We’ll begin here with a bit more of Solomon and a topic we referred to last time,“Enough.” We mentioned there are a number of Hebrew words translated in English as “enough,” one of which, מצא, is cognate with the root for messiah, משח. Numbers 11:22, where it appears twice, is very telling re: that word’s understanding (please read, with context as always). Discussions we noted about manna and Passover are also teachings about “enough.” See also that מצה, matzah, unleavened bread, is a cognate for those two roots. Think how this is a reminder at Pesach/Passover, of “enough.”
Solomon seems to focus his lifelong search pondering the topic (but not living it – often what we live opens our eyes). One of his well-known writings, in Ecclesiastes 3 (Blog 142), expounds on some of his conclusions, that there are appropriate “times” that may define “enough.” I take you to another Solomon passage, which is poignant in its imagery:
Proverbs 30:15-17 NKJV
15 The leech has two daughters—
Give (and) Give!
There are three (things that) are never satisfied,
Four never say, “Enough!”:
16 The grave,
The barren womb,
The earth (that) is not satisfied with water—
And the fire never says, “Enough!”
17 The eye (that) mocks (his) father,
And scorns obedience to (his) mother,
The ravens of the valley will pick it out,
And the young eagles will eat it.
- (By the way, this Proverb is noted to be the words of Agur. Strongs notes: h0094. אָגוּר ’âg̱ûr; passive participle of h0103. אָגַר ’âg̱ar; gathered (i.e. received among the sages); Agur, a fanciful name for Solomon: — Agur.)
- From my הון cognate permutations investigation, my wording was: הוןcognate permutations (actualize/conclude)
In yeshiva were taught that the soul נפש is the seat of the emotions and is deeply connected to the flesh, so it seemed appropriate to evaluate the passage in relation to נפש and its cognate permutation פצם:
- Important here, recognize that in English there are two opposite meanings for the world “cleave.” One is to cling tightly or adhere. The other is to divide, as with a meat cleaver. This listed definition for פצם is for the latter – see “sever.” We can get confused when we have heard much of our lives the translation of Genesis 2:24 as the man “cleaving” to his wife. That is not this word and is not the meaning for פצם.
Note אכל is “eat,” sometimes “food,” and sometimes “need.” אכל and נפש are intertwined (is that like a dance?)
After the sustenance by the ravens, Elijah is sent to the widow of Zarephath צרפתה, partly to become aware of the impact his curse placed upon the people who were struggling, and no doubt partly to teach him to use his gifts for more merciful purposes. (Discussion of his being sent to that widow caused problems for the Teacher in Luke 4:25-30.) Root for Zarephath is p.222 צרף purify; remove impurities;; combine/separate (E31)
Proverbs 13:25 NKJV (Solomon again – “enough”)
25 The righteous eats to the satisfying of his soul,
But the stomach of the wicked shall be in want.
Proverbs 13:25
25 צַדִּ֗יק אֹ֭כֵל לְשֹׂ֣בַע נַפְשֹׁ֑ו וּבֶ֖טֶן רְשָׁעִ֣ים תֶּחְסָֽר׃ פ
נפש and אכל appear together nine times in Scripture. See the occurrences, and notice it is often hard to recognize the connections in English:
▸ h5315. נֶפֶשׁ nep̱eš; from h5314. נָפַשׁ nâp̱aš; properly, a breathing creature, i.e. animal of (abstractly) vitality; used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental): — any, appetite, beast, body, breath, creature, x dead(-ly), desire, x (dis-)contented, x fish, ghost, + greedy, he, heart(-y), (hath, x jeopardy of) life (x in jeopardy), lust, man, me, mind, mortally, one, own, person, pleasure, (her-, him-, my-, thy-)self, them (your)-selves, + slay, soul, + tablet, they, thing, (x she) will, x would have it.
AV (753) – soul 475, life 117, person 29, mind 15, heart 15, creature 9, body 8, himself 8, yourselves 6, dead 5, will 4, desire 4, man 3, themselves 3, any 3, appetite 2, misc 47
▸ h5314. נָפַשׁ nâp̱aš; a primitive root; to breathe; passively, to be breathed upon, i.e. (figuratively) refreshed (as if by a current of air): — (be) refresh selves (-ed).
AV (3) – refreshed 3
Tanakh (9 results)
1. Shemot 12:4 (Mikraot Gedolot)
וְאִם יִמְעַט הַבַּיִת מִהְיוֹת מִשֶּׂה וְלָקַח הוּא וּשְׁכֵנוֹ הַקָּרֹב אֶל בֵּיתוֹ בְּמִכְסַת נְפָשֹׁת אִישׁ לְפִי אׇכְלוֹ תָּכֹסּוּ עַלהַשֶּׂה.
⦁ Exodus 12:1-5
1 Now the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 2 “This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. 3 Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: ‘ On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. 4 And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take (it) according to the number of the persons; according to each man’s need (h0400. אֹכֶל ’ôḵel) you shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take (it) from the sheep or from the goats.
2. Shemot 16:16 (Mikraot Gedolot)
זֶה הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה י״י לִקְטוּ מִמֶּנּוּ אִישׁ לְפִי אׇכְלוֹ עֹמֶר לַגֻּלְגֹּלֶת מִסְפַּר נַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶם אִישׁ לַאֲשֶׁר בְּאׇהֳלוֹתִּקָּחוּ.
⦁ Exodus 16:13-16
13 So it was that quail came up at evening and covered the camp, and in the morning the dew lay all around the camp. 14 And when the layer of dew lifted, there, on the surface of the wilderness, was a small round substance, as fine as frost on the ground. 15 So when the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was.
And Moses said to them, “This is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat. 16 This is the thing which the LORD has commanded: ‘Let every man gather it according to each one’s need (h0400. אֹכֶל ’ôḵel), one omer for each person, (according to the) number of persons; let every man take for (those) who are in his tent.’”
3. Vayikra 17:14 (Mikraot Gedolot)
כִּי נֶפֶשׁ כׇּל בָּשָׂר דָּמוֹ בְנַפְשׁוֹ הוּא וָאֹמַר לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל דַּם כׇּל בָּשָׂר לֹא תֹאכֵלוּ כִּי נֶפֶשׁ כׇּל בָּשָׂר דָּמוֹ הִוא כׇּלאֹכְלָיו יִכָּרֵת. ⬆︎ also
⦁ Leviticus 17:13-14
13 “Whatever man of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who hunts and catches any animal or bird that may be eaten, he shall pour out its blood and cover it with dust; 14 for it is the life of all flesh. Its blood sustains its life. Therefore I said to the children of Israel, ‘You shall not eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off.’
4. Devarim 12:20 (Mikraot Gedolot)
כִּי יַרְחִיב י״י אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֶת גְּבֻלְךָ כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר לָךְ וְאָמַרְתָּ אֹכְלָה בָשָׂר כִּי תְאַוֶּה נַפְשְׁךָ לֶאֱכֹל בָּשָׂר בְּכׇל אַוַּתנַפְשְׁךָ תֹּאכַל בָּשָׂר.
⦁ Deuteronomy 12:20-23 also ⬆︎
20 “When the LORD your God enlarges your border as He has promised you, and you say, ‘Let me eat meat,’ because you long to eat meat, you may eat as much meat as your heart desires. 21 If the place where the LORD your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, then you may slaughter from your herd and from your flock which the LORD has given you, just as I have commanded you, and you may eat within your gates as much as your heart desires. 22 Just as the gazelle and the deer are eaten, so you may eat them; the unclean and the clean alike may eat them. 23 Only be sure that you do not eat the blood, for the blood is the life; you may not eat the life with the meat.
5. Yechezkel 4:14 (Mikraot Gedolot)
וָאֹמַר אֲהָהּ אֲדֹנָי יֱ־הֹוִה הִנֵּה נַפְשִׁי לֹא מְטֻמָּאָה וּנְבֵלָה וּטְרֵפָה לֹא אָכַלְתִּי מִנְּעוּרַי וְעַד עַתָּה וְלֹא בָא בְּפִיבְּשַׂר פִּגּוּל.
⦁ Ezekiel 4:13-15
13 Then the LORD said, “So shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, where I will drive them.”
14 So I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Indeed I have never defiled myself from my youth till now; I have never eaten what died of itself or was torn by beasts, nor has abominable flesh ever come into my mouth.”
15 Then He said to me, “See, I am giving you cow dung instead of human waste, and you shall prepare your bread over it.”
6. Yechezkel 22:25 (Mikraot Gedolot)
קֶשֶׁר נְבִיאֶיהָ בְּתוֹכָהּ כַּאֲרִי שׁוֹאֵג טֹרֵף טָרֶף נֶפֶשׁ אָכָלוּ חֹסֶן וִיקָר יִקָּחוּ אַלְמְנוֹתֶיהָ הִרְבּוּ בְתוֹכָהּ.
⦁ Ezekiel 22:23-
23 And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 24 “Son of man, say to her: ‘You are a land that is not cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation.’ 25 The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured people; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst. 26 Her priests have violated My law and profaned My holy things; they have not distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. 27 Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, to shed blood, to destroy people, and to get dishonest gain.
7. Tehillim 107:18 (Mikraot Gedolot)
כׇּל אֹכֶל תְּתַעֵב נַפְשָׁם וַיַּגִּיעוּ עַד שַׁעֲרֵי מָוֶת.
⦁ Psalms 107:17-19
17 Fools, because of their transgression,
And because of their iniquities, were afflicted.
18 Their soul abhorred all manner of food,
And they drew near to the gates of death.
19 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
And He saved them out of their distresses.
8. Mishlei 13:25 (Mikraot Gedolot)
צַדִּיק אֹכֵל לְשֹׂבַע נַפְשׁוֹ וּבֶטֶן רְשָׁעִים תֶּחְסָר.
⦁ Proverbs 13:25 (we saw above)
25 The righteous eats to the satisfying of his soul,
But the stomach of the wicked shall be in want.
9. Eikhah 1:19 (Mikraot Gedolot)
קָרָאתִי לַמְאַהֲבַי הֵמָּה רִמּוּנִי כֹּהֲנַי וּזְקֵנַי בָּעִיר גָּוָעוּ כִּי בִקְשׁוּ אֹכֶל לָמוֹ וְיָשִׁיבוּ אֶת נַפְשָׁם.
⦁ Lamentations 1:19
19 “I called for my lovers,
But they deceived me;
My priests and my elders
Breathed their last in the city,
While they sought food
To restore their life.
In Scripture and in the history of the world, a means to conquer a city was to cut off the food supply – “starve them out.” And fasting is a means of “afflicting your soul.” (און, seen above as cognate with הון “enough,” is sometimes translated as “affliction.”)
Impression: אכל cognate permutations (consider // toward increasing/reducing power) – Slow, gradual, deliberate
Impression: נפש cognate permutations (move/break physically/emotionally)
The plan is return to “soul” again in this series. There is much to be said about “soul” and how it relates to this topic of “enough.”
- For now, I show you a figure for the makeup of us as humans as Scripture paints us, body, soul, and spirit. This is what we were taught when I was in Yeshiva, but I no longer have the actual figure that was presented to us. This one I retrieved this month from the internet (url on the photo) includes a heart, which ours did not include. I have not confirmed their inclusion of “heart” overlapping spirit and soul, and may have to confirm or question that later. For now concentrate on the wording in the three concentric circles (CHO is “carbohydrates.”)
I share this figure with you now to ponder 🤔, regarding what is shared above. Hopefully more depth later. Consider how these components fit with “enough” and the dance of life. The soul is connected to both body and spirit. The spirit is not directly connected to body, only by way of the soul. Obviously these are “concepts,” ways we in our minds, have tried to understand what is not completely knowable.
- Love and heart••• part of the “heart” answer.
Judges 16:15 (Delilah)
15 Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and have not told me where your great strength lies.”
Proverbs 19:8 (good ol’ Solomon)
8 He who gets heart loves his own soul;
He who keeps understanding will find good.
We will return to try to tie together these ideas: dancing, enough, כל and את/עת and נפש.
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