EXOD140 The Hebrew term for friend is re-a. The root meaning of this word is "a person in whose company one delights" or "a very desired friend." By its very definition, re-a originally designated an intimate friend. The word re-a appears for the first time in the Bible in the description of the relationship between Judah and Hirah the Adullamite (Genesis 38:20). Hirah was obviously an intimate friend of Judah. He was privy to Judah's amorous adventure with Tamar. Hirah was also the man whom Judah entrusted with the delicate mission of retrieving the pledge which he had left with Tamar and suppressing news of an incident which might prove embarrassing. Hirah was described as a re-a of Judah. The term re-a appears next in [this verse]. The slaves were instructed to accept "every man from his [Egyptian] friend" silver and gold jewels. Here the word re-a is no longer used in its original etymological sense of an intimate friend but rather in its broader connotation of a neighbor or any friendly person. It is in this sense that re-a is used thereafter in the Bible. Thus the text of the Golden Rule, "Love thy neighbor [re-a] as thyself" (Leviticus 19:18), mandates love of all people. The broadening of the term "friend" to include every human being reflects a generous and civilized impulse. However, it did not erase the distinction between various grades of friendship. When one finds it important to underline that a particular person is a very close friend, a descriptive phrase is added. Thus in the biblical admonition against undesirable influences of an intimate friend, the text reads: "thy friend who is as thy own soul" (Deuteronomy 13:7). (Continued at [[GEN295]] Genesis 2:18 friend BLOCH 140-1.