Wednesday, September 10, 2008

God willing

This phrase is common in English and as d.v. Deo volente in Latin. Recently I have heard Bizrat Hashem for a modern Hebrew equivalent. Where do you think this phrase has its roots? What is the ancient Hebrew it comes from?

I look forward to someone's helpful response - thank you in advance.

[Update - Yariv Aloni of the Galiano Ensemble here in Victoria provided me with the clue - the word is b`ezerat - clearly meaning NOT God willing, but with God's help - much more positive and less - what is that word - deterministic, fatalistic... At a party at the moment - will do some more research on the origins of this phrase later]

1 comment:

Bob MacDonald said...

Seems to me too that it has some possible relationship to que sera sera and the Arabic equivalent Insha'Allah.