Every time a Hebrew speaker turns on the light, they use a word from a prophet's vision. A word so mysterious that the Talmud tells of a child who figured out what it meant, and a fire came out and burned him.
Today, that word is on every Israeli's monthly bill.
Bible Words Israelis Use for Things the Bible Never Imagined
A little over 100 years ago, Hebrew came back as an everyday language. And it had a problem. It needed words for a world the Bible never saw. Electricity. Cars. Screens.
The people who revived Hebrew could have borrowed those words from other languages. Many times, they went back to the Bible instead.
Here are four of those words: where each one sits in the text, and what it's doing in Israel right now.
Let's start with the one that's in your hand right now.
Masach: The Curtain That Guarded a Holy Space
The first word is מָסָךְ /ma-'sakh/. You'll find it in שְׁמוֹת /sh-'mot/ Exodus, chapter 26, in the instructions for building the Tabernacle. וְעָשִׂיתָ מָסָךְ לְפֶתַח הָאֹהֶל /ve-a-'see-ta ma-'sakh le-'fe-takh ha-'o-hel/, and you shall make a screen for the entrance of the tent.
It was a woven curtain of blue, purple, and scarlet. It stood between the outside world and a holy space.
In Israel today, מָסָךְ /ma-'sakh/ is a screen. Your phone, your TV, your computer. Every Israeli parent argues with their kids about זְמַן מָסָךְ /z-'man ma-'sakh/, screen time.
So the next time you look at your phone, remember what that word used to guard.
Rechev: Pharaoh's Chariot in Tel Aviv Traffic
The second word is רֶכֶב /'re-khev/. In the Bible, it's a chariot.
In שְׁמוֹת /sh-'mot/ Exodus, chapter 14, Pharaoh chases the Israelites to the sea. וַיִּקַּח שֵׁשׁ מֵאוֹת רֶכֶב בָּחוּר /va-yee-'kakh shesh me-'ot 're-khev ba-'khoor/, he took 600 chosen chariots. It was the most advanced military machine of its day.
In Israel today, רֶכֶב /'re-khev/ is a vehicle. It's on your license, your insurance, and every parking sign. When an Israeli asks if you have a רֶכֶב /'re-khev/, they want to know if you can give them a ride.
Pharaoh's chariots ended up in the sea. The word ended up in Tel Aviv traffic.
In Israel there are two everyday words for a car. One is רֶכֶב /'re-khev/. The other is אוֹטוֹ /'o-to/, from automobile, if you want an easier one. The difference is that אוֹטוֹ /'o-to/ is a little more colloquial, and רֶכֶב /'re-khev/ is a little more polished.
Ekdach: A Promise to Jerusalem Became a Toy Gun
The third word is אֶקְדָּח /ek-'dakh/.
It appears in the whole Bible exactly once, in יְשַׁעְיָהוּ /ye-sha-a-'ya-hoo/ Isaiah, chapter 54. It's a promise to Jerusalem that it will be rebuilt in beauty. וּשְׁעָרַיִךְ לְאַבְנֵי אֶקְדָּח /oo-she-a-'ra-yeekh le-av-'ney ek-'dakh/, and your gates will be made of sparkling stones.
It was a precious stone that glows like fire.
Then came Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, the man who brought Hebrew back to everyday life. He needed a word for a pistol. And he chose this one, the stone of fire.
In Israel today, אֶקְדָּח /ek-'dakh/ is a handgun. But it's also the most innocent thing in the house. A water gun is אֶקְדַּח מַיִם /ek-'dakh 'ma-yeem/. A glue gun is אֶקְדַּח דֶּבֶק /ek-'dakh 'de-vek/.
So a word from one of the most beautiful promises in the Bible is what Israeli kids chase each other with in the summer.
Chashmal: The Deepest Mystery in Ezekiel, Now on Your Electricity Bill
The fourth word is the one from the opening: חַשְׁמַל /khash-'mal/.
It comes from יְחֶזְקֵאל /ye-khez-'kel/ Ezekiel, chapter 1. He sees a storm, a great cloud, and fire. And in the middle of the fire, כְּעֵין הַחַשְׁמַל /ke-'ey-n ha-khash-'mal/, something that looked like חַשְׁמַל /khash-'mal/.
Nobody knew exactly what it was. An ancient translation called it amber. The rabbis treated it as one of the deepest secrets in the text, and that's where the story of the child and the fire comes from.
Then, in 1878, a Hebrew poet named Yehuda Leib Gordon needed a word for a new force in the world. A glowing power that nobody could see or fully explain. He chose חַשְׁמַל /khash-'mal/.
In Israel today, חַשְׁמַל /khash-'mal/ is electricity. Israelis pay a חֶשְׁבּוֹן חַשְׁמַל /khesh-'bon khash-'mal/, an electricity bill. An electrician is a חַשְׁמַלַּאי /khash-ma-'lay/. And when the power goes out, Israelis say נָפַל הַחַשְׁמַל /na-'fal ha-khash-'mal/, the electricity fell, it's down.
The deepest mystery in Ezekiel's vision is now what charges your phone.
Where It All Meets: Pharaoh's Chariot, Electric
Here's the part worth sitting with. In Israel today, an electric car is רֶכֶב חַשְׁמַלִּי /'re-khev khash-ma-'lee/. That's Pharaoh's chariot and Ezekiel's vision, parked on a street in Tel Aviv.
That's what Hebrew is. One language, from the Bible to this morning. When you understand the Hebrew Israelis speak today, the text opens up with it.
Common Questions About Biblical Hebrew Words in Modern Use
Why did modern Hebrew reuse biblical words instead of borrowing from other languages?
When Hebrew was revived as an everyday spoken language a little over a hundred years ago, it needed vocabulary for a world the Bible never described. Rather than importing foreign words for everything, the revivers often returned to existing biblical words and gave them new, related meanings.
What does "chashmal" mean in the Bible versus in Israel today?
In Ezekiel's vision, חַשְׁמַל /khash-'mal/ describes a mysterious glowing substance nobody could fully define, treated by the rabbis as one of the text's deepest secrets. In modern Hebrew, it simply means electricity.
Is "ekdach" really used for toy guns in Israel?
Yes. אֶקְדָּח /ek-'dakh/ is the standard word for a handgun, but it's also used for harmless items like water guns (אֶקְדַּח מַיִם) and glue guns (אֶקְדַּח דֶּבֶק), despite originally describing a precious, fire-like gemstone in Isaiah.
What's the difference between "rechev" and "oto" for car in Hebrew?
Both are everyday Hebrew words for a car. אוֹטוֹ /'o-to/, borrowed from "automobile," is more colloquial, while רֶכֶב /'re-khev/, the biblical word for chariot, is a little more polished and is the word used on official documents like licenses and insurance.
Who is Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, and why does he matter for these words?
Eliezer Ben-Yehuda is widely credited as the driving force behind reviving Hebrew as an everyday spoken language in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He and others coined or repurposed many modern Hebrew words, including אֶקְדָּח for "handgun," often drawing on existing biblical vocabulary.
Sources
- Talmudology: Chagigah 13a, On the Origins of the Modern Hebrew Word "Chashmal"
- Wikipedia: Hashmal
- Mechon-Mamre: Exodus 26
- Hadar Perry: אקדח
- Ben-Yehuda Dictionary: אֶקְדָּח
Related Articles
- Simchat Torah: The Book That Ends With a Death and Starts Again
- The Most Useful Hebrew Words and Phrases for English Speakers
- How to Speak Hebrew: A Guide for English Speakers
One Thing to Carry With You
Tell me in the comments: which of these four words surprised you most?
And if you want to stand on your own in Hebrew, Practically Speaking Hebrew is where the understanding happens. Add Hebrew 1-2-3 and you'll read it too.
Learn about Practically Speaking Hebrew
Inbal Amit is a native Israeli Hebrew teacher, Amazon bestselling author, and the creator of Practically Speaking Hebrew - a speaking and understanding program built specifically for English speakers.