owth (oth) [226]

Meaning owth

a.  Probably from 225 ( 'ûth   ); in the sense of appearing.

b.  A signal (literally or figuratively) as a flag, beacon, monument, omen, prodigy, evidence.

1.  Owth means "sign; mark".

2.  This word represents something by which a person or group is characteristically marked.  This is its emphasis in Genesis 4:15, "And the Lord said to him, Therefore, if anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark or sign upon Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him. "

3.  In Exodus 8:23 God promises to "put a division between my people and thy people:tomorrow shall this sign be" (cf Exodus 12:13, "The blood shall be for a token or sign to you upon [the doorposts of] the houses where you are, [that] when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall be upon you to destroy you when I smite the land of Egypt. " ).

4. Numbers 2:2, "The Israelites shall encamp, each by his own [tribal] standard or banner with the ensign of his father’s house, opposite the Tent of Meeting and facing it on every side." uses owth to represent a military banner, while Job 21:29, "Have you not asked those who travel this way, and do you not accept their testimony [owth] and evidences [owth]— " uses the word of the identifying banners of nomadic tribes.

5.  Rahab asked her Israelite guests for a trustworthy "mark" which they stipulated to be the scarlet cord by which she lowered them out of her window and outside Jericho's walls; Joshua 2:12, "Now then, I pray you, swear to me by the Lord, since I have shown you kindness, that you also will show kindness to my father’s house, and give me a sure sign, "  and Joshua 2:18, "Behold, when we come into the land, you shall bind this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and you shall bring your father and mother, your brothers, and all your father’s household into your house. "

6.  The word means "sign" as a reminder of one's duty. This usage first appears in Genesis 9:12, "And God said, This is the token of the covenant (solemn pledge) which I am making between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: " (cf Genesis 9:4-15).

7.  A reminding token is represented by owth: "It shall be as a sign to you upon your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand the Lord has brought you out of Egypt. " [Exodus 13:9].

8.  A "sign" eventually showing the truth of a statement is indicated by owth: "God said, I will surely be with you; and this shall be the sign to you that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain [Horeb, or Sinai]. " [Exodus 3:12]

9.  In passages such as Exodus 4:8, owth represents a miraculous "sign", "[Then God said] If they will not believe you or heed the voice or the testimony of the first sign, they may believe the voice or the witness of the second sign. ".

Personal Note Exodus 4:6-9 6 The Lord said also to him, Put your hand into your bosom. He put his hand into his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous, as white as snow. 7 [God] said, Put your hand into your bosom again. So he put his hand back into his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, it was restored as the rest of his flesh. 8 [Then God said] If they will not believe you or heed the voice or the testimony of the first sign, they may believe the voice or the witness of the second sign. 9 But if they will also not believe these two signs or heed your voice, you shall take some water of the river [Nile] and pour it upon the dry land; and the water which you take out of the river [Nile] shall become blood on the dry land. Jesus in the flesh is the second sign?

10.  "Signs" are attestations of the validity of a prophetic message, but they are not the highest or final test of a prophet; he must speak in conformity to past revelation (cf Deuteronomy 13:1-5).

Deuteronomy 13:1-5

1 If a prophet arises among you, or a dreamer of dreams, and gives you a sign or a wonder,
2 And the sign or the wonder he foretells to you comes to pass, and if he says, Let us go after other gods—gods you have not known—and let us serve them,
3 You shall not listen to the words of that prophet or to that dreamer of dreams. For the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your [mind and] heart and with your entire being.
4 You shall walk after the Lord your God and [reverently] fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice, and you shall serve Him and cling to Him.
5 But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has talked rebellion and turning away from the Lord your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house of bondage; that man has tried to draw you aside from the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. So shall you put the evil away from your midst.

11. Several passages use owth of omens and/or indications of future events; 1 Samuel 14:10, "But if they say, Come up to us, we will go up, for the Lord has delivered them into our hand, and this will be our sign."

Personal Note Jonathan was not sure whether to attack the Philistines.  He just placed his faith in God to save him, 1 Samuel 14:6, "And Jonathan said to his young armor-bearer, Come, and let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that the Lord will work for us. For there is nothing to prevent the Lord from saving by many or by few." He did not go into some earnest or hard prayers.  He simply take it that if the enemy said "Wait until we come to you" [1 Samuel 14:9], he would not attack.  But if the enemy said "Come up to us" [1 Samuel 14:10], he would attack. Jonathan trusted God to grant him the sign or indication he wanted. 1 Samuel 14:8-13 8 Jonathan said, We will pass over to these men and we will let them see us. 9 If they say to us, Wait until we come to you, then we will stand still in our place and will not go up to them. 10 But if they say, Come up to us, we will go up, for the Lord has delivered them into our hand, and this will be our sign. 11 So both of them let the Philistine garrison see them. And the Philistines said, Behold, the Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden themselves. 12 The garrison men said to Jonathan and his armor-bearer, Come up to us and we will show you a thing. Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, Come up after me, for the Lord has given them into Israel’s hand. 13 Then Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, his armor-bearer after him; and the enemy fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer killed them after him.

12.   An owth can be a warning sign; Numbers 16:38, "The censers of these men who have sinned against themselves and at the cost of their own lives. Let the censers be made into hammered plates for a covering of the altar [of burnt offering], for they were used in offering before the Lord and therefore they are sacred. They shall be a sign [of warning] to the Israelites."

13.  The first mention of owth is in Genesis 1:14, "And God said, Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be signs and tokens [of God’s provident care], and [to mark] seasons, days, and years, "

Personal Note Before God's only beloved Son came in the flesh, the constellations serve as the signs or confirmation of God's care and provision.  And the constellations speak of Jesus. Today, Jesus is THE signs or confirmation that God will care and provide for me.

Syn: 4159 (môphêth, Phonetics: mo-faith'   )