Hebrew Word Study – An Appendage – Zanav – Zayin Nun Beth

Deuteronomy 28:13: “And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do [them]:”

This passage always bothered me.  For one thing what will God put us above?  The context and even syntax suggest we will be above God.  Try that out at your next Bible study.  The most obvious understanding is that God will put us above all the others who do not worship Him. We will be better than everyone else if we serve God and I have met many Christians who really feel they are better than others, that they are above others. 

God is saying he will make us the rosh, the head while He or all the others are tails.  We automatically consider the head to be superior to the tail, yet why must we assume that God is making a comparison of value here?  Maybe He is talking about a role or function.

The word tail in Hebrew is zanav which means an appendage which must Biblical scholars believe represents a bushy tail like on a fox or a squirrel. It is used for something that is added to the main element to create a sense of balance and alertness. We even have the idiom that we are wide eyed and bushy tailed.  It means you are alert and ready like a squirrel who appears alert with its beady eyes and bushy tail up straight. I really believe this word zanav is a reference to a squirrel’s tail. I say that because a squirrel would be the most common animal that ancient man would be familiar with that has a bushy tail.  The next would be a fox.  

In Israel today you are likely to see no squirrels at all.  The last time a squirrel was seen in Israel was back in 1984.  Climate change, hunting, fires and deforestation have pretty well made squirrels extinct in the Mesopotamian area where the Caucasian squirrel once thrived in great numbers. Archeologist have dug up the bones of squirrels and found them near human remains.  It is believed that ancient man domesticated the Caucasian squirrel also known as the golden squirrel because of its gold like color.  They were a common family pet that children loved to feed and play with. They were about as common a pet as a dog is today and many people were quite experts in the nature and habits of the golden squirrel. I believe this familiarity with the squirrel would make it very likely that what is being referenced in Deuteronomy 28:13 in the word zanav is the bushy tail of the golden squirrel. More than that I believe the tail does represent God.

Today I had a few minutes to kill on my disability bus before my next pick up so I parked on a side street to enjoy an Egg McMuffin.  I saw two squirrels running around by a tree next to my bus digging  up food so I decided to share my Egg McMuffin with them. They graciously accepted my little offering and one decided to turn his back to me and show off his tail.  You need to sign up for our Full Access and read my study on yiredu to understand our communication. My spirit was quickened and I realized my little friend was sending me a message. I thought of Deuteronomy 28:13 where God promises to make us the head and not the tail. I believed God was sending me an important message through his little bit of creation. 

Why does a squirrel have such a big bushy tail? I went onto Google and searched it out. As soon as I did my furry friend ran up a tree, ran onto an electrical wire where he did an amazing high wire act, then he returned, ran down the tree and hung upside down on the tree chopping on my Egg McMuffin.  I then read an article about the bushy tail of the squirrel.  Without that tail the squirrel would not be able to climb trees, jump from a tree to a high wire and do his high wire act.  It is that zanav which gives him his balance and he knows how to use.  If he does fall that bushy tail actual serves as a sort of parachute to slow his fall then as a cushion which he falls upon so he would not be harmed in the fall.

The tail also is used to communicate with other squirrels if he finds food or danger.  I this case he communicated to three other squirrels that some guy was dumb enough to tear off pieces of his Egg McMuffin and share it with them.  For a male squirrel, he will try to attract a female squirrel with his tail.  The writer of the article said, and I agree, it is the tail that you first notice on a squirrel and is really the most beautiful part of the squirrel (although those little beady eyes and twitching nose do run a close second).

To me the message God was sending was to tell me is that He is my zanav, he is the one who gives me balance in my life, the one who protects me when I fall and catches me before I hit the ground.  I am His instrument that he communicates His message of any threat or His message of love to others. Finally, as my zanav, He is the most beautiful part of me.

God was using my bushy friend to remind me, as I wish to remind you, that He is the tail, that people see first, we are just the head.

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