Jewish philosophy -- Early works to 1800; Judaism -- Works to 1900; Philosophy, Medieval -- Early works to 1800
In Hebrew, the verb bo signifies “to come” as applied to a living
being, i.e., its arrival at a certain place, or approach to a certain
person, as “Thy brother came (ba) with subtilty” (Gen. xxvii. 35). It
next denotes (with regard to a living being) “to enter” a certain
place, e.g., “And when Joseph came (va-yabo) into the house” (Gen.
xliii. 26); “When ye come (ta-boü) into the land” (Exod. xii. 25). The
term was also employed metaphorically in the sense of “to come” applied
to a certain event, that is, to something incorporeal, as “When thy
sayings come to pass (yabo)” (Judg. xiii. 17); “Of that which will come
(yaboü) over thee” (Isa. xlvii. 13). Nay, it is even applied to
privatives, e.g., “Yet evil came (va-yabo)” (Job iii. 26); “And
darkness came (va-yabo)” Now, since the word has been applied to
incorporeal things, it has also been used in reference to God—to the
fulfilment of His word, or to the manifestation of His Presence (the
Shechinah). In this figurative sense it is said, “Lo, I come (ba) unto
thee in a thick cloud” (Exod. xix. 9); “For the Lord the God of Israel
cometh (ba) through it” (Ezek. xliv. 2). In these and all similar
passages, the coming of the Shechinah is meant, but the words, “And the
Lord my God shall come (u-ba)” (Zech. xiv. 5) are identical with “His
word will come,” that is to say, the promises which He made through the
Prophets will be fulfilled; therefore Scripture adds “all the holy ones
that are with thee,” that is to say, “The word of the Lord my God will
be performed, which has been spoken by all the holy ones who are with
thee, who address the Israelites.”
CHAPTER XXIII
Yaẓa (“he came out”) is the opposite of ba (“he came in”). The term
yaẓa is applied to the motion of a body from a place in which it had
previously rested, to another place (whether the body be a living being
or not), e.g., “And when they were gone out (yaẓeü) of the city” (Gen.
xliv. 4); “If fire break out (teẓe)” (Exod. xxii. 5). It was then
figuratively employed to denote the appearance of something
incorporeal, as, “The word went out (yaẓa) of the king’s mouth” (Esth.
vii. 8); “When this deed of the queen shall come abroad (yeẓe) unto all
women” (Esth. i. 17), that is to say, “the report will spread.” Again,
“For out of Zion shall go forth (teẓe) the Law” (Isa. ii. 3); further,
“The sun had risen (yaẓa) upon the earth” (Gen. xix. 23), i.e., its
light became visible.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account