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with a gift promised upon condition of deliverance (cf. Num. 21:1-3). Such offerings may
also be expressions of zeal for God (Ps. 22:25). One can give to God anything not
abominable to Him (Lev. 27:9ff.; Deut. 23:18), including one’s services (Lev. 27:2).
Pagans were thought to feed and/or tend their gods, while God denied that “vows” paid to
Him were to be so conceived (Ps. 50:9-13). In paganism the god rewarded the devotee
because of and in proportion to his offering. It was a contractual relationship whereby the
god was obligated to pay a debt thus incurred. In Israel no such contractual relationship
was in view.
The Israelites’ unique and concrete demonstrations of love for God show that under
Moses love (Deut. 6:4) was more than pure legalism; it was spiritual devotion. God’s
Messiah was pledged to offer Himself as a sacrifice for sin (Ps. 22:25; cf. Lev. 27:2ff.).
This was the only sacrifice absolutely and unconditionally acceptable to God. Every man
is obliged to pay the “vow” before God: “Praise waiteth for thee, O God in Zion: and
unto thee shall the vow be performed.… Unto thee shall all flesh come” (Ps. 65:1-2).
The Septuagint has
$
(“prayer; oath; vow”).
W
TO WALK
A. Verb.
(
, 1980), “to go, walk, behave.” This verb appears in most Semitic
languages (although it has a different meaning in Arabic). It is attested in all periods of
Hebrew. Old Testament Hebrew attests it about 1,550 times, while the Aramaic uses it a
few times.
Essentially, this root refers to movement without any suggestion of direction in the
sense of going, whether of man (Gen. 9:23), beasts (Gen. 3:14), or inanimate objects
(Gen. 2:14— the first occurrence of the word). In cases other than men (where it means
“to walk”)
may be translated “to go.” It is used sometimes with a special emphasis
on the end or goal of the action in mind; men are but flesh, “a wind that passeth [goes]
away, and cometh not again” (Ps. 78:39). Applied to human existence the word suggests
“going to one’s death,” as in Gen. 15:2, when Abraham says: “O Lord God, what wilt
thou give me, since I am [going to my death] childless …?” (
NASB
). This verb can also be
used of one’s behavior, or the way one “walks in life.” So he who “walks” uprightly shall
be blessed of God (Isa. 33:15). This does not refer to walking upright on one’s feet but to
living a righteous life.
This root is used in various other special ways. It may be used to emphasize that a
certain thing occurred; Jacob went and got the kid his mother requested, in other words,
he actually did the action (Gen. 27:14). In Gen. 8:3 the waters of the flood steadily
receded from the surface of the earth. Sometimes this verb implies movement away from,
as in Gen. 18:33, when the Lord “departed” from Abraham.
God is said to “walk” or “go in three senses. First, there are certain cases where He
assumed some kind of physical form. For example, Adam and Eve heard the sound of
God “walking” to and fro in the garden of Eden (Gen. 3:8). He “walks” on the clouds (Ps.