Language Studies

Hebrew Thoughts

hâghâh - הגה (Strong's #1897)
Meditate

הגה hâghâh "meditate" (Strong's #1897, x25) means to "to moan, mutter, muse, meditate, or mourn" neatly alliterating to 5 'm' words in English but can also extend to "groaning and growling" as of a lion over its prey (Isaiah 31:4).

It occurs only in books of prophecy or poetry, despite its initial occurrence being in Joshua 1:8. Firstly, Joshua is the opening book in the Hebrew canon of the books of the Prophets. Secondly, its use there is later echoed in an almost identical statement in Psalm 1:2:

"This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success." (Joshua 1:8)

"But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night...And whatever he does shall prosper" (Psalm 1:2-3)

To "meditate" on God's Law was to mutter it under the breath, but nonetheless out loud for Scripture was designed to be heard in Hebrew not just read silently.

Curiously, it is followed in Psalm 2:1 by another use, in a Psalm regarded historically by the Jews and some scholars as being conjoined with Psalm 1 (cf. the better Greek manuscripts of Acts 13:33 where Psalm 2 is described as the first Psalm):

"Why are the nations in an uproar? And why do the peoples mutter in vain?" (Psalm 2:1, JPS)

Only the JPS relates the word to its normal usage by using "mutter", most use "imagine" (KJV) or "plot" (NKJV, NIV), the Latin Vulgate alone uses meditati "meditate". Meditate can mean, however, "to plan or think ahead" as in its use in the terminology of the crime "premeditated murder", i.e., planned ahead, not a spontaneous crime of passion or the moment. The parallelistic term in the JPS version is rendered "uproar" from the Hebrew רגש râghash (Strong's #7283), a uniquely occurring term commonly thought to mean "rage or roar", or perhaps "plot, conspire".

Despite apparent parallelisms with "uproar" and the sound of a lion, Hebrew prefers to use other words for the aggressive "roar" of a lion, e.g., שאג shâ’agh, (Strong's #7580). In comparison, הגה hâghâh refers more to a gentle growl. Simlarly, it could be used of thunder but not the full donner und blitzen, rather the rumbling background noise of distant thunder as in הגה hegheh (Strong's #1899) the derived noun's use in Job 37:2 "Hear attentively the trembling of His voice, And the rumbling that comes from His mouth".

Twice the KJV renders the word by "studies" in Proverbs 24:2 and Proverbs 15:28 "The heart of the righteous studies how to answer". Here, though, the contextual meaning is really "thinks before answering". So whether it is a lion possessively chewing over its prey - think of even a domestic cat's unwillingness to share its latest kill, or Proverbs' "meditating" before answering, there is clearly an element of thought and time, indicating patient pondering.

Often, the verb can mean to "mutter" out loud but under the breath, as an orthodox Jew reciting his prayers. It is paralleled with צפף tsâphaph (Strong's #6850) the verb used for a bird's chirping in Isaiah 8:19, although in the context it refers to a wizard muttering an enchantment. It is used explicitly in parallel with the same verb again in Isaiah 38:14 of a dove's moaning cry sometimes associated with mourning. In Isaiah 59:11 it is parallel with a bear's grumbling and roaring and used doubled of the dove's cry again. The doubling, or repeated back-to-back use of the same word, is a Hebrew superlative use meaning "great moaning", or alliteratively put by the NIV as "moan mournfully".

A dove's sound can be almost musical and need not be mournful. Indeed a derived noun of this verb is הגּיון hîggâyôwn (Strong's #1902), used of the music of a harp in Psalm 92:3 [Heb. v.4]. Indeed this noun is used again in Psalm 19:14 [Heb. v.15]:

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation [musical mutterings] of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight..."

Combining these thoughts we see a picture of harmony between the patient musings of the mind/heart before the verbalisation in our words. The delay in utterance due to the premeditated thought involved allows the words on our lips to be music to God's ears.

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