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Awesome Hands – part 78

“The judgments” Part I

March 22, 2015

For the study today, we are going to focus on an obscure concept hidden in scripture. While the verse we are studying today will not directly reveal it’s meaning in English, we are going to look at the original words recorded and the other place which they are used in scripture.

The verse we are going to study today is:

Exo 22:28  Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people.
Exo 22:28  Thou shalt notH3808 revileH7043 the gods,H430 norH3808 curseH779 the rulerH5387 of thy people.H5971

“Rulers and gods”

The first part of this verse tells us that we are not to revile gods, and the word “revile” here means to lightly curse. That is on contrast to the word used as “curse” in the second half of the verse which means to bitterly curse.

H7043

qâlal

BDB Definition:

1) to be slight, be swift, be trifling, be of little account, be light

1a) (Qal)

1a1) to be slight, be abated (of water)

1a2) to be swift

1a3) to be trifling, be of little account

1b) (Niphal)

1b1) to be swift, show oneself swift

1b2) to appear trifling, be too trifling, be insignificant

1b3) to be lightly esteemed

1c) (Piel)

1c1) to make despicable

1c2) to curse

1d) (Pual) to be cursed

1e) (Hiphil)

1e1) to make light, lighten

1e2) to treat with contempt, bring contempt or dishonour

1f) (Pilpel)

1f1) to shake

1f2) to whet

1g) (Hithpalpel) to shake oneself, be moved to and fro

Part of Speech: verb

A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: a primitive root

Same Word by TWOT Number: 2028

So, we are told not to quickly, swiftly or lightly curse the gods. However, if the Lord will have us be fully committed to Him it may seem a little odd that we aren’t to lightly curse these gods.

The reason I say this is a light curse is because the majority of the time this word revile is used as curse or cursed.

H7043

qâlal

Total KJV Occurrences: 88

curse, 17

Gen_8:21, Lev_19:14, Deu_23:4, Jos_24:9, 2Sa_16:9-11 (4), Neh_13:2, Psa_62:4, Psa_109:28, Pro_30:10, Ecc_7:21, Isa_8:20-21 (3), Jer_15:10

cursed, 17

Lev_20:9, Lev_24:11, Lev_24:14, Lev_24:23, Jdg_9:27, 1Sa_17:43, 2Sa_16:5, 2Sa_16:7, 2Sa_16:13, 2Sa_19:21, 1Ki_2:8, 2Ki_2:24, Neh_13:25, Job_3:1, Job_24:18, Ecc_7:22 (2)

light, 7

1Sa_18:23, 1Ki_16:31, 2Ki_3:18, 2Ki_20:10, Isa_49:6, Eze_8:17, Eze_22:7

Gen 8:20  And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.

Gen 8:21  And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.

God did not utterly curse the ground for man’s sake, but knew there would come a time where the ground was not going to be cursed.

That “reviling” or “light curse” is different than what we see we are told not to do to rulers which are over us.

H779

‘ârar

BDB Definition:

1) to curse

1a) (Qal)

1a1) to curse

1a2) cursed be he (participle used pr in curses)

1b) (Niphal) to be cursed, cursed

1c) (Piel) to curse, lay under a curse, put a curse on

1d) (Hophal) to be made a curse, be cursed

Part of Speech: verb

A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: a primitive root

Same Word by TWOT Number: 168

Strong’s defines it as:

H779

‘ârar

aw-rar’

A primitive root; to execrate: –  X bitterly curse.

“Arar” can be found in verses examples such as:

Gen 3:14  And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

Gen 3:14  And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

This bitter curse is one that endures and is not lightly made.

Having said all of that, what are we to make of “not reviling the gods”, and not “cursing the rulers” of thy people?

“GOD, God, LORD or Lord”

In order to find out what we are being told we must evaluate who the “gods” are who we are not to lightly curse.

In the Old Testament, we have different words in the KJV which tell us who we are talking about in reference to the English words God, GOD, Lord, or LORD being translated from Hebrew.

This study is NOT about the different names of God in the Old Testament and which of them  is the “name of God”, but this study is about how to figure out the emphasis placed on the word being used in any given Old Testament verse.

Exo 22:28  Thou shalt not revile the gods(H430), nor curse the ruler of thy people.

“Elohim” is used in Hebrew to describe both false gods and the “one true God”.  Elohim is sometimes translated as “god or gods” while other times it is translated as “God”. Those forms of the English word are not to be confused with “GOD” and we’ll see why in a moment.

However, we know from the sum of the Word that the God/GOD of the Old Testament is Jesus Christ.

A few examples of Elohim being used can be found in Genesis.

Gen 1:26  And God (Elohim) said, LET US make man in our image, after OUR likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

We can see Elohim being used in the plural sense here and speaking about “God”. However, we can see another example of the same word being used to describe false gods and the singular form of “God”.

Exo 20:1  And God(H430) spake all these words, saying,
Exo 20:2  I am the LORD(H3068) thy God(H430), which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Exo 20:3  Thou shalt have no other gods(H430) before me.

God refers to Himself and then names Himself “LORD” Elohim. This would make sense when we connect the New Testament explanation of who Jesus is.

Deu 10:17  For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward:

1Ti 6:13  I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession;
1Ti 6:14  That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ:
1Ti 6:15  Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;
Rev 17:14  These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

Rev 19:16  And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

We are being created in the very image of GOD and our LORD.

Psa 82:6  I have said, Ye are gods(H430); and all of you are children of the most High.

Joh 10:33  The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.
Joh 10:34  Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?
Joh 10:35  If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;
Joh 10:36  Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?
Joh 10:37  If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.
Joh 10:38  But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.

When we see that we are not to revile the gods, we can conclude that we are being told not to revile those whom the Lord calls His children.

While we can apply this verse to “false gods”, we have been told by Jesus Himself that we indeed are “gods”.

The clarification and confirmation of the proper thinking on this verse comes when we look at the end of the verse.

Exo 22:28  Thou shalt not revile the gods(H430), nor curse the ruler (H5387) of thy people.

H5387

nâśı̂y’  /  nâśi’

Total KJV Occurrences: 130

prince, 56

Gen_23:6, Gen_34:2, Num_7:11, Num_7:18, Num_7:24, Num_7:30, Num_7:36, Num_7:42, Num_7:48, Num_7:54, Num_7:60, Num_7:66, Num_7:72, Num_7:78, Num_17:6, Num_25:14, Num_34:18 (2), Num_34:22-28 (7), Jos_22:14, 1Ki_11:34, 1Ch_2:10, 1Ch_5:6, Ezr_1:8, Eze_7:27, Eze_12:10, Eze_12:12, Eze_21:25, Eze_30:13, Eze_37:24-25 (2), Eze_38:2-3 (2), Eze_39:1, Eze_44:3 (2), Eze_45:7, Eze_45:16, Eze_45:22, Eze_46:2, Eze_46:4, Eze_46:8, Eze_46:10, Eze_46:12, Eze_46:16-18 (3), Eze_48:21-22 (3)

princes, 40

Gen_17:20, Num_1:16 (2), Num_1:44, Num_7:2-3 (3), Num_7:10 (2), Num_7:84, Num_10:4, Num_17:2 (2), Num_17:6, Num_27:2, Num_31:13, Num_32:2, Num_36:1, Jos_9:15, Jos_9:18-19 (3), Jos_13:21 (3), Jos_17:4, Jos_22:14, Jos_22:30, Jos_22:32, 1Ch_4:38, 1Ch_7:40, Eze_19:1, Eze_21:12, Eze_22:6, Eze_26:16, Eze_27:21, Eze_32:29, Eze_39:18, Eze_45:8-9 (2)

captain, 12

Num_2:3, Num_2:5, Num_2:7, Num_2:10, Num_2:12, Num_2:14, Num_2:18, Num_2:20, Num_2:22, Num_2:25, Num_2:27, Num_2:29

chief, 9

Num_3:24, Num_3:30, Num_3:32 (2), Num_3:35, Num_4:34, Num_4:46, 1Ki_8:1, 2Ch_5:2

ruler, 3

Exo_22:28, Lev_4:22, Num_13:2

rulers, 3

Exo_16:22, Exo_34:31, Exo_35:27

vapours, 3

Psa_135:7, Jer_10:13, Jer_51:16

prince’s, 2

Eze_45:16-17 (2), Eze_48:22

clouds, 1

Pro_25:14

governor, 1

2Ch_1:2

The word “ruler” as used in Exodus is mostly translated as “prince” throughout the Old Testament.

Gen 23:5  And the children of Heth answered Abraham, saying unto him,
Gen 23:6  Hear us, my lord: thou art a mighty prince among us: in the choice of our sepulchres bury thy dead; none of us shall withhold from thee his sepulchre, but that thou mayest bury thy dead.

And:

Num 1:16  These were the renowned of the congregation, princes of the tribes of their fathers, heads of thousands in Israel.

The reason I mentioned princes and not all the other words translated in English is because 1) there are a lot of them, and 2) prince gives us a clear understanding of who it is we are talking about.

A prince is a king in training.

When we see that Jesus is LORD of Lords and KING of Kings, and then connect the first part of this verse with the “gods” being referenced, then we know that the focus of this verse are the people around you whom the Lord has placed in authority over you.

“Yahweh” or “Adonai”

“Elohim” aren’t to be confused with “Yahweh” or “Adonai”.

Anytime you see the word GOD or LORD in all caps in the KJV, it is referring to the “Yahweh” of the Old Testament, but as we have learned from the “sum of thy Word”, “Yahweh” is Jesus Christ in the Old Testament and Israel was not made aware of this Truth.

That understanding did not come unto Jesus Christ brought it to us.

Joh 5:36  But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me.
Joh 5:37  And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.

There are other verses that speak to this Truth, but that is out of the scope of this study.

Finally, when we see the word “Aondai” we see it in the form of “Lord”.

A good way to see how all these English words were translated from Hebrew in the KJV is to read Joshua 7:6-7.

Jos 7:6  And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the LORD (Jehovah, H3068) until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads.
Jos 7:7  And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord (Adonai, H136) GOD (Yahweh,H3069), wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan!

I was unable to find any reference to “God” at the end of Joshua 7:7, so I am not sure what inspired the KJV translators to use the word “God” towards the the end of this verse.

Regardless of that, you can see that the KJV translators tried to help us understand when a particular word was being used as God or Lord by using upper and lowercase letters to designate the Hebrew word.

The focus of the study today was to show that when the Lord tells us not to revile the “gods” or curse the rulers of the people, we were being told to not resist or curse those whom He alone, in His soverniety, has placed over us.

There are many examples that can be used, but Joseph was placed under the care of many different rulers before he finally became as the Pharaoh except for the power of the throne.

We too can learn from this that the Lord has a plan for our good but we must recognize that He knows better how to achieve the end goal of that plan than we do for ourselves.