What does that mean? Well, when you go to a company, they have a theme – like Coca-Cola has a red and white theme – their cans have the color scheme, their website, their commercials – they all have a “red and white” theme. That one image of Coca-Cola needs three words to describe the colors of their logo. Hebrew is similar, which is why a word-for-word translation isn’t always expressible.
One example of this is the word “marrow” מחה (Machah – maw-khaw’).
Machah (marrow) has these meanings (from Brown-Driver-Briggs’ Hebrew Definitions):
- 1. to wipe, wipe out
- a. (Qal)
- 1. to wipe
- 2. to blot out, obliterate
- 3. to blot out, exterminate
- b. (Niphal)
- 1. to be wiped out
- 2. to be blotted out
- 3. to be exterminated
- c. (Hiphil) to blot out (from memory)
- a. (Qal)
- 2. (Qal) to strike
- 3. marrow
What an interesting theme. It’s not just about destruction or removal but like it never existed. So why “marrow” – “the fatty network of connective tissue that fills the cavities of bones: a major site of blood cell production.” (https://www.thefreedictionary.com/marrow) The red marrow of our bones produce red blood cells, platelets, and white blood cells. Yellow marrow stores fat. We didn’t know this until modern times. Again, why marrow in the extermination/obliteration/blot out definition? The bone marrow creates the white blood cells, the corner stone of the immune system, that the body use to exterminate, obliterate, and destroy infections and diseases. (https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/285666#what_is_bone_marrow)
Leviticus 17:11 & 14 state that the life of the flesh is in the blood. The blood comes from the marrow. In other words, that fluid running through our bodies carries red blood cells which deliver oxygen to our organs, sends white blood cells to exterminate foreign objects, and platelets to stop the wounds that allows the blood out of its constraints. Life is in the blood.
Also since marrow is like a buttery liquid it’s used to rub over foods giving it a rich flavor, and to get to the marrow, the bone must be broken which is why the word can also mean to strike. Additionally, the fat can be used to polish out imperfections. Hence the relationship with blotting something out.
Furthermore, each letter in scriptural Hebrew has its own meaning. You can find all their meanings here.
מ ח ה (reading right to left is mem, chet, and hey) and their meanings are:
Mem – water/chaos/”from”
Chet – wall/fence/separation
Hey – grace/window/understanding
In other words, it can mean – water – wall – window – see how our blood (water) is bound (wall) within our veins and arteries, or understand our marrow is walled within our bones. Also, Jesus’ blood separates us from sin through grace, blotting out the handwriting written against us (the Law). Colossians 2:14
I like: chaos is fenced off through revelation. Jesus said that you when you know the truth, the truth will set you free, John 8:32. Also Isaiah 1:18, “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.” Again, understanding these truths, Jesus wiped out the condemnation of sin and blotted out our offenses, set us free by constraining the chaos of condemnation.
With just three Hebrew letters, you have a whole teaching of Jesus’ work and Jesus’ grace!
Psalms 77:12
I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds.