01.17. Chapter 12 - Savior

Chapter 12 - Savior For I am Yahweh your God, the holy one of Israel, your Savior

Isaiah 43:3 The parent root which will lay the foundation for the words in this chapter is “[X” (sha’). The pictographic form of this word is “os.” The first letter is a picture of the two front teeth that are “sharp” for cutting. The second letter is an eye used for “watching.” Combined they mean, “sharp watching.” The Hebraic background of this word, and the child roots formed from it, is a shepherd who sharply or intently watches over his flock. The shepherd is continually watching the area for dangerous terrain or waters that may be hazardous to the flock as well as keeping an eye out for predators that may attack the flock. The shepherd carries the weapons of his trade, a staff for striking and a sling for throwing deadly round stones. When one from the flock is attacked, the shepherd jumps to his defense and repels the invader, rescuing the sheep. God is frequently compared to a shepherd as he also watches over his flock and delivers them from trouble.

“Yahweh is my shepherd”

Psalms 23:1

Delight The word “[X[X” (sha’ashua) is formed by doubling the parent root, a common means of intensifying a word, and is translated as “delight.” While the word “delight” is an abstract word, the Hebrew requires a more concrete understanding. One carefully watches over those things that he takes delight in. The shepherd takes delight in his flock and therefore, carefully watches over them much as we as parents take delight in our children and carefully watch over them.

“Your witnesses, men of counsel, intently watch over me.”

Psalms 119:24 “I long for your rescue Yahweh, your teachings intently watch over me.”

Psalms 119:174

Yahweh as our shepherd continually watches over us with delight. He gives us counselors and teachings that are meant to watch over us and lead us away from troubles. When we, as the sheep, come upon trouble, he is the shepherd who delivers us.

Cry out

Just as the shepherd hears the cry of one from his flock and comes to his rescue, God hears the cry of his people and come to their rescue. This imagery can be seen in God’s rescue of Israel from the bondage of the Egyptians.

“And Yahweh said, I have seen the oppression of my people which are in Egypt and their pleas I have heard because of the task masters, for I know their pain. And I will come down to snatch them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up from that land to a good and wide land to a land flowing with milk and honey.”

Exodus 3:7-8 From our parent root comes the child root “[wX” (shavah) meaning “to cry out.”

“In my trouble I call out to Yahweh and to my God I cry out.

He hears my voice from his Temple and my cry came before him in his ears.”

Psalms 18:6

God, as the shepherd of his flock, hears the cries of his sheep, he comes to their rescue delivering them from trouble and oppression.

Salvation The next child root is “[Xy” (yasha) and means “save,” “free,” “rescue” or “deliver.” The shepherd delivers his flock from the enemy and releases them back into the free, wide, open space of the pasture in freedom. The idea of being “saved” to the ancient Hebrew was not a future salvation into the world to come, but an immediate salvation from any enemy, trouble or distress. Throughout the Psalms David cries out to God to save him from his enemies.

“O LORD my God, in thee do I put my trust: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me.”

Psalms 7:1 (KJV) “I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.”

Psalms 18:3 (KJV) Derived from this child root is the word “h[wXy” (yeshuah), and means, “rescue.”

“I long for your rescue Yahweh, your teachings intently watch over me.”

Psalms 119:174 This word is most frequently translated as “salvation” but the concrete understanding of “rescue” is a more Hebraic understanding of the word. When the original context of this word, being a shepherd’s “careful watching” and “rescue,” is applied to “salvation,” we can more clearly see the author’s meaning as in the passages below.

“Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation.

He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defense;

I shall not be greatly moved.”

Psalms 62:1-2 (KJV) “Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation.”

Psalms 62:1 (KJV)

Savior A second word derived from the child root “[Xy” (yasha) is “[yXwm” (moshia), “one who delivers,” or a “deliverer,” such as the shepherd who delivers the sheep. During the days of the judges, God raises up deliverers to deliver Israel from the hands of their oppressors, beginning with Othniel.

“And the sons of Israel called out to Yahweh and Yahweh raised up a deliverer for the sons of Israel And Othniel son of Kenaz, the younger brother of Caleb saved them.”

Judges 3:9 This word is also translated as “savior” (or “saviour” in the old English of the King James Version).

“and all flesh shall know that I the LORD am thy saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty one of Jacob.”

Isaiah 49:26 (KJV)

Jesus “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

Matthew 1:21 (NIV) When we read the account of Joseph’s encounter with the angel regarding the birth of “Jesus,” we are told that there is a connection between the name “Jesus” and the idea that he will “save” his people. Because of the translation, the actual connection is lost.

God sent another Savior, Jesus. As names in our Western world are simple identifiers, the word “Jesus” has no intrinsic meaning. Because of this, the character of Jesus is diminished because the Hebraic meaning of the name has been lost through the translations. A history of how the name “Jesus” appeared will help us understand his function more clearly in a Hebraic sense.

We have discussed the Hebrew word “h[wXy” (yeshuah) which means “salvation,” or more Hebraicly, “rescue” or “deliver.” This word is a feminine word and is made masculine by dropping the final “h” (h) forming the masculine word “[wXy” (yeshua). This is the original Hebrew name of Jesus.

Through the centuries, the original name of Yeshua evolved into the Latin form “Jesus.” When the Greeks transliterated the Hebrew name Yeshua, the “Y” was transliterated into an “I” as Greek has no “Y” sound. The “Sh” was transliterated into an “S” for the same reason. Most Greek names end with an “S”: therefore, the “S” replaces the final “A.” The result being the Greek name “Iesus,” the familiar name found in the Greek New Testament. As we discussed with the name “Jehovah“, the “I” sound was written with a “J” in Latin. While the name “Jesus” appears in the Latin text, it was read as “Iesus.” Around the 17th Century the “J” became the “J” sound that we are familiar with today and we now pronounce the name as “Jesus.” As the original name of Jesus is “[wXy” (yeshua) from the word “h[wXy” (yeshuah), we find that the original meaning of his name is “rescue,” a picture of is his character or function. We now see the connection between his name and function.

“She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus (Yeshua), because he will save (yasha) his people from their sins.”

Matthew 1:21 (NIV)

Command The word “command” usually brings to mind a meaning similar to “the orders of a general to his troops which are to carried out without question or understanding.” This is another case where our Western culture has given an interpretation outside of its Hebraic context. Two related Hebrew words are translated as “command,” “wc” (tsav) and “hwcm” (mitsvah), both derived from the parent root “hc” (tsah).

Several other words derived from this parent word will provide the actual Hebraic context that will help us understand the meaning of “command” as understood by the Hebrews. The word “yyc” (tsiyiy) is a “nomad.” The shepherds were desert dwellers who traveled through the wilderness in search of water and pastures for the flocks. The Hebrew word “!wyc” can mean a “desert” or “landmark.” This word is also used as a place name and transliterated as Zion, the holy mountain of God. The nomad uses the various landmarks of the desert much like we use road signs to guide us to our destination. Another word is “acy” (yatsa) while usually translated as “to come out,” is the “migration” or the journeys of the nomad. The words “wc” (tsav) and “hwcm” (mitsvah) are literally the landmarks that point out the road to green pastures or figuratively the commands that point out the road to life. An interesting parallel can be seen in Israel’s journey to the Promised Land where they follow two roads, one literal and the other figurative. God as the shepherd brings Israel out of Egypt on a migration to the Promised Land, literally mount Zion in modern day Jerusalem. On this journey, God takes them through the desert by leading them from landmark to landmark. The second road is the journey of life where God gives the landmarks of morality to follow to bring them to a righteous life.

If a nomad walked hoping to stumble across one of his “landmarks,” he would become lost. Often in our walk through life we stumble across a situation that we recognize as an opportunity to perform a “command” of God. Just as the nomad must be actively in search of his “landmarks,” we, in the same manner, should be actively searching for applications to the “commands” of God. When we are told to “feed the hungry” or “visit the sick,” we are not to stumble across a hungry or sick person, rather we are to be searching for them.