Basic HTML Version
(
"
, 8334), “to minister, serve, officiate.” This word is a common term in
Hebrew usage, ancient and modern, in various verbal and noun forms. It occurs in ancient
Phoenician, and some see it in ancient Ugaritic as well.
-
is found just under 100
times in the Hebrew Old Testament. The first time it is used in the Hebrew Bible is in the
story of Joseph as he becomes the slave of Potiphar: “And Joseph found grace in his
sight, and he served [
RSV
, “attended”] him …” (Gen. 39:4).
As a term for serving or ministering,
is to be distinguished from the term for
more menial serving,
, from which the word meaning “slave” or “servant” is
derived.
-
is characteristically used of “serving” done by royal household workers
(2 Sam. 13:17; 1 Kings 10:5). In the manner of the modern “public servant” idea, the
word is used in reference to court officials and royal servants (1 Chron. 27:1; 28:1; Esth.
1:10).
Elisha “ministered” to Elijah (1 Kings 19:21). Foreign kings are “to minister” to
God’s people (Isa. 60:10).
This term is used most frequently as the special term for service in worship. The
Levitical priests “stand before the Lord to minister unto him” (Deut. 10:8). They also are
“to stand before the congregation to minister unto them” (Num. 16:9). In the post-exilic
temple, the Levites who had earlier “ministered” in idolatry will not be allowed “to
serve” as priests but rather as maintenance workers in the temple (Ezek. 44:11-14).
B. Noun.
(
"
, 8334), “minister; servant.” The noun form of the verb appears several
times meaning “minister” or “servant.” As Moses’ right-hand man Joshua is referred to as
“minister” (
KJV
), “servant” (
RSV
,
JB
,
NASB
), “assistant” (
NEB
), or “aide” (
NAB
) in Exod.
24:13. Angels are God’s “ministers … that do his pleasure” (Ps. 103:21; cf. Ps. 104:4).
MORNING
A. Noun.
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(
, 1242), “morning.” This word occurs about 214 times and in every
period of biblical Hebrew.
This word means “morning,” though not the period of time before noon. Rather it
indicates the point of time at which night is changing to day or that time at the end of
night: “And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought
an east wind upon the land all that day, and all that night; and when it was morning, the
east wind brought the locusts” (Exod. 10:13).
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can represent the time just before the rising of the sun. In Judg. 19:25 we read
that the men of Gibeah raped and abused the Levite’s concubine “all the night until the
morning: and when the day began to spring, they let her go” (cf. Ruth 3:13). In the
ancient Near East the night was divided into three watches. The last period of the night
was called the morning watch (Exod. 14:24). It lasted from 2:00 A.M. until sunrise, and
in such a context the word indicates this period of time.
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can mean “daybreak” or “dawn.” In Exod. 14:27 it is reported that the water of
the Red Sea “returned to his [normal state] when the morning appeared [literally, “at the
turning of the morning”].”
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is used as a synonym of “dawn” in Job 38:12: “Hast