This sheet on Genesis 49 was written by MiliMiliM--The Hebrew Corner for 929 and can also be found here
חמס - Chamas - Lawlessness, Violence
49:5-Simeon and Levi are a pair; Their weapons are “klei chamas,” tools of lawlessness.
The word chosen from this chapter, chamas, “lawlessness” or “violence,” is itself a trenchant, violent term. What merited the entire world’s destruction in the Flood? That it was filled with chamas, lawlessness (6:13). Here it is used by Jacob as a castigation to Simeon and Levi for their vengeful murder spree.
But this word has special significance for us for two reasons. First, synagogue-going Jews on Yom Kippur will say the traditional “confessional prayer” (vidui), which is arranged as an alphabetic acrostic. ח-מ-ס, ch-m-s, is the root used for the letter “chet” - חמסנו, chamasnu, we have done violence, or oppressed. We hear the language of Genesis echoing throughout the liturgy of the ages.
The second reason is more geopolitic. The ruling faction of the Palestinians in Gaza is in fact called Hamas. I’m sure many Tanakh-studying Jews come across this word “chamas” which is more familiar from newspaper headlines, and then are, what - stunned? gratified? have feelings of divine poetic justice? that the word in Hebrew means what it does. That name was chosen by the Palestinians for two reasons. It is an acronym for Ḥarakat al-Muqāwamah al-ʾIslāmiyyah the Islamic Resistance Movement. But it also is a word in Arabic that means something like valor, strength, or power. And yes, it is the same Semitic root as the Hebrew term. In Hebrew, the core meaning of force ended up denoting only a negative context, doing things by force, or oppressive power, while in the Arabic, the word has mainly positive connotations.
49:5-Simeon and Levi are a pair; Their weapons are “klei chamas,” tools of lawlessness.
The word chosen from this chapter, chamas, “lawlessness” or “violence,” is itself a trenchant, violent term. What merited the entire world’s destruction in the Flood? That it was filled with chamas, lawlessness (6:13). Here it is used by Jacob as a castigation to Simeon and Levi for their vengeful murder spree.
But this word has special significance for us for two reasons. First, synagogue-going Jews on Yom Kippur will say the traditional “confessional prayer” (vidui), which is arranged as an alphabetic acrostic. ח-מ-ס, ch-m-s, is the root used for the letter “chet” - חמסנו, chamasnu, we have done violence, or oppressed. We hear the language of Genesis echoing throughout the liturgy of the ages.
The second reason is more geopolitic. The ruling faction of the Palestinians in Gaza is in fact called Hamas. I’m sure many Tanakh-studying Jews come across this word “chamas” which is more familiar from newspaper headlines, and then are, what - stunned? gratified? have feelings of divine poetic justice? that the word in Hebrew means what it does. That name was chosen by the Palestinians for two reasons. It is an acronym for Ḥarakat al-Muqāwamah al-ʾIslāmiyyah the Islamic Resistance Movement. But it also is a word in Arabic that means something like valor, strength, or power. And yes, it is the same Semitic root as the Hebrew term. In Hebrew, the core meaning of force ended up denoting only a negative context, doing things by force, or oppressive power, while in the Arabic, the word has mainly positive connotations.
(ה) שִׁמְע֥וֹן וְלֵוִ֖י אַחִ֑ים כְּלֵ֥י חָמָ֖ס מְכֵרֹתֵיהֶֽם׃
(5) Simeon and Levi are a pair; Their weapons are tools of lawlessness.
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