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(
&%
, 1397), “man.” This word occurs 60 times in the Hebrew Old
Testament, and its frequency of usage is higher (32 times, nearly half of all the
occurrences) in the poetical books. The word occurs first in Exod. 10:11: “Not so: go
now ye that are
, and serve the Lord; for that ye did desire.”
The root meaning “to be strong” is no longer obvious in the usage of
since it is
a synonym of
&
“Thus saith the Lord, Write ye this man [
] childless, a man [
]
that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the
throne of David …” (Jer. 22:30). Other synonyms are
, “male” (Jer. 30:6);
,
“man” (Job 4:17); and
, “man” (Job 14:10). A
denotes a “male,” as an
antonym of a “woman”; cf. “The woman [
] shall not wear that which pertaineth
unto a man, neither shall a man [
] put on a woman’s [
] garment: for all that
do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God” (Deut. 22:5).
In standardized expressions of curse and blessing
also functions as a synonym
for
, “man.” The expression may begin with “Cursed be the man” (
;
Jer. 17:5) or
“Blessed is the man” (
;
Ps. 34:8), but these same expressions also occur with
(Ps. 1:1; Deut. 27:15).
The Septuagint gives the following translations:
(“man”);
(“human
being; man”); and
$
(“powerful or strong ones”).
(
, 376), “man; husband; mate; human being; human; somebody; each;
every.” Cognates of this word appear in Phoenician, Punic, old Aramaic, and old South
Arabic. This noun occurs about 2,183 times and in all periods of biblical Hebrew. The
plural of this noun is usually
, but 3 times it is
(Ps. 53:3).
Basically, this word signifies “man” in correspondence to woman; a “man” is a
person who is distinguished by maleness. This emphasis is in Gen. 2:24 (the first biblical
occurrence): “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto
his wife.…” Sometimes the phrase “man and woman” signifies anyone whatsoever,
including children: “If an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die: then the ox shall be
surely stoned …” (Exod. 21:28). This phrase can also connote an inclusive group,
including children: “And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and
woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword” (Josh.
6:21). This idea is sometimes more explicitly expressed by the word series “men, women,
and children”: “Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and thy
stranger that is within thy gates …” (Deut. 31:12).
9
is often used in marriage contexts (cf. Gen. 2:24) meaning “husband” or “mate”:
“Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give
your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters …” (Jer. 29:6). A
virgin is described as a lass who has not known a “man” (“husband”): “… And she went
with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains. And it came to pass
at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to
his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man” (Judg. 11:38-39). The sense “mate”