The book of genesis is not just the beginning of the world or the creation of it but also a book that gave to us the first idioms that are eternal. Today we will focus on some of them.

Let us start with the commandment to Abraham in genesis 12:1. The days are the days after the destruction of the tower of Babylon, when The Lord decided to confuse the language of the people of Babylon and he scattered them in the world. Abraham was chosen by God to come to the promise land- the land of Canaan. The Bible is not telling us why God chose him, but this is for another blog, the first thing that Abraham hears is this:

“וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל-אַבְרָם, לֶךְ-לְךָ מֵאַרְצְךָ וּמִמּוֹלַדְתְּךָ וּמִבֵּית אָבִיךָ, אֶל-הָאָרֶץ, אֲשֶׁר אַרְאֶךָּ”

“Now the LORD said unto Abram: ‘Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto the land that I will show thee”

The meanings of “LECH LECHA” are two:

1. Go away from all the things which are known to you to the unknown.

2. Go away from the easy things that you are having, the familiar, to the challenging

things, to the dangerous, to the threats.

We all have the time that we are walking to the unknown; like Abraham, we all share the same feeling that Abraham had, when he needed to leave his house, his country, his land….

In the Modern Hebrew when they are saying this idiom is in a bad meaning: leave!

Get out!

Let’s hope that the biblical meaning will come back!

Eli

Main phrases of the post + transcription + translation

Eli@eteachergroup.com