This weeks Torah Portion, ‘Vayechi’, is named for the first Hebrew word of Genesis 47:28 – וַיְחִ֤י יַעֲקֹב֙ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם <- (‘Vayechi Ya’cov b’eretz mizraim). The AV translates it exactly as written, “And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt…” The first Hebrew word in the above phrase is וַיְחִ֤י(vah-yi-chi). The root of וַיְחִ֤י is חיה and means ‘live’! Often…
The Unseen Hand
Edith Samuel, in her book, “Your Jewish Lexicon”, says that chesed is one of the “most high-frequency words” in the Jewish lexicon. Chesedחֶסֶד [remember in Hebrew the ‘ch’ is pronounced as in ‘Bach’] occurs 237 times in the Hebrew Scriptures (Strong’s #678) and is most often translated into English as the old fashioned word, ‘lovingkindness’,…
Nugget 218: When Days are Dark
The Golden Menorah that was in Solomon’s Temple (originally in the Tabernacle) is first mentioned in Exodus 25 where God gave the instructions for making the Tabernacle and all of its ‘furniture’. Called the מְנֹרַ֖ת זָהָ֣ב – (menorah zhav), meaning ‘golden menorah’, it is the first item mentioned in verses 31-40. The Hebrew word מְּנוֹרָה – ‘menorah‘…
Nugget 217: Peace on Earth
The night of Jesus birth, a host of angels appeared to the shepherds watching the flocks just outside of Bethlehem and sang their heavenly chorus, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” (Luke 2:14) Peace! The Hebrew word is shalom (שָׁלוֹם). The world at the time of Jesus’…
Nugget 216: Israel – Prince with God
The Etymological Origin of the Word ‘Israel’ According to Webster, etymology is, “the tracing of a word back as far as possible in its own language.” The first occurrence of the word ‘Israel’ (yisrael) – יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל in the Hebrew Bible is found in this week’s Torah portion in Genesis 32:28. In this passage, the angel of the…
Nugget 215: Jacob’s Ladder
The first line of text in this week’s Torah portion: וַיֵּצֵ֥א יַעֲקֹ֖ב מִבְּאֵ֣ר שָׁ֑בַע וַיֵּ֖לֶךְ חָרָֽנָה < For the Hebrew students, I will write the Hebrew in transliteration and translation: Vayetze (and went out) Yakov (Jacob) mi-be’er sheva(from Be’er Sheva) vahYehlech (and walked) haranah (to Haran). Pay attention that in Hebrew, the verb likes to…
Nugget 214: An Ancient Promise Fulfilled
This Hebrew text of this week’s Torah portion, Genesis 12:1-17:27, begins with the phrase ( לֶךְ־לְךָ֛) Lech-Lecha. The word, לֶךְ (Lech) is from the Hebrew root ( הלכ) and means to walk or to go. Thus the Hebrew phrase lech-lecha literally means, “You go!” In the KJV, it is translated as, “Get thee out”. Genesis 12:1-3 is…
Nugget 213: The Camel Test
Think of a modern day princess and how she is would be trained and taught. A lavish lifestyle, special privileges, tutors, etc. But, remember that God’s ways are different from man’s ways (Isaiah 55:8). So how does God determine who will be one of “the mothers” of the Jewish people? Genesis 24, part of this…
Nugget 212: Happy Thanksgiving
The Hebrew root (shoresh) – ידה means ‘thank’. From this root comes הודָה (hodah) – ‘thanked’; תודָה – (todah) – ‘thanks’; מודִים (modim) – ‘we thank you’; להודות (l’hodot) – to thank (the infinitive); and we can’t leave out – חַג הַהודָיָה (chag hah-ho-dah-yah) – ‘Happy Thanksgiving’! Most Americans don’t realize that a Hebrew lesson is…
Nugget 211: The Babel at Babel
Genesis chapter 10 is the famous “Table of Nations”. Dr. William Albright, the “father” of Biblical archaeology and longtime Director of the American School of Oriental Research in Jerusalem in the 1920s and 1930s, said of this passage, “It stands absolutely alone in ancient literature, without a remote parallel, even among the Greeks … The…