Language Studies

Hebrew Thoughts

Yâsha'' - ישע (Strong's #3467)
Salvation

"As for me, I will call upon God, And the LORD shall save me." (Psalm 55:16 speaks of saving the lame but would clearly be better translated by 'heal'. Salvation is thus realistic and holistic, not only spiritual, it includes God's practical intervention in healing, deliverance and provision. Interestingly all the letters making up the Hebrew word are parts of the physical body: hand, tooth, and eye.

The verb is first used in Exodus 2:17 of Moses in Egypt helping/saving the daughters of the priest of Midian who, whilst trying to draw water from a well, were bullied away by shepherds. The salvation he offered was practical.

The very next use in the Bible and the first used of God is the Lord's salvation of the Israelites through the Red Sea, burying the Egyptians under water, and allowing Israel to pass through to the other side unharmed (Exodus 14:30). All kinds of spiritual typologies could be preached from this verse but to the Israelites then it was a physical salvation from pursuing enemies, it was only later they needed salvation from themselves! Salvation from one's enemies was an early promise of God to Israel (Numbers 10:9, Deuteronomy 20:4) but was conditional upon obedience for if they ceased to hear/obey his voice there would be no one to save them (Deuteronomy 28:15...29,31).

The majority of 'salvation' verses in the days of the monarchy were to do with physical deliverence from enemies. The words of Psalm 18 are contextually spoken by David with regard to redemption in battle, not of the soul.

"The God of my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation (ישע yêsha', Strong's #3468), My stronghold and my refuge; My Savior, You save me from violence. I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies." (2 Samuel 22:3-4 // Psalm 18:2-3 [3-4 Heb; 17:3-4 LXX])

The only Old Testament verse apparently linking salvation to the soul is actually very practical rather than spiritual and speaks of social justice and deliverance from powerlessness, and again uses soul as a Hebrew synonym for the person's whole life:

"For He will deliver the needy when he cries, The poor also, and him who has no helper.
He will spare the poor and needy, And will save the souls of the needy.
He will redeem their soul from oppression and violence; And precious shall be their blood in His sight." (Psalm 72:12-14)

Key 'salvation' verses, all from Isaiah whose name means 'the salvation of [our] God' (Yesha'yâhu) and whose key word/verse, 45:17, is 'eternal salvation', are: 45:20; 59:16; 61:10; 63:5; 45:8 and linked with righteousness and justice: 46:13; 51:5,6; 56:1.

The Greek words sôzô and sôter, to 'save', and 'salvation', have a similar breadth of meaning as yâsha'. They can be translated by 'deliver', 'protect', 'heal', 'save', 'preserve', 'do well' and 'be whole'. Sôzô is used of healing in Matthew 9:21-22, of deliverance and wholeness in Luke 8:35-36, of resurrection in Luke 8:49-55 and of care and provision in 2 Timothy 4:18.

Thus, salvation in both testaments is not only of the soul, but of the whole person, life and liberty. Indeed, soul is a Hebrew euphemism for the whole person anyway - but that's another article in itself.

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Meet the Author

Charles Loder has an MA in Jewish Studies from Rutgers University. His work is in Biblical Hebrew and comparative semitic linguistics, along with a focus on digital humanities. His work can be found on his Academia page and Github.