{"id":68695,"date":"2020-01-18T23:12:01","date_gmt":"2020-01-18T21:12:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=68695"},"modified":"2023-08-13T09:55:33","modified_gmt":"2023-08-13T06:55:33","slug":"run-it-up-the-flagpole","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/run-it-up-the-flagpole\/","title":{"rendered":"Run It Up The Flagpole"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In chapter 62, Isaiah delivers a message to the exiled Jews, telling them that they will be returning to their land. This return will be so impressive that the roads will need to be cleared:<\/span><\/p>\n

Pass through, pass through the gates! Clear the road for the people; Build up, build up the highway, Remove the rocks! Raise an ensign over the peoples! (Isaiah 62:10).<\/span><\/p>\n

Without looking at the original verse, you might think that the Hebrew word for \u201censign\u201d (i.e. flag) is the familiar <\/span>degel<\/span><\/em>. But rather it is another common Hebrew word \u2013 <\/span>nes<\/span><\/em>. That word we usually think means \u201cmiracle.\u201d So why does <\/span>nes\u00a0<\/span><\/em>mean \u201cflag\u201d here?<\/span><\/p>\n

Actually, according to some scholars <\/span>nes<\/span><\/em> never means \u201cmiracle\u201d in Biblical Hebrew \u2013 it always means flag (or flagpole). We can understand the progression to miracle from thinking of the word as meaning \u201csign.\u201d The miracles aren\u2019t simply supernatural events, but intended as a sign of God\u2019s providence. And flags are also a sign, used to represent a country, group or institution.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another Hebrew word meaning both sign and miracle in Biblical Hebrew is <\/span>ot<\/span><\/em>. (The meaning \u201cletter of the alphabet\u201d came later.)<\/span><\/p>\n

Many scholars say that the word <\/span>nes<\/span><\/em> is related to the root <\/span>naso<\/span><\/em> \u2013 \u201cto lift up\u201d, which\u00a0 makes sense if we think of how a flag is raised.<\/span><\/p>\n

But what about another word that seems to have a similar root <\/span>nisayon<\/span><\/em> \u2013 \u201ctrial, attempt\u201d? It comes from the verb <\/span>nasa<\/span><\/em>\u00a0\u00ad<\/span><\/i>\u2013 \u201cto try, to test.\u201d Some scholars say <\/span>nes<\/span><\/em> and <\/span>nisayon<\/span><\/em> aren\u2019t related. But I found an interesting suggestion from R. Yehoshua Steinberg. He connects <\/span>nisayon<\/span><\/em> to the earlier meaning of <\/span>naso<\/span><\/em>, writing that the way we test the weight of an object is to lift it up, and a person’s strength is measured by his ability to lift, to bear. From here it developed the sense of testing in general.<\/span><\/p>\n

The words <\/span>nes<\/span><\/em> and <\/span>nisayon<\/span><\/em> are often found together. For example, in the fifth chapter of Pirkei Avot, we find various sets of tens:<\/span><\/p>\n

Abraham our forefather was tested with ten trials (<\/span>nisyonot)<\/span><\/em>…Ten miracles (<\/span>nisim)<\/span><\/em> were performed for our ancestors in Egypt…With ten trials (<\/span>nisyonot)<\/span> did our ancestors test God in the wilderness … Ten miracles (<\/span>nisim<\/span><\/em>)\u00a0<\/span><\/i>were performed for our ancestors in the Temple”<\/span><\/p>\n

The words (<\/span>nisyonot)<\/span><\/em> and (<\/span>nisim)<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>are deliberately repeated here to create a parallel between them. And while they may or may not be etymologically connected, ultimately the speakers of a language determine the meaning of words, not their etymologies.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":68703,"id":68703,"title":"is62-flag","filename":"is62-flag.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/is62-flag.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/run-it-up-the-flagpole\/is62-flag\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"is62-flag","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":68695,"date":"2020-01-18 21:11:46","modified":"2020-01-18 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