Ephraim and Rimona Frank’s Torah study notes this week focused on the word עקב ekev , meaning ‘because.’ The same word is used in Genesis 26:5…”because עקב Abraham kept…” The same letters mean ‘heel’ and are the root of Ya’acov, meaning ‘heel grasper.’
Pondering how the ‘heel-because’ connection directly relates to ‘walk.’.
“Keeping and doing” is our ‘walk’ and the ‘because’ for Yehovah’s ‘keeping and doing’ of His Covenant.
http://bible.com/100/deu.7.12.NASB
natsab 
What an interesting connection! Definitely worthy of some meditation. Thanks!
LikeLike
We talked about the same thing today at Torah Study. Here is what the “Rabbi’s Son” wrote.
The name of this week’s parsha, Ekev, comes from the opening verse of the parsha. Transliterated from the ancient Hebrew Scrolls this opening verse reads as follows:
V’hayah ekev tishme’un et ha-mishpatim . . .
And it will happen, on the heels of sh’ma-ing the mishpatim . . .
[Deuteronomy 7:12]
The Hebrew word ekev in this phrase is difficult to translate into English. If you want a literal translation it refers to the heel of a foot. It is the word from which the name Ya’akov [Jacob], meaning ‘he will [use the] heel, is derived. The use here in the Torah is a Hebrew idiom, a figurative way of saying “on the heels of”, which is an English idiom for ‘following’. It can also be translated if, when, as and to the extent. The word picture this family of words presents is something like the old “chicken and egg” debate – it is about the sequence and relationship of similar yet distinctive things. Which comes first, we might ask – is it sh’ma-ing the Holy One’s words? Or is it receiving the Holy One’s blessing? The answer is – BOTH! One comes on the heels of the other. The plowman overtakes the reaper. They represent two sides of the same coin.
To read more of this great insight into the Torah Portion go to
Click to access 46Sheni75.pdf
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow!! Thanks for taking the time to share that!!
LikeLike