Phillip Lerner, «Redefining h)lth. An Assurance of Israel’s Return
to the Land in Jethro’s Covenant», Vol. 87 (2006) 402-411
Though it is recognized that Exod 18,1-12 contains treaty making elements, there
seems to be very little evidence of the nature of this treaty. The term h)lth is reexamined
and redefined as “the suffering that is encountered due to the helpless
nature of being forsaken”. The phrase wnt)cm r#) h)lth lk, found in Exod 18,8,
is demonstrated to be a technical phrase with certain common characteristics that
is used as surety that Israel will be fully restored to their land. In addition to
providing more details of Jethro’s covenant, this phrase, in combination with
several other terms in Exod 18,1-12, narrows the possibilities regarding the
covenant’s nature and function.
404 Phillip Lerner
has traditionally been translated as “to be weary, impatient†(11). However, the
blanket use of this translation has slowly changed to occasionally include the
meanings “to become tired of something, give up†(12). Though the element of
weariness or fatigue is definitely a conceptual part of hal the current
translations don’t always do justice to the extent of the weariness. We would
suggest that when the term is used, the subject of hal is not just impatient, i.e.
teetering on the brink of giving up, but they have actually decided to quit.
Therefore, we would like to offer the translation “forsake, give up on,
abandonâ€. This term is often used at the point of transition between God’s
efforts to still help and when he turns to a punishing and exilic theme.
One of the most basic examples of this meaning is found in Gen 19,11,
“And they struck with blindness the men who were at the door of the house,
both small and great, so that they were unable to find the doorâ€. The obvious
intention of this verse is that they stopped looking, “they forsook finding the
doorwayâ€, not that they were fatigued (13).
A more involved example of this use is found in Isa 1,14, “Your new
moons and your appointed festivals my soul hates; they have become a
burden to me, I am weary of bearing themâ€. Though this is usually translated
as “weary†it should be understood more in the sense that God is “‘fed up,’
weary and disgusted before this tedious ordeal†(14). In other words, God’s
patience is not just being tried here but it has broken. The Lord will “no longer
participate in the charade of receiving gifts from people who are not
sincere…the relationship is over and finished!†(15). hal is used at a point of
transition, now God will hide his eyes from his people and no longer listen to
them. He has “given up on†or “forsaken bearing themâ€.
hal is sometimes introduced in the context of a covenantal rift in which
the people are punished and sent into exile. Jer 15,6 says, “You have rejected
me, says the LORD, you are going backward; so I have stretched out my hand
against you and destroyed you – I am weary of relentingâ€. God then proceeds
to describe the destruction that he will bring upon them, including exile. Here
he is not at a point of indecision or hesitation but of determination (16). Indeed,
(11) F. BROWN – S.R. DRIVER – C.A. BRIGGS, The New Hebrew and English Lexicon of
the Old Testament (Lafayette, IN 1981) 521. A secondary translation already present here
is “to be impatientâ€.
(12) L. KOEHLER – W. BAUMGARTEN, The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old
Testament (Leiden 1995) 512 (on Gen 19,11). Murtonen translates the root as “to be unable
(to), to grow weary, give up†in A. MURTONEN, Hebrew in its West Semitic Setting. A
Comparative Survey of non-Masoretic Dialects and Traditions (Leiden 1988) 199. CLINES,
The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew, 495 translates the Nif. form to “be weary, be unable,
weary oneself, languishâ€.
(13) According to KOEHLER – BAUMGARTEN, The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the
Old Testament, 512 “give upâ€. This is in contrast to CLINES, The Dictionary of Classical
Hebrew, 495 which follows the classic meaning rigidly, “and they became too weak to find
the entranceâ€. Another example of this kind of use is found in Ezek 24,12, “It has frustrated
all efforts; its heavy deposit has not been removed, not even by fireâ€. The emphasis seems
to be on the object of the action’s ability to frustrate or cause the acting agent to give up.
(14) B.S. CHILDS, Isaiah (Louisville 2001) 19.
(15) W. BRUEGGEMANN, Isaiah 1–39 (Louisville 1998) 17-18.
(16) The purpose of 14,1-15,9 “serves to identify the destruction of Jerusalem as an
event which could not be preventedâ€. “Neither prayers nor sacrifices were operative on their
behalfâ€. R.P. CARROLL, The Book of Jeremiah. A Commentary (Philadelphia 1986) 323.