Why I No Longer Share The "Nugget Of Truth" Regarding The Hebrew Words For Bread And War

Today, a friend from church suggested that I write a post on one of his favourite “Hebrew nuggets of truth” of mine which I used to share, which “really blessed [him] a lot.” However, I told him that I was no longer sharing this “nugget of truth” for a reason which I shall explain in this post. Ironically, before I can explain that reason to you, I would first have to tell you what that “nugget of truth” was.

I started learning Hebrew in 2007 with the help of a textbook. It had a glossary at the back which contained a vocabulary list of Hebrew words and their basic definitions in English. One day, I discovered that the Hebrew verb lācham (“to fight a war”) looked very similar to the Hebrew noun lechem (“bread”). Immediately, my mind made the connection: The battles of life are like bread to us; With every battle we fight, we become stronger!

Excited, I shared my new “revelation” with all my friends from church. I was flattered whenever someone told me that my sharing had “blessed” them. I was delighted when it in turn inspired further “revelations” from them: “Wow, this must be why Joshua and Caleb said to the Israelites, ‘do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us.’ (Numbers 14:9, ESV)!”

However, over the next few years, as I grew in my understanding of the Hebrew language, I realised that many of the interesting anecdotes which I had been sharing were based on a deficient and faulty understanding of how the Hebrew language worked. I began to be more cautious about the things I was sharing because I did not want to say something about the truths of God which was untrue!

Concurrently, God was also blessing me with friends in church who constantly kept me in check and accountable by asking me questions like “How did you arrive at that conclusion?” or “Where did you get that information from?” They were cautious about the things I was sharing; and rightly so! After all, something cannot be a “nugget of truth” if it were based on a lie or falsehood, can it?

As it turns out, there are two different Hebrew verbs, both spelt identically as lācham:

1. lācham #1 means “to fight a war.” It is related to the noun milchāmāh (“war”) and lōchēm (“warrior”).
2. lācham #2 means “to eat food.” This is the verb which is related to the noun lechem (“bread”).

Considering this, it was unreasonable for me to have made the connection that I made, which resulted in my “revelation.” Sure, it may have sounded cool at the time, and it may have impressed many of my friends. However, because it was not true, I know for certain that it was not of God.