Worship and Encountering the Divine: Part Six Does One Equal Three?

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 …Worship and Encountering the Divine…

Part Six

 “But who do you say that I am?”

Or

“Does One Equal Three?”

John 17:1-3

1) Jesus spoke these things; and ^alifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; ^bglorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, 2) even as ^aYou gave Him authority over all flesh, that ^bto ¹all whom You have given Him, ^cHe may give eternal life.

3) “This is eternal life, that they may know You,

^athe only true God, and Jesus Christ whom ^bYou have sent…” ^[1]

I come humbly before God, Yeshua and man today. I say humbly because that is in truth the way I feel. What is it that I am trying to do? Some would say I teach heresy or blasphemous words. Some will call me misguided, some will say I’ve gone Jewish, other will say I’m not Jewish enough. Humbly I say this: I am but a seeker of God and His Truth, no matter where that leads me. If traditions and “sacred cows” appear to be in the way, I will try to remove them till all that is left is truth. My assertions is simply this, that either God the Father, YHVH Elohim, is the one true God or He isn’t. I’m not going to stretch Him out into three, and I’m not going to confine Him to One if His word convinces me. This study is all about coming to a conclusion, and being willing to stand by it till Heaven shows me a different answer, but as I have said, I am teachable and correctable.[2] Let it always be so.

I remember the words spoken to Daniel:

Daniel 10:11-12

He said to me, “O ^aDaniel, man of ¹high esteem, ^bunderstand the words that I am about to tell you and ^cstand ²upright, for I have now been sent to you.” And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up ^dtrembling. 12) Then he said to me, “^aDo not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on ^bhumbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response ^cto your words. ^[3]

Now this verse translates differently in the Hebrew.

Dan 10:12   ויאמר^{H559 Then said}  אלי^{H413 he unto}  אל^{H408 not,}  תירא^{H3372 me, Fear}  דניאל^{H1840 Daniel:}  כי^{H3588 for}  מן^{H4480 from}  היום^{H3117 day}  הראשׁון^{H7223 the first}  אשׁר^{H834 that}  נתת^{H5414 thou didst set}  את^H853  לבך^{H3820 thine heart}  להבין^{H995 to understand,}  ולהתענות^{H6031 and to chasten thyself}  לפני^{H6440 before}  אלהיך^{H430 thy God,}  נשׁמעו^{H8085 were heard,}  דבריך^{H1697 thy words}  ואני^{H589 and I}  באתי^{H935 am come}  בדבריך׃^{H1697 for thy words.}

Instead of reading as “…on understanding this and on ^bhumbling yourself before your God…” the text should read as this: “…on understanding, and to chasten (or humble) yourself…” The idea was that Daniel had set his heart to understand the visions and words that had been spoken to him, and to humble himself before God. By doing these things, his words were heard. That is my hope and prayer, that God allows me to hear His words words, and gives to me the understanding of them.

There is so much to examine in this study. It is not only important to believe, but what we believe is equally important. When we come to worship and encounter the divine, what does that mean? Do we worship what we want, or do we genuinely desire to encounter the true and Living God?

At the root of the word “worship”, it literally means “to cause one’s self to live.” Compare this to the following Psalms:

Psalm 22:27-29 (NASB95)

27     All the ^aends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, And all the ^bfamilies of the nations will worship before ¹You.

28     For the ^akingdom is the Lord’s And He ^brules over the nations.

29     All the ^1aprosperous of the earth will eat and worship, All those who ^bgo down to the dust will bow before Him,

Even he who ^2ccannot keep his soul alive. ^[4]

Psalms 95:6

Come, let us bow down and bend low, let us kneel before

יהוה our Maker.

•”bow down” = shachah = prostrate

•”bend low” = kara = bend the knee, crouch

•”kneel” = barak = to kneel, to bless

So what does this all have to do with who Yeshua is? Well, worship should be the whole of our lives, for in the definition of worship, it causes us to live, it is integrated into our value system. What we ascribe honor to, what we give weight to in our lives becomes what we will bow down to. If there is a God in our value system then, it would behoove us to be “bowing” before the only true God. You only bow before what you’ll serve – our service should and must be to the Almighty God of the universe.

Yeshua said as much in the days of His temptation in the wilderness:

Luke 4:1-8

4 Then Jesus ^a returned from the Jordan, ^b full of the Holy Spirit, ^c and was led by the Spirit ^d in the wilderness ² for 40 days ^e to be tempted by the Devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over, ^f He was hungry. ³ The Devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”

⁴ But Jesus answered him,

“It is written: Man must not live on bread alone.” ^{g h}  (^{I [5])}

⁵ So he took Him up ^j and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world ^k in a moment of time. ⁶ The Devil said to Him, “I will give You their splendor and all this authority, because it has been given over to me, ^l and I can give it to anyone I want. ⁷ If You, then, will worship me, ^m all will be Yours.”

⁸ And Jesus answered him, ⁿ

“It is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve ^o Him only.” ^{p [6]}

Matthew 4:4 says (as noted) “It is written, ‘^aMan shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’” ^[7] There are many theological implications to this statement that we don’t have time to explore (one being the fact that Yeshua says He is the “bread” that came from heaven… we can explore this at a later date) but His meaning is clear; we live by every word that comes out of the mouth of God. Thus, when He makes these statements:

Matthew 5:17-20

17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.

18 “For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one ² jot or one ³ tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.

19 “Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 “For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. [8]

John 14:10

¹⁰ Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?

The words that I say to you I do not speak from myself, but the Father residing in me does his works. ^[9]

John 14:21-24 (HCSB)
²¹ The one who has My commands and keeps them is the one who loves Me. ^q And the one who loves Me will be loved by My Father. ^r I also will love him and will reveal Myself to him.”

²² Judas ^s (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it You’re going to reveal Yourself to us and not to the world?” ^t

²³ Jesus answered, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. ^{u 24} The one who doesn’t love Me will not keep My words.

The word that you hear is not Mine but is from the Father who sent Me.  ^{v [10]}

The words Yeshua spoke came from His Father, not from Himself.

John 8:23-28 (HCSB)
²³ “You are from below,” He told them, “I am from above. ⁿ You are of this world; ^o I am not of this ^•world. ^{p 24} Therefore I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I am _⌊He_⌋, ^q you will die in your sins.”

²⁵ “Who are You?” they questioned.

“Precisely what I’ve been telling you from the very beginning,” Jesus told them. ²⁶ “I have many things to say and to judge about you,

but the One who sent Me ^r is true, and what I have heard from Him—these things I tell the world.” ^s

²⁷ They did not know He was speaking to them about the Father. ²⁸ So Jesus said to them,

“When you lift up the ^•Son of Man, ^t then you will know that I am ^u _⌊He_⌋, and that I do nothing on My own. ^v But just as the Father taught Me, I say these things. ^[11]

His words were not His own, but the Father’s. Salvation is not even of His own; we have all heard this verse:

John 14:5-6

⁵ T’oma said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you’re going; so how can we know the way?” ⁶ Yeshua said,

“I AM the Way—and the Truth and the Life;

no one comes to the Father except through me.^[12]

But most forget or tend to overlook this most important qualifier:

John 6:43-45 (NET)
^6:43 Jesus replied,⁶⁴ “Do not complain about me to one another.⁶⁵

^6:44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him,⁶⁶ and I will raise him up at the last day.

^6:45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’⁶⁷ Everyone who hears and learns from the Father⁶⁸ comes to me. ^[13]

Salvation is of the Father alone. That is why it is important for all of us to get this identity right.

“…Biblical historiography presents the theory that God revealed Himself successively to Adam, Noah, Abraham and his descendants, and finally to Moses. Monotheism was thus made known to the human race in general and to Israel in particular from the very beginning. Not ignorance but perverseness led to the recognition of other gods, necessitating the sending of the Prophets to reemphasize the teachings of Moses and the facts of the earlier revelation. Contrary to this view, the modern critical school regards monotheism as the final outcome of a long process of religious evolution, basing its hypothesis upon certain data discovered in

the Biblical books as well as upon the analogy presented by Israel’s historical development to that of other Semitic groups, notably, in certain stages thereof, of the Arabs (Wellhausen, “Skizzen und Vorarbeiten,”

iii. 164; Nöldeke, in “Z. D. M. G.” 1887, p. 719)…” [14]

As we can see from the Jewish Encyclopedia the concept of “The LORD IS ONE”, or monotheism, was developed over a period of time by the true fathers of our faith, from Adam to Moses. These are the “Church Fathers” we should be listening too, but even Yeshua spoke of this:

John 5:39-47 (NET)

^5:39 You study the scriptures thoroughly⁶⁷ because you think in them you possess eternal life,⁶⁸ and it is these same scriptures⁶⁹ that testify about me, ^5:40 but you are not willing to come to me so that you may have life.

^5:41 “I do not accept⁷⁰ praise⁷¹ from people,^{72 5:42} but I know you, that you do not have the love of God⁷³ within you. ^5:43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept⁷⁴ me. If someone else comes in his own name, you will accept⁷⁵ him. ^5:44 How can you believe, if you accept praise⁷⁶ from one another and don’t seek the praise⁷⁷ that comes from the only God?⁷⁸

^5:45 “Do not suppose that I will accuse you before the Father. The one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have placed your hope.⁷⁹

^5:46 If⁸⁰ you believed Moses, you would believe me, because he wrote about me.

^5:47 But if you do not believe what Moses⁸¹ wrote, how will you believe my words?” ^[15]

And what did Moses write? The words Elohim told him to. What did Yeshua speak? The words Elohim told Him to. Do you see the connection? What did Yeshua say was the greatest of all commandment?

Mark 12:28-31 (WEB)

28 One of the scribes came, and heard them questioning together. Knowing that he had answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the greatest of all?”

29 Jesus answered, “The greatest is,

‘Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one:

30 you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’³  This is the first commandment.

31 The second is like this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’⁴  There is no other commandment greater than these.” [16]

The LORD is ONE. Words have meaning; to change the plain meaning of Scripture is to obscure what the message and intent of God and His Messiah truly are. His whole plan of salvation has been laid out for us in the Holy Word, yet we seem to forget that it is He who is sovereign , not the translators. Let’s compare how some other translations render Deuteronomy 6:4…

Hear, O Israel! The Lord, our God, is the One Eternal Being. (Isaac Leeser, The Holy Bible)

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. (Jewish Publication Society, 1917)

Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. (Tanakh, Jewish Publication Society, 1985)

Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. (New Revised Standard Version)

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. (New International Version; New American Standard Bible; English Standard Version)

Listen, Israel! The LORD our God is the only true God! (Contemporary English Version)

Israel, listen to me. The LORD is our God. The Lord is the one and only God. (sic, New International Reader's Version) [17]

The Shema does not exist in a vacuum; these words are born within a profound theological context that extends from Moshe to Yeshua. By a study of the cultures and mores of the ancient Semitic races, we can see  that the monotheism of the Jewish religion had developed over time within the primitive religion of Israel into the One God centered concept from the polytheistic leanings of the cultures around Israel. The Semitic tribes were nomads, shepherds and farmers whose existence depended upon the “benevolence” of nature. The ascribing of the natural phenomenon that was seen in the changing seasons to “deities” became a distinguishing feature of the various tribes or clans, each holding almost exclusively to a certain god that they called their own.[18] The beginning of the worship of one God as it pertains to Israel begins with the calling of Abraham as seen in Genesis 12:1, but the seeds had been planted within גַּן עֵדֶן, Gan ʿEdhen, the Garden of Eden. Most readers of Scripture simply gloss over the “begats” of the Book of Genesis, found in chapters 5 and again in chapter 10, but to do so misses out on the bigger picture: the knowledge of One God handed down throughout time. So it was no surprise that when Abram heard the voice of God telling him to go that he went…

Genesis 12:1-4 (NASB95)
     1     Now ^athe Lord said to Abram,

“¹Go forth from your country,

And from your relatives

And from your father’s house,

To the land which I will show you;

2     And ^aI will make you a great nation,

And ^bI will bless you,

And make your name great;

And so ^1cyou shall be a blessing;

3     And ^aI will bless those who bless you,

And the one who ¹curses you I will ²curse.

^bAnd in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

4     So Abram went forth as the Lord had spoken to him; and ^aLot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. ^[19]

As I stated before, these are the fathers of our faith, not those that followed later. God is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the true patriarchs. The fullness of the monotheistic doctrine of the Patriarchs came into its fullness with the Torah, and the definitive statement of Deuteronomy 6:4. The judgment of God had befallen on the “lesser gods” in the Exodus narrative and it was “…by this act of His superior power had renewed the covenant relation which the fathers of old had maintained with Him…” [20]

The monotheism of the Jews is further explained by Oxford theologian A.E. Harvey who delivered what is called the “Bampton Lectures” in the 1980’s. He wrote:

“…I must now introduce one further instance of those historical constraints which, I have argued, give definition and content to the bare general statements which constitute the main part of our reliable information about Jesus. This is the constraint of that instinctive and passionate monotheism which lay at the heart of all Jewish religion and (at least in the eyes of pagans) constituted a great part of its identity. (emphasis mine) “The Lord our God is one God”: so begins the prayer (the Shema) which every Jew said, and still says, daily; “Thou shalt have no other gods besides me”; so began the Decalogue which, in the time of Jesus, was recited every day in public worship. The belief that there is only one God, and that he is Lord of all, was fundamental to the one religion in antiquity which offered determined and uncompromising opposition to the tolerant polytheism of the pagan world. It was within a culture indelibly marked by this monotheism that Jesus lived and died and was proclaimed. It was within this constraint that he had to convey his conviction of divine authorization and that his followers had to find means of expressing his unique status and significance… …Within the Jewish community, the power of the monotheistic confession is seen perhaps most clearly in the criminal code: the most grievous offences were those which in any way diminished the unique majesty and honor of God… Moreover any intellectual or religious opinion which seemed to postulate a second celestial being independent of the one god was firmly anathematized... From the prophetic denunciation of idol-worship to the strident polemics of Hellenistic Judaism against any manifestation of paganism, faith in the exclusive oneness of God is felt to be totally incompatible with the recognition of any other divine being…”

“…Jesus himself is recorded as having endorsed the standard Jewish confession of monotheism (Mark 12:29). (Justin [Martyr] cites Jesus as a teacher of traditional Jewish monotheism. 1 Apol. 13.) [Jesus] accepted the prohibition which this implied of any moral comparison between himself and God (Mark 10:18); moreover in the Fourth Gospel he is made to deny vigorously the accusation that he set himself up as a being equal to and independent of God. (Most explicitly at Jn. 10: 33 : Jesus’ reply makes the semantic point that there is precedent in his own culture for using the word theos for beings who are other than the one God; but the main burden of his reply, as throughout the gospel, is that, far from being a second or second rival god, he is totally dependent on and united with the Father.)…” [21]

“…The New Testament writers similarly are insistent about the absolute oneness of God, and show no tendency to describe Jesus in terms of divinity [Deity]: the few apparent exceptions are either grammatically and textually uncertain or have an explanation which… brings them within the constraint of Jewish monotheism. It was not until the new religion had spread well beyond the confines of its parent Judaism that it became possible to break the constraint and describe Jesus as divine. (The first unambiguous instances are in Ignatius of Antioch, writing c. 110 AD.) It is significant that Jewish Christian churches continued to exist for at least a century which refused to take this step…

 {Author’s Note: some evidence holds that there were Messianic Jewish Synagogues in existence up until the Fourth Century AD - DER}  

“…The immediate followers of Jesus were strictly bound by the constraint of that monotheism which, as Jews, they instinctively professed, and in their attempts to declare who Jesus was they stopped well short of describing him as “divine.” But at the same time the importance they assigned to the title “Son of God” suggests that when it was accorded to such a person as Jesus was remembered to have been it was felt to imply the truth of those claims to divine authority which were characteristic of his whole style of action and utterance: Jesus had indeed shown that absolute obedience to God, had spoken of God with that intimate authority, and had acted with the unique authorization which belonged to God’s representative and agent on earth , which would be characteristic of one who was (in the senses usually ascribed to “sonship” in antiquity) in very truth “Son of God.” [22]

“…Harvey notes that “There is no evidence whatever that [Jesus] spoke or acted as if he believed himself to be ‘a god,’ or ‘divine.’” The attacks from the Jews are inferences which are “countered by showing that, far from usurping God’s authority and power, Jesus was fully authorized to act as God’s accredited agent.” [23]

“He assumed an authority to declare the will of God for men, and to act in accordance with that will, such as had not been claimed by any previous figure in the religious history of the Jews…To describe himself… as “the Son of God” would have been a way… of claiming such unprecedented divine authorization, at the same time as preserving intact that respect for the indivisible oneness of God which was the instinctive possession of any religious Jew.” [24]

To allude that Yeshua believed Himself to be God is do damage to His plain utterances, at best calling Him a hypocrite, at worst, calling Him a liar. Either He believed the Shema or He didn’t.

Now we tread on dangerous ground here. Who or what are we to trust and believe? On both sides of the coin is the claim and counter-claim that one side or the other changed the Shema. For the Jews, the problem was as is noted in the Jewish Encyclopedia:

“…The boldness of the Christian exegetes, who converted even the “Shema‘,” the solemn confession of the Divine Unity, into a proof of the Trinity (Maimonides, in “Tehiyyat ha-Metim,” beginning), furnishes an explanation of the bitterness of the Jewish apologists…” [25]

For the Jews what was happening was/is the way Christian expositors (medieval and even now unto present times) were/are redefining the Hebrew word אֶחָד ʾeḥāḏ (pronounced ekh-awd'):

The case was: “… argued by some Bible expositors that the Hebrew adjective echad means a ‘compound unity.’ Thus, they say, the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4) literally means: 

Hear, O Israel:
The LORD our God,
The LORD is a compound unity.

This translation is then taken to be primary evidence that the "Jewish Bible" teaches the triune nature of God…” [26]

Behind the controversy was the attempt to make ’eḥad (H259, TWOT 61)[27] to signify “unity” instead of its usually meaning which is one, same, single, first, each, once. [28] The confusion comes from expositors that substituted the meaning of the word יחד  yachad (pronounced yakh'-ad) in place of ’eḥad; yachad has the definition of:  “1. union, unitedness (adverb) or 2. together, altogether, all together, alike”. [29]

For medieval Christian expositors (and some expositors today),  there was the counter-claim that it was the Jews who had altered the text of the Shema :

“…But, they say, because Judaism rejects this Christian concept of the Godhead, the rabbis sought to undermine the value of Deut 6:4 as a proof-text. So they reportedly substituted the noun yachid, meaning a "Unique" or "Solitary One," for the original echad. This would change the emphasis of the Shema to:

YHVH is not a compound deity but a Solitary Being…”[30]

But a closer examination is required. Paul Sumner continues:

“…The origin of the Lie may come from confusing the Bible text with the Thirteen Principles of Faith composed by Maimonides. 

Maimonides (aka Rambam; 1135-1204) was physician to the Sultan Saladin and communal leader of Egyptian Jewry, as well as an important figure in the codification of Jewish law. As such, he was acquainted with Roman Catholic apologetics and interpretations of the Old Testament. It's possible he may have encountered Catholic use of the word echad to prove that Moses himself hinted at the Triunity of the Godhead, as mentioned in Deuteronomy 6:4.

To counter this idea, Maimonides opted to employ the noun yachid in his Second Principle of Faith:

I believe with perfect faith that the Creator,
blessed be his name,
is a Unity [yachid],
and that there is no Unity [yachid] in any manner like unto his,
and that he alone is our God, who was, is, and will be.

When Christians read this medieval creed for Jews, they imagined a defiant rejection of Trinitarian theology and a deliberate distortion of the biblical text of Deuteronomy  6:4.

No doubt Maimonides did not accept the idea of a Triune Godhead. And he no doubt sought to strengthen Jewish resolve to affirm rabbinic monotheism.

But he did not alter a single word in the Shema itself. No orthodox Jew would ever do such a thing.

There are no Hebrew texts of Deuteronomy 6:4 that contain the word yachid instead of echad. All extant hand-printed copies of the Torah are identical. And all printed Jewish Bibles and commentaries are the same. Echad stands clearly in every one…” [31]

Words have meaning. Let me repeat: Words have meaning. Look at the origin of the languages:

Genesis 11:1-9 (NET)
^11:1 The whole earth¹ had a common language and a common vocabulary.^{2 11:2} When the people³ moved eastward,⁴ they found a plain in Shinar⁵ and settled there. ^11:3 Then they said to one another,⁶ “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.”⁷ (They had brick instead of stone and tar⁸ instead of mortar.)⁹

^11:4 Then they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens¹⁰ so that¹¹ we may make a name for ourselves. Otherwise¹² we will be scattered¹³ across the face of the entire earth.”

^11:5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the people¹⁴ had started¹⁵ building. ^11:6 And the Lord said, “If as one people all sharing a common language¹⁶ they have begun to do this, then¹⁷ nothing they plan to do will be beyond them.^{18 11:7} Come, let’s go down and confuse¹⁹ their language so they won’t be able to understand each other.”²⁰

^11:8 So the Lord scattered them from there across the face of the entire earth, and they stopped building²¹ the city. ^11:9 That is why its name was called²² Babel²³ – because there the Lord confused the language of the entire world, and from there the Lord scattered them across the face of the entire earth. ^[32]

None can say words don’t have meaning. Because YHVH confused the language of men, how we interact with one another has changed. Language has become a barrier and each attempt to find a common ground becomes just one more road block. The idea of translation or transliteration of one language into another faces a linguistic hurdle as no two languages are exactly the same in terms of definitions. I may say “rock” in English yet is there an equivalent word in all languages?

The common example for just this type of situation is found in the common illustration that there are “many different words for snow in the Inuit [Eskimo] language” so how can you just use one word to describe snow? But that idea could be just wrong…

“…The story about Inuit (or Inuktitut, or Yup'ik, or more generally, Eskimo) words for snow is completely wrong. People say that speakers of these languages have 23, or 42, or 50, or 100 words for snow --- the numbers often seem to have been picked at random. The spread of the myth was tracked in a paper by Laura Martin (American Anthropologist 88 (1986), 418-423), and publicized more widely by a later humorous embroidering of the theme by G. K. Pullum (reprinted as chapter 19 of his 1991 book of essays The Great Eskimo Vocabulary Hoax). But the Eskimoan language group uses an extraordinary system of multiple, recursively addable derivational suffixes for word formation called postbases. The list of snow-referring roots to stick them on isn't that long: qani- for a snowflake, api- for snow considered as stuff lying on the ground and covering things up, a root meaning "slush", a root meaning "blizzard", a root meaning "drift", and a few others -- very roughly the same number of roots as in English. Nonetheless, the number of distinct words you can derive from them is not 50, or 150, or 1500, or a million, but simply unbounded. Only stamina sets a limit.

That does not mean there are huge numbers of unrelated basic terms for huge numbers of finely differentiated snow types. It means that the notion of fixing a number of snow words, or even a definition of what a word for snow would be, is meaningless for these languages. You could write down not just thousands but millions of words built from roots that refer to snow if you had the time. But they would all be derivatives of a fairly small number of roots. And you could write down just as many derivatives of any other root: fish, or coffee, or excrement…” [33]

The same can be said of the Hebraic language; it comprises twenty-two letters in its alphabet, each letter doubling as not only a letter but a number, and all of its words are based upon roots, suffixes and prefixes that alter the basic meaning of the root, to turn it into another word. Careful attention has to be paid, not only to the base or root word, but the beginning or end of the word as well as the vowel points that comprise the word in question. Do you see the problem? Someone not familiar with all the nuances of the Hebrew language can make gross errors of interpretation. I include myself in this category, so that is why I spend so much time trying to give you the best definition of a word that I can, regardless of the source. I want to be accurate, so that I can with all humility be able to present God’s word as best I can.  

                Therefore, we have to let the Word of God speak for itself:

The word ’eḥad  (and it’s feminine derivative אַחַת [’aḥat]) appears in  the Tanach 960 times as a noun, adjective or adverb,  or as a cardinal or ordinal number. [34] When the Tanach speaks of God, it is almost always in the singular, some 13,000 plus times. [35] Look at some Scriptures where God describes Himself:

He says “I AM the LORD your GOD [יהוה  y^ehôvâh yeh-ho-vaw' אלהים  'ĕlôhı̂ym el-o-heem']” 34 times in 33 verses:

Exo_6:7; Exo_16:12; Lev_11:44; Lev_18:2; Lev_18:4; Lev_18:30; Lev_19:3; Lev_19:4; Lev_19:10; Lev_19:25; Lev_19:31; Lev_19:34; Lev_19:36; Lev_20:7; Lev_20:24; Lev_23:22; Lev_23:43; Lev_24:22; Lev_25:17; Lev_25:38; Lev_25:55; Lev_26:1; Lev_26:13; Num_10:10; Num_15:41; Deu_29:6; Jdg_6:10; Eze_20:5; Eze_20:7; Eze_20:19; Eze_20:20; Joe_2:27; Joe_3:17;

He is called by His personal name YHVH [יהוה  y^ehôvâh yeh-ho-vaw'] over 6,700 times – all in the singular.

He clearly states what He expects from those who profess His name:

Exodus 20:1-18 (NASB95)
The Ten Commandments

1     Then God spoke all these words, saying,

2     “^aI am the Lord your God, ^bwho brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of ¹slavery.

3     “^aYou shall have no other ^bgods ¹before Me.

4     “^aYou shall not make for yourself ¹an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.

5     “^aYou shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a ^bjealous God, ^cvisiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me,

6     but showing lovingkindness to ^athousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

7     “^aYou shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not ¹leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.

8     “Remember ^athe sabbath day, to keep it holy.

9     “^aSix days you shall labor and do all your work,

10     but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it ^ayou shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who ¹stays with you.

11     “^aFor in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.

12     “^aHonor your father and your mother, that your ^bdays may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you.

13     “^aYou shall not murder.

14     “^aYou shall not commit adultery.

15     “^aYou shall not steal.

16     “^aYou shall not bear false witness against your ^bneighbor.

17     “^aYou shall not covet your neighbor’s house; ^byou shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

18     ^aAll the people perceived the ¹thunder and the lightning flashes and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking;

and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood at a distance…” ^[36]

“..I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery..”

Can you wrap your head and heart around these words? Can you accept them as they are spoken, as Moshe wrote them? Can we look past the traditions and teachings of man and take God at His Word? These are important questions. Either we believe the King of Glory or we do not. I’ll tell you this much.. I’d rather believe YHVH Elohim than Martin Luther any day. I’ll believe Yeshua before I’ll believe  St. Augustin, Calvin or St. John Chrysostom. I’ll trust the true fathers of the faith, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob over the “Ante-Nicene” fathers.   I’ll trust the accounts of the first century by the Apostles and by Flavius Josephus than those of the later centuries like Irenaeus, Ignatius, Justin Martyr or Tertullian or Origen. I’ll trust my Rabi  Yeshua over the rabanim of the Talmud age and beyond.

This is not to say the rabanim have nothing to teach me, just as it is not to say the “early church fathers” have nothing to teach me either. It is just that we have to hold suspect any teacher who harbors hatred in their hearts, for surely how can the love of God be in residence with any who hate? The “ante-nicene” fathers hated the Jewish people, the early rabanim hated Yeshua and there are those that have followed each group up until present day that carry on this legacy of hatred. Eat the meat and spit out the bones…   
While there is blame enough to go around in the church for the blood on its hands, the Jewish orthodoxy is not blameless in their polemic against their own Messiah; institutional Judaism is in rebellion against its own God, for in their hurt and anger over the centuries of mistreatment at the hands of those who call themselves “Christian” they have forgotten what their receiving Torah was truly all about; taking the knowledge of God to the nations so that all mankind could come into the presence of God and be healed. They have forgotten how to forgive; Christians haven’t yet realized they (Christians) need to seek the forgiveness of their Jewish brethren; they need to say they are sorry for the sins of their fathers. We of the Hebraic Roots movement want to stand in the gap, but we need to learn to be humble. And we need to learn and love  from our Jewish brethren, and love our Christian brethren, not beat them over the head with Torah. We need to remove the beam from our eyes first…

It begins here:

“..I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery..”

The LORD is ONE.

…One does not equal three…

…We will continue this in our next segment, Shalom...

---

^a John 11:41

^b John 7:39; 13:31f

^a John 3:35

^b John 10:28

¹ Lit everything that You have given Him, to them He may

^c John 6:37, 39; 17:6, 9, 24

^a John 5:44

^b John 3:17; 17:8, 21, 23, 25

^[1]New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995 (Jn 17:1-3). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

[2] [Author’s Note:] Throughout these studies I have used the notes that come along with the passages I cite from the sources that I cite: these need a bit of a disclaimer though. As in all things, not everything that is footnoted is something that I necessarily agree with, especially if it pertains to any matters of the Torah or the commandments of God. I give you the notes as they are written by the authors of the material I cite from, so that you can see the information contained within them. It truly is not my place to edit or correct them; if they state anything that is in opposition to what I teach, then so be it. I will address these issues if requested, but for the sake of brevity (as if any of these posts of mine are brief ☺ ) I insert them and let them stand as they are. If I don’t agree with them, why do I include them you might ask? I don’t believe in censuring anyone’s opinions; as I would not want mine censured, so I will not do to that to another. As Rabbi Hillel once stated, “What is hateful to you, do not do to another. That is the whole Torah. Go and learn it.” Torah leads me to respect others, even if I disagree; it leads me to present both sides of the coin, even if it could mean I’d lose part of the argument. That is not to say I should not challenge something I believe contradicts the truth of God’s word; that I will do in the main body of my epistles; that is where my gentle dissent belongs. Most (but not all) of the differences will come when I quote from the NET® Bible; it has a decidedly Western/Greek mindset to it, but as a wise man once said “How do you eat chicken? Swallow the meat and spit out the bones..”

^a Dan 10:19

¹ Lit desirability; or preciousness

^b Dan 8:16, 17

^c Ezek 2:1

² Lit upon your standing

^d Job 4:14, 15

^a Is 41:10, 14; Dan 10:19

^b Dan 9:20–23; 10:2, 3

^c Acts 10:30, 31

^[3]New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995 (Da 10:11-12). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

^b Dan 9:20–23; 10:2, 3

^a  Ps 2:8; 82:8

^b  Ps 86:9

¹  Some versions read Him

^a  Ps 47:7; Obad 21; Zech 14:9; Matt 6:13

^b  Ps 47:8

¹  Lit fat ones

^a  Ps 17:10; 45:12; Hab 1:16

^b  Ps 28:1; Is 26:19

²  Or did not

^c  Ps 89:48

^[4]  New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995. LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

^a 4:1–13 Mt 4:1–11; Mk 1:12–13

^b 4:1 Lk 3:3

^c 4:1 Lk 1:15, 41, 67; Ac 2:4; 4:8, 31; 9:17; 11:24; 13:9

^d 4:1 Gl 5:18

^e 4:2 Ex 24:18; 34:28; Dt 9:9, 11, 18, 25; 10:10

^f 4:2 Lit were completed

^g 4:4 Other mss add but on every word of God

^h 4:4 Dt 8:3

[5] Matthew’s Gospel account has Yeshua saying “…It is written, ‘^aMan shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God…’^[5] a clear reference to Deuteronomy 8:3.

^j 4:5 Other mss read So the Devil took Him up on a high mountain

^k 4:5 Is 23:17; Jr 25:26

^l 4:6 1Jn 5:19

^m 4:7 Lit will fall down before me

ⁿ 4:8 Other mss add “Get behind Me, Satan!

^o 4:8 Dt 6:13

^p 4:8 Dt 6:13

^[6] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Lk 4:1–8). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.

^a Deut 8:3

^[7] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (Mt 4:4). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

[8] New King James Version®, NKJV®. Copyright© 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.  All rights reserved, n.d.

[9]  The Lexham English Bible. 2012 (W. H. Harris, III, E. Ritzema, R. Brannan, D. Mangum, J. Dunham, J. A. Reimer & M. Wierenga, Ed.). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

q  14:21 Jn 8:31; 1Jn 2:5

r  14:21 Dt 7:12–13; Jn 16:27

s  14:22 Lk 6:16; Ac 1:13

t  14:22 Ac 10:40–41

u  14:23 Jn 14:2; 1Jn 2:24

v  14:24 Jn 5:19; 7:16; 8:28; 12:49–50

[10]  The Holy Bible : Holman Christian standard version. 2009. Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.

n  8:23 Jn 3:13,31; 18:36; Col 3:1–2

o  8:23 1Jn 4:5

•  The organized Satanic system that is opposed to God and hostile to Jesus and His followers; it also refers to the non-Christian culture including governments, educational systems, and businesses.

p  8:23 Jn 15:19; 17:14–16; 18:36

q  8:24 Jesus claimed to be deity, but the Pharisees didn’t understand His meaning.

r  8:26 Jn 5:19

s  8:26 Jn 3:32; 15:15

•  Most frequent title Jesus used for Himself (Dn 7:13; Mt 8:20)

t  8:28 Mk 2:10

u  8:28 Jn 8:24

v  8:28 Mk 6:5; Jn 9:33; 15:5

[11]  The Holy Bible : Holman Christian standard version. 2009. Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.

^[12] Stern, D. H. (1998). Complete Jewish Bible: an English version of the Tanakh (Old Testament) and B’rit Hadashah (New Testament) (1st ed., Jn 14:5–6). Clarksville, MD: Jewish New Testament Publications.

·         The following notes are taken from the NET Bible® footnotes, copyright (c) 1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press L.L.C. All rights reserved. Used by permission from www.bible.org, n.d.

^{64  64} tn Grk “answered and said to them.”

^{65  65} tn Or “Do not grumble among yourselves.” The words “about me” are supplied to clarify the translation “complain to one another” (otherwise the Jewish opponents could be understood to be complaining about one another, rather than complaining to one another about Jesus).

^{66  66} tn Or “attracts him,” or “pulls him.” The word is used of pulling or dragging, often by force. It is even used once of magnetic attraction (A. Oepke, TDNT 2:503).

sn The Father who sent me draws him. The author never specifically explains what this “drawing” consists of. It is evidently some kind of attraction; whether it is binding and irresistible or not is not mentioned. But there does seem to be a parallel with 6:65, where Jesus says that no one is able to come to him unless the Father has allowed it. This apparently parallels the use of Isaiah by John to reflect the spiritual blindness of the Jewish leaders (see the quotations from Isaiah in John 9:41 and 12:39–40). [Author’s Note: Just so you know beloved; this last statement I do not agree with…]

^{67  67} sn A quotation from Isa 54:13.

^{68  68} tn Or “listens to the Father and learns.”

·         End “NET®” notes

^[13]  Biblical Studies Press. (2006; 2006). The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible. Biblical Studies Press. THE NET BIBLE NOTES®, NEW ENGLISH TRANSLATION. Electronic Edition, theWord® © 2003–2012 - Costas Stergiou.

[14] The Jewish Encyclopedia: A DESCRIPTIVE RECORD OF THE HISTORY, RELIGION, LITERATURE, AND CUSTOMS OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE PRESENT DAY; ©1905, 1909, BY

FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY, All rights of translation reserved. Registered at Stationers’ Hall, London, England PREPARED AS AN EBOOK BY VARDA GRAPHICS, INC. ©, 2002 by Varda Books

·         The following notes are taken from the NET Bible® footnotes, copyright (c) 1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press L.L.C. All rights reserved. Used by permission from www.bible.org, n.d.

^{67  67} tn Or “Study the scriptures thoroughly” (an imperative). For the meaning of the verb see G. Delling, TDNT 2:655–57.

^{68  68} sn In them you possess eternal life. Note the following examples from the rabbinic tractate Pirqe Avot (“The Sayings of the Fathers”): Pirqe Avot 2:8, “He who has acquired the words of the law has acquired for himself the life of the world to come”; Pirqe Avot 6:7, “Great is the law for it gives to those who practice it life in this world and in the world to come.”

^{69  69} tn The words “same scriptures” are not in the Greek text, but are supplied to clarify the referent (“these”).

^{70  70} tn Or “I do not receive.”

^{71  71} tn Or “honor” (Grk “glory,” in the sense of respect or honor accorded to a person because of their status).

^{72  72} tn Grk “from men,” but in a generic sense; both men and women are implied here.

^{73  73} tn The genitive in the phrase τὴν ἀγάπην τοῦ θεοῦ (tēn agapēn tou theou, “the love of God”) could be translated as either a subjective genitive (“God’s love”) or an objective genitive (“love for God”). Either is grammatically possible. This is possibly an instance of a plenary genitive (see ExSyn 119–21; M. Zerwick, "Biblical Greek", §§36–39). If so, the emphasis would be on the love God gives which in turn produces love for him, but Jesus’ opponents are lacking any such love inside them.

^{74  74} tn Or “you do not receive.”

^{75  75} tn Or “you will receive.”

^{76  76} tn Or “honor” (Grk “glory,” in the sense of respect or honor accorded to a person because of their status).

^{77  77} tn Or “honor” (Grk “glory,” in the sense of respect or honor accorded to a person because of their status).

^{78  78} tc Several early and important witnesses (P^{66, 75} B W a b sa) lack θεοῦ (theou, “God”) here, thus reading “the only one,” while most of the rest of the tradition, including some important mss, has the name ({א A D L Θ Ψ 33 M}). Internally, it could be argued that the name of God was not used here, in keeping with the NT practice of suppressing the name of God at times for rhetorical effect, drawing the reader inexorably to the conclusion that the one being spoken of is God himself. On the other hand, never is ὁ μόνος (ho monos) used absolutely in the NT (i.e., without a noun or substantive with it), and always the subject of the adjunct is God (cf. Matt 24:36; John 17:3; 1 Tim 6:16). What then is to explain the shorter reading? In uncial script, with θεοῦ written as a nomen sacrum, envisioning accidental omission of the name by way of homoioteleuton requires little imagination, largely because of the succession of words ending in -ου: ΤΟΥΜΟΝΟΥΘΥΟΥ. It is thus preferable to retain the word in the text.

^{79  79} sn The final condemnation will come from Moses himself - again ironic, since Moses is the very one the Jewish authorities have trusted in (placed your hope). This is again ironic if it is occurring at Pentecost, which at this time was being celebrated as the occasion of the giving of the Torah to Moses on Mt. Sinai. There is evidence that some Jews of the 1st century looked on Moses as their intercessor at the final judgment (see W. A. Meeks, The Prophet King [NovTSup], 161). This would mean the statement Moses, in whom you have placed your hope should be taken literally and relates directly to Jesus’ statements about the final judgment in John 5:28–29.

^{80  80} tn Grk “For if.”

^{81  81} tn Grk “that one” (“he”); the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

• End “NET®” notes

^[15]  Biblical Studies Press. (2006; 2006). The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible. Biblical Studies Press. THE NET BIBLE NOTES®, NEW ENGLISH TRANSLATION. Electronic Edition, theWord® © 2003–2012 - Costas Stergiou.

[16] Michael Paul Johnson (Editor in Chief). World English Bible. Rainbow Missions, 2000. http://ebible.org/web/copyright.htm

[17] From http://www.hebrew-streams.org/works/hebrew/echad.html by Paul Sumner

[18] See Wellhausen, “Skizzen und Vorarbeiten,” iii. 164; Nöldeke, in “Z. D. M. G.” 1887, p. 719; also Wellhausen, l.c. iii.77, 170; Baethgen, “Beiträge zur Semitischen Religionsgeschichte,” p. 9, Berlin, 1888; Smend, “Lehrbuch der Alttestamentlichen Religionsgeschichte,” p. 19, Leipsic, 1893 [Reference:  The Jewish Encyclopedia: Volume 6, p. 13 PREPARED AS AN EBOOK BY VARDA GRAPHICS, INC. ©, 2002 by Varda Books. ©1905, 1909, BY FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY, n.d.

a  Gen 15:7; Acts 7:3; Heb 11:8

1  Lit Go for yourself

a  Gen 17:4–6; 18:18; 46:3; Deut 26:5

b  Gen 22:17

1  Lit be a blessing

c  Zech 8:13

a  Gen 24:35; 27:29; Num 24:9

1  Or reviles

2  Or bind under a curse

b  Gen 22:18; 26:4; 28:14; Acts 3:25; Gal 3:8

a  Gen 11:27, 31

[19]  New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995. LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

[20] The Jewish Encyclopedia: A DESCRIPTIVE RECORD OF THE HISTORY, RELIGION, LITERATURE, AND CUSTOMS OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE PRESENT DAY. Volume 6, p. 14; PREPARED AS AN EBOOK BY VARDA GRAPHICS, INC. ©, 2002 by Varda Books. ©1905, 1909, BY FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY, n.d.

[21] Jesus and the Constraints of History, A.E. Harvey, Duckworth, 1982, 154, 155, 157; from Buzzard, Anthony (2012-04-15). Jesus Was Not a Trinitarian (Kindle Location 10225). Restoration Fellowship. Kindle Edition.

[22] Ibid., 157, 158, 167.

[23] Ibid, 168. Buzzard, Anthony (2012-04-15). Jesus Was Not a Trinitarian (Kindle Location 10228). Restoration Fellowship. Kindle Edition.

[24] Ibid. Buzzard, Anthony (2012-04-15). Jesus Was Not a Trinitarian (Kindle Locations 6127-6130). Restoration Fellowship. Kindle Edition.

[25] The Jewish Encyclopedia: A DESCRIPTIVE RECORD OF THE HISTORY, RELIGION, LITERATURE, AND CUSTOMS OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE PRESENT DAY.  Volume 12, article “The Trinity”, pg 261. PREPARED AS AN EBOOK BY VARDA GRAPHICS, INC. ©, 2002 by Varda Books. ©1905, 1909, BY FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY, n.d.

[26] From http://www.hebrew-streams.org/works/judaism/lies-about-shema.html ; the article “Lies About Jews Changing the Shema” by Paul Sumner

[27] H259 = Strong’s Number; TWOT 61 = Theological Wordbook of The Old Testament, entry 61.

[28] by R Laird Harris (Author) , Gleason L Archer Jr. (Author) , Bruce K. Waltke. Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. 2 vols. Moody Publishers; New Edition edition (October 1, 2003), n.d; volume I, p. 30; Electronic Edition, theWord® © 2003–2012 - Costas Stergiou, used with permission.

[29] F. Brown, S. Driver, C. Briggs; J. Strong; J.H. Thayer. Brown Driver Briggs Hebrew Lexicon, Thayer’s Greek Definitions, and the Strong’s King James Concordance with TVM,  Electronic Edition, © 2000–2013 e-Sword by Rick Meyers, n.d.

[30] From http://www.hebrew-streams.org/works/judaism/lies-about-shema.html ; the article “Lies About Jews Changing the Shema” by Paul Sumner

[31] From http://www.hebrew-streams.org/works/judaism/lies-about-shema.html ; the article “Lies About Jews Changing the Shema” by Paul Sumner .

·         The following notes are taken from the NET Bible® footnotes, copyright (c) 1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press L.L.C. All rights reserved. Used by permission from www.bible.org, n.d.

¹ sn The whole earth. Here “earth” is a metonymy of subject, referring to the people who lived in the earth. Genesis 11 begins with everyone speaking a common language, but chap. 10 has the nations arranged by languages. It is part of the narrative art of Genesis to give the explanation of the event after the narration of the event. On this passage see A. P. Ross, “The Dispersion of the Nations in Genesis 11:1–9, ” BSac 138 (1981): 119-38.

² tn Heb “one lip and one [set of] words.” The term “lip” is a metonymy of cause, putting the instrument for the intended effect. They had one language. The term “words” refers to the content of their speech. They had the same vocabulary.

³ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴ tn Or perhaps “from the east” (NRSV) or “in the east.”

⁵ tn Heb “in the land of Shinar.” sn Shinar is the region of Babylonia.

⁶ tn Heb “a man to his neighbor.” The Hebrew idiom may be translated “to each other” or “one to another.”

⁷ tn The speech contains two cohortatives of exhortation followed by their respective cognate accusatives: “let us brick bricks” (נִלְבְּנָה לְבֵנִים, nilbbénah lévenim) and “burn for burning” (נִשְׂרְפָה לִשְׂרֵפָה, nisréfah lisrefah). This stresses the intensity of the undertaking; it also reflects the Akkadian text which uses similar constructions (see E. A. Speiser, Genesis [AB], 75-76).

⁸ tn Or “bitumen” (cf. NEB, NRSV).

⁹ tn The disjunctive clause gives information parenthetical to the narrative.

¹⁰ tn A translation of “heavens” for שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) fits this context because the Babylonian ziggurats had temples at the top, suggesting they reached to the heavens, the dwelling place of the gods.

¹¹ tn The form וְנַעֲשֶׂה (véna’aseh, from the verb עשׂה, “do, make”) could be either the imperfect or the cohortative with a vav (ו) conjunction (“and let us make…”). Coming after the previous cohortative, this form expresses purpose.

¹² tn The Hebrew particle פֶּן (pen) expresses a negative purpose; it means “that we be not scattered.”

¹³ sn The Hebrew verb פָּוָץ (pavats, translated “scatter”) is a key term in this passage. The focal point of the account is the dispersion (“scattering”) of the nations rather than the Tower of Babel. But the passage also forms a polemic against Babylon, the pride of the east and a cosmopolitan center with a huge ziggurat. To the Hebrews it was a monument to the judgment of God on pride.

¹⁴ tn Heb “the sons of man.” The phrase is intended in this polemic to portray the builders as mere mortals, not the lesser deities that the Babylonians claimed built the city.

¹⁵ tn The Hebrew text simply has בָּנוּ (banu), but since v. 8 says they left off building the city, an ingressive idea (“had started building”) should be understood here.

¹⁶ tn Heb “and one lip to all of them.”

¹⁷ tn Heb “and now.” The foundational clause beginning with הֵן (hen) expresses the condition, and the second clause the result. It could be rendered “If this…then now.”

¹⁸ tn Heb “all that they purpose to do will not be withheld from them.”

¹⁹ tn The cohortatives mirror the cohortatives of the people. They build to ascend the heavens; God comes down to destroy their language. God speaks here to his angelic assembly. See the notes on the word “make” in 1:26 and “know” in 3:5, as well as Jub. 10:22–23, where an angel recounts this incident and says “And the Lord our God said to us…. And the Lord went down and we went down with him. And we saw the city and the tower which the sons of men built.” On the chiastic structure of the story, see G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 1:235.

²⁰ tn Heb “they will not hear, a man the lip of his neighbor.”

²¹ tn The infinitive construct לִבְנֹת (livnot, “building”) here serves as the object of the verb “they ceased, stopped,” answering the question of what they stopped doing.

²² tn The verb has no expressed subject and so can be rendered as a passive in the translation.

²³ sn Babel. Here is the climax of the account, a parody on the pride of Babylon. In the Babylonian literature the name bab-ili meant “the gate of God,” but in Hebrew it sounds like the word for “confusion,” and so retained that connotation. The name “Babel” (בָּבֶל, bavel) and the verb translated “confused” (בָּלַל, balal) form a paronomasia (sound play). For the many wordplays and other rhetorical devices in Genesis, see J. P. Fokkelman, Narrative Art in Genesis (SSN).

• End “NET®” notes

^[32]  Biblical Studies Press. (2006; 2006). The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible. Biblical Studies Press.

[33] From Language Log,  http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/000405.html Article entitled “SASHA AIKHENVALD ON INUIT SNOW WORDS: A CLARIFICATION”

[34] by R Laird Harris (Author) , Gleason L Archer Jr. (Author) , Bruce K. Waltke. Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. Volume 1, pg. 30. Moody Publishers; New Edition edition (October 1, 2003), n.d. According to Kohlenberg & Swanson's Hebrew English Concordance to the Old Testament, echad (or ’eḥad) occurs 970 times in the Tanakh. Brown-Driver-Briggs' Hebrew-English Lexicon of the Old Testament says echad occurs 962 times.

[35] YHVH, the personal name of God, occurs some 7000 times, always with singular verbs and pronouns; elohim (God) some 2300 times; Adonai, the Lord God, 449 times; and in the Greek New Testament ho theos about 1317 times.

Buzzard, Anthony (2012-04-15). Jesus Was Not a Trinitarian (Kindle Locations 9178-9180). Restoration Fellowship. Kindle Edition.

a  Lev 26:1; Deut 5:6; Ps 81:10

b  Ex 13:3; 15:13, 16; Deut 7:8

1  Lit slaves

a  Deut 6:14; 2 Kin 17:35; Jer 25:6; 35:15

b  Ex 15:11; 20:23

1  Or besides Me

a  Lev 19:4; 26:1; Deut 4:15–19; 27:15

1  Or a graven image

a  Ex 23:24; Josh 23:7; 2 Kin 17:35

b  Ex 34:14; Deut 4:24; Josh 24:19; Nah 1:2

c  Ex 34:6, 7; Num 14:18, 33; Deut 5:9, 10; 1 Kin 21:29; Jer 32:18

a  Deut 7:9

a  Lev 19:12; Deut 6:13; 10:20

1  Or hold him guiltless

a  Ex 23:12; 31:13–16; Lev 26:2; Deut 5:12

a  Ex 34:21; 35:2, 3; Lev 23:3; Deut 5:13; Luke 13:14

a  Neh 13:16–19

1  Lit is in your gates

a  Gen 2:2, 3; Ex 31:17

a  Lev 19:3; Deut 27:16; Matt 15:4; 19:19; Mark 7:10; 10:19; Luke 18:20; Eph 6:2

b  Deut 5:16, 33; 6:2; 11:8, 9; Jer 35:7

a  Gen 9:6; Ex 21:12; Lev 24:17; Matt 5:21; 19:18; Mark 10:19; Luke 18:20; Rom 13:9; James 2:11

a  Lev 20:10; Deut 5:18; Matt 5:27; 19:18; Rom 13:9

a  Ex 21:16; Lev 19:11, 13; Matt 19:18; Rom 13:9

a  Ex 23:1, 7; Deut 5:20; Matt 19:18

b  Lev 19:18

a  Deut 5:21; Rom 7:7; 13:9; Eph 5:3, 5

b  Prov 6:29; Matt 5:28

a  Ex 19:16, 18; Heb 12:18, 19

1  Lit sounds

[36]  New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995. LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.