Read Exodus 22:14-24 at Bible Gateway.
Hebrew paragraph divisions
Exo 22:14-15 {s} Restitution when goods are borrowed
Exo 22:16-17 {s} Restitution when a virgin is seduced
Exo 22:18-19 {s} Sorceress = death penalty + lying with animals = death penalty
Exo 22:20-24 {p} Idolaters + afflicters of strangers, widows, orphans = utterly destroyed
Hebrew root words
Neighbor is Strong’s H7453 rea, a concrete noun meaning, “companion, friend, neighbor;” from Strong’s H7462 רעה ra’ah, a primitive root meaning, “ to shepherd, to pasture.” The ancient pictographs are resh + ayin + hey.
resh ר = the head of man, thus head, first, top, beginning, man
ayin ע = the eye, thus watch, know, shade
hey ה = man with upraised arms, thus look, reveal, wonder, worship, breath
The story the ancient pictographs are telling is of the man (resh) watching over (ayin) with sighing in his chest/ heart (hey), i.e. invested by love and duty to succeed in his commission, for tending God’s creation was his original commission from his Creator (Gen 1:26). Therefore a neighbor is the person the man watches over, invested by love and duty.
Yeshua answered who our neighbors are in the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luk 10:25-37.
The primitive root for virgin is not listed in either Strong’s or Gesenius, so I cannot find the parable for that.
Wife is Strong’s H802 ishshah, a feminine concrete noun meaning, “woman, wife, female;” from Strong’s H376, iysh, a masculine concrete noun meaning, “man,” contracted from Strong’s H582, enowsh, a masculine concrete noun meaning, “man,” from Strong’s H605 אנש anash, a primitive root meaning, “to be incurably weak, sick, or wicked.” The ancient pictographs are aleph + nun + shin.
aleph א = the ox head, thus strength, power, leader
nun נ, ן = the seed, thus continue, heir, son
shin ש = two front teeth, thus sharp, press, eat, two, again
The story the ancient pictographs are telling is of the strong one (aleph, i.e., the man) who is buried in the earth (nun, as the seed is buried in the earth), returning (shin, in the sense of repeating) from whence he came. Man is defined in terms of his mortality.
“In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground; for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.” Gen 3:19
Stranger is Strong’s H1616, ger, from Strong’s H1481 גור guwr, a primitive root meaning “to turn aside from the way, to tarry.” The ancient Hebrew pictographs are the gimel + vav + resh:
gimel ג = the foot, thus foot, walk, gather
vav ו = the tent peg, thus add, secure, hook
resh ר = the head of man, thus head, first, top, beginning, man
The story the ancient pictographs are telling is of a walking (gimel) man (resh), i.e., a traveler, not a resident. The addition of the vav is interesting. It is not needed in order to convey the meaning of a traveler, a non-resident, an alien. But it provides the additional detail of security. A tent peg, after all, is that which secures the tent to the ground. The full picture of ger, then is of a secure (vetted?) stranger, as opposed to a spy or a criminal.
Widow is Strong’s H490 almanah a concrete noun meaning, “widow,” from Strong’s H488 alman, an adjective meaning, “forsaken;” from Strong’s H481 אלם alam, a primitive root meaning, “to tie fast, to bind.” The ancient pictographs are aleph + lamed + mem.
aleph א = the ox head, thus strength, power, leader
lamed ל = the shepherd’s staff, thus teach, yoke, to, bind
mem מ, ם = the water, thus chaos, mighty, blood
The story being told is of strong (aleph) authority (lamed) over chaos (mem); i.e., to set a boundary on unrestraint; thus to tie fast, to bind. The relationship to widow, according to the Ancient Hebrew Lexicon, is that a widow is strongly bound to grief or loneliness.
Fatherless child is Strong’s H3490 yathowm , a concrete noun meaning, “orphan;” from an unused primitive root meaning, “to be solitary, bereaved.” The letters of the unused root, according to Gesenius, are yud + tav + mem.
yud י = the closed hand, thus work, throw, worship
tav ת = crossed sticks, thus mark, sign, signal, monument
mem מ, ם = the water, thus chaos, mighty, blood
The Ancient Hebrew Lexicon lists the related root as tav + mem; meaning full, whole, or mature; even to be amazed, as a full or overwhelmed mind. How does tav + mem convey wholeness? It is the cross (tav) upon which the blood (mem) flowed. Because of the cross upon which Messiah’s blood flowed, we become whole and complete; because of the cross upon which Messiah’s blood flowed, we become sons of the Father. To be bereaved of a father, then, is to have taken away (yud, the closed hand, as opposed to kaph, the open palm of blessing or giving) that which makes us sons (tav + mem).
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