Aramaic Word Study – Something Extra – Yatar  Yod Taw Resh 

Matthew 6:26: “Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?”

The other day driving my disability bus I was to pick up a woman and use the lift on my bus to assist her into the vehicle as she has difficulty walking. As I pulled up to her house, I noticed it was a house that was well cared for and I actually checked the address on my route sheet to make sure I was at the right address because I was told this woman lived alone, she was elderly and used a walker. I immediately assumed that I was at the wrong address because an elderly woman who needed a walker would obviously not be able to render such care for a yard displayed in front of this house nor could she afford a professional landscaper to do any more than mow her law, yet the exterior of the house was immaculate. As I pulled up to her house, I noticed an elderly woman with a walker in the middle of her yard carefully bending over and picking up something.  I got off the bus and walked over to her and found it was my passenger who started to then walk towards me. She addressed me by saying: “I’m sorry, I was just pulling some weeds.”  I found out she did all the yard work for her house which included a perfectly manicured lawn, properly edged, with rows of beautiful flowers and bushes that were neatly trimmed.  I complimented her on how beautiful her home looked and she just beamed with joy and said; “I am so glad you noticed. I just love to keep my house looking nice.”  I realized that all her creative work was for her pleasure. Not only did she enjoy making her house look beautiful, but she also enjoyed just sitting on her porch looking at her carefully tended yard.  But her greatest joy is when someone else admires her handiwork.

I thought of this and Matthew 6:26. The word fowl in Aramaic is really not the word for birds. It is the word parach. It is a word for youth, closely related to a para’ which is a child of five or six years of age running and playing. Parach is also a word used for maturing, blossoming, or a flower that blossoms.  It may sound redundant to say birds of the heavens and it would be if the Aramaic word tsaphor were used for bird.  But instead, we have a more descriptive word, parach, that could be anything from a flower to a bird.  This is anything that is blossoming in the sense of revealing its beauty.  A bird reveals its beauty when it spreads its wings, hence parach also means a flying creature.  It also is a word for a singing bird. Especially it is used for a turtle dove, a pigeon, a lark, or a finch that were conspicuous or clearly visible in the Galilean landscape.  Hence in the old Galilean Aramaic that Jesus spoke he most likely was referring to smaller birds that are noted for their beauty, and soothing melodies. Such birds are not usually birds that are hunted for food and really serve no purpose other than just bringing joy and pleasure with their beauty and song. 

In fact, they are so valued for their beauty and song that Jesus singles them out as important enough to be fed, clothed, and cared for. They do not have to work for their keep, they are fed just for the joy they bring.  Then Jesus makes this startling statement. “Are ye not much better than they?” The word better in Aramaic is yatar which does not mean to be of more importance but to have something extra, something that someone else does not have.  What we have is free will. This is not an expression of importance so much as having something extra. The Talmud in Kiddushin, fol. 82.a,b says: “Did you ever see a lion bearing burdens, a deer gathering summer fruits, a fox working as a money changer, or a wolf selling pots? And yet, they are nourished without labor, and wherefore are they created? To serve me ”  The point is that these creatures who are created to serve God live a life without trouble. That begs the question as to why we who are also created to serve God should have trouble. The reason is because of sin and the reason we sin is that, unlike these other creatures who act on the will of God or on instinct, we have free will and if we decide to live outside the will of God, then we will have trouble, but if we decided to use our free will to match the will of God how much more would God provide for us. As Paul said in Romans 8:28, for those who love God all things will work together for good or in harmony with Him.   

We were created to serve God just as the birds of the air. What service do the birds of the air do for God? They sing to Him and bring Him joy and pleasure.  What is our service to God? Is it, not the same, to sing to Him and bring Him pleasure only if we have the yatar, the better or something extra that those birds do not have, we have the ability to choose to bring Him joy. 

The woman I picked up in my disability bus the other day took pleasure in her creation. Just as God takes pleasure in His creation. Many birds will live their lives without a human hearing their song and admiring their beauty, but God will care for them for he takes pleasure in their song and beauty. A single sparrow that falls from the sky will not go unnoticed by God Matthew 10:26. For there is nothing God created that He does not love, no matter how small and insignificant it is. Should He not love us who have free will and decide to love Him love us even more for we choose to love and bring pleasure to Him.

The woman with the beautiful yard took personal pleasure in her yard. But I brought her an even greater pleasure by choosing to admire her creation.  Our only service to God is to bring Him pleasure.  How do we bring pleasure to God?  We admire and respect His creation. That includes not just enjoying the antics of Sparky your pet bulldog, but those of the human race as well.  How we respect others, relate to others, and help them to be better humans so that they can bring greater delight to God is in itself a service to God in bringing Him pleasure so others are capable of bringing Him pleasure.  

Hi there! Thank you for reading this Daily Word Study. Can I ask a favor? Share this Daily Word Study with your friends on Facebook and Twitter by clicking one of the icons below.

Thanks & Blessings, it means a lot to me!