HEBREW WORD STUDY – DRAWING NEAR – KARAV

HEBREW WORD STUDY – DRAWING NEAR – KARAV   קרב

Deuteronomy 4:7: “For who is a great nation whose God is coming near to them as Jehovah your God is, in all our prayers to Him.

James 4:8 “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”

There is a story in Jewish literature about a king who had a rebellious son that left home to live in another kingdom.  After some time the king, the father, sent a messenger to his son asking his son to come home.  The son replied: “That is too far for me to come.”  The king, this father, sent his servant back with this message.  “Then come as far as you can, and I will meet you.”  It is believed by Biblical scholars that Jesus drew from this ancient story when he told the story of the prodigal son, only in the way Jesus told the story the father rushed down the road to meet his son and drew him close to himself and hugged him.

“For who is a great nation whose God is coming near to them.” The word for coming near is kerovim.   The root word is karav.  This word is used to express the inward part, the heart, being in the midst.  This in the third declension, His heart totally encompasses us. Maybe a better way to put it is that His heart hugs us.  Don’t forget that last part of the verse, “in all our prayers.” The word used here for prayer is kare’enu.  There is a play on the words karav (draw near) and kare (call out).  When we call or pray God draws near to us and hugs us.

But soft, check out James 4:8: “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”  The word in the Greek for draw near is eggizo which literally means to draw near with the intention of joining yourself. When you draw near to God to join yourself with Him, He will draw near to join Himself with you. So what is joining but giving each other a hug?  In the Septuagint the Greek word that is used in Deuteronomy 4:7 for kerovim (drawing near) is eggizo.  When we reach out to God in prayer He not only comes to us but He is giving us a hug.

In the Aramaic, the word in James 4:8 for draw near is qarv which is drawing close enough to make physical contact.  The father in the story of the prodigal son not only hugged his son but kissed him. He qarv, make physical contact with a hug and a kiss. Bill Gaither wrote the song “He Touched Me.”  Just a simple touch of God and the joy that floods our souls. Imagine how much more when He hugs us and kisses us. 

But check out James 4:8 very closely.  Who is it that makes the first move?   When did the father come rushing down the road to meet his prodigal son?  When would the father meet his son in the Talmudic story?  It was when the son approached his father.  We are the ones to make the first move. We must first come to Him in repentance but when we do God will rush to us and give us a hug.  Perhaps that seems to far for us to come, then we still must come as far as we can for He will meet us at that point.