Certainly, you understand the importance of having the correct meaning of Hebrew words by now. Still, we have only covered a portion of all the words misinterpreted as gather in scripture.

ערם  Strong’s# H6192

And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea.

Exo 15:8

ערם means naked or bare. It is literally knowledge of the mind, man, or first infinitely. In this verse, Yahuwah revealed the original or the ‘first’ nature of water as unruly. It rose up causing a flood. It’s best defined as naked – to make bare or to reveal one’s original state.

מרבה Strong’s# H7235

And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered(לקט) every man according to his eating.

Exo 16:18

רבה is literally ‘increase manifested’. It refers to the multiplication of something. In this case, the scripture points out that some in Israel picked multitudes of manna while others picked little.

קהל Strong’s# H6950

And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.

Exo 32:1

קהל is literally quickly gathered to manifest guidance. It is, specifically, a gathering for the purpose of learning or being led.

בצר  Strong’s# H1219

And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.

Gen 11:6

That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the land.

Lev 25:5

בצר is to cover the path of the mind and is best defined as to confine or to enclose.

In Gen 11:6 above, this is evident; however, Leviticus 25:5 uses ‘gather’. In Leviticus, this law states that Israel was to leave the grapes that grew apart from the main vines and the confined or hard to reach grapes for others to eat.

עד  Strong’s# H3259

And if they blow but with one trumpet, then the princes, which are heads of the thousands of Israel, shall gather themselves unto thee.

Num 10:4

This word is literally to know vulnerability or know openly. That is to be aware of one’s vulnerability willingly experiencing success or failure, good or bad. In a sense, it’s the opposite of לקח, which is to take.

This is best understood from the perspective of nonconsensual sex versus consensual sex. When women in the bible are taken (לקח) such as in the story of Dinah in Genesis 34:1-2 and Judah and Shuah in Genesis 38, it usually implies a participant who has no choice. However, additional context sometimes modifies the use of the word taken such as in the story of Isaac and Rebekah in Genesis 24 where the root word קח implies Isaac’s possession of Rebekah as his wife who willingly chose to be his wife. In this sense, it’s as saying ‘he took her into his arms’.

Contrary to ‘taking’ or לקח, when someone עד or betroths someone else (as it is interpreted) they are willingly choosing that person. It’s used and defined in Exodus 21:8-9 which states that a man who ‘willingly chooses’ a woman whom he has purchased as a servant then decides he no longer wants her is deceptive and must continue to provide the same level of financial support, housing, etc. (i.e. alimony) and cannot sell her. If he remarries, he must set her free – having no say in what she does or where she goes.

The term betrothed isn’t completely representative of the Hebrew word pronounced ‘od’ since it doesn’t always refer to a male and female interaction or relate to ‘marriage’ as we interpret it today. Rather, it refers to anyone getting to know anyone or anything willingly – hence ‘know openly or vulnerably’.

In Numbers 10, Yahuwah’s word assures Moses that the leaders of Israel will choose to stand with him. A more complete English version of this verse would explain that the Israelite leaders would willingly stand with Moses accepting their collective success or defeat and all the risks and rewards of their mission.

PART 5