Heyakh: An A-HA Moment.

Heyakh: A-ha! Interjection word (Strong’s 1889)

Root: הֶאָח

Sounds like: hey’awkh

I was a teenager in the mid to late 1980’s and I was drawn to new wave/synth pop artists such as Tears for Fears, OMD, Simple Minds, Eurythmics, Corey Hart, and the Norwegian band, A-ha. I recently made an ‘80s play-list and the A-ha hit,  “The Sun Always Shines on TV” makes me smile every time I hear it. It may actually be my favourite ‘80s song. So, naturally, when I came across a Bible verse with the word A-ha in it, I thought, what a great word to dive into! But it wasn’t what I thought it would be.

In English saying “A-ha” is equivalent to saying, “Eureka!” It’s a celebratory reaction to a moment of discovery. For me it happens most often when I track down an elusive ancestor in my family tree. “A-ha, I found you!” is an excited cheer with a feeling of great accomplishment.  

The Hebrew word heyakh doesn’t align with the English meaning of a-ha. In the Bible Heyakh is (100% of the time) a self-centered mocking proclamation said by a fool or a group of fools. 

Because You Said, “A-ha”…

David felt the derisive jeers of his enemies and he prayed that God would save him from them:

Psalm 70:1-3 (see also 40:13-17)

[David:] God, hurry to save me; YHWH, hurry to help me! May those who seek my life be put to shame and humiliated; may those who delight in my harm be turned back and dishonoured. May those who say, “A-ha, a-ha [Heyakh, heyakh]!” be turned back because of their shame. 

What’s wrong with saying “A-ha, a-ha”? A further study into the word will identify it as the interjection that begins a taunt. It was like saying, “Aha! I knew  it! You’re worthless”. It is a mocking, derisive, taunting, insulting interjection which often was used as a gloat by an enemy. David described his enemies as those who wink maliciously and who exalt themselves over him:

Psalm 35:17-26

[David:] Lord, how long will You look on? Rescue my soul from their ravages, my only life from the lions. I will give You thanks in the great congregation; I will praise You among a mighty people.

Do not let those who are wrongfully my enemies rejoice over me; nor let those who hate me for no reason wink maliciously. For they do not speak peace, but they devise deceitful words against those who are quiet in the land. They opened their mouth wide against me; they said, “Aha, aha [Heyakh, heyakh]! Our eyes have seen it!”

You have seen it, YHWH, do not keep silent; Lord, do not be far from me. Stir Yourself, and awake to my right and to my cause, my God and my Lord. Judge me, YHWH my God, according to Your righteousness, and do not let them rejoice over me. 

Do not let them say in their heart, “Aha, our desire  [Heyakh naph’shenu]!” Do not let them say, “We have swallowed him up!” May those be ashamed and altogether humiliated who rejoice at my distress; may those who exalt themselves over me be clothed with shame and dishonour.

The phrase, “A-ha, our desire” (Heyakh naph’shenu) has proven to be difficult to translate. The nu ending indicates a plural possessive represented by the word “our” in English. The root n’phesh means soul, individual, being, life. It is also used to describe the desire, emotion, mind of an individual or a collective. The “our desire” found in the (above) NASB translation is probably the most grammatically accurate rendering of heyakh naph’shenu. Other translations, however, use a more conceptual rendering, such as:

A-ha! Just what we wanted! (NIV, BSB)

A-ha! We have our heart’s desire! (NRSV)

What was their want/desire?… to devour David, to swallow him up and eliminate him. This was the taunting cheer of defeat that David feared and he earnestly prayed for salvation from their harsh words and deadly actions.

The prophets spoke about YHWH’s response to these scornful words. In the scroll of Ezekiel, YHWH responded to His enemies who said, “A-ha” as a taunt against Israel. It started with the Ammonites:

Ezekiel 25:3-4, 6-7

“And say to the sons of Ammon, ‘Hear the word of the Lord YHWH! This is what the Lord YHWH says: “Because you said, ‘Aha [Heyakh]!’ against My sanctuary when it was profaned, and against the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and against the house of Judah when they went into exile, therefore, behold, I am going to give you to the people of the east as a possession, and they will set up their encampments among you and make their dwellings among you; they will eat your fruit and drink your milk…

…For this is what the Lord YHWH says: “Because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet, and have rejoiced with all the malice in your soul against the land of Israel, therefore, behold, I have reached out with My hand against you and I will give you as plunder to the nations. And I will cut you off from the peoples and eliminate you from the lands. I will exterminate you. So you will know that I am YHWH.”

To Tyre YHWH said:

Ezekiel 26:2-3

“Son of man, because Tyre has said in regard to Jerusalem, ‘Aha [Heyakh]! The gateway of the peoples is broken; it has opened to me. I shall be filled, now that she is laid waste,’ therefore this is what the Lord YHWH says: ‘Behold, I am against you, Tyre, and I will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves.’”

Both the Ammonites and the nation of Tyre started their taunts against Israel with A-ha. YHWH essentially said, “since you said a-ha against My people, your taunts will turn against you.”

Ezekiel 36:2-3, 7-11

This is what the Lord YHWH says: “Since the enemy has spoken against you, ‘Aha [Heyakh]!’ and, ‘The everlasting heights have become our possession,’ therefore prophesy and say, ‘This is what the Lord YHWH says: “For good reason they have made you desolate and harassed you from every side, so that you would become a possession of the rest of the nations; and you have been taken up in the talk and the rumour of the people.”’” 

…Therefore the Lord YHWH says this: ‘I have sworn that the nations that are around you will certainly endure their insults themselves. But as for you, mountains of Israel, you will grow your branches and bear fruit for My people Israel; for they are about to come. For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you will be cultivated and sown. And I will multiply people on you, all the house of Israel, all of it; and the cities will be inhabited and the ruins will be rebuilt. I will multiply on you people and animals, and they will increase and be fruitful; and I will populate you as you were previously, and treat you better than at the beginning. Then you will know that I am YHWH.” 

The a-ha insults that Israel received would be sent back to those who mocked them. They would endure their own insults. With their foolish words they mapped out their own destruction.

A-ha! I am Warm!

Isaiah was the only writer to individualize heyakh. He spoke of the wood craftsman who worked with cedars, oaks, and laurel trees, using them as fire for cooking and warmth; the remainder of the wood he turned into idols:

Isaiah 44:15b-17

He also makes a god and worships it; he makes it a carved image and bows down before it. Half of it he burns in the fire; over this half he eats meat, he roasts a roast, and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, “Aha [Heyakh]! I am warm, I have seen the fire.” Yet the rest of it he makes into a god, his carved image. He bows down before it and worships; he also prays to it and says, “Save me, for you are my god.”

The craftsman was a fool, saying, Heyakh, I am warm. This is all I need. It was a self-centred proclamation. He created his own god, he created his own warmth, and he fed himself. He took on the role of self-creator and self provider, and he asked the thing that he made to save him. Can a piece of carved wood save anybody? This was a twisted view of human purpose. 

Humans were made to bear God’s image. They didn’t need to create idols because God created them to bear the image of Him. They didn’t need wood to bear His image… THEY themselves bore His image. 

Declaring wood to be god was an insult to the living, breathing, Creator-God of the universe. Wood wouldn’t save a thing, but YHWH would save everything, apart from one.

A-ha! Save Yourself

The only use of a-ha in the New Testament Greek text is found in Mark’s account of Yeshua’s crucifixion:

Mark 15:27, 29-32a

And with Him (Jesus), they crucify two robbers, one on His right and one on His left…

And those passing by heaped abuse at Him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! [Greek: Oua!] (To) the One destroying the temple and rebuilding it in three days, save Yourself and descend from the cross!”

In the same way, the chief priests mocked Him among themselves with the scribes, saying, “Others He saved, but He is unable to save Himself! The Messiah, the King of Israel, let Him descend now from the cross, (so) that we may see and believe!”

Yeshua felt their jeers but did not react to them because they did not understand. Yeshua certainly could save Himself but it would be at the expense of every human being on the planet. Yeshua’s death meant they could live. Saving Himself would be our death sentence.

Yeshua’s proclamation to destroy the Temple and raise it in three days had nothing to do with the brick and mortar Temple on the mount. Yeshua was the Temple that housed the Spirit of God. Tear down Yeshua and He would be rebuilt in three days… and that’s exactly what happened. Yeshua went to the grave but, three days later, He came back. He defeated death so that we no longer have to be enslaved by it.

As YHWH’s Image bearers, we ought to be very careful to not dole out insults and boastful interjections about how wonderfully self-sufficient we are or how weak our “enemies” are. According to the Bible, that’s the talk of fools. With social media and the endless streams of click-bate flashing in front of our eyes, it’s hard not to be influenced by the things we see and hear. Mocking and boasting are common forms of communication in the digital world and we will both be tempted to join in and also feel its sting.

Let’s be more like Yeshua, who heard the mocking but did not respond to their foolishness. He refused to save Himself, even after the onslaught of abusive remarks, in order to save the whole of humanity. In a sea of babbling insults, Yeshua’s silence saved us.

We should spend zero time in hurling hurting words towards others. Mocking, jeering, bragging, and boasting… these are a waste of our words and a waste of the sacred breath we are given. Our words are better off lifting each other up, and praising our loving Creator. To YHWH we should sing the lyrics to my favourite A-ha song :

Hold me close to Your heart… and give all your love to me!

Next week: Revisiting ALMIGHTY