Category: Theology

This section contains papers on the theology of the Bible. Many texts have been literally rendered so that a non-Hebrew-reading person can see what the Hebrew actually says.

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Smell and Fragrance

Smell & Fragrance

 

Children learn to recognize familiar smells even before they can see. An unfamiliar smell can bring fear, while a familiar smell can soothe. The Word of God uses smells and fragrances in texts to design them for children. For example,

Genesis 8:20 And Noah builded an altar unto Yehovah. And he took of every clean beast and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21And Yehovah smelled a sweet savour. And Yehovah said in His heart, “I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake.”

The text connects Yehovah’s decision with His smelling the sweet savour. Children sometimes make decisions when they smell certain smells, so they can understand this.

Exodus 30:34 And Yehovah said unto Moses, “Take unto thee sweet spices—stacte and onycha and galbanum, these sweet spices with pure frankincense. Of each shall there be a like weight. 35And thou shalt make it a perfume, a confection after the art of the apothecary tempered together, pure and holy. 36And thou shalt beat some of it very small and put of it before the testimony in the Tent of Appointment where I will meet with thee. It shall be unto you most holy. 37And as for the perfume which thou shalt make, ye shall not make to yourselves according to the composition thereof. It shall be unto thee holy for Yehovah. 38Whosoever shall make like unto that to smell thereto shall even be cut off from his people.

Yehovah commanded the death penalty for any perfume formula imitator!

Breastfeeding children learn to recognize their own parents by smell. Yehovah formulated His perfume, and no one else is allowed to imitate His smell.

I heard of a mother sheep that lost its baby, and a baby sheep that lost its mother at the same time. The mother that had lost its baby would have nothing to do with the baby that had lost its mother. The shepherd skinned the dead lamb and covered the living with the skin, and the mother thought it was her own by smell, thus letting it suckle. Older children in shepherd and farm cultures are aware of such things.

Imitators of God attempt to fool others by smell. Some major religious groups, for example, use frankincense in their rituals to duplicate Yehovah’s command to the Levitical Priesthood. They see their priests as Levites over the “new Israel of God”. They just don’t smell right.

The way to identify Messiah Himself is by smell:

Isaiah 11:1 [literally] And a shoot shall go-out from the stem of Jesse. And a branch from his roots will be fruitful. 2And the Spirit of Yehovah shall rest upon him, the Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding, the Spirit of Counsel and Valiance, the Spirit of Knowledge and Fear of Yehovah. 3And His fragrance is in the Fear of Yehovah. And not to the appearance of His eyes will He judge, and not to the hearkening of His ears will He correct.

The same word translated smell/fragrance in the above texts is another form of the commonly used word, spirit. Discerning a spirit is discerning a smell. Some of the English expressions demonstrate this: “I smell a rat!” A child who smells the breath (spirit) of an alcoholic soon learns to avoid danger by smell. Folks carry spirits (fragrances) with them, besides the spirits with which Bible readers are more familiar (sometimes referring to angels or demons, sometimes referring to characteristics like jealousy, as in ‘the spirit of jealousy’).

Children in all cultures learn to use their sense of smell to determine many things. What fragrance describes you? Do you smell like a friend to the Jews, or would you prefer to stay away? Most of ‘Christianity’ would rather avoid the Jews and everything pertaining to them, ignoring the majority of Biblical texts.

 

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Fallen Faces

Fallen Faces

 

With a few exceptions, children show their feelings through their faces. When they are happy, their faces radiate, and they often look upwards toward others. When they are sad, afraid, upset, disappointed or humiliated, they tend to look downward.

Biblical Hebrew uses some form of the word face nearly two thousand times, and it is always plural. No one has only one face. The root of face is to turn, and everyone’s face has turns and can turn.

If one’s faces (plural) are lifted, the person has become happy. If one’s faces have fallen, the person is unhappy. The following King James Version rendering is followed by a literal rendering:

Genesis 4:5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. 6And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?

Genesis 4:5 [literally] And unto Cain and unto his guiding [gift] He did not regard. And he heated to Cain very much. And his faces fell. And Yehovah said unto Cain, “Why did he heat to thee? And why did thy faces fall?”

A much more common usage of fallen faces will be shown in the following texts:

Leviticus 26:7 And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you [“fall to your faces”] by the sword. 8And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you [“fall to your faces”] by the sword.

Young children understand falling to their faces, whether because they tripped, were overcome (as when wrestling), or when making an urgent request, as in the following text:

1 Samuel 25:23 And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and lighted off the ass, and fell before David on her faces, and bowed herself to the ground, 24and fell at his feet. And she said, “Upon me, my lord, upon me shall this iniquity be! And thine handmaid, I pray thee, shall speak in thine audience. And hear the words of thine handmaid.”

A child also understands a great defeat by falling on one’s faces:

1 Samuel 17:49 And David put his hand in his bag. And he took thence a stone. And he slang it and smote the Palestinian in his forehead so that the stone sunk into his forehead. And he fell upon his faces to the land.

Few in western cultures understand about the faces, though some expressions show some insight: “He fell on his face!”

Yehovah will lift the faces of all whose faces have fallen, yet who have truly put their hope in Him!

 

 

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The Hand

The Hand

 

Several body parts are descriptively used in the Scriptures, including the hand. I will portray several of its usages, each being a ‘childism’ (some phrase or term easily understood by a child).

 

1. The Hand that Won’t Reach

In Leviticus 5:7 and 5:11, Young’s Literal Translation has:

Leviticus 5:7 And if his hand reach not to the sufficiency of a lamb, then he hath brought in his guilt-offering—he who hath sinned—two turtle-doves or two young pigeons to Jehovah, one for a sin-offering, and one for a burnt-offering . . .

Leviticus 5:11 And if his hand reach not to two turtle-doves, or to two young pigeons, then he hath brought in his offering—he who hath sinned—a tenth of an ephah of flour for a sin-offering . . .

We would say either “He can’t afford it” or “He is unable to acquire or get it.” The viewpoint of a young child is that he can’t reach it.

 

2. The Hand that is Strong

The hand represents power to a child. Whatever she can do is often measured and done by her hand. The hand of a ‘grown-up’ seems very strong. Consider these texts:

Exodus 13:3 And Moshe saith unto the people, “Remember this day which ye have gone out from Egypt, from the house of slaves. For by strength of hand hath Yehovah brought you out from this…”

Exodus 13:14 “And it hath been, when thy son asketh thee hereafter, saying, ‘What is this?’ that thou hast said unto him, ‘By strength of hand hath Yehovah brought us out from Egypt, from a house of slaves.’”

Exodus 13:16 “…and it hath been for a token on thy hand and for frontlets between thine eyes. For by strength of hand hath Jehovah brought us out of Egypt.”

The Bible has many similar texts and other uses of hand. Anything given into the hand of someone is placed in his power and for his use, as a child would assume. The English language has absorbed some of these expressions:

Genesis 9:2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth [upon] the earth and upon all the fishes of the sea. Into your hand are they delivered.

Children are physical, and they usually express toughness with their hands, as does Hebrew:

Genesis 16:12 And he is a wild-ass man. His hand is against every man, and every man’s hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.

The hand is so important that it is used 1,710 times in the King James translation. If it were counted in the Hebrew, the number of times would be increased to more than 1,825 times.

Yehovah desires that one have clean hands. Even some unbelievers do:

Psalm 24:3 Who shall ascend into the hill of Yehovah? Or who shall stand in His holy place? 4He that hath clean hands and a pure heart, who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity nor sworn deceitfully. 5He shall receive the blessing from Yehovah and righteousness from the God of his salvation.

Israel is clay in the hands of Yehovah the Potter:

Jeremiah 18:6 “House of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter?” saith Yehovah. “Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.

Children often love working with clay. While they might not understand the importance of clean hands, they can learn about this quickly. They also understand how the hands of a more powerful child or adult can overcome or frustrate them.

Yehovah’s use of these ‘Childisms’ makes the Bible understandable to children of all cultures in the world, as long as these expressions are not hidden by translators. For example,

2 Kings 19:26 Therefore their inhabitants were of small power…

should be rendered,

2 Kings 19:26 And their inhabitants were short-ones of hand…

describing that they were shorthanded and could not reach their goal.

Were someone to produce a truly literal rendering of the Bible, children would be better equipped than adults to understand it! May your understanding of the texts increase to the perspectives of a child!

Jeremiah 18:6 “House of Israel, can’t I do with you as this potter?” saith Yehovah. “Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, House of Israel!”

Yehovah will perfect this pottery. Since Israel is in His hand, should Christians ignore Israel? Modern Christianity in nearly all circumstances either ignores Israel or accuses Israel, becoming participant with the Accuser of the Brethren! Does your church (congregation) care about this unfinished pottery, or does it concentrate on its own navel? If Salvation is of the Jews, should the Jews be ignored? Many religions are in this world. The ‘hand’ of every pastor and congregation is either for Israel or is against the Jews. Ignoring Israel’s importance is untrue to the Word of God, and is a stand against Israel. Listen carefully to sermons to see how important (or unimportant) Israel is, and see if the hand of your congregation is for or against Israel.

 

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The Eyes

The Eyes

 

Many texts make use of the word eyes, far more in Hebrew than in English. The following texts make use of eyes:

Genesis 16:6  But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee.

Genesis 18:3  And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant.

Genesis 23:11  Nay, my lord, hear me: the field give I thee, and the cave that is therein, I give it thee; in the presence of the sons of my people give I it thee: bury thy dead.

Genesis 31:35  And she said to her father, Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise up before thee; for the custom of women is upon me. And he searched, but found not the images.

Examine these same texts from the Hebrew:

Genesis 16:6 And Avram said unto Sarai, “Behold thy slave-girl is in thine hand. Do to her the good in thine eyes.”

Genesis 18:3 And he said, “My lords, if, pray, I found favour in thine eyes, do not cross-over from upon thy servant.”

Genesis 23:11 “No, my lord, hearken to me. I gave the field to thee, and the cave that is in him. I gave her to thee. I gave her to thee to the eyes of the sons of my people, a sepulcher of thy dead-one.”

Genesis 31:35 And she said unto her papa, “He will not be heat in the eyes of my lord that I will not be able to arise from thy faces. For a way of women is to me.”

Children learn about eyes long before they can speak. They also communicate with their eyes. Observant parents and guardians can often tell what a child will do next by the child’s eyes. If something is ‘good in the eyes of the child,’ the child will express this or will go toward it. If it is bad, another expression will be forthcoming.

The ‘Old Testament’ uses some form of eye over 900 times. Many of these portray a ‘childism,’ as the above texts. Many adults have become insensitive to the eyes of others, and some in some cultures do not look straight into the eyes of others. Hiding and lowering one’s eyes can show humility. This is also a characteristic behaviour of shy children.

Yehovah’s eyes are very important in the Bible:

Genesis 6:8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of Yehovah.

Deuteronomy 13:18 When thou shalt hearken to the voice of Yehovah thy God, to keep all his commandments which I command thee this day, to do that which is right in the eyes of Yehovah thy God.

1 Samuel 26:24 And, behold, as thy life was much set by this day in mine eyes, so let my life be much set by in the eyes of Yehovah, and let him deliver me out of all tribulation.

2 Chronicles 14:2 And Asa did good and right in the eyes of Yehovah his God.

Yehovah’s eyes are everywhere (omnivident):

Proverbs 15:3 The eyes of Yehovah are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.

Yehovah’s eyes are always on the Land of Israel:

Deuteronomy 11:12 …a land that Yehovah thy God careth for. The eyes of Yehovah thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year.

Children naturally use and respond to eyes in the same way Biblical characters and usages do. If Yehovah’s eyes are always on the land of Israel, do the eyes of your church (its pastor) also focus on the centrality of Israel in the plan of God, or does he manage to overlook Israel, except to refer to Israel’s unbelief? Yehovah’s eyes see, and He remembers. I have seen the look of hatred when I have spoken of Israel’s importance to the Bible. Doesn’t it make sense to look where Yehovah looks?