• Is the Hebrew word "Torah" encoded in all five books of the Torah?
• Is there a gap of time between Genesis 1:1 and 2?
• What is the best Translation of the Bible?
• Do I need to know Hebrew to be able to read the Bible correctly?
• Are there two different creation stories in Genesis one and two?
• Did God create evil?
• Does the English translation of the Bible accurately reflect the Hebrew?
• What are the Hebrew names for the books of the Torah (Pentetuch)?
• Has archeology proven the existence of Biblical Characters?
• Which book of the Bible is the oldest book?
• Who wrote the Torah (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible)?
• Are there multiple authors of the Torah?

The "Bible Codes" is a theory that special words and phrases have been "encoded" in the Biblical text proving a divine authorship of the Bible. While it is not our position to accept or deny this theory, there are some very interesting "codes" present in the text, either by accident or by design. One of the most famous is the word תורה (Torah) found in the Torah (the first five books of the Bible). Beginning with the first ת (T) in Genesis and counting every 50 letters you find the word Torah spelled out. The same is true in Exodus. However in the book of Numbers the word Torah is written backwards, the same is true for deuteronomy except in this case the sequence begins in verse 5 and at an interval of 49 letters instead of 50. The Torah sequence is not found in Leviticus but instead the Hebrew word יהוה (YHWH/Yahweh) is found at intervals of seven. It has been proposed that this code shows the Torah pointing to Yahweh;

The idea of the "Gap theory" is derived from the Hebrew wording of the beginning of verse 2 which could be translated as "and the earth became empty." With this wording some have proposed that something happened between verse 1 and verse 2 - the gap. In other words, God created the heavens and the earth (verse 1) and then there was a long span of time and the heavens and earth slipped into chaos (verse 2). I however, do not agree with this interpretation as I translate verse 1 and 2 as "in the summit Elohiym fattened (filled) the sky and the land because the land was empty and unfilled." From this interpretation of the Hebrew Genesis 1:1 is not about the "creation" (A greek abstract concept) but about God filling up the sky and the land (verse 1) because it was empty and in confusion (verse 2). Also recognize that this "filling" is what much of chapter one is about, filling the sky, water and land with the sun, moon, stars, fish, birds, plants, animals and man.

This is probably the most common question we are asked. There really is no "best" translation just different kinds. Some translations attempt to translate each word accurately while others look to translate the meaning of a verse. There are also different translations from different religious groups. In many cases a Jewish translation is going to read very differently from a Christian translation. There are also some very good Messianic translations available as well. What we recommend is to compare three or more different translations from the three different religious groups. If each of the various translations appear to agree on how a verse should be translated then you can be pretty sure that it is a fair translation. However, if one or more have conflicting translations (and in some cases add or subtract complete phrases) then further investigation is warranted as there appears to be some religious or translational bias affecting how the verse is being translated.

One of the major problems with modern translations is that they translate an Ancient Hebrew text into a Modern Western text and much of the cultural perspective of the text is completely lost. Jeff A. Benner, the AHRC founder and administrator is working on a new and unique style of translation that will help one see the Hebrew and Hebrew perspective behind the English without knowing Hebrew. For more on this translation go to http://www.mechanical-translation.org.

Whenever a literary work is translated from one language to another a lot of the content will be, as the old saying goes, “lost in the translation.” There is no argument that reading any work in its original language will provide a better understanding of that text. For instance, to really understand the works of Martin Luther it is best to read it in German and the works of Plato in Greek. This also applies to the Hebrew text of the Bible. As an example, the Hebrew word shalom is translated as peace but this does not convey the true meaning of the Hebrew which is to be whole or complete. Another aspect that is often overlooked is the cultural perspective of words. For instance the word rain means one thing to a farmer but something very different for a person on vacation. The Ancient Hebrews lived in a nomadic culture which views the world very differently from the way we do in our modern western culture.

It should also be understood that learning Hebrew will not always bring out the original intended meaning of a word or phrase. The problem is that we think from a western perspective and this is also true for those who speak Hebrew today. If we learn Hebrew with a modern western flavor, then we are simply learning modern Hebrew and not Biblical Hebrew. For instance the word tsadiyq is usually understood as "righteous" as identified in all modern lexicons and dictionaries of the Biblical Hebrew language. While we are comfortable using abstracts in our modern western minds, the Ancient Hebrews always understood things through the concrete. The original concrete meaning of the word tsadiyq is "to remain on the correct path."

A good analogy to show the difference between reading the Bible in Hebrew, or from an Hebraic perspective verses in English, or from a modern Western perspective, is to compare it to a Ravioli dinner. Would you agree that the dining experience would be very different if you were taken to a five star restaurant for a Ravioli dinner verses being served a bowl of canned Raviolis from a microwave? In both instances you are eating a Ravioli dinner and both of them will provide you with sustenance but the dinner served at the restaurant will more than likely have better flavor, atmosphere and additional side dishes. Reading the Bible in Hebrew, or with an Hebraic perspective, will have a greater degree of flavor, atmosphere and additional insights that would be missing in English.

To be honest, I believe that many people refuse to accept the fact that the Bible reads more accurately in Hebrew because they do not know Hebrew and would therefore be admitting that they do not know their Bible effectively. Are we students, myself included? Yes, none of us have all the answers or complete knowledge and truth but a student strives to learn the subject matter as well as possible with what resources are available.

In summary, learning Hebrew will enhance one's understanding of the Biblical text but the Hebrew must be learned through the ancient Hebraic mind and not the modern Hebrew mind. In my opinion it is more important to understand Hebraic concepts and thought and read an English translation than it is to know Hebrew fluently but use modern western perspectives for Hebrew words.

What many are noticing about the sequence of events in creation is a very genuine question and often overlooked by many people. Many attempt to put the creation story into a chronological timeline. As Western Greco-Roman thinkers, this is very natural for us as we think in the sense of time, past present and future. The Hebrews did not think this way, time was irrelevent to them, they instead focused on action, no matter what the sequence of events were. The verb tenses in English and Hebrew will demonstrate this difference. While our verbs are all time based, past present and future, all hebrew verbs are action based; completed or incomplete action.

The days of creation do not follow a chronological order, in fact you will also notice that God separates light and darkness in day one, but in day 4 we read that he separates light and darkness again. Days 1 and 4 are actually the same day, where God separates light and darkness and fills the light with the sun and the darkness with the moon. Day 2 and 5 are the same, God separates water from sky and fills them with the fish and the birds. Day 3 and 6 are the same where the land is separated from the water and is filled with plants, animals and man. This does not imply that the world was created in three days for the text clearly states that it was created in six days, this is simply a poetic view of creation and not meant to be a scientific chronology of events.

The whole creation story is actually one story told several different times. Genesis 1:1-3 is one creation story and is repeated again through the rest of chapter one. Chapter two begins another account of the same story. This is common Hebrew poetry where one idea is expressed in two or more different ways. This type of poetry is found throughout the Bible.

For more on the poetry of Genesis One go to our Genesis one translation page.

The Hebrew word for evil in Isaiah 45:7 is "ra" and literally means "bad" and is used consistently as the opposite of "good" (tov in Hebrew). While this sounds odd to most christians, God did create bad as well as good. Our western perspective of good and bad is not the same as the eastern/Hebrew perspective. We see everything as good or bad, we desire good and reject bad. The eastern mind sees both as positive or negative. If your whole life was filled with good, you would never know it as you can only know good if it is contrasted with bad. If you love ice cream and were able to eat ice cream your whole life never tasting anything else, you would not know ice cream tasted good because you have never tasted anything bad. All things have a negative and a positive without and one cannot exist without the other. We usually see light as good and darkness as bad. But if I filled your room with pure light you would be blind, and if I filled your room with pure darkness you would again be blind. In order to see, you must have a balance between light and darkness. In order to have a healthy life you must have a balance between good and bad.

The Hebrews think differently than we do. One of the major differences is that we commonly think in abstract thoughts while the Hebrews commonly think in concrete thoughts. An abstract thought is a word that has no basis in something that can be seen, heard, smelled, felt or tasted. A concrete thought has a basis on something that can be perceived by the above listed five senses.

To demonstrate the differences we will look at two words from the English translation; "create" and "believe."

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1). The word "create" is usually understood as "to make something out of nothing." This concept is abstract and therefore a foreign concept to the ancient Hebrews. Just a few verses later we can easily see that this idea is wrong. In Genesis 1:26 it states that God "created" man but, according to Genesis 2:7 God did not "make man out of nothing" because it states that he "formed" the man out of the ground.

The Hebrew word translated as "create" is "bara." The more concrete understanding of this word can be found in 1 Samuel 2.29. "Why do you scorn my sacrifice and offering that I prescribed for my dwelling? Why do you honor your sons more than me by fattening yourselves on the choice parts of every offering made by my people Israel?' " The word "fattening" is the same word "bara" as found in Genesis 1:1. The word "bara" means "to fatten up" or "to fill up" and is the authors intent in Genesis chapter one as this is what the chapter is about. God filled the light and darkness (separated out on day one) with the sun and the moon (filled on day four). He filled the water and the sky (separated out on day two) with the fish and the birds (filled on day five). He filled the land (separated out of the water on day three) with animals (filled on day six). Also notice the parallels, a Hebrew form of poetry; 1=4, 2=5 and 3=6.

A more Hebraic translation of Genesis 1:1 would be "In the beginning God filled the skies and the land."

"And Abraham believed God" (Genesis 15:6). The word "believe" implies the meaning of "to know something to be true" and this verse is usually understood as "And Abraham knew God would do what he said he will do." This interpretation conveys the idea that God is the one with the responsibility to perform something while Abraham is simply an observer. The Hebrew word translated as "believe" is "aman" and can better be understood from the following verse. "I will drive him like a peg into a firm place, he will be a seat of honor for the house of his father." (Isaiah 22:23). In this sentence the word "firm," a place of support, is the Hebrew word "aman" and would be better translated as "support" instead of "believe."

If my friend is running for Mayor and I say "I believe him," I am implying that I know he will do what he says. But, if I say "I support him," I am now saying that I will do something to help him. Looking at our original verse from an Hebraic point of view we can now read it as "And Abraham supported God." This now shifts the responsibility to perform something from God to Abraham.

As you can see, the English words used to translate the Hebrew can often bring about a wrong interpretation of the verse. Hence, it is necessary to view words from their Hebraic perspective rather than from our own western perspective.

Most people are familiar with the common names of the first five books of the Bible; Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. These names were given from the Greek language based on what the book is about. Genesis means "origins," Exodus means "coming out," Leviticus means "Levites," Numbers means "numbering," and Deuteronomy means "second law." The Hebrew names for these use the first word (or first major word) of that book. They are Bereshiyt meaning "in the beginning," Shemot meaning "names," Vayikra meaning "and he called," Bemindvar meaning "in the wilderness" and Devariym meaning "words."

Many ancient inscriptions have been discovered that identify many of the key figures in the Biblical text. The Tell Dan Insciption mentions King David, the Temple ostraca mentions the Temple of YHWH and the seal of Baruch, the scribe of Jeremiah has also been found.

The books of the Bible are not arranged in a chronological order. The books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy are, by tradition, believed to be written by Moses and are usually believed to be the oldest books of the Bible. But this is not the case. The book of Job is the oldest book, some even believing it was originally written before the flood. The most compelling evidence for the antiquity of the book of job is its use of Hebrew words. In many cases the more ancient, concrete meaning of a word is found in the book of Job. As an example the Hebrew word "pachad" is used to mean fear or awe, an abstract concept, but is used in its concrete form only in Job 4:14 - "dread came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones shake."

No where in scripture does it say that Moses wrote the entire Torah, this is only a tradition. However, Joshua (Joshua 8:34,35) and Yeshua (John 5:46) did confirm that he did write at least in part, but we are not told specifically what he did write. Therefore, we can prove from the text that Moses did write at least portions of the Torah.

We also know that portions of the Torah were written by someone other than Moses (Genesis 35:19, Genesis 36:31, Deuteronomy 34:7-12 ), but we do not know how much was written by someone other than Moses. In addition, when we examine the styles of writing in the Hebrew we do find that there are multiple styles of writing indicating that there are multiple authors.

We all speak and write differently and the styles of writing can be compared to determine the authors of different texts. As an example from English, one might say "I talked to mom," while another person might say "I spoke to my mother." We can easily see that these are from two different people. We frequently see the same thing in the Torah. For instance, in Numbers 21:16 we read àîø éäåä ìîùä (amar yhwh l'mosheh) which means "Yahweh said to Moses." But in Exodus 4:30 we find the phrase ãáø éäåä àì îùä (diber yhwh el mosheh) which means "Yahweh spoke unto Moses." These differences in writing style are found throughout the text. In fact, we can even see the writing of one person throughout the text that is intermixed with the styles of writing from another person. This is the result of what is called the "Redactor." This person took the different writings from different people and mixed them together to create one account.

Here is a story similar to what we find in the Torah. The first story is written by "John" (red).

In the morning Fred drove to work.
He stopped at the coffee shop for an espresso.
When he arrived at work he began to work on his projects.

The second story is by "Jim" (blue) who is telling the same story from his perspective.

Fred went to work early to get a coffee.
When Fred got to work he attended a meeting.
Fred drank his coffee while working the project.

Then "Bill" (Green), who is the redactor, combines the two stories to make one story.

In the morning Fred drove to work.
He left early to get a coffee.
He stopped at the coffee shop for an espresso.
When Fred got to work he attended a meeting.
Then he began to work on his projects.
Fred drank his coffee while working the project.

Notice that the two stories are very similar, but they have differences, and these differences can be seen in the redacted story. For instance, John uses the word "espresso," while Jim uses the word "coffee." John mentions Fred's "projects," but Jim mentions a "project." Jim mentions a "meeting," but John doesn't.