Hamas Means ‘Violence’ – Literally

When the Palestinians elected members of the group Hamas to the majority in 2006, they put into power a group known for their violence. What they may not have realized, however, is that, to Israelis, their very name means violence, quite literally.

In the Arabic language, the word “Hamas” means “zeal” or “enthusiasm.” It is also considered an acronym for “Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya,” which means the “Islamic Resistance Movement.” However, the meaning of its literary homophone is very different, and an accurate description, when it is spoken in the Hebrew language.

Few groups have a name that is as in-your-face as Hamas is to Israel, and it may or may not have been intended. In Arabic, the word is fairly benign, but when spoken in Hebrew, the meaning is clearly violence.

According to the Israeli news source Haaretz, Hamas is “the terror movement that didn’t do its Hebrew homework” when it settled on its name for itself. The Biblical Scriptures have some pretty interesting things to say about hamas, or violence, and they aren’t favorable to Hamas.

Besides the concept of violence, the term also means “oppression, wickedness, wrong, unrighteous gain.” According to Spiros Zodhiates’ Hebrew Lexicon, the verb form of hamas means “to do violence to someone, to treat violently, to hurt, to overthrow, to tear down, to be disgraced. This was the word for sinful violence, extreme wickedness.”

Was this the picture that the Arabic group intended to convey when they chose that name? It certainly seems a more fitting description than United States Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s embarrassing characterization of Hamas as a “humanitarian organization.”

The term dates back to ancient times in the Hebrew language, all the way back to the book of Genesis. The reason for the cataclysmic flood that covered the whole earth was because “hamas” or “violence” had filled the earth.

The word “hamas” is sometimes translated “cruelty” in the King James Version, as in this heart cry that could be the prayer of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, although it was penned millennia ago by King David in Psalms 27:12:

“Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty.“

Interestingly, there are a number of ancient references to “hamas” (violence) that also mention deception and lies. Recently, Hamas has been exposed as manipulating the media, deceiving the world about what is really happening in Gaza. As The Inquisitr has reported, Hamas has set up Israel to take the blame for killing innocent civilians, while dressing their militants in civilian clothing, embedding them within civilian areas, and compelling reporters to report all Palestinian deaths as civilian casualties, even if they are jihadists.

The violence by Hamas has escalated in recent weeks to the point where some Palestinians are beginning to say, “enough.” Palestinian human rights activist Bassem Eid told Yediot Ahronot that “most Palestinians are against missile attacks on Israel.” They are tired of being used as human shields.

Israel has long recognized that Hamas was violent and cruel. Every time the name was spoken, they heard it. The actions of Hamas have demonstrated that the Hebrew understanding of their name was far closer to the truth than the Arabic meaning.

Eid acknowledges:

“the Hamas leadership is only interested in their own victory, not about the people. Hamas requires death. Death brings her power and money for more weapons. Hamas was never interested in liberating the Palestinian people from occupation.”

May there be an end soon to the violence that defines Hamas.

[images via AP/Thibault Camus]