ARAMAIC WORD STUDY – CAST OUT – (ARAMAIC) NEPHAQ – ​נפק

John 6:37: “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”

Casting out sounds so harsh and scary. I sure do not want to be cast out by God. So it is a real comfort to know that God will “in no wise cast (me) out.” The word for cast out in Greek is ekballo which means to cast out or drive out. Some modern translations say ekballo means that God will never reject those who come to Him. Other translation say He will not throw them out. Some are little more gentle and say that word ekballo means will not you turn away. But most translators keep the harshness and say something to the effect that He will not drive them out.

Most translations, however, walk in lock step with the KJV and say God will not cast them out, like you toss out trash. The Aramaic which reflects the language of Jesus says God will not nephaq which carries the same idea as the Greek but its usages tend to be more definitive. I have found in extra Biblical literature that it is used to describe a king who has officially left the palace even before he leaves. In other words, nephaq carries the idea that the very thought or rumor of being cast out means you are cast out.

Now that is why I love studying the New Testament Aramaic. The love and caring of God is much more expressed. If we come to God He will only not cast us out but the very idea of casting us out will not even cross His mind. He has no plans on casting us out if we come to Him.

I had a man ride my disability bus not too long ago who told me the doctor told him to get his affairs in order for there was nothing more medical science could do for him. He already had five heart attacks and the next one would be the big one and it could happen any time and definitely within the next two months, more than likely within the month. He shared his life story with me as a championship body builder and martial arts expert. He was the personal body guard for a couple of the top mobsters in Chicago and moonlighted as a bouncer in a bar. He admitted to having beaten men, a couple to death, while the police looked away. He said; “I know where I am going and I deserve to go there. The things I have done were horrible things, terrible things.” I asked him to just come to God and he said: “God wants nothing to do with me.” I shared some Scripture with him and said Jesus promised that whoever came to Him He would never cast them out, in fact He would not even entertain the thought of rejecting Him. Jesus said everyone and He meant everyone. In Aramaic the language that Jesus spoke he used the word min which means everyone, no exceptions, no matter how horrible, how terrible the things you did, they were all nailed to the cross and Jesus was executed for those sins so you do not need to be punished. All you have to do is come to Him. That word come in Aramaic is etha which means to simply reach out. I told him, “Don’t tell me about the horrible things you did, tell Jesus and tell Him you are sorry, reach out to Him and tell Him. He promised to not reject you.

When he got on my bus for his return ride he had a big smile and said: “I did what you suggested, I’m not afraid anymore.” God will in no way toss you out if you come to Him in true repentance. In the Aramaic that promise is iron clad.

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