Endurance (in the Hebrew Bible)
Examining a biblical theme that is expressed in another language is different from studying an original Hebrew concept. For example, Hebrew ḥesed can be translated by anyone of several, different English words, depending on usage and context. In the present case, we are moving in an inward direction, searching Scripture for those words and phrases that the Hebrew Bible uses to express meanings we now associate with the English word “endurance,” and its related forms.
What, then, do we mean by “endurance?” To endure is more than simply “to last”; it is more like “outlasting.” Inevitably, endurance has to do with overcoming a counter-force, with surviving a threat or challenge, often connoting pain and suffering, How, then, would you say “endurance” in biblical Hebrew? It might be instructive to open the discussion with the Hebrew participle dābēq “adherent, attached,” literally: “stuck to-.” Deuteronomy, chapter 4, presents part of Moses’ final oration, in which he charges the Israelite people just before crossing the Jordan into Canaan, after their victories in Transjordan and to the south. He draws a sharp contrast between those Israelites who were lured away by Baal Peor, the Moabite deity (see Num 25), and those who remained loyal to their covenant with the God of Israel:
Your eyes have seen how the Lord acted against Baal Peor. For every person who followed Baal Peor- the Lord, your God, destroyed him from your midst; but you who adhere to (haddebēqîm) the Lord, your God, you are all alive today (Deut 4: 3-4).
When tempted to break away from the true God, the faithful in Israel exhibited what we would call “stick-to-it-ive-ness,” and remained attached. This characterization of endurance emphasizes the virtue of persistence: It is insufficient to commit one’s self initially; it becomes necessary to sustain the commitment, to endure. Most often, the Hebrew Bible employs forms of the verb nāśā’ “to carry off, bear,” in order to express what we would call endurance.
Once again we turn to Moses’ final oration, where he recalls the urgent need he had felt in the wilderness for assistance in leading the people:
How can I bear (’êkāh ’eśśa’) unassisted, your tedium, your burden, and your contention? Enlist from each of your tribes men who are wise, discerning, and experienced, and I will appoint them as your (designated) leaders ( Deut 1: 12-13).
Endurance requires both the wisdom and the strength to “bear up” under the stress of the responsibilities of leadership. This was especially true of Moses while he was leading the people of Israel during its formative phase, when there was so much contention, as we read in Exodus and Numbers (see Exod 16-17, Num 14-17). In a different vein, we read in Micah 7 about the endurance required of a prophet, reviled by his people, while patiently awaiting divine vindication:
I shall endure (’eśśā’) the Lord’s wrath, because I have sinned against Him, until He champions my cause, and redresses my grievance. He will bring me out into the light, so that I may witness his vindication of me.
Patience is an aspect of endurance, and the prophet asserts his confidence that, no matter how long it takes, he will be vindicated.
What is most dramatic perhaps is the notion that God’s promise of redemption will outlive Israel’s sinfulness. One could say that endurance is required of God in order for us to endure! Thus, Isaiah 46: 3-4:
Listen to me, O House of Jacob, all who remain of the House of Israel; who have been carried as a load since birth, who have been endured (hanneśu’îm) since leaving the womb. Until old age I am the one; until you turn grey I will bear the burden (’esbol). I brought it about and I will endure (’eśśā’); I will bear (’esbol) and rescue.
This passage affirms God’s promise to endure Israel’s sinfulness until the prophesized redemption is fulfilled. It introduces the parallelism of nāśā’ and its replacement sābal.
From here, we move directly to one of the so-called “Servant Passages,” Isaiah 53, which speaks of vicarious endurance; of bearing the burden of the sins of others, in this case, of the people of Israel. The “suffering servant,” whose identity remains elusive, is described as follows:
Verily, it is our sickness that he has endured (nāśā’)
Our pains that he has borne (sebālām).
We accounted him as one plagued,
Smitten by God and afflicted (Isaiah 53:4).
However we identify the subject of this passage, it seems to be speaking of bearing up under the painfulness of leadership, which often demands of us to endure the consequences of the misdeeds of others, not only of our own. Thus, the Judean exiles lament: “Our ancestors committed the offences, but they no longer exist, so that we have had to bear the punishment for their sins” (Lamentations 7:3).
There is more that can be said on the subject of endurance by further attention to the wilderness narratives in Exodus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, already referenced in the discussion above. Usually, the behavior of the Israelites is attributed to a lack of trust in Moses and in God. Another way of looking at it is to attribute Israelite behavior to a failure of endurance. A dramatic example is the narrative of the so-called Golden Calf in Exodus, chapter 32. When Moses fails to reappear on schedule, the Israelites are characterized as stubbornly impatient, and consequently unable to endure Moses’ long absence. Endurance emerges as a character trait that enables acts of faith.
