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