Words in Hebrew carry much meaning. Just because we think we know a word should not stop us from investigating it. In fact, researching a familiar word might prove to be enlightening, as words have more than one meaning.
Let’s a take a look at an example from Psalm 19:7:
The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul:
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;
Now using a Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance and Bible Dictionary we research the following words: law, perfect, converting, soul, testimony, sure, wise, and simple.
- Law – H8451 “tora” means a precept or statute, especially the Decalogue or Pentateuch, the law.
- Perfect – H8599 “tamim” means entire, integrity, truth, without blemish, complete, full, sincerely, sound, without spot, undefiled, upright, whole.
- Converting – H7725 “sub” means to turn back, generally retreat, again bring back, cause to answer, come again, deliver, go home, recover, refresh, relieve, render, rescue, restore, retrieve, return, reward, cause to turn, and turn self again.
- Soul – H5315 “nepes” means a breathing creature, vitality, appetite, beast, body, breath, creature, dead, deadly, desire, discontented, fish, ghost, greedy, heart, life, lust, man, mind, mortally, one, own, person, pleasure self and will.
- Testimony – H5715 “edut” means feminine testimony, witness
- Sure – H539 “dman” means properly to build up or support, to foster as a parent or nurse, to render firm or faithful, to trust or believer, to be permanent or quiet, morally true or certain, assurance, establish, be steadfast, verified, put trust, nursing father.
- Wise – H2499 “hakam” means to be wise (in mind, word, act), exceeding, teach wisdom, be wise, make self wise, shew self, deal wisely, never so wisely, make wiser.
- Simple – H6612 “peti” means silly, foolish, simple, simplicity, simple one
Now that you have read the additional meaning of these eight words, I want you to re-read Psalm 19:7. When you come to one of these words, substitute a word from the meaning’s list. For example,
The ___ of the Lord is _____, _______ the _____. You might read it like this: The precept of the Lord is complete, refreshing the heart. You also might read the verses a few times, each time substituting a new words from the definitions.
The study of words back to their Hebrew or Greek roots is a fascinating study approach. As the Bible was originally written in these languages and then translated to English for our benefit. It behooves us to investigate the root word’s original meaning. There are times the English word cannot do justice to the full meaning the author intended. Only a careful, thorough study or root words guided by the Holy Spirit reveals the proper interpretation.
I encourage you to try this research technique. Allow God’s Word to speak to you through the original meaning. Listen to the Holy Spirit as you read Scripture and the additional meaning. Then let the meaning sink deep within your soul and be refreshed, enlightened, and wise.
When you have come to the place of certainty about God’s Word do not stop there. Help others get there too! Share the treasure you discovered. Tell your friends how they can find the wealth of God’s wisdom. In this manner, you might find yourself partnering with the Holy Spirit to become a soul winner, saving the lost before your very own eyes!
What could be more rewarding than that?
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