Dictionary Lexicon of the Hebrew Language, including paleo-Hebrew scripts

The California Institute for Ancient Studies
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Dictionary Lexicon of the Hebrew Language
Helping to read ancient texts

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Short account of Hebrew grammar

The Hebrew Alphabet:
Lexicon

Encyclopedia
EA Letters

Seal Impressions
The 10 Devarim

Aleph

Aleph, from seal impressions

Phoenician Aleph

Bet

Bet, from seal impressions

Gimmel

Gimmel, from Siloam Inscription

Daled

Daled, from ivory pomegranate

Shebnah daled of ca. 700 BC.

He, Hay

He, from seal impressions

Hay from Arad potsherd, BAR May 2001, p. 34.

Waw, Vav

Waw from seal impressions

`Vav' from the seal of Shebna , ca. 700 BC.

Zayin

Zayin?, from seal impression

Zayin, from Siloam inscription

Chet

Paleo chet

Tet

Yod, Yod

Yod, from seal impressions

Chaf, Kat

Final Kaf

Kat, from seal impressions

Lamed

Lamed, from seal impressions

Mem

Final Mem

Mem, from seal impressions

Nun

Final Nun

Nun, from seal impressions

Samech

Samech, from seal impressions

Ayin

Ayin?, from seal impression

Ayin, from Shebna lintel

Pe, Pay, Fay

Final Pe

Pe, from seal impressions

Tsade, Tsadee

Final Tsade

Tsade, Siloam Inscription

Qof, Qaf

Qof, from ivory pomegranate

Resh

Resh, from seal impressions

Sin, Shin

Sin, from ivory pomegranate

Taw

Letter `taw' from Siloam inscription

Compare the above alphabet also with an ancient looking student's `abcdeary' scratched on a potsherd and found at Izbet Sartah. Interestingly enough this writing is to be read from left to right.

BAR, Vol. 28, May/Jun 2002, p. 44.

Hebrew tomb inscription of individual, handwritten Hebrew letters not in sequence of the original text.
aleph=

bet=

daled?=

he=

waw=

zayin?=

yod=

kaf=

lamed=

mem=

samech=

Ayin=

pe=

resh=

sin=

tet/taw=

Tsade

This is [the sepulchre of ...]yahu who is over the house. There is no silver and no gold here / but [his bones] and the bones of his slave wife with him. Cursed be the man who will open this.

Letters from the Tel Dan Inscription, BAR, 1994

aleph=

bet=

daled=

he=

waw=

yod=

lamed=

mem=

samech?=

pe=

qof=

resh?=

sin=

Letters from seal impressions, BAR, 1994

Hay=

yod=

kaf=

lamed=

mem=

nun=

samech=

ayin=

pe=

resh=

Paleo letters from about 100 BC, BAR, 1997

Alep=

he=

kap=

lamed=

mem=

sade=

qop=

Hebrew letters from the Siloam Inscription, about 650 BC, BAR, 1997

Pashur, Israelite priestly family, BAR May 2001, p. 34.

Gimmel=

zayin=

chet=

tsade=

Mremot, Israelite priestly family.

Right: Seal ring of Hanan: 1. lhnn b, 2. n, hlqyhw, 3. hkhn; `(Belonging) to Hanan, son (of) Hilqiyahu, the priest'.

From the Siloam Inscription only letters appear which are not already documented elsewhere.

Hebrew letters from an unusual seal impression containing only the title `Governor of the city' in paleo-Hebrew script. The seal has two Assyrian style figures representing the king holding a bow and arrows in front of him and the governor with his hand raised, indicating submission. [BAR, Sep/Oct, 1987, p. 62]

Reading right to left: The word for governor is `sar' (officer, controler), made up of `shin' and `resh'. The Hebrew word for city here is `ha-ir' represented by the letters `hay', `ayin' (the circle) and `resh'. [For this title see: Judges 9:30; 1.Kings 22:26; 2.Chronicles 34:8; 2.Kings 23:8] Professor Avigad believed this seal belonged to the governor of Jerusalem during Assyrian times.

For more examples of ancient Hebrew alphabetic writing samples see Biblical Archaeologist, Vol. 48, June 1985, p. 84f.; Includes letters traced from Lachish Ostraca, Arad Ostracon VI, Leviticus and Hasmonian coins. Also BAR, Vol. 19, Jul/Aug 1993, p. 49.

Hebrew to English (If `jpg' letters don't show, refresh)

Aleph)

abiyr, mighty (G-d);

echad, one, [`echad/one' is always used by associating more than one object, `the evening and the morning were one day', `gathering together of the waters into one sea', `man and wife shall be one flesh'. None of these examples use the other Hebrew word for `one', `yachid'.

adamah, land, earth, ground;

adown, sovereign, lord, master (human or divine);

agmown, marshy pool, caldron, (bull) rushes;

Ahimaaz, Hebrew name for `Ahmose', 1.Sam. 14:50;

Ehyeh asher Ehyeh, `I Am who I Am', Ex. 3:14;

oklah, food, diet; [Genesis 1:29]

eleph, thousand, family, clan; [Judges 6:15 RV, Zechariah 9:7; 12:5,6 RSV] or perhaps `a military unit'.

Elohim, [Exodus 22:8; "... he shall be brought unto the `elohim'", `elohim' is gods in the ordinary sense, but specifically used of the supreme G-d; occasionally applied by way of deference to `magistrates'; and sometimes as a superlative to angels, judges, mighty, great, exceeding. In the above vers `elohim' is translated as judges.

aluwph, chieftain, dukes; [Genesis 36:15]

em, mother;

aram, Syria;

arbeh, locust, grasshopper (Str. #697 from 7235 `rabah,' increase, abundance);

aron, ark/coffin, Gen. 50:26.

aru, lion;

esh, fire.

'asham, guilt, guilt offering;

asur, Assyria;

oth, sign, Gen. 1:14; Ex. 4:8, 8, 17; Isa. 7:14.

'atsar, to store up, (lay up in) store, (make) treasure(r);

awb, chief, father;

'owr, to be luminous, light of day;

Bayth)

abba, The Aramic word `abba', Hebrew just `beth' explained [120].
badaq, As a noun: fissure, as in to go into the fissure, to treat the fissure; Root meaning is: break off, divide; 2.Ki. 12:1, 6; 2.Chr. 34:10;

balah, to fail, wear out, decay, consume, waste;

bara, created, Gen. 1:1.[100]

bashal, to boil, cooking, Ex. 23:19; Dt. 14:21.

betach careless, in confidence, Judges 18:7; Isa. 47:8; Eze. 30:9.

bazaz, plunder, catch, gather;

belulim, spiral (winding) staircase, 1.Kings 6:8; [BAR, May 2003, p. 30. `b' is part of the root.]

In-beginning, b're-sith, In the beginning [Genesis 1:1];

Bit Abadim (or Bet Avadim), house of bondage;

bore, cistern;

buwe, to trample (under foot);

Gimmel)

ga'ah, to mount up, to rise, be majestic, grow up, triumph;

gaavah, arrogance, majesty, excellency, proudly, swelling;

gullah, redemption, by impl. relationship: kindred, redeem, right;

Daled)

d'bach, sacrifice;

dabah, fear, sorrow;

dabar, a word; the form `devarim' means '10 lines of writing, commandments' [Exodus 34:28; Ps. 103:20];

darash, inquire, pay attention to, seek; [Isaiah 55:6; 1.Sam. 28:7]

d'hab, gold;

diysh, to trample, break, tear, thresh, tread down;

duwr, pronounce `dure'. To turn, round about, ball, Isa. 22:18;

Hay)

habhab, gift, offering;

haddabar, a vizier, counselor;

(h)alas, used as a rare interjection on gravestones

hadar, magnificence, splendor, beauty, glorious, glory, majesty, goodly;

halakhah, primary meaning, "the way of going", also `the Jewish law', `to walk.' John 14:6; Acts 24:14; `the Way' refers to Christians.
Hoshea, king of Israel;

hizzeq, repair, fortify fissures in stone walls; 2.Kings 12:5.;

Waw)

vazar, to bear guilt, crime;

valad, a boy, child;

Zayin)

zabach, slaughter an animal, to sacrifice;

zebed, gift, dowry;

zakar/zakhor, remember, (same root) memorial; Genesis 8:1; Exodus 20:8; It means, the Sabbath is the memorial of Creation & Redemption;

z'bul, a residence, dwell in, dwelling, habitation;

Chet)

chabab, to hide (as in the bossom), cherish (with affection), love;

chabal, to ruin, destroy, hurt;

chaggah, feminine: decreed, statute, portion; Genesis 26:5; Ex. 27:21; Lev. 16:29,31,34; Ps. 119:16; Jer. 44:10,23; Refers most often to moral law.

chalab, milk, Deut. 14:21.

cheleb, fat, Dt. 32:14. Note: The word for `milk' and `fat' is the same, context alone can help to distinguish. Some say Ex. 23:19 & Dt. 14:21 is directed against `slaughtering' both a kid and its mother since they read `fat' rather than milk in this case. Problem is, we read `bashal' cook or `seethe', not `slaughter' or `slay' which Hebr. words are not the same.

chalats, armed (Num. 31:5; Ps. 114:8; Isa. 50:7).

challamish, flint (Dt. 8:15; Ps. 114:8; Isa. 50:7).

chamad, covet; Exodus 20:17;

chamush, armed, harnassed (Josh. 1:14; 4:12).

chattaah, sins, sin; Gen.4:3-8;18:16-20; 19:20; 36:6-9;42:21-22; By the grace of YHVH, `chata'ahs' are sins we ought to never commit.

chattawth, sins, sin offerings;

cheshed, love, steadfast love, loving kindness, mercy; Exodus 15:13; Psalm 5:7; Hosea 6:6;

choq, masculine: decreed, statute, portion; Exodus 15:25,26; Dt. 4:5,6,8; Josh. 24:25; Eze. 20:18,25; Refers most often to sacrificial system.

chuwg, pronounce `khoog'; circle, circuit, compass, Isaiah 40:22.

Tet)

tabach, to slaughter (animals), kill, slay;

towb, good in the widest sense, beautiful, cheerful, loving;

Yod)

Ye`or, river.

yabab, cry out, bawl;

yachid, one; Yachid/one' is used in the sense differently from `echad/one'. For example: `Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac... (qach na eth binka eth-yechidka)' [Gen. 22], `And they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. (wesaphdu alaw kemisped al-hayyachid, wehamer alaw kehamer al-habbekor)' [Zechariah 12:10];

yath, + whom (sign of the object of a verb);

y'buwl, produce, a crop or wealth, fruit, increase;

yhwh, Yahweh;

Israel, Israel;

yom, day;

Kaf)

ka'ab, feel pain, grieve;

kabed, honour; Exodus 20:12;

kapharoth. kapporeth, atonement, mercy seat; Exodus 20:12; 25:17;

k'eb, suffering, anguish, grief, pain, sorrow;

kohanim, priests;

kaphar, sin;

Lamed)

la, law;

lo, no (as in a denial);

l'bonah, frankincense;

Lebanon, snowy; Deut. 1:7.

, lechem, bread; Gen. 3:19; Mal. 1:7.

Lo-ammi, not my people; Hosea 1:9.

amwan, loyal;

leb, heart, care for, lust, considered, friend, wisdom;

labiybah, or rather;

lbyt, belonging to the house (of);

l'mow, at, to, for, upon (preposition);

Mem)

maakeleth, knife (for food), Gen. 22:6,10; Judg. 19:29; Prov. 30:14.

me(y)ah, hundred, multiplier, hundredfold.; Gen. 11:10; plus many more.

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mashach, meshiyach, the anointed one, root word for `Messiah', Daniel 9:25 (`Messiah son of YHVH ;

Mesh(r)ia, Messiah, Isa. 9:6; [In Daniel 9:26 we learn that the Messiah is cut off before the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple. In Zech. 9:9,10 we learn that Messiah comes to Jerusalem as king but humble on a donkey.]

ma'abuwc, (pronounce: `mahabooce') granary, storehouse;

m'ah, hundred;

melek, king;

migdol, tower of salvation (2.Sam. 22:51); migdal, a great tower (Gen. 11:4);

michyahu, shortened form for `Who is like Yahweh?' (BAR, J/F, p. 56);

mitsvoth, (gedeloth, greater; qetannoth, lesser): the Jews called them 4 greater and the 6 lesser commandments. Sieh auf Deutsch: hier

Nun)

nacham, to sigh, to be sorry, to pity or console, to comfort, ease, repent, repented, repenteth, repenting.; Ex. 13:17 and 39 more times to Jonah 3:9; 4:2; Zech. 8:14.;

na'ah, to be at home, house, pasture, pleasant place;

na'am, whisper, utter an oracle, say;

na'ar, by implication it means `servant(s)' Is. 37:6; can also mean `tumble about';

nechtak, it means `to cut quickly', `to decree', `are determined', Daniel 9:24;

nechosheth, brass, copper; This word was either copper or bronze (alloy of copper with tin); brass (alloy of copper with zinc) came much later. See Daniel 2:32; Ezra 8:27;

Samech)

saphar, to score a mark, inscribe, scribe;

sus, horse(s);

Ayin)

abad, to work, serve, till, enslave, bond service, labour;

ebed, a servant, bondman; servant(s) of the king 2.Ki. 19:5;

ebedyah, servant of YHWY; Daniel 9:11.

abuwr, passed, kept over, stored grain, old grain;

eduwth' or `edut', covenant, (testimony?);

`am', people, my people, Isaiah 53:8;

Amalek.

asah, made, to be made;

asarah, ten (as an accumulation as in 10 debarim), (Strong's 6235), (measured) wages, items, length, Ex. 26:16; 34:38;

edut, testimony; As in "May this day become a testimony" when referring to the ark of the testimony (Ex. 25:22; 26:33-34; 2.Ki. 11:12; serve, till, enslave, bond service, labour;

Ir, cities, city, town Gen. 13:12; Judges 10:4;

Gaza, Judges 16:1.

Pay)

pachdah, alarm, fear;

paga, come between, intercessor, intreat; Isa. 59:16.

p'duth, distinction, deliverance, redeem, redemption;

palah, separated, Ex. 33:16; Lev. 20:24.

`paqad', visit, Exodus 20:5.

`piqqudim', 10 commandments, Ps. 103:18; 111:7.

pene, face, before, presence;

parad, separated, Gen. 13:11,14; 25:23.

paroketh, hanging, covering, curtain, veil;

pesha, rebellion, revolt, it is a deliberate, intentional, premeditated sin, it is not a transgression, trespas, it is not loosing one's temper. Daniel 8:12;

Plishtiy, Philistines;

Tsade)

tsaba, to mass (an army), assemble, fight, perform, war, muster;

tse'etsa, produce, children, offspring;

tsani, sheep;

`tsadeq', righteousness, Lev. 19:15; Isa. 45:19

`tsar', straight , 2.Ki. 6:1; Job 36:16; Isa. 49:20.

tseriah or seriah, stronghold (Judges 9:46,49; 1 Sam. 13:6) or better according to Lawrence E. Stager, a corridor inside a thick wall, 1 Kings 6-7).[BAR, July 2003, p. 33]

Zoar.

Qaf)

q'burah, sepulchre, burial, burying place, grave;

qabal, opposite, in front of, before;

qds, qodesh, kodashim, holy, holiness; Leviticus 22:2-16; Numbers 6:20; Zecheriah 14:21. To see a `holy bowl' go to BAR, Vol. 18, Nov/Dec 1992, p. 49-50.

qk, stands probably for `Qode� K�han�m.' "sacred to the priests."; Not in the Bible. See BAR, Vol. XII, Mar/Apr 1987, p. 33. Found on a shallow bowl used to hold offerings at Arad.

qets, `end'; Daniel 8:19 should read, "... this vision is going to go until the time of the end" - when Messiah sets up His kingdom.

qol, to call aloud, a voice or sound, crackling cry, lowing noise, sing, sound, spark, thunder;

Resh)

ra'ah, to see, appear, behold, consider, discern, gaze, perceive, regard, show, view;

raoth, `evil'; [No scriptural source, see here; Compare with `Ramoth'

means `high places,' where evil took place; in which example the `a' is left out, Young's Conc.]

Ramses, `son of the sun'; [Genesis 47:11; Exodus 12:37; Numbers 33:3, 5]

rea, neighbor; Exodus 20:16;

rib means charge or a legal dispute, controversy, Hosea 4:1.

rosh, `chief', 1.Chr. 7:3; Ezekiel 38:2. `Rosh' has been seen as the root word for Russia. It also occurs together with `Gog' and `Magog'.

Shin)

sha'ac, to plunder, spoil;

, `shawar' Exodus 10:19 (remained); 14:28 (remained); Judges 4:16 (left); 1.Samuel 9:24 (left) and Ruth 1:3 (left). Each time the word means someone or something that survived a process of elimination. [Cmp. Matth. 24:22,23.]

shamea, shema, hear, obey, pay attention; Ex. 19:5; Deut. 6:4;

shem, name;

shaphat, to judge as a magistrate; [Genesis 16:5; Judges 4:4; Jeremiah 5:28; Like in `Jehoshaphat'. Akkadian equivalent is `Dan' as in `Daniel'.]

shnat shtayim, year two;

sh'ol, grave, hell, pit;

Taw)

ta'ab, to desire, long for;

tamid, always, continually (adverb), continuance (noun), ever; [Exodus 29:42; Daniel 8:11]

ta'owm, or;

t'ow, and;

tav, mark, sign; Eze. 9:4; In paleo Hebrew `taw' happens to be like a cross and `vav' is similar.

(

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Tubal, Tubal, a personal name of a grandson of Noah, Gen. 10:2; In time it may have been that the Siberian city of Tobolsk derived its name from Tubal.

Some Hebrew Phrases

"Brashith bra elohim shamirah vahretare(t),' "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." Gen. 1:1.

the sons of the living G-d, 3 words, [Hoshea 2:1];

the sons of my G-d, 2 words;
[C.D. Ginsburg, `The Babylonian Codex of Hosea and Joel' in TSBA, Vol. V, 1877, p. 129-176]

am haratsim, "men of the earth", unlearned rustics, the uneducated; See the book titled, `The Old Paths';

ad ki-yabo Shiloh welo yiqhath ammim, "till Shiloh comes and to him shall the gathering of the people be"; Genesis 49:10; Shiloh, another name for Messiah, shall come; See also the words of YHVH through Nathan in 2.Samuel 7:12,13: "He shall build an house for may name, and I will establish his kingdom forever.";

Wekillah mikapper eth-haqqodesh, "And when he has made an end of atoning for the sanctuary." Lev. 16:20. The words "reconcile" and "atonement" are translated from the same word,

(kaphar).

Presumed reading: "Qum Yahweh nathan oyeb awsar puts sane nus paneh." - "Rise up, Lord, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee." Num. 10:35.
"Shoob Yahweh rebawbaw eleph e Israel." - "Return, O Lord, unto the many thousands of Israel." Num. 10:36.

`lehashib welibnoth', "to restore and to rebuild (Jerusalem)", "fully to restore and to build again", Daniel 9:25.

`qodesh haq-qodashim', "the most holy" as applied to things and not persons; Exodus 26:33.

`maled chedosh', "a new king"; Exodus 1:8.

`?', "papyrus"-(Septu.);

`?', "clay and/or asphalt"; The Gemara says the basket was smeared with clay on the inside and asphalt/tar on the outside; Rabbi Salomo said the whole box was smeared with both.; Exodus 2:3.

`pesha', rebellion, revolting; Daniel 8:12 should read, "an host was given against the continuance in rebellion."

`Miqsat Ma'ase Ha-Torah,' Translated: (1) "some precepts of Torah', (2) `some legal rulings of Torah,' (3) `one law and one manner'! - - Compare Jer. 32:11; Psalm 81:4; Numbers 15:16. BAR, 9/94

[

]

`L'beyt Yahweh qodesh kohanim,' Translated: "Belonging to the Temple of Yahweh, holy to the Priests." Inscription on the ivory pomegranate bud. (BAR, Vol. 31, No. 5, Sep 2005, p. 54.)
"And she named the child

, `Ichabod', saying, The glory is departed." 1.Samuel 4:21; Genesis 3:7; Ex. 40:34; 1.Chr. 7:1-3; Ezekiel 8:4; 10:4.

`ir david', City of David, 2.Sam. 5:7,9.

`bayit david' House of David, 1.Sam. 20:16.

A Few Examples of Egyptianisms

`', "in the face of pharaoh"; or

`', "from the face of pharaoh"; Genesis 47: 2, 7, 41, 46, meaning "before pharaoh". Compare with the Egyptian "only in the face of his Majesty" `m hr hm-f' or `hft hr hm-f'. [Yahuda]

`', "before Joseph's face = before him"; or

`', "from his face = from him"; Genesis 43:15, 34;

`', "by the life of pharaoh"; Genesis 42:15; the only occurance of this oath clause.

`l adowni(h)m', "their lords, the king (`melek') of the `two lands'"; Genesis 40:1, or

`', "... the man, the lords of the land said harsh things unto us", instead of "the lord". Notice how exactly Joseph's brothers distinguish between him, the employee, and his master, the viceroy, in that they speak of him as `my lord' in the singular and `thy lords' in the plural when speaking of the viceroy. In that they are using Egyptian court etiquette. Genesis 42: 30, 33; 44: 7-9 (Hebrew Bible).

Hebrew Week Days Numbering

The word Sabbat or Sabbata denoted a week among the Syrians, Arabians, Christian Persians and Ethiopians. The following shows the ancient Syrian calendar as expressed in the alphabet of the Chaldee:

Hab Shabbat
Horen Shabbat
Helah Shabbat
Arbaaha Shabbat
Chemishshah Shabbat
Ayar Shabbat
Shabbat

One of the Sabbath or week
Two of the Sabbath
Three of the Sabbath
Four of the Sabbath
Five of the Sabbath
Eve of the Sabbath
The Sabbath

Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Sabbath

Notes & References

[100] A Dutch professor recently (Oct. 2009) claimed that a word in Genesis 1:1 is not correctly translated, that it ought to be not `created' but instead `separated.' That in itself is a completely unfounded conjecture knowing how painstakingly Jewish scribes passed on the Word of God over the ages down to our time. They would never have made such a scribal error in the very first verse of the Thora, a word that occurs 33 times from Gen. 1:1 to Malachi 2:10 as it refers each time to the fact of God `creating', not separating, the world, life and God's holy Sabbath. The professor's claim is understandable knowing that her headquarters in Rome has, not long ago, disavowed faith in the only true God and creationism in favor of evolution. That means that everything evolved out of chaos and that the molecules in our brain are just crazy blips and currents with no rhyme or reason and we can ignore her comments, for our God is a God of love, order and discipline, salvation and consumation.

[120] English: Why is the `Sabbath of the Lord thy God' a puzzler? When we look at the word - Sabbath', what do we see? We see the word `abba'. What does that mean? The word `abba' is an Aramaic word. Jesus uses it in his prayer in the `Garden of Gethsemane,' Mark 14:36. It is the word that we find right in the middle of the Ten Commandments in the center of the fourth commandment where it says, "the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God", and in the center of the word `Sabbath' is the word `abba', in Hebrew just written as the Hebrew letter , which is preceded and followed by the only sounded letter aleph , making the Aramaic word "abba". It means, `our kind heavenly father.' That is how important the Sabbath ought to be to all who claim to be Christians.
Deutsch: Warum ist "der Sabbat des Herrn deines Gottes" so ein R�tsel f�r viele? Wen wir uns das Worth - Sabbat' anschauen, was sehen wir? Wir sehen das Wort `abba'. Es ist ein Aram�isches Wort. Was bedeutet es? Jesus benutzte es in seinem Gebet im Garten von Gethsemane, Markus 14:36. Es ist ein Wort das wir in der Mitte der Zehn Gebote finden, in der Mitte des Satzes wo wir lesen, "am siebenten Tag ist der Sabbat des Herrn deines Gottes", und in der Mitte des Wortes `Sabbat' finden wir das Wort `abba', in Hebr�isch bleibt nur der Buchstabe `beth' , da sie nur Konsonanten schrieben. Was hei�t oder bedeutet `abba'? Es bedeutet, `unser lieber himmlischer Vater'. Wir sehen also wie wichtig dieser Tag in den Augen Gottes ist und das alle die sich Christen nennen, ihn in Ehren halten sollten.