Metaphysical meaning of Haradah (mbd)
Haradah, har'-a-dah (Heb.)--excited; trembling; shaking; quaking; inclined with eagerness; hasten trembling; trepidation; fear; terror. The original idea contained in the word Haradah was that of intense excitement or agitation, from any cause whatsoever. It could as well refer to the intensity of love as of fear, or any other cause. Later it became restricted to that of fear and terror. About the time that the translators got hold of the original, the idea had been quite thoroughly crystallized and restricted to that of fear, as we think of it today. When the translators saw this word in conjunction with God, the result was a catastrophe to humanity. Instead of rendering it the intense excitement, or intensity, of love, they thought it meant the fear of an adverse power over which we have no control. This helps to explain how the idea of fear of God got into our Bible.
A place where the children of Israel camped while in the wilderness, on their way to the Promised Land (Num. 33:24).
Meta. A state of anxiety and fearfulness, a trembling, which sometimes overtakes him who has left his old carnal, darkened beliefs (Egypt) but has not yet become firmly established in the new spiritual ideas and activities that he has taken up. He has not yet entered the Promised Land, but is wandering about in the wilderness of his thoughts, where he encounters many states of error thought that he cannot account for and does not know how to handle. He has to leave them and go on to other stopping places, until he shall grow in understanding, faith, and power to such an extent that he can meet boldly and overcome all the enemies of doubt and fear of every kind of seeming error.
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Preceding Entry: Hara
Following Entry: Haran
