Issue Index
Word of the Month - דעת (da'at - Knowledge)
By: Jeff A. Benner
Proverbs 2:6 (RSV) For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding
In last months issue we examined the connection between wisdom, knowledge and understanding and how they come from the "Spirit of the Lord" and the "Fear of the Lord." Two months ago we examined the word "wisdom," in this issue we will examine knowledge and in next months issue we will examine understanding, all from ancient Hebrew perspective.
The Hebrew word for knowledge is דעת (da'at), a noun derived from the verb ידע (yada) meaning "to know." The idea of "knowing" in Ancient Hebrew thought is similar to our understanding of knowing but is more personal and intimate. We may say that we "know" someone but simply mean we "know" of his or her existence but, in Hebrew thought one can only "know" someone if they have a personal and intimate relationship. In Genesis 18:19 God says about Abraham "I know him" meaning he has a very close relationship with Abraham. In Genesis 4:1 it says that Adam "knew Eve his wife" implying a very intimate sexual relationship.
Knowledge is the intimate ability to perform a specific task or function. This can be seen in Exodus chapter 31 where God had given men the ability to build the various furnishings of the tabernacle.
Name of the Month - שטן (Satan)
By: Jeff A. Benner
The Hebrew word "satan" means "adversary" as one who stands against another as seen in 1 Kings 11:14.
(RSV) And the LORD raised up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite; he was of the royal house in Edom.
At other times this name is translated as a proper name such as in the book of Job.
(RSV) Job 1:6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.
The Hebrew for Satan is השטן (hasatan). The prefix ה (ha) means "the" which identifies the noun שטן (satan) is a noun and not a proper name and should therefore be translated as "the adversary." However, there is one verse where the word satan could be translated as a proper name.
(RSV) 1 Chronicles 21:1 Satan stood up against Israel, and incited David to number Israel.
In this verse the word satan does not include the prefix "ha" and could be translated as a proper name but upon further investigation we find that this verse is also recorded in 2 Samuel 24:1 where the "adversary" is identified as Yahweh.
(RSV) Again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, "Go, number Israel and Judah."
Question of the Month - Final Letters
By: Jeff A. Benner
Q: Did the Ancient Hebrews study science?
A:
Yes and no. As agriculturalists and nomads many aspects of science are studied when related to crops, weather, seasons, biology, and husbandry. Even geometry and mathematics are applied through some aspects of their life. For instance, a flint rock must be struck at a 120 degree angle in order to flake off flakes for making knives, spears and arrowheads. However, there are other aspects of science that would not be pursued by the Ancient Hebrews. Because the Ancient Hebrew mind only focuses on what is perceived by the five senses, there is no search for the unknown. Questions like "Where does matter comes from" and "What is beyond the stars" are common Greek type questions but not Hebraic.
Verse of the Month - Exodus 20:4
By: Jeff A. Benner
This is an ongoing look at the 20th chapter of Exodus. Last month we did verse 1. Verse 2 and verse 3 have previously been done and we are now going to look at verse 4.
לא
תעשה
לך
פסל
וכל
תמונה
אשר
בשמים
ממעל
ואשר
בארץ
מתחת
ואשר
במים
מתחת
לארץ
You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth (RSV)
לא (lo)
Negates the action of the following verb - no or not.
תעשה (ta-a-seh)
The base word is עשה (a-sah), a common verb meaning to "do" often in the context of to "make." The prefix ת (ta) identifies the subject of the verb as second person, masculine, singualar and the tense of the verb as imperfect. This word would be translated as "you will do" or "you will make." Because of the word לא preceding this verb it would be translated as "you will not do," or "you will not make."
לך (le-kha)
The ל (le) is the prefix meaning "to" or "for." The ך (kha) is the suffix meaning "you." Combined these meaning "to you" or "for you."
פסל (pe-sel)
This noun is derived from the verb pasal (same spelling) meaning to "hew" in the sense cutting and carving to create a shape. This noun is what is carved into shape or an idol.
וכל (ve-khol)
The word כל (khol) means "all." The prefix ו (ve) means "and."
תמונה (te-mu-nah)
This noun means a "representation," something that resembles something else.
אשר (a-sher)
This word means "which" or "who."
בשמים (ba-sha-ma-yim)
The noun שמים (sha-ma-yim) means "skies." The prefix ב (ba) means "in the" or "with the."
ממעל (me-ma-al)
The base word מעל (ma-al) is a noun meaning "above," "on top" or "upper." The prefix מ (me) means "from."
ואשר (va-a-sher)
The word אשר (a-sher) means "which" or "who." The prefix ו (va) means "and."
בארץ (ba-a-rets)
The word ארץ (e-rets) means "land." The prefix ב (ba) means "in the" or "with the."
מתחת (me-ta-hhat)
The base word תחת (ta-hhat) is a noun meaning "under," "below" or "lower." The prefix מ (me) means "from."
ואשר (va-a-sher)
The word אשר (a-sher) means "which" or "who." The prefix ו (va) means "and."
במים (ba-ma-yim)
The noun מים (ma-yim) means "water." The prefix ב (ba) means "in the" or "with the."
מתחת (me-ta-hhat)
The base word תחת (ta-hhat) is a noun meaning "under," "below" or "lower." The prefix מ (me) means "from."
לארץ (la-a-rets)
The word ארץ (e-rets) means "land." The prefix ל (la) means "to the" or "for the."
The following is a literal rendering of this verse from its Hebraic meaning.
You will not make for yourself a carved idol and all representations which are above the skies and which are under the land and which are under the water below the land
In following issues we will continue with this chapter.
Mechanical Translation Excerpt - Genesis 11:1-9
For details on this new translation see the MTHB web site.
1 and all the land existed as one lip and units of words 2 and it came to pass in their journey from the east and they found a level valley in the land of Shinar and they settled there 3 and they said each to his companion, supply, we will make bricks and we will greatly cremate and the brick existed to them for stone and the tar was to them for mortar 4 and they said, supply, we will build for us a city and a tower and his head will be in the sky and we will make for us a character otherwise we will scatter abroad upon the face of all the land 5 and YHWH went down to see the city and the tower which the sons of the human built 6 and YHWH said though the people are a unit and one lip for all of them and this is what they will pierce to do and now nothing will be fenced in from them, all which they will plot to do 7 supply, we will go down and we will mix there their lip that they will not listen to each lip of his companion 8 and YHWH scattered them abroad from there upon the face of all the land and they terminated to build the city 9 therefore he called out her character Bavel given that there YHWH mixed the lip of all the land and from there YHWH made them scatter abroad upon the face of all the land
AHRC Web Site Excerpt - Righteous
What is a righteous person? The word righteous is an abstract word and in order to understand this word from an Hebraic mindset we must uncover its original concrete meaning. One of the best ways to determine the original concrete meaning of a word is to find it being used in a sentence where its concrete meaning can be seen. For example the word yashar is usually translated as upright or righteous (abstracts) but is also translated as "straight". From this we can conclude that a "yashar" is one who walks a straight line. The problem with the word tsadiyq, and its verb form tsadaq, is that there are no uses of this word in its concrete meaning. The next method is to compare how the word in question is paralleled with other Hebrew words as commonly found in the poetical passages of the Bible. Sometimes these parallels will be synonyms and other times antonyms. When we look at the word tsadiyq we find that it is commonly paralleled with the word "rasha". Rasha is usually translated as "wicked" but has a concrete meaning of "to depart from the path and become lost". From this we can conclude that a tsadiyq is one who remains of the path. The path is the course through life which God has outlined for us in his word.
This entry is part of the Ancient Hebrew word studies found at the AHRC Web Site
Donnee's Corner -    (Nagash)
By: Donnee
Donnee’s Corner is a feature of the Ancient Hebrew Research Center’s e-zine. This column will review a word, its meanings, and usage to verify by research. This column will start by a in-depth look at a featured hebrew word followed by various tools to deepen understanding. As well as e-Sword formatting in order to clip and paste into e-Sword, enabling the mouse-over advantages of e-Sword. These various tools will follow the review in order to assist in your research of Ancient Hebrew.
The word, (nagash) "CONTINUES" at the beginning of this root with the letter (nun), a picture of the "seed". It moves - , along on the "LEG/FOOT" driven by the "walking" of the “gamel”. The (shin) is the "two teeth" to "CHEW" propelling by "PARTICIPATE/INVOLVED". Context's continues as "DIRECTLY INVOLVED by MOVING the CONTINUANCE". Equaling "DRAW NEAR" as seen here:
Gen 18:23 And Abraham85 drew near,5066 and said,559 Wilt thou also637 destroy5595 the righteous6662 with5973 the wicked?7563 .(KJV w/Strong's no.)
Isa 49:20 The children of your bereavement shall yet say in your ears, The place is too small for me; give place to me that I may dwell. (HNV)
Mal 2:12 If a man does this and presents an offering to ADONAI-Tzva'ot, may ADONAI cut him off from the tents of Ya'akov, whether initiator or follower. (CJB)
Amo 5:25 Did ye bring unto Me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel? (JPS)
Exo 20:21 And the people stood from a distance, and Moses went near the thick darkness where God was. (LITV)
Participating to walk by consistency will find oneself near. Would like to conclude by having the readers move around the words used for nagash in the translations above. Have found it to be quite helpful and informative.
Strong's Definition: H5066 A primitive root; to be or come (causatively bring) near (for any purpose); euphemistically to lie with a woman; as an enemy, to attack; religiously to worship; causatively to present; figuratively to adduce an argument; by reversal, to stand back: - (make to) approach (nigh), bring (forth, hither, near), (cause to) come (higher, near, nigh), give place, go hard (up), (be, draw, go) near (nigh), offer, overtake, present, put, stand.
BDB Definition: 1) to draw near, approach 1a) (Qal) to draw or come near 1a1) of humans 1a1a) of sexual intercourse 1a2) of inanimate subject 1a2a) to approach one another 1b) (Niphal) to draw near 1c) (Hiphil) to cause to approach, bring near, bring 1d) (Hophal) to be brought near 1e) (Hithpael) to draw near
Part of Speech: Verb
Same Word by TWOT Number: 1297
AHLB Definition: #2379) ac: Near co:? ab:? V) Come near: [freq. 125] (vf: Paal, Niphal, Hiphil, Hophal) [kjv: near, come, nigh, bring, here, offer, approach, forth| {str: 5066}
Total KJV Occurrences: 187
For a list of occurrences for this word Click Here.
Mila Yomit (Daily Word) - השמים (HaShamayim)
By: Rabbi Itzchak
The following is Word is from an ongoing Hebrew word by Hebrew word cyber learning journey and is being presented to you here as an introduction. For additional information on the 'MILA YOMIT: The Torah, Word By Word' and its author, Rabbi Itzchak Marmorstein, click here. To receive more of these, please contact Rabbi Itzchak.
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MEANING: The Heavens
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OTIOT-Letters
ה HEH (E)- the, definite article preceding noun, "The definite article Ha, the, preceding heaven and earth indicates that the heaven and earth created on the first day are 'the' heaven and 'the' earth in their present forms - the heavens with their constellations, and the earth with its fruit yielding potential." (Malbim, quoted in Artscroll)
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ש SHIN (S)- connoting dissonance-'the shin hisses' (yetzira)-corresponding to bina-understanding
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מ MEM(M)-connoting the harmonic- 'mem hums'(Sefer Yetzira)-corresponding to Chachma-wisdom -the oscillation between Shin and Mem is one of the primary meditation practices of Sefer Yetzira.
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י YOD (I)-The Divine Spark
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ם MEM Sofit-Final (M)
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WORDS CONTAINED WITHIN
שם SheM-name (also ,sh HaSheM- the Name)
שם ShaM-there (as in over there)
-connected to root , שום SOOM-To direct, set in place-
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מים MayIM-water:- Yod surrounded by Mem on both sides. Mem which represents water has a numeric of 40. Forty seah's-cubits of water to make a mikvah-ritual bath, 40 weeks of gestation in amniotic fluid, 40 days of the flood, 40 years of wandering in desert -the lack of water)
מים MayIM can be broken down to מ ים -Me YaM-From The Sea.
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שמים ShaMayIM- means sky and/ or heaven. Can be read as שם ים -ShaM-IM- the word 'there' pluralized (ים -yod, mem- at the end of a word pluralizes it). The 'theres'- all that has turned 'into out there.' All the extra terrestrial worlds, "water below the (rakiah) sky and water above the sky" (Gen. 6:7)
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The Malbim (Rabbi Meir Lieibush-Biblical commentator, 1809-1879) relates this to the division between two similar substances, water below is liquid, water above is vapour)
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Talmud reads it as the merging of two words (overlapping the first MEM)
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שם מים SheM MayIM- the name is water
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שם מים ShaM MayIM- there are the waters
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שם ים Sham Yam-there the ocean
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R. Kaplan connects it to שמם ShaMaM-; to be desolate, deserted, depopulated, empty, astonished
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ש מים Sheh -that is -MayIM- water
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Also read Talmudically as compound of אש ומים -ESHooMayIM"- fire and water. Not a bad simplification of the physics of what's happening out there.
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CONCEPTUAL MEANING
שם ShaM- Out there is that which sustains us, the great mystery of the waters above us has always engaged our sense of wonder. These huge expanses that seem to stretch forever. Our investigation has brought us some understanding of the fires that are always burning in the stars. We know that explosions far, far away in the universe are sending us their emanations, their particles. These are carried through the heavenly waters and enter our lower waters. They nurture us, seed us, enabling life to occur. (If we don't ruin the protective filter that protects us.) Our lives are sustained by this flow that surrounds us. We are משתומם MIShtoMeM- astonished when we contemplate the vastness of the heavenly bodies.
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HASHAMAYIM
From the Infinite the finite begins to emerge, first placing there the birthing waters of existence.
All that is will be born and sustained in this life giving vessel. All that is out there-Sham, all the Yoods that fill the expanses enable us and define us.
The YOD is the seed that fills the Mem - the water above and below. These life sustaining waters that make it possible for dry inanimate matter to sprout life.
The handiwork of ELOHIM has begun to take material form.
Editorials
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