HEBREW (ARAMAIC) WORD STUDY –A GOOD KIND OF PAIN

ARAMAIC WORD STUDY –A GOOD KIND OF PAIN – TSEVA  צ בא

II Corinthians 12:10:  “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”

What is really striking about this passage is that Paul says he takes pleasure in infirmities.  I think we all know about infirmities or do we?  My first thought goes to physical afflictions. The older you get the more you are aware of how physical afflictions slow you down and I do not take pleasure in them.  Is that what Paul is talking about?  These infirmities are for Christ’s sake.  How do you suffer infirmities for Christ sake if it is just old age?  My brother was a Bible translator in Papua New Guinea and he and his family suffered malaria, dungy fever and other infirmities for the sake of Jesus. Is that what Paul is talking about?

Webster defines an infirmity as physical weakness, lack of strength.  The word in Greek is astheneiais.  According to my books on etymology, this is where we get our word anesthesia which means loss of feeling or lack of sensation.  The Greek word, however, means weakness or frailty or an illness causing frailty. 

The Aramaic word is karihotha which means a weakness from sickness and comes from the root word karah which means to collapse from weakness usually a weakness in one’s legs. In the Jewish Talmud in Sabbath 10a, I found this word used for pain and distress, like arthritis.  Perhaps Paul was suffering from arthritis.  Paul was getting up there in years you know.  

Those of us with arthritis know how painful that is and to continue traveling on foot without Ben Gay nearby, could have been very painful for him.  He would probably have loved to settle down in a peaceful retirement but instead, he just kept going until they lopped off his head.  He had finished the race and was ready to go home to the Jesus he loved, but as long as he had breath, he would suffer the afflictions of old age.  According to the Roman calendar which closely matches our calendar, Paul was likely 60-65 years of age. That is old enough to really feel it when you take a good hike, especially if you have arthritis.  

I know, I am 68 years old and yesterday was Christmas and I decided to go for a hike to share all the things that God created and loves.  By the end of the day I went to a nice motel, soaked in Epsom Salt rubbed my legs with something called Capzasin thinking: “Good grief, my grandmother did the same thing after just grocery shopping.”  

Not many people made it to their sixties in those days and when they did they did not go on long hiking trips like Paul.  But Paul did and he was karah, in pain and physical distress for the sake of Christ and yet he took pleasure in it. The word pleasure in Greek is eudoko which means to think well of something, to be well pleased. Paul was well pleased with his pain. Really? 

The Aramaic word is tseva. Remember that one from yesterday?  It means to take pleasure in something but in its origins in the Canaanite language, it was also a battle cry declaring that you will fight to the finish for the pleasure of your king. 

So as Paul trudged on with his weakness, be it arthritis, leg weakness, pain or whatever his distress was that made his missionary journey physically painful, he did it with the battle cry of tseva for the pleasure of being able to serve God.

So as I soaked in my Epsom salts feeling that pain of spending the day enjoying God’s creation.  Observing the things that God made and loves like the birds singing and squirrels running around. I even saw two squirrels bickering with each other and even in that, I felt God’s pleasure.  As I laid back feeling the pain I knew I would feel after my adventure I could only smile because it was that good kind of pain,  you know? A tseva.