Aramaic  Word Study – Palm Branches– Lulav – לוּלָב  Lamed Vav Lamed Vav

John 12:13:  “Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed [is] the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.”  

The people cried Hosanna which is really a Greek transliteration of the Aramaic Hoshanna which means to save, rescue or  help.  In this form it can be easily translated as Salvation has come. So why the palm branches?  As we have just passed through Palm Sunday I asked a number of people on my disability bus who went to church on Palm Sunday just what the palm branches meant.  Some even got palm branches in church.  Most did not know, some said it meant peace or victory. After all, it was called the triumphal entry.

When Jesus entered Jerusalem a week before his crucifixion he was greeted with a joyful crowd shouting:  “Salvation has come.”  He purposely entered riding a donkey, not only to fulfill prophecy (Zechariah 9:9) but also to show he was coming in peace.  I have heard many sermons where the Jews are blasted because one week they were cheering Jesus and then the next week they cried out for his death.  These preachers claim that this quick turnaround by the Jews is that they were disappointed because they expected Jesus to lead the charge to overthrow the Roman government. Others claim they expected Jesus to set himself up as a king and when he failed to do so they turned on Him. Yet, historically, the very fact that Jesus rode in on a donkey and not a horse sent a clear signal of his intentions.  

In ancient times when someone rides into a city on a horse it is usually to announce the presence of royalty.  It could also indicate an intention to make war.  Thus, when the people saw Jesus ride in on a donkey everyone immediately understood that Jesus was not there to set  Himself up as a king nor to declare His intention to overthrow the existing government.  Yet, the people still cheered Him.  In fact it was this display of affection that frightened the power structure of the religious order of Judaism and made them determined to put Jesus to death. 

So, the people still cheered Him as the one who was bringing Salvation. In fact greeting Him with Palm leaves was a clear sign of their acceptance of Him as the Messiah.  You see the palm branches symbolize many things in the Near East.  A palm branch was awarded to the  victorious athlete in ancient Greece.  The palm leaf or even the tree itself was the most common symbol in Rome for Victory.   To many it symbolized peace. To the Assyrians it represented a connection between earth and heaven.  It was associated with the goddess Ishtar and the Mesopotamian goddess Inanna.   To the ancient Egyptians it symbolizes eternal life. It was the sacred symbol for Apollo. 

Christians today see it as a symbol of peace and victory. They consider Palm Sunday and the triumphal entry as a victory for Jesus.  I never understood that, I mean what did Jesus do that merit such a celebration of victory other than a victory over death. 

One common myth is that these same Jews turned against Jesus in one week and cried out for him to be crucified.  There is no evidence, other than church tradition, that supports this. In fact the court that Jesus was tried in when people cried out for His crucifixion could only hold 30-50 people. Mel Gibson in his movie The Passion of the Christ gave the most accurate portrayal of only a select few being allowed to enter the inner court and crowds of supporters fighting to get in but being forced out.  The church has portrayed the Jews as blood thirsty Christ killers demanding that He be put to death.  Fact:  The average Jew could not stomach the idea of executing people. They lived through wars and captivity and now with the Roman government using crucifixion the last thing they wanted was to see a holy man put to death.  Only a few, let’s call them the deep state, who were threatened by the popularity of Jesus wanted him dead.  

The Jews hated execution so much that the sages had so many checks and balances, hoops to jump through, appeals to be made recorded in their Oral Tradition that it was virtually impossible to execute someone.  Even today in Israel when all the nations around them are lopping off heads and hanging heretics, Israel is the one nation in the Middle East that has outlawed capital punishment.  The only person ever executed in Israel was the Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichman.

So why the cheering?  I go with a  different drummer than Christian thought on this.  I do not believe the people were looking for a king or someone to overthrow the Roman Empire.  They knew of the prophecy of a Messiah who would save them from their sins, bring them eternal salvation and they recognized Jesus as their Messiah who would save them from their sins. The cry: “Salvation has come” is the same cry we have today.

The palm branches?  They mean a lot of things to different people in the Middle East, but to the Jews, the Hebrew word itself explains what it meant to them, Lulav. Lu – to or unto, Lav, heart. In other words “We give you our hearts.” 

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