Earlier discussion in Posts 4, 5, and 12 referred to Analogy of Faith, meaning Scripture is the best interpreter of Scripture. This methodology has been used throughout. As we move forward, one change you will notice is that, while I will continue to use many resources as listed in the Bibliography, the primary source for Biblical Hebrew word definitions will be the listing of Clark, number 14 in the bibliography. Clark published the Etymological Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew (EDBH) based upon extensive writings of Samson Raphael Hirsch, a man whose life was devoted to the deep study of God’s word and its application in daily life. He definitely used Scripture to interpret Scripture. He also used resources of other Biblical scholars, so it was not a “one man show,” but a collection of thoughts of a great cloud of witnesses/messengers.
noun
ORIGIN: 1398, from Greek etymologia, from etymon “true sense” (neut. of etymos “true,” related to eteos “true”) + logos “word.” (my emphasis) – from the WordBook Dictionary
Hirsch’s lifetime search was to determine the “true sense” of words in Biblical Hebrew. He was a man like Einstein, whose quote below rings true:
In recent months I have begun to understand much more thoroughly all that is packed into the EDBH, which adds a great deal of insight into Scripture itself. I will be sharing those insights here. If anyone is so led to investigate this resource, may I simply say that the parts that people want to skip, the Introduction, Explanatory Notes, and Appendices are the key to being able to understand even a fraction of what the actual word listings show. And beyond that, the choices of particular verses to illustrate the point being made for the word definitions are precisely focused. As with any work of man, there are typos, errors, things left out. This is not Scripture, but it goes a very, very long way to helping us understand the “true sense” of the inspired writings.
Please note that my use of the EDBH has demonstrated to me (and in comments from friends) many new insights. If anything I write henceforth, based more upon these recent understandings, contradicts things written here before, my apology: I recommend going with the more recently written work, as the EDBH has definitely opened many doors not previously entered.
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