Definitions from Post 12, Levels of Meaning,
Peshat ➔ Simple, straightforward; Remez ➔ Hint; Deresh/Drash ➔ Seek, inquire, examine; Sohd/Sod ➔ Secret or confidential counsel
I encourage you to go back to that Post to get a better background. But I also felt now was a time for an update, based upon my more recent learning. Notice Post 12 was uploaded three years ago, and was mostly written the year before that, with some updates at the time of posting.
Peshat
p.209 פשת pluck
CM פשת remove (B47) – פשט remove
Though Remez is with zed/zayin, and there is no רמז in Scripture, a cognate (which reflects perfectly its nature!) ➔
p245 רמשׂ tread softly
CM רמשׂ step upon (E89) – רמס trample
Deresh/Drash
p.53 דרש seek thoroughly
CM דרש penetrate (D38) – תרז root deeply; תרש search; דרס trample
Sohd/Sod
p.168 סוד secret information
GV p.167 סדד impede [movement]; p.167 סדה produce [crops for sustenance]; p.168 סודsecret [information]; p.105 יסד found [establish]
CM סדד impact negatively; harm (E38); סדה search for sustenance (E39); סוד act surreptitiously/openly (E4); יסד prepare and strengthen (C55)
(E4) – שוד harm; שׂוד cover; זוד plan evil; צוד trap; סות ensnare; זות flow; זבד apportion; שפט judge; צפט measure; צפד attach
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Now a short sidestep to talk about Egyptian hieroglyphs, to get your mind thinking about some of the origins of languages, which will lead to discussion of the Hebrew AlephBet. Two caveats. First, though informative, it is an advertisement to buy something. I am by no means endorsing anything. I share it only for the background it shares. But even more serious, note how it talks about how the images were painstakingly drawn on the walls of temples. Read chapter eight of Ezekiel to get an interesting view of images on the walls in the secret chambers of the elders at the Temple of Israel. See ◉ near the bottom for more about the Ezekiel eight perspective.
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From Jeff Benner’s work:
(Apologies for the highlight. I have tried, but cannot delete it.)
The PaRDeS levels may be seen to apply to the Hebrew letters themselves (this, as far as I know, is original here, so as you read on in the next weeks, ponder whether it seems to be reflecting truth. Do not take my word for it):
P ➡︎ Each letter was a picture/symbol representing an object (animal, body part, something familiar in their life)
R ➡︎ Each letter had a name שם: a sound, how it was spoken, what it was called, which became a symbol for communication
D ➡︎ Each letter’s name represents its nature, purpose, or character (Gn2:19; Gn29:32-35) – name is “called,” קרא in 2:19. Its nature is clarified when combined with other letters (set in place) making a word, takes on “shared meanings”
S ➡︎ Letters combined into words demonstrate the “shared meanings,” and words share meaning with members of the same family (variants), and with similar sounds in similar words (cognates), and even if the order is different (p.299 “In addition, words that contain similar consonants have similar meanings irrespective of the order of the consonants”)
Genesis 2:19
19 Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.
Gn2:19 יקרא call
p.232 קרא summon; cause change in direction
GV p.234 קרר cool; p.233 קרה occur [meet without prior intent]; p.232 קרא summon [cause change in direction]; p.226 קור dig [for source and connection]; p.227 קיר limit [space]; p.109 יקר value; p.162 נקר penetrate
CM קרר encircle (C43); קרה and קרא limit activity (C40); קור cover/uncover (C7); (קיר no cognates); יקר express concern (C48); נקר separate (D72)
Gn2:19 שמו its name
GV p.264 שׁמם desolate [lay waste]; p.278 שׂמם contract [make small]; p.264 שׁמה identify; p.258 שׁום place [arrange]; p.275 שׂום place [set down]; p.112 ישׂם place; p.163 נשׁם breathe [move air]
DV אשם – p.264 שׁמם desolate [lay waste] > p.18 אשם destroy inner self; self-destruct
DV שׁהם – p.264 שׁמה identify; p.258 שׁום place [arrange] > p.256 שׁהם identify
CM שמם and שׂמם combine/separate small units (E22); שמה satisfy need (E21); שׁום and שׂום place (E53); ישׂם maximize/minimize (C21); נשם move (D83); אשם hold back (A48); שׁהם impact positively/negatively (E9)
Naming is important, in life and in Scripture. Words/names have power. They may reflect what is seen in something’s/someone’s character or nature, or they may bring it about. And, as we have seen many times, they may go in more positive or more negative direction. After the naming, nurturing is required to help guide the direction. קרא is a summon, also a cause for a change in direction. Calling negatively (“name-calling”) can definitely cause a change in a negative direction.
We will use this short review of PaRDeS in some of the upcoming entries. We have focused a lot lately on the meaning of the individual letters, which is very important. And you can see how the letters fit into the pattern of all things. (See Post 14. Synthetic Grasp of Life, especially the discussion on “strange attractors” and fractals.)
◉ Some additional thoughts relative to Ezekiel 8:
It seems again partly to be about a people who easily go astray without good leadership, and about would-be-leaders who are not leading in a Godly manner.
Witness 1: See Exodus 8:22, 9:14, 9:29, 14:4 re: part of the purpose of the plagues, which is so that both Pharaoh and the Egyptians will know that the LORD (יהוה) is God, and there is none like the LORD (יהוה). The message is to the leader, but also the followers.
Witness 2: God is not concerned about the “gods who are no gods” in and of themselves, for they are nothing to God. God is concerned for the people.
Deuteronomy 32:15-18; Isaiah 37:18-20; Jeremiah 2:11, 5:7.
Witness 3: God’s concern about “leaders” who lead astray. Jeremiah 23:32; Micah 3:5. And you may want to explore the “lead astray” passages in Matthew 24 and Mark 13.
Witness 4: Context within Ezekiel 8
The elders are theoretically the spiritual leaders of the people. But everywhere at the Temple, God’s messenger points out to Ezekiel that this is not God’s leadership. Both in the open and in secret, the ones who should be Godly influence are focused on their own agendas, their own needs. And the people are following.
We see God’s concern about leadership and once again, “influence.”
(This was not a new problem, but a recurring one. See Judges 17:6 and 21:25.)
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