Page 163 - New English Book L

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In the Dictionnaire Grec-Français (published in
1846 in Paris by R. C. Alexandre) the word “eudokia” is
rendered “bienveillence, tendresse, volunté, bon plaisir,”
etc.; and the author gives “dokeo” as the root of “doxa,”
with its various significations I have mentioned above.

The Greeks of Constantinople, among whose teachers
I have had several acquaintances, while unanimously
understanding by “eudokia” the meaning of “delight,
loveliness, pleasantness, and desire,” also admit that it
does signify “celebrity, renown, and honourability” in its
original sense as well.

2. The Etymology of the Hebrew forms of Mahmad
and Himdah, and their Signification.

I am convinced that the only way to understand the

sense and the spirit of the Bible is to study it from an
Islamic point of view. It is only then that the real nature
of the Divine Revelation can be understood, appreciated
and loved. It is only then, too, that the spurious, the false,
and the heterogeneous elements interpolated in it can
be discovered in their blackest features and eliminated.
In addition, it is from this point of view that I welcome
this Greek word “eudokia,” which in its true and literal
signification admirably corresponds to the Hebrew
“Mahmad, Mahamod, Himdah,” and “Hemed” so
frequently used in the Old Testament.

(a) Hamad.This verb, which is constituted of three
essential consonants hmd, and common to all the Semitic
dialects, everywhere in the Sacred Writ of the Hebrews
signifies: “to covet, fall in love, long for, take pleasure
and delight in,” and “to desire ardently.” Those who know
Arabic will naturally understand the comprehensive sense
of the word Shahwat, which is rendered in English as
“lust, cupidity, ardent desire, and appetite.” Well, this is
the precise sense and signification of the verb “hamad”