The author obtained a Biblical Theology Doctorate (STD) from the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome. Since 2010, he has been working as a full time faculty member of the Theology Department of the University of St. Thomas, Houston (TX). Orcid: 0000-0003-2040-5569. E-mail: drosale@stthom.edu
Corresponding author. E-mail: drosale@stthom.edu
This study presents a philological and semantic essay of the verb אמן in order to uncover the semantic Wortfeld of its
El estudio presenta un ensayo filológico y semántico del verbo אמן con el fin de resaltar el valor semántico de su Wortfeld en la conjugación
The Sacred Scripture articulates in a theological manner diverse phenomenological manifestations of conviction and security encountered through an experiential relationship with God.
Such historical contexts with its respective linguistics usage imply, other than the moment of the revelation itself, a way of expression of the revealed truth through the faith of Israel as it evolved from the moment of its concrete experience until it had been conveyed within fixed theological and linguistic notions.
Following this methodological reasoning, the semantic analysis of the vocabulary of faith employed by the hagiographers must be the essential platform on which to discover its theological value. The semantic examination uncovers the original semantic nucleus of the verb
Alfred Jepsen encounters this issue exposing the possible archaic meanings of the root, using comparative analysis with different languages such as Arabic, Aramaic, and Syriac.
Therefore, the current essay presents a semantic analysis of the verb of
As one of the branches of semantics, Semasiology studies a specific word or lexeme starting from its form, then analyzes and decodes the diverse meanings associated with it throughout the different texts and historical contexts in which a term may appear. Semasiology also studies the semantic changes of a term, as it is in the particular case of the shoresh
While this essay does not pretend to offer a solution to this philological problem, its purpose
is to reconsider the semantic value of
In the books of the Old Testament
There are five forms of the
Moberly’s opinion represents the predominant academic line of thought that is also attested to in the considerable work of Wildberger.
Without denying the significant biblical contributions in the elucidations of the shoresh in
Following this line of thought, the reader could infer from this predominant academic line of thought the
Noticing this deafening silence of the analysis of the verb
It is important to acknowledge that the semantic values of one
conjugation can be found
expressed in other
conjugations of the same verb throughout the different
semantic nuances that
the Semitic authors
used in order
to express the
deep
In the field of Biblical Hebrew syntax, it is traditionally
accepted that the simplest
conjugation
is
The
Consequently, it is possible to affirm that in the case of the root
The verb
However, the Masoretic Text exclusively presents the verb
The text of Num 11,12
The
passage of
Isa 49,23
The prophetic poem presents the figure of a mother (Sion) who is unprotected and abandoned. In her despair, she invoked YHWH (Isa 49,14) who replies as a empathic mother who cannot forget and abandon her own children (Isa 49,15). The oracle’s divine answer is developed through images of care, nourishment, and restoration corresponding to that of a maternal love that radically changed the humiliating situation of the exiles. After experiencing the destruction of Jerusalem and the people of Israel are forced to leave their land, Isa 49,23 describes their drastic transformation through their exile. The peripeteia of the event is described by the adoption of the kings of the nations who become their guardians and protectors (
The verb
For this reason Gesenius suggests that the Greek παιδαγωγός is the most appropriate term to translate
In the passage of Esther 2,20, the narrator affirms that Esther followed Mordecai’s instructions while she was under his “care” (
Another example of the usage of the verb in
The passage of Ruth 4,16 maintains the same semantic line.
Following the semantic line of the
The
The Hebrew verb comprises a number of conjugations: a simple conjugation, called
The nuances that are usually translated as to trust, to believe, to be faithful, certain, reliable, stability, etc., are embraced in the
The
The text of Isaiah 60,4 encompasses an important
significance for the present
study. The verb is used in a passive
or reflexive form,
having the same semantic
value of
It is important to highlight the semantic field of parental protection in
The paternal and maternal notions, however, remain as the basic semantic substratum which expresses the primary meaning of the verb, which is the action of covering, taking care, and protecting. This typical parental attitude toward an innocent creature resides as the basic platform of the action to believe at its primeval semantic notion. This semantic cross-domain mapping is the cognitive process of creating an ontological metaphor in which one takes a concept formed from a human parental experience (personal physical space) serving as a source domain for metaphors of faith and trust which are the abstractions or conceptualization of theological notions to develop.
Keeping in mind
this connotation, the
reader can then
apply the same
semantic nuance of the studied verb to a theological field in which the people of Israel have
similar experiences with God. This means that Israel believes
(meaning in
The term
The verb often is translated as “to be faithful”, which has become the stereotypical meaning of this verb in
The verb in
The same semantic spectrum, when applied to God, acquires a richer value by way of analogy. When God becomes the subject of the verb, multiple semantic levels interplay simultaneously in the narrative, so that the term expresses a rich polysemy that cannot be adequately articulated in any other translation. Hence, modern translations only offer or reflect one single dimension of the polysemy. In the Masoretic Text, the person of YHWH is essentially described with the notion of
The
The Deuteronomistic theology
does not admit
any flaws in the representation of YHWH in its narratives.
The text describes this essential detail of YHWH’s nature that is interconnec- ted with his being
For this reason, the obedience of Israel to the divine law (
The book of the prophet Isaiah also applies the same semantic connotation when the sacred author
talks about the fidelity of YHWH towards
the one who has
been
rejected and marginalized. The figure of the servant of the Lord
The verse follows the same narrative and theological pattern of humiliation of the servant who ultimately would be acknowledged by all the kings and exalted by God himself who according to his divine nature is faithful (
In the pericope of Jer 42,5 (
The causative conjugation called
The
Regarding this query, Walther Eichrodt
presents a significant observation that states that the
An illustrative example of this semantic line is offered in the pericope of Exod 4,1-9.
The usage of
The reader must observe that the action of believing is certified with the visible deeds (
That faith, resulting from the historical manifestations of YHWH, becomes a certain “knowledge” (
The Old Testament does not describe faith according to epistemological definitions of the Western philosophical mindset. Faith, in the first Testament, embraces concrete and pragmatic conceptions that came out of the experiences of God’s deeds on behalf of his people. It is a phenomenological understanding of faith that implies the complete abandonment into the hands of God who is as certain and reliable as parents are for their children.
Another illustrative example of this line of thought is given by the comments of Von Rad when he analyzes the faith of Abraham, in Gen 15,6. The post-exilic text uses the verb in
The verb
The “historical dimension” implies the retrospective view that serves to guarantee any person who has placed his/her trust and security in YHWH that no matter what happens the faithful will not be disappointed. Through the historical proof of the past events the faithful have certainty that the same divine behavioral pattern remains constant through time, implying that the same parental activity of God will continue forward into the present time with an implicit eschatological dimension.
Among their contextual diversities, the Psalms
present magnificent pheno- menological expressions of faith
that are so practical and realistic that the psalmist has the conviction that whatever God proclaims must be accomplished and fulfilled during his own span of life.
The confidence of the psalmist
makes him place
his faithful trust in YHWH in his present
time. An illustrative sample of this
theological tradition is Psalm 27,13
The psalmist utters an absolute belief in YHWH that rejects any possible scenario of accomplishment in the world to come (eschatological dimension). The fulfillment of the divine promises will not be experienced in the future generations but in the present time of the psalmist. Such unconditional certainty does not give any space for the waiting time that is beyond the present vital moment.
The conception of
From a diachronic standpoint, the basic semantic
notion of the root
The same line of thought can be appreciated in the use of the basic meaning in its passive form (
The traditional meanings expressed in
If the different meanings of the same root are used at the same time, which one supposes to be the most archaic or basic meaning? From the standpoint of the cognitive linguistics, the notions of
This human experience serves as the
experiential basis for
understanding the more abstract
notions of education, discipline, trust, faithfulness, faith, and belief. Therefore, the
These “semantic lines” give a broader significance to the notions of security, trust, fidelity, and truth expressed in the
Therefore, the experience of faith in Israel is based upon a relationship of love with YHWH who is father and mother conjointly. According to this line of thought, one may comprehend all the metaphors and expressions of God’s love as manifested in the Psalms, the
The present biblical essay is the result of a philological and semantic research for a conference presented at the Pastoral Theological Congress on the Year of the Faith at the Pontifical Seminary of Thomas Aquinas of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Vatican Council II, “Dogmatic Constitution
Janda, “Cognitive Linguistics in the year 2015”, 131.
Jepsen affirms
that “when we do not know the original meaning,
the development of a word can lead us far from that meaning to something
entirely different” (Jepsen, “
Ibid., 292-293.
Koehler and Baumgartner do not see this semantic
correlation implied in the same root
of
Jepsen, "
“Sachexegese designates the effort to interpret the words of the Bible in light of the Bible’s own cen- tral concern, i. e., God. The term is approximately equivalent to theological exegesis of theological interpretation.” (Soulen and Soulen, Handbook of Biblical Criticism, 165)
Ibid., 165-166.
Andrason and Van der Merwe, “The Semantic Potential of Verbal Conjugations as set of PolysemousSenses”, 74.
T. C. Vriezen interprets the
lexeme
Nöth,
The Masoretic text used is from Karl Elliger and Wilhelm Rudolph (dir.),
The vocabulary of faith is not limited
to the philological family of the Hebrew
root of
Wildberger, “
Ibid., 428.
Wildberger, “
Moberly,
“
Joüon and Muraoka,
Ibid.
Ibid, I, 149, No. 51a.
Ibid, I, 160, No. 54a.
Arnold and Choi,
For example, the verb
Feminine participle: 2 Sam 4,4; Ruth 4,16. Masculine participle: Num 11,12; 2 Kgs 10,1.5; Esther 2,7; Isa 49,23.
Brown, Driver, and Briggs, “
Janda, “Cognitive Linguistics in the Year 2015”, 134. Janda uses the example of the basic experiences of babies who began to understand the notion of in and out by putting an object in and out of their mouth.
In the same way the sacred authors
used the basic
existential experience of protection, nourishment, care, and sustenance as the embodied cognitive experience that
functions as the
point of reference to describe other cognitive notions, like faith,
belief, trust, and
faithfulness. Evans and
Green, when describing the cognitive grammar
constructions, especially the
verbal constructions, affirm:
“…if a unit
is phonologically dependent it is likely
to be semantically dependent as well, and if it is phonologically autonomous, it is also likely
to be semantically autonomous” (Evans
and Green,
Num 11,12 had its final textual form in the post-exile as a result of priestly writers, but the text reflects a J tradition that can be dated circa 8th century BCE (Knierim and Coats,
The biblical citations are taken from the
Seebass,
The maternal image used to describe the relationship of YHWH with his people is rare in the Old Testament. The following texts of the prophet Isaiah convey the maternal dimension of YHWH in the MT: Isa 49,15; 66,13. There are also metaphors that describe the motherly attitude of YHWH with Israel through the literary image of an eagle and her chicks, e.g., Ex 19,4; Deut 32,11.
Noth,
The pericope of Isa 49,14-26 belongs to the section of the Deutero-Isaiah (chapters 40-55). This section of the book can be placed during and at the end of the Babylonian Empire, namely, the latter part of the exile ca. 550 BCE and the beginning of the return to Jerusalem ca. 535 BCE (Thompson,
JPS: Jewish Publication Society of Holy Scriptures (1917). Electronic text Copyright © 1995-1998 by Larry Nelson (Cathedral City, CA, 92235).
The general structure of the pericope presents six parts: (1) The lament of Sion (v. 14); (2) the divine confirmation given in a form of a rhetorical question (v.15: see also Isa 40,27-28); (3) the promise of the reconstruction of the city: Jerusalem (vv.16-17); (4) the re-population of the city (vv. 18-21); (5) the return of the people from the diaspora (vv. 22-23); and (6) the proclamation of the divine protection. See Blenkinsopp,
Wilson,
Jepsen, “
Gesenius, “
The recent
studies of Albert
Friedberg and Vincent
DeCaen state that the book was composed
of or manifests stages
of composition at some point
during the end of the Babylonian exile
and on towards the beginning of the Persian
period. They affirm
the book took its final
form during the fifth century. Friedberg and DeCaen, “Dating
the Composition of the Book of Esther. A Response to Larsson”, 427-428. Reid
argues that the book probably began to be written in the fifth century BCE,
without negating the probability that its final
form was established between the third
and the second
century BCE (Reid,
“Significatio fundamentalis istorum terminorum videtur ese illa sustentandi, portandi, inde fit significatio translata educandi, curam habendi” (Alfaro, “Fides in terminologia biblica“, 463-464).
Jepsen, “
The pericope of 2Kings 10,5 offers the same semantic notion:
Gray,
Most of the academic opinions place the book of Ruth between
the exile and post exile,
namely between the end of
the Babylonian and Persian dominions. McKeown deals with the puzzle of the
dating of the book of Ruth, indicating that are not conclusive the literary evidence
of the book, since it presents
archaism that denote a pre-exilic period and Aramaisms
that reveal a Persian period (McKeown,
Sasson,
Jepsen, “
Mandelkern,
Alfaro, “Fides in terminologia biblica”, 464.
Janda, “Cognitive Linguistics in the Year 2015”, 140-141; Lakoff and Johnson,
Joüon
and Muraoka,
Ibid., I, 124, No. 40a.
See
part of this academic debate regarding the basic meaning of the root
Joüon
and Muraoka,
Jepsen, “
Motyer,
Blenkinsopp,
Von Rad,
Janda, “Cognitive Linguistics in the Year 2015”, 140-141; Lakoff, “Conceptual Metaphor. Contem- porary Theory of Mataphor”, 185-186; 232-233.
Weiser, “πιστεύω”, 183-184; Joüon and Muraoka, A Grammar of Biblical Hebrew, I, No. 40a.51a.
Moberly, “
Jepsen, “
The text of 1Sam 22,14 is placed during
the exile by Noth and Smend, but Frank Moore
Cross places it during
the time of the Monarchy
of king Josiah,
circa the seventh
century (Campbell and O’Brien,
Ibid., 545; Mabee, “Judicial Instrumentality in the Ahimelech Story”,
29. See also Note 30 of the same
page.
Other examples of
Moberly, “
Jepsen, “
The text of Isa 49 can be placed at the end of the Babylonian exile and the beginning of the Persian dominion (Stuhlmuller, “Deutero-Isaiah and Trito-Isaiah”, 330). Regarding the book of Deuteronomy,
the first speech of Moses
(Deut 1,1-4,40) reflects eighth to seventh
century material, the
second speech (Deut 5-26)
reflects the time of the Judean monarchy
during the Persian
Period and the Josianic reform of the seventh century BCE, and
the third speech (Deut 29,2-32,47) reflects the exilic community during the Babylonian period,
after the destruction of Jerusalem. Even though the material is archaic
the final form of the book was established during the end of the exile (Brueggermann,
Von Rad,
Wildberger,
“
Nelson,
Wildberger, “
Childs,
Ibid.;
Blenkinsopp,
“Thus says YHWH: At the time of my favour I have answered you, on the day of salvation I have helped you. I have formed you and have appointed you to be the covenant for a people, to restore the land, to return ravaged properties” (Is 49,8 NJB).
Jepsen, “
Joüon
and Muraoka,
The LXX predominantly translates
the
Weiser, “πιστεύω”, 186;
Jepsen, “
Wildberger,
“
Eichrodt,
The book of Exodus reflects material
and layers of composition that can be dated between
the ninth and eighth
century BCE, but there is also material
that reflects the post-exilic era, during the Persian
dominion and the beginning of the second
Temple era, time in which probably
was established the book
in its final form (Bruckner,
Durham,
The texts
of the books of Proverbs
and Job indicate
the use of the
The verses
of Exod 14,30-31
present synthetic précis
of Chapter 14. In the last two verses the sacred
author affirms the superiority of YHWH who overcame the Egyptian power. See Durham,
Exod 19,9 makes reference
to the advent of YHWH who demands
a proper preparation where God can speak
openly to Moses
in a public setting. The purpose of this public
setting is to ratify Moses
as the unquestionable leader of the people. See Durham,
The only source of salvation is YHWH and Israel has seen it (
See 2Chron 20,20:
“¡Trust (
The trust
in God many times is narrated from a negative
point of view in the sacred texts
because Israel continuously disobeys
God and his commandments, giving
proof to their
flawed trust that makes them incapable of honoring the mitzvoth of the covenant.
The Israelite behavioral pattern demonstrates an essential skepticism to the divine
providence, manifesting itself in sharp
contrast with God’s faithful
deeds. The action
of believing requires, then, the action
of acceptance that God himself
is true and operates
always in favor of the
one who has
placed his/her trust
in him. The
semantic notion of faith—manifested
in the
Von
Rad,
Idem,
The notion
of the tested rock has a rich hermeneutical history
manifested in the Psalms (e.g.,
Psalm 27,5; 28,1; 61,13)
and the prophetic writings. The image
suggest theological, spiritual, and architectural
notions. See Wildberger,
Kaiser,
The Psalm 27 may reflect
a pre-exilic situation as well as a time
of the end
of the exile
and post-exile. It is impressive the wisdom character of the psalm
that alludes to a post-exilic period. The Psalm
27 can be divided in two clear sections: (1) 27,1-6 which
expresses the courage
of faith of the psalmist
in God; and
(2) 27,7-14 which
expresses the path that leads
to God, describing the faith and conviction of the psalmist in the Lord (Weiser,
See 2 Sam 4,4; Ruth 4,16; Num 11,2; 2 Kgs 10,1.5; Esther 2,7.
The episode
of a young David illustrates this historical and theological conception of “trust”
and “faith” based upon the experiences of “protection”: 1 Sam 17,34-37. See Tsumura,
Isa 49, 14-26; Esther 2,7; Ruth 4,16; Num 11,12; 2 Kgs 10,1.5.
See the references of Num 11,2 and 2Kgs 10,1.5.
Examples in nifal: Isa 49,7; Deut 7,9; Jer 42,5; Num 12,7; Prov 11,13; 25,13; 27,6; Neh 13,13; 1 Sam 22,14; Psalm 101,6; Job 12,20. Examples in hifil: Exod 4,1-9; 14,31; 19,9; Gen 15,6; Isa 28,16; Psalm 27,13; 1Sam 27,12; Prov 26,25; Job ,18.
The oracles
of Jeremiah began
to be collected at the
end of the
seventh century and
the first half
of the sixth century,
but the final
form of the book can be dated
approximately at the end of the Babylonian exile or soon after
it (Sharp,
Janda, “Cognitive Linguistics in the Year 2015”,
134-135; Fitch,
Janda, “Cognitive Linguistics in the Year 2015”, 140-141.
Lakoff and Johnson,
See Hosea 11,1-9 and Ps 72,19-22.