the Week of Proper 25 / Ordinary 30
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Bible Dictionaries
Bear
Vine's Expository Dictionary of OT Words
or A. Verb.
Yâlad (יָלַד, Strong's #3205), “to bear, bring forth, beget, be delivered.” This verb occurs in all Semitic languages and in nearly all verbal forms. The noteworthy exception is biblical Aramaic. However, the Aramaic verb is well attested outside the Bible. The verb yâlad occurs about 490 times in the Bible.
Essentially, the word refers to the action of “giving birth” and its result, “bearing children.” God cursed woman by multiplying her pain in “bringing forth” children (cf. Gen. 3:16, the first occurrence of yâlad). The second meaning is exemplified by Gen. 4:18, which reports that Irad “begat” (“became the father of”) Mehujael. This verb can also be used in reference to animals; in Gen. 30:39, the strong among Laban’s flocks “birthed” striped, speckled, and spotted offspring.
One recurring theme in biblical history is typified by Abram and Sarah. They had no heirs, but God made them a promise and gave them a son (Gen. 16:1, 16). This demonstrates that God controls the opening of the womb (Gen. 20:17-18) and bestows children as an indication of His blessing. The prophets use the image of childbirth to illustrate the terror to overcome men in the day of the Lord (Isa. 13:8). Hosea uses the image of marriage and childbearing to describe God’s relationship to Israel (1:3, 6, 8). One of the most hotly debated passages of Scripture, Isa. 7:14, uses this verb to predict the “birth” of Immanuel. Finally, the prophets sometimes mourn the day of their “birth” (Jer. 15:10).
Yâlad describes the relationship between God and Israel at other places in the Bible as well. This relationship is especially relevant to the king who typifies the Messiah, the Son whom God “begot” (Ps. 2:7). God also says He “begot” the nation of Israel as a whole (Deut. 32:18). This statement is in noticeable contrast to Moses’ disclaimer that he did not “birth” them (Num. 11:12) and, therefore, does not want to be responsible for them any longer.
The motif that God “gave birth” to Israel is picked up by Jeremiah. In Jer. 31:20, God states that His heart yearns for Ephraim His son (yâlad ). Ezekiel develops this motif in the form of an allegory, giving the names Aholah and Aholibah to Samaria and Jerusalem respectively, to those whom He “bore” (Ezek. 23:4, 37).
The Septuagint renders yâlad with words connoting “giving birth” (tinknein) and “begetting” (gennao).
B. Noun.
Yeled (יֶלֶד, Strong's #3206), “boy; child.” The noun yeled differs from ben (“son”), which more exactly specifies the parental relationship. For example, the child that Naomi nursed was a “boy” (Ruth 4:16).
Yeled, which appears 89 times in the Bible, is rendered by several different Greek words. Other nouns built on the verb yalad include yaldah (“girl”; 3 times), yalid (“son” or “slave”; 3 times), yillod (“newborn”; 5 times), walad (“child”; once), ledah (“bringing forth” or “birth”; 4 times), moledet (“offspring, kindred, parentage”; 22 times), and toledot (“descendants, contemporaries, generation, genealogy, record of the family”; 39 times).
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Vines, W. E., M. A. Entry for 'Bear'. Vine's Expository Dictionary of OT Words. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/vot/b/bear.html. 1940.
