WORD STUDY – PREVENTED

II Samuel 22:19: “They prevented me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my stay.”

Prevented – Hebrew: kadam – confront, attack early, ambush.

Strange how words change over the years. Back in the day of King James the English word prevent meant to attack and today it somehow evolved to mean the opposite.
The word “prevented” in the Hebrew is “kadam” which is rendered in some translations as “confronted.”   It literally means to attack early or to ambush in a hostile manner.  In other words: “They ambushed me in the day of my calamity.”   You know that feeling; once they get you down they stomp on you.   I think I’ve been able to reach the point where I can let people walk all over me, but still, when you get that old boy who stops to wipe his feet, I have to rise up and overhaul his engine.

The word “calamity” in the Hebrew is “’edi,” which is a metonymy.  Hebrew is full of metonymies.  An example of a metonymy is “lend me your ears.”  Here “ears” is a metonymy for attention.   I was reading in the Talmud (Abodah Zarah 2a) that ‘edi is a metonymy for festivity, strength and rest.

About forty years ago on Yom Kippur, a coalition of Arab nations (Egypt, Syria and Iraq) ambushed Israel in a pincer move, right in the middle of their festivity and time of rest. They “prevented Israel in the day of their calamity,” or more clearly, “they ambushed Israel in the midst of their festivity.”   The enemy knew that on their most holy day Israel would be the most defenseless and indeed they were. The world was convinced Israel was finished.

Do you somehow relate to this?   When you are at your most defenseless point, the enemy uses that as an opportunity to blind side and hit you with an all out attack.

There was a news blackout for four days during the Yom Kippur War.  Everyone thought and fully expected that Israel, which was out numbered 3-1, would be destroyed.  Yet, when the smoke cleared Israel’s enemies were totally humiliated.  When the enemy ambushed Israel during their time of festivity, the Lord proved to be their stay.  The word “stay” is “sha’an” which means defense or support.   When the enemy attacks at our most defenseless point, God will be our defense.

There is one other thing about this verse.  In Hebrew you seek to understand the emotion behind a verse to get a better picture of the event.  Here the Hebraic structure suggests that David is calmly, almost in a Mr. Spock sort of way, looking at the event and simply raising an eyebrow and saying: “Curious.”

You see the word “sha’an” for defense or stay has a numerical value of 420.  You switch the Shin and the Ayin and you have the word “’ashan” which also equals 420 and this means smoke or camouflage. Literally it is creating a diversion.  When I taught in Junior High School, (not recommended for the faint of heart) I found I had to never take their raging hormones personally.  When they started to “mouth off” I would have to step out of my personal self and into my professional self.  In a sense, I would become two people while my personal self literally watched my professional self take the abuse.  Only in that way could I remain the calm, collective “super teacher.”  In a sense that is “ashan”.  When you are at your most defenseless point, and the enemy steps up to you and starts mouthing off, it is time to “ashan.”  It is time for you to step out of the natural you and into the spiritual you and God will create a smoke
screen so that the mouthing off will only be directed at the natural you and not the spiritual you. You will be unaffected.  You will only raise an eyebrow “Curious.”  When the smoke clears, like modern Israel, you will stand victorious.