h8441 I covered with ABBD; h8251 and h8263 I covered with KSS; h6292 I covered with BBKL; h2194 I covered with AMS; h0887 I covered with ABS.
ABBD תועב “abomination” בעתו in its time cognate permutations (act to balance)
KSS שקץ detest ישש age cognate permutations (converge; diverge)
BBKL ויבל and bring פגול stink cognate permutations – (manage by encouraging/discouraging)
AMS עצם bone נסה test נסע go forward משׂא burden משה Moses שׂנא hate סנהbush נחש serpent cognate permutations (influence positively/negatively) also (withhold/provide)
ABS צוה “command”/delegate authority while retaining control חפץ desire אסףgather; collect; I add cognate permutations (motivate/dissuade)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
⦁ ▸
How I was led to dive deeper into understanding was in working in a passage inEzekiel 16 that included תועה repeatedly. In looking up “abomination,” I saw that there were numerous Hebrew words that were being interpreted as “abomination” in the New King James Version. What we have been about all along is to try to get a better understanding of Scripture. When there are many words in Hebrew that are translated as a single word in English, it is confusing to readers, including myself. It seemed appropriate to look at this word for that reason, and because it is a particularly divisive word in our country right now. No matter what the findings were, I knew it would be inflammatory to some people because we are at an inflammatory time right now in the United States. We are so divided and angry. it’s not my job to tell you what to believe, only to put the information before you.
I did want to remind you of this sine wave figure that we had looked at before regarding cycles because of the definition for תועב of (act to balance).
You see in the KSS שקץ group above, the cognate permutations group meaning (converge; diverge). I thought it was very interesting that one of the roots in the group was קסס p.230 flatten. If one thinks of the cycles of life on this Earth, there could be two means of “achieving balance.” One is that of “equal and opposite reaction,” where the amplitude in the valley must be as deep as the amplitude in the mountain. Another way is to “flatten out“ the curves, so neither of the peaks nor the valleys are very pronounced.
I would like to share with you, Isaiah‘s thoughts about this.
⦁ Isaiah 40:3-5
3 The voice of one crying, “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD;
Make straight in the desert
A highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be exalted
And every mountain and hill brought low;
The crooked places shall be made straight
And the rough places smooth;
5 The glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
And all flesh shall see it together;
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
And you will undoubtedly recognize the passage being quoted by John the Baptizer: Luke 3:3-6; Matt. 3:1–6; Mark 1:2–6; John 1:19–23. It is one of very few passengers shared in all four gospels.
Whoever or whatever we are, we are on a path. We learn from the peaks and the valleys. Eventually, it seems, all roads lead home. The road we choose determines our encounters. Gary Zukav: “Your heart is your home, and all roads lead to home.” 🤷♂️
We should (my opinion, which does not agree with everyone, for certain) be working toward this “flattening of the curve.” How do we work toward making balance? By extremist fighting against extremist? Or do we come to a more level highway??
I personally encourage you, whenever you come across the word abomination in your Scripture reading to take the time to look up what the Hebrew word is behind it. Then I personally think you would do well to look at the above definitions for the spectrum/continuum that includes each of these words.
And then, I encourage you to think about what Isaiah says in Isaiah 40:3-5.
- (And now, I think I will be able to return to the Ezekiel 16 passage with a bit more confidence that I understand what the LORD is telling me.)
Blessings, PG
Ⓒ Copyright Philip E. Gates; LogAndSpeck.com November 2025. Please cite if you use this material.