If you knew Hebrew, you would see more than what is stated in the translations
Question:
In reference to Is "Christian" supposed to be "natsarim"?
“Your friend likes to think of himself as superior because he knows a little bit of Hebrew. As you noted, the Bible proves his various positions wrong. Knowledge of God's teaching does not require knowing Hebrew or Greek. You can understand what God said by reading translations in your own language.”
Spoken from the flesh.
I had a problem with this statement. I was looking for a little knowledge and insight. We are called to judge righteously and in truth. But here I see you calling out someone in their perception where they are using root Hebrew or Greek terms and claiming because they do, they “think themselves superior.” I find that a bit harsh. Just because a brother or sister may do so, no one should have the right to judge and say they think themselves superior. Everyone is on different walks and if someone’s cries differ from your own in terms of biblical viewpoints, it is not nice to say stuff such as you said. Nothing the man said showed they thought themselves superior but was stating what they believed to their friend.
Getting down to root words used in the Bible does have its benefits. You don’t need to be so defensive and definitive of everything. Have an open mind and love. For example,
In Psalms 22:6, Jesus says something odd: “But I am a worm and no man.” (KJV). What did he mean by saying “I am a worm”?
Usually, in the Scriptures, the Hebrew word for a worm is «rimmah», which means a maggot – but the Hebrew word he used here for worm, is «TOLA’ATH», which means “Crimson worm” or “Scarlet worm”. Both scarlet and crimson are the colors of blood – deep red.
The Crimson worm (coccus ilicis) is a very special worm that looks more like a grub than a worm. When it is time for the female or mother Crimson Worm to have babies (which she does only one time in her life), she finds the trunk of a tree, a wooden fence post, or a stick. She then attaches her body to that wood and makes a hard crimson shell. She is so strongly and permanently stuck to the wood that the shell can never be removed without tearing her body completely apart and killing her.
The Crimson Worm then lays her eggs under her body and the protective shell. When the baby worms (or larvae) hatch, they stay under the shell. Not only does the mother’s body give protection for her babies, but it also provides them with food – the babies feed on the LIVING body of the mother!
After just a few days, when the young worms grow to the point that they are able to take care of themselves, the mother dies. As the mother Crimson worm dies, she oozes a crimson or scarlet red dye which not only stains the wood she is attached to, but also her young children. They are colored scarlet red for the rest of their lives.
After three days, the dead mother Crimson worm’s body loses its crimson color and turns into a white wax that falls to the ground like snow.
So what did Jesus mean by saying “I am a worm”? There are a lot of ideas about what Jesus might have meant, but nobody really knows for sure. However, it is very interesting that, just like the Crimson worm, Jesus sacrificed or gave up his life so that his children might be washed with his crimson blood and their sins cleaned white as snow. He died for us, that we might live through him!
While you can stand firm on your belief that his word is all we need in English there are some situations where going to the original language that it was given to us in will actually show us a deeper meaning. Just like this. Don’t you see how much more beautiful this verse turns when we use the original word? We are to seek and find.
Bless you, and I hope you see more light. Many are so defensive with everything that doesn’t fit the world's church ways and the way everyone practices, without thinking there could be more that he has in store for us. After all, our world is full of lies and deception, even in churches themselves.
It may be written in Greek but our Messiah was Hebrew. He spoke Hebrew. Don’t take offense at people going back to our own Messiah's roots. Having this viewpoint that people who use Greek and Hebrew see themselves as “more superior” shows you hold some pride. See them as having a hunger for him and wanting his word as he gave it. Respect it. Being able to see what he spoke in his language with full meaning in what he gave, not just what has been translated for us by a man who was not a prophet or inspired by God -- the translators. They were not like the prophets who wrote the Bible. They were men who translated it. Many translators took out parts from the Bible. The Holy Bible is beautiful but to get the full picture we have to see from our Messiah's eyes, not men's.
Answer:
I must say that I found your rebuke to be ironic. In your example, you did precisely what I discussed in the original question. There the person claimed to know Hebrews but from his supposed knowledge made conclusions contradictory to what the New Testament actually said. While you did not bother to address the points I made, you declared that the conclusion drawn was "spoken from the flesh" -- in other words, "worldly" and "not from God." Why? Because you mistakenly believe that anyone's views are equally valid. The only view that is valid is God's. As God said, "You thought that I was just like you; I will reprove you and state the case in order before your eyes" (Psalms 50:21).
To prove your point, you copied and pasted into your note a discussion about Psalms 22:6 that has been passed around many times on the Internet. You passed it off as your own, never indicating that you lifted it from someone else. If you had checked the story, you would have found that there are numerous flaws in it.
The Psalmist wrote, "But I am a worm and not a man, a reproach of men and despised by the people" (Psalms 22:6). The Hebrew word tola'ath can be translated as either "worm" or "scarlet."
The Israelites did produce a scarlet dye from the bodies and eggs of an insect known as the shield louse or scarlet worm. Its official name is Kermes. There are several subspecies but the kermes echinatus produces the brightest red color. All kermes are parasites of various oak trees, feeding on the sap of the host tree. The female kermes has brood chambers where her eggs develop while protected by her body that dies. When the nymphs are mature enough, they crawl out. [Malkie Spodek, "Natural history of Kermesidae (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha) in Israel," Journal of Natural History, 2016]. I found nothing indicating that the nymphs feed on their mother's body. Egg incubation takes 4 to 6 weeks and the hatched nymphs leave the brooding chamber about a week or two later (not the few days claimed). It is during the egg-laying phase that the female kermes echinatus produces the scarlet dye that is in her body and in her eggs. The harvesting of the insects and the eggs must take place during this month-long period. Much of what you copied is not factual but was written to make the egg-laying cycle of the adult kermes echinatus sound more like the events on the cross. It is basically a made-up story, but it sounds good so people repeat it without checking if it is factual.
But the biggest problem is that tola'ath is not just used for the dye of this particular insect or for the insect itself.
- In Exodus 16:20, the word is used for the worm that ate the manna that was kept too long.
- In Deuteronomy 28:39, it is used for a worm that devours grapevines.
- In Isaiah 66:24, it is used for worms that feed on dead bodies.
- In Jonah 4:7, it is used for a worm that ate the plant that had shaded Jonah.
None of these can be the kermes because they feed on the sap of oak trees. Thus, we see that the word tola'ath applied to more than one particular insect or worm. Therefore, to say Psalms 22:6 must be referring to the kermes is a supposition made by someone who thought it would make a good story. "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths" (II Timothy 4:3-4).
Paul further warned, "For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion, wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions" (I Timothy 1:6-7). I believe this describes both the person in the original note and yourself as well.
In warnings against false teachers, Peter described them as "self-willed" (II Peter 2:10) and that they speak "out arrogant words of vanity" (II Peter 2:18). The person in the original note was teaching falsehoods and all such teachers are subject to pride.
No one needs myths to teach the gospel or to gain a deep understanding of God's Word. Such things are actually detrimental and lead people away from the truth.
Question:
I never claimed it to be mine. 🙂
Thank you for your time, sir.
Answer:
By putting the writings of someone else into your own writing and attaching your name to it, you are making an implied claim that it is your own when you neglect to include quotation marks and source references. See What Is Plagiarism?
I believe my points have been accepted.
