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Genesis 11:31

וַ יִּקַּח תֶּרַח אֶת אַבְרָם בְּנֹו וְ אֶת לֹוט בֶּן הָרָן בֶּן בְּנֹו וְ אֵת שָׂרַי כַּלָּתֹו אֵשֶׁת אַבְרָם בְּנֹו וַ יֵּצְאוּ אִתָּם מֵ אוּר כַּשְׂדִּים לָ לֶכֶת אַרְצָה כְּנַעַן וַ יָּבֹאוּ עַד חָרָן וַ יֵּשְׁבוּ שָׁם

And Terah is taking אֶת-Raised-Father his builder, and אֶת-Lot builder of Scorched,457 builder of his builder,458 and אֶת-Noble-Lady his kallah,459 woman of Raised-Father his builder; and they are going out את-themselves460 from Flame of the Chaldeans, to walk earth-ward461 of Humbled. And they are coming in until Scorched, and they are sitting there.462


461

Hebrew אַ֣רְצָה, artzah. With directional ה-, signifying a limitation of direction. Normally translated toward the land of. But the inherent meaning of this construct is spelled out for us in Gen. 18:2, “bowing down earth-ward [artzah]” and Gen. 19:1, “bowing himself—nostrils earth-ward [artzah],”. This implied downward direction is played out enigmatically in Jesus’ many ascendings and descendings from the Mount of Olives.