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fact that prayer is basically communication, which always has to be two-way in order to
be real.
B. Noun.
(
-!
, 8605), “prayer.” This word, which appears 77 times in biblical
Hebrew, is the most general Hebrew word for “prayer.” It first appears in 1 Kings 8:28:
“Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication.…” In the
eschaton God’s house will be a house of “prayer” for all peoples (Isa. 56:7); it will be to
this house that all nations will come to worship God. The word can mean both a non-
liturgical, non-poetical “prayer” and a liturgical, poetical “prayer.” In the latter special
meaning
is used as a psalm title in 5 psalms and as the title of Habakkuk’s prayer
(Hab. 3:1). In these uses
means a prayer set to music and sung in the formal
worship service. In Ps. 72:20 the word describes all the psalms or “prayers” of Psalms 1-
72, only one of which is specifically called a “prayer” (17:1).
PRECIOUS
A. Adjective.
%
(
, 3368), “precious; rare; excellent; weighty; noble.” Although none of the
35 biblical appearances of this word occurs before First Samuel, they are scattered
throughout the rest of the Bible.
First,
%
means “precious” in the sense of being rare and valuable: “And he took
their king’s crown from off his head, the weight whereof was a talent of gold with the
precious stones: and it was set on David’s head” (2 Sam. 12:30). The emphasis is on the
nuance “rare” in 1 Sam. 3:1: “And the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there
was no open vision.”
Second, the word can focus on the value of a thing: “How excellent is thy loving-
kindness, O God!” (Ps. 36:7).
Third, this word means “weighty” or “noble”: “A little foolishness is weightier than
wisdom and honor” (Eccl. 10:1,
NASB
); like dead flies which make perfume stink, so a
little foolishness spoils wisdom and honor—it is worth more in a negative sense (cf. Lam.
4:2).
B. Verb.
%
(
, 3365), “to be difficult, be valued from, be valued or honored, be
precious.” This verb, which occurs 11 times in biblical Hebrew, has cognates in Ugaritic,
Arabic, and Akkadian. The word means “to be precious” in 1 Sam. 26:21: “Then said
Saul, I have sinned: return, my son David: for I will no more do thee harm, because my
soul was precious in thine eyes this day.…”
C. Noun.
%
(
, 3366), “precious thing; value; price; splendor; honor.” This noun, which
appears 16 times in biblical Hebrew, is Aramaic in form. The word signifies “value or
price” (Zech. 11:13), “splendor” (Esth. 1:4), and “honor” (Esth. 8:16). In Jer. 20:5 the
word refers to “precious things”: “Moreover I will deliver all the strength of this city, and
all the labors thereof, and all the precious things thereof.…”
TO PREPARE
A. Verb.