Isaiah 26

Stem derivation is a bit of an art. How does one know if a stem for the word יצר is יצר or צרר? And are they related? And what are all the uses in the text so we can see how the language works? Not all glossaries agree on the stem for a particular word.

There are 22 Hebrew letters. Geoffrey Khan in The early eastern schools of Hebrew grammatical thought, in Hebrew Scholarship and the Medieval World, ed. Nicholas de Lange. p. 90) quotes Saadya Gaon (c 920) on the division of the Hebrew alphabet into two groups: ‘11 base letters and 11 servile letters that, in the formation of words, are attached to the fundamental root letters’. All letters, ‘base’ or ‘servile’, act as root letters.

These are the two groups: letters that play a grammatical role, א ב ה ו י כ ל מ נ ש ת, and letters that do not play a grammatical role ג ד ז ח ט ס ע פ צ ק ר. There are occasional secondments from one team to the other. Letters in the first group may or may not be part of the stem to be derived. Letters in the second group will always be part of the stem.

Besides this, some letters are weak and disappear in word forms. נ is notorious for this, Example תת is a form of נתן, to give. Two of the three letters have disappeared in the formation of the word from the stem. So also י and ו will disappear and sometimes switch to each other. Occasionally ל, will disappear, but more rarely. So also ה. E.g. in לך which could be to you preposition + pronoun, or go derived from הלך.

So I looked at all the stems with צר in them and found 3 or 4 that might be the stem for this form יצר. I checked this against my Hebrew-Latin concordance and found discrepancies between it and other concordances and glossaries.

Trouble indeed. The accumulated glosses of centuries are not to be trusted. In doing this exercise, I was able to eliminate a gloss, deficiency, from my reading. It came about when trying to force a sense into the wrong stem. Note I can still use the word deficient: The Strong's numbering system for Hebrew words is seriously deficient and misleading. We have to be able to negotiate this archaic and misconstrued system because a number of books reference it. The problem with Strong's is that it attempts to map words to numbers as identifiers. A well-defined identifier must be hidden from the user of a system and cannot contain any functionality except as a pointer. One of my initial problems in starting Hebrew is that there is no public domain minimal list of stems. There will be when I am finished. And I assure you I will not number them but will list them according to their families of sounds.

Here, for instance. is every distinct instance of יצר within a Hebrew word in the Bible - it is revealing of a new clarity to have eliminated that false analysis of the stem. There could be others! They may show up in the pieces that don't quite seem to fit properly in the puzzle. One must learn to press where there is uncertainty. One must also allow some variation. So potter and fashioner are exactly equivalent.

צור
ויצר and besieged, and laid siege, and they consolidated, and they laid siege
צרח
יצריח he will scream
יצר
היצר he fashioned, וייצר and fashioned, ויצר and fashioned, ויצר and fashioning, ויצרה and its potter, ויצרו and its fashioner, ויצרי and my features, ויצרתיה and I fashioned it, יצר fashioning, he fashioned, let fashion, the fashioner, the fashioning of, יצרה he fashioned it, יצרו fashion, fashioned, his fashioning, refashioned, the fashioner, the one who fashions him, were fashioned, יצרי fashioning me, יצרנו our fashioning, our potter, יצרת you fashioned, יצרתי I will fashion, יצרתם you fashioned them, ליצר for the fashioning of, ליצרו to its potter
נצר
יצרוני preserve me, translate me, יצרנהו he preserved him
צרר
ויצר and it was troubling, and there was adversity, ויצרו and they were trouble, יצר give trouble, gives trouble, is in trouble, is trouble, will be trouble, will trouble, יצרו its trouble
צרף
ויצרפו and refined

 As usual, Isaiah was difficult. Why are the Shades or the Titans appearing here, or is it healing? But the direction of the passage is ultimate and hopeful. This is a song.

Isaiah 26		Fn		Min	Max	Syll
בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֔וּא יוּשַׁ֥ר הַשִּׁיר־הַזֶּ֖ה בְּאֶ֣רֶץ יְהוּדָ֑ה עִ֣יר עָז־לָ֔נוּ יְשׁוּעָ֥ה יָשִׁ֖ית חוֹמ֥וֹת וָחֵֽל	1		In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah, A strong city we have. He will set salvation as ramparts and bulwark.	3e	4B	16 13
פִּתְח֖וּ שְׁעָרִ֑ים וְיָבֹ֥א גוֹי־צַדִּ֖יק שֹׁמֵ֥ר אֱמֻנִֽים	2		Open gates, and a righteous nation keeping faithfulness will enter.	3e	4A	5 11
יֵ֣צֶר סָמ֔וּךְ תִּצֹּ֖ר שָׁל֣וֹם ׀ שָׁל֑וֹם כִּ֥י בְךָ֖ בָּטֽוּחַ	3	B	The fashioning of one who is supported, you will preserve entirely in peace, for in you he trusted.	3e	4B	10 6
בִּטְח֥וּ בַֽיהוָ֖ה עֲדֵי־עַ֑ד כִּ֚י בְּיָ֣הּ יְהוָ֔ה צ֖וּר עוֹלָמִֽים	4		Trust in Yahweh for ever and ever, for in Yah, Yahweh, is an everlasting rock.	3e	4C	7 9
כִּ֤י הֵשַׁח֙ יֹשְׁבֵ֣י מָר֔וֹם קִרְיָ֖ה נִשְׂגָּבָ֑ה יַשְׁפִּילֶ֤נָּה יַשְׁפִּילָהּ֙ עַד־אֶ֔רֶץ יַגִּיעֶ֖נָּה עַד־עָפָֽר	5	C	For he presses down those sitting on high, a town set on high. He humbles her. He abases her to earth. He wearies her to dust.	3e	4C	12 17
תִּרְמְסֶ֖נָּה רָ֑גֶל רַגְלֵ֥י עָנִ֖י פַּעֲמֵ֥י דַלִּֽים	6		Foot will trample it, the feet of poverty, the anvil of weakness.	3e	4A	6 9
אֹ֥רַח לַצַּדִּ֖יק מֵֽישָׁרִ֑ים יָשָׁ֕ר מַעְגַּ֥ל צַדִּ֖יק תְּפַלֵּֽס	7	f	The path of a righteous one is uprightness. Upright, the track of the righteous one, you level.	3e	4A	8 9
אַ֣ף אֹ֧רַח מִשְׁפָּטֶ֛יךָ יְהוָ֖ה קִוִּינ֑וּךָ לְשִׁמְךָ֥ וּֽלְזִכְרְךָ֖ תַּאֲוַת־נָֽפֶשׁ	8	B	Indeed in the path of your judgments, Yahweh, we have waited for you. To your name and to the remembrance of you, is the desire of integrity.	3c	4B	13 12
נַפְשִׁ֤י אִוִּיתִ֙יךָ֙ בַּלַּ֔יְלָה אַף־רוּחִ֥י בְקִרְבִּ֖י אֲשַֽׁחֲרֶ֑ךָּ כִּ֞י כַּאֲשֶׁ֤ר מִשְׁפָּטֶ֙יךָ֙ לָאָ֔רֶץ צֶ֥דֶק לָמְד֖וּ יֹשְׁבֵ֥י תֵבֵֽל	9		Myself, I have desired you in the night, indeed, my spirit within me. I will seek you early. For as your judgments are in the land, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.	3e	4C	20 19
יֻחַ֤ן רָשָׁע֙ בַּל־לָמַ֣ד צֶ֔דֶק בְּאֶ֥רֶץ נְכֹח֖וֹת יְעַוֵּ֑ל וּבַל־יִרְאֶ֖ה גֵּא֥וּת יְהוָֽה	10		Let there be grace to one who is wicked. He will not learn righteousness. In the land of what is straightforward he will be unjust, and he will not see the pride of Yahweh.	3e	4C	18 8
יְהוָ֛ה רָ֥מָה יָדְךָ֖ בַּל־יֶחֱזָי֑וּן יֶחֱז֤וּ וְיֵבֹ֙שׁוּ֙ קִנְאַת־עָ֔ם אַף־אֵ֖שׁ צָרֶ֥יךָ תֹאכְלֵֽם	11		Yahweh, your hand is exalted. They will not gaze. They will gaze and they will be ashamed. The jealousy of the people, the anger of the fire of your foes, will devour them.	3d	4C	11 17
יְהוָ֕ה תִּשְׁפֹּ֥ת שָׁל֖וֹם לָ֑נוּ כִּ֛י גַּ֥ם כָּֽל־מַעֲשֵׂ֖ינוּ פָּעַ֥לְתָּ לָּֽנוּ	12		Yahweh, you will ordain peace for us, for even all our deeds you have worked for us.	3d	4A	8 12
יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֵ֔ינוּ בְּעָל֥וּנוּ אֲדֹנִ֖ים זֽוּלָתֶ֑ךָ לְבַד־בְּךָ֖ נַזְכִּ֥יר שְׁמֶֽךָ	13		Yahweh our God, lords have owned us, besides you. Alone in you, we remember your name.	3e	4B	17 9
מֵתִים֙ בַּל־יִחְי֔וּ רְפָאִ֖ים בַּל־יָקֻ֑מוּ לָכֵ֤ן פָּקַ֙דְתָּ֙ וַתַּשְׁמִידֵ֔ם וַתְּאַבֵּ֥ד כָּל־זֵ֖כֶר לָֽמוֹ	14		Dead, they will not live. Shades, they will not arise. So you have visited and exterminated them, and eliminated every memory of them.	3e	4C	12 17
יָסַ֤פְתָּ לַגּוֹי֙ יְהוָ֔ה יָסַ֥פְתָּ לַגּ֖וֹי נִכְבָּ֑דְתָּ רִחַ֖קְתָּ כָּל־קַצְוֵי־אָֽרֶץ	15		You have added to the nation, Yahweh. You have added to the nation. You are glorified. You have put at a distance all the limits of the land.	3e	4C	17 7
יְהוָ֖ה בַּצַּ֣ר פְּקָד֑וּךָ צָק֣וּן לַ֔חַשׁ מוּסָרְךָ֖ לָֽמוֹ	16		Yahweh in trouble they entrusted you. They agonized, worried when your chastening was to them.	3e	4B	8 9
כְּמ֤וֹ הָרָה֙ תַּקְרִ֣יב לָלֶ֔דֶת תָּחִ֥יל תִּזְעַ֖ק בַּחֲבָלֶ֑יהָ כֵּ֛ן הָיִ֥ינוּ מִפָּנֶ֖יךָ יְהוָֽה	17		Like one pregnant, she comes near to give birth, she writhes, she appeals in her pangs. So we have been from your presence Yahweh.	3d	4C	18 10
הָרִ֣ינוּ חַ֔לְנוּ כְּמ֖וֹ יָלַ֣דְנוּ ר֑וּחַ יְשׁוּעֹת֙ בַּל־נַ֣עֲשֶׂה אֶ֔רֶץ וּבַֽל־יִפְּל֖וּ יֹשְׁבֵ֥י תֵבֵֽל	18		We have been pregnant. We have writhed like we have given birth to wind. Victories of the earth, we have not made. But the inhabitants of the world have not miscarried.	3e	4B	12 17
יִֽחְי֣וּ מֵתֶ֔יךָ נְבֵלָתִ֖י יְקוּמ֑וּן הָקִ֨יצוּ וְרַנְּנ֜וּ שֹׁכְנֵ֣י עָפָ֗ר כִּ֣י טַ֤ל אוֹרֹת֙ טַלֶּ֔ךָ וָאָ֖רֶץ רְפָאִ֥ים תַּפִּֽיל	19		Your dead will live. With my corpse they will arise. Awaken and shout for joy, those that dwell in dust, for the dew of light is your dew, and the land will let Shades fall.	3e	4C	12 25
לֵ֤ךְ עַמִּי֙ בֹּ֣א בַחֲדָרֶ֔יךָ וּֽסְגֹ֥ר דְּלָתְךָ֖ בַּעֲדֶ֑ךָ חֲבִ֥י כִמְעַט־רֶ֖גַע עַד־יַעֲבָר־זָֽעַם	20	C	Come my people. Enter my inner room, and lock your portal about you. Shroud yourself for a brief moment, until indignation is passed by.	3e	4C	18 12
כִּֽי־הִנֵּ֤ה יְהוָה֙ יֹצֵ֣א מִמְּקוֹמ֔וֹ לִפְקֹ֛ד עֲוֺ֥ן יֹֽשֵׁב־הָאָ֖רֶץ עָלָ֑יו וְגִלְּתָ֤ה הָאָ֙רֶץ֙ אֶת־דָּמֶ֔יהָ וְלֹֽא־תְכַסֶּ֥ה ע֖וֹד עַל־הֲרוּגֶֽיהָ	21		For behold, Yahweh comes forth from his place to visit the iniquity of the inhabitants of the earth over him, and the earth will disclose her blood, and no longer will you cover concerning her slain.	3d	4C	20 21