The word se•vel describes physical, spiritual, mental, emotional or psychological pain and agony one may feel. Se•vel (suffering) appears as a core word only once in the Bible, and there it has a surprising meaning: ‘labor.’
“And the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valor; and Solomon seeing that the young man was industrious, made him ruler over all the labor of the house of Joseph”
Just in case you forgot what ‘work’ was really meant to be for mankind, a quick glance at Genesis 3:17-18 could serve as a great reminder. Look it up…
Strangely, the English translation of most of the biblical verses that include conjugations of this verb are all softer than the Hebrew original. For instance, while in Exodus 1:11 the Hebrew says, “to torture them with their sufferings,” the English translation is, “to afflict them with their burdens.” It is also translated the same way in Exodus 2:11. Even the famous verse from Isaiah 53:4 is not free from some ‘softening’: “Surely he has borne our sicknesses, and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, struck by God, and afflicted.” The Hebrew text says ‘suffered our pains’ and not ‘carried our sorrows.’ Also in verse 11 of this chapter we see this ‘word softening:’ “He shall see the labor of his soul, and shall be satisfied; by his knowledge did my servant justify the righteous One to the many, and did bear their iniquities.” Here, too, the Hebrew says: “suffer their sins” and not “bear their iniquities.”
Recent Comments