the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
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Bible Dictionaries
Depart
Vine's Expository Dictionary of OT Words
or Nâsa‛ (נָסַע, Strong's #5265), “to journey, depart, set out march.” Found throughout the development of the Hebrew language, this root is also found in ancient Akkadian. The word is used nearly 150 times in the Hebrew Bible. It occurs for the first time in Gen. 11:2, where nâsa‛ refers to the “migration” (RSV) of people to the area of Babylon. It is probably the most common term in the Old Testament referring to the movement of clans and tribes. Indeed, the word is used almost 90 times in the Book of Numbers alone, since this book records the “journeying” of the people of Israel from Sinai to Canaan.
This word has the basic meaning of “pulling up” tent pegs (Isa. 33:20) in preparation for “moving” one’s tent and property to another place; thus it lends itself naturally to the general term of “traveling” or “journeying.” Samson is said to have “pulled up” the city gate and posts (Judg. 16:3), as well as the pin on the weaver’s loom (Judg. 16:14). Nâsa‛ is used to describe the “movement” of the angel of God and the pillar of cloud as they came between Israel and the pursuing Egyptians at the Sea of Reeds (Exod. 14:19). In Num. 11:31, the word refers to the “springing up” (NEB) of the wind that brought the quail to feed the Israelites in the wilderness.
Nâsa‛ lends itself to a wide range of renderings, depending upon the context.
These files are public domain.
Vines, W. E., M. A. Entry for 'Depart'. Vine's Expository Dictionary of OT Words. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/vot/d/depart.html. 1940.
