HEBREW WORD STUDY – LIKE THE HEAT OF THE DAY – KECHOM HAYOM כחם היום  Kap Cheth Mem   Hei Yod Vav Mem

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”Genesis 18:1:  “And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;

As I was preparing for this weeks Torah Portion Class that I teach live and record every Saturday morning on our Learning Channel and post on our Learning Channel site I ran across something very strange in the Hebrew grammar in Genesis 18:1. The Lord appeared to Abraham as he sat in his tent door in the heat of the day.  I first questioned why so much detail?  Could it not just read that the Lord appeared to Abraham in the plains of Mamre?  Why mention that he was sitting in the tent door and in the heat of the day?  What does that really have to do with the narrative. If I were teaching a creative writing class, I would have a few words with the student who wrote this. I would try to make the student understand that everything he writes needs to be tied together and there seems to be no apparent reason for telling the reading that Abraham was sitting in his tent door  in the heat of the day when you read the rest of the story.  What does sitting and heat of the day have to do with this story?  Bad story writing, bad grade. 

But then this dusty old professor read this passage wrong. When I went to the Hebrew text, I discovered a very good reason why he sat at the door of the tent and why it mentions the heat of the day. When you study the whole Biblical Narrative of Abraham from the time he left Ur to this moment you will understand why it is important to mention that he was sitting at the door of his tent. 

First the word tent is ‘ohel which is a word for radiating light. It is associated with a tent because a tent uses beam radiating on the ceiling to support the roof. You could read this as: “He was sitting at his door radiating the Light.  Then the next word is very telling.  Every modern translations renders kechom hayom as in the heat of the day.  Yet that preposition is not a Beth which is rendered as in, on or with.  It is a Kap which is rendered as like or as. He was sitting at the door of his tent or sitting radiating the Light like or as the heat of the day.  The heat of the day is a colloquial phrase for the middle of the day when it is the sunniest.  I read where one rabbi said that this verse implies that Abraham was like the heat of the day, that is like the sun spreading or radiating -‘ohel the warmth, love and enlightenment of God. 

Why did Abraham leave his land of Ur and travel to the land of Canaan?  Abraham was really the first missionary. When he came into an understanding of who God Jehovah was and that He was the one true God he spread the word in the land of Ur. He had many converts, also many enemies from the religious sector so God called him to take his converts and go to Canaan and settle in Canaan and share the knowledge of God with the Canaanites.  He settled South of Canaan near the Dead Sea and raised livestock and grew crops.  He had quite a group with him over three hundred men who worked the land and cared for the livestock.  

What is really important about this or what stands out in this particular Torah Portion study is that Abraham did not isolate himself.  When one grows closer to God there is a tendency to isolate yourself.  For a week every year I go to a Benedictine Monastery or rent a cabin in the Northwoods and live in isolation before God. This is truly a wonderful time but by the end of the week I realized God never intended for this to be a permanent state. I had to come down from the mountain top and share the love of God with others. God sent a publisher who not only would publish my books but developed a Learning Channel where I could teach three classes a week on the internet and I can share my experiences in the Word of God.  It is joyous to share love between God and myself, but even more joyous to share with others of like mind. 

In an earlier study I shared how Abraham literally started a bed and breakfast.  He set this up right along a trade route where he would invite weary travelers to spend the night.  Like the Benedictines who opened their Monestary for pilgrims like me wishing to spend time in silence before God, Abraham opened his home to travelers, gave them a good meal and a comfortable bed.  When they prepared to leave they would thank Abraham for his hospitality and Abraham would stop them and say; “Do not thank me, It is Jehovah who provides the day and night, a time of rest and the food that you eat. Rather thank Jehovah for all that you have because He is the one who has given it to you.  The Bible teaches that he would cause them to speak the name of God. 

You see, Abraham would sit at the door of His Bed and Breakfast radiating the Light of God, waiting for someone to come along where he could offer words of kindness and comfort, where he would share the love of God.  It was just a natural thing for Abraham who grew to love God and when He did, he could not isolate himself, he had to share that love. That is what true evangelism is about, something we can learn from the first evangelist and missionary, a man named Abraham.

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