in the word, but that there is more to it than just fear. As always, you may need to read some context.
Genesis 9:2 The fear (h4172. מוֹרָא môrâ’) of you and the dread (h2844. חַת ḥaṯ) of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered.
• חַת-broken, dismayed, dread, fear.
• חֵת-Heth.
h2845. חֵת ḥêṯ;
GV p.93 חתת break [physically/emotionally]; p.92 חתה remove [from a source]; p.77 חותfear; ¿ p.154 נחת lower ?
(p.154 נחת lower) נחת not listed in EDBH as part of GV but fits
CM חתת pierce (A31); חתה retain/relinquish (A57); חות constrain by external force (A2); נחת contain (D56)
[See Ex1:9-10, to see how the “expanding/enlarging” can be a threat to man or beast.]
Deuteronomy 11:25 No one shall be able to stand against you. The LORD your God will lay the fear (h4172. מוֹרָא môrâ’) of you and the dread (h6343. פַּחַד p̱aḥaḏ) of you on all the land that you shall tread, as he promised you.
• p.199 פחד fear impending danger;; CM פחד act positively/negatively (B10)
Isaiah 8:12-13
12 “Do not call conspiracy (h7195. קֶשֶׁר qešer) all that this people calls conspiracy (h7195. קֶשֶׁר qešer), and do not fear (h3372. יָרֵא yârê’) what they fear (h4172. מוֹרָא môrâ’), nor be in dread (h6206. עָרַץ ‘âraṣ). 13 But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear (h4172. מוֹרָא môrâ’), and let him be your dread (h6206. עָרַץ ‘âraṣ). [[SEE Mt10:28; Lk12:4-5]]
• p.235 קשר bind;; CM expand/limit (C22)
• p.110 ירא fear; call to constant attention
GV p.240 רהה fear; p.237 ראה look [see and understand]; p.241 רוה strengthen [through water]; p.110 ירה cast [shoot]; p. 110 ירא fear [call to constant attention].
¿ DV ארה – p.240 רהה fear; p.237 ראה look [see and understand]; p.241 רוה strengthen [through water]; p.110 ירה cast [shoot]; p. 110 ירא fear [call to constant attention] > p.16 ארה contain; take and hold ?
CM רהה shatter (E81); ראה satisfy needs (E63); רוה increase/decrease (E66); ירה and ירא limit activity (C40); ארה absorb/expel (A51)
• p.193 ערץ strike fear;; CM ערץ focus decisively
[[ Bind/Loose
• Job 38:31
31 “Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades
or loose the cords of Orion?
Bind h7194. קָשַׁר qâšar
p.235 קשר bind CM expand/limit
Loose h6605. פָּתַח p̱âṯaḥ
p.209 פתח open CM react to externals
• Matthew 16:19 I will give you* the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” * the “you” is singular, and verbs singular, addressed to Peter
• Matthew 18:18 Truly, I say to you**, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
** here the “you” is plural, and the verbs with plural endings ⇨ expands to all those who are seeking Truth by open, direct communication. Read the context of Matthew 18:15-20, and notice:
20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
See John 5:33, 15:26, 18:37, 19:35 re: Witness/Truth and recall our entire discussion in Post 02. Multiple Witnesses ]]
Malachi 1:6 – The Priests’ Polluted Offerings
“A son honors his father, and a servant his master (h0113. אָדוֹן ’âḏôn; or (shortened) אָדֹן’adon). If then I am a father, where is my honor? And if I am a master (h0113. אָדוֹן ’âḏôn), where is my fear (h4172. מוֹרָא môrâ’)? says the LORD of hosts to you, O priests, who despise my name. But you say, ‘How have we despised your name?’
The most common name used in Scripture these days to substitute for the Tetragrammaton, the four-letter name of our God that the Jewish people stay away from mentioning, is Adonai, or represented here as LORD, is based upon this word h0113. אָדוֹן ’âḏôn; or (shortened) אָדֹן ’adon,
p.4 אדן sustain; provide base
GV p.52 דנן [repose] rest permanently; p.48 דון judge [and defend ideas; apply justice]; p.50 דין sentence [apply final judgment]
DV אדן – p.52 דנן repose [rest permanently] > p.4 אדן sustain; provide base
CM דנן remain contented (D34); דון pull together (D20); דין complete (D12); אדן rely and gratify (A18)
You will hopefully see how this fits with the picture I am painting. And recall, discussed before, that Hirsch’s concept of the Derivational Variants is one of (p.296) “individualizing or targeting the new action (seeDt1:17).”
Malachi 2:5 – (of the tribe of Levi, from which came the priests – they are provided for by the tithes and offerings of the other tribes)
5 My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him. It was a covenant of fear (h4172. מוֹרָא môrâ’), and he feared (h3372. יָרֵא yârê’) me. He stood in awe (h2865. חָתַת ḥâṯaṯ) of my name.
[[ See verses 1-9 and recall, relative to verse 8, the idea of “stumbling block,” which is referred to twelve times in Scripture: Lv19:14 is ‘first occurrence,’ then Ek3:20, 7:19, 14:1-10 (thrice), 44:12; Rm11:9, 14:13; 1Co1:23, 8:9; Rev2:14. Read those and you will have a clear picture of the meaning. ]]
•••
Other occurrences of h4172. מוֹרָא môrâ’; or מֹרָא morâ’; or מוֹרָה morah.
Deuteronomy 4:34 Or has any god ever attempted to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, and by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by great deeds of terror, all of which the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?
Deuteronomy 26:8 And the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great deeds of terror, with signs and wonders.
The “outstretched arm refers to the LORD’s ability to provide (see below).
Deuteronomy 34:10-12
10 And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, 11 none like him for all the signs and the wonders that the LORD sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, 12 and for all the mighty power and all the great deeds of terror that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.
Psalms 9:20 Put them in fear, O LORD!
Let the nations know that they are but men! Selah
Psalms 76:7-12
7 But you, you are to be feared (h3372. יָרֵא yârê’)!
Who can stand before you
when once your yearning (h0639. אַף ’ap̱) is roused?
8 From the heavens you uttered judgment;
the earth feared (h3372. יָרֵא yârê’) and was still,
9 when God arose to establish judgment,
to save all the humble of the earth. Selah
10 Surely the wrath of man shall praise you;
the remnant of wrath you will put on like a belt.
11 Make your vows to the LORD your God and perform them;
let all around him bring gifts
to him who is to be feared (h4172. מוֹרָא môrâ’),
12 who cuts off the spirit of princes,
who is to be feared (h3372. יָרֵא yârê’) by the kings of the earth.
Jeremiah 32:21 You brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and outstretched arm, and with great terror.
OK, those are the verses with h4172. מוֹרָא môrâ’. Hopefully you have a “feel,” an impression. Now we will go to other Scripture that will help explain. As you go through these, you may be led to one or more of the above verses. Again, we are attempting to paint a bigger picture than “fear.” The point is that the LORD is not like all the “gods” of the other nations, of which there were many, and were related to specific activities of mankind, such as fertility, war, rain, sunshine••• the point was that the LORD is the One God, the One responsible for ALL. The following verses are in order of their appearance in our English Bible translations,not necessarily in order of the verses above that they help bring light to. You may have to go back and forth.
Exodus 18:8-11
8 Then Moses told his father-in-law all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had come upon them on the way, and how the LORD had delivered them. 9 And Jethro rejoiced for all the good that the LORD had done to Israel, in that he had delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians.
10 Jethro said, “Blessed be the LORD, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh and has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. 11 Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods, because in this affair they dealt arrogantly with the people.”
Take note here that Jethro got the point (v.11) that the LORD is greater than all “gods.” Take note also, that Moses told Jethro of the two different aspects of the LORD (v.8), first of the power against Pharaoh and the Egyptians, but also the nurturing side of the LORD, who also delivered them from the hardship along the way (lack of water, lack of food, and predators).
Take note also that it is not God who does not want to speak directly with us, but it is we the people who are afraid of God’s speaking directly to us. This is immediately following the presentation of The Ten Words (we commonly call the Ten Commandments):
Exodus 20:18-21
18 Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off 19 and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” 20 Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.” 21 The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.
Regarding passages above speaking of the LORD’s ability to provide, the underlined words “outstretched arm” see this passage in Numbers:
Numbers 11:16-25 – The Seventy Elders
16 So the LORD said to Moses: “Gather to Me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them; bring them to the tabernacle of meeting, that they may stand there with you. 17 Then I will come down and talk with you there. I will take of the Spirit that is upon you and will put the same upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, that you may not bear it yourself alone. 18 Then you shall say to the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept in the hearing of the LORD, saying, “Who will give us meat to eat? For it was well with us in Egypt.” Therefore the LORD will give you meat, and you shall eat. 19 You shall eat, not one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days, 20 but for a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have despised the LORD who is among you, and have wept before Him, saying, “Why did we ever come up out of Egypt?” ’ ”
21 And Moses said, “The people whom I am among are six hundred thousand men on foot; yet You have said, ‘I will give them meat, that they may eat for a whole month.’ 22 Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, to provide enough for them? Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to provide enough for them?”
23 And the LORD said to Moses, “Has the LORD’S arm been shortened? Now you shall see whether what I say will happen to you or not.”
24 So Moses went out and told the people the words of the LORD, and he gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people and placed them around the tabernacle. 25 Then the LORD came down in the cloud, and spoke to him, and took of the Spirit that was upon him, and placed the same upon the seventy elders; and it happened, when the Spirit rested upon them, that they prophesied, although they never did so again.
[[Take note also that at this point the LORD placed some of God ‘s spirit on seventy elders, and recall the above John passage about the spirit of God coming to be a witness of Truth.
“Prophesied” is h5012. נָבָא nâḇâ’, which we have met before:
p.146 נבא prophesy; transmit God’s word
GV p.147 נבב hollow; p.146 נבא prophesy [transmit God’s word]; p.151 נוב flow [forth]
CM נבב move from end to end (D64); נבא move/speak directly (D62); נוב give over (D78)
Moses was asked by the people to “transmit God’s word,” and the elders, that one time, were able to transmit God’s word. The promise in the John 15 passage is that we will have the helper who will be a witness. And we as well, can be witnesses as were the elders, Jn18:37 “••• Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”
But there is an important difference, in another John passage:
John 14:15-17
15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
NOTICE, there is the same caveat given here as the one that was given to Solomon long ago, 1K3:14.]]
OK, I did jump forward, and need to return to 1 Kings to remind you of Elijah’s encounter with God as it relates to our discussion, in 1K19:11-13. Surrounding God is a great and strong wind that breaks rocks, and earthquakes, and fire. And just as in Exodus 20 when the people saw and learn the sound and light show, it was fearsome, making them tremble. But Elijah waited for these to pass, and then he heard (p.265 שמע listen; pay attention) the still, small voice. That is the voice of the spirit that has been placed within us. But we cannot hear God in the midst of the Fear and the Yearning, the self-focus. We must listen, pay attention. And that is the message for today.
The message of מרא, I believe, is much bigger than fear, ירא. I believe it is that not only is God powerful and fearsome, but the LORD is with us, supporting us, nurturing us “on the way,” and that if we simply listen, pay attention, put aside all the fears and yearning, God will direct our path. (Pr3:6)
And this••• this is really just a PostScript•••
Quote from the end of Blog 22. Psalm 78, posted in September, 2020.
“Sadly our country••• is at the point where we are so divided, so hateful to one another, so enflamed by the choices we have made, that we will be in the throes of what we have chosen for a while yet. There are no leaders in our generation that meet the description of Psalm 78. As we think about who might be a leader, I only pray two things: one is that our nation survives our current self-centeredness, and the second is that we will recognize David when he comes. God will raise him or her up. David had big failures in his life. So did Jacob. It is from failures that we are humbled. From failures that we recognize and change direction. Don’t look for someone “perfect;” look for someone who has lived and failed and gone back to living, striving to do better.”
You may have thought it rather nihilistic to make this statement. My perspective was that in our current state of extreme division, as in the last election, there is no choice that does not simply continue the polarization. Vote, please vote. I did early voting.
We need voices of Truth and reason. No doubt you feel your candidate is that voice. Go back to assessing your own Assumptive Reasoning. God told Samuel to tell the people who wanted a king all the grief that would come of it, but the people wanted a king anyway (1S8:7-22). God’s words to Samuel have been true over and over and over again. Samuel was judge and prophet.
Judge p.368 שפט judge; create order and harmony.
Prophet p.146 נבא prophesy; transmit God’s word.
One like unto Samuel should we look for. Read about his life in first and second Samuel. He spoke truth. He was no pushover. God’s word creates order and harmony. But it is only heard in quietude, waiting for the tumult to pass. See 1 Samuel 2:26 and Luke 2:52 for a parallel.
Look up all the times that “Fear not” appears in Scripture. Fear not. Rely upon the only One that can be relied upon, our Master.
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