מוֹרֶה

From the study of Isaiah 30:20

Range of meaning

A participle of the verb yārāh. In one form the verb means 'to throw or shoot', then 'to point out', and so 'to instruct' or 'to direct'. As a noun, mōreh means (1) a teacher or instructor (Prov 5:13; Isa 9:15, where 'the prophet who teaches lies' is called a mōreh); (2) the autumn 'early rain' (Joel 2:23; Ps 84:6). Tôrāh, 'instruction', comes from the same root.

Against the English

KJV and WEB have 'thy teachers' (plural, human). BSB, ESV and NASB have 'your Teacher' (singular, capitalised, meaning God). YLT has 'directors'. English 'teacher' suggests a classroom. A mōreh is someone who points out the road to walk, which is exactly the picture in v. 21 ('This is the way').

How it drifted

'Teacher' now suggests schooling and academic information. The Hebrew word is about guidance in conduct, about tôrāh as the way of life.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Isaiah 30:9 the people are 'sons who are not willing to hear the tôrāh of YHWH'. Using mōreh here deliberately echoes that line. In the Dead Sea Scrolls the leader of the Qumran community is called the 'Teacher of Righteousness' (mōreh ha-ṣedeq), a title probably drawn from Joel 2:23 and Hosea 10:12, where mōreh can mean either 'teacher' or 'rain'.

From the study of Job 36:22

Range of meaning

Built on the verb yārâ. Its basic sense is 'to throw or shoot' (arrows, lots). It then means 'to point out or direct', and from there 'to instruct, show the way'. As a noun, môreh means 'teacher, guide' (Isa 30:20, 'your Teacher'; Prov 5:13, 'my teachers'). A separate word with the same spelling means 'early rain', the autumn rain that begins the farming year (Joel 2:23; Ps 84:6). Tôrâ ('instruction, direction', later 'Law') comes from the same root as 'teacher'.

Against the English

'Teacher' or 'who teaches' is accurate. But modern English 'teacher' suggests a classroom and the passing on of information. The Hebrew picture is closer to a guide who points out the road and corrects your direction. In Elihu's argument, that correction often comes through hardship.

How it drifted

The English word has narrowed toward schooling and academic knowledge. The Hebrew word was always about guidance for how to live.

Used elsewhere in the period

Isa 30:20 calls God the môreh of his people ('your eyes shall see your Teacher'). Prov 5:13 uses it of human instructors. At Qumran (the Dead Sea Scrolls community), môreh ha-ṣedeq, 'the Teacher of Righteousness', was the title of the community's founding guide. That shows the word was still a weighty title for a guide given by God. The Septuagint here has dynastēs, 'ruler'. The Vulgate (Jerome's Latin) has 'among lawgivers' (in legislatoribus), which picks up the tôrâ connection.

From the study of Joel 2:23

Range of meaning

Two homonyms (words spelled alike with different meanings) share this form. (1) 'Teacher, instructor', the participle of yarah in its causative sense 'to point out, to teach', related to torah, 'instruction' (Isa 30:20; Prov 5:13). (2) 'Early rain', a rarer form of yoreh, the autumn rain, from yarah 'to throw, to shoot', perhaps pictured as rain 'shot' down from the sky (Ps 84:6 [Heb 84:7]; here in Joel). BDB and HALOT list both senses.

Against the English

Nearly all modern versions say 'early/autumn rain' both times. KJV and WEB also say rain, but they take litsdaqah as describing the amount ('moderately', 'in just measure'). YLT alone says 'the Teacher for righteousness', following the Targum and Vulgate. KJV's margin also offered 'a teacher of righteousness'.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ps 84:6 uses moreh for rain blessing the valley of Baca. The Aramaic Targum of Joel renders 'your teacher', and the Vulgate has doctorem iustitiae, 'teacher of righteousness'. The Septuagint reads 'foods' (ta brōmata). The Dead Sea Scrolls community called its founding leader moreh ha-tsedeq, the 'Teacher of Righteousness' (Damascus Document CD 1:11). CD 6:11 expects 'one who teaches (yoreh) righteousness at the end of days', which echoes Hos 10:12 ('until he comes and rains/teaches righteousness on you'). Many scholars think Joel 2:23 and Hos 10:12 together lie behind the Qumran title, though how much the title owes to Joel is not certain.