Aramaic Word Study – Gratification – Hanah  – Hei Nun Hei  

Matthew 16:26: “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”

We read this verse and hear sermons on it and generally what we read and hear is that what good is it if you gain the whole world, then you die and go to hell. Now, there is no question that interpretation is chock full of wisdom but that is a theme throughout the Bible and I am a little uncomfortable with that interpretation for this verse, especially when you read the rest of the verse which asks the question as to what would one give in exchange for his soul. Think about that for a moment. Is this talking about selling your soul to the devil?  What is there that you can exchange your soul for? 

The word for profit in Aramaic is hanah which means to find pleasure, satisfaction, enjoy, and be gratified.  I like the word gratify. What is the gratification if one should gain the whole world? Is Jesus talking about becoming a king to the whole world?  The word for world in the Aramaic is ‘olam which can mean the world but is generally used to express the idea of eternity. What would be the satisfaction or gratification of having eternal life but to lose your soul? 

There are three “ifs” in Hebrew. There is the “if” of nothing or not as in “if only I could do that.”  There is the “if” of condition as we interpret the “if” in this verse that indicates a possibility: “If you should gain the whole world.” Then there is the “if” that is not presenting a questionable state of being.  You would render it as; “Since or because you are this.”   I believe this word in Aramaic “an” fits this last idea.  For in what will you find pleasure since you have eternal life and lose your own soul? 

The word soul is nephesh.  Nephesh does not necessarily mean that eternal spirit within you. It is often used to express the emotional centers of your heart. It is where you find love, joy, and happiness.  It is the pleasure center of your life. The word lose is chasar which is a word for starvation or diminishing in value. You could render this as: “For in what will you find pleasure since you have eternal life yet the very source of your joy and happiness is diminished.”  

But what would a person give in exchange for that for his soul or his happiness and source of love? This is a rhetorical question.  In other words, the answer is so obvious that no answer is needed, Jesus was making a very obvious point.  There is an old saying; “You spend your health to get your wealth and you spend your wealth to get your health.”  I grew up watching stories built around this scenario.  A person is offered a choice of wealth and power but in return, he must give up his soul which means he could ever again love and find the joy of a loving relationship.  The rest of the story plays out with this person realizing how foolish he was. He begins to wish and envy those who were poor and not powerful yet had a simple life surrounded by those who loved him. One very popular example is  A Christmas Carol by  Charles Dickens.  Scrooge shunned those who loved him to gain wealth and power only to end up a lonely old man without a soul.  What did Scrooge have for gratification after he surrendered his soul for wealth and power?  He had nothing. What did he give in exchange to gain his soul back, he started to give away his wealth and use his power to help others. 

You see Charles Dickens was a man, a writer, who was searching for his soul in his many works. There is Pip in his novel Great Expectations who enters into wealth but found no satisfaction until he finds Estella the love of his life.  There is A Tale of Two Cities where Sidney Carton a talented attorney who was a hopeless alcoholic who gave up his life to Charles Darney to find his soul and David Copperfield who search for a lifetime for his soul. 

I remember attending a business class in a secular college with about fifty other students. The professor said one day that everyone in the class could be millionaires in less than five years. Then he said that out of the class of fifty students, he would be surprised if even one made it.  He then explained. “Oh, you all would love to be millionaires, but you don’t want it bad enough. You have to be willing to sacrifice everything, your time, your extra-curricular activities, your social life, your friends, your relatives, and even your health. You must be willing to turn a blind eye if someone suffers because of your actions and you must be willing to make those hard decisions where you will lose friends and make enemies. If you want it that bad, then I would bet money that you would make it in five years.”   What he was saying is that to make a lot of money you must be willing to sacrifice your soul.   

I believe this is what Jesus was referring to in Matthew 16:26. 

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