Hebrew Word Lessons

King: melek (Strong’s 4428) and Kingdom: malkuth (Strong’s 4438) Root: מֶלֶךְ Sounds like: mel’eck and mal’koot King (melek) is used to describe both earthly leaders and the Creator God. And Kingdom (malkuth) can be any earthly kingdom, as well as the divine Kingdom of God. Interestingly, there is only one letter difference between king/melek (מֶלֶךְ) and… Continue reading Melek: KING forevermore

Angel/Messenger/Sent One: malak- (masculine noun) (Strong’s 4397) Root: מֲלְאָךְ Sounds like: mal-awk Angels we have Heard on High is a song that gets a lot of air play this time of year. It brings us to that glorious moment in the Bible announcing the Messiah's arrival on earth: Luke 2:8-14 And there were shepherds residing in… Continue reading Malak: Messenger, Sent One, ANGEL

Light: ore (Feminine Noun) (Strong's 216) Root: אוֹר Sounds like: ohr Tonight we light the last candle for Chanukkah so it is fitting that the word we dive into today is Light. The battle between “good” and “evil” has been so closely associated with “light” and “dark” that it has become ingrained in our minds… Continue reading Ohr: Children of LIGHT

Dove: yonah (feminine noun). (Strong’s 3123) Root: יוֹנָה Sounds like: yo-naw Why does the world connect “doves” with “peace”? Nowhere in the Bible do the words peace and dove show up in the same verse. Yet the iconic picture of a dove with a branch in its beak is deeply rooted in our minds as a… Continue reading Yonah: DOVE that brings Good News

Sing: shir (verb) (Strong’s 7891) Root: שִׁיר Sounds like: sheer In the novel, Les Miserables, Victor Hugo wrote about the horrors of working as a galley slave, and how song carried the prisoners through the depths of despair: “For when there is no more hope, song remains”. We often think of singing in great joy during… Continue reading Shir: SING to Him a New Song

Shadow: tsel (Masculine Noun) (Strong’s 6738) Shadow of Death/Death-Shadow: tsal-mawet (Masculine Noun) (Strong’s 6757) Root: צֵל Sounds like: tzel Shadow is a bi-product of light and dark, making it a prominent theme in the Tanakh. Most often it is used to describe YHWH’s protection. Shade protects us from heat and shadow hides us from danger.… Continue reading Tsel: SHADOW of Death; Life in the Shade

Sun: shemesh (masculine noun) (Strong's 8121 & 8122) Root: שֶׁמֶשׁ Sounds like: shuh-mesh November is usually a month with many grey, overcast, days, so when the sun does come out it feels all that more warm and glorious. One hundred years ago, to the day, the signing of the Armistice Agreement put an end to WWI.… Continue reading Shemesh: Shining like the SUN

SHIELD: magen (masculine noun). (Strong’s 4043) Original word: מָגֵן Sounds like: maw-ghen This afternoon I joined with others, in Charlottetown PEI, to pay our respects to the victims of the senseless attack at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, USA. It is just one strike in a very very VERY long line of anti-semitic attacks… Continue reading Magen: the SHIELD of your Salvation

Bones: etzem (feminine noun). (Strong's 6106) Root: עֶצֶם Sounds like: eh-tsem Not Flesh and Blood… rather Bone and Flesh: Somewhere, down the line, a translation error shaped the course of one of our most popular idioms… “flesh and blood”. This phrase has been used, throughout the centuries to describe our family connections. We talk about our… Continue reading Etzem: BONE of my Bones

Fear yareh (Strong’s 3372 (verb), 3373 (adjective), 3374 (noun)) Root: יָרֵא Verb (to fear): yareh. Noun (a fear): yirah Sounds like: yare’eh or yeer’ah. Do not fear is al ti’yra (Sounds like al tee’yirah) Fearing God Throughout the Bible we read the words, Fear the LORD. What exactly does this mean? Are we to be scared… Continue reading Yareh: only One thing to FEAR