While the Hebrew word "halel" (Strong's #1984) is translated as "praise" it is also translated as "shine" as in Job 29:3. The original meaning of halel is the North Star. This star, unlike all of the other stars, remains motionless and constantly shines in the northern sky and is used as a guide when traveling. In the Ancient Hebrew mind we praise God by looking at him as the guiding star that shines to show us our direction. The first letter in this Hebrew word (from right to left) is a picture of a man with his arms raised up as pointing toward something of greatness. The second two letters are pictures of a shepherd staff which is used by the shepherd to move his flock toward a direction. When these two letters are combined the idea of looking toward something is formed.

Reading a translation of any book is just not the same as reading it in its original language. This idea is adequately stated in the phrase "lost in the translation." Whenever a text is translated from one language to another it loses some of its flavor. The problem is compounded by the fact that a language is tied to the culture that uses that language. When the text is read by a culture different from the one it is written in, it loses its cultural context. A biblical example of this can be found in the Hebrew word tsur which is translated as a rock - He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly moved (Psalm 62:2, RSV). What is a rock and how does it apply to God? To us it may mean solid, heavy or hard but the cultural meaning of the word tsur is a high place in the rocks where one goes for defense, a place of salvation.

Anyone who has done some teaching, whether to children or adults, knows that we learn information better when we learn through visual communcications and a great visual aid is a picture, after all, a picture is worth a thousand words. The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew and each Hebrew word is in fact a mental painting. For instance, the Hebrew word barak means to bend down to the knees and this mental image can be seen in Psalm 96:6; O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel down before the LORD, our Maker! (RSV). In the ancient culture of the Hebrews it was common to kneel down before another and present them a gift as a sign of respect. For this reason, the Hebrew word barak can also mean "to give a gift out of respect." This imagery can be seen in Genesis 26:3; Reside in this land as an alien, and I will be with you, and will bless you; for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will fulfill the oath that I swore to your father Abraham. (RSV). Yes, the word we so commonly use, bless, literally means to give a gift out of respect.

One of the best tools written to begin learning about Hebrew is Strong's dictionary. Many concordances and some Bibles are keyed to this resource. Using Psalm 51:1 as an example - Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me, the word "right" is listed in Strong's dictionary as number 3559 and we find that the Hebrew word is "kun" which means to be firm or stable. This provides a deeper understanding of the verse than from the English alone. However, it must be understood that Strong's dictionary has many limitations which, if not known, can cause some problems. In Deuteronomy 15:6 we find the words "lend" and "borrow" and we look both of these words up in Strong's we find that they are both the same Hebrew word - avat. How can the same Hebrew word be translated as lend and as borrow? What cannot be determined through Strong's is some of the nuances of Hebrew words. The Hebrew word avat literally means "to give a pledge" and is translated as borrow but when written in the causative from it would literally be translated as "cause to give a pledge" or "to lend."

Someone once told me that the Hebrew word for Savior is "yasha." I procededed to correct them and say that it was "moshia" but I was told that that is not what Strong's says. So I got out my concordance and looked up the word savior and found that this was listed in Strong's as #3467 which is the Hebrew word "yasha" but, what they did not know is that this was a verb meaning "to save" and when written in the piel participle form it becomes "moshia" and means "one who saves" or a "savior."

Another problem with Strong's is that it was written over a hundred years ago and much about the Hebrew language has learned since then. All this aside, it is still a great tool for investigating the Hebrew language behind the English translations.