Read Genesis 26:1-33 at Bible Gateway.
Hebrew paragraph division
Gen 26:1-33 {s} Life of Isaac repeats events from the life of Abraham
Original Hebrew
“Because that Abraham hearkened to My voice, and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.” Gen 26:5
hearken
The Hebrew is Strong’s H8085, shama, a primitive root, “to hear, to listen and attend, to hear and answer, to obey or give heed.” The ancient pictographs are the shin + mem + ayin.
shin = two front teeth, thus sharp, press, eat, two, again
mem = the water, thus chaos, mighty, blood
ayin = the eye, thus watch, know, shade
The picture the ancient pictographs are painting is of breath passing through the front teeth (shin) expelling water (mem) as vapor from the body. When we listen, we breathe intently as we focus on what is being said so that we can comprehend it (ayin). In the Hebraic worldview, shama, to listen, is an active and not a passive verb. If we hear what is said but do not act on or respond to what is said, then we have not heard at all. This is why shama includes the implication of obedience as Deu 6:4 indicates.
kept
The Hebrew is Strong’s H8104, shamar, a primitive root, “to keep, to watch, to guard as a husbandman or shepherd.” The ancient pictographs are the shin + mem + resh. The Ancient Hebrew Lexicon tells us that the shin + mem in this root was originally a sin + nun, the similar sounds becoming transposed over time. So the true ancient Hebrew root is סָנַר sin + nun + resh.
sin = the thorn, thus grab, hate, protect
nun = the seed, thus continue, heir, son
resh = the head of man, thus head, first, top, beginning, man
The story the ancient pictographs are painting is of shepherds who would surround their flocks at night with thorn branches (sin) to protect them from predators when they were pasturing them away from the fold. They kept or guarded (sin) their flocks so that their children (nun) would be provided for. Thus the full story of shamar is to closely guard (sin) for the next generation (nun) that which is of first importance (resh).
charge
The Hebrew is Strong’s H4931, mishmereth, meaning the abstract concept of a charge, an obligation; from Strong’s H4929, mishmar, meaning the concrete object of a prison house, from Strong’s H8104, shamar, the primitive root, meaning to keep, to guard.
Just as it is the flock inside the protection of the thorns in the story the ancient pictographs paint of shamar, so the prison house keeps the prisoners within its walls in mishmar. Likewise the charge or obligation is guarded within the heart and mind so that it does not escape the attention of the one whose charge it is to keep.
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