the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
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Bible Dictionaries
Flee
Vine's Expository Dictionary of OT Words
or Bârach (בָּרַח, Strong's #1272), “to flee, pass through.” Some scholars see this word, which is used throughout the history of the Hebrew language, reflected in ancient Ugaritic as well. Bârach occurs about 60 times in the Hebrew Bible. The word first appears in Gen. 16:6, where it is said that Hagar “fled from her [Sarah’s] face” as a result of Sarah’s harsh treatment.
Men may “flee” from many things or situations. David “fled” from Naioth in Ramah in order to come to Jonathan (1 Sam. 20:1). Sometimes it is necessary to “flee” from weapons (Job 20:24). In describing flight from a person, the Hebrew idiom “from the presence of” (literally, “from the face of”) is often used (Gen. 16:6, 8; 31:27; 35:1, 7).
In its figurative use, the word describes days “fleeing” away (Job 9:25) or frail man “fleeing” like a shadow (Job 14:2). A rather paradoxical use is found in Song of Sol. 8:14, in which “flee” must mean “come quickly”: “Make haste [literally, “flee”], my beloved, and be thou like to a gazelle.…”
Nûs (נוּס, 5127), “to flee, escape, take flight, depart.” This term is found primarily in biblical Hebrew, where it occurs some 160 times. Nûs occurs for the first time in Gen. 14:10, where it is used twice to describe the “fleeing” of the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah. :$ is the common word for “fleeing” from an enemy or danger (Gen. 39:12; Num. 16:34; Josh. 10:6). The word is also used to describe “escape,” as in Jer. 46:6 and Amos 9:1. In a figurative use, the word describes the “disappearance” of physical strength (Deut. 34:7), the “fleeing” of evening shadows (Song of Sol. 2:17), and the “fleeing away” of sorrow (Isa. 35:10).
These files are public domain.
Vines, W. E., M. A. Entry for 'Flee'. Vine's Expository Dictionary of OT Words. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/vot/f/flee.html. 1940.
