Section 2 Analysis of Early Biblical Hebrew

Before I formally begin the article I want to give you a pronunciation guide if you do not know the nikud (vowel points in diacritics).

A- A as in father

‘ The apostrophe is the quickest e that is almost silent.

E- E as in pet.

Ei- E as in they or A as in aim.

I- E as in feet.

O- O as in boat

U- U as in lune or oo like moon.

Ay/Ai- I as in like or bike.

So let us look at some early Torah Hebrew with Genesis 1:1.

בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית בָּרָ֣א אֱלֹהִ֑ים אֵ֥ת הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וְאֵ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ

This says B’reishit (In the literally head but meaning beginning) bara (creation or to create) Elohim (God phrased plural) et ha’shamyim v’et ha’eretz (the heavens and the earth)

Bara is interesting it is where “Abracadabra” came from Abra from Ab bara (the father created) ca (as) dabra (speaking) “The Father created by speaking”

The NKJV says this:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

This is really better:

In the beginning of God’s creation of the heavens and the earth.

Now verse 2:

ב וְהָאָ֗רֶץ הָֽיְתָ֥ה תֹ֨הוּ֙ וָבֹ֔הוּ וְח֖שֶׁךְ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י תְה֑וֹם וְר֣וּחַ אֱלֹהִ֔ים מְרַחֶ֖פֶת עַל־פְּנֵ֥י הַמָּֽיִם

V’ha’eretz hayta tohu vabohu v’choshekh al p’nei t’hom v’ruach Elohim m’rachefet al p’nei hamayim.

V’ha’eretz hayta is and the earth was. tohu va’bohu, these both mean empty, vain or desolate. Most English translations say like void and empty or void and chaotic but this is wrong. This two word phrase is the Infinitive Absolute and this doubles one word or uses two similar words back to back for emphatic meaning. So tohu va’bohu means profound emptiness or astonishingly empty.

The next part is simple: V’choshekh al p’nei t’hom and darkness was on the face of the deep/abyss.The word t’hom תְה֑וֹם means great depth or very deep like a abyss of great depth.This interpreted as the disorganized waters before the separation of water and dry matter.

V’ruach Elohim (and the spirit of God) and the word “ruach” also means wind.The other Hebrew words for spirit or soul also come from words meaning wind or breath. M’rachefet al p’nei hamayim, hovered on the face of the waters. Interestingly enough the modern word for a drone is רַחְפָן rachfen based in the same root word as to hover. The word mayim מָּֽיִם is in the plural always so water and waters came mean the same based on context.

וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֖ים יְהִי־א֑וֹר וַֽיְהִי־אֽוֹר

Vayomer Elohim y’hi or vayhi or ?

And God said there will be light and light existed and as you know English translations usually say ” let there be light and there was light. The word or א֑וֹר means light and root of vayomer meaning and he said comes from the word amar which means to say and it also means tree tops. Some say this came from the fact that wind caused the tree tops to speak of sorts. The y’hi יְהִי is a simple word for “to cause exist “may it be or let it be”

This is why modern science does truly prove the Bible right and even though the universe being 13.8 billions years old part is not Biblical, science does back up Genesis.

In that the universe was in a state of intensive density of matter which the part of “astonishing chaos” and emptiness and a disorganized state a abyss of eternal water.Then God proceeded to commanded light into existence and that was the “Big Bang” a massive intense expansion of matter and energy.

Next we will look at the Ten commandments Aseret hadivarim עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים (Biblical) or the Aseret hadibrot עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְּרוֹת (Mishnaic era) both mean “ten statements”.

Exodus 20:1

וַיְדַבֵּ֣ר אֱלֹהִ֔ים אֵ֛ת כָּל־הַדְּבָרִ֥ים הָאֵ֖לֶּה לֵאמֹֽר

And God spoke all these words,saying.

ב אָֽנֹכִ֨י יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ אֲשֶׁ֣ר הֽוֹצֵאתִ֩יךָ֩ מֵאֶ֨רֶץ מִצְרַ֜יִם מִבֵּ֣ית עֲבָדִ֗ים

לֹ֣א יִֽהְיֶ֣ה־לְךָ֩ אֱלֹהִ֨ים אֲחֵרִ֜ים עַל־פָּנַ֗י

I the Lord your God who took you out from the land of Egypt the house bondage (literally slavery) do not have for yourself the gods of others upon my face (in front of me)

This is pretty straight forward and self explanatory I think. First come’s the formal I in Anokhi then the highest name for God YHVH יהוה and Egypt is known in Hebrew as Mitzrayim which means narrow place or strait.

Today Egypt in Arabic is still known as Jumhūriyyat Miṣr al-ʻArabiyyah, you notice the “Misr” which is most likely Arabic for Mitzrayim.

The word Arab may relate either to Erev meaning evening because Arabia is the western most of Asia and it’s relation to the sunset. It could also relate to the word aravah meaning steppe or desert. Some have even suggested it relates to erev meaning evening because of darkness of the evening and that Arabs are dark in complexion but the truth is not fully known.

לֹ֣א תַֽעֲשֶׂה־לְּךָ֣ פֶ֣סֶל | וְכָל־תְּמוּנָ֡ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר בַּשָּׁמַ֣יִם | מִמַּ֡עַל וַֽאֲשֶׁר֩ בָּאָ֨רֶץ מִתַּ֜חַת וַֽאֲשֶׁ֣ר בַּמַּ֣יִם | מִתַּ֣חַת לָאָ֗רֶץ:

You shall not make for yourself a statue (literally a carved statue but can mean any statue) and any pictures which are in the heavens from above and which are in the earth from below and which in in the waters below the earth.

My only note here is the word for statue or carved image is fesel פֶ֣סֶל a Hebrew grammar rarity where a word begins with an open Pei without the dagesh pronounced as F as opposed to P.The word fesel is also a segolet word which is common style of word which is composed two syllables and both vowels are a segol. Other such words are sheker meaning lie or falsity.

ה לֹֽא־תִשְׁתַּֽחֲוֶ֣ה לָהֶם֘ וְלֹ֣א תָֽעָבְדֵם֒ כִּ֣י אָֽנֹכִ֞י יְהֹוָ֤ה אֱלֹהֶ֨יךָ֙ אֵ֣ל קַנָּ֔א פֹּ֠קֵ֠ד עֲוֹ֨ן אָבֹ֧ת עַל־בָּנִ֛ים עַל־שִׁלֵּשִׁ֥ים וְעַל־רִבֵּעִ֖ים לְשֽׂנְאָ֑י

וְעֹ֤שֶׂה חֶ֨סֶד֙ לַֽאֲלָפִ֔ים לְאֹֽהֲבַ֖י וּלְשֹֽׁמְרֵ֥י מִצְוֹתָֽי

You shall not bow down to or prostrate yourself to them and you shall not serve them. For I the Lord am a Jealous God, visiting the sin’s of the Fathers upon the sons to the third and the fourth generations of those who hate (reject) me. So giving loving kindness to the thousands of generations of those who love me and safeguard my commandments.

So the word kana קַנָּ֔א I would say means passionate and can mean jealous or zealous or passionate and some translations do say “zealous God”. The word for worship is hishtachveh in the you shall (in this case shall not) tishtachveh תשתחוה which most literally means to “be low to” so to bow down or prostrate.

The word pokeid פֹּ֠קֵ֠ד which is most often translated as “to visit or visiting” but it’s core abstract is to concern for or to care for in the verbal root “pakad” but other meanings include is various conjunctions of the original root or in Hebrew shoresh: To account, to count, to command (or chief or commander), to visit or punish, to order. This word in different forms can mean a police or military commander. Here though it means to visit or punish really. Now finally on this the word ulishomrei וּלְשֹֽׁמְרֵ֥י “and to those who safeguard” is most literal but most English translations say “keep”.

לֹ֥א תִשָּׂ֛א אֶת־שֵֽׁם־יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ לַשָּׁ֑וְא כִּ֣י לֹ֤א יְנַקֶּה֙ יְהֹוָ֔ה אֵ֛ת אֲשֶׁר־יִשָּׂ֥א אֶת־שְׁמ֖וֹ לַשָּֽׁוְא

You shall not bear the name of the Lord your God for vanity, for the Lord will not hold blameless (literally, will not cleanse) who that bears his name for vanity.

So there are three points here:

1. Do not enunciate the name of the Lord YHVH יהוה aloud accept for the high Priest once a year on Yom Kipur.

2. Do not use any name for God in a vain or crass way or even use words like hell or damned or demons for idle reasons or speak names of idle gods either.

3. In Hebrew the word Shem or name also means reputation. For instance the early Biblical character Shem, his name did not so much mean name but “reputable one”. This commandment also means that by how a true believer lives their life ,do not blemish the reputation of God. Finally the word y’nakeh יְנַקֶּה֙ literally meaning “will clean” but is most often translated as innocent or blameless. From all ten of the commandments one comes with a blessing (honor your parents for long life). This commandment comes with a curse and that a curse will follow profaning the Holy name or even using other words for any god, angel or demon for any vain purpose. Even saying the hell with it is cursing and brings a curse.

I don’t have a lot linguistic to say on the next one and not that it is not important but this is a linguistic book not a theological one.

The word shabat or sabbath (shabbos, Yiddish) שבת comes from the word shavat meaning to cease or stop. So a few things here of Shabat observance and the Sabbath is observed from sundown on Friday in the English week to sundown Saturday. People usually start cooking a stew before sundown because you cannot kindle a flame on the Sabbath so you cannot turn on a stove. You can turn it on before sundown and leave it on to warm a meal which for this obvious reason in often a soup or stew (often Cholent).

People also turn on lights before the Sabbath beginning and leave them on for the same reason. Driving on Shabat is also frowned upon and taxi’s are also out because one may not handle money on the Sabbath. Now because the Sabbath is considered a commandment only to Jews, Jewish business owners often employ what is called a “Shabbos Goy” or a gentile to keep shop during the Sabbath.

כַּבֵּ֥ד אֶת־אָבִ֖יךָ וְאֶת־אִמֶּ֑ךָ לְמַ֨עַן֙ יַֽאֲרִכ֣וּן יָמֶ֔יךָ עַ֚ל הָֽאֲדָמָ֔ה אֲשֶׁר־יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ נֹתֵ֥ן לָֽךְ

Honor your Father and your Mother for the sake of the longevity of the days upon the land which the Lord your God is giving to you.

This is the commandment that carries a blessing and the blessing is long life.

Kabeid כַּבֵּ֥ד meaning honor and this word is interesting and it comes from the word kavad כבד meaning liver. This is because ( I don’t know anything about human biology so forgive me).The idea is that the human liver is heavy and so the word Kabeid sort of means to “make weighty” to give respect to or see as something of weight. It is interesting that also a Hebrew word for curse kileil קלל and also klalah קְלָלָה these words come from the word kal meaning light or easy. So linguistically here honor and respect mean to be heavy and to curse is to make light of.

I also would want to point out that term your Fathers also means ancestors and so this also reminds us to remember our ancestors. As to why this commandment has a earthly blessing along with it is not fully known but makes sense.

לֹ֖א תִּרְצָֽח lo tirztach

You shall not murder, some translations say kill but I have read (not sure if this is true) but in the King James era the word “kill” was associated with a premeditated homicide and not just any killing. The word here is retzach which means murder harag would mean to simply kill.

לֹ֖א תִּנְאָֽף lo tinaf

לֹ֖א תִּגְנֹֽב lo tignov

You shall not commit adultery and you shall not steal ,pretty simply.

לֹֽא־תַֽעֲנֶ֥ה בְרֵֽעֲךָ֖ עֵ֥ד שָֽׁקֶר: Lo t’aneh b’rei’ekha eid shaker

You shall not respond (testify) against your community member in a false witness.

The word rei’a רע is broad in meaning and does not literally mean next door neighbor. So I translate as best as community member.

All the things rei’a can mean from a Hebrew dictionary to make a point.

friend, comrade, buddy, colleague ; neighbor, another

שקר shaker or sheker is best understood as false or nonsense or a fib. In Hebrew, vowel changes alter nuances of words so the word shikeir (or cizuv) would best capture a premeditated bold lie.I think the lesson by word choice is beyond just lying, but think twice about being reckless when speaking of people.

לֹ֥א תַחְמֹ֖ד בֵּ֣ית רֵעֶ֑ךָ ס לֹֽא־תַחְמֹ֞ד אֵ֣שֶׁת רֵעֶ֗ךָ וְעַבְדּ֤וֹ וַֽאֲמָתוֹ֙ וְשׁוֹר֣וֹ וַֽחֲמֹר֔וֹ וְכֹ֖ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר לְרֵעֶֽךָ

You shall not take delight (covet in most translations) in your community members house.You shall not take delight in your community members wife and his man servant and his maidservant and his ox and his donkey and everything that belongs to your community member.

So the word chamad חמד means to see as pleasant or delightful and comes from the word chemed meaning beautiful, delightful or pleasant. Now covet is a good word for chamad and not a bad at all typical translation however do people actually know what covet means. That is why I chose more obvious explanation. This is also where the famous Arabic name Mohammed comes from. The root is Chamad, so Mochammed (dropped to an H in English most often). So in Arabic this means praised one but most literally means charmed one or beautiful one.

The word rei’a is used again here and says rei’ekha meaning your community member. I believe the meaning here is not so much that wanting things that are nice is a bad thing but desiring that which does not belong to you is what leads to problems!

So when was the Torah written? It is not fully known however there are some good theories. I would say about 1440 bce is a good hypothetical for the Exodus from Egypt and about 1995 for the entrance to Canaan. Just for info’s sake it should be pronounced as K’naan כנען which in Pre-Biblical era Hebrew would have been pronounced more like K’naghan because the ayin ע in that era was a guttural “gh”. So if the Torah was given shortly after entering the desert then 1440’s to 1430’s bce. It would have been pretty primitive and not even in the ancient Phoenician script of the Davidic/Solomonic era but the even more ancient Proto Sinaitic script.

So why should we place the Exodus in the mid 1400’s bce? Let us look at a article out of a website called strategoshistory dot com.

“The date 1445 B.C takes us to the reign of Tuthmosis III – the sixth Pharaoh in Egypt’s 18th dynasty. He was a legendary conqueror and arguably the greatest warrior-Pharaoh in all of Egyptian history. Under his reign, Egypt reached its greatest and most powerful extent. It was the height of the Egyptian golden age.”

“In the 35th year of his reign, he suddenly stopped all military affairs. He had suffered no defeats, but still ceased to fight completely, and never fought again for the rest of his reign (20 years). Why?”

“25 years after Hatshepsut’s death, Thutmosis III went on a rampage to eradicate her name from history. He ordered her statues to be defaced, her name to be erased and her name in the King Lists was removed. Even the monuments built under her were credited someone else. It is possible he also ravaged her tomb – a sacrilege in Egyptian religion. This way, Hatshepsut would never be remembered in history.”

This tells us:

• “The Pharaoh’s daughter” at ca. 1525 B.C was Moses’ adoptive mother and the person who raised him as a Prince of Egypt. Who was the daughter?
• She knew that Moses was a Hebrew, yet still decided to raise him in court – why would she do that when the Egyptians were trying to oppress the Israelites at the time?
• She named him Moses. Moses is a royal name belonging to the 18th dynasty (Ahmose I, Thutmosis I, Thutmosis II, Thutmosis III…etc.), but supposedly means “out of water”.

Why did Tuthmosis cease military activity without reason ,was he defeated by Moses at Yam Suf? Was Hatshepsut Moses’s adoptive mother who found him in the Nile?

Here is something interesting from Wikipedia

“Son of Thutmose II. He ruled jointly with Hatshepsut, his aunt and step-mother, during the early part of his reign.^[154] Famous for his territorial expansion into the Levant and Nubia“

Could the Egyptian claim of expansion to the Levant ( Lebanon and Israel) have been an Egyptian attempt at making history think that the Israelites who escaped were still under Egyptian control.Could it simply be possible that Egypt took back Israel in Canaan later on after the Exodus and ruled parts of Israel briefly? That could make sense or maybe they simply lied as for history to never know that he had lost the Jews?

Here is more from that article.

There were two principal targets in Thutmosis III defamation attempt: Hatshepsut and Senemut. Senemut may have been someone associated with the Exodus – but what if he was Moses? Well, let’s review Senemut’s bio:

“Senemut was originally of low, commoner birth. Somehow, he had gotten into the royal circle and was extremely close to Hatshepsut. He was an architect and designed Hatshepsut’s most famous monument (one of the very few we know was built on Hatshepsut’s orders).

However, suddenly, Senemut vanished from Egypt without a trace and his tomb was left unfinished. He later became a prime target of Thutmosis III defamation. This sounds awfully like Moses, of course.”

Could Senemut have been Moses? It is possible!

So what was in the original Torah?

I do not think much of the book of Genesis because those accounts would have already been in the Israelite consciousness. I also do not think the confrontation with pharoah or the Passover or the parting of the Yam Suf (aspect of the Red Sea) would either being that everyone in the desert already knew that stuff. So what was in it ?

The Aseret Hadevarim (Ten Commandments)

The priestly codes and Mishkhan or Temple sacrifice codes.

The Sota ritual and Nazarite vows of numbers.

The curses and blessings found in Deuteronomy. Or anything else that the Israelites could not have known by memory or seen first person. The things known by Israel first person would have been accounted by scribes later on. The Bible says that the Torah was taken by Moses on Mt Sinai on two tablets of stone which could not likely have contained all of Genesis-Deuteronomy as we today know it today. Another thing is that each scroll itself ; B’reishit (Genesis), Shmot (Exodus), Vayikra (Leviticus), B’midbar (Numbers) And D’varim (Deuteronomy) would more likely been seen as five scrolls themselves. From scripture it appears it was the Priest Ezra in the post exilic period that put the five scrolls together and called it the “Torat” as it was called in the Book of Ezra in chapter 7:6 תוֹרַ֣ת. In Joshua 1:8 The term Seifer ha’Torah is used סֵ֩פֶר֩ הַתּוֹרָ֨ה (Book of the Law or teachings). I am not totally sure if this was talking about the modern Torah but it most surely contained the most important things.

I believe historically Ezra was the Priest who took the five Holy scrolls and made them one book and Ezra called it the Torat. So I would think that before that the five books of Moses or the Pentateuch or also Chumash (of five ) were studied as five different books. So Ezra created the first Bible where all of the Holy scriptures were found in one book, The Torah of Moses. Now of course secular scholars do not date the Torah to earlier than the 9th century with their J text theory. The discovery on Mt Ebal by Dr. Scott Stripling of the curse tablet that is dated by carbon dating to the late 2nd millennium bce. This tablet contains the Deuteronomy chapter 28 curses written in Proto Sinaitic. The Proto Sinaitic script alone proves a lot because even by King David’s time the Phoenician script was in use. I think more archaeological evidence will come out proving an early date of the original Torah.

So that being that the curses of Deuteronomy 28 are the oldest known text of the Torah so far discovered so let us study them chapter 28:15.

וְהָיָ֗ה אִם־לֹ֤א תִשְׁמַע֙ בְּקוֹל֙ יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ לִשְׁמֹ֤ר לַֽעֲשׂוֹת֙ אֶת־כָּל־מִצְו‍ֹתָ֣יו וְחֻקֹּתָ֔יו אֲשֶׁ֛ר אָֽנֹכִ֥י מְצַוְּךָ֖ הַיּ֑וֹם וּבָ֧אוּ עָלֶ֛יךָ כָּל־הַקְּלָל֥וֹת הָאֵ֖לֶּה וְהִשִּׂיגֽוּךָ

First I would point an important grammatical issue, the “vav conversive” והיה this says literally “and was” but the vav conversive changes the aspect to “and it will be”. The function of the vav conversive or also known sometimes as vav-consecutive is to change the tense of a verb.

And it will be, if you do not listen to the voice of the Lord your God (most English translations say obey the Lord or not in this case but listen to the sound is hyper literal) to safeguard and do all of his commandments and statutes.

This word here chukotaiv חֻקֹּתָ֔יו meaning his laws. This comes from the word chuk חוק meaning law, rule or ordinance and is translated as statue for this purpose here. Notice also aiv suffix which is masculine plural possessive “his laws”, his law would be chukato חוקתו. So a O ו vowel suffix is his singular but a aiv יו suffix is plural like “his books”.

(continuing) Which I the Lord command to you on this day,and will come upon you all these curses and these will overtake you.

The word k’lalot קְּלָל֥וֹת for curses showing what said earlier that the use of a word rooted in light or easy as a word for curse.

This word hisigukha הִשִּׂיגֽוּךָ is a hifil or causative verb .This is from the root hisig הִשִּׂיג meaning to obtain or succeed or in the causative it means you were obtained,hence it is translated as “overtake you”

Deuteronomy 28:16

אָר֥וּר אַתָּ֖ה בָּעִ֑יר וְאָר֥וּר אַתָּ֖ה בַּשָּׂדֶֽה

Cursed are you in the city and cursed are you in the field (or could mean the countryside).

First I notice a different word for cursed arur ארור meaning “accursed” as a perfect completed action from the word arar meaning to curse.I would also say the city to the field part is a expression for everywhere not simply the city and the farmlands but symbolic for everything and everywhere.

Deuteronomy 28:17

אָר֥וּר טַנְאֲךָ֖ וּמִשְׁאַרְתֶּֽךָ

Accursed is your basket (food) and your bowl (kneading bowl or cooking bowl).

This obviously implies famine!

Deuteronomy 28:18

אָר֥וּר פְּרִֽי־בִטְנְךָ֖ וּפְרִ֣י אַדְמָתֶ֑ךָ שְׁגַ֥ר אֲלָפֶ֖יךָ וְעַשְׁתְּרֹ֥ת צֹאנֶֽךָ:

Accursed is the fruit of your womb (literally stomach),and the fruit of your land, and livestock and your oxen and offspring of your sheep flocks.

The first thing that jumps out here is the use of the word alafeikha אֲלָפֶ֖יךָ for your oxen, shor is normal word for ox as is used in the commandment not to covet seen before in this chapter. Alaf is a very ancient word for cattle and is where the first letter of the Hebrew alef-Beit comes from (see chapter 1 on letter Alef). The word boten for womb meaning more stomach as opposed to the word rechem רחם which is more common for womb. The word tzon צאן can mean sheep or goats.

Deuteronomy 28:19

אָר֥וּר אַתָּ֖ה בְּבֹאֶ֑ךָ וְאָר֥וּר אַתָּ֖ה בְּצֵאתֶֽךָ:

You are accursed when you come in and accursed when you go out.

Pretty straight forward.

Deuteronomy 28:20

יְשַׁלַּ֣ח יְהֹוָ֣ה | בְּ֠ךָ֠ אֶת־הַמְּאֵרָ֤ה אֶת־הַמְּהוּמָה֙ וְאֶת־הַמִּגְעֶ֔רֶת בְּכָל־מִשְׁלַ֥ח יָֽדְךָ֖ אֲשֶׁ֣ר תַּֽעֲשֶׂ֑ה עַ֣ד הִשָּֽׁמֶדְךָ֤ וְעַד־אֲבָדְךָ֙ מַהֵ֔ר מִפְּנֵ֛י רֹ֥עַ מַֽעֲלָלֶ֖יךָ אֲשֶׁ֥ר עֲזַבְתָּֽנִי:

The Lord will send on you the curses of turmoil, confusion and rebuke in everything you set your hand to do. Until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly for your evil works in which you forgot me.

I would only say the use of the word maalal מעלל for deeds or works is poetic and implies childish or indulgent actions. It can mean good works too but its root of alal more often means bad or harsh deeds.

Deuteronomy 28:21

יַדְבֵּ֧ק יְהֹוָ֛ה בְּךָ֖ אֶת־הַדָּ֑בֶר עַ֚ד כַּלֹּת֣וֹ אֹֽתְךָ֔ מֵעַל֙ הָֽאֲדָמָ֔ה אֲשֶׁר־אַתָּ֥ה בָא־שָׁ֖מָּה לְרִשְׁתָּֽהּ:

The Lord will make pestilence cling to you (literally stick like glue) until it has exterminated you from the land which you are going there to posses (literally be head of).

The use of the word davak דבק for to cling or cleave to.The word means to stick or attach.There are demons called dibukim that cling to human souls and do not let go unless properly exercised.

Deuteronomy 28:22

יַכְּכָ֣ה יְ֠הֹוָ֠ה בַּשַּׁחֶ֨פֶת וּבַקַּדַּ֜חַת וּבַדַּלֶּ֗קֶת וּבַֽחַרְחֻר֙ וּבַחֶ֔רֶב וּבַשִּׁדָּפ֖וֹן וּבַיֵּֽרָק֑וֹן וּרְדָפ֖וּךָ עַ֥ד אָבְדֶֽךָ:

The Lord will strike you tuberculosis (obviously ancient people knew this disease by a different name ), fever, inflammation and with a burning hot fever. So the sword ,blast and mildew (an agricultural blight) and will pursue you until you perish.

This one is interesting ,so this word shachefet שחפת does mean tuberculosis at least in modern times and it is not clear if tuberculosis existed then or this is describing a similar disease. Although scientific evidenced appears to show tuberculosis is as old as civilization itself, so I think shachefet is indeed TB. The word shidafon שדפ֖ון means crop blight and yeirokon ירק֑ון means mold or mildew. So agricultural plague then.

Deuteronomy 28:23

וְהָי֥וּ שָׁמֶ֛יךָ אֲשֶׁ֥ר עַל־רֹֽאשְׁךָ֖ נְח֑שֶׁת וְהָאָ֥רֶץ אֲשֶׁר־תַּחְתֶּ֖יךָ בַּרְזֶֽל:

And it shall be your skies which are above you copper (or perhaps bronze also),and the earth which is below you will be like iron.

This word here n’choshet נְח֑שֶׁת from the root nachash can mean copper, bronze, shinning, snake witchcraft or fortune telling. The nachash was the serpent of Eden in Genesis but context here is clear and it indicates color, so either bronze or copper.

22.

Deuteronomy 28:24

יִתֵּ֧ן יְהֹוָ֛ה אֶת־מְטַ֥ר אַרְצְךָ֖ אָבָ֣ק וְעָפָ֑ר מִן־הַשָּׁמַ֨יִם֙ יֵרֵ֣ד עָלֶ֔יךָ עַ֖ד הִשָּֽׁמְדָֽךְ:

The Lord will give the rain of your land into dirt and dust and from the heavens it will descend upon you until your are destroyed.

Pretty straight forward.

Deuteronomy 28:25

יִתֶּנְךָ֨ יְהֹוָ֣ה | נִגָּף֘ לִפְנֵ֣י אֹֽיְבֶ֒יךָ֒ בְּדֶ֤רֶךְ אֶחָד֙ תֵּצֵ֣א אֵלָ֔יו וּבְשִׁבְעָ֥ה דְרָכִ֖ים תָּנ֣וּס לְפָנָ֑יו וְהָיִ֣יתָ לְזַֽעֲוָ֔ה לְכֹ֖ל מַמְלְכ֥וֹת הָאָֽרֶץ:

The Lord will give you over to defeat before your enemies. You will go out against them in one way and in sevens ways you will flee from them. And you will be terrifying to all the kingdoms of the earth.

So the word here for terror is za’avah זַעֲוָ֔ה which means to tremble or quake in extreme fear from the word zua meaning to tremble.

Deuteronomy 28:26

וְהָֽיְתָ֤ה נִבְלָֽתְךָ֙ לְמַֽאֲכָ֔ל לְכָל־ע֥וֹף הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וּלְבֶֽהֱמַ֣ת הָאָ֑רֶץ וְאֵ֖ין מַֽחֲרִֽיד:

And it will be that your corpse is for food for of the birds of the skies and the animals of the land and nothing will scare them (away)

The choice of word for body n’valah נבלה is a word implying greater disgust then guf גוף the more traditional word for a human body. In slang the word n’valah can mean villain or despicable person. The word has a literal meaning of to wilt or dry up or wither away.

Deuteronomy 28:27

(כתיב ובעפלים) יַכְּכָ֨ה יְהֹוָ֜ה בִּשְׁחִ֤ין מִצְרַ֨יִם֙ וּבַטְחֹרִ֔ים
 וּבַגָּרָ֖ב וּבֶחָ֑רֶס אֲשֶׁ֥ר לֹֽא־תוּכַ֖ל לְהֵֽרָפֵֽא:

In the parenthesis is k’tiv (written) uvalafalim ובעפלים and this word which means “and with swelling” with the root afal meaning to swell.There is a textual correction of the word batchorim בַטְחֹרִ֔ים meaning “hemorrhoids”. This is very interesting in that it shows that scribal adjustment was part of the scripture. Showing that scribes keeping the spirit of divine inspiration would from time to time choose a better word.

Deuteronomy 28:28

The Lord will strike you with insanity, with blindness, and with bewilderment.(pretty simple).

Deuteronomy 28:29

וְהָיִ֜יתָ מְמַשֵּׁ֣שׁ בַּצָּֽהֳרַ֗יִם כַּֽאֲשֶׁ֨ר יְמַשֵּׁ֤שׁ הָֽעִוֵּר֙ בָּֽאֲפֵלָ֔ה וְלֹ֥א תַצְלִ֖יחַ אֶת־דְּרָכֶ֑יךָ וְהָיִ֜יתָ אַ֣ךְ עָשׁ֧וּק וְגָז֛וּל כָּל־הַיָּמִ֖ים וְאֵ֥ין מוֹשִֽׁיעַ:

And you shall grope at midday (noon) as a blind man will grope in the dark and you will not be successful in your ways. And you shall be oppressed and robbed in all your days and no one shall save you.

Afeilah אֲפֵלָה an unusual word for darkness and also this word has a poetic meaning of despair or despondency.This word here moshi’a מוֹשִֽׁיעַ meaning savior or rescuer is from the same verbal root as the name Yeshua where the name Jesus comes from.

Deuteronomy 30:30

(כתיב ישגלנה) אִשָּׁ֣ה תְאָרֵ֗שׂ וְאִ֤ישׁ אַחֵר֙ יִשְׁכָּבֶ֔נָּה
  בַּ֥יִת תִּבְנֶ֖ה וְלֹֽא־תֵשֵׁ֣ב בּ֑וֹ כֶּ֥רֶם תִּטַּ֖ע וְלֹ֥א תְחַלְּלֶֽנּוּ:

You shall be engaged to a woman, but another man will lie with her. You will build a house but you will not live in it. A vineyard you will plant but not redeem of it.

This is linguistically interesting for a few reasons, first the word aras for betroth or engagement, in this case t’aras, you shall betroth תְאָרֵ֗שׂ. There is variation on this spelling and it is unclear to me if the difference was a biblical era dialectal difference or the spelling changed over time, and at what time in Hebrew linguistic history did the word change? It is pronounced also as eireis אֵרֵס ,you see the difference ,the ending S sound is a “sin” in the Bible passage but the more modern pronunciation eireis ends with samekh ס not sin/shin ש but both spellings mean the same thing.

There is another scribal word correction here in parenthesis.This word yishkavenah יִשְׁכָּבֶ֔נָּה (meaning shall lie with her) is a correction from yishgalenah ישגלנה. So the original word yishgalenah implies rape or violation as opposed to simple intercourse, so much stronger language.

Here are verses 31-47 (Complete Jewish Bible)

 ³⁶ Adonai will bring you and your king whom you have put over yourselves to a nation you have not known, neither you nor your ancestors; and there you will serve other gods made of wood and stone. ³⁷ You will be so devastated as to become a proverb and a laughingstock among all the peoples to which Adonai will drive you.

³⁸ “You will carry much seed out to the field but gather little in, because locusts will devour it. ³⁹ You will plant vineyards and dress them but neither drink the wine nor gather the grapes, because worms will eat them. ⁴⁰ You will have olive trees throughout your territory but not anoint yourself with the oil, because your olives will fall off unripe. ⁴¹ You will father sons and daughters, but they won’t belong to you, because they will go into captivity. ⁴² The bugs will inherit all your trees and the produce of your land.

⁴³ “The foreigner living with you will rise higher and higher while you sink lower and lower. ⁴⁴ He will lend to you, but you will not lend to him; he will be the head and you the tail.

⁴⁵ “All these curses will come on you, pursuing you and overtaking you until you are destroyed, because you didn’t pay attention to what Adonai your God said, observing his mitzvot and regulations that he gave you. ⁴⁶ These curses will be on you and your descendants as a sign and a wonder forever. ⁴⁷ Because you didn’t serve Adonai your God with joy and gladness in your heart when you had such an abundance of everything;

Verse 48-52

 ⁴⁸ Adonai will send your enemy against you; and you will serve him when you are hungry, thirsty, poorly clothed and lacking everything; he will put a yoke of iron on your neck until he destroys you. ⁴⁹ Yes, Adonai will bring against you a nation from far away that will swoop down on you from the end of the earth like a vulture, a nation whose language you don’t understand, ⁵⁰ a nation grim in appearance, whose people neither respect the old nor pity the young. ⁵¹ They will devour the offspring of your livestock and the produce of your soil, until you have been destroyed. They will leave you without grain, wine, olive oil, or your young cattle and sheep — until they have caused you to perish. ⁵² They will besiege all your towns until your high, fortified walls, in which you trusted, collapse everywhere in your land, which Adonai your God gave you.

Deuteronomy 28:53

וְאָֽכַלְתָּ֣ פְרִֽי־בִטְנְךָ֗ בְּשַׂ֤ר בָּנֶ֨יךָ֙ וּבְנֹתֶ֔יךָ אֲשֶׁ֥ר נָֽתַן־לְךָ֖ יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָ בְּמָצוֹר֙ וּבְמָצ֔וֹק אֲשֶׁר־יָצִ֥יק לְךָ֖ אֹֽיְבֶֽךָ:

And you shall eat the fruit of your wombs and the flesh of your sons and your daughters which the Lord your God gave to you.In the seige of desperation that your enemies pour out upon you.

Again as before the use of stomach for womb but this is standard for Deuteronomy 28. The word for desperation or time of calamity is b’matzok בְמָצ֔וֹק literally meaning ” on the edge of a cliff” but more broadly to be in a narrow place or like dire straights.

This word yatzik יָצִ֥יק means will pour (or pour out) also atypical language again.

Deuteronomy 28:54:59

 ⁵⁴ Even the most gentle and sensitive man among you will be without pity for his brother, his beloved wife or his surviving children, ⁵⁵ to the degree that he will refuse to share with any of them the flesh of his children whom he is eating; because if he did, he would have nothing left for himself — in the severity of the siege and distress your enemies are inflicting on you in all your towns. ⁵⁶ The most delicate and sensitive woman among you, so sensitive and delicate that she wouldn’t think of touching the sole of her foot to the ground, will so begrudge her own beloved husband, son and daughter.beloved husband, son and daughter ⁵⁷ that she will secretly eat the afterbirth that comes out of her and even her own children as she bears them — so desperately hungry will she be in the severity of the siege and distress your enemies are inflicting on you in your towns.⁵⁸ “If you will not observe and obey all the words of this Torah that are written in this book, so that you will fear this glorious and awesome name, Adonai your God; ⁵⁹ then Adonai will strike down you and your descendants with extraordinary plagues and severe sicknesses that go on and on.

Deuteronomy 28:60-63

 ⁶⁰ He will bring back upon you all the diseases the Egyptians had, which you were in dread of; and they will cling to you. ⁶¹ Not only that, but Adonai will bring upon you all the sicknesses and plagues that are not written in this book of the Torah — until you are destroyed. ⁶² You will be left few in number, whereas you were once as numerous as the stars in the sky — because you did not pay attention to the voice of Adonai your God.

⁶³ “Thus it will come about that just as once Adonai took joy in seeking to do you good and increase your numbers, so now Adonai will take joy in causing you to perish and be destroyed, and you will be plucked off the land you are entering in order to take possession of it.

Deuteronomy 28:64-68

⁶⁴ Adonai will scatter you among all peoples from one end of the earth to the other, and there you will serve other gods, made of wood and stone, which neither you nor your ancestors have known. ⁶⁵ Among these nations you will not find repose, and there will be no rest for the sole of your foot; rather Adonai will give you there anguish of heart, dimness of eyes and apathy of spirit. ⁶⁶ Your life will hang in doubt before you; you will be afraid night and day and have no assurance that you will stay alive. ⁶⁷ In the morning you will say, ‘Oh, how I wish it were evening!’ and in the evening you will say, ‘Oh, how I wish it were morning!’ — because of the fear overwhelming your heart and the sights your eyes will see. ⁶⁸ Finally, Adonai will bring you back in ships to Egypt, the place of which I said to you, ‘You will never ever see it again’; and there you will try to sell yourselves as slaves to your enemies, but no one will buy you.

Now let us look at some loan words from Egyptian which gives us some historical context for a number of purpose’s. For it is more evidence that Tanakh is accurate in that the Jews were in Egypt as slaves.

Ye’or יאר river or The Nile river

Ba’achu באחו reeds or meadow type place

Chartumim or chartumei (singular) חרטמים sorcerers or sorcerer and this also may have meant scribes also because often scribes were sorcerers.

Totfot טטפת meant in ancient Egyptian 2 by 2 equaling 4 and was used in the Shma prayer to indicate tefillin because they cover four corners of the head.

Sha’atneiz שעטנז the forbidden mixture of fabrics from an Egyptian word for linen.

Teivah תבה ark, box basket.

There are some more but I think this gives you a good idea.

Now I want to look at classical Biblical Hebrew and we will go to Psalms.

What are Psalms? They were originally intended as songs of praise, in Hebrew they are called T’hilim תהילים meaning “praises”. These praises were often meant to be sung with instruments as songs of praise and these are often called a מִזְמוֹר mizmor (meaning song). The T’hilim or Psalms are divided into 5 books with 150 total Psalms in Tanakh (The Old Testament). Although other Psalms have been discovered, Psalm 151 was found in the Dead Sea Scrolls. There are 4 more Psalms in the Peshitta, a Syriac Aramaic translation of the Bible and 18 more psalms attributed to King Solomon.

Most of the 150 Biblical Psalms or T’hilim are attributed to King David or at least his court and muses. Asaf was a prominent praise writer who is ascribed to Psalm 50 and Psalms 73-83. Asaf’s sons who served the Israeli court for generations.

• Book 1 (Psalms 1–41)
• Book 2 (Psalms 42–72)
• Book 3 (Psalms 73–89)
• Book 4 (Psalms 90–106)
• Book 5 (Psalms 107–150)
• It is not totally clear from a historical perspective how many of the T’hilim were directly from David’s court and how long after David died the Psalms kept being composed.Some have suggested that the Psalter did not close until 100 ce but that is a very secular point of view. It is also not fully known how or when the current ordering was determined, example it is doubtful Psalm 1 was the first ever composed psalm.They may have been separate songs of praise that were ordered in books later on.

So let us look first at Psalm 2 starting on verse 1

לָמָּה רָֽגְשׁ֣וּ גוֹיִ֑ם וּ֜לְאֻמִּ֗ים יֶהְגּוּ־רִֽיק:

Why do the nations (gentile nations) see the with emotion and the peoples think empty things.

This word here ragshu רָֽגְשׁ֣וּ is from the root regesh meaning emotion or to feel and many translations yield this different and many as rage. However this word does not mean rage, I went with seething with emotion. This word here yehgu יֶהְגּוּ, now this is unusual word but most likely means pondering from the root hagah.

Psalm 2:2

יִֽתְיַצְּב֨וּ | מַלְכֵי־אֶ֗רֶץ וְרֽוֹזְנִ֥ים נֽוֹסְדוּ־יָ֑חַד עַל־יְ֜הֹוָה וְעַל־מְשִׁיחֽוֹ:

And they are stationed the Kings of a land, the Nobility together they take council against the Lord and his anointed.

This word here roznim רֽוֹזְנִ֥ים is a masculine plural of the word rozein which means a ruler below Kings or Princes like a Duke, Earl or Count. This word here nos’du נֽוֹסְדוּ superficially looks like it comes from yesod meaning foundation. However it appears this from the word sod meaning secret so in this context it means they take council.

The word here m’shichu מְשִׁיחֽוֹ meaning his anointed is from the same root as the word mashi’ach (anointed one) and is the word that Messiah and Christ come from.

Verse 3

נְֽנַתְּקָה אֶת־מֽוֹסְרוֹתֵ֑ימוֹ וְנַשְׁלִ֖יכָה מִמֶּ֣נּוּ עֲבֹתֵֽימוֹ:

Let us break into pieces the bonds and shackles, and cast off their thick ropes from us.

The last word here is interesting avoteimo עֲבֹתֵֽימוֹ means their ropes or cords.This is from this word av עב meaning thick and the word avotot עבותות has its origin in a wooded thicket where vines were tightly wrapped around trees. So pragmatically this word means thick cord, rope or bands.

Verse 4

יוֹשֵׁ֣ב בַּשָּׁמַ֣יִם יִשְׂחָ֑ק אֲ֜דֹנָ֗י יִלְעַג־לָֽמוֹ:

He who dwells (literally sits) in Heaven laughs, The Lord mocks them.

The first word means to sit but also means to dwell yosheiv וֹשֵׁ֣ב from yashav meaning “sit”.

The word yischak יִשְׂחָ֑ק is a unusual form of the word tzachak צָחַק meaning laugh.This is where the name Yitzchak/Isaac came from, meaning laughter.It is not fully known why is some parts of the Bible the verb for to laugh is sometimes spelled צָחַק and others שחק, it could be different dialects and scribal preference. Sometimes scribes who copied the Torah and Tanakh used a call and write system.The first scribe would call and the second would write and so by ear similar letters like sin/shin and tzadi were confused.

The word laag לעג means ridicule or mockery.

Verse 5

אָ֚ז יְדַבֵּ֣ר אֵלֵ֣ימוֹ בְאַפּ֑וֹ וּבַ֖חֲרוֹנ֥וֹ יְבַֽהֲלֵֽמוֹ:

Since he speaks to them with his anger and when frightening them in profound distress.

This verse is very emphatic almost hinting at the infinitive absolute (which I covered earlier in the book,doubling meaning for emphasis) . So the Lord speaks to them in his anger bafo בְאַפּ֑וֹ. And when frightening them uvacharono וּבַ֖חֲרוֹנ֥וֹ, in distressing them y’vahaleimo יְבַֽהֲלֵֽמוֹ (literally “he will terrify them).

This phrasing in Biblical Hebrew here is very abstract and impossible to put into English in the literal. The whole phrase is a continuing infinitive absolute for the profound distress and fear the Lord is bringing. This verse is super poetic stuff.

Verse 6

וַֽאֲנִֽי נָסַ֣כְתִּי מַלְכִּ֑י עַל־צִ֜יּ֗וֹן הַר־קָדְשִֽׁי

And I have anointed my King upon the hill of Tzion my Holy (place).

This word nasakhti נָסַ֣כְתִּי which is where the word Nasikh meaning prince comes from.It is from the root nasakh meaning to pour out or pour upon. So this has the same meaning of Mashiach/anointed one except this means “I have poured out upon as opposed to I have anointed but both words still mean Messiah/Mashiach/The anointed King.

Verse 7

אֲסַפְּרָ֗ה אֶ֫ל חֹ֥ק יְהֹוָ֗ה אָמַ֣ר אֵ֖לַי בְּנִ֣י אַ֑תָּה אֲ֜נִ֗י הַיּ֥וֹם יְלִדְתִּֽיךָ:

I will tell the decree; The Lord said to me; You are my son, this day I have begotten you.

Messianic implications for sure but linguistically straight forward.

Verse 8

שְׁאַ֚ל מִמֶּ֗נִּי וְאֶתְּנָ֣ה ג֖וֹיִם נַֽחֲלָתֶ֑ךָ וַֽ֜אֲחֻזָּֽתְךָ֗ אַפְסֵי־אָֽרֶץ:

Ask from me and I will give you the nations as your endowment,and your possession the ends of the earth.

The first interesting thing is word achuzatekha אֲחֻזָּֽתְךָ֗ (literally your gripping’s) from the root achaz meaning to grip, hold or grasp. In this context it means property or in actuality the term holdings in English is not an uncommon way to say property. Holdings would be the best translations here.

This word is unusual afsei אַפְסֵי (literally zero in plural form) from the word efes meaning zero.This here means ends or extremities and combined with the word eretz אָֽרֶץ meaning earth or land.This is a poetic way of saying “the utter utter ends of planet earth”.

Verse 9

תְּרֹעֵֽם בְּשֵׁ֣בֶט בַּרְזֶ֑ל כִּכְלִ֖י יוֹצֵ֣ר תְּנַפְּצֵֽם

You shall break them with a rod of iron; like a potter’s vessel you shall shatter them.

This first word here is likely a scribal error t’ro’eim תְּרֹעֵֽם meaning you shall thunder, the intended word was likely rotzetzam רוצצם meaning to “crush them”. Scribal errors are very rare but do occasionally pop up and we must remember the Bible was copied by hand for 3000 years.

The last word is a pi’el verb meaning the intensive verb tanfetzeim תְּנַפְּצֵֽם meaning you shall shatter them. The root is napatz נפץ which means to smash or shatter or explode. The intensive form alters from simply break to shatter.

Verse 10

וְעַתָּה מְלָכִ֣ים הַשְׂכִּ֑ילוּ הִ֜וָּֽסְר֗וּ שֹׁ֣פְטֵי אָֽרֶץ

And now Kings be wise and instructed (you) judges of the earth.

Pretty self explanatory.

Verse 11

עִבְד֣וּ אֶת־יְהֹוָ֣ה בְּיִרְאָ֑ה וְ֜גִ֗ילוּ בִּרְעָדָֽה

Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with quaking.

The word used here for “and do rejoice” gil גיל is where the name Abigail or also better pronounced Avigayil comes from ,meaning joy of the Father.

Verse 12

נַשְּׁקוּ־בַ֡ר פֶּן־יֶאֱנַ֚ף | וְתֹ֬אבְדוּ דֶ֗רֶךְ כִּֽי־יִבְעַ֣ר כִּמְעַ֣ט אַפּ֑וֹ אַ֜שְׁרֵ֗י כָּל־ח֥וֹסֵי בֽוֹ:

(will discuss) lest he be angry and you perish in the way, for his anger will burn in a moment; blessed are those who take refuge in him.

The opening is tricky nashku var נַשְּׁקוּ־בַ֡ר and many translations say “kiss the son”. The word nashak נָשַׁק can mean kiss but it can also mean to meet, weapon, to arm yourself or in very modern Hebrew firearm or gunsmith also. So var בַ֡ר is a deciding factor and is an open pronunciation of the word bar. so translating as kiss the son works but here is an issue, bar as meaning son is not Hebrew but is Jewish Babylonian Aramaic and came into Hebrew post Babylonian exile and most Psalms were written about 1000 bce almost 500 years before the return of the exiles. The most common word for son in the Davidic era would have been bein or ben meaning son of.

The word bar in Biblical Hebrew can mean: Clean or pure, grain or wild. So “kiss the Son” can work here especially if Psalm 2 was written post Babylonian captivity and ordered later on. Let me also give you two other translations that work well especially if Psalm 2 was in the Davidic era and there are translations of the Bible that do translate these ways.

“Arm yourselves in purity”

“Come together in purity”

Both of these translations can work to. I also want to point out that context to is important and verse 2 talks about a Father and Son which gives credence to “kiss the Son” translation but the only thing is the use of bar as son in Davidic times.

Let us look at Psalm 131 starting on verse 1

שִׁ֥יר הַֽמַּֽעֲל֗וֹת לְדָ֫וִ֥ד יְהֹוָ֚ה | לֹֽא־גָבַ֣הּ לִ֖בִּי וְלֹֽא־רָ֣מוּ עֵינַ֑י וְלֹֽא־הִלַּ֓כְתִּי | בִּגְדֹל֖וֹת וּבְנִפְלָא֣וֹת מִמֶּֽנִּי:

A song of ascent by David.Lord,my heart was not high (proud) nor were my eyes raised (looking at high things) and I did not go after things greater and more wonderful than myself.

What is a song of ascent? It was a song or Psalm about traveling from the country or other cities to Yerushalayim (Jerusalem).The word gavah גָבַ֣הּ means high but it strongly implies pride.This final phrase nifla’ot mimeni נִפְלָא֣וֹת מִמֶּֽנִּי meaning literally wonderful or wondrous from me is the mem of comparison.The word mi מִ is a prefix meaning from and mimeni means from me.The meim of comparison does not mean from me in the traditional sense but means “than me”. Hebrew often expresses for example “better than me” as better from me, that is the meim of comparison.

Verse 2

אִם־לֹ֚א שִׁוִּ֨יתִי | וְדוֹמַ֗מְתִּי נַפְשִׁ֗י כְּ֖גָמֻל עֲלֵ֣י אִמּ֑וֹ כַּגָּמֻ֖ל עָלַ֣י נַפְשִֽׁי:

(literally, if I have not) set my soul in quiet (calm) like a weaned child on my mother,like a weaned child was my soul with me.

This is very abstract and poetic, and starts with a unusual phrase “im lo shiviti” אִם־לֹ֚א שִׁוִּ֨יתִי meaning sort of “have I not set”. A question as a statement of emphasis.Now the word gamul גָּמֻ֖ל is often translated as a suckling or infant but actually means a weaned child. However it is unclear in a very abstract poetic context how it was meant and that is why a lot of translations say infant or suckling.The general idea is peace inside ones soul is the point.

Verse 3

יַחֵ֣ל יִ֖שְׂרָאֵל אֶל־יְהֹוָ֑ה מֵֽ֜עַתָּ֗ה וְעַד־עוֹלָֽם

Hope (yes), Yisrael (Israel) to the Lord from now and still to forever.

Yacheil יחל literally meaning to begin is a rare word for hope from the more common kivah or tzipi’ah.This is typical of this very poetic Psalm.

Now the next controversy is the word olam עוֹלָֽם and does it mean forever? Here is from a dictionary just to show the broad definition this word carries.

Hebrew-English

עולם

  world, universe, cosmos, creation

  reality, real world, realm

  eternity.

So olam does not always mean eternity or forever but it certainly can mean such, so careful attention to context is important.

Now for Psalm 74 , a Maskil which a intellectual or contemplative Psalm composed by Asaf, so a Davidic era Psalm.

מַשְׂכִּ֗יל לְאָ֫סָ֣ף לָמָ֣ה אֱ֖לֹהִים זָנַ֣חְתָּ לָנֶ֑צַח יֶעְשַּׁ֥ן אַ֜פְּךָ֗ בְּצֹ֣אן מַרְעִיתֶֽךָ:

A contemplation of Asaf; why God have you abandoned forever? Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of you pasture?

This word here zanach זנח means abandoned or cast away is not a super common word.This word here that opens the Psalm maskil מַשְׂכִּ֗יל means intellectual or thoughtful.This word ashan עשן in the phrase smoke of your anger is unusual poetry.

Verse 2

זְכֹ֚ר עֲדָֽתְךָ֨ | קָ֘נִ֚יתָ קֶּ֗דֶם גָּ֖אַלְתָּ שֵׁ֣בֶט נַֽחֲלָתֶ֑ךָ הַר־צִ֜יּ֗וֹן זֶ֚ה | שָׁכַ֬נְתָּ בּֽוֹ:

Remember your congregation which your acquired in ancient times.You redeemed the tribe of your inheritance, Mount Tzion on which you dwelt.

The word kanita קָ֘נִ֚יתָ meaning you acquired is where the name Cain/Kayin came from because Eve/Chavah named him Cain because she had acquired a son.The word kedem קדם means east,ancient and before because the world came from the east. So there is a correlation between east and that which came before and ancient times.

Verse 3

הָרִ֣ימָה פְ֖עָמֶיךָ לְמַשֻּׁא֣וֹת נֶ֑צַח כָּל־הֵרַ֖ע אוֹיֵ֣ב בַּקֹּֽדֶשׁ

Raise your steps to the eternal desolations, for all the evil the enemy did in the sanctuary.

This one is very abstract and almost every English translations phrases this Psalm verse differently.The word pameikha פְ֖עָמֶיךָ meaning your steps in this case comes from the word paam פעם which means like beat, pace or throb but also can mean footstep and also means time, but time as in one time or occurrence or “this time”.

This word here limashu’ot לְמַשֻּׁא֣וֹת meaning to the desolations or ruins has its root in the word shoah where the modern word for holocaust comes from.The word shoah in very ancient times meant a storm cloud but later came to mean calamity or catastrophe.

Verse 4

שָֽׁאֲג֣וּ צֹֽ֖רְרֶיךָ בְּקֶ֣רֶב מֽוֹעֲדֶ֑ךָ שָׂ֖מוּ אוֹתֹתָ֣ם אֹתֽוֹת

Your oppressors roared in the midst of your meeting house and they placed their symbols (or banners) as signs.

This word here tzorerekha צֹֽ֖רְרֶיךָ means those who caused you trouble.This comes from the root tzarar צרר which means narrow,binding or causing distress and tzarah means distress or trouble. So tzorerekha is often translated as enemies, I used the word oppressors but it means most literally “your distress causers”.

so the last phrase ototam otot אוֹתֹתָ֣ם אֹתֽוֹת which literally means theirs signs, signs (no actual and in between). This is often translated as their banners as signs which is likely the best translation of it.In any case like this where in Hebrew two similar words are back to back the infinitive absolute is in play. So could “their horrible signs” be correct? Maybe, but I checked and no one at all views it that way but that would be a infinitive absolute viewpoint but that does not seem right here.

Verse 5

יִוָּדַע כְּמֵבִ֣יא לְמָ֑עְלָה בִּסְבָךְ־עֵ֜֗ץ קַרְדֻּמּֽוֹת

May it be known as bringing up (ax blows) in the thicket of trees with axes.

This word here yivada יִוָּדַע is the nifal form of da דע which means to know and the nifal is a passive verb ,so it means “it will be known”. This word here mei’bi’ מֵבִ֣יא is the hifil verb which is causative form of bo meaning come ,so mei’bi means in this case bringing or to bring (to cause to come) .This word here kardumot קַרְדֻּמּֽוֹת is in the feminine plural form of an archaic word for axe. As to why it is phrased in the feminine plural I do not know.

Verse 6

 וְעַתָּה (כתיב וְעַתָּ) פִּתּוּחֶ֣יהָ יָ֑חַד בְּכַשִּׁ֥יל וְ֜כֵֽילַפּ֗וֹת יַֽהֲלֹמֽוּן:

And now, it’s entrances together, with axes and hammers they strike.

First we have another correction in the text if you see the parentheses ata עת was changed to atah with a hei עתה. I cannot say if the original in parentheses was a scribe error or an older form of the word. Without the hei the pronunciation would be eit not ata and would mean time period or season or era. Atah means now or currently or this era at hand.so ata with a kamatz under the tav would mean your era or your time which does not make sense here so I’ll go with a type O, scribal error.

Here is another interesting thing here ,the word kashil כַשִּׁ֥יל in Biblical Hebrew means axe but means sledgehammer in modern Hebrew. The word keilaf or as it is here keilafot כֵֽילַפּ֗וֹת in the feminine plural means hammer but means hatchet in modern Hebrew.

This last word yahalomun יַֽהֲלֹמֽוּן can mean both strike and also means diamond. This maybe because diamonds came from mining

Verse 7

שִׁלְח֣וּ בָ֖אֵשׁ מִקְדָּשֶׁ֑ךָ לָ֜אָ֗רֶץ חִלְּל֥וּ מִֽשְׁכַּן־שְׁמֶֽךָ

They sent (set on fire) with fire your sanctuary, to the ground they profaned the dwelling place of your name.

The only thing that is unusual here is the literal phrasing “they sent with fire” שִׁלְח֣וּ בָ֖אֵשׁ, samu va’eish שםו באש meaning they set in fire would be more logical but I’m not a Psalmist.

Verse 8

אָֽמְר֣וּ בְ֖לִבָּם נִינָ֣ם יָ֑חַד שָֽׂרְפ֖וּ כָל־מֽוֹעֲדֵי־אֵ֣ל בָּאָֽרֶץ

And they said in their hearts (or minds) their descendants together ,they burned every meetinghouses of God in the land.

The word amar אָמַר meaning to say or inn this phrasing “and they said”, this word amar also means tree tops perhaps because in the wind the tree tops spoke. Ancient semitic words like this often have very basic origins.

This word ninam נִינָ֣ם is unusual and is often translated differently but from my research offspring or descendant is most accurate.This word sarfu שָֽׂרְפ֖וּ meaning they burned is from the word saraf which is where the name the Serafim Angels of Isaiah 6 come from, meaning burning one or fiery ones.

Verse 9

אֹֽתוֹתֵ֗ינוּ לֹֽא־רָ֫אִ֥ינוּ אֵֽין־ע֥וֹד נָבִ֑יא וְלֹֽא־אִ֜תָּ֗נוּ יוֹדֵ֥עַ עַד־מָֽה:

Our signs we have not seen ,and still without a prophet ,and none with us knows until how long.

Very to the point. So now verse 10-12

How much longer, God, will the foe jeer at us?
Will the enemy insult your name forever?
¹¹ Why do you hold back your hand?
Draw your right hand from your coat, and finish them off!

¹² God has been my king from earliest times,
acting to save throughout all the earth.

Verse 13

אַתָּ֚ה פוֹרַ֣רְתָּ בְעָזְּךָ֣ יָ֑ם שִׁבַּ֖רְתָּ רָאשֵׁ֥י תַ֜נִּינִ֗ים עַל־הַמָּֽיִם:

You crumbled the sea with your strength,you broke the heads of sea monsters upon the waters.

This word here taninim תַ֜נִּינִ֗ים is the word used in Genesis 1:21 for sea monsters. It is unclear if these are whales . Now modern Hebrew defines tanin (singular, tananin is plural) as aligator or crocodile. The term used in the book of Jonah in the large sea creature story is dag gadol דג גדול meaning great fish and whales are not fish but are mammals. So it is unclear what actual creature the tanin or taninim are refering to. What is clear is that they are large water dwelling creatures of some type.

Verse 14

אַתָּ֣ה רִ֖צַּצְתָּ רָאשֵׁ֣י לִוְיָתָ֑ן תִּתְּנֶ֥נּוּ מַֽ֜אֲכָ֗ל לְעַ֣ם לְצִיִּֽים

You crushed the head of the liv’yatan (aka Leviathan), give it as food to desert dwellers.

Liv’yatan לִוְיָתָ֑ן means intercoiled one and this related to the Israeli tribe name Levi which means joined or attached. A lot of people think this is talking about the Apostle Paul and suspension of Kosher laws upon the Messianic era.The sea monster is obviously unkosher and gentile desert dwellers are eating them.The tzi’im צִיִּֽים (tzi’i would be singular) are desert dwellers usually animals but in this case is talking about people in the desert.

Verse 15

אַתָּ֣ה בָ֖קַעְתָּ מַעְיָ֣ן וָנָ֑חַל אַתָּ֥ה ה֜וֹבַ֗שְׁתָּ נַֽהֲר֥וֹת אֵיתָֽן:

You split the fountain and the stream, you dried up rivers that had never failed.

The last word Eitan אֵיתָֽן meaning endurance or steadfast or Perpetuity or also can mean strong. This is where the common English name Ethan comes from.

Here is the remainder of Psalm 74 verses 16-23

The day is yours, and the night is yours;
it was you who established light and sun.
¹⁷ It was you who fixed all the limits of the earth,
you made summer and winter.

¹⁸ Remember how the enemy scoffs at Adonai,
how a brutish people insults your name.
¹⁹ Don’t hand over the soul of your dove to wild beasts,
don’t forget forever the life of your poor.

²⁰ Look to the covenant, for the land’s dark places
are full of the haunts of violence.
²¹ Don’t let the oppressed retreat in confusion;
let the poor and needy praise your name.

²² Arise, God, and defend your cause;
remember how brutish men insult you all day.
²³ Don’t forget what your foes are saying,
the ever-rising uproar of your adversaries.

The Book of Job who’s name was really I’yov אִיּ֣וֹב is said by some as one of or maybe the oldest book of the Bible.The name I’yov comes from the word oyiev אויב meaning enemy so Job/I’yov means persecuted. So is Job the oldest or one of oldest books in scripture? I think we can rule out Job as a contemporary of Avraham because it points more to Job being in or around Esav the brother of Jacob who were both grandsons of Avraham. It is also called into question if job was an Edomite at all because the land of Utz was inhabited by the tribe of the Seir the Horite (cave dweller). If we we assume going by Genesis 36 that I’yov was either an Edomite (Descendant of Esav) who took over the area from Seir the Horite.Was Job an Edomite colonist or Seir the Horite aboriginal? Deuteronomy 2:12 states that the Edomites destroyed and displaced the people of Seir, so that looks Edomite, however in almost all conquests whether Biblical or not ,not everyone is totally killed off. It is consistent with Deuteronomy 2:12, the rest of the bible and human history in general that even most most traumatic conquests leave remainders of old populations. We cannot rule out that Job/I’yov may have been of Seir!

Now this also brings us to Lamentations 4:21

“Rejoice and be glad, Daughter Edom,
    you who live in the land of Uz.
But to you also the cup will be passed;
    you will be drunk and stripped naked”

However this only shows that Edom conquered and controlled Utz but again Job/I’yov as a Seir aboriginal is not excluded from consideration and nowhere does scripture explicitly say I’yov was of Edom. No onto the era of Job ,we know that there was not a land called Utz until after Esav.Utz was a grandson of Seir and Seir a comtemporary of Esav and Esav a grandson of Avraham.So this puts any kingdom of Utz 5 generations after Avraham. So this places Job no where near the Patriachs but more in the era of Tamar and peretz and Zerah or maybe early Egyptian captivity or there abouts. Job must be younger than Utz be be in his kingdom and Utz is the grandson of Seir equal to Esav grandson of Abraham. So Yehudah/Judah had 5 children and Tamar as a daughter inlaw.So chronologically Job/I’yov is about there or a generation later.Where was Utz? We do not know but Edom is in southern Jordan and Mt Seir still exists historically ,that would likely be it,in or around Mt Seir.

Here is Job 1:1

אִ֛ישׁ הָיָ֥ה בְאֶֽרֶץ־ע֖וּץ אִיּ֣וֹב שְׁמ֑וֹ וְהָיָ֣ה | הָאִ֣ישׁ הַה֗וּא תָּ֧ם וְיָשָׁ֛ר וִירֵ֥א אֱלֹהִ֖ים וְסָ֥ר מֵרָֽע:

There was a man in the land of Utz and his name was I’yov, the man he was innocent and upright, he feared God and turned away from evil.

Why linguistically is Job an early dated book? I will respond below to reasons that others have given.

• 'Eloah (אֱלוֹהַּ): This singular form of the generic Elohim is used frequently throughout Job, but rarely in other parts of the Bible.
• True this a very rare word in Tanakh (Old Testament) the plural Elohim is so much more common. We cannot exclude also that differences in language could simply have that Job was written in a Edomite or Seir’ite Aramaic and not Biblical Hebrew. The story of Job as we have decided already does predate the giving of the Torah on Sinai but much of the Torah predates the giving of the Torah at Sinai.

• El (אֵל): Another ancient, generic term for God. This is not all the exceptional actually ,El as a name for God is not rare overall.

• Shaddai (שַׁדַּי): The pre-Mosaic name, often translated as “Almighty,” used extensively in Job but less frequently elsewhere.Shadai cames from the word Shad meaning breast.So this expresses a God who provides his children with sustenance like a mother feeds an infant with milk.So El Shadai means God who provides.

Aramaic and Arabic Influences: The poet incorporates words that resemble terms from Aramaic, an ancient language of the Transjordan region where Job is set, which colors the dialogue as “foreign” or dialectal and suggests an ancient Eastern setting: 

Agreed here if Job was a Edomite Seir’ite.

• millim or millin (מִלִּין): Used for “words,” an Aramaic loan word, instead of the classic Hebrew term dabar (דָּבָר).
• nehara (נְהָרָה): Used for “day” (Job 3:4), a unique form that might be a Hebrew adaptation of an Aramaic root.
• Sahed (שָׂהֵד): Used for “witness” (Job 16:19). 

Archaic Spelling

The text in Job often uses older, more consistent spelling conventions. For example, words like yom (יוֹם, “day”) may be spelled with a waw (ו) as a vowel marker, which is considered the older, more archaic spelling compared to later biblical texts where it might be omitted

• Geled (גֶּלֶד): A rare word for “skin” (Job 16:15) used instead of or.
• Divra (דִּבְרָה): A unique feminine form of davar (“matter” or “lawsuit”) that reflects ancient Babylonian legal expressions.

So I think this evidence does not support a Patriarch dating of about 1900- 1800 bce but is still consistent with a sons of Jacob dating maybe the Peretz, Zerah and Tamar era dating. The Proto Aramaic linguistics also supports this era also because I do not think it is very likely that there was much linguistic difference in the Semitic (Shemite) language in the time of Abraham. I think Avraham and Aram spoke the same language most likely maybe with small slang unique to each clan but I do not think Hebrew and Aramaic were distinct at that point. We must also remember that much of what was in the Torah itself predated Avraham also and Job may not have been codified into a scroll right around 1500 bce when its events likely occured. I do not think it is proven that the scroll of Job was written pre Torah itself but without question I’yov/Job is one of the oldest books in the Bible.

Let’s us look at Shir Hashirim or Song of Songs שִׁ֥יר הַשִּׁירִ֖ים (also Songs of Solomon).This in the peshat, the simple interpretation of the Bible this book is an erotic love poem between two lovers. The remez or the hint, a deeper level of interpretation views this book as an allegory for God’s love of Israel. This book is traditionally attributed to King Solomon by the book itself’s own claim, or some say by the phrasing it was written for Solomon. This phrase here asher lishlomo אֲשֶׁ֥ר לִשְׁלֹמֹֽה means to or for Shlomo (Solomon). Based on scripture this could go either way really.

Right here I would like to make a Hebrew grammatical point. In a lot of languages English included personal and place names are respected outside of prefixes. So if Hebrew followed English grammar asher lishlomo would be “asher le Shlomo” which is to or for Solomon (or maybe of Solomon).In Hebrew the prefix for, for or to “le” attaches you have compensatory lengthening of the short e vowel to a long ee vowel and the li attaches right onto the name Shlomo, hence asher lishlomo. For instance if you wanted to say “in Boston” in Hebrew you would say with be meaning in and the second beit would then sound as “v” so you would say bevoston. Here in second Chronicles is says Yehudah/Judah and Benjamin יְהוּדָ֣ה וּבִנְיָמִ֑ן both personal and place names but it sounds as this because as a prefix here the vav letter in ve meaning and becomes a u vowel called shuruk and the letter beit now ending a syllable sounds as a v. So it sounds like this then “Yehudah uvinyamen”. If you wanted to say “in Yerushalayim/Jerusalem you would not write “be Yerushalayim” but instead “Birushalayim”.

Here is verse chapter 1 verse 2

יִשָּׁקֵ֨נִי֙ מִנְּשִׁיק֣וֹת פִּ֔יהוּ כִּֽי־טוֹבִ֥ים דֹּדֶ֖יךָ מִיָּֽיִן:

Let him kiss me with kisses of his mouth, for your love is better than wine.

The word used for love dodekha דֹּדֶ֖יךָ with the root of dod meaning beloved which is where the name David comes from. We also have the word miyayin מִיָּֽיִן meaning from wine which is again the mem of comparison so better from wine means better than wine. Just to explain the mem of comparison in Hebrew and I think Arabic also uses this. So the Hebrew word for “from” is mi מִ or sometimes min מן which is more formal. In the mem of comparison the word mi or from is used to compare. So you would say ” I am faster from you” meaning I am faster than you. So miyayin means better than wine.

Verse 3

לְרֵ֨יחַ֙ שְׁמָנֶ֣יךָ טוֹבִ֔ים שֶׁ֖מֶן תּוּרַ֣ק שְׁמֶ֑ךָ עַל־כֵּ֖ן עֲלָמ֥וֹת אֲהֵבֽוּךָ:

Your anointing oils have a wonderful fragrance;
your name is like anointing oil poured out.
This is why young women love you.

The word here alamot עלמות the plural of almah has been controversial as of late and in this context clearly means young woman or maiden. It can also mean virgin and is the word used for virgin in many English translations for Isaiah 7:14 . It is now heavily argued on this matter. So many argue that this can’t mean virgin however this word albeit rarely can mean virgin.The origin of the word almah (singular, alamot plural) came from Ugaritic and meant royal Bride, so this is why it can mean mean both things. Isaiah often uses atypical language and the use of this word for virgin is not unusual for Isaiah. The typical Hebrew word for virgin is betulah.

Now let us skip to verse 5

שְׁחוֹרָ֤ה אֲנִי֙ וְֽנָאוָ֔ה בְּנ֖וֹת יְרֽוּשָׁלָ֑יִם כְּאָֽהֳלֵ֣י קֵדָ֔ר כִּֽירִיע֖וֹת שְׁלֹמֹֽה:

I am a black but beautiful ,O daughters of Jerusalem.Like the tents of Keidar like the curtains of Shlomo (Solomon).

I used the word black because that is the word sh’chorah שחורה means black not dark so I’m being literal despite most translations say dark. Sh’chor means black and sh’chorah is phrased feminine because it is talking about a woman.

Another tricky word is navah נָאוָ֔ה this word means pleasant, pretty, beautiful or comely (archaic word likely beautiful).The root here is ivah אִוָּה meaning to want or desire.The tents of Keidar refer to Keidar a son of Yishmael and is associated with Arabs or desert dwellers.

Verse 6

אַל־תִּרְאֻ֨נִי֙ שֶֽׁאֲנִ֣י שְׁחַרְחֹ֔רֶת שֶׁשְּׁזָפַ֖תְנִי הַשָּׁ֑מֶשׁ בְּנֵ֧י אִמִּ֣י נִֽחֲרוּ־בִ֗י שָׂמֻ֨נִי֙ נֹֽטֵרָ֣ה אֶת־הַכְּרָמִ֔ים כַּרְמִ֥י שֶׁלִּ֖י לֹ֥א נָטָֽרְתִּי:

Do not look upon me (disdainfully) because I am dark ,for the sun has tanned me; the sons of my mother were angry with me; They placed me as guardian to their vineyards but my vineyards I did not care for.

First is the word sh’charhoret שְׁחַרְחֹ֔רֶת this is an effeminized adjective on sh’chor so sh’charoret literally means brunette in modern Hebrew. So this adjective mitigates the blackness of sh’chor. So here I translated as dark not black.

This word here sh’zafatni שְּׁזָפַ֖תְנִי means I have been scorched from the word shazaf which means sort of a very intense look but often means to burn or scorch. In modern Hebrew it means sunburn. It is unclear if in this case she is expressing metaphor about neglecting herself for helping her brothers to much or if her brothers literally forced servitude on her. The tents of Keidar were considered bad places in general. This word nachar נחר means hot or scorched is rare for expressing anger but could mean emotionally heated here.

So now to chapter 2 verse 1 and 2

אֲנִי֙ חֲבַצֶּ֣לֶת הַשָּׁר֔וֹן שֽׁוֹשַׁנַּ֖ת הָֽעֲמָקִֽים

כְּשֽׁוֹשַׁנָּה֙ בֵּ֣ין הַֽחוֹחִ֔ים כֵּ֥ן רַעְיָתִ֖י בֵּ֥ין הַבָּנֽוֹת:

I am the rose of Sharon, a rose of the valleys

As a rose among the thorns ,so is my beloved companion among the daughters.

Verse one is a poetic Hebrew parallelism using two words that are the same or close in meaning to express a poetic meaning. I am the rose (chavatzelet חֲבַצֶּ֣לֶת) of Sharon a rose (shoshanah שֽׁוֹשַׁנָּה֙ ) of the valleys. I want to point out that both the words chavatzel and shoshanah are not totally understood in ancient middle eastern biology. They mean a great flower of some type and English translations usually go with rose, lilly, lotus or crocus.

The word here rayati רַעְיָתִ֖י can mean my companion or my lover or my wife and this comes from the root of rei’a רֵעַ which means many types of friend or relation values with a broad abstract meaning.

Verse 7

הִשְׁבַּ֨עְתִּי אֶתְכֶ֜ם בְּנ֤וֹת יְרוּשָׁלִַ֙ם֙ בִּצְבָא֔וֹת א֖וֹ בְּאַיְל֣וֹת הַשָּׂדֶ֑ה אִם־תָּעִ֧ירוּ | וְֽאִם־תְּעֽוֹרְר֛וּ אֶת־הָאַֽהֲבָ֖ה עַ֥ד שֶׁתֶּחְפָּֽץ:

I swear to you O daughters of Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) by the antelopes or by the does (or ewes also maybe) of the field, you shall not awaken or arouse love while it is desirous.

This word here tzeva’ot צְבָא֔וֹת typically means armies (plural) this is actually a plural of tz’vi which can mean deer, antelope or even gazelle and a female one at that because of the “ot” feminine plural suffix. This word here ay’lot אַיְל֣וֹת this is a ewe a female wild sheep or goat like a mountain sheep or it could be a female deer also.The word איל with the vowels sounding ayil is a ram or mountain sheep or goat but sounding as ayal is a deer and this above is a female version. Deer could be very likely because the location is a field not a mountain but that is just a guess. This last word shetechpatz שֶׁתֶּחְפָּֽץ means to take delight or pleasure in. The root is chefetz which means to delight, desire, take pleasure in or it can mean object also. There is also a Hebrew parallelism here with two wild grazing animals for poetry.

Chapter 3 verse 1

עַל־מִשְׁכָּבִי֙ בַּלֵּיל֔וֹת בִּקַּ֕שְׁתִּי אֵ֥ת שֶׁאָֽהֲבָ֖ה נַפְשִׁ֑י בִּקַּשְׁתִּ֖יו וְלֹ֥א מְצָאתִֽיו:

Upon my bed at night I sought whom my soul loves,I sought him but I did not find him.

Some interesting grammar here with the word choice baleiylot בַּלֵּיל֔וֹת the ba (or usually be) prefix means in, with, on, at or by. Leilot is a plural of laylah that means night. This is where the name Lillith comes from, “meaning of the night” (colloquially night demon).The question here is why is it pluralized and this particular phrasing is an an idiom that can mean “at night”.

Verse 2

אָק֨וּמָה נָּ֜א וַֽאֲסֽוֹבְבָ֣ה בָעִ֗יר בַּשְּׁוָקִים֙ וּבָ֣רְחֹב֔וֹת אֲבַקְשָׁ֕ה אֵ֥ת שֶׁאָֽהֲבָ֖ה נַפְשִׁ֑י בִּקַּשְׁתִּ֖יו וְלֹ֥א מְצָאתִֽיו

I arise yes and I go around and about in the city in its markets city squares. I seek whom my soul loves, but in seeking him I did not find him.

The word sovevah סֽוֹבְבָ֣ה means to surround but in this context means to go about the city. In both cases two words use the יו usually iav suffix it means his plural like his cars. When the vowels are iv not aiv it means I and him, so in this case metzativ מְצָאתִֽיו I found him (did not find him as is phrased here.

Here on verse 5 of chapter 3 you have a literal quote of chapter 2 verse 7

I swear to you O daughters of Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) by the antelopes or by the does of the field, you shall not awaken or arouse love while it is desirous.

Now to verse 6

מִ֣י זֹ֗את עֹלָה֙ מִן־הַמִּדְבָּ֔ר כְּתִֽימְר֖וֹת עָשָׁ֑ן מְקֻטֶּ֤רֶת מֹר֙ וּלְבוֹנָ֔ה מִכֹּ֖ל אַבְקַ֥ת רוֹכֵֽל:

Who is this coming out of the desert like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, of all the powder of the peddler?

So this one is loaded with fun words. First is a rare word that means here pillars timarot תִֽימֲר֖וֹת the feminine plural tamar which also means palm or date or palm or date tree. The root is erect, tall or upright (date trees are very tall so) so this is best translated with the word ashan עָשָׁ֑ן as pillars of smoke ,a very rare and poetic expression. This word here m’kuteret מְקֻטֶּ֤רֶת from the root kiteir קטר which means to smoke or to burn or make smoky. So m’kuteret is a incense burner or smoker or a perfumer.

The word for frankincense is לְבוֹנָ֔ה is l’vonah from the root lavan meaning white because frankincense looks white in substance. The country Lebanon comes from this root also because of the tall mountains are snow capped peaks and so Lebanon looks very white. Hebrew and Arabic are very similar especially in more ancient words. This word רוֹכֵֽל is a peddler or merchant and in modern Hebrew means a street vendor peddler. The word avkat אַבְקַ֥ת is from the root avak meaning dust so in this context is taking about powdered perfume.

Now chapter 4 verse 1

הִנָּ֨ךְ יָפָ֤ה רַעְיָתִי֙ הִנָּ֣ךְ יָפָ֔ה עֵינַ֣יִךְ יוֹנִ֔ים מִבַּ֖עַד לְצַמָּתֵ֑ךְ שַֽׂעְרֵךְ֙ כְּעֵ֣דֶר הָֽעִזִּ֔ים שֶׁגָּֽלְשׁ֖וּ מֵהַ֥ר גִּלְעָֽד:

Behold, you are beautiful my beloved companion, behold, you are beautiful your eyes are like doves. From through your veil your hair is like a flock of goats that slid down from Mt Gilad (Often worded Gilead).

I don’t think I need to put in quotes that we have a Hebrew parallelism and two of them and I think you know by now what are the two. If you do not, beautiful used twice poetically and animals of different types used twice. A Hebrew parallelism can double one word or two synonyms or even abstractly similar words. The word for dove in yonah or in this case in the masculine plural yonim יוֹנִ֔ים, if you are thinking this is where the name Yonah/Jonah comes from, well, you guessed right.

This word here is a tough translation shelgashu שֶׁגָּֽלְשׁ֖וּ this means “that they slid” or just slid down because the they is already obvious. Slid is just a practical translation for but this word is very abstract from the root galash גלש.This word can mean overflow ,boil over, glide slide, surf, ski, skate and in very modern language to surf the internet as a slang term.

Verse 2

שִׁנַּ֨יִךְ֙ כְּעֵ֣דֶר הַקְּצוּב֔וֹת שֶֽׁעָל֖וּ מִן־הָֽרַחְצָ֑ה שֶׁכֻּלָּם֙ מַתְאִימ֔וֹת וְשַׁכֻּלָ֖ה אֵ֥ין בָּהֶֽם:

Your teeth are like a flock (of sheep) that have been sheared that came up from the washing, all of them bore twins and there is no bereavement among them.

So this word here matimot מַתְאִימ֔וֹת this is from the root taam תָּאַם, which means to be complete, matched ,to correlate or double .This is where the name Thomas comes from meaning twin. So some translations phrase this as the sheep all bore twins others say the sheep all were perfect. I do not have an answer in who is absolutely right.

This word here is also vague shakulah שַׁכֻּלָ֖ה ,this means bereavement and some translations say non of the mother sheep were barren. Other translations go with non of the baby sheep went missing. So it is important to understand that some discrepancy in interpretation of scripture does happen but mainly on small points, there is always enough context to make big theological issues fairly understood.

Verse 4

כְּמִגְּדַ֤ל דָּוִיד֙ צַוָּארֵ֔ךְ בָּנ֖וּי לְתַלְפִּיּ֑וֹת אֶ֤לֶף הַמָּגֵן֙ תָּל֣וּי עָלָ֔יו כֹּ֖ל שִׁלְטֵ֥י הַגִּבֹּרִֽים:

Like the tower of David is your neck, built as a military fort and a thousand shields hang upon it, all the shields of mighty men.

This word here meaning tower migdal מִגְּדַ֤ל is where the name Mary Magdalene comes from, meaning Mary of the tower or possibly she was from town a called Magdala in northern Israel.

We have a later spelling of the name David דָּוִיד֙, if you notice the letter yod is added as opposed to the traditional spelling of דוד.This later spelling appears also in the Book of Chronicles, it is unclear as to why the spelling changed or when. Does this mean that Shir hashirim dates later than King Solomon? Perhaps or maybe the spellings were dialectal and altered with different scribes but the pronunciation is the same. Remember the ancient pronunciation of of David was most likely not “Dah-veed” but “Dah-weeth” because in that era the Dalet without a dagesh mark sounded like “th” as in the and the vav was a waw. Although some linguists dispute this and say that the bagakefat system in which a dalet without a dagesh sound as a “th” like the sound was post Babylonian exile. There are also two Hebrew parallelisms of which I think you can get.

This word here is unusual talpiot תַלְפִּיּ֑וֹת and it generally understood to mean a row of stones or could if you look at the word totally literally it could mean hill mouth. Tal meaning hill and pi meaning mouth, so “tal pi” and in the plural talpiot.

So you may then ask, what is begadkefat? This is talking about these Hebrew letters that depending on whether there a dagesh mark that the pronunciation changes. Here is the letter beit with a dagesh בְּ which is pronounced B as in boy. Here is beit without a dagesh ב which is pronounced V like victor.

Gimel ג with a dagesh is G like good and without in ancient times only was a guttural gh from the throat, but this is archaic. In modern times a dagesh makes no difference with gimel.

Dalet with the dagesh is D like door and in ancient times only was th like the but this is archaic also.

Kaf כַּ with the dagesh is K like kite but without the dagesh כ is a guttural kh like the Scottish Loch or German Bach (same with khaf sofit). This is still pronounced to this day and is fully modern.

Pei with the dagesh פֹּ is P like pirate or puzzle and without the dagesh פ is pronounced as an F and the same with fei sofit.

Tav makes no difference with or without the dagesh in most cases. In Ashenazi Hebrew and Yiddish a tav without a dagesh sounds like a S as in sister. In Yemenite Hebrew without a dagesh tav sounds “th” as in with and I think the Yemenites still respect the open gimel without the dagesh too. So that is “begadkefat”.

Verse 5

שְׁנֵ֥י שָׁדַ֛יִךְ כִּשְׁנֵ֥י עֳפָרִ֖ים תְּאוֹמֵ֣י צְבִיָּ֑ה הָֽרֹעִ֖ים בַּשּֽׁוֹשַׁנִּֽים:

Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle that pasture in the roses.

The word for breast is shad or in this case shadayikh שָׁדַ֛יִךְn meaning your breasts. This is where the name of God “El Shadai” comes from meaning literally “God who breast feeds” or more appropriately put “God who provides”.

The word used that is often translated as grazes or grazing here is “ro’im” רֹעִ֖ים, this literally mean shepherds, so I translated it as “to pasture”.

Chapter 5 verse 2

אֲנִ֥י יְשֵׁנָ֖ה וְלִבִּ֣י עֵ֑ר ק֣וֹל | דּוֹדִ֣י דוֹפֵ֗ק פִּתְחִי־לִ֞י אֲחֹתִ֤י רַעְיָתִי֙ יֽוֹנָתִ֣י תַמָּתִ֔י שֶׁרֹאשִׁי֙ נִמְלָא־טָ֔ל קְוֻצּוֹתַ֖י רְסִ֥יסֵי לָֽיְלָה:

I sleep but my heart (“mind” also in Biblical Hebrew) is awake; the voice of my beloved is knocking. Open for me, my sister, my beloved, my dove, my perfect one. For my head is full of dew, my locks with the drops of the night.

Here are two more Hebrew parallelisms and also the word leiv לב meaning heart also can mean mind, but here I think heart makes the most sense.

Verse 10

דּוֹדִ֥י צַח֙ וְאָד֔וֹם דָּג֖וּל מֵֽרְבָבָֽה

My beloved is fair and red , unrivaled by ten thousand.

short but loaded with interesting stuff. The word dodi דּוֹדִ֥י meaning my beloved is both where the name David and the Hebrew word for uncle “dod” comes from. The word tzach צַח֙ does not mean white or fair but pure or clear.

The word adom אָד֔וֹם means red and many translations use the word ruddy here. This is where the name Adam comes from because Adam was formed of “adamah” meaning soil and the soil was adom (meaning red) as fresh clay is red.

This word here dagul דָּג֖וּל comes from the word degel meaning flag ,so this means to raise a flag or to be outstanding or exceptional.This last word here with its root in the word ravah meaning great or many.Meirvavah מֵֽרְבָבָֽה which means multitude,abundance,myriad or ten thousand and I used ten thousand in this case.

Chapter 6 verse 1

אָנָה הָלַ֣ךְ דּוֹדֵ֔ךְ הַיָּפָ֖ה בַּנָּשִׁ֑ים אָ֚נָה פָּנָ֣ה דוֹדֵ֔ךְ וּנְבַקְשֶׁ֖נּוּ עִמָּֽךְ:

Where has your beloved gone out to? The most beautiful of women, where has your beloved turned that we may seek him with you?

Here is a ancient word for where. Ana אָנָה it is not used much outside of early Bible.

Verse 2

דּוֹדִי֙ יָרַ֣ד לְגַנּ֔וֹ לַֽעֲרֻג֖וֹת הַבֹּ֑שֶׂם לִרְעוֹת֙ בַּגַּנִּ֔ים וְלִלְקֹ֖ט שֽׁוֹשַׁנִּֽים:

My beloved has gone down to his garden, to his spice beds , to graze in the gardens and gather roses.

I translated the beginning as “gone down to” because the word yarad יָרַ֣ד means to descend more than just to go to.This is where the name Jerad comes from meaning like a person small in stature or he who descends. This is also the root of the Yardein or Jordan river because the river sits in a lowland.

This word here arugot עֲרֻג֖וֹת a plural of arugah it means bed or beds and often a garden bed or crop terrace but can also mean a human sleeping bed, but in general a rare word.

This word here lilkot לִלְקֹ֖ט means to pick up or to take and is associated with lakat לָקַט sort of meaning “takings or gleanings”. Which were the fallen crops on the ground that the poor were allowed to take and eat after harvest.

Chapter 7 verse 1

שׁ֤וּבִי שׁ֨וּבִי֙ הַשּׁ֣וּלַמִּ֔ית שׁ֥וּבִי שׁ֖וּבִי וְנֶֽחֱזֶה־בָּ֑ךְ מַֽה־תֶּֽחֱזוּ֙ בַּשּׁ֣וּלַמִּ֔ית כִּמְחֹלַ֖ת הַֽמַּֽחֲנָֽיִם:

Return, return O the Shulamit (usually written in English Shulamite), return, return and let them gaze upon you. What will you see in the Shulamit? As the dance of two camps (or maybe “as she dances for two camps”).

Now first things first ,if this is not chapter 7 verse 1 inn your bible you should find it in chapter 6 verse 13. There was no chapter and verse in ancient Bibles ;Hebrew or Greek, the Catholic church put those in much later. Different Bibles arrange chapter and verse in a different way and that does not mean anything was left out.

The opening “return, return” also can mean in a theological way “repent ,repent. So who were the Shulamites? Most likely from Shunem, a town in the Jezreel Valley, in the territory of Issachar, identified with the modern village of Sulam. It’s famous as the home of the hospitable Shunammite woman who hosted Elisha, and the birthplace of Abishag, David’s companion in old age, and was the site where Philistines camped before fighting Saul.

The word used for gaze or to see is nechezeh נֶֽחֱזֶה which means “we look” from Hazah which means vision but can also mean to look or gaze. The last part is often translated differently here. Some say “as the dance of two camps”. Others say: “As in the dance of two camps” and others say: (as she the Shulamite) danced in two camps”

In my mind “she danced in two camps” makes the most sense but that is not the most literal wording. However intuitively that is the most logical from my standpoint.

Chapter 7 verse 7

מַה־יָּפִית֙ וּמַה־נָּעַ֔מְתְּ אַֽהֲבָ֖ה בַּתַּֽעֲנוּגִֽים:

How beautiful you are, how pleasant you are, and your love a delight.

This is serious poetry and the parallel synonyms. We have verbal roots in all these words as: yafeh יָפֶה meaning beautiful and naamah נעמה meaning pleasant and taanug תענוג meaning pleasure or delight.

I think I have made my linguistic points so here is chapter 8 from the Complete Jewish Bible.

8 I wish you were my brother,
who nursed at my mother’s breast;
then, if I met you outdoors, I could kiss you,
and no one would look down on me.
² I would lead you and bring you to my mother’s house,
and she would instruct me.
I would give you spiced wine to drink,
fresh juice from my pomegranates.

³ His left arm would be under my head
and his right arm around me.

⁴ I warn you, daughters of Yerushalayim,
not to awaken or stir up love
until it wants to arise!

⁵ Who is this, coming up from the desert,
leaning on her darling?

I awakened you under the apple tree.
It was there that your mother conceived you;
there she who bore you conceived you.

⁶ Set me like a seal on your heart,
like a seal on your arm;
for love is as strong as death,
passion as cruel as Sh’ol;
its flashes are flashes of fire,
[as fierce as the] flame of Yah.
⁷ No amount of water can quench love,
torrents cannot drown it.
If someone gave all the wealth in his house for love,
he would gain only utter contempt.

⁸ We have a little sister;
her breasts are still unformed.
What are we to do with our sister
when she is asked for in marriage?
⁹ If she is a wall,
we will build on her a palace of silver;
and if she is a door,
we will enclose her with panels of cedar.

¹⁰ I am a wall, and my breasts are like towers;
so in his view I am like one who brings peace.

¹¹ Shlomo had a vineyard at Ba‘al-Hamon,
and he gave the vineyard to caretakers;
each of them would pay for its fruit
a thousand pieces of silver.
¹² My vineyard is mine; I tend it, myself.
You can have the thousand, Shlomo,
and the fruit-caretakers, two hundred!

¹³ You who live in the garden,
friends are listening for your voice.
Let me hear it! —

¹⁴     — Flee, my darling!
Be like a gazelle or young stag
on the mountains of spices.