Hebrew Word Research Articles

Das geheimnisvolle Wort ‘Michtam’

The mysterious word “Michtam”: The Hebrew word מִכְתָּם appears six times in the Hebrew Bible and it only occurs in the book of Psalms at the beginning of the chapter (16:1, 56:1, 57:1, 58:1, 59:1, 60:1). This Hebrew word has been understood differently. For instances, PONS Kompaktwörterbuch Althebräisch (2015) leaves it untranslated, while the other sources translate מִכְתָּם as inscription, prayer, or song. Two of the most notable Hebrew lexica, and Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (TWOT), state that the meaning of מִכְתָּם is unknown. Modern English Bible translations also differ in their translations of מִכְתָּם. Most English Bible translations transliterate this Hebrew word (like NIV, NASB, KJV, Berean Study Bible, Christian Standard Bible, American Standard Version, JPS Tanakh 1917, and HCSB), while the NLT, ESV, International Standard Version, and New Revised Standard Version leave מִכְתָּם untranslated. This article, therefore, seeks to decipher the Hebrew word מִכְתָּם within its literary context and provides textual criticism. This article limits its discussion to Origen’s Hexapla because the consistent translation of Greek Aquila and Greek Symmachus contributes to unveiling the meaning of מִכְתָּם.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The study employed a combination of biblical studies and linguistics. Thus, this article shows the application of a comparative linguistic approach to interpret the word מִכְתָּם.

Frequency of Hebrew word usage by children with intellectual and developmental disabilities: implications for AAC core vocabulary

Appropriate vocabulary selection for augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) intervention is crucial to support communication and language development in children with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Core vocabulary lists are commonly used to guide this process, and there is a need for language-specific consideration. This paper aimed to develop a wordlist for selecting the core vocabulary for AAC intervention for young Hebrew-speaking children with IDD. Five children (age 3;5–8;4) were audio-recorded in naturalistic interactions with an interviewer and family members. Using Levy’s clinical corpus in the Child Language Data Exchange System (CHILDES) and Child Phonology Analyzer (CPA) tools and preestablished codes, wordlists with usage frequencies were extracted and coded for lexeme, lexical categories and functions or content. The percentages of the 20, 50, 100, and 200 most frequent lexemes were calculated for each child and for the five children combined. The top 200 most frequently used lexemes constituted 85% of the composite lexicon. A comparison was made between this study list and a previous list derived from language samples of typically developing (TD). Lexemes representing function words dominated, albeit with a slight preference for content words in children with IDD. Among the content words, children with IDD used more adverbs, while children with TD used more verbs. Implications for AAC core vocabulary are discussed.

HeLP: The Hebrew Lexicon project

Lexicon projects (LPs) are large-scale data resources in different languages that present behavioral results from visual word recognition tasks. Analyses using LP data in multiple languages provide evidence regarding cross-linguistic differences as well as similarities in visual word recognition. Here we present the first LP in a Semitic language—the Hebrew Lexicon Project (HeLP). HeLP assembled lexical decision (LD) responses to 10,000 Hebrew words and nonwords, and naming responses to a subset of 5000 Hebrew words. We used the large-scale HeLP data to estimate the impact of general predictors (lexicality, frequency, word length, orthographic neighborhood density), and Hebrew-specific predictors (Semitic structure, presence of clitics, phonological entropy) of visual word recognition performance. Our results revealed the typical effects of lexicality and frequency obtained in many languages, but more complex impact of word length and neighborhood density. Considering Hebrew-specific characteristics, HeLP data revealed better recognition of words with a Semitic structure than words that do not conform to it, and a drop in performance for words comprising clitics. These effects varied, however, across LD and naming tasks. Lastly, a significant inhibitory effect of phonological ambiguity was found in both naming and LD. The implications of these findings for understanding reading in a Semitic language are discussed.

The Enigma of Deuteronomy 20:19–20

Abstract Existing interpretations of Deut 20:19–20 concerning the clause kī hāʾādām ʿēṣ haśśādeh have failed to sufficiently explain the meaning of the law against felling food-bearing trees in times of war. I argue that ʾādām is not the generic Hebrew word “human,” but a rare masculine singular bi-form of the more common ʾădāmāh, “land.” Drawing on both comparative philology and Mesopotamian material about warfare practices, the paper also shows that understanding the equation as one between “land” (rather than humans) and trees better accounts for the law and its placement in its literary context. D distinguishes between far lands and near lands that will be part of the Israelites’ inheritance. If land is soon-to-be conquered, then food-bearing trees are valuable, not only for any immediate fruit, but also for the wealth that they promise in the future.

Hebrew–Russian Bilingual Children's Early Literacy Skills: The Roles of the Home Literacy Environment and Mothers' Writing Support

AbstractToday, many children worldwide grow up in bilingual or multilingual families. This study explores early literacy development in Russian–Hebrew bilingual families in Israel. It studies the contribution of the home literacy environment (HLE), the language of communication, and the nature of the maternal writing support in Hebrew and Russian, to children's early literacy skills in the two languages. Participants were 61 Israeli children (4–6 years old) and their mothers. The mothers completed questionnaires about home literacy activities in both languages and were videotaped while supporting their child in writing a list of eight words in Hebrew and Russian. Children's early literacy skills (phonological awareness, letter knowledge, and word recognition) were assessed in both languages. Results showed that mothers adjusted their writing support not only to the child's skills but also to the particular orthography. The HLE and aspects of mothers' writing support predicted their children's early literacy skills, not only within each language but also in cross‐language models. The literacy activities provided at home and the nature of mothers' support seem to link to the children's literacy outcomes. The results stress the importance of parents' explicit efforts to support children's early literacy skills in both heritage and societal languages.

The Verbal Usage of עבד in the Book of Psalms: Exploring its Contextual Meaning and Theological Implications

Abstract This article delves into the multifaceted meaning of the Hebrew word עבד, commonly translated as “serve,” holds significant theological implications in the Book of Psalms, particularly concerning worship of God. This article addresses a notable gap in scholarship by examining the contextual meanings of עבד in its verbal form across the Psalms and exploring its theological implications. Contrary to previous limited interpretations, this research reveals a broader semantic spectrum including total submission, gratitude expression, offering gifts, trust in God, and proclamation of His name. Furthermore, this study explores the theological implications derived from the contextual analysis עבד in Psalms. It highlights the significance of divine kingship in messianic Psalms where עבד appears frequently. The importance of knowledge is emphasized as essential for genuine worship, providing a basis to understand God’s nature and actions. Additionally, the study reveals the interconnectedness of submission, trust, and praise, forming a holistic framework for faithful service to God.

A Comparative Study of the Concept of Sin in Christian Religion and African Indigenous Religion

The study examined the biblical concept of sin in Christian Religion. It explored the concept of sin in Ifá Corpus of African Indigenous Religion. This was done with a view to eliciting an intercultural understanding of the concept of sin in Yorùbá and biblical cultures. The selected texts of the Bible were interpreted using “Theological Interpretation of Scripture” (TIS) method, while the data collected from both Yorùbá and biblical cultures were analysed using the ‘Intercultural Hermeneutics Principles.’ The result shows that Sin è̩s̩è̩ in Ifá corpus is conceived as às̩ìs̩è (a mistaken deed, a deed that is wide of the mark), àìtọ́ (that which is not straight forward), àìyẹ (unbefitting, unbecoming), àìgbọràn (disobedience), ìrúfin (breaking of the law), àìs̩ótítọ́ (untruthfulness), àìs̩òdodo (unrighteousness) and iniquity (àìs̩edéédé). Also, Sin is conceived as Èèwò̩ (things forbidden, taboo) or A kìí s̩e é (it is not done). All these cognate with the Hebrew words for Sin in Old Testament: Pesha (breaching of morals, passing a reasonable boundary, or breaking a just rule), Chatha (to miss the mark), Awon (iniquity, guilt or punishment) and the Greek words for Sin in the New Testament: Parabaino (to transgress, break or deviate from the way), Parabasis (wrong doing), Paraptoma (trespass, offense, fall, sin, or fault), hamartia and hamartano (a missing of the mark), adikia (unrighteousness), anomia (breaking of the law), apeitheo (disobedience) and apistos (unbelief). The study concluded that there is an intercultural understanding of the concept of sin in both Yorùbá and biblical cultures, as the two cultures regarded sin as a negative value.

Construing “Har”: Blake’s Polyglot Roots

Of those commentators who try to explain the name of the senescent patriarch Har in Blake’s early (unpublished) illustrated poem Tiriel (late 1780s), most offer that “har” is the Hebrew word for “mountain,” as Blake could have learned from any number of etymological discussions of such familiar biblical names as “Ararat” or “Armageddon.” Some scholars note that Har is also the name of an ambiguously identified frame character in Snorri Sturlusun’s prose Edda, which Blake knew through Paul Henri Mallet’s Northern Antiquities, but even these emphasize “mountain” in construing the name, perhaps because there does not seem to be much connection between Blake’s character and his Scandinavian namesake. In Tiriel Har presides feebly (an aged Adam with his equally feeble consort Heva) over a paradise that resembles a pickled Garden of Eden, and his territory is bordered by the “mountains of Har” (E 284), but he is much more closely associated with the garden than the mountains.

Interview: A Short Story

An Interviewer interviews “many characters,” initiating a conversation concerning characters in fiction, a concept introduced by Walt Whitman in Song of Myself of containing multitudes, the concept of self-identity. “Many Characters” is the name of one of those being interviewed, a character claiming to be many characters. We encounter characters from other works of fiction, such as Alice and the hookah-smoking Caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland. This leads us to encountering Lewis Carroll. We also encounter ancient writers, specifically Aeschylus, Euripides, and Sophocles, who themselves created many characters, and a character named Hineni, a Hebrew word meaning “Here I am,” who links the name Hineni to the 17 times the word hineni appears in the Torah, and to Leonard Cohen’s use of the word in his song, “You Want it Darker.” We also encounter Psychoanalyst and Forbidding Superego. Eventually, we meet an incarnation of William Shakespeare called “Willie the Shake.” How do characters exist? Storytellers channel them.

Second Language Arabic Knowledge Useful for Learning Hebrew Vocabulary

Arabic and Hebrew belong to the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic language family, and thus, they are semantically and phonetically similar in many lexical aspects. This study examined the benefits of Malaysian university students having prior knowledge of Arabic while learning Hebrew. A two-page questionnaire was administered to two groups of 30 and 40 students at advanced and fundamental Arabic proficiency levels, respectively. Page 1 contained a checklist with Yes/No columns about 30 Hebrew words to examine the participants’ prior knowledge. If participants answered yes, they were asked to write the meaning of the word in English or Malay. They then answered multiple-choice questions about the 30 Hebrew words on Page 2. Arabic counterparts were not shown on the questionnaire to prevent cuing the participants. The first group of participants, 30 Malaysian students with advanced Arabic proficiency, learned an average of 23.07 Hebrew words. The vocabulary items most correctly identified by Group 1 were ‘olam “world” (30 correct answers), katavti “I wrote” (28), mavet “death” (28), melekh “king” (27), moakh “brain” (27), shabat “Saturday” (27), shen “tooth” (27), shamayim “sky” (26), shana “year” (26), ahavti “I loved” (26), and ozen “ear” (26). The second group, 40 Malaysian students with basic Arabic knowledge, acquired 12.83 words on average. The scores of the two groups differed with statistical significance at the 5% level (p < 0.001, df = 68, t = 14.26). From these results, it appears that Arabic lexical knowledge significantly facilitates Malaysian students’ acquisition of Hebrew vocabulary.

Ἡ κοιλία of the temple? Jn 7:38 revisited in the light of 1Kgs

For many years biblical scholars have been trying to answer the question of what “Scripture” is fulfilled in the Jesus’ words in Jn 7:38. Two dominant interpretative trends – christological and anthropological – are often juxtaposed as complementary. The aim of this article, based on the intertextual approach, is to show another point of reference – the description of the first temple in Jerusalem in 1Kgs 6–7, which contains an unknown architectural element rendered by the Hebrew word בֶ טֶןּּ , simi-lar in meaning to κοιλία from Jn 7:38 – as well as to analyze both the christological and anthropological aspects of showing the temple as a human body and the human body as a temple, with the particular emphasis on the symbolism of flowing water in the context of the (new) birth.

The Failure to Predict the Hamas Attack: Insights from Artificial Intelligence

The failure to anticipate Hamas’s brutal attack on October 7 is multilayered and will be investigated for years to come. However, the preliminary consensus has blamed the konceptcia, the Hebrew word for paradigm, that guided the intelligence and security forces. With the advent of AI and its complex search algorithms, the resultant paradigm was shaped by an input imbalance that depicted Hamas transitioning from its jihadist past to a rational governance player. The politicization of the academic and lay Middle East discourse legitimized resistance to Israel, feeding the bias. Equally, the virtual absence of understanding of the military wing of Hamas and its role in Iran’s Axis of Resistance deepened the imbalance.

ФОРМУВАННЯ СУЧАСНОГО ПРАВОВОГО ТЕРМІНОЛОГІЧНОГО АПАРАТУ В ІВРИТІ: СПОСОБИ ТА ВПЛИВ ІНШИХ ПРАВОВИХ СИСТЕМ

The article is dedicated to the peculiarities of the legal terminology formation, which took place in the process of the restoration of the Hebrew language and its becoming the official state language of the modern Israel. The legal system of Israel has been created during XX century, after near two-thousand-year period of its existence without own state, being limited to the small community’s common and religious law in different languages only. Thus, creation of the own state has demanded not only to adapt the legal institutes, but to develop new actual terminology in the new official state language. But the terminology complex of the Hebrew was based on the ancient language sources, so creation or adapting of the classic Hebrew words for the definition of the modern legal terms became a great scientific challenge. In the article we conclude, that new lexemes were not created in the process of the Israel legal terminology formation, but the old texts words were chosen, usually with some rethinking and reinterpretation of its meanings. This approach provides the possibility to avoid direct borrowing of the terms, which is a typical process in the reception of law in other states. Despite the fact that, in addition to the English Common Law, the formation of Israel’s legal system was influenced by the Ottoman and Romano-Germanic law, concepts from the English legal system were taken as the basis for the selection of many basic terms. The terms creation was not limited to formal denomination only. Often the process becomes more substantive, noticing the etymology, the content of the legal institute and the mechanisms of the practical law-enforcements. After this deep scientific work of the linguists and lawyers Hebrew terminology of the Israel legal system fully expresses the content and the scope of the concepts of the relevant legal institutes.

성경에 나오는 콩팥의 신학적 함의에 대한 고찰 - 화목제를 중심으로 -

In the Book of Leviticus, God institutes the sacrificial system, and among the five major sacrificial offerings, two kidneys, the visceral fat, and the caudate lobe of liver that are offered to God only in the peace offering are called ‘God’s food’. This study focuses on the two kidneys, referred to as ‘God's food,’ which are a unique element of the peace offering among the sacrificial systems established by God. While the Bible does not explicitly articulate the reason behind God's request for kidneys as food in the peace offering, it is assumed that this holds a special gospel meaning embedded in the sacrificial system. The objective of this study is to unveil the evangelical symbolism inherent in the kidneys presented as ‘God's food’ in the peace offering. Through an analysis of Old Testament passages employing the Hebrew word for kidneys, כְּ לָ יֹ֖ ו ת (kelāyôt), and a comprehensive review of relevant literature, the social understanding of kidneys in the Leviticus era is explored. Traditional interpretations justifying the inclusion of kidneys in the peace offering are critically reviewed, emphasizing their limitations. Additionally, this study theologically explores the gospel aspects of the Peace Feast, with a specific focus on the role of kidneys as ‘God's food’ within the gospel framework. Based on this analysis, I attempt to reinterpret God’s intention in requiring kidneys as ‘God's food’ through a gospel-centered perspective and shed light on the potential gospel symbolism associated with kidneys as sacrificial offerings in the peace offering.

Syriac and Hebrew Words in the Dialect of Southern Iraq (Thi Qar Specifically)

Syriac and Hebrew Words in the Dialect of Southern Iraq (Thi Qar Specifically)

Jewish summer camp theatre and Sondheim, the Talmudic scholar

This article explores how Jewish American composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim, in his musical theatre works, engaged in a distinctly Jewish lyrical style that resembles a Talmudic dialectic. The author argues that Sondheim’s argumentative, self-referential, quick-moving, pitter-patter lyrics and music, a writing style that values the performance of ambivalence and repeated questioning, resembles contemporary Jewish discourse as influenced by Talmudic dialogue. The author explores Sondheim’s work through a reflection of his experience piloting a new two-week musical theatre specialty programme at Ramah Darom, a Jewish summer camp in Clayton, Georgia, in July 2023. The programme, called Ramah Bamah (bamah is a Hebrew word that translates in this context to ‘stage’), aimed to teach campers valuable performance skills from professional theatre-makers, while simultaneously encouraging campers to explore their identities as Jewish artists. Ramah Bamah presented Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods JR. as its premiere production, as programme leaders used Jewish texts, thought and values to help campers connect emotionally and thematically to Sondheim’s play-text. This article considers the relationship between Jewish text study, Jewish education, storytelling, youth/amateur theatre-making and Stephen Sondheim.

Beauty as a Gift and a Call to Goodness

The study delves into terminologies associated with beauty within biblical contexts. Drawing from Dyrness’s examination of “Aesthetics in the Old Testament” the focus is primarily on seven Hebrew word groups to understand the multifaceted nuances of beauty. The exploration further extends to two foundational Hebrew terms, kābôd and tôḇ, essential for grasping the essence of beauty in the Old Testament. Additionally, three Greek terms from the Septuagint—agathós, kalós, and chresós—are explored, bridging the understanding between the deuterocanonical books, the New Testament, and their Hebrew counterparts. It has highlighted that understanding the biblical concept of beauty surpasses mere terminological exploration. Illustratively, the narratives of Judith and Esther are examined to demonstrate how their beauty played a strategic role in the welfare and salvation of the people.

A Trans, Autistic, and Neurogender Jewish Monster: The Story of the Golem


 
 
 
 This critical commentary revisits the Jewish story of the Golem and reads it as a transgender text. Some say that the Golem inspired Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, a story famously interpreted by Susan Stryker as an allegory for her own trans experience: living on the edge of society, her humanity debated, defined by a morally questionable medical establishment. But there are important dierences between Frankenstein and the Golem. The Golem is brought to life through language, particularly the Hebrew word ‘emet,’ and is an animated clay tasked with protecting Jewish marginalized communities. Today, questions of language and truth are at the center of many debates regarding the validity and nature of transgender people. The concept of protecting marginalized communities, even while being rejected from them, is also painfully relevant. Unlike Frankenstein, though, the Golem is nonverbal, which is linked to autism. Thus, I argue that a neurogender analysis of their story that accounts for both gender and neurodivergence is critical. This reading focuses on these points of relation and what they may bring to light.
 
 
 

Index of Words in Hebrew and Other Ancient Languages

Index of Words in Hebrew and Other Ancient Languages

Yesu’ah in the Old Testament: A Break to the Jinx of Pandemic in Nigeria

The paper examined yesu’ah (Yeshua) in the Old Testament and the notion of a break to the curse of pandemic in Nigeria. The Hebrew word yesu’ah means; victory, relief, solution, salvation or freedom from physical challenges such as drought, famine, sickness, bondage, illness, epidemics or pandemics etc. The concept of the latest pandemic (Covid-19) has created timidity in the minds of people in Nigeria since December 2019 up to date. The major problem is that no one has ever known the actual cause and the actual medicine required to curb the spread of the deadly virus which plagues society. However, just like how the Israelites overcame their challenges, this paper which adopted a critique method reveals that Nigerian tribal societies (Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa) possess their traditional method of obtaining suitable solutions to their challenges which are very much synonymous with those of the Hebrews in the Old Testament period. But in an attempt to secure relief for their physical challenges, the people jettisoned and supplemented their traditional ways of solving problems for scientific ‘proof’. It is noteworthy that the influence of civilization has become significant on the Yoruba culture. In the light of the above, the paper concludes that to obtain proper relief from the syndrome of pandemics, there must be proper discipline and morality, transparency, diligence, honesty and a total positive revolution in the way that people live. Besides this aspect, the paper elucidates that the people should re-examine their traditional methods of seeking God’s face for deliverance.