09.3. Hebrew idioms and phrases

9.3. Hebrew idioms and phrases The following Hebrew idioms and phrases will give an indication of some of the differences between Hebrew and English.

·    ‘Edge of the sword’ (Genesis 34:26) is literally ‘mouth of the sword’.

·    ‘The bank of the river’ (Ezekiel 47:6) is literally ‘the lip of the river’.

·    ‘The LORD made a covenant with Abram’ (Genesis 15:18) is literally ‘the LORD cut a covenant with Abram’.

·    ‘You will see a king’ (Isaiah 33:17) is literally ‘Your eyes will see a king’.

‘Song of Songs’ (Song of Solomon 1:1). This is the translation of a Hebrew superlative phrase. The Hebrew phrase ‘song of the songs’, denotes the song par excellence. Some modern translations try to bring this out in the following way: ‘The most beautiful of songs’ (TEV) and ‘This is Solomon’s song of songs, more wonderful than any other’ (NLT). Solomon is said to have composed 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs. Out of all his 1,005 songs, this one was the best! This one, which is a love song, was inspired by the Holy Spirit. There are a few other well-known superlative phrases in the Old Testament, such as:

·    ‘The holy of holies’ means the most holy place (Exodus 29:37).

·    ‘God of the gods and Lord of the Lords’ means ‘the most high God and the Supreme Lord’ (Deuteronomy 10:17). This is the God we worship; there is no one like Him.