The Origins of the Word
As vaccinations against COVID-19 pick up speed around the globe, let’s look at the word “vaccine.” In English, the word “vaccine” comes from the Latin vacca meaning “cow” because 19th century scientists first discovered that a virus called “cow pox” could effectively immunize someone against smallpox. This is interesting but not spiritually uplifting. The Bible does not mention vaccines because they are a very modern phenomenon… or are they?
The Lord Makes Us Strong
In Hebrew, the word used today for vaccine is chisun חיסון which comes from the Hebrew root HSN חסן meaning “strong.” The Book of Psalms says, “O Lord of hosts, who is as mighty (chasin) as you O Lord?” (Ps. 89:8). Because vaccines strengthen your immune system, it makes perfect sense that the Hebrew word for vaccine literally means “fortifier.” This is pretty straightforward, but wait, there’s more!
Discover a Wealth of Assurances
In the Hebrew Bible, the same word can mean “treasure” or “storehouse”. The prophet Isaiah assures us that God is our “rich store (chosen) of salvation and wisdom and knowledge” (Isa. 33:6). Only when you can read the Hebrew Bible in the original, can you really appreciate that the true vaccine for our soul is our faith in God – enroll in our live online Biblical Hebrew course today.