Leviticus 24 and 25, Hebrew root words

Read Leviticus 24 and 25 at Bible Gateway.

You shall have one law for the stranger and for one from your own country; for I am YHVH your God. Lev 24:22

ONE. Strong’s H259 אחד echad, to strongly fence the door of escape, so that unity is preserved.

LAW. Strong’s H4941 mishpat, an abstract concept meaning, “a judgment (the act of deciding a case);” from Strong’s H8199 שפט shaphat, “to judge or govern.”

STRANGER. Strong’s H1616, ger, from Strong’s H1481 גור guwr, a primitive root meaning, “to turn aside from the way, to tarry.”

gimel ג = foot, thus foot, walk, gather
vav ו = tent peg, thus add, secure, hook
resh ר = head of man, thus head, first, top, beginning, man

The story: A walking (gimel) man (resh), i.e., a traveler, not a resident. The addition of the vav 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.

NATIVE-BORN. Strong’s H249, ezrach, an abstract concept meaning “native;” from Strong’s H2224 זרח zarach, a primitive root meaning, “to shoot forth;” either beams, as the rising sun, or growth, as plants arising from their native soil.

zayin ז = mattock, thus tool, food, cut, nourish
resh ר = head of man, thus head, first, top, beginning, man
chet ח = wall, thus outside, divide, half

The story: The cognate words will help us find the story. One is ‘caravan,’ which follows a set path to arrive at its destination; another is ‘allowance,’ as a set amount of provision; another is ‘moon,’ which follows a set path in the sky month after month. The resh + chet pair reduces to the man (resh) outside (chet), or nomad, who follows a set path in pasturing his livestock season by season. So, new sprouts cut through (zayin) the soil as they rise up, just as the sun rises up when following its set path (resh + chet) day by day.

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So you shall observe My statutes and keep My judgments, and perform them; and you will dwell in the land in safety. Lev 25:18

TO OBSERVE. Strong’s H6213 עשה asah, doing with all his might, whatever a man’s hand finds to do.

STATUTE. Strong’s H2708 חקה chuqqah, an abstract concept meaning, “that which is established;” from Strong’s H2706 חק choq, a concrete object meaning, “statute;” from Strong’s H2710 חקק chaqaq, a primitive root meaning, “to engrave.”

chet ח = wall, thus outside, divide, half;
quph ק = sun on the horizon, thus condense, circle, time;
quph ק = sun on the horizon, thus condense, circle, time.

The story: A wall (chet), that is, a boundary established to define and limit someone’s action; established from the rising of the sun (quph) to its going down (quph) – an idiom for time immemorial – is permanently engraved in stone. The implication is that YHVH’s statutes are permanent, set, eternal.

TO KEEP. Strong’s H8104 שמר shamar, to closely guard for the next generation that which is of first importance.

JUDGMENT. Strong’s H4941 mishpat, the same as above.

TO PERFORM. Strong’s H6213 עשה asah, the same as above.

TO DWELL. Strong’s H3427 ישב yashab, a primitive root meaning, “to sit down.”

yud י = closed hand, thus work, throw, worship
shin ש = two front teeth, thus sharp, press, eat, two, again
bet ב = house, thus house, household, family, in, within

The story: When work (yud) is ended, we press (shin) into the house (bet), to sit down at the end of our day of labor.

SAFETY. Strong’s H983 betach, an abstract concept meaning, “a place of refuge;” from Strong’s H982 בטח batach, to trust, as when the family is surrounded by a wall.

If as a nation, we aren’t dwelling safely in our land, it is because we have forsaken the doing of YHVH’s statutes and judgments, laid out neatly for us in the Ten Commandments, with their accompanying explanation in the books of Moses. The lie that doing His commandments is unnecessary has been hundreds of years in the making. Discarding God and His Word has been over a hundred years in the making in America. But God’s people are waking up. Let Your witness spread like wildfire, Father!