Hebrew Word Study: Love - Term Paper Example

? Hebrew Word Study: Love Word Count 027 (4 pages) i. Lexicon study paragraph, 103 words) In a lexicon study, the following was found about theword “love.” In Strong’s Concordance, Strong’s number H157 (‘ahab) and H160 (‘ahabah) are given. While ‘ahabah simply means love, he Hebrew root, ???—pronounced ‘oh-HAYV’—can mean “love, lover(s), friend(s), beloved, liketh, lovely, or loving” (“Blue Letter Bible Lexicon” 2011, pgh. 1). From having looked at the lexicon, it seems that there also might be some Aramaic derivatives of the word which sound similar to the Hebrew, but actually are not in the Hebrew. ‘Ahab only has two uses in the entire Old Testament (“Bible Study Tools Old Testament Lexicon” 2011, pgh. 1). ii. Concordance study (4 paragraphs, 264 words) Looking in a concordance, one realizes that there are several places in the Bible in which the word “love” is used, but the word may not always be the same translation. For example, the word chesed is used extensively, which relates to a different kind of love. Chesed means "[l]oyal [l]ove [or] [l]ovingkindness" (“Old Testament Word Studies: Chesed 2011, pgh. 1). Brown-Driver-Briggs (the BDB) has scores of meanings for both ahab and chesed. If one looks in the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia—which is the Masoretic text of the Torah—one will be able to find numerous examples of “love,” especially chesed. When seminary students are learning Hebrew words, one of the first words that they learn is chesed, because the type of lovingkindness that denotes loyalty is used extensively throughout the OT. Most certainly, chesed is not to be mistaken with ahab. Ahab does not necessarily have any conditions attached to it, whereas chesed has a quality about being owed in return for having received mercy. This denotes the fact that, in the OT, there is more of a focus on mercy, while the New Testament (NT) focuses on grace. Hopefully, it will be noted that ahab is indeed a very important concept that is ultimately the set-up, or backdrop, for love that is established by grace rather than mercy. Although the God of the Old Testament was a merciful God, God could also be a wrathful God—which shows mightily in the OT. God, we realize, becomes more gracious with the advent of the NT—but he never loses his power to judge. iii. Study in a Theological Wordbook/Dictionary (2 paragraphs, 325 words)? In a theological dictionary, it is obvious that the word “love” had many uses. “In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for love is ahab and was used in the same broad ways and contexts as the English term: sexual love, love of a spouse or child, love of humanity by God, friendship, and so on. In some contexts, like the Song of Solomon, love is given a decidedly passionate and erotic meaning. In others, it is far more muted.” (“What is Love?” 2011, pgh. 1). “Love” can definitely have various meanings, and those meanings were associated with all types of situations. Of course, when one speaks about “love” in the Old Testament, much of what we are referring to is fidelity. Many times the Lord spoke about his love for the people of Israel, but it was a sort of “tough” love, that was most likely described in terms of chesed rather than ahab—if that indeed does make sense. The God of the Old Testament was much more unforgiving than the God of which Paul and the apostles and the disciples speak of in the New Testament. For example, when, in the Old Testament, God punishes his people, usually the punishment engenders very dire consequences for the offender. In the New Testament, there is not really anything that strikes the reader as a harsh judgment from God. Rather, in the New Testament, this is what makes the second half of the Bible unique—that one realizes there is freedom in loving God, and that His love is enough to suffice for anything we lack as humans. It is with this knowledge that we have entered into the place of studying not only what this word means in general, but what it now means for the ministry that is being accomplished today. How can we live this word out in our lives—to truly love people? This will be discussed in the next section. iv. Application: apply the insights of this study to a ministry in which you are presently engaged (1 paragraph, 75 words) Having studied the Hebrew word “love,” there are now new insights which can be applied to the ministry in which I’m now engaged. “In the Old Testament, on the other hand, there are about a dozen different Hebrew words used for ‘love,’ and these often have wide variations in meaning” (“Love in the Old Testament” 2011, pgh. 1). I take the word love to mean many things, as the word love can mean many things to many people. Just as we are supposed to be “all things to all men,” as it is stated in the New Testament, it is important to remember where the true center of love lies, and to whom we are ultimately accountable during and at the end of our lives. Without this accountability, or “tough love,” as it may be called, which we are thoroughly familiar with from the God of the Old Testament—we forget who we are as Christians. I know that this kind of tough love can be applied to my current ministry—not, however, having the disastrous consequences such as plagues of any kind, for certain. However, tough love denotes a certain sort of mental toughness on the part of the person demonstrating tough love. So, we know that God is a person to be reckoned with, and not to be tempted. I know that this can be applied to my ministry in many ways, but the chief way in which I will attempt to apply it to my ministry will be to be fair and even-handed, while demonstrating accountability in my ministry. I also think it is important to have a loving outlook which comes straight from the agape love concept from the New Testament. Of course, Christ having now come, he came to give grace to those who would not have been saved under Old Testament rules and regulations. Thus, grace has come and love is now softened, so much so that it is not as “tough” as it once was, for everyone’s sake. BIBLIOGRAPHY Bible study tools Old Testament lexicon. (2011). [Online]. Available: . Blue Letter Bible lexicon. (2011). [Online]. Available: . Love in the Old Testament. (2011). [Online]. Available: . Old Testament word studies: chesed. (2011). [Online]. Available: . What is love? (2011). [Online]. Available: . Read More