READINGHEBREW

Noah’s Favor Before

God

IN THIS LECTURE:

1. Reading from the Torah

2. Reading from the Siddur

3. Reading from the Dead Sea Scrolls

ן ב - (noun) son, foster son,

grandson.

ר אש - (relative pronoun) who,

which, that.

רעה - (noun) bad, evil,

wickedness.

רב - (noun) big, great, large,

vast, many.

הלך - (noun) to walk, go

along, to follow.

ן ח - (noun) grace, favor, good

will, beauty.

תמים - (noun), perfect, whole,

entire, complete.

צדיק - (adjective) just,

righteous, virtuous, pious.

ח מזב - (noun) altar of

sacrifice.

עלה - (noun) burnt offering,

sacrifice.

Words of the WeekLook for these words while reading…

Reading Torah

ך מ שתיםויחי־ל

ושמניםשנהומאת

ד ןשנהויול ׃ב

When Lamech had lived 182 years, he begot a son. (Gen 5:28)

ת־שמוויקרא אמרנחא נול נוממעש זהינחמ

עצבון ינוומ רמן־האדמהיד ררהיהוה׃אש א

And he named him Noah, saying, “This one will provide us relief from our work and from the toil of our hands, out of the very soil which the LORD placed under a curse.” (Gen 5:29)

האדםרעתרבהויראיהוהכי

רמחשבתלבו ץוכל־יצ באר

כל־היום׃רערק

The LORD saw how great was man’s wickedness on earth, and how every plan devised by his mind was nothing but evil all the time. (Gen 6:5)

The Hebrew word ר יצ (yetzer) in the phrase רמחשבתלבו יצ (yetzermachshevot libo) carries within itself the idea of something being produced or created. The phrase can be translated as “creation/ desire/ result of thoughts of his heart.” The totality of human fall is unmistakable and striking. Because of the full linguistic connection (Adam/man) in the text, we can see more clearly that Adam’s failure affected his human offspring to the utmost degree.

ת־האדם הא מח ריהוהא רויאמ ־בראתיאש

ש מ מהעד־ר אדםעד־בה עלפניהאדמהמ מ

ועד־עוףהשמיםכינחמתיכיעשיתם׃

The LORD said, “I will blot out from the earth the men whom I created - men together with beasts, creeping things, and birds of the sky; for I regret that I made them.” (Gen 6:7)

ןונחמצא ח

ינייהוה׃ בע

But Noah found favor with the LORD. (Gen 6:8)

The Hebrew for Noah is נח (noach). The word is

derived from the verb which has a wide ,לנוח

range of meanings, but most of them contain the idea of rest and relief. The kind of rest Hebrew implies here is not relaxation from exertion, but stationary rest, the absence of activity and movement. A rest in a sense of pause.

In Modern Hebrew when we ask each other, “Do you like (such and such)?” We very often use this ancient biblical phrase: “Did it find grace in your eyes?” The word ן ח (chen) stands for

“grace/favor” in Hebrew. The name נח (noach) “Noah” is the

same word only reversed. (The reason that the letterנ (nun) in

“Noah” looks different from the same letterן (nun) in “grace” is

because it is one of final letters that look differently when they appear last in a word).

התולדתנחנחאיש ל א

תמיםהיהבדרתיוצדיק

ת־האלהים ךא ־נח׃התהל

This is the line of Noah. Noah was a righteous man; he was blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God. (Gen 6:9)

Eventually the time came to judge mankind’s wickedness. Noah, his family and the animals entered the large boat he built. And then the rain came like it never did before. The waters flooded all the surroundings and people outside the ark perished.

רויעשנחככל ־צוהויהוה׃אש

And Noah did just as the LORD commanded him. (Gen 7:5)

ן חנחויב ליהוהויקחמכלמזב

מההטהרהומכלהעוף הבה

חעלתהטהורויעל ׃במזב

Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and, taking of every clean animal and of every clean bird, he offered burnt offerings on the altar. (Gen 8:20)

The Hebrew word used for altar in this passage is ח מזב

(mizbeach). It is connected with the verb “to slaughter” and “to sacrifice”. Hebrew often takes a verb, and by attaching a prefix מ (mem),turns it into a noun. For example, the verb “to fight” is ללחם, but when the prefix מ

(mem) is added it becomes מלחמה (milchamah) “a war”.

So likewise the verb “to slaughter” turned into noun “altar” with a prefix מ (mem).

ר יחהניחחויאמ ת־ר וירחיהוהא

לעוד ל־לבולא־אסףלקל יהוהא

ת־האדמהבעבורהאדם א

The LORD smelled the pleasing odor, and the Lord said to Himself: “Never again will I curse the ground because of man… (Gen 8:21)

בהאדם רל מנעריורעכייצ

ולא־אסףעודלהכות

ת־כל־חי רא עשיתי׃כאש

… since the devisings of man’s mind are evil from his youth; nor will I ever again destroy every living being, as I have done. (Gen 8:21)

ת־ ת־נחוא ךאלהיםא בניוויבר

םפרוורבוומלאו רלה ויאמ

ץ׃ ת־האר א

God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, “Be fertile and increase, and fill the earth”. (Gen 9:1)

Reading Siddur

The Siddur (Jewish prayer book) contains many prayers of thanksgiving.

Following are a few lines from the prayer said after the meal. It expresses thanks not only for the meal and sustenance, but for all matters of life.

ה ינולךיהוהנוד ועלתורתך... אלה

למדתנו יךועלש הודעתנוועלחק ש

ןחיים דח ס וח

We thank you Lord our God… for the Torah you have taught us, for the laws you have made known to us, for the life, grace and loving-kindness… (from Brikhat Hamazon)

Reading Dead Sea

Scrolls

In today’s Isaiah reading the prophet criticizes the sacrifices, not a way of worship, but their intent. While the offerings are meant communicate devotion and closeness to God, their increased numbers do not correlate to how Israel’s righteousness.

In this case less is more and few offerings made with the right heart are better then many animals offered without real faith.

םלמה־לי יכ יליםעלותיאמריהוהשבעתירב־זבח א

ב ל לאחפצתי׃ועתודיםודםפריםוכבשיםמריאיםוח

"What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?” says the LORD. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed cattle; and I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats. (Is. 1:11)

CERTIFICATE

IN JEWISH CONTEXT AND

CULTURE

Enroll into

www.israelstudycenter.com