Hebrew Origins of English – Love – Little Guy in the Eye

One of my favorite resources for Bible study is Edenics. Isaac Mozeson in particular has done a vast amount of research on the origin of languages and found that the original language of Eden was Hebrew. English in particular has strong links to the Hebrew language. I hope to share a word every few days to share in this fascinating subject with the focus on Messiah Jesus as the Hebrew language was designed to reveal Him.

The first word in this series of studies will be the English word love. God is love (1 John 4:8) and and such the meaning of this word is of utmost importance.

The English word love traces back to two Hebrew words. לוה ‘lavah’ which means to be joined and לב ‘lev’ which means heart. לוה ‘lavah’ is used in specific of people joining themselves to YHWH (Isaiah 56:6; Isaiah 14:1; Zechariah 2:10-11; Jeremiah 50:5). How can sinful man be joined to a holy God? Through Messiah.

The word לוה ‘lavah’ also has the meaning of a borrower being joined to a lender through debt. God revealed His love by sending His Son to pay the debt for our sins that we might forever be joined to Him (John 3:16).

Scripture speaks of sin as a debt which Messiah paid for on the cross (Colossians 2:14). Forgiving of debts is rendered in Hebrew as נסא ‘nasa’ which means to bear something or lift it up. The root of נסא ‘nasa’ is נס ‘nes’ which means the lifting up of a flag on a pole. Messiah took upon Himself the debt of sin which came about in the beginning due to a serpent in a tree by becoming a “serpent on a tree” (John 3:14-15). It is through the cross that Messiah gathers all mankind back to the Father (John 12:32).

לוה ‘lavah’ is the source of the name לוי Levi which can be seen in Genesis 29:34:

Gen 29:34 And she conceived again and bore a son. And she said, Now, this time my husband will be joined (לוה )to me, because I have borne to him three sons. So his name was called Levi (לוי ).

The English word ‘law’ also traces back to this Hebrew word which is interesting to note as the tribe of Levi were the handlers of the law (Malachi 2:4-7).

Further linking the Law and Love is the English word ‘obey.’ ‘Obey’ comes from the Hebrew word אבה ‘avah’ which is linked to the Hebrew word for love אהבה ‘ahavah’ (Psalm 81:12).

The Scriptures define love as obeying His Law (Matthew 22:35-40; Deuteronomy 5:10; 6:4.-5; 7:9; Leviticus 19:18; Exodus 20:6; Daniel 9:4; John 14:15, 21; 15:10; 1 John 2:4; 5:2-3; 2 John 1:6)
God is Love/Torah/Word
1Jn 4:8 The one who does not love has not known God, because God is love.
1Jn 4:16 And we have known and have believed the love which God has in us. God is love, and the one abiding in love abides in God, and God in him.
Exo 34:6 And YHWH passed by before his face and called out: YHWH! YHWH God! Merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and great in goodness and truth,
Exo 34:7 keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and not leaving entirely unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on sons, and on sons of sons, to the third and to the fourth generation.
1Jn 4:10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be a propitiation relating to our sins.
1Jn 4:11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
1Jn 4:12 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love having been perfected is in us.
1Jn 4:13 By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because of His Spirit He has given to us.
1Jn 4:14 And we have beheld and bear witness that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world.
1Jn 4:15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
1Jn 4:16 And we have known and have believed the love which God has in us. God is love, and the one abiding in love abides in God, and God in him.
1Jn 4:17 By this, love has been perfected with us, that we have confidence in the day of judgment, that as He is, we are also in this world.
1Jn 4:18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has punishment; and the one fearing has not been perfected in love.
1Jn 4:19 We love Him because He first loved us.
1Jn 4:20 If anyone says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar. For the one not loving his brother whom he has seen, how is he able to love God whom he has not seen?
1Jn 4:21 And we have this commandment from Him, that the one who loves God also loves his brother.

This is interesting to note as love is linked to the Father. The English word for ‘dad’ comes from the Hebrew word דד ‘dad’ which means beloved, literally the bosom.

The Father revealed what true love is when He gave His only begotten Son, who came from His bosom (John 1:18), as an atonement for the sins of mankind. The most common Hebrew word for love אהבה ‘ahavah,’ literally means to give.

What is the ultimate definition of love? Giving one’s life for another
Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that everyone believing into Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Joh 15:13 Greater love than this has no one, that anyone should lay down his soul for his friends.

The pictograph meaning of אהב displays this concept even further.

The first and last letters spell out the word for Father (ab) and the middle letter is a picture of a man with outstretched arms. The Love of the Father is revealed through the Messiah on the tree, gathering all mankind back to their Creator.

As mentioned above, the English word for love traces back to the Hebrew word לוה which means to attach to something. Not surprisingly, a second Hebrew word for love means to be attached.

Exo 38:28 And the thousand, seven hundred and seventy five shekels he made into hooks for the pillars; and he overlaid their capitals and joined* them.

Exo 38:17 And the sockets for the pillars were bronze, the hooks of the pillars and their bands of silver. And the overlaying of their capitals were silver; and all the pillars of the court were banded with silver.
Exo 38:28 And the thousand, seven hundred and seventy five shekels he made into hooks for the pillars; and he overlaid their capitals and joined them.
Deu 7:7 YHWH did not set His love on you or choose you because you were more in number than any people, for you were the fewest of all peoples.
Psa 91:14 Because He has set His love on Me, therefore I will deliver Him; I will set Him on high because He has known My name.

Col 2:2 that their hearts may be comforted, being joined together in love, and to all riches of the full assurance of the understanding, to the full knowledge of the mystery of God, even of the Father and of Christ,
Col 2:19 and not holding fast the Head, from whom all the body having been supplied through the joints and bands, and being joined together, will grow with the growth of God.

Another word for love is חשק which has the meaning of being knit together in love. ‘Chashaq’ comes from חב which means the bosom. ‘Chashaq is the word used in reference to the joining together of the Tabernacle, which is a shadow picture of the body of Messiah. It is no surprise that this joining together involved nails, just as in the nails used in the crucifixion (Exodus 38:17, 28; Deuteronomy 7:7; Colossians 2:2, 19; Ephesians 4:15-16).

חשק ‘Chashaq’ also can be traced back to the word חק ‘choq’

H2436
חוק / חק / חיק
chêyq / chêq / chôq
BDB Definition:
1) bosom, hollow, bottom, midst

חק is the root of חקק and חקה which means to inscribe a decree or custom. It is used in reference to the Torah. It is no surprise that the New Covenant, cut at Calvary is associated with the inscribing of the Word on our hearts which is contained in our bosoms (Jeremiah 31:31).

The second Hebrew word which ‘love’ traces back to is לב ‘lev’ which means heart.

The first letter of the Torah is ב, the last letter of the Torah is ל, the last letter of the TaNaKH is also ל. Both forwards בל and in reverse לב the word for heart is seen.