You have likely noticed that I have an interest in linguistics. The time in which we live is very interesting in terms of linguistics. It seems we manufacture more and more new terminology now than ever before. I suppose it goes along with “the age,” and many other things that are in flux. I noticed this recently and wanted to share it with you as such an example. The word Walmart has now reached the status of being a verb, “to Walmart.” 🤣
Whether you are a child, who “steals away” to Walmart on your own, or an adult, “Walmarting” has become a favorite pastime, it seems. Humor aside, I felt it was important to talk about the techniques we’ve been using here and comment on God‘s purpose in Scripture. We have been doing a lot of looking at hidden meanings in Scripture. Certainly, mechanically speaking, it would be possible (using the cognate permutation method) to plug any Hebrew root into any passage, and thereby come up with meanings, some perhaps unusual. I am not trying to recommend a mechanical approach to using these cognate permutation methods. I obviously have not tried many, many roots and words in all passages, so I cannot say that one can plug any root in any passage to give appropriate hidden meaning. There may be some necessary discernment as the first step.
If you go to some of our discussions about the burning bush passage, you will remember that one of the important points is that the LORD noticed Moses’s having perceived that the bush was burning, yet not being consumed. Perception is something that the LORD (יהוה) focuses on a lot, in order that we understand how he communicates with us. Since he himself is not visible, we have to be sensitive to more subtle kinds of communication. He is sensitive to our individual needs and speaks to them. Look at the more literal translation of this passage (first, NKJV):
⦁ Psalms 32:8-9 NKJV
8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will guide you with My eye.
9 Do not be like the horse or like the mule,
Which have no understanding,
Which must be harnessed with bit and bridle,
Else they will not come near you.
⦁ Psalms 32:8-9
8 אַשְׂכִּֽילְךָ֨ ׀ וְֽאוֹרְךָ֗ בְּדֶֽרֶךְ־ז֥וּ תֵלֵ֑ךְ אִֽיעֲצָ֖ה עָלֶ֣יךָ עֵינִֽי׃
9 אַל־תִּֽהְי֤וּ ׀ כְּס֥וּס כְּפֶרֶד֮ אֵ֤ין הָ֫בִ֥ין בְּמֶֽתֶג־וָרֶ֣סֶן עֶדְיֹ֣ולִבְלֹ֑ום בַּ֝֗ל קְרֹ֣ב אֵלֶֽיךָ׃
- [Adding a small Hebrew lesson here. In verse 8, in BDB the first two verbs (instruct; teach), are listed as “cohortative in meaning only,” and the last (guide) is listed as “cohortative in form and meaning.” (“Go” is a simple imperfect.) My routine in the more literal translations is to show the form that is written. That accounts for some of the differences seen below. Actual words used are from BDB.]
⦁ Psalms 32:8-9 – more literal translation
8 I consider you and I teach you in the way which you go;
Let me counsel upon you my eye/spring.
9 Not be like a horse, like a mule,
There is not having understanding,
In bridle and rein adornments to curb,
Not coming near toward you.
⦁ Psalms 32:8-9
8 אַשְׂכִּֽילְךָ֨ ׀ וְֽאוֹרְךָ֗ בְּדֶֽרֶךְ־ז֥וּ תֵלֵ֑ךְ אִֽיעֲצָ֖ה עָלֶ֣יךָ עֵינִֽי׃
9 אַל־תִּֽהְי֤וּ ׀ כְּס֥וּס כְּפֶרֶד֮ אֵ֤ין הָ֫בִ֥ין בְּמֶֽתֶג־וָרֶ֣סֶן עֶדְיֹ֣ולִבְלֹ֑ום בַּ֝֗ל קְרֹ֣ב אֵלֶֽיךָ׃
- See how God “considers” us and tailors our instruction to our specific needs.
- Recent terminology we have seen is about “horse whisperers” and “cat whisperers,” “dog whisperers.” Such people really connect with the animal and can train them because of that connection. Think of the LORD (יהוה) as, among all his many talents, a “people-whisperer” (see 1K19:12).
The first step, before determining what roots or words might be plugged into a passage for looking at hidden meaning is to discern a more general meaning from the passage itself. Then, one can put in either other words with similar meaning (as in parallelism), or one can look for target words in the passage that may then be repeated in a more hidden manner to emphasize (give multiple witnesses).
Below is an excerpt from Post number 12. Levels of Meaning. What I am saying ties directly into this little excerpt. I do recommend that you read the Post if you have not read it. There is much more there than this excerpt. However, the point I want to make about not just plugging just any Hebrew root into a pericope fits precisely with this idea of not changing the sense of a passage.
God is such a God that he could easily have created us as machines if he wanted us to be machines. No, this type of understanding is based upon our having been created in the image and likeness of God. He, as he demonstrates daily in our lives, is very perceptive and responsive. He looks for those character traits in us, in order that we better understand him and his management of Creation.
Hopefully I’m not disappointing you in not being able at this point to make a definitive statement about using any root in any passage. That would certainly be easiest, but the LORD seems not to prefer “easiest” approaches, but seems to appreciate it when we make an effort. (Seek and you will find…) I am pretty sure with other passages that I have found some words/roots that do not really enlighten, but it may simply be that my mind is much simpler than the LORD’s.
So, I am sharing one very important passage, just three verses, below, that we have referred to many times, Genesis 8:20-22. You will see that every one of the words or roots I plugged in for investigation makes very good sense in this passage. Some were chosen randomly. Some were chosen because of the “sense” of the verses. These verses are a very universal statement about our world, and thus, it could be that it is a “special case,” being “universal,” and would thus be expected to have many, if not “universal,” connections. Please see the examples below. This passage, and many ways of looking at it, will be the totality of this Blog. Look at the meanings of roots and cognates expressed in the highlights and see how it adds to your understanding.
⦁ Genesis 8:20-22 NKJV
20 Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 And the LORD smelled a soothing aroma. Then the LORD said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.
22 “While the earth remains,
Seedtime and harvest,
Cold and heat,
Winter and summer,
And day and night
Shall not cease.”
- First our previously noted כל + את.
- Remember the discussion about קהלת in the Dance Series, especially Blog 145. Dance Series ❹ and final. קהלת is as (restraining/expressing physically/emotionally, the measure of striving to attain, cyclical).
- One thing to note here – “and night not cease.” Recall in Genesis 1:5, God “called the darkness Night.” The darkness not ceases; it will always be with us. Why we must be the light.
Moving to a goal; moving in a balanced way.
Cyclical; again in Genesis 1:5, “God called the light Day;” here, “and day cease.” Again, we must be the light in a darkness that does not cease.
How mankind responds to these cycles helps the LORD test our performance, be certain of our character. How easily we become “soft.” There are numerous words for “test;” God wants to “be certain” with us. See a personal anecdote near the end of this blog.
It does help much with the LORD’s understanding of us, and our understanding of ourselves. God does build us from where we are as youths.
The roots in this group are inadvertently/inappropriately put in two different groups. I have listed both cognate meanings. You can see how the “sections,” different aspects of earth life, are divided.
In his explanation, God notes these cycles are “set firmly.” Does “and day” being set firmly reflect on Re22:5?
These cycles should be a constant reminder of God’s mercy, that, though we deserve an overwhelming flood as in Noah’s time, he works with us more gently. “Remember.”
This is the nurturing aspect.
- And this, the weaning aspect. The nurturing and weaning picture is ubiquitous, in nature and in our lives. We struggle with the weaning. We would always prefer to be nurtured. But again, nurturing softens us. The weaning strengthens us/matures us (see the milk passage1Co3:2-3.)
- Please think about how each of these root or word meanings relates to the passage. We have briefly mentioned the nurturing/weaning cycle previously. It is one I anticipate spending much more time on, in the future.
We will do one more, כזב, which relates to some upcoming entries on LogAndSpeck. I will share with you a personal lesson learned and hope that it helps guide you in how you communicate.
In this context think of these ongoing cycles 🔄 as “which is a consequence” of the purpose in our heart (evil from our youth). The evil is seen primarily as in our self-centeredness, but how we use words can open the door for that “evil” in others. Our words are important. So, a story about my heart being evil from my youth, but also a lesson in communication.
My earthly father was a smoker. Cartons of cigarettes were kept in the pantry. My cousin (a year younger than I) and I were somewhere in the 10-12 year-old range. We swiped a couple of cigarettes and went to the alleyway, by the burn barrel, behind our privacy fence and “tried” them, as youth are “exploring life.” When we came inside, my mother, with a keen nose, asked “Have you been smoking?” My immediate response was, “No, we were standing by the burn barrel where the trash was burning.” My cousin was honest and confessed. I got a good butt paddling, and my mother made sure that I knew it was not for the smoking, but for the lying. Lessons learned here are that, as I have shared before, I definitely have evil in me, as we all do. But the communication piece, I want to make certain is clear. My deceitfulness was encouraged by the wording my mother used, “Have you been smoking?” You can look at this two ways. One way is that she was testing me, to see if I would be honest or if I would lie (by the way, kudos to my younger cousin for his honesty, though I wasn’t so happy with him at the time). The flip side of that is, that asking such a question opens the door to lying. In dealing with others, a co-worker, a spouse, a child, a more direct approach may bring out the honesty. On the other hand, you may know the answer and are being purposely “deceptive” yourself, to test for honesty in the other. The point is, you must be prepared to accept the consequences of how you word it. Mom said it “hurt her more than it hurt me.” (Maybe 😉) Are we prepared to accept the consequences of our way of speaking?
Another approach could be, “I can tell you have been smoking. Tell me about that.” “I discovered a discrepancy in your bookkeeping. We need to talk about that.” “I know you have been cheating on me. Help me understand what brought this about.” Such communication may open more honest communication.
How we communicate can lead to the “consequence” of deception, and our method of communication may be partly to blame. We should be mindful of the words we use. It seems to be getting more and more difficult in this day and age, with the overstimulation of words in all kinds of media, and creation of new words and catch-phrases. “Remember” – God tests us in the choices we must make (great example the manna passage – Exodus 16:4-34). The snake in the garden also tested Eve by his words. Are you prepared to accept the consequences of how you word things? God has his system in place for dealing with the response. Consequences – Creation runs on consequences.
I hope you continue to explore God’s Word, the one true source to help counsel us.
⦁ Psalms 143:8 LSB
8 Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness חסד in the morning;
For I trust in You;
Cause me to know the way in which I should walk;
For to You I lift up my soul נפש.
Ⓒ Copyright LogAndSpeck July 2023. please cite if copying.