Lexical Summary zaavah: Discharge Original Word: זַעֲוָה Strong's Exhaustive Concordance removed, trouble By transposition for zva'ah; agitation, maltreatment -- X removed, trouble. see HEBREW zva'ah NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originby transp. for zevaah, q.v. Topical Lexicon Semantic Scope and Connotations זַעֲוָה portrays visceral dread that springs from watching catastrophic judgment unfold. It is not a fleeting fright but a settled, public sense of shock and revulsion at devastation so complete that survivors recoil in amazement. The term is frequently paired in Scripture with words for astonishment, ruin, or reproach, underscoring how divine retribution can turn a once-honored people or city into a byword for horror (compare Deuteronomy 28:37; Jeremiah 25:9; 2 Chronicles 29:8). Occurrences in Scripture 1. Deuteronomy 28:25—Within the covenant-curse section that spans verses 15–68, Israel is warned: “you will become an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth”. Here זַעֲוָה is the social result of military defeat, exile, and humiliation. Nations that should have admired Israel’s God now gasp at His people’s collapse. Covenant and Exile Both settings revolve around covenant infidelity. Deuteronomy anticipates future disobedience; Ezekiel narrates its grim fulfillment. In each text, זַעֲוָה functions as a covenantal billboard: God keeps His word in blessing and in cursing. The term thus guards the doctrine of divine faithfulness, demonstrating that mercy does not annul justice (Leviticus 26:14-33; Daniel 9:11-14). Public Testimony Before the Nations The word’s nuance of “public horror” signals that judgment is never a private affair. When God disciplines His people, He vindicates His holiness before a watching world (Ezekiel 36:23). Israel’s disgrace, however tragic, evangelizes the nations by displaying the gravity of sin and the certainty of divine retribution (Romans 11:22). Prophetic Vocabulary of Ruin In later prophets, synonyms such as שַׁמָּה (desolation) and חֶרְפָּה (reproach) broaden the same theme, yet זַעֲוָה remains unique for its emphasis on the shock value—judgment so stark that observers recoil (Jeremiah 29:18; Ezekiel 5:15). The word therefore bridges lament and proclamation: lament over ruin, proclamation of God’s unimpeachable justice. Historical Echoes • Assyrian deportations of Israel (722 BC) rendered the northern kingdom “a horror” among Near-Eastern archives. Archaeological layers of ash and toppled walls around Samaria and Jerusalem tangibly attest to the horror that Scripture verbalizes with זַעֲוָה. Ministry Implications 1. Awakening to Sin’s Consequences—Preaching that includes זַעֲוָה reminds congregations that divine chastening can become visible, communal scandal (Acts 5:11). Christological Trajectory The shock and disgust once aimed at covenant breakers converged on Jesus, “so marred beyond human likeness” (Isaiah 52:14). In bearing the curse, He exhausted the horror and secures for His people the opposite fate: glory before the nations (Philippians 2:9-11). Thus זַעֲוָה is both a warning and an invitation—warning of judgment outside Christ, invitation to shelter within Him. Summary זַעֲוָה frames covenant breach as a spectacle of divine judgment that startles observers and vindicates God’s holiness. Appearing at the bookends of Israel’s story—anticipated in Deuteronomy, realized in Ezekiel—it underscores the gravity of sin, the certainty of God’s word, and the necessity of refuge in the Messiah who transforms horror into honor. Forms and Transliterations לְזַעֲוָ֔ה לְזַעֲוָ֥ה לזעוה lə·za·‘ă·wāh ləza‘ăwāh lezaaVahLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Deuteronomy 28:25 HEB: לְפָנָ֑יו וְהָיִ֣יתָ לְזַעֲוָ֔ה לְכֹ֖ל מַמְלְכ֥וֹת KJV: before them: and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms INT: before become and shalt be removed to all the kingdoms Ezekiel 23:46 2 Occurrences |
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