“hate.” The word “hate” in the Bible does not always have the meaning it has in English, an intense feeling of animosity, anger, and hostility toward a person, group, or object. In Hebrew and Greek, the word “hate” has a large range of meanings, from actual “hate” to simply loving something less than something else, neglecting or ignoring something, or being disgusted by something. “Hate” can also mean “to have nothing to do with, or to have a lack of love and kindly sentiment toward someone or something.” 2 Chron. 19:2 says the people of Israel “hate” Yahweh, but although some people probably did have hostile feelings toward Yahweh, most of them simply had nothing to do with Him and showed no kindness to Him, so in the biblical way of speaking, they “hated” Him.

[For more on the large semantic range of “hate” and its use in the Bible, see commentary on Prov. 1:22, “hate.”]