Book of Psalm Chapter 83 Vs. 4
O God, Do Not Keep Silence
Psm. 83:4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
They have said,...
אָמַר
’āmar: A verb meaning to say. It is translated in various ways depending on the context. It is almost always followed by a quotation. In addition to vocal speech, the word refers to thought as internal speech (2Sam. 13:32; Est. 6:6). Further, it also refers to what is being communicated by a person's actions along with his words (Exo. 2:14; 2Chr. 28:13).
Come,...
הָלַךּ
hālaḵ: A verb meaning to go, to come, to walk. This common word carries with it the basic idea of movement: the flowing of a river (Gen. 2:14); the descending of floods (Gen. 8:3); the crawling of beasts (Lev. 11:27); the slithering of snakes (Lev. 11:42); the blowing of the wind (Ecc. 1:6); the tossing of the sea (Jon. 1:13). Since it is usually a person who is moving, it is frequently translated "walk" (Gen. 48:15; 2Sam. 15:30). Like a similar verb dāraḵ, meaning to tread, this word is also used metaphorically to speak of the pathways (i.e., behavior) of one's life. A son could walk in (i.e., follow after) the ways of his father (2Chr. 17:3) or not (1Sam. 8:3). Israel was commanded to walk in the ways of the Lord (Deu. 28:9), but they often walked after other gods (2Kgs. 13:11).
and let us cut them off...
כָּחַד
kāḥaḏ: A verb meaning to hide, to conceal, to cut off, to destroy. It has the basic idea of hiding or destroying by various measures: by cutting off or destroying Pharaoh and his people in plagues (Exo. 9:15); or by the Lord's destroying angel (Exo. 23:23). It has the meaning to make something disappear, to destroy or to efface it, such as the dynasty of Jeroboam (1Kgs. 13:34). It has the sense of hiding or not revealing something in Job. 20:12 (Psm. 139:15; Hos. 5:3). In other contexts, it means for something to be hidden (2Sam. 18:13; Psm. 69:5,6]); or kept hidden (Gen. 47:18; 1Sam. 3:17-18; Psm. 78:4). It is used of persons being effaced, destroyed (Zec. 11:8-9, 11:16) by the Lord, or even scattered.
from being a nation;...
מִן
min, מִנִּי
minniy, מִנֵּי
minnēy: A preposition used to indicate from, out of, away from; more than: after, since; immediately; because of, since, so that; without; direction as southward, etc.). Its spelling varies according to its location and usage. Its basic meaning is from, away from, out of. Its basic meanings only can be noted here, but its exact meaning is easily discerned from its context: (1) With verbs, it expresses separation spatially or figuratively (Exo. 19:14; Deu. 22:8; Jos. 10:7). It can be used with a verb not indicating separation, e.g., to stay away from strife (Pro. 20:3; Isa. 14:19). (2) With the basic sense of out of, from (Gen. 3:22-24; 4:10; 34:26; Exo. 2:10; 8:9 [5]; Jdg. 15:7; Psm. 40:2,3), it often indicates what something is made of or formed from (Gen. 2:19; Hos. 13:2). With a pronominal suffix meaning from it, it means of one piece with it (Exo. 25:19, 25:31). It indicates a cause for something, on account of, because (Exo. 2:23; 6:9; 1Kgs. 14:4; Pro. 20:4; Isa. 53:5). (3) It is used to mean something is a part of something else, a part or share of it (Gen. 6:19; 7:8; 39:11; Num. 16:2). It indicates some of in an indefinite sense (Exo. 16:27; Lev. 25:49; Psm. 137:3). When repeated it means some . . . others or its equivalent expression (1Chr. 9:28-29). (4) It is used to mark time: from, since (Deu. 9:24), from a certain day or time (Lev. 22:27; Num. 15:23; 1Sam. 18:9). It is used in phrases to mean from ancient times, antiquity (Hab. 1:12); from of old (Isa. 42:14). It indicates right after a certain time (Gen. 38:24; Jos. 23:1; Ezk. 38:8). (5) Paired with ‛aḏ it usually means from . . . even to, as far as (Gen. 10:19; 15:18; Exo. 11:7; Jer. 51:62). In a figurative sense, this same construction can mean e.g., from young . . . to old, both inclusive (Gen. 19:4; 1Sam. 5:9; Jer. 6:13). (6) It may further indicate than, in comparisons (Lev. 21:10; Jdg. 14:18). (7) Prefixed to an infinitive, it is often translated as from (Gen. 16:2); a few times as on account of or because (Deu. 7:7-8); or temporally as since or after (Num. 24:23; Isa. 44:7). (8) It is often attached to other words in compounds and is sometimes used in front of infinitives of verbs: e.g., with ‛āḇaḏ meaning from serving (Exo. 14:5); with bāla‛ meaning from destroying (Lam. 2:8). (9) It is used in front of a verb form once as a conjunction indicating a negative purpose, "that . . . not" (Deu. 33:11). Other uses almost always fall under one of the above categories.
גּוֹי
gôy, גּוֹיִם
gôyim, הַגּוֹיִם
hāggôyim: A masculine noun meaning nation, people, Gentiles, country. The word is used to indicate a nation or nations in various contexts and settings: it especially indicates the offspring of Abraham that God made into a nation (Gen. 12:2) and thereby set the stage for Israel's appearance in history as a nation (Gen. 18:18; Psm. 106:5). Israel was to be a holy nation (Exo. 19:6). Even the descendants of Abraham that did not come from the seed of Isaac would develop into nations (Gen. 21:13). God can create a nation, even a holy nation like Israel, through the descendants of the person whom He chooses, as He nearly does in the case of Moses when Israel rebels (Exo. 32:10). Edom refers to Israel and Judah as two separate nations (Ezk. 35:10), but God planned for them to be united forever into one nation (Ezk. 37:22). Then they would become the head of the nations (Deu. 28:12). In this overall literary, theological, and historical context, it is clear that Israel would share common ancestors, and would have a sufficient increase in numbers to be considered a nation. It would have a common place of habitation and a common origin, not only in flesh and blood, but in their religious heritage. It would share a common history, culture, society, religious worship, and purposes for the present and the future.
This noun is used to mean nations other than Israel as well; pagan, Gentile, or heathen nations (Exo. 9:24; 34:10; Ezk. 5:6-8), for all the earth and all the nations belong to God (cf. Exo. 19:5). Israel was to keep herself from the false religions, unclean practices, and views of these nations (Ezra 6:21). In the plural, the noun may indicate the generic humankind (Isa. 42:6). In a few instances, the word refers to a group of people rather than to a nation (2Kgs. 6:18; Psm. 43:1; Isa. 26:2), although the exact translation is difficult in these cases.
The word is used in a figurative sense to refer to animals or insects, such as in Joel 1:6 where it depicts locusts.
that the name...
שֵׁם
šēm: A masculine noun meaning a name, fame. It is what specifically identifies a person or anything: God's name, "I am who I am" (Exo. 3:15); or the name Yahweh, LORD, which is in small capital letters in English (Psm. 5:11,12); a person's name (Gen. 3:20); names of animals (Gen. 2:19). To make a name for oneself means to attain a renowned reputation (Gen. 11:4; 2Sam. 8:13); as when God made Abraham's name great (Gen. 12:2). To become famous is to have one's name spread through the land (Ezk. 16:14). To have a good name is to have a good character, a good reputation (Ecc. 7:1). The expression the name (haššem) refers to the Lord, Yahweh. The Lord's name means to be blessed, praised (Job 1:21). A name may serve as a memorial or monument (Isa. 55:13). The phrase yaḏ wašem means a remembrance, a memorial (Isa. 56:5) and serves today in modern Israel as the name of a museum built to remember the victims of the Holocaust or Shoah. The names of other gods were forbidden in Israel, i.e., the recognition of them (Exo. 23:13; Jos. 23:7). Israel's God was to be called on to act according to His revealed name (Isa. 48:9; Jer. 14:7, 14:21; Ezk. 20:9, 20:14). To continue the name of a man, a family line gave him a kind of ongoing life in his sons (Deu. 25:7; 2Sam. 8:13).
of Israel...
יִשְׂרָאֵל
yiśrā’ēl: A proper noun designating Israel:
A. The name given to Jacob after he successfully wrestled with the messenger of God (Gen. 32:28). The name means "he (who) struggles with God." It was used of the descendants of Jacob who went to Egypt (70 in all) but was applied to the nation that developed from those descendants (Exo. 1:1, 1:7). This name is explained again in Gen. 35:10. The name Jacob had been interpreted in context as well (Gen. 25:26), "he deceives."
B. The persons descended from Jacob who was renamed Israel (Gen. 35:10; see A above). His descendants became known as Israel (Exo. 1:1, 1:7). They were known as the "twelve tribes of Israel [Jacob]" (Gen. 49:7, 49:16, 49:28). The Lord became "the Rock of Israel (Gen. 49:24).
The land of Israel was ideally the territory first described to Abraham. It stretched from the river of Egypt (El-Arish) to the great Euphrates River and encompassed the territory of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites (Gen. 15:17-21; cf. also Gen. 10:15-18). The full expanse of this territory was occupied during the reign of David and Solomon and approached during the time of Israel-Judah under the respective contemporary reigns of Jeroboam II in Israel and Azariah (Uzziah) in Judah. Most often, however, the land of Israel in the Old Testament is designated as the territory from Dan (north) to Beersheba (south). After Israel divided into two kingdoms in 930 B.C., the name refers still to all of Israel but most often to northern Israel. After the return from exile in 538 B.C., the term is used of the whole restored community again regularly.
May be no...
לֹא
lō’, לוֹא
lô’, לֹה
lōh: An adverb meaning no, not. The term is primarily utilized as an ordinary negation, as in Genesis 3:4: "You will not surely die" (NIV cf. Jdg. 14:4; Psm. 16:10). Often it is used to express an unconditional prohibition, thus having the force of an imperative: "You shall not (= do not ever) steal"(Exo. 20:15 NIV; cf. Jdg. 13:5). Frequently, it functions as an absolute in answer to a question (Job 23:6; Zec. 4:5). The word is also employed in questions to denote that an affirmative answer is expected (2Kgs. 5:26; Jon. 4:11). When it is prefixed to a noun or adjective, it negates that word, making it have an opposite or contrary meaning (e.g., god becomes non-god; strong becomes weak; cf. Deu. 32:21; Pro. 30:25). When prefixed by the preposition be, meaning in or by, the combined term carries the temporal meaning of beyond or before (Lev. 15:25); the meaning without is also not uncommon for this combination (Job. 8:11). A prefixed preposition le, meaning to or for, gives the term the meaning of without (2Chr. 15:3) or as though not (Job 39:16). Occasionally, the word suggests the meaning not only, on account of the context (Deu. 5:3).
more...
עוֹד
‛ôḏ: An adverb meaning again, still, more, longer, also, yet. It indicates repetition and/or continuance of something. It expresses the fact that something continues to happen (Gen. 18:22; 29:7; 46:29; 1Kgs. 22:43). It can mean not yet used with lô’ (2Chr. 20:33; Jer. 40:5). It is used often in the phrase, still (‛ôḏ) speaking (Gen. 29:9; 1Kgs. 1:22, 1:42; 2Kgs. 6:33; Est. 6:14). It indicates repetition or repeated action (Gen. 7:4; 8:10, 8:12; 2Kgs. 6:33). The construction of lô’ . . . ‛ôḏ means no more (Gen. 17:5; Exo. 2:3; Jos. 5:1, 5:12). It indicates doing something once more, again (Gen. 4:25; 9:11; 18:29). It takes on the sense of still or more in some contexts (Gen. 19:12; Jos. 14:11; Psm. 139:18; Amos 6:10). It takes prefixes: be, in the continuance of what is going on (Gen. 25:6; Deu. 31:27). It indicates time within which something will happen (Gen. 40:13, 40:19; Jos. 1:11; Isa. 7:8).
in remembrance...
זָכַר
zāḵar, מַזְכִּיר
mazkiyr: A verb meaning to remember, to mention, to recall, to think about, to think on, to be remembered, to recall, to acknowledge, to mention, to make known. The basic meaning indicates a process of mentioning or recalling either silently, verbally, or by means of a memorial sign or symbol. The verb often means to mention, to think about. The Lord warned the people and false prophets not to verbally mention the oracle of the Lord (Jer. 23:36); the Lord thought about Ephraim in a good sense (Jer. 31:20); and the psalmist thought or meditated on the Lord in his heart and mind without words (Psm. 63:6,7).
These meanings, of course, overlap with the primary translation of the verb, to remember. The psalmist remembered the Lord often, and 43 of the one 165 uses of the simple stem are in the Book of Psalms. Remembering in ancient Israel was a major aspect of proper worship, as it is today.
Remembering involves many things, and various connotations are possible. God or people can be the subject that remembers. For example, because God had acted so often for His people, they were to remember Him and His acts on their behalf (Deu. 5:15; 15:15; 24:18). They were to remember His covenant and commandments without fail (Exo. 20:8; Mal. 4:4; 3:22). Above all, they were to remember Him by His name. By remembering Him, they imitated the Lord, for He never forgot them (cf. Deu. 4:29-31). He faithfully remembered His people (Gen. 8:1), and they could beg Him to remember them, as Jeremiah did in his distress (Neh. 13:31; Jer. 15:15). The Lord especially remembered His covenant with the ancestors and fathers of Israel (Lev. 26:45; Deu. 9:27; Jer. 14:21) and with all humankind through Noah (Gen. 9:15-16).
In the passive stem, the word expresses similar meanings. For example, the psalmist prayed that the sins of his accuser's parents would be remembered against his accuser (Psm. 109:14). Yet in an important passage on moral and religious responsibility before God, it was asserted that if righteous people abandoned their righteous ways and followed evil, their righteous deeds would not be remembered by the Lord. The opposite case is also true. None of the evil deeds people commit will be remembered against them if they turn to God (Ezk. 18:22), nor will the actions, good or evil, of their parents be held for or against them (Ezk. 18:22, 18:24). Righteous people will, in fact, be remembered throughout the ages (cf. Psm. 112:6).
The causative stem indicates the act of bringing to memory or bringing to attention. It means to recall, as when the Lord challenged His people in Isaiah to recall their past in order to state their argument for their case (Gen. 41:9; Isa. 43:26). Eli, the high priest, recalled (i.e., mentioned) the ark and then died according to God's prophetic word (1Sam. 4:18). The verb is used to indicate urging someone to remember something, such as sin (1Kgs. 17:18; Ezk. 21:23,28; 29:16). It is also used to convey the idea of causing something to be acknowledged, as when the psalmist asserted that he would cause the Lord's righteousness to be acknowledged above all else (Psm. 71:16). In the infinitive form, this word sometimes means petition, as found in the superscriptions of some Psalms (Psm. 38:1 [1], 70:1 [1]). It may also mean performing an act of worship (Isa. 66:3).
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