2 Timothy 2
We are walking in today: ENCORE!! ENCORE!!! How to Study The Bible: Principle of Interpretation Part 1
Witness preserve throughout the Bible: H8104 shamar--to watch, observe; to keep, preserve, protect; pay heed
Pro 16:17 The highway of the upright is to depart from evil: he that keepeth his way preserveth H8104 his soul.
The Torah testifies...............
*****
The prophets proclaim..................
1 Sa 30:23 Then said David, Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which the LORD hath given us, who hath preserved H8104 us, and delivered the company that came against us into our hand.
The writings bear witness...........................
Pro 2:11 Discretion shall preserve H8104 thee, understanding shall keep thee:
Psa 12:7 Thou shalt keep H8104 them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.
How to Study The Bible: Principle of Interpretation Part 1
How to study and interpret the Bible is what we are going to look at this morning. What is the source of the interpreters principles? The interpreters principles, in other words, where does the interpreter who comes to the Bible, that's you--you are the interpreter. Where did you get your principles from? What frame are you using as you approach, this is a very exciting and important, yet challenging piece of literature? Number one, the importance of interpretation is where we must begin. There is so much information, let's first deal with the word hermeneutics.
Hermeneutics those of you who will go to college and you study in the seminary, this word becomes very common to theologians. A theologian is simply one who studies the Most High so don't be afraid of that word. You are a theologian because you are studying your Abba. Is that clear? So don't let no one impress you with robes and rings and and chains the crosses on them. You are all theologians and every student of the Most High, should be a theologian of high degree. Because we live and move by the Word of the Most High. Hermeneutics is a term, that is a Greek context and I want to specifically state, that it simply means to interpret or explain. Hermeneutics means to interpret or explain. Hermeneuein which is the Greek word, from the Greek noun herminia and it means interpretation. So herminia, hermo means to explain--hermeneutics means the process of explanation. The noun herminia, means literally to interpret or interpretation. I would say then, that hermeneutics means explanation. Explanation to interpret. That's what it means so, if you want to sound deep you are taking a hermeneutics class. So for this kind of teaching we will be doing on Fiveamprayer, would be similar to what you would take in Bible colleges. That's what they call this class, hermeneutics class, which means a class of what? Interpretation, that's all it is. Now this word hermeneutics which is a Greek term from the Greek language, is used not only for the Bible. It's used for all historical documents and that's why it's very important to understand the importance of interpretation.
Interpretation as a discipline is important because meaning has to do with the core of man's thinking. Interpretation is necessary, because meaning is what we're after. The meaning affects our thinking. And thinking is the foundation for your life. Which means if your meaning is wrong--then your thinking will be wrong. Therefore your life will be wrong. Proverbs 23:7(KJV) For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee. So Fiveamprayer, you got to get your thinking right! And thinking comes from what?
Meaning, whatever you consider something to mean--that determines your thoughts about it. And whatever you think about it, determines your life. Now, you know, meaning better be right. Meaning is not in words, but in people.That is a tough reality. I am going to say that again, meaning is not in words, but in people. There's a course that is taught in many colleges. Called Communication Arts. And in that class, they have a session where they study the writings of a man named. Mr. Hayakawa. And he did some studies in meaning and translations, he concluded that meaning truly is in people, not in words. Which makes sense. That's why the Bible is very dangerous!! There's a study he did, where he shows a picture of two different cows and has people look at and describe the picture of these animals. What he determined is that you will get two different descriptions from each person of the same cows! In other words, the meaning is not in the cow. Because interpretation or meaning is in the person who is translating or communicating to you. Boy, that's dangerous--therefore if meaning is in people, then you better get in the people--to get the meaning! No one knows what you mean, except you. That doesn't matter what you say, how many times have you heard these words or have said them? That's not what I meant? Well, what you're saying, is I knew what I meant to say, or, no, I knew what I meant to mean. But what I said, I obviously didn't mean to say cause, you didn't get what I meant. See? And so, you have this danger of confusing the words that a person says with what they meant. Meaning is the foundation for thinking. And thinking equals your life! So this becomes very challenging. Now, the need for interpretation is not peculiar to scripture. In other words, we'll be talking about whether hermeneutics is important to everything that is historical. And if you understand that, it will help you live more carefully. Any document ancient or modern must be interpreted, every document. When you take class in Composition and English--they give you a little test. Sometimes they would say, read this and then write a 350 word essay.
And what they really want you to do is, to read this little story and then you've got to interpret some things from this story. And if your class of 30 children in it, you're gonna have 30 different stories from the same original information, but the interpretation is completely different.
Because meaning is in people. Now doesn't that create a challenge? Do you know that the the greatest problem in all of our countries, especially a nation like the United States which is over 200 years old, is the fact that they have difficulty interpreting the Constitution. Because the Constitution was written by a dead man, they are all dead. Now if you want to know how important hermeneutics is and why is it important? Hermeneutics created the supreme court.
The job of the supreme court of any nation is hermeneutics. Get it? That's how dangerous error is! Do you know that the supreme court judges in the United States are there for life?
Why do they call them judges, because they have to read the Constitution and judge it. They gotta pass judgment on what it means. That means, you can't have that as a temporary job. Your entire life, your entire being--everything you are is to be consumed by the document called the Constitution. That's all the supreme court judges live for, they live for the Constitution. In order for you to be appointed to the supreme court, you have to achieve a certain level of expertise in constitutional law, before they appoint you. Once you've been appointed they cannot un-appoint you. That's why they call it the what, the supreme court. That word is only used for the Most High. In other words, this group of people is the highest court. When these people say something, ain't no one that can challenge it. When you go to a local court and you believe that you didn't get the proper interpretation of the law you can make an appeal to a higher level of court and the the last stop and final decision is the supreme court! So if you go to the highest court in the land and they change the verdict the other court decision is overturned. All this has to do with interpreting the law. Let me give an example of how important hermeneutics is again. Several years ago, someone burned an American flag--there were riots going on. They burned it in public and there was a big reaction to that. They said, oh my they are desecrating the the national symbol! Arrest them. So the police came and arrested them. You know, they burned a flag--this flag, representing the whole nation! They put him in jail--well the American Civil Liberties Union, woke up. They are called the watchdog's of the civil responsibilities and rights of the people. They appealed to the courts and said this person has a right to burn the flag, and then they quoted from the Constitution. They said if you look at the Constitution of the United States, you see where it says your freedom of expression. Now the only problem is, that statement was written by a dead man who's over 200 years dead. Now what did George Washington and Thomas Jefferson and all those guys meant, when they wrote freedom of expression? What did they mean? We are not sure. Because meanings are not in words, they are in people and the only problem is we can’t wake them up, and ask them, “what did you mean?” So now this statement can mean anything your lawyer can interpret it to mean. Watch how deep this thing is now, so we are not sure anymore what the Constitution means when it says rights of speech, or freedom of speech. I got a right to express my feelings toward America, if I don't like what it's doing--I'll burn the flag.
And guess what? They had to release the guy from jail. And he got out and burned another flag. I am not sure that George Washington and Thomas Jefferson and the others who wrote the constitution, ever considered the flag being burned as freedom of expression. That's not what they meant or did they?? Now you see why Hermeneutics is important! Because it protects you from putting your own interpretation on things you read. That's why it's important! Do you know that the issue of homosexuality now, they have gone to the Constitution for that one, too.
They say that every man has a right to seek happiness. Okay, and they are quoting the Constitution, now George Washington was basically a Christian man. These were men and women of God. And these people were very clear about the attitude toward, you know abnormal behavior, but their writings--they are not here to defend their writings. They are dead.
We got a better book, you know? Guess what? The author of our book came back from the dead to make sure that we don't fool around with what he said! And he sent the Ruach HaKodesh in our hearts to make sure that you get the right information. Sometimes you hear something and you say that it doesn't sound right. That's the Ruach talking to you, but you see when you read the Constitution, you know George Washington will not come to you to give you his interpretation of what he meant. These fellows are dead and they are gone. So you keep interpreting and reinterpreting and do you know that the laws in the United States keep changing? Because every new generation has to reinterpret this document. So the interpretation becomes subjected to the person who's reading this thing. And that is what we gotta protect against, in the Bible. The Bible is the most interpreted document in history! When they found the Dead Sea Scrolls some years ago these were scrolls that were over 2,000 years old! They found them in Israel in a cave. What was good about these documents is that the documents over 2,000 years old verify most of what we have been teaching as being the truth. And that's why those discoveries are so important. In other words, they discovered the whole book of Isaiah, the whole book of Jeremiah. They discovered part of Ezra, they discovered all kinds of Old Testament books. They are so perfect in their record that it gave certainty that these books of the Bible are true as they were 2,000 years ago, today. These books were written before HaMaschiach--which is a very important discovery. That's why you may hear people talk about the Dead Sea Scrolls all the time--but you are not sure what they are talking about. What they're saying is, look our interpretations were on target. Because what they were saying over 2,000 years ago, we are still saying in February of 2020. That means we are right on and the scholars were excited about that. Because you know, sometimes when you lose contact with historical verification then you become confused. We need to appreciate the importance of interpreting the Bible. Now when you get a letter from somebody in the mail--how do you know what they meant when you read that letter? You just read this thing and some of you read real fast. You just assume that's what they meant. But how do you know for sure? You'll be amazed how much you thought you understood, was not correct. But isn't it amazing that you got to interpret that letter--you read words, but you got to interpret what you think they meant. Hermeneutics is applied to anything that is historical even if it was just yesterday or this morning. As long as it has been recorded, you have to interpret it and that's why it's so important!
Shema Selah what is on our mind is what we mean. We have to understanding the intent of the person writing the words that we read.
The Divine destiny connection, the chain that links us together.
Thursday, February 27, 2020
Wednesday, February 26, 2020
How to Study The Bible: Principle of Interpretation Part 1
2 Timothy 2
We are walking in today: How to Study The Bible: Principle of Interpretation Part 1
Witness preserve throughout the Bible: H8104 shamar--to watch, observe; to keep, preserve, protect; pay heed
Pro 16:17 The highway of the upright is to depart from evil: he that keepeth his way preserveth H8104 his soul.
The Torah testifies...............
*****
The prophets proclaim..................
1 Sa 30:23 Then said David, Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which the LORD hath given us, who hath preserved H8104 us, and delivered the company that came against us into our hand.
The writings bear witness...........................
Pro 2:11 Discretion shall preserve H8104 thee, understanding shall keep thee:
Psa 12:7 Thou shalt keep H8104 them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.
How to Study The Bible: Principle of Interpretation Part 1
How to study and interpret the Bible is what we are going to look at this morning. What is the source of the interpreters principles? The interpreters principles, in other words, where does the interpreter who comes to the Bible, that's you--you are the interpreter. Where did you get your principles from? What frame are you using as you approach, this is a very exciting and important, yet challenging piece of literature? Number one, the importance of interpretation is where we must begin. There is so much information, let's first deal with the word hermeneutics.
Hermeneutics those of you who will go to college and you study in the seminary, this word becomes very common to theologians. A theologian is simply one who studies the Most High so don't be afraid of that word. You are a theologian because you are studying your Abba. Is that clear? So don't let no one impress you with robes and rings and and chains the crosses on them. You are all theologians and every student of the Most High, should be a theologian of high degree. Because we live and move by the Word of the Most High. Hermeneutics is a term, that is a Greek context and I want to specifically state, that it simply means to interpret or explain. Hermeneutics means to interpret or explain. Hermeneuein which is the Greek word, from the Greek noun herminia and it means interpretation. So herminia, hermo means to explain--hermeneutics means the process of explanation. The noun herminia, means literally to interpret or interpretation. I would say then, that hermeneutics means explanation. Explanation to interpret. That's what it means so, if you want to sound deep you are taking a hermeneutics class. So for this kind of teaching we will be doing on Fiveamprayer, would be similar to what you would take in Bible colleges. That's what they call this class, hermeneutics class, which means a class of what? Interpretation, that's all it is. Now this word hermeneutics which is a Greek term from the Greek language, is used not only for the Bible. It's used for all historical documents and that's why it's very important to understand the importance of interpretation.
Interpretation as a discipline is important because meaning has to do with the core of man's thinking. Interpretation is necessary, because meaning is what we're after. The meaning affects our thinking. And thinking is the foundation for your life. Which means if your meaning is wrong--then your thinking will be wrong. Therefore your life will be wrong. Proverbs 23:7(KJV) For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee. So Fiveamprayer, you got to get your thinking right! And thinking comes from what?
Meaning, whatever you consider something to mean--that determines your thoughts about it. And whatever you think about it, determines your life. Now, you know, meaning better be right. Meaning is not in words, but in people.That is a tough reality. I am going to say that again, meaning is not in words, but in people. There's a course that is taught in many colleges. Called Communication Arts. And in that class, they have a session where they study the writings of a man named. Mr. Hayakawa. And he did some studies in meaning and translations, he concluded that meaning truly is in people, not in words. Which makes sense. That's why the Bible is very dangerous!! There's a study he did, where he shows a picture of two different cows and has people look at and describe the picture of these animals. What he determined is that you will get two different descriptions from each person of the same cows! In other words, the meaning is not in the cow. Because interpretation or meaning is in the person who is translating or communicating to you. Boy, that's dangerous--therefore if meaning is in people, then you better get in the people--to get the meaning! No one knows what you mean, except you. That doesn't matter what you say, how many times have you heard these words or have said them? That's not what I meant? Well, what you're saying, is I knew what I meant to say, or, no, I knew what I meant to mean. But what I said, I obviously didn't mean to say cause, you didn't get what I meant. See? And so, you have this danger of confusing the words that a person says with what they meant. Meaning is the foundation for thinking. And thinking equals your life! So this becomes very challenging. Now, the need for interpretation is not peculiar to scripture. In other words, we'll be talking about whether hermeneutics is important to everything that is historical. And if you understand that, it will help you live more carefully. Any document ancient or modern must be interpreted, every document. When you take class in Composition and English--they give you a little test. Sometimes they would say, read this and then write a 350 word essay.
And what they really want you to do is, to read this little story and then you've got to interpret some things from this story. And if your class of 30 children in it, you're gonna have 30 different stories from the same original information, but the interpretation is completely different.
Because meaning is in people. Now doesn't that create a challenge? Do you know that the the greatest problem in all of our countries, especially a nation like the United States which is over 200 years old, is the fact that they have difficulty interpreting the Constitution. Because the Constitution was written by a dead man, they are all dead. Now if you want to know how important hermeneutics is and why is it important? Hermeneutics created the supreme court.
The job of the supreme court of any nation is hermeneutics. Get it? That's how dangerous error is! Do you know that the supreme court judges in the United States are there for life?
Why do they call them judges, because they have to read the Constitution and judge it. They gotta pass judgment on what it means. That means, you can't have that as a temporary job. Your entire life, your entire being--everything you are is to be consumed by the document called the Constitution. That's all the supreme court judges live for, they live for the Constitution. In order for you to be appointed to the supreme court, you have to achieve a certain level of expertise in constitutional law, before they appoint you. Once you've been appointed they cannot un-appoint you. That's why they call it the what, the supreme court. That word is only used for the Most High. In other words, this group of people is the highest court. When these people say something, ain't no one that can challenge it. When you go to a local court and you believe that you didn't get the proper interpretation of the law you can make an appeal to a higher level of court and the the last stop and final decision is the supreme court! So if you go to the highest court in the land and they change the verdict the other court decision is overturned. All this has to do with interpreting the law. Let me give an example of how important hermeneutics is again. Several years ago, someone burned an American flag--there were riots going on. They burned it in public and there was a big reaction to that. They said, oh my they are desecrating the the national symbol! Arrest them. So the police came and arrested them. You know, they burned a flag--this flag, representing the whole nation! They put him in jail--well the American Civil Liberties Union, woke up. They are called the watchdog's of the civil responsibilities and rights of the people. They appealed to the courts and said this person has a right to burn the flag, and then they quoted from the Constitution. They said if you look at the Constitution of the United States, you see where it says your freedom of expression. Now the only problem is, that statement was written by a dead man who's over 200 years dead. Now what did George Washington and Thomas Jefferson and all those guys meant, when they wrote freedom of expression? What did they mean? We are not sure. Because meanings are not in words, they are in people and the only problem is we can’t wake them up, and ask them, “what did you mean?” So now this statement can mean anything your lawyer can interpret it to mean. Watch how deep this thing is now, so we are not sure anymore what the Constitution means when it says rights of speech, or freedom of speech. I got a right to express my feelings toward America, if I don't like what it's doing--I'll burn the flag.
And guess what? They had to release the guy from jail. And he got out and burned another flag. I am not sure that George Washington and Thomas Jefferson and the others who wrote the constitution, ever considered the flag being burned as freedom of expression. That's not what they meant or did they?? Now you see why Hermeneutics is important! Because it protects you from putting your own interpretation on things you read. That's why it's important! Do you know that the issue of homosexuality now, they have gone to the Constitution for that one, too.
They say that every man has a right to seek happiness. Okay, and they are quoting the Constitution, now George Washington was basically a Christian man. These were men and women of God. And these people were very clear about the attitude toward, you know abnormal behavior, but their writings--they are not here to defend their writings. They are dead.
We got a better book, you know? Guess what? The author of our book came back from the dead to make sure that we don't fool around with what he said! And he sent the Ruach HaKodesh in our hearts to make sure that you get the right information. Sometimes you hear something and you say that it doesn't sound right. That's the Ruach talking to you, but you see when you read the Constitution, you know George Washington will not come to you to give you his interpretation of what he meant. These fellows are dead and they are gone. So you keep interpreting and reinterpreting and do you know that the laws in the United States keep changing? Because every new generation has to reinterpret this document. So the interpretation becomes subjected to the person who's reading this thing. And that is what we gotta protect against, in the Bible. The Bible is the most interpreted document in history! When they found the Dead Sea Scrolls some years ago these were scrolls that were over 2,000 years old! They found them in Israel in a cave. What was good about these documents is that the documents over 2,000 years old verify most of what we have been teaching as being the truth. And that's why those discoveries are so important . In other words, they discovered the whole book of Isaiah, the whole book of Jeremiah. They discovered part of Ezra, they discovered all kinds of Old Testament books. They are so perfect in their record that it gave certainty that these books of the Bible are true as they were 2,000 years ago, today. These books were written before HaMaschiach--which is a very important discovery. That's why you may hear people talk about the Dead Sea Scrolls all the time--but you are not sure what they are talking about. What they're saying is, look our interpretations were on target. Because what they were saying over 2,000 years ago, we are still saying in February of 2020. That means we are right on and the scholars were excited about that. Because you know, sometimes when you lose contact with historical verification then you become confused. We need to appreciate the importance of interpreting the Bible. Now when you get a letter from somebody in the mail--how do you know what they meant when you read that letter? You just read this thing and some of you read real fast. You just assume that's what they meant. But how do you know for sure? You'll be amazed how much you thought you understood, was not correct. But isn't it amazing that you got to interpret that letter--you read words, but you got to interpret what you think they meant. Hermeneutics is applied to anything that is historical even if it was just yesterday or this morning. As long as it has been recorded, you have to interpret it and that's why it's so important!
Shema Selah what is it that the Most High intended in His word?? https://youtu.be/iX7AfPp0zsA
We are walking in today: How to Study The Bible: Principle of Interpretation Part 1
Witness preserve throughout the Bible: H8104 shamar--to watch, observe; to keep, preserve, protect; pay heed
Pro 16:17 The highway of the upright is to depart from evil: he that keepeth his way preserveth H8104 his soul.
The Torah testifies...............
*****
The prophets proclaim..................
1 Sa 30:23 Then said David, Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which the LORD hath given us, who hath preserved H8104 us, and delivered the company that came against us into our hand.
The writings bear witness...........................
Pro 2:11 Discretion shall preserve H8104 thee, understanding shall keep thee:
Psa 12:7 Thou shalt keep H8104 them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.
How to Study The Bible: Principle of Interpretation Part 1
How to study and interpret the Bible is what we are going to look at this morning. What is the source of the interpreters principles? The interpreters principles, in other words, where does the interpreter who comes to the Bible, that's you--you are the interpreter. Where did you get your principles from? What frame are you using as you approach, this is a very exciting and important, yet challenging piece of literature? Number one, the importance of interpretation is where we must begin. There is so much information, let's first deal with the word hermeneutics.
Hermeneutics those of you who will go to college and you study in the seminary, this word becomes very common to theologians. A theologian is simply one who studies the Most High so don't be afraid of that word. You are a theologian because you are studying your Abba. Is that clear? So don't let no one impress you with robes and rings and and chains the crosses on them. You are all theologians and every student of the Most High, should be a theologian of high degree. Because we live and move by the Word of the Most High. Hermeneutics is a term, that is a Greek context and I want to specifically state, that it simply means to interpret or explain. Hermeneutics means to interpret or explain. Hermeneuein which is the Greek word, from the Greek noun herminia and it means interpretation. So herminia, hermo means to explain--hermeneutics means the process of explanation. The noun herminia, means literally to interpret or interpretation. I would say then, that hermeneutics means explanation. Explanation to interpret. That's what it means so, if you want to sound deep you are taking a hermeneutics class. So for this kind of teaching we will be doing on Fiveamprayer, would be similar to what you would take in Bible colleges. That's what they call this class, hermeneutics class, which means a class of what? Interpretation, that's all it is. Now this word hermeneutics which is a Greek term from the Greek language, is used not only for the Bible. It's used for all historical documents and that's why it's very important to understand the importance of interpretation.
Interpretation as a discipline is important because meaning has to do with the core of man's thinking. Interpretation is necessary, because meaning is what we're after. The meaning affects our thinking. And thinking is the foundation for your life. Which means if your meaning is wrong--then your thinking will be wrong. Therefore your life will be wrong. Proverbs 23:7(KJV) For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee. So Fiveamprayer, you got to get your thinking right! And thinking comes from what?
Meaning, whatever you consider something to mean--that determines your thoughts about it. And whatever you think about it, determines your life. Now, you know, meaning better be right. Meaning is not in words, but in people.That is a tough reality. I am going to say that again, meaning is not in words, but in people. There's a course that is taught in many colleges. Called Communication Arts. And in that class, they have a session where they study the writings of a man named. Mr. Hayakawa. And he did some studies in meaning and translations, he concluded that meaning truly is in people, not in words. Which makes sense. That's why the Bible is very dangerous!! There's a study he did, where he shows a picture of two different cows and has people look at and describe the picture of these animals. What he determined is that you will get two different descriptions from each person of the same cows! In other words, the meaning is not in the cow. Because interpretation or meaning is in the person who is translating or communicating to you. Boy, that's dangerous--therefore if meaning is in people, then you better get in the people--to get the meaning! No one knows what you mean, except you. That doesn't matter what you say, how many times have you heard these words or have said them? That's not what I meant? Well, what you're saying, is I knew what I meant to say, or, no, I knew what I meant to mean. But what I said, I obviously didn't mean to say cause, you didn't get what I meant. See? And so, you have this danger of confusing the words that a person says with what they meant. Meaning is the foundation for thinking. And thinking equals your life! So this becomes very challenging. Now, the need for interpretation is not peculiar to scripture. In other words, we'll be talking about whether hermeneutics is important to everything that is historical. And if you understand that, it will help you live more carefully. Any document ancient or modern must be interpreted, every document. When you take class in Composition and English--they give you a little test. Sometimes they would say, read this and then write a 350 word essay.
And what they really want you to do is, to read this little story and then you've got to interpret some things from this story. And if your class of 30 children in it, you're gonna have 30 different stories from the same original information, but the interpretation is completely different.
Because meaning is in people. Now doesn't that create a challenge? Do you know that the the greatest problem in all of our countries, especially a nation like the United States which is over 200 years old, is the fact that they have difficulty interpreting the Constitution. Because the Constitution was written by a dead man, they are all dead. Now if you want to know how important hermeneutics is and why is it important? Hermeneutics created the supreme court.
The job of the supreme court of any nation is hermeneutics. Get it? That's how dangerous error is! Do you know that the supreme court judges in the United States are there for life?
Why do they call them judges, because they have to read the Constitution and judge it. They gotta pass judgment on what it means. That means, you can't have that as a temporary job. Your entire life, your entire being--everything you are is to be consumed by the document called the Constitution. That's all the supreme court judges live for, they live for the Constitution. In order for you to be appointed to the supreme court, you have to achieve a certain level of expertise in constitutional law, before they appoint you. Once you've been appointed they cannot un-appoint you. That's why they call it the what, the supreme court. That word is only used for the Most High. In other words, this group of people is the highest court. When these people say something, ain't no one that can challenge it. When you go to a local court and you believe that you didn't get the proper interpretation of the law you can make an appeal to a higher level of court and the the last stop and final decision is the supreme court! So if you go to the highest court in the land and they change the verdict the other court decision is overturned. All this has to do with interpreting the law. Let me give an example of how important hermeneutics is again. Several years ago, someone burned an American flag--there were riots going on. They burned it in public and there was a big reaction to that. They said, oh my they are desecrating the the national symbol! Arrest them. So the police came and arrested them. You know, they burned a flag--this flag, representing the whole nation! They put him in jail--well the American Civil Liberties Union, woke up. They are called the watchdog's of the civil responsibilities and rights of the people. They appealed to the courts and said this person has a right to burn the flag, and then they quoted from the Constitution. They said if you look at the Constitution of the United States, you see where it says your freedom of expression. Now the only problem is, that statement was written by a dead man who's over 200 years dead. Now what did George Washington and Thomas Jefferson and all those guys meant, when they wrote freedom of expression? What did they mean? We are not sure. Because meanings are not in words, they are in people and the only problem is we can’t wake them up, and ask them, “what did you mean?” So now this statement can mean anything your lawyer can interpret it to mean. Watch how deep this thing is now, so we are not sure anymore what the Constitution means when it says rights of speech, or freedom of speech. I got a right to express my feelings toward America, if I don't like what it's doing--I'll burn the flag.
And guess what? They had to release the guy from jail. And he got out and burned another flag. I am not sure that George Washington and Thomas Jefferson and the others who wrote the constitution, ever considered the flag being burned as freedom of expression. That's not what they meant or did they?? Now you see why Hermeneutics is important! Because it protects you from putting your own interpretation on things you read. That's why it's important! Do you know that the issue of homosexuality now, they have gone to the Constitution for that one, too.
They say that every man has a right to seek happiness. Okay, and they are quoting the Constitution, now George Washington was basically a Christian man. These were men and women of God. And these people were very clear about the attitude toward, you know abnormal behavior, but their writings--they are not here to defend their writings. They are dead.
We got a better book, you know? Guess what? The author of our book came back from the dead to make sure that we don't fool around with what he said! And he sent the Ruach HaKodesh in our hearts to make sure that you get the right information. Sometimes you hear something and you say that it doesn't sound right. That's the Ruach talking to you, but you see when you read the Constitution, you know George Washington will not come to you to give you his interpretation of what he meant. These fellows are dead and they are gone. So you keep interpreting and reinterpreting and do you know that the laws in the United States keep changing? Because every new generation has to reinterpret this document. So the interpretation becomes subjected to the person who's reading this thing. And that is what we gotta protect against, in the Bible. The Bible is the most interpreted document in history! When they found the Dead Sea Scrolls some years ago these were scrolls that were over 2,000 years old! They found them in Israel in a cave. What was good about these documents is that the documents over 2,000 years old verify most of what we have been teaching as being the truth. And that's why those discoveries are so important . In other words, they discovered the whole book of Isaiah, the whole book of Jeremiah. They discovered part of Ezra, they discovered all kinds of Old Testament books. They are so perfect in their record that it gave certainty that these books of the Bible are true as they were 2,000 years ago, today. These books were written before HaMaschiach--which is a very important discovery. That's why you may hear people talk about the Dead Sea Scrolls all the time--but you are not sure what they are talking about. What they're saying is, look our interpretations were on target. Because what they were saying over 2,000 years ago, we are still saying in February of 2020. That means we are right on and the scholars were excited about that. Because you know, sometimes when you lose contact with historical verification then you become confused. We need to appreciate the importance of interpreting the Bible. Now when you get a letter from somebody in the mail--how do you know what they meant when you read that letter? You just read this thing and some of you read real fast. You just assume that's what they meant. But how do you know for sure? You'll be amazed how much you thought you understood, was not correct. But isn't it amazing that you got to interpret that letter--you read words, but you got to interpret what you think they meant. Hermeneutics is applied to anything that is historical even if it was just yesterday or this morning. As long as it has been recorded, you have to interpret it and that's why it's so important!
Shema Selah what is it that the Most High intended in His word?? https://youtu.be/iX7AfPp0zsA
Friday, February 21, 2020
Weekend Meditation: Hebrew Mind versus Greek Thought, The Conclusion
Amos 8
We are walking in today: Weekend Meditation--Hebrew Mind versus Greek Thought, The Conclusion
Witness image throughout the Bible: H6754 tselem--image, likeness (of resemblance)
Gen 1:26 - And God said, Let us make man in our image, H6754 after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
The Torah testifies...............
Gen 5:3 - And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; H6754 and called his name Seth:
The prophets proclaim..................
Eze 7:20 - As for the beauty of his ornament, he set it in majesty: but they made the images H6754 of their abominations and of their detestable things therein: therefore have I set it far from them.
The writings bear witness...........................
2 Ch 23:17 - Then all the people went to the house of Baal, and brake it down, and brake his altars and his images H6754 in pieces, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars.
Psa 73:20 - As a dream when one awaketh; so, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image. H6754
IMPRESSION VERSUS APPEARANCE
“When we observe and study a thing, we involuntarily make for ourselves an image of it somewhat analogous to a photograph. When we mean to speak about the thing and describe it, we try to develop by means of words the same image in our hearers. The Greeks did the same thing. The Israelites, on the other hand, had no interest in the ‘photographic’ appearance of things or persons. In the entire Old Testament we do not find a single description of an objective ‘photographic’ appearance. The Israelites give us their impressions of the thing that is perceived. We shall further elucidate this first of all by some examples. “Noah’s ark is discussed in detail in Gen. 6:14 it is striking in this description that it is not the appearance of the ark that is described but its construction.“What interests the Israelites, therefore, is how the ark was built and made. He talks of this the whole time, and the appearance is not directly alluded to by a single word; it is impossible for us to form an intelligible image of the ark. Yet as building specifications, the description is natural and consistent” (Boman, pp. 74-75). “Boman goes on to shows how the same things applies to the Tabernacle in the wilderness. We know that the Most High showed Moses a model of the Tabernacle, yet its appearance is nowhere described, only its construction in the most minute of details and in a most systematic manner” (ibid.) Additionally, Scripture accurately describes how Solomon had the Temple and the palace in Jerusalem built (1 Ki. 6:7), but Scripture is silent about the actual appearance of the famous temple and its furnishings. Boman continues, “The silence of the sources with regard to the appearance of famous edifices and furniture can be explained in the following way: when an Israelite sees an edifice, his consciousness is at once concerned with the idea of how it was erected, somewhat like the housewife who cannot be satisfied with the taste of a cake but is particularly interested in what its ingredients are and how it was made. The edifice is thus not a restful harmonious unity in the beauty of whose lines the eyes find joy, but it is something dynamic and living, a human accomplishment” (Boman, p. 76). When considering man, the Israelite first seeks his qualities, Boman goes on to say. He recounts to us his impression of him and it is never reported how a person looked. There may be a brief description that a person is handsome, but the beauty is not expatiated so that we are unable to guess the Israelite ideal of beauty. Similarily, the question can be asked: How did the Israelites view their God the Most High? All the theophanies (i.e., a visible manifestation of deity) in the Old Testament are anthropomorphic (i.e., ascribing human characteristics to describing something, in this case deity). For example, the Most High is called a man of war (Ex. 15:3), or Lord, king, Abba etc. There are theriomorphic (i.e., having the form of an animal) descriptions of the Most High in the Old Testament, as well (Boman, p. 101). In one place the Most High is described as having wings and feathers (Ps. 91:4). Obviously, this anthrpo- and theriomorphic descriptions of the Most High are not to be construed as actual descriptions of the Most High but as figurative expressions which describe his qualities with poetic licence (Boman, p. 103).
THE POWER OF POETRY TO THE HEBREW MIND
One third of the Bible is poetry, notes Wilson (Wilson, p. 141). Did you realize this? Now that you know this perhaps you are asking yourself the question, why did the Most High use poetry to convey so much of His word? Couldn’t He have simply used the plain and direct language of prose instead? There are probably many reasons why the Most High chose poetry as a means to convey His instructions to humanity. Poetry is the language of the heart, and of love. It engages the mind and heart of the reader in a way that prose cannot. Poetry requires the reader to ponder and meditate on the meaning of what it is that the author is trying to convey and thereby the reader enters into a linguistic and artistic relationship with the author. This being the case, poetry is a means for the Most High Elohim to engage and connect intellectually, emotionally and spiritually with His chosen people, his children, and with his bride Israel. Let us now examine the nature of the love language of Holy Scripture. “Poetry was a welcome aid to memory, for it employed parallel lines that had a certain rhythm of thought, though no set meter. Furthermore, an abundant use of various figures of speech enhanced its liveliness, creativity, and depth of meaning” (Wilson, p. 141).
“The poetry of the prophets reveals a wide range of effective wordplays: for example: — mishpat (justice) and mispah (bloodshed) — tzedaqah (righteousness) and tze’aqah (a cry) in Isa. 5:7 — shaqed (almond tree) and shoqed (watching) in Jer. 1:11-12 — qayitz (ripe fruit) and qetz (time is ripe, end) in Amos 8:1-2 — heletikhah (I have burdened you) and he’eletikhah (I brought you up) in Micah 6:3-4” (ibid.). “Other figures of speech lend further variety and creative power to biblical poetry. For instance, Ps. 21:3 uses a simile to describe a righteous man: ‘He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yield its fruit in season and whose leaf does not whither.’ Joy is expressed through metaphor ‘All the trees of the field will clap their hands’ (Isa. 55:12), and “the mountains sing’ (Ps. 98:8). The Most High’s protective care is shown through zoomorphism (the attributing of animallike features to the Most High): ‘Hide me in the shadow of your wings’ (Ps. 17:8). Nature is personified, but not deified. Stars fight (Jud. 5:20), mountains skip (Ps. 114:6), and the heavens declare the Most High’s glory (Ps. 19:1). “Sometimes the emotional excitement and rapid heartbeat of the poetry is conveyed by the quickness of the meter and the shortness of the vowels. At other times, the lengthening of lines and the use of long vowels my have the opposite effect. In addition, Hebrew poets sometimes repeated key words in order to achieve a climactic effect. Unfortunately, however, when read in translation, the full impact and immediacy of poetry is usually lost” (ibid. pp. 141-142). Wilson goes on to describe that the writers and poets of Israel skillfullly used opportunities for assonance and onomatopoeia. “Assonance is the resemblance or imitation of sound between two words or syllables, or the repetition of vowels without of consonants in two words for example, peloni almoni, ‘a certain one’ (Ruth 4:1) and tohu va-bohu, ‘formless and void’ (Gen. 1:2). Onomatopoeia is the formation of words that resemble those associated with the object or action to be named: for example, tzeltzel, ‘cymbal’ (Ps. 150:5)., and zebub, ‘fly’ (Isa. 7:18)”.
We are walking in today: Weekend Meditation--Hebrew Mind versus Greek Thought, The Conclusion
Witness image throughout the Bible: H6754 tselem--image, likeness (of resemblance)
Gen 1:26 - And God said, Let us make man in our image, H6754 after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
The Torah testifies...............
Gen 5:3 - And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; H6754 and called his name Seth:
The prophets proclaim..................
Eze 7:20 - As for the beauty of his ornament, he set it in majesty: but they made the images H6754 of their abominations and of their detestable things therein: therefore have I set it far from them.
The writings bear witness...........................
2 Ch 23:17 - Then all the people went to the house of Baal, and brake it down, and brake his altars and his images H6754 in pieces, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars.
Psa 73:20 - As a dream when one awaketh; so, O Lord, when thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image. H6754
IMPRESSION VERSUS APPEARANCE
“When we observe and study a thing, we involuntarily make for ourselves an image of it somewhat analogous to a photograph. When we mean to speak about the thing and describe it, we try to develop by means of words the same image in our hearers. The Greeks did the same thing. The Israelites, on the other hand, had no interest in the ‘photographic’ appearance of things or persons. In the entire Old Testament we do not find a single description of an objective ‘photographic’ appearance. The Israelites give us their impressions of the thing that is perceived. We shall further elucidate this first of all by some examples. “Noah’s ark is discussed in detail in Gen. 6:14 it is striking in this description that it is not the appearance of the ark that is described but its construction.“What interests the Israelites, therefore, is how the ark was built and made. He talks of this the whole time, and the appearance is not directly alluded to by a single word; it is impossible for us to form an intelligible image of the ark. Yet as building specifications, the description is natural and consistent” (Boman, pp. 74-75). “Boman goes on to shows how the same things applies to the Tabernacle in the wilderness. We know that the Most High showed Moses a model of the Tabernacle, yet its appearance is nowhere described, only its construction in the most minute of details and in a most systematic manner” (ibid.) Additionally, Scripture accurately describes how Solomon had the Temple and the palace in Jerusalem built (1 Ki. 6:7), but Scripture is silent about the actual appearance of the famous temple and its furnishings. Boman continues, “The silence of the sources with regard to the appearance of famous edifices and furniture can be explained in the following way: when an Israelite sees an edifice, his consciousness is at once concerned with the idea of how it was erected, somewhat like the housewife who cannot be satisfied with the taste of a cake but is particularly interested in what its ingredients are and how it was made. The edifice is thus not a restful harmonious unity in the beauty of whose lines the eyes find joy, but it is something dynamic and living, a human accomplishment” (Boman, p. 76). When considering man, the Israelite first seeks his qualities, Boman goes on to say. He recounts to us his impression of him and it is never reported how a person looked. There may be a brief description that a person is handsome, but the beauty is not expatiated so that we are unable to guess the Israelite ideal of beauty. Similarily, the question can be asked: How did the Israelites view their God the Most High? All the theophanies (i.e., a visible manifestation of deity) in the Old Testament are anthropomorphic (i.e., ascribing human characteristics to describing something, in this case deity). For example, the Most High is called a man of war (Ex. 15:3), or Lord, king, Abba etc. There are theriomorphic (i.e., having the form of an animal) descriptions of the Most High in the Old Testament, as well (Boman, p. 101). In one place the Most High is described as having wings and feathers (Ps. 91:4). Obviously, this anthrpo- and theriomorphic descriptions of the Most High are not to be construed as actual descriptions of the Most High but as figurative expressions which describe his qualities with poetic licence (Boman, p. 103).
THE POWER OF POETRY TO THE HEBREW MIND
One third of the Bible is poetry, notes Wilson (Wilson, p. 141). Did you realize this? Now that you know this perhaps you are asking yourself the question, why did the Most High use poetry to convey so much of His word? Couldn’t He have simply used the plain and direct language of prose instead? There are probably many reasons why the Most High chose poetry as a means to convey His instructions to humanity. Poetry is the language of the heart, and of love. It engages the mind and heart of the reader in a way that prose cannot. Poetry requires the reader to ponder and meditate on the meaning of what it is that the author is trying to convey and thereby the reader enters into a linguistic and artistic relationship with the author. This being the case, poetry is a means for the Most High Elohim to engage and connect intellectually, emotionally and spiritually with His chosen people, his children, and with his bride Israel. Let us now examine the nature of the love language of Holy Scripture. “Poetry was a welcome aid to memory, for it employed parallel lines that had a certain rhythm of thought, though no set meter. Furthermore, an abundant use of various figures of speech enhanced its liveliness, creativity, and depth of meaning” (Wilson, p. 141).
“The poetry of the prophets reveals a wide range of effective wordplays: for example: — mishpat (justice) and mispah (bloodshed) — tzedaqah (righteousness) and tze’aqah (a cry) in Isa. 5:7 — shaqed (almond tree) and shoqed (watching) in Jer. 1:11-12 — qayitz (ripe fruit) and qetz (time is ripe, end) in Amos 8:1-2 — heletikhah (I have burdened you) and he’eletikhah (I brought you up) in Micah 6:3-4” (ibid.). “Other figures of speech lend further variety and creative power to biblical poetry. For instance, Ps. 21:3 uses a simile to describe a righteous man: ‘He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yield its fruit in season and whose leaf does not whither.’ Joy is expressed through metaphor ‘All the trees of the field will clap their hands’ (Isa. 55:12), and “the mountains sing’ (Ps. 98:8). The Most High’s protective care is shown through zoomorphism (the attributing of animallike features to the Most High): ‘Hide me in the shadow of your wings’ (Ps. 17:8). Nature is personified, but not deified. Stars fight (Jud. 5:20), mountains skip (Ps. 114:6), and the heavens declare the Most High’s glory (Ps. 19:1). “Sometimes the emotional excitement and rapid heartbeat of the poetry is conveyed by the quickness of the meter and the shortness of the vowels. At other times, the lengthening of lines and the use of long vowels my have the opposite effect. In addition, Hebrew poets sometimes repeated key words in order to achieve a climactic effect. Unfortunately, however, when read in translation, the full impact and immediacy of poetry is usually lost” (ibid. pp. 141-142). Wilson goes on to describe that the writers and poets of Israel skillfullly used opportunities for assonance and onomatopoeia. “Assonance is the resemblance or imitation of sound between two words or syllables, or the repetition of vowels without of consonants in two words for example, peloni almoni, ‘a certain one’ (Ruth 4:1) and tohu va-bohu, ‘formless and void’ (Gen. 1:2). Onomatopoeia is the formation of words that resemble those associated with the object or action to be named: for example, tzeltzel, ‘cymbal’ (Ps. 150:5)., and zebub, ‘fly’ (Isa. 7:18)”.
HEBREW IS A COLORFUL LANGUAGE REFLECTING A COLORFUL PEOPLE
“Hebrew is a very colorful language, and the biblical writers knew how to use it to great advantage. But Hebrew is not a precise analytical language prone to conveying subtle nuances of meaning [like Greek or English]. For example, Hebrew has but two verbal tenses. It normally uses the imperfect tense for incomplete action and the perfect tense for completed action. In general, the syntax and grammar of Hebrew are far less complex then the inflectional languages of Latin and Greek. “The nature of Hebrew is to paint verbal pictures with broad strokes of the brush. The Hebrew authors of Scripture were not so much interested in the fine details and harmonious patter of what is painted was they were in the picture as a whole. Theirs was primarily a description of what the eye sees rather than what the mind speculates. In brief, the whole world is a mystery which the Hebrew neither comprehends nor thoroughly investigates. ‘He takes things as they are, as he himself sees them. He accepts them, and marvels.’ “To gain additional perspective on the nature of Hebrew thought, the analogy of an orchestra might be helpful. When viewed collectively, the Hebrew authors of Scripture are not primarily concerned to function like an orchestra which has each instrument finely tuned, each fully audible, and each playing in precise harmony and coordination with each other instrument. Rather, the inspired Hebrew sages are like the full impact and rich blended sounded of an orchestra as a whole, though—and it is nothing to cause any great concern—some instruments sometimes may appear to be playing out of tune” (Wilson, p. 145). “The verbal pictures painted by the Hebrew writers in the Bible are at times earthy, pungent and direct…Indeed the earth (Hebrew aretz) is used in the Old Testament five times more frequently than heaven (Hebrew shamayim). For the Hebrews, the daily events in the lives of people are second only to God in significance. In the Hebrew Bible one encounters a down-to-earth humanness and openness—at time even bluntness and sensuousness—in some of the verbal pictures. Western taste may be offended at this earthiness. Nevertheless, much of the theology in the Bible comes from terminology rooted in the experiences of everyday life. This was the world of the Hebrew, and underscores again how much the Most High cared to bring the divine word of Scriptures fully down to our human level, where we can grasp it” (ibid. p. 146). “Such vivid biblical imagery reminds us that the Hebrew people lived close to nature; they were not afraid to face head-on those areas of life that people in the Western world normally either mention euphemistically or avoid discussion altogether. It should not seem strange, therefore, that circumcision is still performed in the Hebrew community today in the presence of a group of people, sometimes before the entire synagogue. In this vein, we may well ask how Western Christians today would respond if a circumcision were held before the church body— not even to suggest mentioning from the pulpit the…themes of menstruation, animals in heat, or simply reading selection from the Song of Songs. Likely, many Christians would be somewhat ill at ease. Such a response may again underline the fact that the cultural perspective of the modern Church in the Western world is different from the Eastern, Semitic world of the Hebrews that gave the Church birth. But more importantly, it is also fitting reminder of the ongoing need for Christian study of Hebrew thought” (Wilson, p. 147). “One of the methods by which verbal pictures are painted in biblical literature is through the art of storytelling. The Hebrew narrator made his story come alive by usually letting the characters speak for themselves. In addition, he could enhance the vividness of his story by using the Hebrew participle, which normally conveyed the idea of an action in progress…Thus a whole series of actions could be dramatically portrayed, like the moving of the frames of a film, as they passed before the eyes of the storyteller. “[Yahusha] provides a striking example of one skilled in the art of stroytelling. Like most of his Hebrew forebears and contemporaries, when [Yahusha] was asked questions he did not respond by reasoning from a starting point to a conclusion. Rather, he usually replied by telling a story, often in the form of a parable. By this method he engaged his audience, that is, he got them involved in arriving at the answer in a vivid and person way. At the same time, this was how he made his point. The point, however, was usually made subtly, imaginatively, and indirectly. [Yahusha] does not always spell out the truth he is communicating. He allows the one listening to the story to draw his own conclusions. The truth thus comes across in an allusive rather than a direct way; it is implicit rather than explicit. By means of this creative approach, the listener usually ends up convicting himself. This common rabbinical teaching technique was effective, for it veiled the truth from frontal view” (Wilson, pp.149- 150).
FOR THE HEBREW MIND EVERYTHING IS THEOLOGICAL
“Hebrew is a very colorful language, and the biblical writers knew how to use it to great advantage. But Hebrew is not a precise analytical language prone to conveying subtle nuances of meaning [like Greek or English]. For example, Hebrew has but two verbal tenses. It normally uses the imperfect tense for incomplete action and the perfect tense for completed action. In general, the syntax and grammar of Hebrew are far less complex then the inflectional languages of Latin and Greek. “The nature of Hebrew is to paint verbal pictures with broad strokes of the brush. The Hebrew authors of Scripture were not so much interested in the fine details and harmonious patter of what is painted was they were in the picture as a whole. Theirs was primarily a description of what the eye sees rather than what the mind speculates. In brief, the whole world is a mystery which the Hebrew neither comprehends nor thoroughly investigates. ‘He takes things as they are, as he himself sees them. He accepts them, and marvels.’ “To gain additional perspective on the nature of Hebrew thought, the analogy of an orchestra might be helpful. When viewed collectively, the Hebrew authors of Scripture are not primarily concerned to function like an orchestra which has each instrument finely tuned, each fully audible, and each playing in precise harmony and coordination with each other instrument. Rather, the inspired Hebrew sages are like the full impact and rich blended sounded of an orchestra as a whole, though—and it is nothing to cause any great concern—some instruments sometimes may appear to be playing out of tune” (Wilson, p. 145). “The verbal pictures painted by the Hebrew writers in the Bible are at times earthy, pungent and direct…Indeed the earth (Hebrew aretz) is used in the Old Testament five times more frequently than heaven (Hebrew shamayim). For the Hebrews, the daily events in the lives of people are second only to God in significance. In the Hebrew Bible one encounters a down-to-earth humanness and openness—at time even bluntness and sensuousness—in some of the verbal pictures. Western taste may be offended at this earthiness. Nevertheless, much of the theology in the Bible comes from terminology rooted in the experiences of everyday life. This was the world of the Hebrew, and underscores again how much the Most High cared to bring the divine word of Scriptures fully down to our human level, where we can grasp it” (ibid. p. 146). “Such vivid biblical imagery reminds us that the Hebrew people lived close to nature; they were not afraid to face head-on those areas of life that people in the Western world normally either mention euphemistically or avoid discussion altogether. It should not seem strange, therefore, that circumcision is still performed in the Hebrew community today in the presence of a group of people, sometimes before the entire synagogue. In this vein, we may well ask how Western Christians today would respond if a circumcision were held before the church body— not even to suggest mentioning from the pulpit the…themes of menstruation, animals in heat, or simply reading selection from the Song of Songs. Likely, many Christians would be somewhat ill at ease. Such a response may again underline the fact that the cultural perspective of the modern Church in the Western world is different from the Eastern, Semitic world of the Hebrews that gave the Church birth. But more importantly, it is also fitting reminder of the ongoing need for Christian study of Hebrew thought” (Wilson, p. 147). “One of the methods by which verbal pictures are painted in biblical literature is through the art of storytelling. The Hebrew narrator made his story come alive by usually letting the characters speak for themselves. In addition, he could enhance the vividness of his story by using the Hebrew participle, which normally conveyed the idea of an action in progress…Thus a whole series of actions could be dramatically portrayed, like the moving of the frames of a film, as they passed before the eyes of the storyteller. “[Yahusha] provides a striking example of one skilled in the art of stroytelling. Like most of his Hebrew forebears and contemporaries, when [Yahusha] was asked questions he did not respond by reasoning from a starting point to a conclusion. Rather, he usually replied by telling a story, often in the form of a parable. By this method he engaged his audience, that is, he got them involved in arriving at the answer in a vivid and person way. At the same time, this was how he made his point. The point, however, was usually made subtly, imaginatively, and indirectly. [Yahusha] does not always spell out the truth he is communicating. He allows the one listening to the story to draw his own conclusions. The truth thus comes across in an allusive rather than a direct way; it is implicit rather than explicit. By means of this creative approach, the listener usually ends up convicting himself. This common rabbinical teaching technique was effective, for it veiled the truth from frontal view” (Wilson, pp.149- 150).
FOR THE HEBREW MIND EVERYTHING IS THEOLOGICAL
“To the Hebrew mind, everything is theological. That is, the Hebrews make no distinction between the sacred and the secular areas of life. They see all of life as a unity. It is all God’s domain. He has a stake in all that comes to pass—whether trials or joys. And human beings have an awareness of God in all that they do. The psalmist states clearly this aspect of Hebrew thought: ‘I have set the Most High always before me’ (Ps. 16:8). It is also taught in the proverb, ‘In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make our paths straight’ (Prov. 3:6)…Thus to the Hebrew mind, all circumstances of life—the good times and the hard times—come not by chance but under sovereign control of Almighty the Most High” (ibid., p. 156). “Prayer is the means by which Hebrews—both ancient and modern—have stayed attuned to the concept that all of life is sacred. Hebrew prayers tend to be short because the entire working day of an observant Hebrew is punctuated with sentence prayers. More than one hundred of these berakhot, “blessings,’ are recited throughout the day…the Most High’s presence is acknowledged at all times in every sphere of activity within his world.” According to the Talmud “it is forbidden to a man to enjoy anything of this world without a benediction, and if anyone enjoys anything of this world without a benediction, he commits sacrilege.” This is the way one stays in touch with the Almighty and keeps a divine perspective on life. It means constantly praising the Most High for all things, with sentence prayers, throughout the day. “Saintliness was not thought to consist in specific acts, such as excessive prayer…but was an attitude bound up with all actions, concomitant with all doings, accompanying and shaping all life’s activities. Indeed, today’s Christians will fail to grasp Paul’s admonition to ‘Pray without ceasing,’ that is, ‘pray continually’ (1 Thess. 5:17), unless they understand that a main feature of Hebrew prayer is its pervasiveness”
RELIGION IS A WAY OF LIFE FOR THE HEBREWS
“Some would define religion as a system of ethics, a code of conduct, an ideology, or a creed. To a Hebrew it is none of these; such definitions are misleading, deficient, or inaccurate. Rather, a Hebrew understood his daily life of faith in terms of a journey or pilgrimage. His religion was tantamount to the way in which he chose to walk. Even before the Flood, people such as Enoch and Noah ‘walked with the Most High’ (Gen. 5:24-5; 6:9). If a person knows the Most High, he is daily at the Most High’s disposal and walks in close relationship with him, along the road of life. Ceremonialism and ritualism alone do not meet the Most High’s requirement for the good life (Isa. 1:11-14; Amos 5:21-23). But those who act justly and love mercy and walk humbly with the Most High do please him (Mic. 6:8). Thus, we return to the fact that the essence of religion is relationship; it is walking with the Most High in his path of wisdom and righteousness and in his way of service to others. (Wilson, p. 159). “During the period of Rabbinic Judaism, the Hebrew term halakhah (literally “walking, proceeding, going”) took on special significance. It designated the religious laws and regulations to follow so one might keep straight on the road of life. It provided a map from the start to the end of one’s journey. When one errs from the Most High’s path [called in Hebrew literature the Way of Life as opposed to the Way of Death] into crooked and perverse ways, one violates the Most High’s Torah and must ‘return.’ The Hebrew word for repentance is teshubah, suggesting the idea ‘turn around,’ ‘go back.’ The way back is the way of Torah; it gives the direction and guidance needed to remain on the way”.
RELIGION IS A WAY OF LIFE FOR THE HEBREWS
“Some would define religion as a system of ethics, a code of conduct, an ideology, or a creed. To a Hebrew it is none of these; such definitions are misleading, deficient, or inaccurate. Rather, a Hebrew understood his daily life of faith in terms of a journey or pilgrimage. His religion was tantamount to the way in which he chose to walk. Even before the Flood, people such as Enoch and Noah ‘walked with the Most High’ (Gen. 5:24-5; 6:9). If a person knows the Most High, he is daily at the Most High’s disposal and walks in close relationship with him, along the road of life. Ceremonialism and ritualism alone do not meet the Most High’s requirement for the good life (Isa. 1:11-14; Amos 5:21-23). But those who act justly and love mercy and walk humbly with the Most High do please him (Mic. 6:8). Thus, we return to the fact that the essence of religion is relationship; it is walking with the Most High in his path of wisdom and righteousness and in his way of service to others. (Wilson, p. 159). “During the period of Rabbinic Judaism, the Hebrew term halakhah (literally “walking, proceeding, going”) took on special significance. It designated the religious laws and regulations to follow so one might keep straight on the road of life. It provided a map from the start to the end of one’s journey. When one errs from the Most High’s path [called in Hebrew literature the Way of Life as opposed to the Way of Death] into crooked and perverse ways, one violates the Most High’s Torah and must ‘return.’ The Hebrew word for repentance is teshubah, suggesting the idea ‘turn around,’ ‘go back.’ The way back is the way of Torah; it gives the direction and guidance needed to remain on the way”.
Shema Selah we must return from the pattern of the look of a thing and return to the characteristics that we are to align our lives in His likeness!! https://youtu.be/z_VgrLAznpA
Thursday, February 20, 2020
Hebrew Mind versus Greek Thought Part 6
Galatians 3
We are walking into today: Hebrew Mind versus Greek Thought Part 6
Witness doing throughout the Bible: H6213 `asah--to do, fashion, accomplish, make, work, make, produce
Isa 58:13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing H6213 thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing H6213 thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
The Torah testifies...............
Exo 15:11 Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing H6213 wonders?
The prophets proclaim..................
Neh 6:3 And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing H6213 a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?
The writings bear witness...........................
2 Ch 20:32 And he walked in the way of Asa his father, and departed not from it, doing H6213 that which was right in the sight of the LORD.
Isa 56:2 Blessed is the man that doeth H6213 this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing H6213 any evil.
HOW DID THE HEBREWS VIEW The Most High?
“The biblical authors never argue the existence of the Most High; they only assume it. The Most High is not understood philosophically, but functionally. He acts. The Hebrew primarily thought of him pictorially, in terms of personality and activity, not in terms of pure being or in any static sense. That is, to express the divine attribute of love, the Hebrews would normally think in terms of a “loving the Most High” (i.e., a the Most High who loves), rather than “the Most High is love.” Certainly, therefore, the Hebrew mind-set of Bible times would find little or no interest in many of the issues the Church has debated over the centuries. These issues include theoretical arguments for the existences of the Most High, the nature of the Godhead, free will and predestination, the specifics of the life to come, the word-for-word accuracy and use of quotations, and the precise way in which the divine and human mesh in the inspiration of Scripture”
A CIRCULAR VERSUS A LINEAR VIEW OF The Most High
We are walking into today: Hebrew Mind versus Greek Thought Part 6
Witness doing throughout the Bible: H6213 `asah--to do, fashion, accomplish, make, work, make, produce
Isa 58:13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing H6213 thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing H6213 thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
The Torah testifies...............
Exo 15:11 Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing H6213 wonders?
The prophets proclaim..................
Neh 6:3 And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing H6213 a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?
The writings bear witness...........................
2 Ch 20:32 And he walked in the way of Asa his father, and departed not from it, doing H6213 that which was right in the sight of the LORD.
Isa 56:2 Blessed is the man that doeth H6213 this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing H6213 any evil.
HOW DID THE HEBREWS VIEW The Most High?
“The biblical authors never argue the existence of the Most High; they only assume it. The Most High is not understood philosophically, but functionally. He acts. The Hebrew primarily thought of him pictorially, in terms of personality and activity, not in terms of pure being or in any static sense. That is, to express the divine attribute of love, the Hebrews would normally think in terms of a “loving the Most High” (i.e., a the Most High who loves), rather than “the Most High is love.” Certainly, therefore, the Hebrew mind-set of Bible times would find little or no interest in many of the issues the Church has debated over the centuries. These issues include theoretical arguments for the existences of the Most High, the nature of the Godhead, free will and predestination, the specifics of the life to come, the word-for-word accuracy and use of quotations, and the precise way in which the divine and human mesh in the inspiration of Scripture”
A CIRCULAR VERSUS A LINEAR VIEW OF The Most High
“The Hebrew mind viewed the Most High quite differently from the systematic theological thinking of the West, which defines the Most High and his work with creation in linear manner. The Western-style treatment of the divine character attempts to explain inconsistencies and harmonize contradictions systematically. The Hebrew mind was filled with wonder at the mystery of the Most High. The vastness of the Most High and his inscrutable [uninvestigatible] ways left them awestruck. Inconsistencies and contradictions are intimately related to human, finite understanding of the infinite the Most High. He is beyond human comprehension. First-century Jews approached the Most High through an interactive associative mentality. The fact that the Most High is incomprehensible is very much a part of Hebrew thought processes. The Western mind, however, explains everything but understands so little of the divine nature. The Hebrew mind, on the other hand, is overpowered by a sense of wonder and amazement. It thrives on the inconsistencies and contradictions of the one awe-inspiring the Most High” (Brad Young, Paul the Jewish Theologian, Peabody, Mass: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1997, p. 25). Young continues, “Paul has a conceptual approach to theology. It is not linear. His theological worldview is circular and interactive. A systematic [or Western] approach to Paul draws a straight line and follows his reasoning from creation and the fall all the way along to the redemptive suffering of [Yahusha] and the second coming. But Paul is much more complex and far less linear and systematic. On the one hand, Paul views history as moving toward the goal of the Most High’s redemptive plan, which will culminate in the Parousia and the eschatological judgment; on the other, he views the Most High through the prism of perplexing curiosity, which inspires wonder. He does not preach a cycle of salvation history, but the apostle does conceive of the divine in a circular dynamic process. In his contemplation of the mystery of the Most High, like other Hebrew theologians of his day, the apostle is content to leave questions unanswered and inconsistencies unresolved. He views theology as a conceptual whole”.
“As a Hebrew theologian, Paul pursues a conceptual approach to his teachings. His thought processes are not linear but circular. His theological concepts are interactive. Indeed, they are connected one with another in continuous motion. Paul’s keen intellect works quickly. The apostle understands the Most High and his great love for all humanity as a vibrant whole. One concept belongs to a complex of interactive ideas. Each term he uses to communicate his thought is clustered with other interactive concepts concerning the Most High’s relationship to people” (Young, p. 41). For Paul and the Hebrew mind, the Torah encompasses so much of what can be known about the Most High in the conceptual worldview. Paul focuses on the sum of the whole instead of dissecting the individual parts (Young, pp. 25-26). “When the contours of Pauline thought are considered in a cycle of interactive concepts rather than in a straight line where each new idea supersedes and eliminates the previous one, the apostle’s approach to the Most High is given fresh vigor. It is a Jewish way of thinking. Paul, for instance, does not annul Torah by the preaching of grace. Was not the giving of Torah a powerful manifestation of divine grace? In reality, grace and Torah are interrelated (Young, p. 42).
“As a Hebrew theologian, Paul pursues a conceptual approach to his teachings. His thought processes are not linear but circular. His theological concepts are interactive. Indeed, they are connected one with another in continuous motion. Paul’s keen intellect works quickly. The apostle understands the Most High and his great love for all humanity as a vibrant whole. One concept belongs to a complex of interactive ideas. Each term he uses to communicate his thought is clustered with other interactive concepts concerning the Most High’s relationship to people” (Young, p. 41). For Paul and the Hebrew mind, the Torah encompasses so much of what can be known about the Most High in the conceptual worldview. Paul focuses on the sum of the whole instead of dissecting the individual parts (Young, pp. 25-26). “When the contours of Pauline thought are considered in a cycle of interactive concepts rather than in a straight line where each new idea supersedes and eliminates the previous one, the apostle’s approach to the Most High is given fresh vigor. It is a Jewish way of thinking. Paul, for instance, does not annul Torah by the preaching of grace. Was not the giving of Torah a powerful manifestation of divine grace? In reality, grace and Torah are interrelated (Young, p. 42).
HEBREW BLOCK LOGIC VERSUS GREEK STEP LOGIC
“The use of what may be termed block logic is another important contour of Hebrew thought. Greek logic,
which has to a large extent influenced the Western world was different. The Greeks often used a tightly contained
step logic whereby one would argue from premises to a conclusion, each step linked tightly to the next in coherent, rational, logical fashion. The conclusion, however, was usually limited to one point of view—the human
being’s perception of reality” (Wilson, p. 150).
“By contrast, the Hebrews often made use of block logic. That is, concepts were expressed in self-contained
units or blocks of thought. These blocks did not necessarily fit together in any obviously rational or harmonious
pattern, particularly when one block represented the human perspective on truth and the other represented the divine. This way of thinking created a propensity for paradox, antinomy, or apparent contradiction, as one block
stood in tension—often illogical relation—to the other. Hence, polarity of thought or dialectic often characterized
block logic.”
“It is particularly difficult for Westerners—those whose thought-patterns have been influenced more by the
Greeks and Romans than by the Hebrews—to piece together the block logic of Scripture. When we open the
Bible, therefore, since we are not from the eastern cultures, we are invited…to ‘undergo a kind of intellectual conversion’ to the
Hebraic world of the East.
“Let us turn, then to some of the many examples of block logic found throughout Scripture. The book of
Exodus says that Pharaoh hardened his heart, but it also says that God hardened it (Ex. 8:15; cf. 7:3). The prophets teach that God is both wrathful and merciful (Isa. 45:7; Hab. 3:2). The New Testament refers to [Yeshua] as
the ‘Lamb of God’ and the ‘Lion of the tribe of Judah’ (Jn. 1:29, 36; Rev. 5:5). Hell is described as both ‘blackest
darkness’ and the firey lake’ (Jude 13; Rev. 19:20). In terms of salvation, [Yeshua] said, ‘whoever comes to me I
will never drive away,’ yet no one can come ‘unless the Father draws him’ (Jn. 6:37, 44). To find life you must
lose it (Mt. 10:39). When you are weak, then you are strong (2 Cor. 12:10). The way up (exhaltation) is the way
down (humility) (Lk. 14:11). ‘Jacob have I loved and Esau have I hated’ (Rom. 9:13; Mal. 1:3).
“Consideration of certain forms of block logic may give one the impression that divine sovereignty and
human responsibility were incompatible. The Hebrews, however, sense no violation of their freedom as they
accomplish God’s purposes. Upon a more careful reading of the biblical text one can often observe that the Bible
views one block from the perspective of divine transcendence—God says, ‘I will harden Pharaoh’s heart’—and
the other from a human point of view—‘Pharoah hardened his heart’ (Ex. 4:21; 7:3,13; 8:15). The same is often
true of Scriptures which deal with themes of predestination/election and free will/human freedom.
“In sum, the Hebrew mind could handle this dynamic tension of the language of paradox, confident that ‘all
is in the hands of Heaven except the fear of Heaven’…Divine sovereignty and human responsibility were not
incompatible.
“The Hebrew knew he did not know all the answers. His position was ‘under the sun’ (Ecc. 8:17), so his
words were few (5:2). He refused to over-systematize or forced harmonization on the enigmas of God’s truth or
the puzzles of the universe. He realized that no one could straighten what the Most High has made crooked (7:13). All
things, therefore, did not need to be fully rational. The Hebrew mind was willing to accept the truths taught on
both sides of the paradox; it recognized that mystery and apparent contradictions are often signs of the divine.
Stated succinctly, the Hebrews knew the wisdom of learning to trust in matters that they could not fully understand.
“While philosophical and structural divisions of learning obviously have an important role to play in contemporary education, our Western culture—especially on most levels of secular and Christian instruction—has
provided little understanding concerning the nature of Hebrew thought. Thus we have the natural tendency to
impose more rational and systematic categories of thought on the Bible. The Bible, however, tends to reject most
carefully worked-out charts and thoroughgoing attempts at schematization. Neither the Most High nor his Word may be
easily contained in a box for logical or scientific analysis. Both the Most High and his Word have a sovereign unpredictability that defies rational, human explanation” (Wilson, pp. 150-152).
In conclusion, Wilson summarizes the concept of Hebrew block logic when he states, “The Semites of Bible
times did not simply think truth—they experienced truth…[T]ruth is as much an encounter as it is propositions…To the Hebrew, the deed was always more important than the creed. He was not stymied by language that
appeared contradictory from a human point of view. Neither did he feel compelled to reconcile what seemed
irreconcilable. He believed that the Most High ultimately was greater than any human attempt at systematizing truth.
“Walking in truth’ (2 Jn. 4) and ‘living the truth’ (1 Jn. 1:6) were a higher priority than rationally analyzing the
truth. In the words of the renowned biblical scholar Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchikk, “we [Jews] are practical. We are
more interested in discovering what the Most High wants man to do than we are in describing the Most High’s essence…as a teacher,
I never try to solve questions because most questions are unsolvable.’ He concludes, ‘Judaism is never afraid of
contradictions…it acknowledges that full reconciliation of the two is possible only in the Most High. He is the coincidence
of opposites’” (Wilson, p. 153).
Shema selah we must remain in motion, dynamic as our Hebrew roots demand!! https://youtu.be/6uXN1WHBrHM
Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Hebrew Mind versus Greek Thought Part 5
Nahum 1
We are walking in today: Hebrew Mind versus Greek Thought Part 5
Witness mighty throughout the Bible: H3581 koach---strength, produce
power, might
Exo 32:11 And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, H3581 and with a mighty hand?
The Torah testifies...............
Deu 4:37 And because he loved thy fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them, and brought thee out in his sight with his mighty power H3581 out of Egypt;
The prophets proclaim..................
Dan 8:24 And his power H3581 shall be mighty, but not by his own power: H3581 and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
The writings bear witness...........................
Ecc 9:10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; H3581 for there is no work, nor device, nor
knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
Zec 4:6
Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, H3581 but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.
THE DYNAMIC CHARACTER OF THE HEBREW WORLD
In the Hebrew world, according to Boman, things do not have the immovable fixity and inflexibility that they have for us, but they are changeable and in motion. He then cites some examples of this in Scripture: Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff. (Isa. 41:15)
Even stones and rock are movable and externally alterable: Job. 14:18—
And surely the mountain falling cometh to nought, and the rock is removed out of his place. In comparison with [The Most High's] immovability, even the fixity of the earth is nothing at all:
Ps. 18:7—Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth.
Ps. 114:4—The mountains skipped like rams, and the little hills like lambs.
Nah. 1:5—The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein. Such hyperbolic images cannot be explained by natural phenomona…This hyperbole has two familiar roots, the Hebrews’ distinctly-personal kind of thinking and their faith in the omnipotent God:
Ps. 46:2ff—Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof…
The LORD of hosts is with us; the Isa. 54:10—
The Most High of Jacob is our refuge. For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee. We shall see as we progress with this study that the Hebrews’ dynamic view of life, including those aspects of it which the Western mindset tends to view as static, stationary or at rest overlaps into their view of the the Most High Himself. Suffice it to say here, the Hebrews’ view of the Creator is less parochial and boxed into a limited human scope of things. Their view of the Divine is more open and expansive. Instead of trying to confine Him to limited human definitions and descriptions they focus their efforts on pursuing Him and the character and qualities that determine His makeup. The understanding of the world around them, including God, is to pursue life and the Most High to the fullest, rather than spending time passively trying to define Him. In the pursuit comes the understanding and comes the relationship between the Divine and humanity.
WESTERN PASSIVITY COMPARED WITH THE ENERGETIC AND DESCRIPTIVE HEBREW PEOPLE
“Through modern invention and outright apathy, our present Western world has grown more and more passive. We have developed a TV-obsessed, entertainment-prone, and spectator-minded generation which seems to be largely content to watch life rather than live it” (Wilson, p. 136). This is not only an apt description of American cultural life, but of the American Christian church, as well, which, sadly, has, to a large degree, become a mirror image of the surrounding secular culture. The typical church service in the First American Church, in Anytown, America has become a spectator sport with chairs (or pews) arranged theater-style facing a stage where often paid professional performers titillate emotions and the tickle ears of their fans for an hour or two on Sunday morning. The churchgoers, on having received their weekly dose or fix of religion-entertainment return afterwards to their secular prayerless, biblically illiterate and evangelizingless lives to exist, by in large, as spiritual “couch potatoes.” Wilson continues, “By contrast, the Hebrew were largely an energetic, robust, and, at times, even turbulent people. They were primarily outdoor folk,—farmers, fishermen, tradesmen —who lived life to the full. For them, truth was not so much an idea to be contemplated as an experience to be lived, a deed to be done. The biblical writers often use vocabulary which is highly colorful, dynamic, and action-centered. They tell the story of a people on the move, a people who approached living with boldness, drive, and expectation…Israel followed a ‘The Most High-on-the-move,’ and they were ‘his movable treasure’ (Ex. 19:5)” Wilson quoting Martin Luther goes one to say that Luther saw within the Hebrew Bible a “special energy” in its vocabulary. “In his struggle to translate the Hebrew Bible into German, Luther discovered in the sixteenth century what many Hebraists of the twentieth century have recently come to affirm with him: it is impossible to convey so much so briefly in any other language.” Luther said, “In it [the Hebrew language] we hear the Most High speak…”
“Laziness, inertia, or passivity were hardly marks of the Hebrews’ lifestyle. Rather, the Hebrews were mainly a doing and feeling people…‘Hebrew may be called primarily a language of senses. The words originally expressed concrete or material things and movements or actions which struck the senses or started the emotions. Only secondarily and in metaphor could they be used to denote abstract or metaphysical ideas.’ The Bible contains many Hebraisms in which abstract thoughts or immaterial conceptions are conveyed through material or physical terminology” (Wilson, p. 137). Wilson then cites a number of such examples:
— look is to lift up the eyes (Gen. 22:4)
— be angry is to burn in one’s nostrils (Ex. 4:14)
— disclose something or reveal something is to unstop one’s ears (Ruth 4:4)
— have no compassion is hard heartedness (1 Sam. 6:6)
— stubborn is stiff-necked (2 Chr. 30:8; Acts 7:51)
— get ready or brace yourself is gird up your loins (Jer. 1:17)
— to be determined to go is set one’s face to go (Jer. 42:15, 17; Lk. 9:51)
In addition, the Hebrews often refer to the Most High by the use of anthropomorphisms (i.e., representations of God with human attributes). The ‘living’ and ‘active’ the Most High of the Hebrews is thus never reduced to mere impersonal abstraction. For instance, the Ten Commandments are said to be ‘inscribed by the finger of the Most High’ (Ex. 31:18). The prophet Isaiah states, ‘Surely the arm of [the Most High] is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull too hear’ (Isa. 59:1). And again, a well-known proverb states, ‘The eyes of [the Most High] are everywhere’ (Prov. 15:3)”
NON-BEING IN HEBREW THOUGHT
“True being for the Hebrews is the word dabhar, which comprises all Hebraic realities: word, deed, and concrete object. Non-being, nothing (no-thing), is signified correspondingly by ‘not-word’, lo-debhar. For the Hebrews, non-being, nothingness (no-thingness) also has a certain existence which in practical life is tangible and unsavoury. ‘Mere words’ (Heb.: words of the lip) are empty and vain and, therefore, pernicious and dangerous (2 Ki. 18:20; Prov. 14:23). The lying words of the false prophets are negative quantity in content, yet have a disastrously seductive strength. The prophet Mecaiah ben Imlah had heard how the soothsaying spirit offered himself in [the Most High’s] council to be a lying spirit in the mouth of Ahab’s prophets so that they prophesied a pure negativity (1 Ki. 22:21ff). A lie for the Hebrew is not as it is for us, a non-agreement with the truth; for example, he would not impute lying to the midwives (Ex. 1:19), something that the text abundantly confirms. For him the lie is the internal decay and destruction of the word: sheqer is the opposite of tsedheq (Ps. 52:5). That which is powerless, empty, and vain is a lie: a spring which gives no water lies (Isa. 58:11). For this reason, it is just as clear that the God of Israel does not lie (1 Sam/ 15:29) as it is that idols are lies (Jer. 10:14). Lies and falsehood are also called shaw whose basic meaning is that which is empty, or which has no content and is futile, a mirage, a nullity” (Boman, p. 56) Boman goes on to explain that Hebrew has many expressions for nullity such as a puff of win, a breath, a phantom, a deception and a false opinion (ibid.). Examples of this in Scripture are:
Ps. 62:9—Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie: to be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity.
Ec. 5:16— And this also is a sore evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit
“The Greeks and the Hebrews are united in the idea that non-being is something dreadful; being, however, is a genuine reality and true good, regardless of whether being is thought of as eternally resting conforming to the Greek kind or in eternal motion conforming to the Hebrew kind” (Boman, p. 57-58). In addition, the word of the Most High was not only nor even primarily an expression of thought; it was a mighty and dynamic force (Boman, p. 58). Examples of this in Holy Scripture are: Jer. 23:2—Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?
Isa. 55:10ff—For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
Ps. 33:6,9—By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth…For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.
“Dabhar is dynamic both objectively and linguistically; it comes from the verb dabhar…and simply means to speak. The basic meaning is to be behind and drive forward, hence to let words follow one another, or even better to drive forward that which is behind; the verb thus portrays somehow the functions of speaking. Dabhar means not only word but also deed. Abraham’s servant recounted to Isaac all the words that he had done (Gen. 24:66); the rest of Solomon’s words, and everything that he did, and his wisdom are recorded in the book of the words of Solomon (1 Ki. 11:41). The word is the highest and noblest function of man and is, for that reason identical with his action. Word and deed are thus not two different meaning of dabhar, but the deed is the consequence of the basic meaning inhering dabhar” (Boman, p. 66). For the Israelite, if deeds did not follow a man’s word then his word was considered a false, lying empty, counterfeit or a lying word, for it did not possess the inner strength and truth for accomplishment, but it accomplished instead something evil…Since the word is connected with its accomplishment, dabhar could be translated effective word”
As we can see from this discussion of the Hebrew word dabhar the Israelite mind was more concerned with the substance or quality of something, rather than the appearance or, in the case of words, simply the sound issuing forth from one’s mouth. Similar to this concept is the Hebrew word for faith (emunah), which not only means belief as in mental ascent, but also means faithfulness, or the actions following the mouth’s confession to belief in something. For example, there are far too many nominal Christians who have at some time in their life pronounced the words, “I believe in Jesus Christ and accept him as my Lord and Savior” (as per Rom. 10:9-10) as if these words were merely some magical mantra or formula which when pronounced guarantee one’s eternal security regardless of subsequent lifestyle and actions. Hebraically, such a concept of pronouncing a word without following it up with actions makes the word null, void and meaningless. This is the concept that the writers of Scripture had when they penned such popular Christian salvation passages as Romans 10:9-10. To not understand the proper meaning of the words of Holy Scripture Hebraically can result in false teachings going forth leading to false conversions leading to many people thinking they are spiritually saved when in reality they are the walking damned!
By comparison to the Hebrew word dabhar (to speak), the Greek word logos (to speak) means to gather or arrange in an orderly manner. It means to speak, reckon, think. The deepest meaning and focus of logos is neither the function, articulateness nor the dynamics of the speaking , but rather the ordered and reasonableness of the content, according to Boman. Therefore, logos expresses the mental function that is highest according to Greek understanding. “As we have seen, dabhar performs the same service for the Israelites; therefore, these two words teach us what the two peoples considered primary and essential in mental life: on the one side the dynamic, masterful, energetic—on the other side the ordered, moderate, thought out, calculated, meaningful, rational.”
We see, therefore, that the word word is, so to speak, the point of intersection between two entirely different ways of conceiving the highest mental life, a fact that can be pointed up by means to the following diagram:
“When therefore, the Fourth Evangelist [John, in chapter one] pronounces the word logos at the beginning of his Gospel, the many different profound meanings of dabhar as well as logos harmonize into a beautiful and mysterious unity for him as well as for is Greek-speaking readers familiar with the Old Testament in the same way as the sound of several church bells rung simultaneously the Evangelist [John] speaks three times of the eternal being of the logos (v. 1f.), undoubtedly it is the Greek spirit which is breathing upon us, for it is characteristic of the Hebrews that their words effect and of the Greeks that the word is.”
I would, at this point, add into this discussion some observations that I hope the reader will find cogent and interesting. Hebraically, the land of Israel is considered to be at the center of the earth. Geographically it lies at the intersection and crossroads of the three main continents of the ancient world. The Most High placed Israel there so that it would be a light and an example of righteousness to the nations. Prior to and during the time of Yahusha the Hebrew and Greek cultures were vying (and at times warring) with each other for supremacy over the hearts, minds and land of the Jews. When the long awaited Messiah arrived on the scene, it was not only his mission for his disciples to evangelize Jerusalem and Judea, but also Samaria and the rest of the world, which at that time was Greek in culture and language. Yahusha came not only to establish the mechanics by which this evangelism could be accomplished (via a body of followers or believers in him and in his mission), but it was his purpose to reconcile through himself both the Jews and the (Greek) Gentiles. This was done through his Person at the stake, and his followers subsequently took the message of the stake everywhere.
Hebrew as we are seeing and will see proven more fully below was a language whose primary purpose was to aid a people in approaching their Creator. It was a the Most High-centered language spoken by a the Most High-centered and the Most High-intoxicated Hebrew people. Its core and essence was vertical in nature and could be represented by a vertical line extending from earth to heaven. Conversely, Greek was a language of science, of describing the world, of facts and reason. It was primarily humanistic in nature and can be characterized by a horizontal line parallel to the surface of the earth. THE WORD, which is exactly what Yahshua the Messiah was (the Word of Elohim made flesh, the Word of Life).
Yahusha, the WORD of Elohim came to reconcile both the Hebrew and the Greek worlds in Himself. This was accomplished as Yahusha hung on the cross suspended between heaven and earth—between the horizontal and vertical planes of earthly and heavenly dimensions of existence. Prior to His crucifixion He talked about being lifted up (crucified) (Jn. 3:14; 8:28) and that through Him the reconciliation of heaven and earth would occur (Jn. 12:32). Through the vertical post (which represents the salvation of the Jews that Yahusha talked about in Jn. 4:22) of the cross which points heavenward the rest of the world—the Gentile Greeks—(representing the earthly or horizontal plane of humanity) would be reconciled to the Father—all this through the person of Yahusha the Maschiach who hung at the focal point of nexus of the both planes.
This relates to the last letter of the Hebrew alephbet which is the letter tav which in its original paleo-Hebrew pictographic form is in the shape of a cross and pictographically and anciently signified a sign, a seal or a covenant. The letter tav in the shape of a cross going back to the creation of man and to the first spoken language that the Most High gave to man at the Garden of Eden, namely Hebrew, was a prophetic picture way back then (long before the pagan sun-worshippers misappropriated the cross and perverted it into a pagan symbol of idolatry) of the reconciliation of the world through the Hebrew people, the Hebrew Scriptures and the Hebrew Maschiach, Yahusha.
Now let’s us follow this analogy one step further. The vertical post (representing the Hebrew part) can exist without the horizontal cross arm (representing the Greek part), but the horizontal cannot exist without the supporting vertical post without falling to the ground. Similarly, the branches need the tree trunk to support it. The tree trunk can live without the branches, but not vice versa. Speaking of this very fact, Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles states this in Romans 11:18. Speaking to the Gentiles he says, “Thou bearest not the root, but the root bearest thee.” As the Jewish vertical part of the cross points the way to the Most High Elohim, the Jews will lead the way to God for they have the true concept of God and as Yashuah said in John 4:22 to the Gentile Samaritan woman, “Salvation is of the Jews.” This was born out by the fact that not only was the Savior himself a Jew, but all the original believers in the first century were Jewish and they formed the foundation for the Body of Messiah to which non-Jewish believers were subsequently added. And who did Yahshua choose to carry this message of the cross, the reconciling of the vertical and the horizontal, the Hebrew and the Greek? Who carried the Word of the Most High outward from Jerusalem—the center of the earth? It was Paul, a Greek-speaking, Roman citizen, diaspora, orthodox, pharisaical Jewish rabbi. Who better to understand both the Greek and the Hebrew sides and to bring them together? To help make one new man in Maschiach.
Shema Selah what is the mind that you have is it the mind of Maschiach, Yahusha?? https://youtu.be/mF56Zc1eu68
We are walking in today: Hebrew Mind versus Greek Thought Part 5
Witness mighty throughout the Bible: H3581 koach---strength, produce
power, might
Exo 32:11 And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, H3581 and with a mighty hand?
The Torah testifies...............
Deu 4:37 And because he loved thy fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them, and brought thee out in his sight with his mighty power H3581 out of Egypt;
The prophets proclaim..................
Dan 8:24 And his power H3581 shall be mighty, but not by his own power: H3581 and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
The writings bear witness...........................
Ecc 9:10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; H3581 for there is no work, nor device, nor
knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
Zec 4:6
Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, H3581 but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.
THE DYNAMIC CHARACTER OF THE HEBREW WORLD
In the Hebrew world, according to Boman, things do not have the immovable fixity and inflexibility that they have for us, but they are changeable and in motion. He then cites some examples of this in Scripture: Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff. (Isa. 41:15)
Even stones and rock are movable and externally alterable: Job. 14:18—
And surely the mountain falling cometh to nought, and the rock is removed out of his place. In comparison with [The Most High's] immovability, even the fixity of the earth is nothing at all:
Ps. 18:7—Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth.
Ps. 114:4—The mountains skipped like rams, and the little hills like lambs.
Nah. 1:5—The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein. Such hyperbolic images cannot be explained by natural phenomona…This hyperbole has two familiar roots, the Hebrews’ distinctly-personal kind of thinking and their faith in the omnipotent God:
Ps. 46:2ff—Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof…
The LORD of hosts is with us; the Isa. 54:10—
The Most High of Jacob is our refuge. For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee. We shall see as we progress with this study that the Hebrews’ dynamic view of life, including those aspects of it which the Western mindset tends to view as static, stationary or at rest overlaps into their view of the the Most High Himself. Suffice it to say here, the Hebrews’ view of the Creator is less parochial and boxed into a limited human scope of things. Their view of the Divine is more open and expansive. Instead of trying to confine Him to limited human definitions and descriptions they focus their efforts on pursuing Him and the character and qualities that determine His makeup. The understanding of the world around them, including God, is to pursue life and the Most High to the fullest, rather than spending time passively trying to define Him. In the pursuit comes the understanding and comes the relationship between the Divine and humanity.
WESTERN PASSIVITY COMPARED WITH THE ENERGETIC AND DESCRIPTIVE HEBREW PEOPLE
“Through modern invention and outright apathy, our present Western world has grown more and more passive. We have developed a TV-obsessed, entertainment-prone, and spectator-minded generation which seems to be largely content to watch life rather than live it” (Wilson, p. 136). This is not only an apt description of American cultural life, but of the American Christian church, as well, which, sadly, has, to a large degree, become a mirror image of the surrounding secular culture. The typical church service in the First American Church, in Anytown, America has become a spectator sport with chairs (or pews) arranged theater-style facing a stage where often paid professional performers titillate emotions and the tickle ears of their fans for an hour or two on Sunday morning. The churchgoers, on having received their weekly dose or fix of religion-entertainment return afterwards to their secular prayerless, biblically illiterate and evangelizingless lives to exist, by in large, as spiritual “couch potatoes.” Wilson continues, “By contrast, the Hebrew were largely an energetic, robust, and, at times, even turbulent people. They were primarily outdoor folk,—farmers, fishermen, tradesmen —who lived life to the full. For them, truth was not so much an idea to be contemplated as an experience to be lived, a deed to be done. The biblical writers often use vocabulary which is highly colorful, dynamic, and action-centered. They tell the story of a people on the move, a people who approached living with boldness, drive, and expectation…Israel followed a ‘The Most High-on-the-move,’ and they were ‘his movable treasure’ (Ex. 19:5)” Wilson quoting Martin Luther goes one to say that Luther saw within the Hebrew Bible a “special energy” in its vocabulary. “In his struggle to translate the Hebrew Bible into German, Luther discovered in the sixteenth century what many Hebraists of the twentieth century have recently come to affirm with him: it is impossible to convey so much so briefly in any other language.” Luther said, “In it [the Hebrew language] we hear the Most High speak…”
“Laziness, inertia, or passivity were hardly marks of the Hebrews’ lifestyle. Rather, the Hebrews were mainly a doing and feeling people…‘Hebrew may be called primarily a language of senses. The words originally expressed concrete or material things and movements or actions which struck the senses or started the emotions. Only secondarily and in metaphor could they be used to denote abstract or metaphysical ideas.’ The Bible contains many Hebraisms in which abstract thoughts or immaterial conceptions are conveyed through material or physical terminology” (Wilson, p. 137). Wilson then cites a number of such examples:
— look is to lift up the eyes (Gen. 22:4)
— be angry is to burn in one’s nostrils (Ex. 4:14)
— disclose something or reveal something is to unstop one’s ears (Ruth 4:4)
— have no compassion is hard heartedness (1 Sam. 6:6)
— stubborn is stiff-necked (2 Chr. 30:8; Acts 7:51)
— get ready or brace yourself is gird up your loins (Jer. 1:17)
— to be determined to go is set one’s face to go (Jer. 42:15, 17; Lk. 9:51)
In addition, the Hebrews often refer to the Most High by the use of anthropomorphisms (i.e., representations of God with human attributes). The ‘living’ and ‘active’ the Most High of the Hebrews is thus never reduced to mere impersonal abstraction. For instance, the Ten Commandments are said to be ‘inscribed by the finger of the Most High’ (Ex. 31:18). The prophet Isaiah states, ‘Surely the arm of [the Most High] is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull too hear’ (Isa. 59:1). And again, a well-known proverb states, ‘The eyes of [the Most High] are everywhere’ (Prov. 15:3)”
NON-BEING IN HEBREW THOUGHT
“True being for the Hebrews is the word dabhar, which comprises all Hebraic realities: word, deed, and concrete object. Non-being, nothing (no-thing), is signified correspondingly by ‘not-word’, lo-debhar. For the Hebrews, non-being, nothingness (no-thingness) also has a certain existence which in practical life is tangible and unsavoury. ‘Mere words’ (Heb.: words of the lip) are empty and vain and, therefore, pernicious and dangerous (2 Ki. 18:20; Prov. 14:23). The lying words of the false prophets are negative quantity in content, yet have a disastrously seductive strength. The prophet Mecaiah ben Imlah had heard how the soothsaying spirit offered himself in [the Most High’s] council to be a lying spirit in the mouth of Ahab’s prophets so that they prophesied a pure negativity (1 Ki. 22:21ff). A lie for the Hebrew is not as it is for us, a non-agreement with the truth; for example, he would not impute lying to the midwives (Ex. 1:19), something that the text abundantly confirms. For him the lie is the internal decay and destruction of the word: sheqer is the opposite of tsedheq (Ps. 52:5). That which is powerless, empty, and vain is a lie: a spring which gives no water lies (Isa. 58:11). For this reason, it is just as clear that the God of Israel does not lie (1 Sam/ 15:29) as it is that idols are lies (Jer. 10:14). Lies and falsehood are also called shaw whose basic meaning is that which is empty, or which has no content and is futile, a mirage, a nullity” (Boman, p. 56) Boman goes on to explain that Hebrew has many expressions for nullity such as a puff of win, a breath, a phantom, a deception and a false opinion (ibid.). Examples of this in Scripture are:
Ps. 62:9—Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie: to be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity.
Ec. 5:16— And this also is a sore evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit
“The Greeks and the Hebrews are united in the idea that non-being is something dreadful; being, however, is a genuine reality and true good, regardless of whether being is thought of as eternally resting conforming to the Greek kind or in eternal motion conforming to the Hebrew kind” (Boman, p. 57-58). In addition, the word of the Most High was not only nor even primarily an expression of thought; it was a mighty and dynamic force (Boman, p. 58). Examples of this in Holy Scripture are: Jer. 23:2—Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?
Isa. 55:10ff—For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
Ps. 33:6,9—By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth…For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.
“Dabhar is dynamic both objectively and linguistically; it comes from the verb dabhar…and simply means to speak. The basic meaning is to be behind and drive forward, hence to let words follow one another, or even better to drive forward that which is behind; the verb thus portrays somehow the functions of speaking. Dabhar means not only word but also deed. Abraham’s servant recounted to Isaac all the words that he had done (Gen. 24:66); the rest of Solomon’s words, and everything that he did, and his wisdom are recorded in the book of the words of Solomon (1 Ki. 11:41). The word is the highest and noblest function of man and is, for that reason identical with his action. Word and deed are thus not two different meaning of dabhar, but the deed is the consequence of the basic meaning inhering dabhar” (Boman, p. 66). For the Israelite, if deeds did not follow a man’s word then his word was considered a false, lying empty, counterfeit or a lying word, for it did not possess the inner strength and truth for accomplishment, but it accomplished instead something evil…Since the word is connected with its accomplishment, dabhar could be translated effective word”
As we can see from this discussion of the Hebrew word dabhar the Israelite mind was more concerned with the substance or quality of something, rather than the appearance or, in the case of words, simply the sound issuing forth from one’s mouth. Similar to this concept is the Hebrew word for faith (emunah), which not only means belief as in mental ascent, but also means faithfulness, or the actions following the mouth’s confession to belief in something. For example, there are far too many nominal Christians who have at some time in their life pronounced the words, “I believe in Jesus Christ and accept him as my Lord and Savior” (as per Rom. 10:9-10) as if these words were merely some magical mantra or formula which when pronounced guarantee one’s eternal security regardless of subsequent lifestyle and actions. Hebraically, such a concept of pronouncing a word without following it up with actions makes the word null, void and meaningless. This is the concept that the writers of Scripture had when they penned such popular Christian salvation passages as Romans 10:9-10. To not understand the proper meaning of the words of Holy Scripture Hebraically can result in false teachings going forth leading to false conversions leading to many people thinking they are spiritually saved when in reality they are the walking damned!
By comparison to the Hebrew word dabhar (to speak), the Greek word logos (to speak) means to gather or arrange in an orderly manner. It means to speak, reckon, think. The deepest meaning and focus of logos is neither the function, articulateness nor the dynamics of the speaking , but rather the ordered and reasonableness of the content, according to Boman. Therefore, logos expresses the mental function that is highest according to Greek understanding. “As we have seen, dabhar performs the same service for the Israelites; therefore, these two words teach us what the two peoples considered primary and essential in mental life: on the one side the dynamic, masterful, energetic—on the other side the ordered, moderate, thought out, calculated, meaningful, rational.”
We see, therefore, that the word word is, so to speak, the point of intersection between two entirely different ways of conceiving the highest mental life, a fact that can be pointed up by means to the following diagram:
“When therefore, the Fourth Evangelist [John, in chapter one] pronounces the word logos at the beginning of his Gospel, the many different profound meanings of dabhar as well as logos harmonize into a beautiful and mysterious unity for him as well as for is Greek-speaking readers familiar with the Old Testament in the same way as the sound of several church bells rung simultaneously the Evangelist [John] speaks three times of the eternal being of the logos (v. 1f.), undoubtedly it is the Greek spirit which is breathing upon us, for it is characteristic of the Hebrews that their words effect and of the Greeks that the word is.”
I would, at this point, add into this discussion some observations that I hope the reader will find cogent and interesting. Hebraically, the land of Israel is considered to be at the center of the earth. Geographically it lies at the intersection and crossroads of the three main continents of the ancient world. The Most High placed Israel there so that it would be a light and an example of righteousness to the nations. Prior to and during the time of Yahusha the Hebrew and Greek cultures were vying (and at times warring) with each other for supremacy over the hearts, minds and land of the Jews. When the long awaited Messiah arrived on the scene, it was not only his mission for his disciples to evangelize Jerusalem and Judea, but also Samaria and the rest of the world, which at that time was Greek in culture and language. Yahusha came not only to establish the mechanics by which this evangelism could be accomplished (via a body of followers or believers in him and in his mission), but it was his purpose to reconcile through himself both the Jews and the (Greek) Gentiles. This was done through his Person at the stake, and his followers subsequently took the message of the stake everywhere.
Hebrew as we are seeing and will see proven more fully below was a language whose primary purpose was to aid a people in approaching their Creator. It was a the Most High-centered language spoken by a the Most High-centered and the Most High-intoxicated Hebrew people. Its core and essence was vertical in nature and could be represented by a vertical line extending from earth to heaven. Conversely, Greek was a language of science, of describing the world, of facts and reason. It was primarily humanistic in nature and can be characterized by a horizontal line parallel to the surface of the earth. THE WORD, which is exactly what Yahshua the Messiah was (the Word of Elohim made flesh, the Word of Life).
Yahusha, the WORD of Elohim came to reconcile both the Hebrew and the Greek worlds in Himself. This was accomplished as Yahusha hung on the cross suspended between heaven and earth—between the horizontal and vertical planes of earthly and heavenly dimensions of existence. Prior to His crucifixion He talked about being lifted up (crucified) (Jn. 3:14; 8:28) and that through Him the reconciliation of heaven and earth would occur (Jn. 12:32). Through the vertical post (which represents the salvation of the Jews that Yahusha talked about in Jn. 4:22) of the cross which points heavenward the rest of the world—the Gentile Greeks—(representing the earthly or horizontal plane of humanity) would be reconciled to the Father—all this through the person of Yahusha the Maschiach who hung at the focal point of nexus of the both planes.
This relates to the last letter of the Hebrew alephbet which is the letter tav which in its original paleo-Hebrew pictographic form is in the shape of a cross and pictographically and anciently signified a sign, a seal or a covenant. The letter tav in the shape of a cross going back to the creation of man and to the first spoken language that the Most High gave to man at the Garden of Eden, namely Hebrew, was a prophetic picture way back then (long before the pagan sun-worshippers misappropriated the cross and perverted it into a pagan symbol of idolatry) of the reconciliation of the world through the Hebrew people, the Hebrew Scriptures and the Hebrew Maschiach, Yahusha.
Now let’s us follow this analogy one step further. The vertical post (representing the Hebrew part) can exist without the horizontal cross arm (representing the Greek part), but the horizontal cannot exist without the supporting vertical post without falling to the ground. Similarly, the branches need the tree trunk to support it. The tree trunk can live without the branches, but not vice versa. Speaking of this very fact, Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles states this in Romans 11:18. Speaking to the Gentiles he says, “Thou bearest not the root, but the root bearest thee.” As the Jewish vertical part of the cross points the way to the Most High Elohim, the Jews will lead the way to God for they have the true concept of God and as Yashuah said in John 4:22 to the Gentile Samaritan woman, “Salvation is of the Jews.” This was born out by the fact that not only was the Savior himself a Jew, but all the original believers in the first century were Jewish and they formed the foundation for the Body of Messiah to which non-Jewish believers were subsequently added. And who did Yahshua choose to carry this message of the cross, the reconciling of the vertical and the horizontal, the Hebrew and the Greek? Who carried the Word of the Most High outward from Jerusalem—the center of the earth? It was Paul, a Greek-speaking, Roman citizen, diaspora, orthodox, pharisaical Jewish rabbi. Who better to understand both the Greek and the Hebrew sides and to bring them together? To help make one new man in Maschiach.
Shema Selah what is the mind that you have is it the mind of Maschiach, Yahusha?? https://youtu.be/mF56Zc1eu68
Friday, February 14, 2020
Blacks in the Bible, Going Back To Our Genesis! Part 4
Deuteronomy 28 & 30
We are walking in today: Weekend Meditation--Blacks in the Bible, Going Back To Our Genesis! Part 4
Witness power throughout the Bible: H3027 yad-- strength, power
In the 2001 Oxford Encyclopedia, egyptologist, Stuart Tyson Smith wrote :
“Any characterization of race of the ancient Egyptians depends on modern cultural definitions, not on scientific study. Thus, by modern American standards it is reasonable to characterize the Egyptians as ‘black’, while acknowledging the scientific evidence for the physical diversity of Africans.”
Based off how the Ancient Egyptians portrayed themselves through art, it is clear that they were a black African race. Ancient Greek and Roman travelers and historians, who lived during that time said that the Egyptians were black as well. An ancient Greek historian named Herodotus (400 B.C.), who is known as the “Father of History “, wrote about Ancient Egypt when he traveled there.
“ I myself guessed their Egyptian origin not only because the Colchians are dark-skinned and curly-haired (which does not count for much by itself , because these features are common in others too) but more importantly because Colchians, Egyptians and Ethiopians are the only peoples in the world who practise circumcision and who have always done so.”
In a nutshell he is saying that Egyptians had dark skin and curly hair. More importantly, he is saying that those three dark races above were the only race to practice circumcision. Circumcision is a Hebrew custom.
Below is what the French artist and historian, Vivant Denon, drew when he saw the Sphinx of Giza (before the nose was knocked off) around 1798. Note the African features.
In 1782 a French philosopher and historian named, Count Constantine de Volney, visited Egypt and said this:
“All the Egyptians,” wrote de Volney, “have a bloated face, puffed-up eyes, flat nose, thick lips — in a word, the true face of the mulatto. I was tempted to attribute it to the climate, but when I visited the Sphinx, its appearance gave me the key to the riddle. On seeing that head, typically Negro in all its features.”
In 2012, the Laboratory called DNA Tribes,released the DNA results of Pharaoh Amenhotep III and Pharaoh Tutankhamen. They lived around 1300 and 1400 B.C. The results showed that they had the same DNA as people from Great Lakes and the Southern Africa( Near Uganda.)This is DNA evidence showing that the Ancient Egyptians were black African people.
The pictures on the tombs and statues show that the Ancient Egyptians looked like Black Africans, African Americans or Black People. The eye witness accounts of ancient European travelers, show that the ancient Egyptians were black people. As mentioned earlier, the biblical evidence shows that Moses and Paul looked nearly identical to the Egyptians, thus confirming that Moses and Paul, were “so called black people”.
The roots of racism against blacks and Native Americans/Latinos, can be found in the Torah. In the 28th chapter of the book of Deuteronomy, of the Torah, it describes how if the Israelites broke certain commandments, Most High would allow numerous curses to come upon them. The Torah states that these curses would be a sign upon the Israelites and their descendants forever. This means that the curses help us identify those who are Israelites are today. What are some of the curses that would identify the Israelites?
“And the LORD shall bring you into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spoke to you, You shall see it no more again: and there you shall be sold to your enemies for slaves and bondwomen, and no man shall buy you” ( Deuteronomy 28:68).
Some theologians,such as the 18th century, English biblical scholar, John Gill(1697) believe that the Egypt being referred to in this passage is not literal Egypt. The truth is that, Egypt symbolizes slavery, or the house of bondage in this passage. In the book of Revelations one of the prophecies during the end times says “And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.” (11:9) The significance of this passage is that it shows that in the Bible, Egypt also has a spiritual meaning and not literal meaning.
According to most theologians, in this passage, the word buy, means redeem or save them. In other words this curse says that the Jews would go into slavery, by ships, where they would be sold and nobody would redeem them. This curse fell upon black people during the Atlantic Slave Trade. During the Atlantic Slave Trade, it is estimated that a total of about 12 million Africans were scattered to the United States and Latin America. This also happened to Native Americans who were sold into slavery and shipped to Europe.
“Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build an house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes thereof” (Deuteronomy 28:30).
“Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people, and thine eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day long: and there shall be no might in thine hand” (Deuteronomy 28:32).
“Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them; for they shall go into captivity” (Deuteronomy 28:41).
These passages apply to the Atlantic Slave Trade, in which the wives of African men were raped by many European owners. It also describes how the children of black men and women were sold away into slavery as well. Many black families were torn apart during slavery. This also happened to Native Americans/Latinos.
“The fruit of thy land, and all thy labours, shall a nation which thou knowest not eat up; and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed always” (Deuteronomy 28:33).
This passage means that the Israelites would labor in a nation, and that the country they were in would get wealthy off the labor. The passages also says that the Israelites would not enjoy the fruits of their labor. It also mentions that the Israelites would always be persecuted. Are blacks, Native Americans and Latinos still being persecuted today? The countries that participated in the Atlantic slave trade and slavery, got rich off the free labor of blacks. Blacks did not receive reparations, but many slave owners did. Globally, blacks are socially, politically, and economically at the bottom of society.
“The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand;” (Deuteronomy 28:49)
An eagle is one of America’s main symbols.
“So all these curses shall come on you and pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you would not obey the LORD your the Most High by keeping His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you” (Deuteronomy 28:46).
“They shall become a sign and a wonder on you and your descendants forever” (Deuteronomy 28:47).
This passage shows that the curses would be a sign and wonder on the Israelites, and their descendants forever. The trials and tribulations of the Africans that were kidnapped and forced into the Atlantic Slave Trade, as well as their descendants, match up with the curses listed from the Torah. Native Americans and Latinos fit these curses as well. The history and present condition of the Israelites may seem very tragic but the future for them is very promising.
In the book of Acts it says
“And the Most High spoke on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years” (7:6).
This passage helps show that “Egypt” is a symbol for oppression and not literal Egypt. Some theologians say that this 400 years of bondage does not apply to the time the Israelites spent in literal Egypt. This is due to the fact that the Israelites only spent 210 years in Egypt.
The passage above, about the 400 years of slavery and mistreatment can only apply to American Slavery. The Israelites sold to America during the Atlantic Slave Trade have been in America for almost 400 years. The first Africans to arrive in America during slavery was in 1619. Next year, 2019, will mark 400 years of Africans being in America. In the next line of this passage, it says
“And the nation to whom they shall be in bondage will I judge, said the Most High: and after that shall they come forth, and serve me in this place” (7:7).
This passage describes how after the Israelites are in bondage for 400 years, the Most High will judge the nation that mistreated the Israelites. In this context, judge means punish. After 400 years of America mistreating the Israelites or so called African Americans, America will be punished by God’s divine wrath and then the Israelites, will be freed from their captivity and will return to their homeland, Israel. After learning this I thought “400 years? Native Americans have been in America longer than that.”
I later learned that the Hebrew Nation consisted of two Kingdoms. The Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah. These two kingdoms became divided. In the book of Zechariah one of the prophecies was that the Kingdom of Judah would be saved first. (12:7) This would explain the 1619–2019 timeline that is mentioned for African Americans. African Americans are from the Kingdom of Judah. Below is a map of Africa before it was altered. Notice how on the same territory labeled the Slave Coast,( where the Africans would be stolen and sold into slavery), it is also labeled the Kingdom of Juda. Wherever the Israelites went they tried to hold on to their names.
Only the Most High knows if the 400 year prophecy relates to African Americans being enslaved and mistreated 400 years in America. Either way we do know they will return to Israel with wealth, once they turn back to God and accept Yahusha as their messiah.
“1 And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the Lord thy the Most High hath driven thee,
2 And shalt return unto the Lord thy the Most High, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul;
3 That then the Lord thy the Most High will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee.
4 If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the Lord thy the Most High gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee:
5 And the Lord thy the Most High will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers.
6 And the Lord thy the Most High will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.
7 And the Lord thy the Most High will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee.
8 And thou shalt return and obey the voice of the Lord, and do all his commandments which I command thee this day.
9 And the Lord thy the Most High will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for the Lord will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers:
10 If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy the Most High, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.” (Deuteronomy 30:1)
Here is quick follow up on how the Israelites would try to hold on to their Hebrew names. Below are records of the names of the Israelites who were sold into slavery in the Americas. Notice how most on these particular slave records shown, end in “Yah”. Yah is Hebrew for the Most High. This confirms the 2 Chronicles 7:14.
“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
Now it makes sense as to why slave owners changed the names of the Israelites once we arrived in America.
So now that we know we are Israelites, what now? How will this get us out of the condition of oppression and mistreatment in America?
There has to be a national, spiritual re-awakening. This means, the masses of the so called blacks, Native Americans and Latinos , have to accept their true identity as Israelites, turn back to the Most High, the Bible, and accept Yahusha.
We are walking in today: Weekend Meditation--Blacks in the Bible, Going Back To Our Genesis! Part 4
Witness power throughout the Bible: H3027 yad-- strength, power
Gen 31:29 It is in the power of my hand H3027 to do you hurt: but the the Most High of your father spake unto me yesternight, saying, Take thou heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.
The Torah testifies...............
Deu 32:36 For the LORD shall judge his people, and repent himself for his servants, when he seeth that their power H3027 is gone, and there is none shut up, or left.
The prophets proclaim..................
Neh 1:10 Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand. H3027
The writings bear witness...........................
2 Ki 19:26 Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, H3027 they were dismayed and confounded; they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops,
and as corn blasted before it be grown up.
Isa 47:14 Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power H3027 of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it.
Welcome to this study as we take a look back through scripture, history and science to find where do black people fit into this whole thing! We are being awakened and returned to our origins and the primary principles of our ancestors, which we can trace through the scriptures and confirm in history and science! What an awesome time this is! 400 years is up and now we are fully returning to what we received at Mt. Sinai, the covenant and the covenant keeper the Most High has restored and redeemed His bride!
The Torah testifies...............
Deu 32:36 For the LORD shall judge his people, and repent himself for his servants, when he seeth that their power H3027 is gone, and there is none shut up, or left.
The prophets proclaim..................
Neh 1:10 Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand. H3027
The writings bear witness...........................
2 Ki 19:26 Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, H3027 they were dismayed and confounded; they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops,
and as corn blasted before it be grown up.
Isa 47:14 Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power H3027 of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it.
Welcome to this study as we take a look back through scripture, history and science to find where do black people fit into this whole thing! We are being awakened and returned to our origins and the primary principles of our ancestors, which we can trace through the scriptures and confirm in history and science! What an awesome time this is! 400 years is up and now we are fully returning to what we received at Mt. Sinai, the covenant and the covenant keeper the Most High has restored and redeemed His bride!
In the 2001 Oxford Encyclopedia, egyptologist, Stuart Tyson Smith wrote :
“Any characterization of race of the ancient Egyptians depends on modern cultural definitions, not on scientific study. Thus, by modern American standards it is reasonable to characterize the Egyptians as ‘black’, while acknowledging the scientific evidence for the physical diversity of Africans.”
Based off how the Ancient Egyptians portrayed themselves through art, it is clear that they were a black African race. Ancient Greek and Roman travelers and historians, who lived during that time said that the Egyptians were black as well. An ancient Greek historian named Herodotus (400 B.C.), who is known as the “Father of History “, wrote about Ancient Egypt when he traveled there.
“ I myself guessed their Egyptian origin not only because the Colchians are dark-skinned and curly-haired (which does not count for much by itself , because these features are common in others too) but more importantly because Colchians, Egyptians and Ethiopians are the only peoples in the world who practise circumcision and who have always done so.”
In a nutshell he is saying that Egyptians had dark skin and curly hair. More importantly, he is saying that those three dark races above were the only race to practice circumcision. Circumcision is a Hebrew custom.
Below is what the French artist and historian, Vivant Denon, drew when he saw the Sphinx of Giza (before the nose was knocked off) around 1798. Note the African features.
In 1782 a French philosopher and historian named, Count Constantine de Volney, visited Egypt and said this:
“All the Egyptians,” wrote de Volney, “have a bloated face, puffed-up eyes, flat nose, thick lips — in a word, the true face of the mulatto. I was tempted to attribute it to the climate, but when I visited the Sphinx, its appearance gave me the key to the riddle. On seeing that head, typically Negro in all its features.”
In 2012, the Laboratory called DNA Tribes,released the DNA results of Pharaoh Amenhotep III and Pharaoh Tutankhamen. They lived around 1300 and 1400 B.C. The results showed that they had the same DNA as people from Great Lakes and the Southern Africa( Near Uganda.)This is DNA evidence showing that the Ancient Egyptians were black African people.
The pictures on the tombs and statues show that the Ancient Egyptians looked like Black Africans, African Americans or Black People. The eye witness accounts of ancient European travelers, show that the ancient Egyptians were black people. As mentioned earlier, the biblical evidence shows that Moses and Paul looked nearly identical to the Egyptians, thus confirming that Moses and Paul, were “so called black people”.
The roots of racism against blacks and Native Americans/Latinos, can be found in the Torah. In the 28th chapter of the book of Deuteronomy, of the Torah, it describes how if the Israelites broke certain commandments, Most High would allow numerous curses to come upon them. The Torah states that these curses would be a sign upon the Israelites and their descendants forever. This means that the curses help us identify those who are Israelites are today. What are some of the curses that would identify the Israelites?
“And the LORD shall bring you into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spoke to you, You shall see it no more again: and there you shall be sold to your enemies for slaves and bondwomen, and no man shall buy you” ( Deuteronomy 28:68).
Some theologians,such as the 18th century, English biblical scholar, John Gill(1697) believe that the Egypt being referred to in this passage is not literal Egypt. The truth is that, Egypt symbolizes slavery, or the house of bondage in this passage. In the book of Revelations one of the prophecies during the end times says “And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.” (11:9) The significance of this passage is that it shows that in the Bible, Egypt also has a spiritual meaning and not literal meaning.
According to most theologians, in this passage, the word buy, means redeem or save them. In other words this curse says that the Jews would go into slavery, by ships, where they would be sold and nobody would redeem them. This curse fell upon black people during the Atlantic Slave Trade. During the Atlantic Slave Trade, it is estimated that a total of about 12 million Africans were scattered to the United States and Latin America. This also happened to Native Americans who were sold into slavery and shipped to Europe.
“Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build an house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes thereof” (Deuteronomy 28:30).
“Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people, and thine eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day long: and there shall be no might in thine hand” (Deuteronomy 28:32).
“Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them; for they shall go into captivity” (Deuteronomy 28:41).
These passages apply to the Atlantic Slave Trade, in which the wives of African men were raped by many European owners. It also describes how the children of black men and women were sold away into slavery as well. Many black families were torn apart during slavery. This also happened to Native Americans/Latinos.
“The fruit of thy land, and all thy labours, shall a nation which thou knowest not eat up; and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed always” (Deuteronomy 28:33).
This passage means that the Israelites would labor in a nation, and that the country they were in would get wealthy off the labor. The passages also says that the Israelites would not enjoy the fruits of their labor. It also mentions that the Israelites would always be persecuted. Are blacks, Native Americans and Latinos still being persecuted today? The countries that participated in the Atlantic slave trade and slavery, got rich off the free labor of blacks. Blacks did not receive reparations, but many slave owners did. Globally, blacks are socially, politically, and economically at the bottom of society.
“The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand;” (Deuteronomy 28:49)
An eagle is one of America’s main symbols.
“So all these curses shall come on you and pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you would not obey the LORD your the Most High by keeping His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you” (Deuteronomy 28:46).
“They shall become a sign and a wonder on you and your descendants forever” (Deuteronomy 28:47).
This passage shows that the curses would be a sign and wonder on the Israelites, and their descendants forever. The trials and tribulations of the Africans that were kidnapped and forced into the Atlantic Slave Trade, as well as their descendants, match up with the curses listed from the Torah. Native Americans and Latinos fit these curses as well. The history and present condition of the Israelites may seem very tragic but the future for them is very promising.
In the book of Acts it says
“And the Most High spoke on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years” (7:6).
This passage helps show that “Egypt” is a symbol for oppression and not literal Egypt. Some theologians say that this 400 years of bondage does not apply to the time the Israelites spent in literal Egypt. This is due to the fact that the Israelites only spent 210 years in Egypt.
The passage above, about the 400 years of slavery and mistreatment can only apply to American Slavery. The Israelites sold to America during the Atlantic Slave Trade have been in America for almost 400 years. The first Africans to arrive in America during slavery was in 1619. Next year, 2019, will mark 400 years of Africans being in America. In the next line of this passage, it says
“And the nation to whom they shall be in bondage will I judge, said the Most High: and after that shall they come forth, and serve me in this place” (7:7).
This passage describes how after the Israelites are in bondage for 400 years, the Most High will judge the nation that mistreated the Israelites. In this context, judge means punish. After 400 years of America mistreating the Israelites or so called African Americans, America will be punished by God’s divine wrath and then the Israelites, will be freed from their captivity and will return to their homeland, Israel. After learning this I thought “400 years? Native Americans have been in America longer than that.”
I later learned that the Hebrew Nation consisted of two Kingdoms. The Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah. These two kingdoms became divided. In the book of Zechariah one of the prophecies was that the Kingdom of Judah would be saved first. (12:7) This would explain the 1619–2019 timeline that is mentioned for African Americans. African Americans are from the Kingdom of Judah. Below is a map of Africa before it was altered. Notice how on the same territory labeled the Slave Coast,( where the Africans would be stolen and sold into slavery), it is also labeled the Kingdom of Juda. Wherever the Israelites went they tried to hold on to their names.
Only the Most High knows if the 400 year prophecy relates to African Americans being enslaved and mistreated 400 years in America. Either way we do know they will return to Israel with wealth, once they turn back to God and accept Yahusha as their messiah.
“1 And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the Lord thy the Most High hath driven thee,
2 And shalt return unto the Lord thy the Most High, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul;
3 That then the Lord thy the Most High will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee.
4 If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the Lord thy the Most High gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee:
5 And the Lord thy the Most High will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers.
6 And the Lord thy the Most High will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.
7 And the Lord thy the Most High will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee.
8 And thou shalt return and obey the voice of the Lord, and do all his commandments which I command thee this day.
9 And the Lord thy the Most High will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for the Lord will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers:
10 If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy the Most High, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.” (Deuteronomy 30:1)
Here is quick follow up on how the Israelites would try to hold on to their Hebrew names. Below are records of the names of the Israelites who were sold into slavery in the Americas. Notice how most on these particular slave records shown, end in “Yah”. Yah is Hebrew for the Most High. This confirms the 2 Chronicles 7:14.
“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
Now it makes sense as to why slave owners changed the names of the Israelites once we arrived in America.
So now that we know we are Israelites, what now? How will this get us out of the condition of oppression and mistreatment in America?
There has to be a national, spiritual re-awakening. This means, the masses of the so called blacks, Native Americans and Latinos , have to accept their true identity as Israelites, turn back to the Most High, the Bible, and accept Yahusha.
Shema selah SHEMA ISRAEL!! AWAKE AWAKE KING AND QUEENS!! ROYAL FAMILY RISE UP AND RETURN!!! https://youtu.be/DpMtNSwKETM
Wednesday, February 12, 2020
Hebrew Mind versus Greek Thought Part 4
2 Corinthians chapter 11
We are walking in today: Hebrew Mind versus Greek Thought Part 4
Witness deceive throughout the Bible: H6601 pathah --to be enticed, be deceived; to persuade, seduce
The Torah testifies...............
Deu 11:16 Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, H6601 and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them;
The prophets proclaim..................
2 Sa 3:25 Thou knowest Abner the son of Ner, that he came to deceive H6601 thee, and to know thy going out and thy coming in, and to know all that thou doest.
The writings bear witness...........................
Pro 24:28 Be not a witness against thy neighbour without cause; and deceive H6601 not with thy lips.
Jer 29:8 For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the Most High of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed.
ATHENS OR JERUSALEM?
We are walking in today: Hebrew Mind versus Greek Thought Part 4
Witness deceive throughout the Bible: H6601 pathah --to be enticed, be deceived; to persuade, seduce
The Torah testifies...............
Deu 11:16 Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, H6601 and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them;
The prophets proclaim..................
2 Sa 3:25 Thou knowest Abner the son of Ner, that he came to deceive H6601 thee, and to know thy going out and thy coming in, and to know all that thou doest.
The writings bear witness...........................
Pro 24:28 Be not a witness against thy neighbour without cause; and deceive H6601 not with thy lips.
Jer 29:8 For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the Most High of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed.
ATHENS OR JERUSALEM?
Scholar Marvin Wilson asks the following question, “What is the inner world of biblical thought? What is the cultural mind-set of the authors of Holy Writ? Are we to understand the Bible chiefly through the eyes of Hellenism (Greek thought and culture) or through the eyes of Judaism (Hebrew thought and culture)? Obviously, the last question focuses on the New Testament. Most scholars affirm an essentially strong Jewish background to Gospel studies and to the life and teachings of Yahusha. But scholars debate widely the background of the writings of Paul, ‘apostle to the Gentiles’ (Rom. 11:13)” (Our Father Abraham—Jewish Roots of the Christian Faith, Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdman’s Publishing Co., 1989, p. 5). Wilson continues, “Indeed, today convincing evidence challenges the earlier widespread belief that Paul’s writings bear the distinctive mark of Platonism. In sum, contemporary Christians have strong reasons to question any approach to Paul which finds the primary roots of his theology in Hellenism, Gnosticism, or mystery religion. “Paul upheld the goodness of the Jewish tradition of Torah. Indeed, Paul ‘came to understand the Christian life as patterned after that of Judaism: it was for him not the antithesis but the full flowering of that Faith.’ This meant for Paul, Diaspora Jew that he was, a deep rooting in the Hebrew Scriptures and rabbinic thought. Paul was proud of being a Jew (2 Cor. 11:22), in his words, ‘a Hebrew of Hebrews...a Pharisee’ (Phil. 3:5). As in the case of ancient Israel, so with Paul, the Most High channeled ‘His word thought by Hebrew minds...’” “If one is to interpret the teaching of Paul—and, indeed, all of Scripture—correctly, one must understand his background and the context in which he wrote. Krister Stendahl has wisely observed that ‘the task of biblical studies, even of biblical theology is to describe, to relive and relate, in terms of presuppositions of the period of the texts, what they meant to their authors and their contemporaries.’...[Paul’s] inner world of the spirit reflects primarily his Hebrew heritage, fed from sources which originally flowed from Jerusalem. So at the core, Paul’s theology was essentially Hebraic...” (Wilson, p. 8). As Wilson states, we can establish that “the authors in both the Old and New Testaments, find their primary orientation in the Semitic culture of the East,” and that Christianity does not derive from pagan, Hellenistic sources, or from speculative world-views, and neither is it a syncretistic religion deeply rooted in mystery cults, Gnostic sects, naturalistic philosophies, or polytheistic thought. Rather, the Christian faith is divinely revealed and is securely anchored in the Hebrew Bible —the [Torah], Prophets, and Writings. The Most High breathed his word into the minds of the biblical authors within a Jewish cultural environment. Consequently, for us, in the most succinct terms, ‘to ignore Hebraic ways of thinks is to subvert [a proper biblical] understanding.’ We must, therefore, focus on the language and thought-patterns found in the Scripture so that we are able to penetrate the mind of the Hebrew people. When we enter their civilization and view it through their eyes, we find that the contour of their thought is vibrant, rich, and colorful. It has its own nuances and features” (Wilson, p. 135). Thorlief Boman affirms Wilson’s assertions above and adds, “As the New Testament writings show, [Yahusha and the Apostles] were firmly rooted in the Old Testament and lived in its world of images. Shortly after the death of the Founder, however, the new religious community’s centre of gravity shifted into the Greek-speaking Hellenistic world, and after the year 70 [when the Temple was destroyed], the community was severed finally from its motherland: Christianity has been the religion of Europeans ever since. It is significant, however, that despite their absolute authority the words of Yahusha were preserved by the Church only in the Greek language. Not only are these two languages essentially different, but so too are the kinds of images and thinking involved in them. This distinction goes very deeply into the psychic life; the Jews themselves defined their spiritual predisposition as anti-Hellenic. Once this point is properly understood, it must be granted completely” (Hebrew Thought Compared With Greek, London, SCM Press Ltd., 1960, p. 17).
HEBREW THINKING IS DYNAMIC; GREEK IS STATIC
“If Hebrew thinking it is to be characterized, it is obvious first to call it dynamic, vigorous, passionate, and sometimes quite explosive in kind; correspondingly Greek thinking is static [harmonic or resting], peaceful, moderate...” (Boman, p. 27). This is evidenced in the syntax of the Hebrew sentence compared with that of the Greek (and other western languages). “The action-centered life-style of the Hebrews (which we will address more fully later) is often reflected in Hebrew sentence structure. The English language usually places the noun or subject firs in the clause, the verb or action-word: for example, The king judged. In the narrative of biblical Hebrew, however, the order is normally the reverse. That is, the verb most often comes first in the clause, then the noun; thus, He judged, the king” (Wilson, 137). Boman says, “The verbs especially, whose basic meaning always expresses a movement or an activity, reveal the dynamic variety of the Hebrew’s thinking” (Boman, p. 28). He goes on to explain that even Hebrew verbs which express a position like sitting or lying is done by a verb which expresses movement (ibid.). Therefore the verb, the action word forms the basis of Hebrew thinking and even those verbs which Westerners might consider to be stationary or positional in nature, to the Jewish mind, or not. As we shall understand more fully as we progress, for the Hebrew everything is in transition, moving toward something and is in process. “Motion and standing are not opposites as they are for us, but they are so closely related to on another that together they can form a unity. Movement is carried through to a standstill, or seen from the other side, standing is viewed as the result of rising or a placing” (Boman, p. 29). “It is characteristic of Hebrew and the other Semitic languages that all of these verbs designate first of all the ‘becoming’ of the conditions and qualities in question. It is really more correct to say that we are dealing here with neither a ‘being’ nor a ‘becoming’ but with a dynamic third possibility, therefore more an ‘effecting’ as in the case of the verb lighten which means not only to be bright or become bright but also to make light effective, i.e. illuminate” Boman concludes a study of various Hebrew verbs by saying, “Our analysis of the Hebrew verbs that express standing, sitting, lying,, etc., teaches us that motionless and fixed being is for the Hebrews a nonentity; it does not exist for them. Only being which stands in inner relations with something active and moving is reality to them...only movement (motion) has reality. To the extent that is concerned Hebrew thinking at all, static being as a predicate is a motion that has passed over into repose” (Boman, p. 31).
Shema Selah who has beguiled you to think outside of your character?? Dear Hebrew brother and Hebrew sister? Return to the Most High and turn away from the Greek mindset that the world has given you! https://youtu.be/nxPjfQpKdtE
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)