I love etymology – the study of words and word origins and how their meanings have changed throughout history. There was a time when “cool” meant not hot or cold. Then cool described someone who was hip and fashionable, someone to be admired and emulated. From there cool came to mean aloof, and then it evolved into dispassionate or unemotional – which could be a good thing or a bad thing. A cool person was unruffled in a crisis. Or they completely disengage with others. A cool retort, a cool movie, a cool snap in the weather, a cool dude, a cool demeanor – they all used the same word but applied different meanings.
The ruling principle in hermeneutics – the interpretation and application of the Scriptures – is to discern the author’s original intent and the best way to do that is to research the original language of the text. I have discovered so many fascinating and challenging things by studying the Bible with a concordance at the ready. (And don’t forget about the importance of context, context, context.)
Here is a cool word study (did you see what I did there?) as an example. In the creation account, after all the birds and animals and creatures were named, the Scriptures says: “But for Adam, no suitable helper was found” (Gen 2:20). The word helper is ezer and it means one who assists or supports in times of hardship and struggle. It is the same word used by the Psalmist to describe the Lord: “We wait in hope for the Lord; He is our help and our shield” (Ps 33:20). (We’ll dig into “shield” another day – fascinating!). When the Israelites defeated the Philistines in Mizpah, Samuel set up a stone of remembrance and named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far has the Lord helped us” (1 Sam 7:12). Robert Robertson wrote the hymn “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” and included the line: “Here I raise my Ebenezer” a reference to this passage and to God’s help in his own life.
One of my favorite words is “Messiah” – the divine title of the Lord Jesus. In the ancient Hebrew, “ah” was the root word for “the Lord.” A name that ended in “ah” always referenced the Lord. Now I’m taking a little creative license here, but look at the word again and think about this: Have you ever gotten yourself in a mess? Jesus is the Messiah. Do you see it Beloved? Jesus is Lord (ah) over the mess (Mess) I (i) made of my life. That’s good news for us messy people!!
Deeper Roots 