Yemim: Hot Spring

Hot Spring: Yemim, masculine noun (Strong’s 3222). 

Hebrew lettering: יֵּמִם֙ (from root word yam (יָם), meaning sea).

Sounds like: yay’meem

I have returned from my Icelandic vacation. The earthquakes we experienced have finally led to the volcano erupting  this past Monday. We made it back to Canada just before the lava reached the surface. To view the volcano that is currently active, check out this YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdztuGs-VkE 

While I’ve been on vacation, I’ve been looking at Hebrew Words that remind me of Iceland, starting two weeks ago with ICE, last week with WATERFALL, and today we’ll look at the word for HOT SPRING. 

On my trip we (four friends and I) went to the famous Blue Lagoon. The water is milky blue due to its high volume of silica which is reflected in the sunlight. The geothermal water is a warm and lovely 38° C. 

We also went to the Hvammsvik Hot Springs which had a very different vibe. It is far less touristy and its setting is on the stunning Hvalfjörður (Whale Fjord). The views were spectacular! What a wonderful place to reflect on YHWH’s creative power, love and majesty! 

Yemim (hot spring) only shows up one time in the Bible and there is some argument to the fact that it may not mean hot spring at all. However, the word yemim is connected to the word for yam, meaning sea, so it makes the best sense to be something closely connected to water, such as a hot spring. Here’s the Biblical reference:

Genesis 36:20-21a, 24

These are the sons of Seir the Horite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan… And these are the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah—he is the Anah who found the hot springs [hai-yemim הַיֵּמִם֙] in the wilderness when he was pasturing the donkeys of his father Zibeon. 

Everyone knows the story of when Anah found the hot springs while looking after his father’s donkeys, right? The writer assumes we do… and the original readers probably did. That story has been lost to us. All we know is that Anah found the hot springs… and that was a very good thing… enough to make a notable mention in the sacred text!

Today Israel has quite a few hot springs, including the Tiberias Hot Springs, Ein Gedi Hot Springs, Hamat Gader Hot Springs, and the Hamei Ga’ash Hot Springs. As far as I know, none of them claim to be Anah’s hot spring. It is worth noting that for centuries upon centuries, hot springs have been an important part of the human experience, from the Biblical Age to today.

Theologically there’s not much of a takeaway in this simple passage about a hot spring. What this does teach us, however, is that the Bible is not just a book of faith, it’s also a historical document. It tells us something about the history of the early Biblical people. And that’s important, because the Bible will make so much more sense when we get to know the historical time periods.

Dr. Michael Heiser always promoted reading the Bible in its historical context. He said:

What I mean by context is worldview – having the ancient Israelite or first-century Jew in your head as you read. How would an ancient Israelite or first-century Jew read the Bible – what would they be thinking in terms of its meaning? The truth is that if we put one of those people into a small group Bible study and asked them what they thought about a given passage meant, their answer would be quite a bit different in many cases than anything the average [modern] Christian would think. They belonged to the world that produced the Bible, which is the context the Bible needs to be understood by.

We sometimes desperately try to stuff the Bible into our 21st Century modern sensibilities, but that is problematic. Many people reject the Bible on the grounds that it is outdated and antiquated. Understanding the Bible on its own terms, from its own historical context, opens up the Scripture in new and surprising ways.

We miss out on a lot of stuff when we don’t know the history. It’s worth diving into the past of the ancient Near East and first century Israel because it helps us understand the Biblical perspective and the people who lived in those days.  What was it like for Elijah to live in the time of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel? How did living under Roman rule affect the followers of Jesus? What was Babyonian culture like and why was it so counterintuitive to the lifestyle of YHWH followers? Why did Egypt repeatedly come up as enemies of the Hebrew people? Why was it important for Paul to claim to be a citizen of Rome? Why was Jesus’ treatment of women and foreigners (such as Samaritans) seen as so radical?

Learning history will make your Bible reading experience so much richer! History has a lot to teach us. We may not learn who Anah was, but we now know that there was something wonderful about finding a hot spring. It was Anah’s claim to fame. It also tells us that the people of ancient Israel found value in such things because they were wonderful, natural, gifts from God.

I have lounged in a natural hot spring and it really is a lovely, relaxing, gift. I could’ve sat there all day! I suspect, when I’m back to work tomorrow, that I will have a day-dreamy moment of sitting in Hvammsvik Hot Spring with the cool air, toasty warm waters, and the magnificent views all around me.  Thank you, YHWH, for all the wonderful things you have created on this planet. They are extraordinary and we have been profoundly blessed by them! We praise You and we thank You. Amen!

Next week: In front/Before