etymology - What is the origin of the phrase "from your lips to God’s ears?"


I used this phrase in a conversation with my wife yesterday and was surprised to learn that she had never heard of it. This led me to wonder where it came from.



Answer



By request from the comments: here is a link to a Language Log post that, among other things, explains the origin of the phrase.



from your mouth to God's ear (or ... to the Gates of Heaven). May God hear what I/you say and act upon it. Or, as defined in The Taste of Yiddish by Lillian Merwin Feinsilver (1970): 'Fun zayn moyl, in Gots oyer. Lit, From his mouth into God's ear. May God hear what he has said (and fulfil it)!' The 'Gates of Heaven' may be an Arab version. ... The first expression my stem from Psalm 130:2: 'Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications'. The phrase also appears in the orthodox Jewish prayer book.



The explanation above taken from


Nigel Rees, Cassell's Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins (2002), p. 90


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