| Pro. 5:10 | The Hebrew root עצב atsab (Strong's #6089), reveals an interesting pattern between formed out of clay/earth, hard painful toil, sorrow, and images (i.e. Adam formed of earth, and painful toil)
| Word |
Strongs # |
Meaning |
| עצב (atsab) |
6089 |
1) Pain, hurt, toil, sorrow, hardship |
| |
|
2) Earthen Vessel, Jar, formed object |
| |
|
3) Idol |
| עצב (otseb) |
6090 |
1) Pain, sorrow |
| |
|
2) Idol |
| עצב (atsab) |
6091 |
1) Idol, image |
| עצב (atseb) |
6092 |
1) Laborer, toiler, labor |
| עצבון (itstsabown) |
6093 |
1) Inner Pain, labor, hardship, sorrow, toil |
| עצבת (atstsebeth) |
6094 |
1) Pain, hurt, injury, sorrow, wound |
1. Sorrowful Toil:
- The root עצב (ʽatsab) is often associated with pain, toil, sorrow, and hardship. It appears in words like עצבוֹן (itstsabown) meaning "pain" or "toil" and עצבת (atstsebeth) meaning "sorrow" or "wound."
- In the context of sorrowful toil, the idea is that toil (especially labor or work) is often accompanied by hardship or pain, creating a difficult or burdensome experience, which is deeply emotional and physical in nature.
2. Earthen Vessels:
- עצביך (ʽatsabeikha), referring to "your vessels", comes from the same root, and vessels (in a literal sense, earthen vessels as made by a potter) are made through laborious, painful, and careful work. These vessels, often crafted from clay or earth, symbolize the idea of creation through toil.
- The process of creating earthen vessels, such as pottery, requires both physical labor and patience, often in a sorrowful or toilsome context, since the craft itself can be arduous. The connection here is both metaphorical (as the vessels are shaped by hands that experience toil and sorrow) and literal (the vessels are made of earth, a substance symbolizing hardship, mortality, and impermanence).
3. Connection to the mandate of "Making":
- Earthen vessels are also significant in biblical thought. They symbolize fragility, imperfection, and the humble nature of humanity. The connection to sorrowful toil is apparent because crafting these vessels involves struggle and pain, much like human life, which is seen as a journey filled with toil and sorrow.
- For example, in the Scriptures (such as in Jeremiah 18:4), the potter forms the vessel from clay, a direct metaphor for creation of humanity from earth and the toil involved in that process.
Thus, the sorrowful toil tied to the root עצב (ʽatsab) mirrors the physical and emotional labor involved in the creation of earthen vessels, which, like human life itself, are shaped through difficulty and struggle. Both concepts reflect human experience — one of creation and labor, and the other of emotional and physical hardship. |