New American Standard Bible 1995

Back to Reader

Zechariah

8

:

10

'For before those days there was no wage for man or any wage for animal; and for him who went out or came in there was no peace because of his enemies, and I set all men one against another.

Lexicon

Verse part Definition: Part of speech: Strong's: Hebrew: Transliteration:
For before face, faces Noun H6440 לִפְנֵי֙ lif·nei
those they Pronoun H1992 הָהֵ֔ם ha·hem,
days day Noun H3117 הַיָּמִ֣ים hai·ya·mim
there was no not Adverb H3808 לֹ֣א lo
wage hire, wages Noun H7939 שְׂכַ֤ר se·char
for man man, mankind Noun H120 הָֽאָדָם֙ ha·'a·dam
or any wage hire, wages Noun H7939 וּשְׂכַ֥ר u·se·char
for animal; a beast, animal, cattle Noun H929 הַבְּהֵמָ֖ה hab·be·he·mah
and for him who went to go or come out Verb H3318 וְלַיֹּוצֵ֨א ve·lai·yo·v·tze
out or came to come in, come, go in, go Verb H935 וְלַבָּ֤א ve·lab·ba
in there nothing, nought Particle H369 אֵינֶ֑נָּה ei·nen·nah;
was no not Adverb H3808    
peace completeness, soundness, welfare, peace Noun H7965 שָׁלֹום֙ sha·lo·vm
because from Prepostion H4480 מִן־ min-
of his enemies, adversary, foe Adjective H6862 הַצָּ֔ר ha·tzar,
and I set to send Verb H7971 וַאֲשַׁלַּ֥ח va·'a·shal·lach
all the whole, all Noun H3605 כָּל־ kol-
men man, mankind Noun H120 הָאָדָ֖ם ha·'a·dam
one man Noun H376 אִ֥ישׁ ish
Analysis:

One: God

Refers to HaShem (God), Who is One. This number can also refer to unity. The first place the number "one" occurs is in Genesis 1:5. There one reads, "And there was an evening and there was a morning— one day". Later on in this same book of Genesis, it is stated concerning the man and his wife, "And they became one flesh" (Genesis 2:24). It is very significant that in both of these examples there was a multiplicity for the subject. In the first example, the evening and the morning became one day and in the second example, it was Adam and Eve who became one flesh.

One of the most famous passages in the Torah concerning HaShem is Deuteronomy 6:4 which states, "Hear O Israel the Lord your God the Lord is One." The question that a person must ask himself is what is the connection between the use of the Hebrew word אחד "one" which identifies a multiplicity being one and the fact that the Lord God of Israel is One? The answer is that the Hebrew word אחד can relate to the concept for one as in "unification". There is another Hebrew word that would have been possible to be used if the author wanted to refer to an absolute oneness or singleness. This is the Hebrew word יחיד. In fact, there is a well-known prayer in Judaism which states, "אחד ואין יחיד כיחודו". This phrase should be translated as, "(God is) One and there is no singularity as His singularity." The idea that is being expressed in this prayer is that the Lord God of Israel is One; but not an absolute One; rather there is a uniqueness and a complexity to His Oneness.

The number one is frequently employed to express in the Scriptures one object, such as one man or one tabernacle. This usage would be the simple or common purpose that the number one or for that matter any number, would appear in a Biblical text. Often the appearance of a number does not contain any of the significance that Hebrew numerology might offer. Therefore, the reader must always consider when coming across a verse which contains a number, that the number only expresses an amount and no additional significance. 

Because the number one is often associated with God, there is a unique phenomenon in the Scriptures concerning this number. Sometimes the number one is employed to express a unique relationship that the object has to HaShem. For example,

"And it will be one day, it will be known to HaShem..." Zechariah 14:7

In the text above, Zechariah could have stated simply, "And it will be a day…" The fact that the prophet said "one day" is to convey that this day is uniquely related to God. Similarly, it is stated by the prophet Ezekiel in chapter 37, "one King", "one nation" and "one Shepherd" (see Ezekiel 37:22, 24). Each of these objects—King, nation and Shepherd—has a connection to HaShem. The King and Shepherd is Messiah Yeshua, the Son of God and the one nation is Israel, the people of God.

Loveisrael.org - Baruch Korman, Ph.D. - All Rights Reserved - Used with Permission 2016

against another. friend, companion, fellow Noun H7453 בְּרֵעֵֽהוּ׃ be·re·'e·hu.

Parallel Verses

Removed text
Added text
New American Standard Bible 1995 'For before those days there was no wage for man or any wage for animal; and for him who went out or came in there was no peace because of his enemies, and I set all men one against another.
King James Bible 'For For before those these days there was no wage hire for man or man, nor any wage hire for animal; and for beast; neither was there any peace to him who that went out or came in there was no peace because of his enemies, and the affliction: for I set all men every one against another.his neighbour.
Hebrew Greek English 'For before those days there was no wage for man or any wage for animal; and for him who went out or came in there was no peace because of his enemies, and I set all men one against another.