So What’s in a Name?

Often we read scriptures in the same way as we always have heard or been taught, without really knowing the true meaning of the text in the original language.  At least, for me I never have studied either Greek or Hebrew but I pick up snatches along the way.  Having read many articles concerning the original language of the Synoptic Gospels, I have now come to the conclusion that perhaps what we read as Greek (now English for us) was originally written in Hebrew. The only early sources that have survived are Greek but there are many hints that the original language was in Hebrew.  At the same time we are missing so many foundational truths because the words don’t make sense to us.  I will be exploring more of those difficult sayings of Jesus in another blog.

However, I found some interesting words that might give some clarity to a few of the verses we find in scripture.

Last Supper
So what happened at the end of the Last Supper?  The Gospels tell us “when they had sung the hymn they went out to the Mount of Olives”(Mark 14:26).  The word hymn is a translation of the Hebrew word “Hallel”, a reference to the psalms of praise (113-118), which are sung on Passover eve as part of the Seder feast.  Jesus must have been fond of these psalms whose central message is deliverance.

The  word  Hallel mean’s “praise” in Hebrew.  It is one of the most important words in the Hebrew Bible.  It is also the root of the word, Halleluiah, which means “Praise unto God” as well as the name of the Book of Psalms in Hebrew, “Tehilim.”  It is precisely that book of Tehilim (Psalms 118:25-26) that is being quoted on Palm Sunday when the crowds proclaim “Hosanna…Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord” (Mark 11:9)

Passover is the Jewish holiday of freedom.  When we as believers, take the Lord’s Supper we are also celebrating a type of Passover feast. It is reminder of that famous holiday of Jewish freedom, which goes back to Exodus and Moses and the escape from Egypt.  So when we take the communion we pray with gratitude our hymn of praise for God’s deliverance from sin through the death of Jeshua (Jesus) our Messiah.

The Moral Heart.
The Hebrew word for heart, lev, is found hundreds of times in the Bible.  In the biblical mindset it is more than merely the organ that tirelessly pumps blood through our veins.  The lev is the core human organ.  It represents the inner self.  It is what causes us to love, cry, sin and empathize.  A better English equivalent would be “psyche’.

The Bible uses the word lev to express a wide variety of human personas.

An honorable person is described “straight hearted”; a stubborn person is “hard hearted”; an arrogant person is guilty of an “elevated heart”; a dishonest person has a “heart and a heart” or a “double heart”; a courageous person is “mighty hearted”.  I like the dishonest person having a double heart…………think about that one!  A heroic figure like David is not merely courageous but had a “mighty heart.”  I like that.

Jesus as Preacher.
Before he became famous as a healer and miracle-worker, Jesus was a preacher.  The Gospel of Matthew begins telling us of Jesus’ public preaching.  Known as the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus real ministry came as a teacher and rabbi, instilling the Torah in his followers and preaching to them about the kingdom of God.

The English word ‘preach’ came from the Latin words prae (before) and dicare (speak) “ to declare in front of.”  Jesus spoke neither Latin nor English. The original Hebrew word that he used to refer to his preaching was “drasha” in Hebrew.  This word carries more meaning that simply preach.  It meant “to demand”.  Jesus’ sermons were not meant to be easy listening.  He wasn’t going to “tickle the ears” of his audience.  As a Jewish preacher and teacher, Jesus looked deep into the words of Scripture, demanding  a more profound meaning than what is apparent on the surface.  How do you study?

Gethsemane
You have probably heard the name Gethsemane, but did you know that it actually means something?  Gethsemane comes from the Hebrew words “press” and “oils”. At the base of the Mount of Olives there was a garden where the farmers of Jerusalem would bring their harvested olives to be pressed into oil.

The name Gethsemane is significant because it underscores the essence of Jesus’ suffering at the time of his arrest.  Like oil in a press, Jesus is literally having the life squeezed out of him.  As Scripture says, “being in agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” (Luke 22:44)  How appropriate he went there to pray!

Hope this blog will peak your interest into delving deeper into Scripture.  There is whole world of meanings that we fail to understand.  I hope to write more on the some puzzling phrases found in Scripture.  Stayed tuned!