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city of Arba the father of Anak, which city is Hebron, in the hill country of Judah, with
the suburbs thereof round about it” (Josh. 21:11). The word can be used of particular
“mountains”: “… And he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the
mountain of Godeven to Horeb” (Exod. 3:1). In this particular instance “the mountain of
God” refers to Horeb. Elsewhere it is Jerusalem: “Why leap ye, ye high hills? This is the
hill which God desireth to dwell in; yea, the Lord will dwell in it for ever” (Ps. 68:16).
B
signifies inhabitable sites situated on hills and/or mountainsides: “And at that
time came Joshua, and cut off the Anakim from the mountains, from Hebron, from Debir,
from Anab, and from all the mountains of Judah, and from all the mountains of Israel:
Joshua destroyed them utterly with their cities” (Josh. 11:21). In this regard, compare
Deut. 2:37: “Only unto the land of the children of Ammon thou camest not, nor unto any
place of the river Jabbok, nor unto the cities in the mountains, nor unto whatsoever the
Lord our God forbade us.” A comparison of Judg. 1:35 and Josh. 19:41 shows that Mount
Heres is the same as the city of Heres.
In the poetical literature of the Old Testament, the view of the world held by men of
that era finds its reflection. One can speak of the foundations of the mountains as rooted
in the underworld (Deut. 32:22), serving to support the earth as the “bars” of the earth
(Jonah 2:6). Mountain peaks may be said to reach into the heavens where God dwells
(Isa. 24:21; in Gen. 11:4, the men who built the tower at Babel erroneously thought they
were going to reach God’s dwelling place). Although it would be wrong to conclude that
God is setting forth this understanding of creation, yet He used it in explaining His word
to men just as He used other contemporaneous ideas. Since “mountains” were associated
with deity (Isa. 14:13), God chose to make great revelations on “mountains,” concretely
impressing the recipients with the solemnity and authority of the message (Deut. 27;
Josh. 8:30-35). At the same time such locations provided for better audibility and
visibility (Judg. 9:7; 2 Chron. 13:4). “Mountains” often serve as a symbol of strength
(Zech. 4:7) inasmuch as they carried mythological significance since many people
thought of them as sacred areas (Jer. 3:22-23), and they were the locations of strong
fortresses (Josh. 10:6). Even the “mountains” tremble before the Lord; He is mightier
than they are (Job 14:18).
TO MOURN
(
, 56), “to mourn, lament.” This word is common to both ancient and
modern Hebrew. Found in the Hebrew Old Testament 39 times,
is used in the
simple, active verbal form primarily in poetry, and usually in a figurative sense. When it
is used of mourning for the dead in a literal sense, the word is found in prose sections and
in the reflexive form, indicating action back on the subject. It first occurs in Gen. 37:34:
“And Jacob … mourned for his son many days.”
When used in the figurative sense,
expresses “mourning” by gates (Isa. 3:26),
by the land (Isa. 24:4), and by pastures (Amos 1:2). In addition to mourning for the dead,
“mourning” may be over Jerusalem (Isa. 66:10), over sin (Ezra 10:6), or over God’s
judgment (Exod. 33:4). One may pretend to be a mourner (2 Sam. 14:2) simply by
putting on mourning clothes.
MOUTH