Words · Hebrew Words · Lesson 2, word 3 of 5
תְּשׁוּבָהteshuvah (from the verb shuv)
Return, turning back to God (the verb shuv carries this).
Why this word is here. The standard Hebrew word for repentance in later Judaism; the honest entry must explain that the Old Testament carries the idea mainly with the verb 'return'.
What it means
Here the lexicon forces honesty. The noun teshuvah in the Old Testament is rare and usually means a return in time ('the return of the year', 1 Samuel 7:17; 2 Samuel 11:1) or an answer, a reply (Job). The repentance idea is carried by the verb shuv, 'to turn, to return', used hundreds of times: Israel is called to return to the LORD, and God speaks of returning to his people.
After the Old Testament period teshuvah became the settled word for repentance, and it is the word used in Jewish teaching to this day. Reading that later meaning back into every Old Testament occurrence of the noun would be anachronism; ignoring the verb's dominance would miss where the Bible actually puts the weight.
Where you meet it
“Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “return to Me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning.”
Joel 2:12 (BSB)
Anchor verse 'Even now... return to Me (shuvu) with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning.' The call is a turning of the whole person, located in the heart.
Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God, for you have stumbled by your iniquity.
Hosea 14:1 (BSB)
'Return (shuvah), O Israel, to the LORD your God, for you have stumbled by your iniquity.' The book that exposed Israel's unfaithfulness ends with the invitation to come back.
Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge you, each according to his ways, declares the Lord GOD. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, so that your iniquity will not become your downfall.
Ezekiel 18:30 (BSB)
'Repent and turn (shuvu) from all your transgressions... Repent and live!' Ezekiel binds return to life itself.
Why it matters
Repentance in the Bible is a road home, not a mood of regret. Shuv is movement: away from the wrong direction and back toward a God who says he will receive returners. That is the picture behind Jesus' parable of the son who 'came to himself' and went back to his father.
Watch out
The over-claim to correct is the confident statement that 'teshuvah is the Hebrew word for repentance in the Old Testament'. As a noun, in the Old Testament, it mostly is not. The concept is everywhere, but it lives in the verb shuv. This is a good test case for word studies generally: a true doctrine can be propped on the wrong word, and the correction strengthens rather than weakens it.
In this lesson
- emet (אֱמֶת): Truth that is firm, reliable and faithful.
- emunah (אֱמוּנָה): Firmness, fidelity, steadfastness.
- kavod (כָּבוֹד): Glory, honour and splendour, God's visible majesty.
- berakhah (בְּרָכָה): Blessing: a gift of good, spoken or given.
Sources
- Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (BDB, 1906)
- Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible / STEP Hebrew data
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