Worship

[sami]

Worship
        שׁחה         schacah

In our modern western culture worship is an action directed toward Elohiym and Elohiym alone. But this is not the case in the Hebrew Bible. The word shahhah is a common Hebrew verb meaning to prostrate oneself before another in respect, or simply, obeisance. We see Moses doing this to his father-in-law in Exodus 18:7. From a Hebraic perspective obeisance is the act of getting down on ones knees and placing the face down on the ground before another worthy of respect.
scha-cah         Bend Down (verb)         7812         To pay homage to another one by bowing low or getting on the knees with the face to the ground.

The English word obeisance is a valid translation for the Hebrew schacah and the koine Greek cognate proskuneo?

obeisance [oh-bay-sanss] : a bow or curtsy showing this attitude [Old French obéissant obeying]; an attitude of respect or humble obedience; a gesture of respect, as a bow; homage or an act of homage; a gesture or movement of the body, such as a curtsy, that expresses deference or homage; an attitude of deference or homage [collectively taken from Amercian Standard, Collins Basic English, and Ologies, etc]

The above is quite consistent with the Hebrew schacah, and the koine Greek cognate proskuneo - It means bow down or lie down in recognition of higher authority whether that be by Jacob toward Esau, Judah's brothers toward Judah, Nebuchadnezzar toward Daniel, malak toward Jesus whom was raised up in authority over the malak, and all things toward Jehovah - including Jesus bowing down to his god and father, Jehovah [Matthew 4:10; John 20:17, et al]. That is all it has ever meant - to bow down in recognition of relative higher authority. Could be your dog toward another dog,or another dog toward your dog, or even your dog toward you when you come home.

Proskuneo toward Jesus has always been acceptable. Proskuneo toward Jesus as or in the place of Jehovah is defined as blasphemy in both the Hebrew and Greek texts.

Proskuneo toward Jesus as or in the place of Jehovah is defined as blasphemy in both the Hebrew and Greek texts

"Worship" is an English word, and at best, has a strained abstract association with schacah - strained particularly far if one presumes that it is indicative of use in identification of Jehovah [as is the common modern Christian theory brought forth, that if the malak schacah Jesus this means Jesus = Jehovah].

That logic and reasoning, however, are shown flawed, as such logic and reasoning would then extend to present Esau as Jehovah, and Abraham's father in-law and the Canaanites as = to Jehovah as well - when in fact there is nothing in the word itself which meant the object of schacah as identification of Jehovah himself. A True and accurate translation will consistently employ the abstract sense of the English word "worship" in translating both the Hebrew and the Greek in harmony with the directive rendered in Deuteronomy.

Is this theological bias? You bet. It is however, biblically reflected and established theological bias [bowing to men does not necessarily indicate an English equivalent to worship, but biblically, throughout, bowing down to Jehovah can be supported in the more abstract sense of "worship"] - as the Tanakh establishes such bias, there are translations however, which adhere to the Tanakh written directive - only Jehovah is worshiped, all others are paid deep respect and homage - the act is the same, the object is quite differently presented biblically.

It is also out of theological bias from which so many employ the same translational approach, but add certain individual humans to switch from "bow down" to "worship" - such as Jesus wherein many late period Christian organizations raised Jesus to the level of Jehovah. Both approaches demonstrate theological bias, but one has support of the remainder of the biblical texts, and the other, the later especially, does not.

Original Word Word Origin

proskuneÑw from (4314) and a probable derivative of (2965) (meaning to kiss, like a dog licking his master's hand)

Definition
to kiss the hand to (towards) one, in token of reverence