Hebrew Word Study – Offering – Terumah – Taw Resh Vav Mem Hei 

Teruma תְּרוּמָה (ter-oo-maw’)

Exodus 25:1-2:  “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ‘Speak to the children of Israel, that they take for Me an offering; of every man whose heart prompts him, you shall take My offering.’”

Why did God want the people to donate their gold, silver, and other possessions of their prosperity to build His sanctuary?  God is rich enough, why not provide this out of his vast creation, why take it from his people?  

The word “take” here is tikechu which comes from the root lakach which means to take as spoil or loot.   It is the idea of taking something that was earned not given.  The word offering is terumah. This word has the idea of giving a gift to draw close to someone. You don’t get a gift to get something in return but to show that person that you care about them, you desire only to show them that you love them and want a relationship with them.  God does not need our gold or silver, but he needs ours and love needs to be expressed. Just like a parent giving their child an allowance and that child willing spends it on a gift for the parent. The parents surely could have purchased the gift themselves but they accept the gift and treasure it because it is an expression of love. 

The word lakach is appropriately used as it is a picture of a warrior who has faced combat, suffering the risk of injury, perhaps mortal injury, and then when prevailing he claims his right to take what he has from the conquered enemy. Then he turns around and after having risked all to obtain it, he just gives it to his king, just to honor him, a gift to just draw closer to the king.

Of every man whose heart “prompts him.”   Note the syntax here.  It is really, what prompts your heart.”  In other words, let every man give what is prompting. The word for prompt in Hebrew is nadav which means to impel.  His heart is impelled. What is motivating you to go to work every day?  To get that paycheck.  You want that paycheck to give to your family and take care of them.  Your motivation is to care for the ones you love and in that care, you are drawn even closer to them. 

The sages teach that a person should seek ways to transform his (lit. external desires) all that “his heart prompts him” into good qualities.  From his habitual bad traits, he should learn how to serve the Creator with the same passion and desire, even more intensely.   For within every mundane desire the love of God can be found.

I know that many people give an offering to God hoping to receive something in return. They are desperate with some need and they think that by giving some offering God will favor them. Strangely this giving-to-get seems to work on occasion but the Talmud teaches that is only so God can bring you to a point where your motives will change. The 

There is a story in the Talmud that explains this. There was this king who had a son whom he wanted to teach the various subjects that a prince should know. But the boy failed to grasp a single area of knowledge.  The king gave up and only one sage remained to teach the boy.  One day the prince saw a beautiful young woman, who was a harlot and he desired her.  The woman as a harlot was not one for the prince to marry. Yet the sage told the king at least the prince desired something, perhaps this could lead him to desire knowledge.  So the king ordered the harlot brought to the palace.  The sage ordered the young woman to not listen to the prince’s solicitations unless he agreed to master one branch of knowledge.  Afterward, she should demand that he learn yet another branch.  This continued until he mastered all areas.  Then when he acquired the knowledge, he became a wise man and rejected the harlot for a princess, as was fitting for him.

Yes, you give to the Lord and He may repay you a hundredfold. So, you must give more to continue the process.   True, you may give to get that hundredfold, but your motives may be selfish.  That is only human. Yet God seems to have established a process in Exodus 25:1-2 whereby you will learn wisdom and in the learning of that wisdom the nadav – motives of your heart will change and before long it will not be to acquire wealth, but to exalt the one that you truly desire to honor.

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