Page 96 - Coincidences in the Bible and in Biblical Hebrew

CHAPTER 3 “RANDOMNESS” AND “COLD”
CHAPTER 3 “RANDOMNESS” AND “COLD” 75 75

slave emphasizes the random nature of his encounter with Saul and
Jonathan: “And the young man that told him … [to David] … said, As
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I happened by chance [nikro nikreti ] upon mount Gilboa, behold, Saul
leaned upon his spear” (2 Samuel 1:6). The Hebrew word used by the
Amalekite youngster for “I happened by chance” is doubled, thus dou-
bling the focus on the random nature of this encounter.
• Moses leaves his instructions for the children of Israel: “Remember that

which Amalek did to you on your way out of Egypt; When he occurred

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to you [expressed by the two words asher karcha ]” (Deut. 25:17–18,
author’s translation). Of course, Amalek has not the faintest idea that
everything that occurs is an act of God, so the Bible in an ironic fashion
conveys how Amalek relates to the encounter with the people of Israel
(“when he occurred to you”). Also, Moses emphasizes that Israel at the
time was also somewhat like Amalek, because its people were “tired and
exhausted and not God-fearing.” So the random encounter that occurred
at the time is adequately described as “occurrence,” both from the per-
spectives of Amalek and that of the people of Israel (at the time).
• Pharaoh , the omnipotent king of Egypt, denies any existence of God.
So he says, “I own the Yeor [the Nile river] and I have made it” (Ezek.
29:3); Or: “And Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord that I should obey his
voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord and also Israel I will send
not” (Exod. 5:2). Therefore, when God instructs Moses on how to talk

to Pharaoh, he adequately uses a language fit for this king: “And you
would come together with the elderly of Israel to the king of Egypt, and
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said unto him, The Lord God of the Hebrews has occurred [nikrah ] to
us, and now let us go, we pray thee, for three days in the desert and put

sacrifices to the Lord our God” (Exod. 3:18). Indeed, Moses uses this
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phrase (nikrah ) when he comes before Pharaoh (Exod. 5:3). Needless to
add, this word, “occur,” is not in Moses’ vocabulary when he addresses
his own fellow men and women, the children of Israel. Neither does
God instruct him to use such language when breaking the news about
the upcoming salvation from the bonds of Egypt (Exod. 3:13–17).
• The story of Balak , King of Moab , who has summoned the non-Israelite
prophet Balaam to curse the people of Israel, while the latter were

wandering in the vicinity of Moab on their way to the land of Israel,
is saturated with “occurrences” words (Num. 23:3, 4, 15, 16). In fact,
the K.R.H root is used as a basis for various derivatives four times in a
single chapter (out of the twenty-three times that this root appears in
the whole of the Bible). The Bible again emphasizes that the culture of