CHAPTER XIII
THE term amad (he stood) is a homonym signifying in the first instance" to stand upright," as" When he stood (be-'omdo) before Pharaoh" (Gen. xli. 46):" Though Moses and Samuel stood (ya'amod)" (Jer. xv. 1):" He stood by them" (Gen. xviii. 8). It further denotes" cessation and interruption," as" but they stood still ('amedu) and answered no more" (job xxxii. 16):" and she ceased (va-ta'amod) to bear" (Gen. xxix. 35). Next it signifies" to be enduring and lasting," as," that they may continue (yo'amedu) many days" (jer. xxxii. 14):" Then shalt thou be able to endure ('amod)" (Exod. xviii. 23):" His taste remained ('amad) in him" (Jer. xlviii. 11), i.e., it has continued and remained in existence without any change:" His righteousness standeth for ever" (Ps. cxi. 3), i.e., it is permanent and everlasting. The verb applied to God must be understood in this latter sense, as in Zechariah xiv. 4, And his feet shall stand (ve-'amedu) in that day upon the Mount of Olives (Zech. xiv. 4)," His causes, i.e., the events of which He is the cause, will remain efficient," etc. This will be further elucidated when we speak of the meaning of regel (foot). (Vide infra, chap. xxviii.) In the same sense is this verb employed in Deuteronomy v. 28," But as for thee, stand thou here by me," and Deuteronomy v. 5," I stood between the Lord and you."
CHAPTER XIV
THE homonymous term adam is in the first place the name of the first man, being, as Scripture indicates, derived from adamah," earth." Next, it means" mankind," as" My spirit shall not strive with man (adam)" (Gen. vi. 3). Again" Who knoweth the spirit of the children of man (adam)" (Eccles. iii. 21):" so that a man ( adam) has no pre-eminence above a beast" (Eccles. iii. 19). Adam. signifies also" the multitude ... .. the lower classes" as opposed to those distinguished from the rest, as" Both low (bene adam) and high (bene ish)" (Ps. xlix. 3).
It is in this third signification that it occurs in the verses," The sons of the higher order (Elohim) saw the daughters of the lower order (adam)" (Gen. vi. 2): and" Forsooth! as the humble man (adam) you shall die" (Ps. lxxxii. 7).
CHAPTER XV
ALTHOUGH the two roots nazab and yazab are distinct, yet their meaning is, as you know, identical in all their various forms.
The verb has several meanings: in some instances it signifies" to stand or" to place oneself," as" And his sister stood (va-tetazzab) afar off" (Exod. ii. 4):" The kings of the earth set themselves" (yiyazzebu) (PS. ii. 2):" They came out and stood" (nizzabim) (Num. xvi. 27). In other instances it denotes continuance and permanence, as," Thy word is established (nizzab) in Heaven" (Ps. cxix. 89), i.e., it remains for ever.
Whenever this term is applied to God it must be understood in the latter sense, as," And, behold, the Lord stood (nizzab) upon it" (Gen. xxviii. 13), i.e., appeared as eternal and everlasting" upon it," namely, upon the ladder, the
