Biblical Root of the Word: Pray
Utilizing
the Ancient Meanings of the word ‘Pray’ and related words, derived from the
meanings of the Hebrew Letters
by
Lewis Turner
Wheatland Ministries
Revised April 10, 2015
If most of us were asked to define
prayer, probably the majority would say ‘asking God for something’.
Unfortunately that may be the limit of our understanding of prayer. There is much more to prayer, and
the Hebrew language used in writing the Old Testament in the Bible is a good
place to go to teach us about prayer.
Note: This study is detailed, but it is worth reading and studying. If one desires to just see the conclusion, the conclusion is at the end, and is underlined. You are encouraged to at least read through the study, and spend some time reviewing it, like the Bereans in the book of Acts (Acts 17:11), who searched the scriptures to see if these things be so.
In the Bible, in the Old Testament,
which was originally written in Hebrew, the word used for prayer is tephillah
written תְּפִלָּה. It means intercession, or supplication
(earnest prayer of petition); in implication - a hymn. A Prayer can be a Psalm
and many of the Psalms in the Bible are actually prayers, and area part of
communication with God. A closer examination of the word tephillah we find the
root word palal written: פָּלַל. By definition, it means—to judge; by
extension to intercede, pray: entreat, judge(-ment), make pray(-er,-ing), make
supplication. Supplication
is often defined as a presentation of requests.
To further understand the root of
prayer, let’s look at the word (1) ‘tephillah-or tephilla, palal, and the word
(2) tekhinnaw (supplication) by making an examination of the meaning of the
Hebrew letters that make up these words. Hebrew letters have meaning, and those
meanings can offer insight into the meaning of the word. Let’s start with the word for prayer
mentioned above. It is tephillah:
tephillah תְּפִלָּה Two of the locations in the Bible where the word is
found are Psalms 86:6, II Chronicles 7:15.
The Hebrew Strong’s Number
for the word is H8605.
Listed below are the meanings
of letters used in the word tephillah:
תּ ת Tav -- It's
literal meaning is "ownership" "covenant" "sign"
"a mark" and "to join two things together". (1a), mark,
sign, signal, monument (2b) T
Note about Tav: In
the ancient Hebrew picture letters the Tav was written as a cross, and later as
an X.
The Hebrew word for religion is "DaT" , דתּ. In Abraham’s Day it was written as a cross and a door flap to a
tent. This ancient word picture tells us
that religion is the "door of the sign" or the "door
of the cross". Souce (1a)
פֶּ ף
Pey - Pe - mouth, speak, word, to
speak, to open, It's literal meaning is “mouth” and
it's symbolic meaning is "to open", "speak",
"word", "the beginning" (like a river). In the ancient
picture Hebrew, the letter Pey was drawn according to the meaning, in this
case, a mouth. Let the words of my mouth,
and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my
strength, and my redeemer. Psalms 19:14 (1a) P (7)
ל Lamed - Go toward, learn, teach, urge forward -The
ancient picture form of this letter is a cattle goad and in this form it
symbolized: to control or the controller, to prod or urge forward, to go
towards of forward, and a tongue (1a) L
ה He, Hey – behold,
to reveal, the – look,
reveal, breath (2b) It's literal meaning
is a window, or lattice. The symbolic meaning is behold, or to reveal. This
meaning of the letter is one of the many reasons Rabbinic tradition calls the
letter hey the letter of revelation! (1a) (Also by inference, the meaning could
mean--expose or show.) E
Putting
the meanings together and deriving a letter meaning of tephillah we have the
following: the revelation/looking of
going toward the speaking/opening of the covenant (the cross)
Note: You might conclude from that
meaning that prayer involves revealing and to speaking to—in the sense of opening—seeking the covenant of the cross. That is what praying the scriptures can
do. It might be stated even simpler that Prayer
involves speaking to—possible our desire speaking, a request—seeking what the covenant of the cross, the Bible says on
the issue, and using that to guide our prayers.
Going
further in understanding tephillah, lets look at the word described as the root
of tephillah, which is the word Palal:
Palal פָּלַל
One place where the word palal is
found is Neh 3:25. It means to judge.
The
Hebrew Strong’s Number for palal is H6420.
Listed below are the meanings
of letters used in the word palal:
פֶּ ף
Pey - Pe - mouth, speak, word, to
speak, to open, It's literal meaning is “mouth” and
it's symbolic meaning is "to open", "speak",
"word", "the beginning" (like a river). In the ancient
picture Hebrew, the letter Pey was drawn according to the meaning, in this
case, a mouth. Let the words of my mouth,
and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my
strength, and my redeemer. Psalms 19:14 (1a) P (7)
ל Lamed - Go toward, learn, teach, urge forward -The
ancient picture form of this letter is a cattle goad and in this form it
symbolized: to control or the controller, to prod or urge forward, to go
towards of forward, and a tongue (1a) L
ל Lamed - Go toward, learn, teach, urge forward -The
ancient picture form of this letter is a cattle goad and in this form it
symbolized: to control or the controller, to prod or urge forward, to go
towards of forward, and a tongue (1a) L
Deriving a
possible meaning of Palal from the meaning of the letters used in the word, we
have the following: The urging toward speaking to open. You might explain this definition using other
words which show that prayer deals with speaking for the purpose of opening our
focus—what is on our heart.
Looking at the two definitions
of Tephillah and pala, we find that the words for prayer deal with speaking to
open our focus/our heart on the covenant, and urging forward. They also show that speaking indicates making
requests.
In our study of prayer, the second
word we are looking at is:
Supplication תְּחִנָּה teḥinnâ tekh-in-naw'
Hebrew Strong’s Number 8467
Psalms
119: 170 Let my supplication (Beholding
the Covenant hedge (of love) and life) come before thee: deliver
me according to thy word.
The following may help to develop
an understanding of the meaning of supplication and what supplication is.
We see this 'Old English Word' in the Bible--but often we may not fully
understand what the meaning of the word is and from that what supplication
is. We sometimes hear the phrase 'Prayer and Supplication' (Philippians
4:6) and connect it with prayer. We
possibly conclude that supplication has something to do with making
requests. However, the meaning of supplication is much deeper than just
making requests. The meaning of supplication based on an examination of
the meanings of the letter in the word, we find it focuses on beholding the
Covenant hedge -or hedge of the covenant --the Covenant of life that is is
provided by Jesus for us. (Romans 11:27 and Hebrews 12:24). Supplication
is about meditating on the work of the New Covenant that Jesus gave us.
Below is the development of the
meaning of Supplication from the meaning of the Hebrew letters used to write
the word supplication.
תּ ת Tav
-- It's literal meaning is
"ownership" "covenant" "sign" "a mark"
and "to join two things together". (1a), mark, sign, signal, monument
(2b) T
Note about Tav: In the
ancient Hebrew picture letters the Tav was written as a cross, and later as an
X. In the ancient Hebrew word for "sign" א ו תּ we see
that the SIGN is "the strong leader nailed to the cross". It
is this same word that is translated in the Greek text of Luke 2:12 which
reads: And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe
wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
The Hebrew word for religion is "DaT" , דתּ. The letter
meaning of DaT tells us that religion is the "door of the sign"
or the "door of the cross".
Souce (1a)
ח Heth, Chet – fence, hedge, to separate.
Outside, divide, half (2b), The literal meaning of this letter is a "fence",
"hedge" or “chamber”, (1a) (an inferred meaning could also be
protection-IE a fence protects) (an
inferred meaning could also be that Heth refers to instruction—instruction that
makes the hedge—see the word Statutes Hebrew Strong’s Number 2706 חֹק)(another inferred meaning is
that the hedge represents love-possibly protective love) H
Chesed is the Old Testament's highest expression for
love. It is a love that remains constant regardless of the circumstances.
Chesed is translated in English in many different ways: kindness,
lovingkindness, mercy, loyalty, love, and unfailing love. (Tiffany Ann Lewis)
נ Nun-Propagate increase, In
the ancient picture language this was pictured as a seed in ancient Hebrew and
Egyptian cultures. As mentioned, it represented "life",
"posterity", "active life". As used in the Hebrew word for
son, the nun symbolized the posterity of the house.(1a) Continue, heir, son
(2b) N
ה He, Hey – behold, to reveal, the – look, reveal, breath (2b)
It's literal meaning is a window, or lattice. The symbolic meaning is
behold, or to reveal. This meaning of the letter is one of the many reasons
Rabbinic tradition calls the letter hey the letter of revelation! (1a) (Also by
inference, the meaning could mean--expose or show.) E
Possible Letter Meaning
of Supplication: תְּחִנָּה teḥinnâ tekh-in-naw'
Hebrew Strong’s Number 8467: Beholding the Covenant hedge (of love) and
life
Note: Supplication deals with focusing on the
covenant and the hedge it provides which offers protection.
Conclusion: From study of the root of prayer, we find
that prayers and supplication include requests presented through speaking to Our Father in Heaven—with our heart focused on the covenant. When we focus on the covenant of Christ, we have a hedge provided by the
covenant that offers protection to us.
©2014 Lewis Turner
