Gal 2:20 - to the son

From: Harold R. Holmyard III (hholmyard@ont.com)
Date: Sun Apr 30 2000 - 07:51:24 EDT


Dear Dale,
     You asked:

>I have another related question here. Since this is a quotation of a
>Hebrew text, does the hebrew word for "live" carry the same possible
>meanings spoken of in Bill and Harold's discussions?

     The Hebrew verb for "live" in Hab 2:4, source of the quote in Rom
1:17, Gal 3:11, and Heb 10:38, is X-Y-H. In the older lexicon, BDB, Hab 2:4
is listed under the following meaning: "sustain life, live on or upon [with
the preposition (L], of the animal life, by the sword (Gen 27:40), by bread
(Deut 8:3); elsewhere in pregnant sense of fulness of life in divine favor,
sustained by [with the preposition (L] everything that issueth out of the
mouth of God (Deut 8:3); his promises (?) Isa 38:16; of the wicked man, by
repentance (Ezek 33:19); with the preposition B. by the statutes and
judgments of the Lord if a man do them (Lev 18:5; Ezek 20:11, 13, 21, 25;
Neh 9:29); a righteous man by his faithfulness shall live (Hab 2:4)."
     Since the preposition B. occurs in Hab 2:4, perhaps the closest
comparable uses of the verb would be those in Lev 18:5 ; Ezek 20:11, 13,
21, 25; Neh 9:29. It is of interest, therefore, that Paul cites Lev 18:5 in
Gal 3:12, right after citing Hab 2:4 in Gal 3:11.
     The sense of "live" in Lev 18:5 seems clearly to be "sustain life" or
"enjoy the fulness of life in divine favor." Leviticus 18:5 reads: "And you
will keep My decrees and my laws; the man who does them also will live by
them. I am the Lord" (BTW, the Hebrew preposition "by," like the Greek EN,
can also mean "in"). Ezekiel 20:11, 13, 21, 25 seem to repeat the sense of
Lev 18:5 in almost a quote the first three times, and in a modification of
the quote the last time (to the negative). Nehemiah 9:29 is also
essentially a quotation of Lev 18:5. Thus it is quite possible that Heb 2:4
may be an allusion to Lev 18:5.
     In Heb 2:4 the word translated "faith" in the NIV is listed in BDB as
):EMWNFH and has the sense "firmness, steadfastness, fidelity." BDB lists
"trust" alongside "faithfulness" as a possibility for human conduct, but
sometimes the older translations used "trust" in the sense of something
entrusted, which the Hebrew means in a couple of places. BDB might have
been thinking of Hab 2:4 when it listed "trust" as a possible sense for the
Hebrew, because the KJV uses "faith" at Hab 2:4. However, I do not see one
clear example where the noun means "trust" in the sense of "faith" unless
it is Hab 2:4. On the other hand, the verbal form of the root can mean
trust or believe.
     Habakkuk 2:4 reads: "See, puffed up, not upright, is his soul within
him, but a righteous man by His faith will live." These words in context
may suggest for ):EMWNFH an idea like "steadfastness" or "faithfulness" in
living according to the standards set by the Lord. Thus it would be in
conformity to the sense in Lev 18:5. Habakkuk has just spoken of a
revelation that speaks concerning the end but which might linger. A person
was to wait for it, since it would not in fact be late in coming (Hab 2:3).
So Habakkuk may have suggested the need for steadfastness in doing right
while awaiting the Lord's accomplishment of His will. Such faithfulness, of
course, would be an exhibition of trust in the Lord.

                                Yours,
                                Harold Holmyard

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