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$
( , 3559), “to be established, be readied, be prepared, be certain, be
admissible.” This verb occurs in nearly every Semitic language (not in biblical Aramaic).
$
appears in the Bible about 220 times and in all periods of Hebrew.
This root used concretely connotes being firmly established, being firmly anchored
and being firm. The first meaning is applied to a roof which is “firmly established” on
pillars. So Samson said to the lad who was leading him: “Suffer me that I may feel the
pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them” (Judg. 16:26). In a
similar sense the inhabited earth “is firmly established or anchored”; it is immovable: “…
The world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved” (Ps. 93:1). In Ps. 75:3 the image
shifts to the earth “firmly established” upon pillars. In Ps. 65:6 the divine establishing of
the mountains is synonymous with divine creating. The verb also means “to be firm”:
“And you grew up and became tall and arrived at [the age for fine ornaments]; your
breasts were formed, and your hair had grown” (Ezek. 16:7,
RSV
),
Used abstractly,
$
can refer to a concept as “established,” or “fixed” so as to be
unchanging and unchangeable: “And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice;
it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass” (Gen.
41:32—the first occurrence of the word). In somewhat the same sense one can speak of
the light of day “being firmly established,” or having fully arrived: “But the path of the
just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day” (Prov. 4:18).
$
can be used of the “establishing” of one’s descendants, of seeing them prosperous
(Job 21:8).
Something can be “fixed” in the sense of “being prepared or completed”: “Now all
the work of Solomon was prepared unto the day of the foundation of the house of the
Lord …” (2 Chron. 8:16).
An “established” thing can be something that is enduring. In 1 Sam. 20:31 Saul tells
Jonathan: “For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be
established, nor thy kingdom.” Truthful lips (what they say) “shall be established,” or
will endure forever (Prov. 12:19). One’s plans “will endure” (be established) if he
commits his works to the Lord (Prov. 16:3).
$
can also mean “to be established” in the sense of “being ready.” So Josiah told
the people “to prepare” themselves for the Passover (2 Chron. 35:4). This same sense
appears in Exod. 19:11 “And be ready against the third day: for the third day the Lord
will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai.” A somewhat different
nuance appears in Job 18:12; Bildad says that wherever godlessness breaks out, there is
judgment: “… Destruction shall be ready at his side.” That is, calamity is “fixed or
prepared” so that it exists potentially even before godlessness breaks out.
Something “fixed” or “established” can “be certain”: “Then shalt thou inquire, and
make search, and ask diligently; and, behold, if it be truth, and the thing certain …”
(Deut. 13:14). In a somewhat different nuance the thing can be trustworthy or true. The
psalmist says of the wicked that “there is no faithfulness in their mouth” (Ps. 5:9). A
further development of this emphasis is that a matter “may be admissible”—so Moses
said to Pharaoh: “It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the
Egyptians to the Lord our God …” (Exod. 8:26).