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saw in Palestine. Even more emphatic is Exod. 24:3, where one word represents a
detailed repetition of what Moses heard from God: “And Moses came and told the people
all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments.…” Again, in Isa. 43:26 a detailed and
accurate recounting is clearly in view. In this case the prophet has in mind the
presentation of a law case: “Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou,
that thou mayest be justified.” Because of the predominant meaning presented above, Ps.
40:5 could be translated: “If I would declare and speak of them, they would be too
numerous to recount” (instead of “to count”).
In at least one case the verb in the intensive stem means “to exhibit,” “to recount or
list in detail by being a living example.” This meaning first appears in Exod. 9:16, where
God tells Moses to say to Pharaoh: “And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up,
for to show in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the
earth.”
B. Nouns.
(
#
, 4557), “measure; (a certain) number; account.” This noun occurs
about 132 times.
"
can mean “measure” (quantity) as in Gen. 41:49. In Gen. 34:30,
the first biblical occurrence, the word refers to “a certain number” in the sense of the sum
total of individuals that are counted: “… and I being few in number, they shall gather
themselves together against me, and slay me.…” The word means “account” (what is set
forth in a detailed report) in Judg. 7:15.
(
!
, 5612), “book; tablet.” This noun occurs in Akkadian, Phoenician, and
Aramaic (including biblical Aramaic), and in all periods of biblical Hebrew. It occurs 187
times in the Old Testament. Basically this word represents something one writes upon. So
in Exod. 17:14 “the Lord said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book.” In Isa.
30:8
represents a tablet. In Gen. 5:1 (the first biblical occurrence of this word) it
signifies something that has been written upon, or a written record: “This is the book of
the generations of Adam.” Such a written document may be a summary of God’s law
(Exod. 24:7). During the monarchy
came to represent a letter (2 Sam. 11:14). Even
later it means a king’s written decree sent throughout his empire (Esth. 1:22). Usually the
word means “book” (Exod. 32:32)—a complete record of whatever one wants to preserve
accurately. Often this word can signify the way a people writes, the written language or
script (Isa. 29:11).
(
!
, 5608), “scribe.”
)
, which occurs about 50 times in biblical Hebrew,
appears also in Akkadian, Ugaritic, and Aramaic. In the early monarchy the chief
“scribe” was the highest court official next to the king (2 Sam. 8:17). His job was to
receive and evaluate all royal correspondence—to answer the unimportant and give the
rest to the proper officer or to the king himself. He also wrote and/or composed royal
communications to those within the kingdom. There was probably an entire corps of
lesser scribes under his direction. As a highly trusted official he was sometimes involved
in counting and managing great influxes of royal revenue (2 Kings 12:10) and in certain
diplomatic jobs (2 Kings 19:2). Later
represented the Jewish official in the Persian
court who was responsible for Jewish belongings (Ezra 7:11). In the post-exilic
community this word came to mean someone who was learned in the Old Testament