"The name Hebrew, as we shall see below, literally denotes someone who passes through a liquid or watery medium and comes out dry on the other side. There is some indication that certain patriarchal names used in the Semitic language area long before the Biblical namesakes came to the scene (but this according to traditional dating, which is also dubious), and certain scholars propose that the Biblical stories are playful commentaries on the actual relations between naturally formed nations (for example the adjacent nations of Israel and Edom had such a typical love-hate relationship that the Bible writers described them as coming from two twin brothers named Jacob and Esau, and so on)." Source: http://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Hebrew.html retrieved at 4.21 pm April 18, 2018

 The Abarim Publication closely matches Dr. Baruch Korman's definition from Loveisrael.org.

 Biblestudycompany note: The reason this is so important is that it references baptism. We cross from one life to the next via a decision of the heart and belief. Dr. Tim Cole of Grace Bible Church St. Petersburg, FL mentions that the earth came through the water to first appear (Genesis). Is this not a baptism of sorts? Abraham was called the first Hebrew. Did he not leave his homeland in obedience to God and crossed into Canaan? The Hebrews in Exodus came through water, called the Red Sea to leave their old life as slaves in Egypt to a new life in the wilderness dependent on God. Christ was baptized, as well, in an area near the Jordon river where the Israelites crossed to go into the land of Canaan, and after this baptism, Christ was then tested by the Devil. Could it be we will experience testing too after we cross over or be baptized?

We may look at the symbolism to see that there is a change of status with this person. That a person being obedient to believe God and decides to “cross over” from the world is indeed making a significant change. May we all strive to cross over in obedience to God’s word.

Five: Incompletion or lacking

For a person to understand the meaning of the number “five”, one must first realize that the meaning of the number ten is completion or wholeness. Since five is half of ten, the idea is that the number five represents incompletion or that which is lacking. A Scripture that expresses this idea is found in the book of John. At a place called Beit Chesed (Bethesda), there was a pool whose waters healed the sick. The reader is told that around the pool there were five porches. It is stated that on these five porches laid individuals who were not whole. Some were paralyzed and the rest of them had a variety of health problems. It is not a chance happening that these people who were lacking their health were on five porches. Another well-known passage that contains the number five is found in I Samuel 17. In the account of David and Goliath, David picks up five stones (see I Samuel 17:40). Why is the reader told the specific number and not simply that David had gathered a few stones? The answer is to assist the reader in understanding that the stone, which David hurled at Goliath, was not the source of victory. Rather, this was only the means that God used to accomplish His victory. In other words, the stone and even David, who hurled this stone at Goliath, were insufficient to bring about this victory.

One of the first places where the idea of "lacking" or "incompleteness" is seen regarding the number five is in the book of Genesis. In chapter 18, two angels are sent to Sodom to destroy the city. God tells Abraham that if 50 righteous people are found in the city, then the city will be free of this punishment (We will learn that the number 50 is related to freedom when this number is studied). This is revealed to Abraham and he responds saying, perhaps the city will lack 50 righteous people by five. It is significant that Abraham uses the number five when referring to the city lacking enough righteous people. 

Loveisrael.org - Baruch Korman, Ph.D. - All Rights Reserved - Used with Permission 2016