Happy are the people whose strength is in you!
whose hearts are set on the pilgrims’ way.
Psalm 84:4
The word “Hebrew,” say some scholars, is derived from the Akkadian habiru, “pilgrim people.” The portrait of the ancient Hebrews that comes across in the Old Testament—a nomadic people in search of both a physical and a spiritual homeland—fits the etymology nicely. Abram leaving his city, Moses forsaking Pharaoh’s palace, the exodus from Egypt, the Babylonian captivity, the return to Jerusalem: in story after story, the habiru are on the move toward God, breaking away from complacency or narrow-mindedness when they occasionally sink into it, striving always to plunge more deeply into the divine mystery. They are indeed a pilgrim people.
We really liked this post by Kerry Walters on pilgrims review.org. Click here to read the whole article.