Hebrew Terms - Part 1A
Power is a subject everyone ends up dealing with at some
level in their lives. The topic brings both pleasure and pain. Many derive
pleasure from holding power within their grasp. But many seem to experience
pain, in one degree or another, when someone else wields the power. Power
struggles are at the root of every "battle" (large or small) that
ever occurs in life, whether it's within families, between associates, or
amidst the nations of the world. Someone always wants to dominate or control
someone else. This is part one of a five part series on the terms used for various forms of power in Scripture. It's been broken up into five parts to make the size of each one more manageable. The following links will take you to each of the parts.
Part 1B - Hebrew Terms
Part 1C - Hebrew Terms
Part 2A - Greek Terms
Part 2B - Greek Terms
To get the full benefit you'll want to study all all five parts. This will provide you with insights into the many dimensions of the topic as it is dealt with in Scripture. If you don't review all the concepts and terms you'll end up with a lopsided view of the subject. Also, you will end up confused by some of the English uses of the terms. Because of the way the Hebrew and Greek are treated in English Bible translations there is much that is missed in terms of the subtleties involved.
Because of the typical dynamics of power, everyone wants to have power of some kind within their control. YAHWEH, alone, comprehends how perfectly true this is. We simply don't have the ability to perceive all the ramifications of the multitude of power struggles that have existed since the creation of this world. We know parts of it - because of our own struggles to have power or to contend with others who hold some form of power over our lives. But we don't have a clue about the full implications of these matters in world history, politics, love-hate relationships, etc.
The issue, in a rather basic sense, is really about "government" in one form or another. Just who is going to "govern" our lives? Who is going to have the power to make us do things? Us? Or "them"? Within the answers to these questions we can discover the roots of the troubles of the ages. Are we willing to "obey" those who "govern" us? Or will we "rebel" against such authority?
From the beginning of Scripture there are revelations concerning the struggle for power, beginning with the story of Adam and Eve. YAHWEH granted them the "power" to choose for themselves whether they would obey His "commands" (instructions) or disobey them. Eve was the first to choose disobedience. The world has been living with the consequences of that choice ever since. Each one of us is granted this same "power". We get to choose, in some sense at least, whom we will obey and whom we will not obey. The power of choice is granted to every person. It is the power of the will. (I will, or I will not.)
There are a multitude of Scriptures that pertain to this very broad subject. This study takes a look at the terms actually used to describe the various aspects of power. There are at least 17 Hebrew words translated as power. There are also at least seven Greek words used in this manner. There are variations on each. Given the significant number of terms utilized, it's important to try to get some sense of what these terms are and what they really mean.
Power does not come in one simple form, it comes in many forms. The distinctions between these forms become very important if we are going to try to comprehend what Scripture really says about this subject, and what various passages we read actually mean. Within the five parts of this study you'll find the terms used, their meanings, and examples of how they're used.
It would certainly be easier for us today if we had the clarity of the Hebrew and Greek languages to assist us in expressing the various forms of power. Unfortunately, in the English language, we seem to use only a few words to attempt to convey the multitple ideas associated with the concept of power. For example: power generator (electrical power), power lifting (weight training), horsepower (the strength of the engine in your car), powers of multiplication (mathematical functions), wind power, solar power, physical power, political power, gravitational power - well, you get the idea. The list is quite long. It can easily lead to confusion about what kind of power is being referred to. If we just mentioned power, without any qualifying terms, our dialog would have little real meaning.
When we speak of power, then, it seems important to try to distinguish just what type of power we're referring to. For practical purposes we're going to limit our discussion in this article to the concepts of power that are typically involved in human and Divine interactions. We'll have little to say about the forces of nature and the power tied to them, including the animal realm. We'll have much to say about political, social, interpersonal, and spiritual power. We'll focus on what The Word of YAHWEH has to say about the sources of power and their applications, with an occasional comment added where it seems helpful.
The goal is to find practical understandings that can be applied more or less directly to our daily lives. The intent is to provide a foundation of insight that allows us to be able to function effectively within the world in which we live by looking at the teachings of Scripture on this complex subject.
May YAHWEH grant the clarity needed to understand His perspectives on power and its various uses. Please remember to double check the context of each of these Scriptures for a more clear understanding of their meanings. The surrounding passage always provides more clues to help us understand the terms and how they're being used.
HEBREW TERMS:
H1369 – gabuwrah – used 61 times
1369. h∂r…wb…◊g gbuwrah, gheb-oo-raw´; feminine passive participle from the same as 1368; force (literally or figuratively); by implication, valor, victory:—force, mastery, might, mighty (act, power), power, strength.
1368. rwø;b…ˆg gibbowr, ghib-bore´; or (shortened) r;Ob…ˆg gibbor, ghib-bore´; intensive from the same as 1397; powerful; by implication, warrior, tyrant:—champion, chief, x excel, giant, man, mighty (man, one), strong (man), valiant man.
Deuteronomy 3:24: Oh YAHWEH Elohim, You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness, and Your mighty hand: for what elohim is there in heaven or in earth, that can do according to Your works, and according to Your might?
1 Kings 15:23: The rest of all the acts of Asa, and all his might, and all that he did, and the cities which he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? Nevertheless in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet.
1 Chronicles 29:11: Yours, YAHWEH, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is Yours. Yours is the kingdom, YAHWEH, and You are exalted as head above all. 12 Both riches and honor come from You, and You reign over all; and in Your hand is power and might; and in Your hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all.
2 Chronicles 20:6: And said, YAHWEH, Elohim of our fathers, are You not The Elohim in Heaven? And do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the heathen? And in Your hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand You?
Job 12:13: With Him is wisdom and strength; He has counsel and understanding.
Psalms 20:6: Now know I that YAHWEH saves his anointed; He will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand.
Psalms 21:13: Be exalted, YAHWEH in Your own strength: so will we sing and praise Your power.
Psalms 54:1: Save me, YAHWEH, by Your name, and judge me by Your strength.
Psalms 66:7: He rules by His power for ever; His eyes behold the nations: let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah.
Psalms 71:16: I will go in the strength of YAHWEH Elohim: I will make mention of Your righteousness, even of Yours only.
Psalms 145:11: They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom, and talk of Your power; 12 to make known to the sons of men His mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of His kingdom.
Psalms 147:10: He delights not in the strength of the horse: He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.
Proverbs 8:14: Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength.
Isaiah 11:2: And the spirit of YAHWEH shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of YAHWEH;
Isaiah 30:15: For thus says YAHWEH Elohim, The Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall you be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and you would not.
Jeremiah 9:23: Thus says YAHWEH, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:
Micah 3:8: But truly I am full of power by the spirit of YAHWEH, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin.
Micah 7:16: The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might: they shall lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf.
H2220 –zarowa – used 97 times
2220. Aowør◊z zrowa{, zer-o´-ah; or (shortened) AoOr◊z zroao, zer-o´-ah; and (feminine) hDowør◊z zrowpah, zer-o-aw´; or hDoOr◊z zrowah, zer-o-aw´; from 2232; the arm (as stretched out), or (of animals) the foreleg; figuratively, force:—arm, + help, mighty, power, shoulder, strength.
2232. oArÎz zara{, zaw-rah´; a primitive root; to sow; figuratively, to disseminate, plant, fructify:—bear, conceive seed, set with sow(-er), yield.
Genesis 49:24: But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of The Mighty One of Jacob; (from there is The Shepherd, The Stone of Israel:)
Exodus 6:6: Therefore say unto the children of Israel, I am YAHWEH, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments:
Exodus 15:16: Fear and dread shall fall upon them; by the greatness of thine arm they shall be as still as a stone; till Your people pass over, YAHWEH, till the people pass over, which You have purchased.
Deuteronomy 4:34: Or has YAHWEH assayed to go and take Him a nation from the midst of another nation, by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that YAHWEH your Elohim did for you in Egypt before your eyes?
Judges 15:14: And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and the spirit of YAHWEH came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burned with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands.
1 Samuel 2:31: Behold, the days come, that I will cut off your arm, and the arm of your father’s house, that there shall not be an old man in your house.
2 Samuel 22:35: He teaches my hands to war; so that a bow of steel is broken by my arms.
Job 35:9: By reason of the multitude of oppressions they make the oppressed to cry: they cry out by reason of the arm of the mighty.
Psalms 10:15: Break the arm of the wicked and the evil man: seek out his wickedness till You find none.
Psalms 18:34: He teaches my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by my arms.
Psalms 79:11: Let the sighing of the prisoner come before You; according to the greatness of Your power You preserve those that are appointed to die;
Psalms 89:13: You have a mighty arm: strong is Your hand, and high is Your right hand.
Psalms 136:12: With a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm: for His mercy endures for ever.
Isaiah 40:10: Behold, YAHWEH Elohim will come with a strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him: behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him.
Isaiah 52:10: YAHWEH has made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our Elohim.
Jeremiah 17:5: Thus says YAHWEH; Cursed is the man that trusts in man, and makes flesh his arm, and whose heart departs from YAHWEH.
Jeremiah 48:25: The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, says YAHWEH.
Ezekiel 30:21: Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, lo, it shall not be bound up to be healed, to put a roller to bind it, to make it strong to hold the sword.
Daniel 11:22: And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before Him, and shall be broken; indeed, also the prince of the covenant.
H2428 – chayil – used 250 times
2428. lˆyAj chayil, khah´-yil; from 2342; probably a force, whether of men, means or other resources; an army, wealth, virtue, valor, strength:—able, activity, (+) army, band of men (soldiers), company, (great) forces, goods, host, might, power, riches, strength, strong, substance, train, (+)valiant(-ly), valour, virtuous(-ly), war, worthy(-ily).
2342. l…wj chuwl, khool; or lyIj chiyl, kheel; a primitive root; properly, to twist or whirl (in a circular or
spiral manner), i.e. (specifically) to dance, to writhe in pain (especially of parturition) or fear; figuratively, to wait, to pervert:—bear, (make to) bring forth, (make to) calve, dance, drive away, fall grievously (with pain), fear, form, great, grieve, (be) grievous, hope, look, make, be in pain, be much (sore) pained, rest, shake, shapen, (be) sorrow(-ful), stay, tarry, travail (with pain), tremble, trust, wait carefully (patiently), be wounded.Army, host, mighty men. Comes from a root meaning pain, fear, or anguish. Implies a large force, strength in numbers. Can also refer to wealth (volume of assets or abundance of something).
Exodus 14:4: And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honored upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am YAHWEH. And they did so.
Exodus 14:9: But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pihahiroth, before Baalzephon.
Deuteronomy 3:18: And I commanded you at that time, saying, YAHWEH, your Elohim, has given you this land to possess it: you shall pass over armed before your brethren the children of Israel, all that are ready for the war.
Deuteronomy 8:17: And you say in your heart, My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.
Joshua 6:2: And YAHWEH said unto Yahoshua (Joshua), See, I have given into your hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valor.
Judges 21:10: And the congregation sent thither twelve thousand men of the most valiant, and commanded them, saying, Go and smite the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the children.
1 Samuel 2:4: The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength.
1 Samuel 16:18: Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and YAHWEH is with him.
1 Kings 11:28: And the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valor: and Solomon, seeing the young man, that he was industrious, he made him ruler over all the charge of the house of Joseph.
1 Kings 20:1; And Benhadad the king of Syria gathered all his host together: and there were thirty and two kings with him, and horses, and chariots: and he went up and besieged Samaria, and warred against it.
1 Kings 20:19: So these young men of the princes of the provinces came out of the city, and the army which followed them.
1 Kings 20:25: And number you an army, like the army that you have lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot: and we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. And he listened unto their voice, and did so.
2 Kings 25:5: And the army of the Chaldees pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho: and all his army were scattered from him.
Psalms 33:16: There is no king saved by the multitude of a host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength.
Psalms 76:5: The stouthearted are spoiled, they have slept their sleep: and none of the men of might have found their hands.
Isaiah 5:22: Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink:
Jeremiah 38:3: Thus says YAHWEH, This city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army, which shall take it.
Ezekiel 37:10: So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.
Nahum 2:3: The shield of his mighty men is made red, the valiant men are in scarlet: the chariots shall be with flaming torches in the day of his preparation, and the fir trees shall be terribly shaken.
Habakkuk 3:19: YAHWEH Elohim is my strength, and He will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and He will make me to walk upon my high places.
Zechariah 4:6: Then he answered and spoke unto me, saying, This is the word of YAHWEH to Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says YAHWEH of Hosts.