Incense and Ash
The function ש־ו־ב (shin–waw–bet) is not the sigh of remorse in a cloistered heart, but the pivot of a sword’s edge; the turn God commands into the place where his name has been denied. Abraham returns from the valley of kings; Moses returns to the mountain, still breathing the smoke of the calf’s golden stench; Gideon returns to the camp with the dream of victory burning in his ears. None turns to hide—all turn to face him.
And ח־נ־ן (ḥet–nun–nun), to plead, is no bowing before the courts of men. The human reference vanishes. Job’s feeble plea to his servant falls into the void. Malachi mocks the lips that beg for favor while the hands bring defilement. Proper pleading is stripped of flattery and calculation, bare as incense in the wind, carrying no name but his.
In Luke’s Gerasene plain, the return is marked by absence. The swine are gone, the crowd is gone, the man’s former companions erased. He stands alone, clothed and found, with no community left to shield him, no filth left to hide him, no power left to reference but the one who sent him. This is the Day when the disbeliever is given back his own deed, when tribe and city and oath are dust, and a man stands naked before the Face that made him.
This is the Day that the Lord has made.
To return is to step into that bareness now, ahead of the Hour, with only obedience in your hands.
“Return to your house, habibi, and describe what great things God has done for you.”
This week, I discuss Luke 8:39.
Show Notes
δέομαι (deomai) / ח־נ־ן (ḥet–nun–nun) / ح–ن–ن (ḥāʾ–nūn–nūn)
BEGGING IN VAIN
The itinerary of ח־נ־ן (ḥet–nun–nun) / ح–ن–ن (ḥāʾ–nūn–nūn) opens with righteous entreaty to God in Deuteronomy 3:23 — “I pleaded [וָאֶתְחַנַּ֖ן (waʾetḥannan)] with the Lord at that time” — and proceeds to submission before his prophet in 2 Kings 1:13 — “he bowed down on his knees before Elijah and begged [וַיִּתְחַנֵּ֗ן (wayyiṭḥannēn)] him.” It is upheld as the correct course in Job 8:5 — “if you will search for God and implore [תִּתְחַנָּֽן (titḥannan)] the compassion of the Almighty” — but falters in Job 19:16, when Job seeks compassion from a human servant: “I called to my servant, but he gave me no answer; I pleaded [חִנַּ֖נְתִּי (ḥinnantī)] with him with my mouth.”
Here, the root meets the same fork in the road as מ־צ־א (mem–ṣade–aleph) / و–ج–د (wāw–jīm–dāl) “to find.” To plead in the wrong direction is the verbal equivalent of being found in the wrong place—misoriented, exposed, and powerless. Job is “found out” in his misdirected appeal.
The itinerary returns to proper alignment in Psalm 141:2 — “may my prayer be counted as incense before you” — where the supplication is again oriented toward God, the one who truly “finds” his slave. But the arc terminates with Malachi 1:9 — “will you not plead [חִנַּנְאֵל (ḥinnū-ʾēl)] for God’s favor…with such an offering…will he receive any of you kindly?” Here, the prophet exposes the futility of petition without obedience. Even the correct address is worthless if the one who pleads is “found” corrupt.
In Luke, δέομαι (deomai) follows the same itinerary. As with מ־צ־א, the point is not the act itself — searching, pleading, finding — but the reference. Mercy is not secured by human initiative, whether in seeking or in supplication, but by being found by God in faithful submission. To plead wrongly is to be found wrongly; to plead rightly is to be found rightly. Luke’s use aligns with Malachi’s charge: misplaced faith or hypocritical worship is no more effective than Job’s appeal to his unresponsive servant.
- Deuteronomy 3:23 – וָאֶתְחַנַּ֖ן (waʾetḥannan) – I also pleaded with the Lord at that time, saying, – Moses petitions the Lord to let him cross the Jordan and view the promised land.
- 2 Kings 1:13 – וַיִּתְחַנֵּ֗ן (wayyiṭḥannēn) – So the king again sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty. When the third captain of fifty went up, he came and bowed down on his knees before Elijah, and begged him and said to him, “O man of God, please let my life and the lives of these fifty servants of yours be precious in your sight.” – A third captain approaches Elijah after the first two captains were destroyed. He kneels and requests preservation for himself and his men.
- Job 8:5 – וְאֶל־שַׁדַּ֥י תִּתְחַנָּֽן (weʾel-shadday titḥannan) – If you will search for God And implore the compassion of the Almighty, – Bildad advises Job to seek God and appeal for compassion.
- Job 19:16 – חִנַּ֖נְתִּי (ḥinnantī) – I called to my servant, but he did not answer; I implored him with my mouth. – Job recounts calling his servant and receiving no reply, even after pleading directly.
- Psalm 141:2 – תִּתְחַנָּֽה (titḥannah) – May my prayer be counted as incense before You; The raising of my hands as the evening offering. – The psalmist compares his prayer to incense and the lifting of hands to the evening offering.
- Malachi 1:9 – חִנַּנְאֵל (ḥinnū-ʾēl) – But now will you not plead for God’s favor, so that He will be gracious to us? With such an offering on your part, will He receive any of you kindly?” says the Lord of armies. – The prophet challenges the priests to request God’s favor despite their unacceptable offerings.
ὑποστρέφω (hypostrephō) / ש־ו־ב (shin–waw–bet) / ث-و-ب (thāʾ–wāw–bāʾ)
Finding, Pleading, Returning: Three Arcs Toward Confrontation
In Luke 8, the healed man’s commission to return [שׁוּב (shub)] to his city cannot be read in isolation. It is the culmination of three interwoven prophetic itineraries — מ־צ־א (mem–ṣade–aleph) “to find,” ח־נ־ן (ḥet–nun–nun) “to plead,” and ש־ו־ב (shin–waw–bet) “to return” — each carrying its own history of confrontation, exposure, and the tearing down of human constructs.
The root מ־צ־א moves through Scripture as a pivot between encounter and judgment. To “find” is not neutral; it is to be located, exposed, or confronted by what is found. In Luke 8:35, the townspeople find the formerly demon-possessed man “clothed and in his right mind” — an exposure that drives them to fear. Their response aligns them not with Abraham’s trust (Genesis 14:17), but with those who resist God’s presence.
“Then after his return [בְּשׁוּבוֹ (bə·shū·bō)] from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). (Genesis 14:17)
The root ש־ו־ב is typically mistranslated as repentance in a theological sense. Still, in the prophetic arc, it signals a strategic pivot, a “turn” toward confrontation, often in the face of danger. In Genesis 14:17, Abraham’s ש־ו־ב [בְּשׁוּבוֹ (bə·shū·bō)] from victory leads directly into confrontation with the king of Sodom. In Judges 3:19, Ehud turns back [שָׁב (shab)] to assassinate Eglon.
But he himself turned back [שָׁב (shab)] from the idols which were at Gilgal, and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” And he said, “Silence!” And all who were attending him left him.” (Judges 3:19)
In Exodus 32:31, Moses’ return [וַיָּשָׁב (way·yā·shab)] to God comes after shattering the tablets, standing between Israel and judgment.
“Then Moses returned [וַיָּשָׁב (way·yā·shab)] to the LORD, and said, “Oh, this people has committed a great sin, and they have made a god of gold for themselves!” (Exodus 32:31)
Gideon’s return [וַיָּשָׁב (way·yā·shab)] in Judges 7:15 is to rally his small band for the night attack.
“When Gideon heard the account of the dream and its interpretation, he bowed in worship. Then he returned [וַיָּשָׁב (way·yā·shab)] to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for the Lord has handed over to you the camp of Midian!” (Judges 7:15)
In Judges 14:8, Samson’s return [בְּשׁוּבוֹ (bə·shū·bō)] to Timnah brings him back to the site of his lion-kill, a prelude to confrontation at the wedding feast.
“When he returned later [בְּשׁוּבוֹ (bə·shū·bō)] to take her, he turned aside to look at the carcass of the lion; and behold, a swarm of bees and honey were in the body of the lion.” (Judges 14:8)
The arc ends in Judges 21:23 with Benjamin’s restoration to its land—a return [וַיָּשֻׁבוּ (way·yā·shū·bū)] that reconstitutes a people.
“The sons of Benjamin did so, and took wives for themselves from the women whom they carried away, according to the number, from the dancers whom they abducted. And they went and returned [וַיָּשֻׁבוּ (way·yā·shū·bū)] to their inheritance, and rebuilt the cities and lived in them.” (Judges 21:23)
In Luke 8, the healed man’s ש־ו־ב to his city mirrors these prophetic returns. It is not retreat, but an advance into contested territory. Jesus’ command is a summons to re-enter the city that rejected him, to stand in the space between God’s authority and human resistance, just as Moses, Gideon, Samson, and Abraham did in their appointed moments.
Convergence in Luke 8
When these arcs converge, Luke’s narrative sharpens:
- מ־צ־א — the man has been “found” by Jesus, restored to right mind and true allegiance.
- ח־נ־ן — pleading to human powers is replaced by faithful witness to God’s mercy.
- ש־ו־ב — he is sent back, not for reconciliation with the townspeople on their terms, but for confrontation on God’s terms.
The Gerasenes’ fear contrasts with Abraham’s faith. The healed man’s military commission is Abrahamic in trust, Mosaic in intercession, Gideonic in courage, and Samsonite in confrontation. The time of consequence promised after the golden calf (Exodus 32) is at hand: to be found by God is to be sent by God — not away from the city, but back into it, to bring it down.
ὑποστρέφω as the Greek Bridge for ש־ו־ב
Throughout Luke-Acts, the Greek text renders the Semitic ש־ו־ב with the verb ὑποστρέφω (hypostrephō), “to return, turn back, go back.” Its definitional weight comes from its programmatic use in Paul’s account in Galatians 1:17–18.
In Galatians, it functions as the lexical blueprint for the New Testament mission. Paul uses hypostrephō to frame his movements:
“…nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went away to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.” (Galatians 1:17)
Here, the “return” is not an incidental travel detail; it is the strategic pivot of his apostolic trajectory. His return to Damascus is a re-entry into hostile ground, where the same synagogues [ʿēdāh (עֵדָה)] that had empowered him to persecute believers now face him as a messenger of Christ. This is ש־ו־ב in its prophetic sense: re-confrontation with the seat of resistance—and hypostrephō captures it in Greek.
Luke takes this blueprint and applies hypostrephō throughout his Gospel and Acts to mark turning points that are not merely geographic but mission-critical. In Luke 8, when Jesus commands the healed Gerasene to return (hypostrephō) to his home, the term carries the same apostolic weight as Paul’s Damascus re-entry. It signals that the man’s mission is confrontational: to stand as a witness in the very place that rejected divine authority.
- Acts 13:13 - Confronting Jewish leadership
Paul and Barnabas, having completed their work in Cyprus, return, ὑποστρέφω (hypostrephō), into the synagogues of Antioch. Paul steps again into the very halls whose authority once sanctioned him, now to proclaim the fulfillment of God’s promise in Jesus. His words cut both ways, provoking opposition from those who will not yield, and stirring trust in those who recognize the Shepherd’s voice. This is the Abrahamic return: not to claim spoils, but to name God’s victory in the hearing of those who resist it. - Acts 15:36 - Confronting lingering opposition
Paul proposes to Barnabas that they should return, ὑποστρέφω (hypostrephō), to every city where the words of God have been proclaimed. This is not a farewell tour but a strategic circuit: a deliberate re-entry into contested territory to strengthen the faithful and to face down whatever opposition remains. Like Gideon returning to his camp after hearing the dream of Midian’s defeat, Paul moves with the quiet certainty that the battle is already decided, but the ground still needs to be claimed.
A Detheological Abrahamic Return
In Hebrew Scripture, ש־ו־ב (shub) marks not a retreat into safety but a strategic pivot into confrontation: Abraham, Moses, Gideon, Samson, Benjamin. In Luke’s Greek, ὑποστρέφω (hypostrephō) inherits this burden, marking not incidental travel but decisive re-entry into contested territory.
The Qur’anic root ث-و-ب (thāʾ–wāw–bāʾ) carries the same prophetic weight. To “return” in this sense is to be brought back to the very ground of risk; the place where one’s fate and obedience will be tested. This is the arc that comes to its sharpest edge in the final confrontation of the Day of Judgment, when the disbelievers are given back in full what they once dealt out:
هَلْ ثُوِّبَ ٱلْكُفَّارُ مَا كَانُوا يَفْعَلُونَ
hal thuwwiba l-kufāru mā kānū yafʿalūn“Have the disbelievers not been repaid for what they used to do?” — Surah Al-Muṭaffifīn 83:36
Here ثُوِّبَ (thuwwiba) is the return of deeds upon their doers, the inevitable re-entry into the consequences one has made. The confrontation is not on the offender’s terms, but on God’s.
Paul’s own ὑποστρέφω (hypostrephō) in Galatians 1:17–18 follows the same itinerary: after retreating into Arabia, he returns to Damascus to the very city whose synagogues [ʿēdāh (עֵדָה)] once backed his persecution. He does so in anticipation of the coming judgment, standing as a witness against the powers he once served, in the hope of the vindication of the Jesus he proclaims in 1 Corinthians. His return is both a present confrontation and a future-oriented act of loyalty to the one who will be revealed as Judge.
In Luke 8, Jesus sends the healed man back (ὑποστρέφω / שׁוּב / ث-و-ب) into the city that had just rejected him. His commission is not a dispersal but a reinsertion into the fray: Abrahamic in trust, Mosaic in obedience, Gideonic in courage, Samsonite in confrontation, Pauline in trajectory. Across Torah, Gospel, and Qur’an, the prophetic return is one continuous motion: to be found by God is to be sent by God, until the Day of the Lord, when the Lord’s work finds its own completion.
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