HEBREW WORD STUDY – A PORTAL – ETS עצה Ayin Sade Hei

Deuteronomy 20:19: “When thou shalt besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof by forcing an ax against them: for thou mayest eat of them, and thou shalt not cut them down (for the tree of the field [is] man’s [life]) to employ [them] in the siege:”

You will notice in today’s study verse that the words “for the tree of the field is man’s life” is in brackets and the words “is” and “life” are in parentheses. You may ask why they are in there since Hebrew does not use brackets and parentheses. Well, that is the translator being honest with you and telling you he is just not sure how it should be translated. You see, if he translated it the way it is written in Hebrew and to be grammatically correct he would have to translate it like the Young’s Literal translates it: “for man is the tree of the field.” They would have to call a man a tree which is sort of degrading. Of the 27 modern translation, I examined only two that did not change the entire meaning. One is the Young’s Literal and they are after all a literal translation so they could not have applied a free-wheeling spin. The second was the JPS which is the Jewish English translation and they are even more precise: “for is the tree of the field (is a) man.” You noticed I added parentheses because I read the Midrash and I know they are not saying that the tree is a field man. The field is clearly a noun (it has a definite article attached) and not an adjective in Hebrew. So, a tree is not a field man but a tree of the field is a man. Seriously, you would think Christian translators have no idea what a metaphor is. Twenty-five of the twenty-seven modern English translations I have read all walk-in lockstep of avoiding the shame of calling man a tree and say things like a tree is food for man. Well, a tree can be food, I guess. I was told they added sawdust to the meat served in the cafeteria in high school. During the Depression, sawdust was used as a filler for food. After all, a tree is plant-based. Then again maybe the verse is speaking of the fruit of the trees.

The sages, however, have no problem calling man a tree. What is so degrading to be compared to a mighty oak tree. After all, like my high school science teacher used to say oak trees were all originally just a bunch of nuts like our class. Yeah, it didn’t get a laugh in our class either. But let’s look at a tree.

The tree has roots, which anchor it to the ground and is the supplier of water and other nutrients. The trunk and leaves make up the body and then you have the fruit which contains the seeds you have the ability to reproduce. Now consider for a moment the most important component of the tree. It is the roots. The tree could not exist without the roots. The growth of the trunk, leaves, and fruit are all in proportion to the roots. If you have weak roots the rest will be weak. Strong roots you have a strong and fruitful tree.

The sages liken the roots to our faith. Faith is not the most glamorous quality of our physical life. Faith is a commitment to just one Source, God. Faith just doesn’t have sophistication, like our intellect or the vivid color of our emotions or that sense of satisfaction that comes from the fruits our labor. Faith is buried underground where its true extent in hidden from others.

Look around at the people in your congregation. There are the beautiful people, the gifted, talented who can sing, teach and wins souls and they are likely the ones who produce the fruit. They are the leaves and the fruit is the results of their talents and gifts. They are honored and praised by all. Then there are the tree trunks, the pillars of the church, the ones who are intellectual and wise. They are also the biggest tithers. They are usually the elite found in the pastor’s circle.

Then there are the roots of the church. Without them, the church would not survive, yet they are the least among those that everyone sees, they are hidden away. They are Miss Betty’s of the church. They are the ones that are not so beautiful or not so bright. You will usually find them sweeping or vacuuming the floor after a service, dusting the pews, or washing the dishes after a social event.

I once told you about Miss Betty, she is the one who is opposed to the government sending men to Mars. She thinks we are only going to Mars to kidnap the Martians and bring them back to earth to enslave them. She really believes this. I will tell you what else she believes, she believes that when you pray, God hears and answers those prayers. When one of those intellectuals or gifted musicians needs urgent prayer, you can find them in the janitor’s closet praying up a storm with Miss Betty, and believe me when Miss Betty prays, it gets pretty stormy.

Oh, there is one other thing I forgot to mention about trees, it is the word ets in Hebrew, which also means a concentration of energy. The roots are your real concentration of energy for a tree. Miss Betty was a real concentration of energy for the power of God. In fact, if you carry this out further into modern English a better word is a portal. A portal is a concentration of energy to another realm. Miss Betty was indeed a portal to another realm, a supernatural realm.

I find it not degrading at all to be called a tree, I bet Miss Betty would not either, and how about you?

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