Language Studies

Hebrew Thoughts

’âhêbh/’âhabh, ''to love/he loved'', and synonyms - אָהַב (Strong's #157)

"And He said, 'Take now your son, your only one, Isaac, whom you love. And go into the land of Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will name to you.'" (Genesis 22:2, NKJ)

Hebrew words are almost universally derived from active verbs hence "love" is not a noun or a state but an action such as "he loved, he is loving". Whilst Greek can say "God is love", Hebrew says "God loves" or "God is a lover".

This root verb אָהַב (Strong's #157, x208) occurs over 200 times in the Hebrew Scriptures and can range in meaning from physical even gluttonous appetite to God's love for His people. In between are its uses for the love, platonic and sexual, between people. However, its primary definition may come from its first use in the Bible.

The first use of the word "love" in Scripture is in Genesis 22:2, a very significant passage as it occurs in the context of a Father's love and sacrifice. It is a passage which shows that true love does not "hold on" but "lets go". It is also significant as the major passage where Abraham makes a prophetic remez, "hint", about the means of God's eventual means of redemption for all mankind because of His Fatherly love.

You will find in this passage (cited above) a beautiful hint at God's salvation plan. Not only is the sacrifice of an only son portrayed before us, who carries his own wood on his back as Jesus carried his cross, but Abraham says that God Himself will provide a lamb for the offering in lieu of his own son, Isaac. What in fact happens is that God provides a ram, a different Hebrew word, with the hidden hint that the "lamb" is yet to come. Later, Abraham is described as God's friend (2 Chronicles 20:7) although it is the verb "to love" again, so we could call Abraham God's lover in a non-sexual sense. Whilst we see love between father and child mentioned in the binding of Isaac nowhere does the Bible use ’âhabh of the emotion between children and parents, perhaps the Bible, at least, regards it as enough for them to respect and obey.

The Hebrew noun for "love" אַהַב (Strong's #158, x2) ’ahabh, like its parent verb, is onomatopoeic^F1, sounding like a beating heart or breathing chest. It only occurs twice, in the plural, e.g., "A lovely hind and a graceful doe, let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; with her love be thou ravished always." (Proverbs 5:19)

The simplest root behind אָהַב ’ahabh may not be אהב ’hb but the bilateral (2 consonant) root הב hab or hab or with the intial letter softened further into an 'aleph producing אב or או. Arabic has habba "to blow" and habba "to love", ahabb means "more desirable, more lovely". Another word אָהָב ’âbhâh (Strong's #14) with the 'h' and 'b' transposed means "to desire".

There is another Hebrew word עָגַב ‘âghabh (Strong's #5689) for love which sounds like the Greek agapê but this is more commonly used of impure love and lust. It occurs a handful of times almost exclusively in Ezekiel 23 (verses 5,7,9,12,16,20) and once in Jeremiah 4:30. Its derived nouns occur again only in Ezekiel to describe false love, as with עֲגֶב 'eghebh (Strong's #5690) used in Ezekiel 33:31-32 "with their mouth they show much love but their heart goes after covetousness".

It is often said that the only true word for love in the Christian sense is agapê-love. However, Hebrew does not really distinguish words for love into a dozen categories (except perhaps in the Ezekiel case above) like Greek with αγαπη agapê (Strong's #26), φιλεω phileô (Strong's #5368), ερος eros etc. Rather, it has just one or two for all uses. Hence the Hebrew word for love could be used for everything from brotherly friendship (phileô) through to sex (eros) and to divine or fatherly love (agapê).

Nevertheless, Hebrew parallelism does betray some parallel terms for 'love'.

"I have loved (’ahabh) you with an everlasting love;
therefore with loving-kindness (cheçedh) I have drawn you" (Jeremiah 31:3)

This Hebrew poetic parallelism (saying the same thing twice with different words or phrases) betrays the similarity between the two Hebrew terms ’ahabh and חֶסֶד cheçedh (Strong's #2617, 248). The latter word is sometimes translated "grace". God's Old Testament love is full of grace and loving-kindness and "woos" or "draws" us.

Perhaps another Hebrew word for love is חָבַב châbhabh (Strong's #2245), which is again similar in sound. It properly means "to hide" or "cherish", as in to be buried in someone's chest or hidden in God's hand and therefore His protection and care, as in its only Biblical use in Deuteronomy 33:3.

A final interesting word is חָשַׁק châshaq (Strong's #2836) which means to "join together or bind to", it is used of objects in the Tabernacle being bound together (e.g., Exodus 27:17; 38:17). It occurs in significant passages regarding God's love for His people, Israel, e.g., Deuteronomy 7:7; 10:15; Isaiah 38:17, and the individual's love for God, Psalm 91:14. Yet its first and also later occurrences include the love and desire between two people of the opposite sex (Genesis 34:8).

All these other words for love occur just a few times each whereas אָהַב ’âhabh is the most consistently occurring form and is used in the verses that summarise the Tôrah law and Divine commandments that man should "love" God with all his being (Deuteronomy 6:5) and his neighbour and stranger as himself (Leviticus 19:18,34; Deuteronomy 10:18-19).

אָהַב ’âhabh is used of God's love for man in verses such as the following: Deuteronomy 4:37; 7:13; 10:15,18-19; 23:5(v6 in Hebrew); 2 Samuel 12:24 (God's love for Solomon, the offspring of David and Bathsheba); Isaiah 43:4; 48:14; Hosea 11:1.

According to Scripture (Psalms 11:7; 33:5; 37:28; cf. Proverbs 15:9) God loves two things: צְדָקָה tsedhâqâh "righteousness" and צַדִּיק tsaddîyq the "righteous man" (Strong's #6666 & #6662); מִשְׁפָּט mish'pât 'justice and judgement' (Strong's #4941).

A noun that means "beloved" is דּוֹד dôwdh (Strong's #1730), it is related to the Hebrew name David, both derive from a root verb meaning to "boil up, be fervent". It is used for the word "uncle" and 8 of 61 uses do try to speak of love more abstractly but it is interesting that in so doing they only use the plural form, דּוֹדִים dôdhîym, signifying that love always takes two.

Other Hebrew words which also contain the idea of love include חֶסֶד cheçedh "love, mercy, loving kindness, grace" and רָחַם râcham "to be tender and compassionate".

FOOTNOTES:
F1: Onomatopoeic refers to the formation of words and names from sounds that are associated with the given object or action, e.g., cu-ckoo; the word derives from the Greek onomatos 'name' and poieô 'to make'.

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