The Heart Grieves--XIX

Grief is the antithetical emotion of joy, and like joy, it is caused by impressions on the mind, but unlike joy, it results from influences which violate the inmost wishes and desires of human beings. 26 different Hebrew words ascribe grief to the heart. Almost every passage in the Hebrew Bible contributing to a knowledge of this emotion has a different word to describe it. Here we will deal with a few of these Hebrew words, and will continue in the next blog.

1. The Hebrew root r`` occurs FOUR times expressing grief.
     a. ra`a`, literally "to be evil, bad," occurs TWICE with the Hebrew noun lebhabh, "heart," meaning "be sad." Deuteronomy 15:10 says:
        "Give liberally and BE UNGRUDGING [Literally, do not let your heart be sad] when you do so,
          for on this account the Lord your God will bless you
          in all your work and in all that you undertake."
         1 Samuel 1:8 says:
          "Her [Hannah's] husband Elkanah said to her,
            'Hannah, why do you weep?           
             Why do you not eat?
              WHY IS YOUR HEART SAD?
              Am I not more to you than ten sons?'"

      b.The cognate adjective ra` occurs once with heart. Proverbs 25:20 says:
          "Like vinegar on a wound
                is one who sings songs in a heavy heart.
            Like a moth in clothing or a worm in wood,
                SORROW GNAWS IN THE HUMAN HEART."

      c.The cognate noun ro'a appears once with heart in Nehemiah 2:2.
          "So the king [Artaxerxes] said to me,
            'Why is your face sad, since you are not sick?
             THIS CAN ONLY BE SADNESS OF THE HEART.'
            Then I was very much afraid."

2. Hebrew words meaning "to pierce, smite, break," appear with "heart" suggesting sorrow.
     a. The Hebrew verb halal, "to bore, pierce," appears in Psalm 109:22 [Heb. 109:23]:
         "For I am poor and needy,
                AND MY HEART IS PIERCED WITHIN ME."

      b. The Hebrew verb nakhah, "to smite," occurs in Psalm 102:4 [Heb. 102:5]:
          "MY HEART IS STRICKEN and withered like grass;
                I am too wasted to eat my bread."

      c. The Hebrew verb shabhar, "to break, break in pieces," appears twice with heart in the Hebrew Bible.
          The composer of Psalm 69:20 [Heb. 69:21] says:
           "INSULTS HAVE BROKEN MY HEART,
                  so that I am in despair.
             I looked for pity, but there was none;
                  and for comforters, but I found none."

           Jeremiah begins his oracle concerning the false prophets in Judah in Jeremiah 23:9:
           "Concerning the prophets:
             MY HEART IS CRUSHED WITHIN ME,
                   and my bones shake;
              I have become like a drunkard,
                   like one overcome by wine,
              because of the Lord
                   and because of his holy words."

[To be continued in the next blog]
Share YOUR grievances and anxieties and fears and concerns and reversals with others. Let me hear from YOU.

John Willis