when speaking of training up a child in the way he should go.

First, in Hebraic thought the way he should go is  Torah.  Second, in Hebrew the concept of training a child up involves steeping them in, marinating them in that thing.  This passage speaks directly to parents needing to live Torah and raise their children in Torah so that Torah is all they know and they will stay walking in and committed to it.

But I’ve been asked many times where I get the archery language. I’ve been outright challenged on it by some. So let me share a public answer in the best expression of it I’ve found to date.  This is a paragraph from Dr. Frank Seekins “Hebrew Word Pictures”. It is a study guide I highly recommend for anyone interested in languages, especially Hebrew.  He uses information discovered from the Dead Sea Scrolls to show how the ancient Proto-Canaanite word pictures have evolved into the various stages of:  Early Phoenician and Hebrew, Pool of Siloam Inscription, Early Aramaic, the Dead Sea Scrolls, modern Hebrew and our modern Cursive as well as Early Greek, Etruscan, Latin and the Modern English.  It’s a truly amazing book and allows anyone to see what the word pictures say for the Hebrew.

Anyway, here is the quote:

Torah:  The Hebrew word Tor-ah comes from the root word ya-rah, which means to throw, to point the way or to shoot at arrow.  Because the Hebrew word for sin cha-ta means to miss the target – the word Torah becomes vital if we don’t want to miss the purpose and fulfillment of our life.  These concepts of teaching and helping to fulfill the purpose of your life is found in Proverbs 1:8 where scripture tells us to not forsake the Torah (teaching, direction) of your mother. God, with the heart like a loving mother, wants us to know how to hit the target, how to be complete in life. The Torah points out the real goals of life. The Torah shows us how to hit the mark and this agrees with the word picture for Torah, that shows us where the Torah comes from.