This book is by the founder and administrator of the "Ancient Hebrew Research Center". While we are all familiar with the names of God as found in the English Bible and we have our idea of what they mean, this book will show how the ancient Hebrews who wrote the Bible understood the names of God in their own language. An eye opening book that will cause you to see the Bible in a new light.

An indepth look at the names of God as understood by the ancient Hebrews whose writings in the Bible are filled with vivid images of God lost through translation and culture.

When we read an English translation of the Bible we define the words within it according to our modern vocabulary allowing our culture and language to influence how we read and interpret the Bible. The Bible was written by ancient Hebrews whose culture and language was very different from our own and must be read and interpreted through their eyes. When we define the names of God using our culture and language we lose the Hebraic meanings behind the original Hebrew names of God. Consequently the true nature and character of God is hidden behind the veil of time and culture. By understanding the various names of God through the vocabulary and language of the ancient Hebrews, the nature and character of God is revealed to us in a new light. The prophet Zechariah described the character of God with the words "sh'mo ehhad" translated as His Name is One (Zechariah 14:9). This phrase beautifully describes the character of God from a Hebraic perspective that is lost to us through translation and unfamiliarity with ancient Hebrew culture.

Introduction: Eastern and Western Culture; Biblical Interpretation
Chapter 1 - Name: Biblical Names; Root System of Words; Breath; Skes; Dry Wind; Shem; Names and Titles; Prayer
Chapter 2 - One: Hhad; Riddle; Unity
Chapter 3 - His name is One
Chapter 4 - God: Abstract vs. concrete thought; El; Eloah; Elohiym; The Yoke of Jesus
Chapter 5 - El Shaddai: Translations; Mother
Chapter 6 - Yahweh: History; Pronunciation; Jehovah; Meaning
Chapter 7 - Lord: The Lord gives names
Chapter 8 - Angel: The Angel leads Israel; The Angel of the Lord
Chapter 9 - King: Covenant; Keeping Covenant; Breaking Covenant; Servants
Chapter 10 - Father: Action words; Son; The Teachings; Love
Chapter 11 - Savior: Delight; Cry out; Salvation; Savior; Jesus; Command
Chapter 12 - Shepherd: Gathering the flock; Yeshua and his Assembly; Discipline
Chapter 13 - Creator:
Chapter 14 - Jealous: Nest; Builder; Guard
Chapter 15 - Everlasting:
Chapter 16 - Holy:
Conclusion: The filling of man; Yeshua; The character of God in man
Appendix A - Hebrew Alphabet:
Bibliography

Jeff Benner has had a long interest in the Hebrew language of the Bible and in 1996 he began researching the ancient pictographic alphabet used by the Hebrew people and other Semitic tribes. He has made many significant discoveries linking the ancient Hebrew culture with the ancient Hebrew language and alphabet. In 1999 Mr. Benner founded the "Ancient Hebrew Research Center" to research and teach Biblical understanding through the alphabet and language to those with little or no Hebrew background. Mr. Benner's current project is the Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible. This Lexicon defines Hebrew words of the Bible according to their cultural context revealing the original Hebraic meanings of Biblical passages and words.

Nancy Schaaf of Louisania, USA
I love this little book. It is most wonderful . It is very informative causing a heart to search even more. This little book has been so helpful in my research and is a gift of revelation to those who read it and continue to love and seek after and search out truth from the beginning to the end. May Yahweh continue to Bless Jeff A Benner and His Family. Thanks for being faithful to you call.

M. Wright of New York, USA
This book penetrates the heart. I enjoyed reading it and I am going to re-read it again and again. I would recommend that everyone read it and let the Ruach Kodesh [Holy Spirit] work in their heart.

JoAnn Thynes of Alaska, USA<
This was my first exposure to word studies from this perspective. I was excited at the idea of praying "in Jesus character" and did not know whether to laugh in embarrassment or cry for joy at the picture of Almighty. Whether I actually master reading the OT in Hebrew or not, this type of revelation is my goal. I showed the book to our pastor and he wanted his own copy. Thanks again.

Chapter 1 - Name

Your name O LORD is forever, your fame O LORD is for generation after generation. Psalms 135:13

Biblical Names

In our modern culture a name is nothing more than an identifier, usually chosen by our parents because they like the sound of the name or it is the name of a favorite relative or ancestor. This is not true of the ancient cultures, such as the Hebrews, where a name was a representation of whom the individual was, based on his character and function.

One of the major differences between our Western culture and the Eastern culture of the ancient Hebrews is how someone or something is described. The Hebrew was not so concerned with the appearance of someone or something, as he was with its function. A Western mind would describe a common pencil according to its appearance, something like; "it is yellow and about eight inches long". An Eastern mind describes the same pencil according to its function, something like; "I write and erase words with it". Notice that the Eastern description uses the verbs "write" and "erase", while the Western description uses the adjectives "yellow" and "long". Because of Hebrew's form of functional descriptions, verbs are used much more frequently then adjectives in the Bible.

A good example of the Hebrew language's functional descriptions can be found in the word "ayil". This word, depending on the translation, is shown as an oak tree, ram, mighty men or a post as can be seen in the following verses from the King James Version.

"And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son." Genesis 22:13 (KJV)

"He made also posts of three-score cubits, even unto the post of the court round about the gate." Ezekiel 40:14 (KJV)

"For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired, and ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen." Isaiah 1:29 (KJV)

"Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed; the mighty men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them; all the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away." Exodus 15:15 (KJV)

The original meaning of the word "ayil" is a "strong leader". An oak tree is the hardest and strongest of the woods in the forest, the ram is the strong leader among the flock. A post is the strong upright pillar that supports the structure. The mighty men are the strong leaders of the community. The translators have taken the above passages, originally written from an Eastern perspective, and altered the original meaning in order for the text to make sense to a Western reader. Because of the many different ways the Eastern texts can be translated, differences in translations often occur. Psalms 29:9 includes the Hebrew word "ayalah", the feminine form of "ayil", and is translated two different ways in two common translations.

"The voice of the LORD makes the deer to calve". (NASB)

"The voice of the LORD twists the oaks". (NIV)

While our Western mind sees no similarity between a deer and an oak, and would never describe them in the same way, the Hebrew's Eastern mind sees them as identical, both being functionally the same as "strong leaders". A more literal rendering of this verse in Hebrew thought would be:

"The voice of the LORD makes the strong leaders twist".

When reading the Bible, the reader will become more aware of the meaning of a text if he remembers to look for the function of a particular object or the role of an individual, rather than its appearance. To illustrate this important aspect, let us look at the "ark" of Noah and its description as found in Genesis 6:15.

"And this is how you are to make the ark, three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high".

Our Western mind immediately begins to paint a picture of what the ark looks like based on the dimensions provided in the passage. If this was the author's intention, he did a poor job, as the description provided simply describes a long box and does not inform the reader of what the ark "looks" like. When we remember that the Hebrew author is attempting to describe the "function" of the ark we find that he is informing the reader of its immense size, as the "function" of the ark is to hold a very large number of animals.

Hebrew names have meanings that are lost when translated into English. The Hebrew word "adam" means "man" and is also the name of the first man, Adam.

"The LORD God formed the man (adam) from the dust of the ground". Genesis 2.7

English translations completely erase the Hebraic connection between the "man" and his origin. When we place the original Hebrew words back into the text, we can see the connection between the words in the verse.

"And the LORD formed the adam from the dust of adamah (ground)".

Below are a few other examples of the relationship between an individual's name and his function or role.

"And she bore Cain and she said I have cain (acquired) a man". Genesis 4:1

"And she bore a son and called his name Seth because God seth (placed) a seed to replace Abel". Genesis 4:25

"And he called his name Noah saying he will noah (comfort) us". Genesis 5:29

"And to Eber were born two sons, the name of one is Peleg because in his days the land was peleg (divided)". Genesis 10.25

Because Bible translations transliterate a name, such as "noach" into "Noah" and translate, into English, the same word "noach" into "comfort", the translation converts the meaning and essence of the name into simple "identifiers". As we shall see through this book, the nature and character of God is found within his names, which are lost in our translations and Western view of scripture. ........