{"id":66514,"date":"2019-12-04T15:27:47","date_gmt":"2019-12-04T13:27:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=66514"},"modified":"2023-06-28T17:55:11","modified_gmt":"2023-06-28T14:55:11","slug":"protect-pass-over-hop-save-have-compassion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/protect-pass-over-hop-save-have-compassion\/","title":{"rendered":"Protect, Pass Over, Hop, Save, Have Compassion\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[361,569],"acf":{"old_id":"66514","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":64450,"related_cahpter":"365","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"One word - or is it two? With many connections and meanings. But does it mean that Passover is the wrong translation of Pesach?","content":"

In Chapter 31, Isaiah delivers God\u2019s message that the people should not rely on Egypt for protection, but rather trust in God to save them. In verse 5, he uses the following imagery:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLike the birds that fly, even so will the LORD of Hosts shield Jerusalem, shielding and saving, protecting and rescuing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While the last four verbs of the verse might appear to be synonyms, one of them stands out. What appears in the translation as \u201cprotecting,\u201d in Hebrew is \u201cpasoach<\/em>.\u201d If it sounds familiar, that\u2019s because it\u2019s the same spelling as Pesach, the holiday of Passover. So, is there a connection between the two words?<\/span><\/p>\n

The answer depends on how you define them. For example, not all accept the translation of \u201cpasoach<\/em>\u201d as \u201cprotecting.\u201d Rashi says it means \u201cto skip over\u201d, and so the phrase could be translated as \u201csparing and rescuing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

However, others say that the translation \u201cprotecting\u201d is correct. This is both based on the meaning of the other three words, as well as linguistic evidence from other Semitic languages, like Arabic, which has a cognate word meaning \u201cto save, deliver.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, some of those who follow this position, go so far as to say that \u201cPassover\u201d is an incorrect translation of \u201cPesach.\u201d In the midrash and in an ancient translation (Targum Yonatan) on Exodus chapter 12, where the verb \u201cpesach<\/em>\u201d appears in connection to the Jews leaving Egypt, the word is explained as meaning \u201cprotecting.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Another option, provided by a different ancient translation (Onkelos), as well as other midrashim, is that \u201cpesach<\/em>\u201d means \u201cto have compassion.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

And of course, we have the one most familiar, that \u201cpesach<\/em>\u201d means \u201cto skip over.\u201d One proof for this meaning is from Elijah\u2019s reproach of the people on Mount Carmel:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cElijah approached all the people and said, \u201cHow long will you keep hopping between two opinions?\u201d (Kings I 18:21). The word translated as \u201chopping\u201d is \u201cposchim<\/em>\u201d in Hebrew, from the same root as pesach<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pesach as \u201cskipping\u201d or \u201chopping\u201d has a related word in Hebrew \u2013 the verb \u201cpiseach<\/em>\u201d \u2013 to limp.<\/span><\/p>\n

To return to the original question, it\u2019s ultimately unclear whether \u201cpasoach<\/em>\u201d and \u201cPesach\u201d are related. Perhaps they both mean \u201cto protect,\u201d perhaps they both mean \u201cto skip over\u201d, or maybe these are actually two unrelated words with different meanings in each passage.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":false,"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"PSCH - Protect, Pass Over, Hop, Save, Have Compassion\u00a0","main_caption":"One word - or is it two? With many connections and meanings. But does it mean that Passover is the wrong translation of Pesach?","main_caption_size":"2","sub_caption":"","preview_embedded":"","preview_image":false,"preview_video":"","external_link":"","link_for_pay":false,"tile_gallery_items":false,"credits":""},"alternate_tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"","hide_media":false},"tile_group":{"preview_image_url":false,"main_caption":"","sub_caption":"","":null,"popup_package_extra_content":"","read_time":""},"home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo":{"seo_title":"","seo_description":"","seo_default_title":"","seo_default_description":""},"links":false,"send_noty":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66514"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66514"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66514\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":116445,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66514\/revisions\/116445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}