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{Word Study} Habitation "Anvehu"
Exodus 15:2: “The Lord is my strength and my song, and he is become my salvation, he is my God and I will prepare him a habitation, my father’s God and I will exalt him.”
Habitation: anvehu – to sit, dwell, adorn, praise, glorify
Our various English translations are pretty well split down the middle in how they would translate the phrase Zeh Eli ve-anvehu. Some will say “I will prepare him a place of habitation.” Others will render this as “I will praise Him” or “I will glorify Him.”
Literally, the word “anvehu (place of habitation)” comes from the root word “navah” means a dwelling place and in the Hiphil form, as it is here, it means to prepare a place for dwelling. This creates the problem of determining what that means to give God a dwelling place. The NIV, NAS, ASV makes the assumption it means to praise or glorify God. Both these renderings are based upon the Masoretic text. Jewish literature, however, pays little mind to the Masorites and looks at this without its vowel pointing (Shabbat 133b).
Without the vowel pointings, you are free to view this word (anvehu – dwelling) as two smaller words, or a compound word ani (I) and hu (He). This would render that as “I and He.” Here you have the best of both worlds. It would not only carry the idea of offering God a place of habitation, but glorifying Him as well. What Jewish literature is suggesting by viewing this as a compound word and rendering it as I and He is to say that “He is my God and I will try to be like Him. I will try to imitate His divine traits. It is often said that the highest compliment someone can pay you is if they try to imitate you. Such a declaration would be glorifying to God and would praise God. Of course if you want to imitate Him you would have to provide a dwelling place in your heart for Him so you readily have Him available as an example before you to follow.
To glorify God means to prepare him a place of habitation, whatever that means. It is also to praise Him. God wants more than just uplifted hands and repeating over and over “I praise you.” When we look at this word anvehu (place of habitation) in its root form naval (dwelling place) we find it is spelled “Nun, Vav, and Hei.” These letters tell us that it is faith that creates a relationship with His presence. Well, that is after all what we have been doing, seeking to develop a relationship with His presence. But wait, there is more.
The numerical value for “naval” (dwelling place) is 61. Chamal (passionately in love, filled with desire to be with your beloved) has a value of 61 and vekalah (be a bride) has a value of 61. This would be rendered as to be passionately in love and be a bride. This makes it a little more clearer. To glorify God I would need to be passionately in love with Him and to be a bride to Him. Finally, I found in Jewish literature that “naval’ could be a construct word giving the idea of being like Him, imitating Him.
To glorify Him is to be more than just a bride and groom, it is to be like an old married couple where you know each other so well you begin to act and even physically look like one another. People who have been married for many years tend to take on each other’s traits. They even begin to look like each other.
When the writer says he will make a place of habitation or glorify God (naval) what he is saying is that He and God are going to be so passionately in love that they will be together and live together like an old married couple where you will begin to talk like Him, act like Him and imitate His divine traits. This is what will bring him the greatest Glory (naval).
