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                                    Muhammad in the Bible David Benjamin KeldaniEdited & Annotated by: Prof. Dawud M. R. Alhanbali & Prof, Dr. Kaseb A. Albadran ( 39 )dresse, volunté, bon plaisir,” etc.; and the author gives “dokeo” asthe root of “doxa,” with its varioussignificationsI havementioned 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 itsoriginalsense as well.2. The Etymology of the Hebrew Forms of Mahamad and Himdah, and their SignificationsI 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. Itis 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, had, 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 Shahwah, which is rendered in English as “lust,
                                
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