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Tuesday, July 13 2010
The English word "couch" originated from a French word which meant to lie down. The English word "crouch" is a variant of "couch," with a meaning of to bend down.
"Couch" is used to translate a number of different Hebrew words, some of which are (pronounced) yaw-tsoo-ah, meaning to spread, as on a bed; mish-kawb, meaning a bed, or to sleep; soo-awk, meaning to meditate; eh-res, meaning to arch.
As well, the old English of the King James Version has "couchingplace" which it uses to translate the Hebrew word, pronounced mar-bates, meaning a fold, or a place for flocks to lie down (see the Fact Finder question below) i.e.
"25:5 And I will make Rabbah a stable for camels, and the Ammonites a couchingplace for flocks: and ye shall know that I am the LORD." (Ezekiel 25:5 KJV)
It was that form of the word that was used by King David in his famous twenty-third Psalm:
"23:1 A Psalm of David.The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 23:2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 23:3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
23:5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever." (Psalm 23:1-6 KJV)
"He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters"
As he was about to die, Jacob (who the LORD renamed as Israel) made a prophetic blessing upon each of his sons. For Reuben, it was a condemnation because "he went up to my couch" and committed adultery with one of Jacob's other wives ("Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine" Genesis 35:22 KJV), who was the mother of Reuben's half-brothers Dan and Naphtali.
"49:3 Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power: 49:4 Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch." (Genesis 49:3-4 KJV)
Jacob used "couching" (the Hebrew word that is translated as such) in referring to two other of his sons, Judah and Issachar, but unlike that for Reuben, for Judah and Issachar it was a blessing (particularly for Judah because it prophesied the Messiah to come who would be a descendant of Judah, the first "Jew" - see Hebrew).
"49:9 Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? 49:10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be." (Genesis 49:9-10 KJV)"49:14 Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens: 49:15 And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute." (Genesis 49:14-15 KJV)
The term "couched, he lay down as a lion" was also used for all of Israel.
"24:8 God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn [see also Did Unicorns Really Miss The Boat?]: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows. 24:9 He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee." (Numbers 24:8-9 KJV)
According to one of its literal meanings in Hebrew, "couch" was also another word for a bed. Both Job and David used the term, albeit both of them in times of distress.
"7:13 When I say, My bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my complaint; 7:14 Then thou scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest me through visions." (Job 7:13-14 KJV)"6:6 I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears." (Psalm 6:6 KJV)
In the New Testament, the term was usually applied to what might be called a stretcher or litter today.
"5:19 And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus.5:20 And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.
5:21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?
5:22 But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts? 5:23 Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk? 5:24 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house. 5:25 And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God." (Luke 5:19-25 KJV)
Fact Finder: Does the Messiah have a "couchingplace," or a "fold," for His flock?
See The Shepherd's Fold
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This Day In History, July 13
1410: Poland and Lithuania defeated the Teutonic Knights at Tannenberg.
1534: Ottoman forces captured Tabriz in Persia (known today as Iran).
1558: During the Valois Hapsburg War, the French under Marshal de Thermes were defeated by the Flemish and their allies, aided by the English fleet, at the Battle of Gravelines.
1585: A group of 108 English pioneers, led by Sir Richard Grenville, arrived to establish a colony in the wilderness of what is today known as Roanoke Island, North Carolina.
1621: Albert the Pious, cardinal, son of Holy Roman emperor Maximilian II, nephew of Philip II of Spain, died at age 62. He ruled the Spanish Netherlands jointly with his wife Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain. He managed to control only the 10 southern Catholic provinces (today Belgium and Luxembourg), while the 7 northern Protestant provinces (today the Netherlands) rebelled.
1643: During the English Civil War, the Parliamentarians were defeated by the Royalists under Prince Maurice at the Battle of Roundway Down.
1662: Charles II granted a charter to establish the Royal Society in London.
1837: Queen Victoria became the first British monarch to live in Buckingham Palace.
1878: The Ottoman Empire was further reduced with the signing of the Treaty of Berlin. The Caucasus were given to Russia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina to Austria. Romania became independent and the treaty also confirmed Britain's right to occupy Cyprus. Listen to our Sermon The Ottoman Empire; also, The European World Wars.
1882: The British destroyed forts built by the Arabi Pasha threatening the Suez Canal after three days of firing by battleships led by Sir Beauchamp Seymour in the Egyptian rebellion.
1919: The British airship R34 landed back in Norfolk after making the first-ever Atlantic aerial round-trip. It set out from Scotland to the United States on July 2.
1943: The greatest tank battle in history ended with Russia's defeat of Germany at Kursk, south of Moscow. Almost 6,000 tanks took part and 2,900 were lost by Germany. There were at least 230,000 casualties in the battle.
1977: A massive power failure at caused a blackout over New York City. Looting and rioting broke out, with police arresting at least 3,000 people.
1992: Yitzhak Rabin became the Prime Minister of the modern state of Judah, known as "Israel" (see The Northern Kingdom and The Southern Kingdom; also The Gathering of Israel and Judah).
