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Resource Articles

Browse, read and study through articles adapted from previously published First Fruits of Zion magazines and journals.

Category: Biblical Hebrew

Word to Word

We are all familiar with the use of allusions, parallels and comparisons scattered throughout Scripture. We are even aware that there are times when the Bible quotes itself. It is an instance of the latter that serves as this issue’s revealing study of Biblical Hebrew, as we compare the similarities and differences between two chapters in the book of Isaiah.

Indeed, when certain verses from these chapters are put side by side, we discover a type of dialogue between the two—the presentation of a problem in chapter 64 to which a solution is revealed in chapter 53.

Parched Ground Brings Forth Life

Isaiah 64:10 reads: "Your holy cities have become wilderness, Zion has become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation." The prophet mourns the physical and spiritual future destruction of Jerusalem and Zion, and indeed throughout this chapter acts as a (prophetic) mouthpiece for the people’s cries. This verse focuses on wilderness and desolation; in fact the word Zion itself comes from a root word meaning "parched," presumably because water has always been scarce in the area. Turning to Isaiah 53:2a, we see that this parched ground (tzia from the same root as tzion—Zion) brings forth Life. "For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of parched ground." Contrary to natural laws, this verse tells us that it is out of (spiritually) parched ground that the Messiah has sprung forth.

Affliction Beyond Measure

Isaiah 64:12 reads: "Wilt Thou restrain Thyself at these things, O LORD? Wilt Thou keep silent and afflict us beyond measure?" Here the cry expresses the condition of the people themselves. They are conscious of their affliction, which they view as being "beyond measure." However, the suffering Servant of Isaiah 53:4, "…our griefs Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried, yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted." The phrase, "affliction beyond measure," is literally "to the utmost" (ad tom, עד תום). At times it may seem to us that our afflictions are indeed beyond measure, but there is One who bore them to the utmost and carried them to completion. In fact, He has never ceased from doing this, in us and for us.

Desires of our Heart

Isaiah 64:11 reads: "Our holy and beautiful house… has been burned by fire, and all our precious [literally desirable] things have become a ruin." The Temple in Jerusalem was the center of all aspects of life in Israel, especially of spiritual life. Everything about it would have been precious and desirable. However, "God does not dwell in temples made by hands" (Acts 17:24), and when He Himself dwelt among us, we did not esteem Him, nor His appearance, neither was He desirable to us (ref. Isaiah 53:2b).

His outward appearance was like that of "one from whom men hide their face…" (Isaiah 53:3b). All too often our daily experiences lead us, like those who were crying in Jerusalem, to believe that it is the Father who is hiding His face from us, and that He is delivering us "into the power of our iniquities" (Isaiah 64:7b). But these are the very iniquities for which He was crushed (ref. Isaiah 53:5). As we cry, in our ignorance, "Do not be angry… O LORD, neither remember iniquity forever" (Isaiah 64:9), His answer is: "The "Righteous One, by His knowledge… will justify the many, as He will bear [our] iniquities" (Isaiah 53:11). Thus, we finally concede that our righteousness and justice compared to His are as "a filthy garment" (Isaiah 64:6). But "if He [the Servant], will render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His seed [of a justified nation of kings and priests] and He will prolong His days" (Isaiah 53:10).

Our redemption lies in being "born again" of this incorruptible seed (ref. I Peter 1:23) for, "…all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away" (Isaiah 64:6b). Ultimately, "The good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand" (Isaiah 53:10c). This is matched by the acknowledgement expressed in Isaiah 64:8: "But now, O LORD, Thou art our Father, we are the clay and Thou our potter, and all of us are the work of Thy hand." This shaping work of the Father’s hands, as we just read, is bound to prosper, for "by His scourging we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5; I Peter 2:24).

A True Friend

The Hebrew word for "scourging" is chavura (חבורה), which is also a stripe or a blow. In Genesis 4:23 it is a "strike". Is it surprising then that chaver (חבר) in Hebrew means friend and is of the same root as scourge. Perhaps it can be assumed that anyone who is willing to bear the scourging for another is a true friend indeed.

Words such as ‘to join’ and ‘to unite’ also stem from this root, as do ‘bond’ and ‘fellowship.’ Thus, it is not His stripes, scourges or blows alone which are the instruments of our healing, but the deep bond of friendship and fellowship (extended by One so willing to empathize with us that He literally bears and suffers our pains and wounds). Therefore, another rendering of Isaiah 53:5 and I Peter 2:24 could be: "By His fellowship, friendship, or bond we are healed." Verses 3-4 of Isaiah 64 echo this moving reality: "Thou didst awesome things which we did not expect…Thou didst come down… for from of old they have not heard nor perceived by ear, neither has the eye seen a God besides Thee, who acts on behalf of the one who waits for Him."

Adapted from Bikurei Tziyon #64. © 2012 First Fruits of Zion. All rights reserved. We encourage you to share this material with your friends for further personal study. However, this material may not be republished, in print, electronically, or any other form without our prior permission.

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