If there is anyone out there that I have not yet offended, read here. I will surely offend you today. Again, simply trying to share a few of thousands of connected threads in the Hebrew. Your choice to hear or not. Let’s return to this image:
This discussion is purposely a continuation of the previous one, so if you have not read 54. Answers, I would recommend that you read it before proceeding here.
Let’s go to column I, row 3: און. I show you the EDBH entry for a couple of reasons. First, see (as covered last time) all four Gradational Variants in column I listed here.
There will be a few pieces to tie together here, that may at first not seem connected. Hold on for the ride. First, if you think back to our discussions on livestock (which we’ve not yet gotten back to – a good project for someone, livestock מקנה and beasts בהמה – I don’t know if I’ll ever live long enough to get back to all the open topics), the idea of livestock was one of possessions, and its tie-in to influence. The inspiration was to see if there were occurrences of און together with מקנה. I entered these two words together in the AlHaTorah Search software thus:
And recall, the software considers Vav and Yod the same when Full/Lacking Spelling is checked. You can see there is one verse where the two occur together, and also you can gather there is a lot of discussion about these together in commentaries (which I don’t/can’t read). Here is the verse and its context, which is the introduction to the judge Gideon. Important message in this pericope.
Judges 6:1-10
1 Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD. So the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian for seven years, 2 and the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of the Midianites, the children of Israel made for themselves the dens, the caves, and the strongholds which are in the mountains. 3 So it was, whenever Israel had sown, Midianites would come up; also Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them. 4 Then they would encamp against them and destroy the produce of the earth as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep nor ox nor donkey. 5 For they would come up with their livestock and their tents, coming in as numerous as locusts; both they and their camels were without number (NKJV footnote “innumerable” – h4557. מִסְפָּר misp̱âr h0369. אַיִן ’aiyn); and they would enter the land to destroy it. 6 So Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites, and the children of Israel cried out to the LORD.
7 And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried out to the LORD because of the Midianites, 8 that the LORD sent a prophet to the children of Israel, who said to them, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘I brought you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of bondage; 9 and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you and gave you their land. 10 Also I said to you, “I am the LORD your God; do not fear (h3372. יָרֵא yârê’) the gods of the Amorites (h0567. אֱמֹרִי ’emôrîy), in whose land (בְּאַרְצָ֑ם) you dwell.” But you have not obeyed My voice.'”
OK, one thread at a time. First in verse ten:
We are not to call to constant attention the things of importance/the idols/gods of the Amorites. We are not to focus on it, whether it is that of our neighbors or whether it is our own. If we “don’t have,” then we tend to envy those that “do have.” If we “do have,” we tend to look down on those who “don’t have.” This is what we are not to do. It’s the old saying of “keeping up with the Joneses.” It is wanting the fast car, the trophy husband or wife, the star athlete child, the fancy house. Instead we are to relate to one another on equal footing. We are to be brothers and sisters. Recall Lilla Watson’s saying.
Next is the Amorites (h0567. אֱמֹרִי ’emôrîy), to which we’ve already alluded, “prominence,” from Post 43.
Exodus 3:17
17 and I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.”’
Shemot 3:17
17 ואמר אעלה אתכם מעני מצרים אל־ארץ הכנעני והחתי והאמרי והפרזי והחוי והיבוסי אל־ארץזבת חלב ודבש׃
Below is a different list of nations, some the same, some not. The point is not to learn another set of nations. There are some important points, though. The first is that, though we often do meet the first of a clan, like Heth, the father of the Hittites and Jebus, the father of the Jebusites, we never meet a person named Amor. Here is the root for the Amorites:
(There is another trail that would be easy to turn onto here that we will avoid for now••• far too complex.) Simply note that if there were an Amor, the trait would fit with A42 bring together.
Another point to note is that the Amorites are “fathered” by Canaan. This is the first appearance of the word Amorite:
Genesis 10:15-18
15 Canaan fathered Sidon his firstborn and Heth, 16 and the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, 17 the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, 18 the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. Afterward the clans of the Canaanites dispersed.
Bereshit 10:15-18
15 וכנען ילד את־צידן בכרו ואת־חת׃
16 ואת־היבוסי ואת־האמרי ואת הגרגשי׃
17 ואת־החוי ואת־הערקי ואת־הסיני׃
18 ואת־הארודי ואת־הצמרי ואת־החמתי ואחר נפצו משפחות הכנעני׃
Notice in Ex3:17 and here in Gn10:16-18, each of these nations, groups of people, have a Yod ending/suffix on the word. A Yod suffix can occur for different reasons. One is to denote a construct phrase (a means of showing the “possessive” in Hebrew, as we might say in a “house of horrors.” The “of” is sometimes (not the majority) seen in construct phrases as a Yod suffix on the first noun (here it would be “house.” One of the most common reasons for a Yod suffix is a pronoun ending of the “first person,” which reflects “I, me, my, mine.”
A point the writer of Samuel doesn’t want you to miss:
2 Samuel 18:33(19:1H)
33 And the king was deeply moved and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept. And as he went, he said, “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!”
2 Samuel 19:1
1 וַיִּרְגַּ֣ז הַמֶּ֗לֶךְ וַיַּ֛עַל עַל־עֲלִיַּ֥ת הַשַּׁ֖עַר וַיֵּ֑בְךְּ וְכֹ֣ה ׀ אָמַ֣ר בְּלֶכְתֹּ֗ו בְּנִ֤י אַבְשָׁלוֹם֙ בְּנִ֣י בְנִ֣י אַבְשָׁלֹ֔ום מִֽי־יִתֵּ֤ן מוּתִי֙אֲנִ֣י תַחְתֶּ֔יךָ אַבְשָׁלֹ֖ום בְּנִ֥י בְנִֽי׃
2 Samuel 19:4(5H)
4 The king covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, “O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!”
2 Samuel 19:5
5 וְהַמֶּ֨לֶךְ֙ לָאַ֣ט אֶת־פָּנָ֔יו וַיִּזְעַ֥ק הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ קֹ֣ול גָּדֹ֑ול בְּנִי֙ אַבְשָׁלֹ֔ום אַבְשָׁלֹ֖ום בְּנִ֥י בְנִֽי׃ ס
Similarly, אֲדֹנָי ’ăḏônây “my lord” or “my master.”
Only raising questions here – not saying it is or is not the case, but is the “my” what is defining these “nations” as a people? It would be easy to see for the Amorites, saying “my prosperity,” as in, I worked hard for this, it belongs to me. Recall the gleaning concept – reap, but leave the corners behind for those without. This is where we get to the point of “the love of money•••” (1Ti6:10; Heb13:5) and the discussion of mammon in the first Appendix of LogAndSpeck. Mammon is the idol of “that upon which we put our trust, our confidence,” if it is not the LORD (יהוה) – Mt6:24. And how we define ourselves.
And this is where I bring in the question of the Yod suffix on the other “nations.” Do we define ourselves, our personalities, by these natures which we have come to “possess?” Do I define myself by being a violent person; by being one who “tramples” on others; do I define myself by my affliction? Has the world so hurt me that this is what now defines me? ••• Have I offended you yet? We are to define ourselves by living in the house of God, not any of these other houses. “Have no other gods before me•••”
A few more points about Amorites. Of all the “nations” listed, this group appears most often in Scripture, if the software word counts are correct and I have not made an error. They appear more often even than the Canaanites, with which you are probably more familiar. Let’s look at a few appearances to get more comfortable with who they are.
Genesis 14:7
7 Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh) and defeated all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who were dwelling in Hazazon-tamar.
dwelling – h3427. יָשַׁב yâšaḇ – p.108 יצב erect; stand firm independently
Hazazon-tamar – h2688. חַצְצוֹן תָּמָר ḥaṣeṣôn ṯâmâr:
Hazazon – חַצְצוֹן Strongs says from h2686. חָצַץ ḥâṣaṣ
p.87 חצץ separate;; CM strengthen/weaken (A56)
I ask that you also consider חצ + צון
•חֵץ-[phrase] archer, arrow, dart, shaft, staff, wound.
h2671. חֵץ ḥêṣ; from h2686. חָצַץ ḥâṣaṣ
GV p.87 חצץ separate; p.87 חצה penetrate [split in the middle]; p.76 חוץ exclude; p.154 נחץhurry [to; press forward] No DVs
CM חצץ strengthen/weaken (A56); חצה limit/expand activity (A24); חוץ expedite/limit support (A7); נחץ move quickly (D5
+
GV p.218 צנן pierce; p.218 צנה fence in [protect]; p.218 צנא protect
DV צאן – p.218 צנן pierce; p.218 צנה fence in [protect] > p.211 צאן protect sheep
DV הצן – p.218 צנן pierce; p.218 צנה fence in [protect] > p.61 הצן arm; equip
CM צנן focus directly (E48); צנה and צנא distance (E26); צאן quiet/excite (E35); הצן absorb and store (A26
tamar – תָּמָר Strongs says from h8558. תָּמָר ṯâmâr
p.286 תמר rise to heights
While the Amorites in their prosperity ישב stand firm independently, they separate themselves, fencing themselves in, protecting themselves from the very sheep they are to be caring for (John21:15-19). If we were a Cephas who had let his master down and had been restored (and we are/have been many times over), would you not think that we would be aware and treat others the same? (Please see Mt18:21-35.) Our abundance comes from our God, not from our doing.
Only a few more points I really need to tie in on this upload. We have barely scratched the surface on all the connections, but these are highly important. And besides, I need another chance or two to offend you if I haven’t already.
Genesis 15:13-16
13 Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. 14 But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15 As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. 16 And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity (h5771. עָוֹן ‘âôn) of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
h5771. עָוֹן ‘âôn – one of our roots. Column II, Row 3 time to advantage; benefit for specific time periods
Who is in control of the circumstances in our lives, the “time periods” in our lives? Where do things like climate change and pandemics come from? Hurricanes, ice storms, earthquakes? I encourage you to read chapters 38 and 39 of the Book of Job.
Genesis 48:12-22
12 So Joseph brought them from beside his knees, and he bowed down with his face to the earth. 13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near him. 14 Then Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh was the firstborn. 15 And he blessed Joseph, and said:
“God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
The God who has fed me all my life long to this day,
16 The Angel who has redeemed me from all evil,
Bless the lads;
Let my name be named upon them,
And the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;
And let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”
17 Now when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him; so he took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”
19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.”
20 So he blessed them that day, saying, “By you Israel will bless, saying, ‘May God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh!’ ” And thus he set Ephraim before Manasseh.
21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am dying, but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers. 22 Moreover I have given to you one portion above your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword (h2719. חֶרֶב ḥereḇ) and with my bow (h7198. קֶשֶׁת qešeṯ).”
Genesis 48:22
22 וַאֲנִ֞י נָתַ֧תִּֽי לְךָ֛ שְׁכֶ֥ם אַחַ֖ד עַל־אַחֶ֑יךָ אֲשֶׁ֤ר לָקַ֨חְתִּי֙ מִיַּ֣ד הָֽאֱמֹרִ֔י בְּחַרְבִּ֖י וּבְקַשְׁתִּֽי׃ פ
Note the prefix is ב for both sword and bow. “Living in” the sword and the bow. And the Yod suffix, “my.” What are they?
h2719. חֶרֶב ḥereḇ
h7198. קֶשֶׁת qešeṯ
If you study the Tanakh, what many call the Old Testament, you recognize cycles. There are cycles in kings that follow God and those that don’t. There are cycles in invasions and resettling. There are cycles in individuals’ lives. They are growth cycles. They are times of strengthening and times of parching, losing vitality. If you follow the life of Joseph through much of Genesis, beginning in Chapter 37 you will see that Joseph endured numerous cycles in his life, favored son, outcast, favored steward, prisoner, interpreter of dreams and Pharaoh’s right-hand. His experiences gave him the insight to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams, but had not, as of Gn48, given him insight into his own life (how like the rest of us?)
The sword and the bow are the cycles. The times (again, who is in control of the times? What are we in control of? How we react to the times. In iniquity or in righteousness.) of strengthening and the times of losing vitality. God/life will strengthen us one way or another. Our awareness of who we are and of the situation will help our choices/our reactions. Living in “my hard times; my prosperous times,” and always keeping our focus on the LORD, השם.
Immediately following these verses in Genesis 48 above is Genesis 49, Jacob’s last words to his sons, the wisdom of his 130 years of many wrestlings in his life. What did he learn from his own struggles and from watching the struggles in his children’s lives? What did he learn from his mother, that did not dawn on him until much later in life? When you have a chance, read Gn49, and at least one time through, focus on Joseph, the fruitful bow, the one with prosperity.
Bereshit 41:51-53
51 ויקרא יוסף את־שם הבכור מנשה כי־נשני אלהים את־כל־עמלי ואת כל־בית אבי׃
52 ואת שם השני קרא אפרים כי־הפרני אלהים בארץ עניי׃
53 ותכלינה שבע שני השבע אשר היה בארץ מצרים׃ (Read Gn41:53-57)
Genesis 41:51-52
51 Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh. “For,” he said, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s house.” 52 The name of the second he called Ephraim, “For God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.” Note the ב’s, the “living in” and the ending Yods “my.” Our self-focus.
Ephraim – h0669. אֶפְרַיִם ’ep̱raiym; dual of masculine form of h0672. אֶפְרָת ’ep̱râṯ; double fruit
h0672. אֶפְרָת ’ep̱râṯ; or אֶפְרָתָה ’Ephrathah; from h6509. פָּרָה p̱ârâ; fruitfulness; Ephrath, another name for Bethlehem
GV p.207 פרר separate [out parts]; p.206 פרה produce; p.205 פרא free [of control]; p.199 פור invalidate [undermine proper proceeding]; p.196 פאר distinguish [stand out]
DV פאר – p.207 פרר separate [out parts] > p.196 פאר distinguish [stand out]
DV אפר – p.207 פרר separate out parts > p.15 אפר cover No other DVs
CM פרר separate out (B42); פרה and פרא emerge from constraints (B37); פור undermine (B20); פאר expose; highlight (B1); אפר expose/conceal (A8)
At least at the time of the birth of his sons, and apparently at the time near his father’s death, Joseph remained focused on the times of prosperity, whether in them or out of them. However, he himself told his brothers the answer, shortly after Jacob’s death. Perhaps the crossing of hands finally made sense to Joseph: (read verses 15-21)
Genesis 50:19-20
19 Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? 20 But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.
Again, a recapitulation of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
Joshua 24:12
12 I sent the hornet (h6880. צִרְעָה ṣir‘â) before you which drove them out from before you, also the two kings of the Amorites, but not with your sword or with your bow.
h6880. צִרְעָה ṣir‘â p.222 צרע erupt
The key here is to recognize this root, צרע, as the root for “leprosy,” which we have covered many times before, is pride. God/life sends pride to those in prosperity. It is for that reason that they fall. It is for that reason that Egypt faced the ten plagues, the pride of Pharaoh, even beyond when his people were ready to let the Israelites go. The cycles are very important for our learning and our growth. But most of all, it is realizing that God is in control of the times of our lives, as was pointed out in Job 38 and 39.
What did Jacob/Israel learn from the wisdom of his mother, that finally he was able to recognize, that Joseph saw in Pharaoh’s dreams, that we must recognize? Will we ever “get it?”
Genesis 25:20-23
20 Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah as wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan Aram, the sister of Laban the Syrian. 21 Now Isaac pleaded with the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If all is well, why am I like this?” So she went to inquire of the LORD.
23 And the LORD said to her:
“Two nations are in your womb,
Two peoples shall be separated from your body;
One people shall be stronger than the other,
And the greater shall serve the lesser.”
((This could easily go on and on and on. I will wrap this one up with just a few more important and closely related points. First, see Mt26:11; Mk14:7; and John12:8. We will get to the context of these verses at another time, to tie it back to Tanakh beyond this one connection. Just, please, see this connection – one “people” will always be stronger than the other. The “poor,” afflicted, parched, with lost vitality will always be around, as will the strengthened.))
How Joseph was able to help all the world by interpreting the dreams of Pharaoh was to see that the seven strong years must be used to prepare for the seven lean years. When you are in the bow, strengthening, you must help the one who is in the sword, the time of lost vitality. The greater shall serve the lesser. And you can be absolutely certain that cycles will continue. They always have. They always will.
Genesis 8:22
22 “While the earth remains,
Seedtime and harvest,
Cold and heat,
Winter and summer,
And day and night
Shall not cease.”
We must learn, get our teaching, from both the “good times” and the “bad times.” And we must always be mindful of the ones with lost vitality. We, the privileged, who have been the long-standing prosperous ones, the Amorites, Ephraim, should have been making certain we were serving the lesser, anyone not a part of prosperous. Many have said that we in America are Ephraim. We have certainly been very fruitful. Have we “settled on the lees?” Have we come to a cycling point where who is lesser and who is greater is switching? Does it feel like your world is crumbling?
Yechezkel 27:30 (Mikraot Gedolot)
וְהִשְׁמִיעוּ עָלַיִךְ בְּקוֹלָם וְיִזְעֲקוּ מָרָה וְיַעֲלוּ עָפָר עַל רָאשֵׁיהֶם בָּאֵפֶר יִתְפַּלָּשׁוּ.
Ezekiel 27:25-32 – of Tyre
25 “The ships of Tarshish were carriers of your merchandise.
You were filled and very glorious in the midst of the seas.
26 Your oarsmen brought you into many waters,
But the east wind broke you in the midst of the seas.
27 “Your riches, wares, and merchandise,
Your mariners and pilots,
Your caulkers and merchandisers,
All your men of war who are in you,
And the entire company which is in your midst,
Will fall into the midst of the seas on the day of your ruin.
28 The common-land will shake at the sound of the cry of your pilots.
29 ‘All who handle the oar,
The mariners,
All the pilots of the sea
Will come down from their ships and stand on the shore.
30 They will make their voice heard because of you;
They will cry bitterly and cast dust on their heads;
They will roll about in ashes; ((עפר ashes/fruitfulness/Ephraim/Ephratha))
31 They will shave themselves completely bald because of you,
Gird themselves with sackcloth,
And weep for you
With bitterness of heart and bitter wailing.
32 In their wailing for you
They will take up a lamentation,
And lament for you:
“What city is like Tyre,
Destroyed in the midst of the sea?
Why did Jacob cross his hands? This is why Ephraim, the fruitful one must come before the dependent one, the times we want to forget. First, and most obvious is that some of the “poor,” those with lost vitality, don’t make it through the hard times if there has not been a chance to strengthen first.
The Amalekites attacked (recall God swore “the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.” Ex17:16) those who had lost vitality. The Amalekites are those who don’t want to be slowed down by those less fortunate.
In his life Jacob cycled between Jacob and Israel. He became Israel after he crossed over (p.178 עבר cross over to other side; move to different condition – what makes a “Hebrew”עברי – “my crossing”) the Jabbok (h2999. יַבֹּק yaḇôq –
GV p.30 בקק empty [out]; p.23 בוק extract [empty]
DV אבק – p.30 בקק empty [out]; p.23 בוק extract [empty] > p.2 אבק expel quickly from source
DV בהק – p.30 בקק empty [out]; p.23 בוק extract [empty] > p.22 בהק clear (No other DVs)
CM בקק pump out/hold back (B35); בוק exert/cease outward movement (B16); אבק pressure (A4); (בהק no cognates) )
We must be emptied out. We have settled on our lees/dregs, become complacent.
Jeremiah 48:11
11 “Moab has been at ease from his youth;
He has settled on his dregs,
And has not been emptied from vessel to vessel,
Nor has he gone into captivity.
Therefore his taste remained in him,
And his scent (h7381. רֵיחַ rêaḥ) has not changed.
h7381. רֵיחַ rêaḥ; from h7306. רוּחַ rûaḥ – spirit
Our scent has not changed. It is the cycles that are necessary (Gn8:22). Jacob’s hands had to cross over. Manasseh, the “assured one,” had to be emptied out. Now Ephraim/Tyre/Moab must be emptied out. God is in control. Hold on to the one in control, for the ride may get bumpy.
On Memorial Day we thank those who have given their lives for our country. May she live on, made stronger by the cycles she faces.
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