((More than likely the messiah discussion will pick up later. The current series is an important background piece before continuing.))
I anticipate this to be a three- or four-part series of entries, but my plans are often redirected. I will begin here with perhaps the most allegorical piece that may capture your interest. But in following parts, I will show some of the background work that led me here. The eventual hope is that it will change your way of thinking about life. It certainly has mine. In the series we will be looking a lot at the word whose interpretation I have been challenging for a long time, כל “all, every, each,” and at עת“time,” at Solomon’s writings, and at the first couple of chapters of the Bible. Hopefully, once we have finished the series, it will become clear, the interconnections, and why I begin with calling it The Dance.
First, look at this YouTube video. When this song first aired in 1989, it sold 11,580,000 copies and was one of the top selling songs of the year. Likely most people see the song as a description of a relationship between a man and a woman. However, I want to ask you to expand your perspective. When the song says “Holding you, I held everything; for a moment, wasn’t I the king?” consider “you” to be any person, object, profession, position or belief that you cleave to… anything for which we have been striving. That will be the introduction to what is to come.
⦁ The Dance
- Garth Brooks
Looking back
On the memory of
The dance we shared
‘Neath the stars above
For a moment
All the world was right
But how could I have known
That you’d ever say goodbye
And now I’m glad I didn’t know
The way it all would end
The way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance
I could have missed the pain
But I’d have had to miss the dance
Holding you
I held everything
For a moment
Wasn’t I the king?
If I’d only known
How the king would fall
Hey, who’s to say
You know I might have changed it all
And now I’m glad I didn’t know
The way it all would end
The way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance
I could have missed the pain
But I’d have had to miss the dance
It’s my life, it’s better left to chance
I could have missed the pain
But I’d have had to miss the (dance)
- Source: Musixmatch
- Songwriters: Tony Arata
- The Dance lyrics © Emi April Music Inc., Emi April Music Inc, Morganactive Songs, Inc., Morganactive Songs Inc.
- See those words, “It’s my life,” third line from bottom.
To immediately draw a Biblical connection, see The Dance in Job’s statement:
⦁ Job 1:20-22 NKJV
20 Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. 21 And he said:
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
And naked shall I return there.
The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away;
Blessed be the name of the LORD.”
22 In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.
- The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. This, in essence, is “The Dance.” And strive often do we to “miss the pain,” but in so doing we make a choice to “miss The Dance.” It is The Dance through which we live and grow in our primary purpose, to draw closer to God. We will explain, “in time.”
Next, just a few words about Solomon/Shlomo and his writings. We are told he was the wisest man that ever lived. (1K4:29-34 – please read) We have also shared here previously his many failings. He is the author of the Song of Songs (sometimes known as Song of Solomon), most of the Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes, and some Psalms. He is not only a very skilled poet, but teaches both much about life and about the Hebrew language in his writings. Also many of his themes are shared by the Teacher in the Greek Testament. According to the book Bible Overview, by Rose Publishing, Peabody, MA, October 8, 2012, Song of Songs was written c. 965 BCE; Proverbs c. 950-700 BCE; Ecclesiastes c. 935 BCE. Solomon’s birth year is estimated at about 1010 BCE. If this is accurate, Ecclesiastes was written as a later-in-life document with many years of experience behind him.
- Photos without attribution are taken by this writer.
Let us begin the journey by connecting these two aspects, the wisdom and writing of Solomon and The Dance, רקד, and of course, we will include some of our recent methodology because Solomon is truly the master wordsmith. Here we share a very familiar passage made popular in a song by the Byrds in 1965, Turn, Turn, Turn (songwriter Pete Seeger). As usual, first the NKJV version:
- I’ve bolded “dance.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 NKJV
1 To everything (there is) a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven:
2 A time to be born,
And a time to die;
A time to plant,
And a time to pluck (what is) planted;
3 A time to kill,
And a time to heal;
A time to break down,
And a time to build up;
4 A time to weep,
And a time to laugh;
A time to mourn,
And a time to dance;
5 A time to cast away stones,
And a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace,
And a time to refrain from embracing;
6 A time to gain,
And a time to lose;
A time to keep,
And a time to throw away;
7 A time to tear,
And a time to sew;
A time to keep silence,
And a time to speak;
8 A time to love,
And a time to hate;
A time of war,
And a time of peace.
- Songwriters and Scripture translators must use their gifts and talents to the utmost to bring such beautiful music and poetry to us. Bravo to them! We ought also to look at what is hidden within the words of the Hebrew behind it all. Realize that the beauty of the English in our minds makes a more literal translation of the Hebrew awkward, but brings out what the Koholet was sharing with us on deeper levels. And I have simply left כל untranslated here. We will address כל later. I have also shown two very important cognate permutations together with רקד at the beginning, which may help you understand. Remember to read the entire literal translation through after the NKJV, and then read only the highlighted words.
We are going to make this a very short beginning to the series so you may ponder these words of the Preacher/Koholet. We end with, also very well-known, the last five verses of Ecclesiastes. And we will look at them from Dance רקד perspective, after the NKJV. Use the same process, reading three ways, NKJV, literal, then highlighted. And as we have pointed out before, the highlighted words in bold are so-called “vocabulary words.” Think of them in the passage as “near synonyms,” and therefore think of the sense in which Koholet uses them.
Ecclesiastes 12:10-14 NKJV
10 The Preacher sought to find acceptable words; and (what was) written (was) upright—words of truth. 11 The words of the wise are like goads, and the words of scholars are like well-driven nails, given by one Shepherd. 12 And further, my son, be admonished by these. Of making many books (there is) no end, and much study is wearisome to the flesh.
13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:
Fear God and keep His commandments,
For this is man’s all.
14 For God will bring every work into judgment,
Including every secret thing,
Whether good or evil.
Picture the Dance as the song hints, of coming together and moving apart.
We will return to these passages and more from Koholet later in the series. I do give a “spoiler” here to include in your 🤔. Koholet is קהלת – English translations tend to use “Preacher,” but we’ve shared before, it could be translated as “gatherer.” קהל p.225 gather to implement plan;; activate/deactivate (C2). Some cognate permutations:
- Think not for a moment that any of these “findings” are coincidental.
We mentioned “time עת” and “all כל” above, which will be included in our series. See that, if broken to pieces and rearranged with the cognate permutation method, Koholet קהלת includes כל and עת. This is only the beginning of the mysteries. Stay tuned.
Ⓒ Copyright LogAndSpeck June 2023. Please cite if copying.