Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

BROOK

A small stream of water. In the seasonal climate of Palestine the stream beds tend to gush with rainfall runoff during the winter rains but dry up during the summer drought (1 Kgs. 17:1-7; Job 6:15-17). Perennial streams such as the Jordan River and its major tributaries are the exception to the general rule, but these streams pale in comparison with the Nile, Tigris, or Euphrates. More often stream beds become dry gulches during the summer, and survival becomes much more difficult. Thus Heb. naḥal, as well as Arab. wadi, can refer to a perennial stream or river, a temporary rainy season torrent (Judg. 5:21), or merely a valley or dry stream bed during drought (Num. 13:23; Deut. 2:13; 2 Sam. 15:23).

Metaphorically, the torrent of the rainy season illustrates the prophetic demand for pervasive justice (Amos 5:24), the blessing prophesied to come to Jerusalem (Isa. 66:12), or the wise words from the mouth of the righteous (Prov. 18:4). The problem involved in traversing the “pride” of the Jordan (either the dense vegetation along it which harbored dangerous animals or its agitated turbulent waters) fittingly pictures Israel’s difficulties and dangers (Jer. 12:5; cf. 47:2). A brook at drought stage serves as an apt picture of Job’s fickle friends (Job 6:15-20). The ephemeral nature of brooks must be understood if one is to appreciate the suitableness of the comparison of the deer’s panting for water with the psalmist’s panting for God (Ps. 42:1-2[MT 2-3]).

David L. Turner

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

BROOK

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)