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The Hebrew language works different from ours. That makes it very difficult to translate, and that causes translations to be often poor and lacking. One of the differences is that the Hebrew language is much more dynamic than ours. Hebrew is all about action. Something is reckoned after what it does, not after how it looks. This principle is quite fundamental in Scriptures; it is applied all over. Probably most drastic in the Second Commandment where the Lord prohibits the making of graven images. A graven image after all does not move, and a statue that, for instance, tries to display a calf is not showing typical calf-behavior but static appearance.
The principle even occurs in the New Testament, which is written in Greek but with a Hebrew way of thinking. The second chapter of James, for instance, explains that a believer is not someone who looks like one, or even says she's one, but rather someone who
acts like one. To be is to do.
(Hold that thought (15)
In Hebrew Scriptures, and all models derived thereof, entities are reckoned solely after their behavior and not after their appearance. An entity
is a behavior, not that which executes the behavior.)
It is crucial that the reader takes a firm hold of this principle. If a modern Westerner would see a picture of a lion, she would say, "That
is a lion."
If an ancient Hebrew would see someone gather and devour food, she would say, "That
is a lion."
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To Be Is To Do: A Fundamental Principle of the Hebrew Language
from my current fave, but there are other witnesses to this also
