The New Testament was written in Hebrew (not Greek)

[micah7:9]

I think sometimes the words get between us like fences. But we kno the Spirit unifies in the love of God nd the wisdom of Christ. 

If the Spirit is feeding the words as manna....the languages are just tools for eating the bread of life.

:dsunny:

[WhiteWings]

Idiom #76 - Redeemer
(First read the introduction of Idiom #68)

When someone had to sell his land because he was very poor a close family member, the kinsman-redeemer, was obligated to buy the land and that way keep the land in the family.

A kinsman-redeemer was also someone that bought a person out of slavery (usually because of debt). The redeemer then owned that person; but not as a slave. Boaz owned Ruth as a wife. (Ruth 4:1-13)

Within marriage a husband could also take the punishment for his wife's crime. He was her redeemer.

This related to the sandal covenant described in Idiom #75

[WhiteWings]

Idiom #77 - 1000

Credits go to Ronen for this one.

When used as an idiom, it represents the totality of a thing. For example, YHWH is said to own the cattle on a thousand hills. This does not mean that there are cattle on a literal thousand hills, but it is another way of saying that YHWH owns the cattle on every hill. It specifically represents an unknown totality, at least not humanly known. The thousand hills represents every hill, but no one knows how many there are. 1000 generations is the same, the total number of unknown generations.

Deut 7:7 The LORD did not set his love on you, nor choose you, because you were more in number than any people; for you were the fewest of all people:

1Chr 16:15 Be you mindful always of his covenant; the word which he commanded to a thousand generations;

Ps 105:8 He has remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations.


The rather low number of 1000 is almost the total opposite of Deut 7:9 which indirectly gives numbers so vast they can hardly be comprehended. Surely the human population will never be close to 100 octillion (stars). (a 1 with 29 zeros). It even conflicts with the grains of sand on the shore which are 'only' 5 sextillion (a 5 with 21 zeros) in number.

My point is that neither of those numbers are intended as something (remotely) accurate from a scientific/literal point of view. That said, some uses of 1000 are just literally 1000.

[eaglesway]

Just like "ten thousands of ten thousands" meaning a vast number. It doesnt say exactly how many 10,000s times exactly how many 10,000s. It is meant to convey a vast number, but not an infinite number.

[WhiteWings]

Idiom #78 - Wisdom


Wisdom isn't just about being smart but (also) able to function successfully in life. Being able to handle difficult situations. That includes things like weaving a cloth, paint walls, carpentry. Just all skilled laborers.

Exod 35:25 And all the women that were wise hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen.



Wise
BDB Definition:
1) wise, wise (man)
     1a) skilful (in technical work)
     1b) wise (in administration)
     1c) shrewd, crafty, cunning, wily, subtle
     1d) learned, shrewd (class of men)
     1e) prudent
     1f) wise (ethically and religiously)



Heart
BDB Definition:
1) inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding
     1a) inner part, midst
          1a1) midst (of things)
          1a2) heart (of man)
          1a3) soul, heart (of man)
          1a4) mind, knowledge, thinking, reflection, memory
          1a5) inclination, resolution, determination (of will)
          1a6) conscience
          1a7) heart (of moral character)
          1a8) as seat of appetites
          1a9) as seat of emotions and passions
          1a10) as seat of courage

[WhiteWings]

Idiom #79 - Love

In Hebrew love most certainly can have the meaning we find in our English dictionaries. This post is about another meaning. Obedience.


Mark 12:28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?
Mark 12:29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
Mark 12:30 And 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: this is the first commandment.


Something strange is going on in the common translations.  The scribe asks Jesus for the first command of all (v28). Jesus gives 2 answers instead of just 1.
1. Jesus says God is one Lord which is often understood as proof for Trinity.
2. Jesus says we should love God.

So which is the command the scribe asked about? The answer is the translation is flawed.
Verse 29 is a reference to:
Deut 6:4 Hear, O Israel: Yahweh, is our God,––Yahweh alone.
Deut 6:5 Thou shalt therefore love Yahweh thy God,––with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might;

In Hebrew that verse reads YHWH... our God...YHWH.... one  A verbless verse.
One is translated from the Hebrew word echad and according to Strong can mean:
one (number)
each, every
a certain
an (indefinite article)
only, once, once for all
one...another, the one...the other, one after another, one by one
first
eleven (in combination), eleventh (ordinal)

The last decades scholars more and more lean toward the meaning of "alone" instead of "one". So it's not about unity/trinity. Neither does it say God is number one. It goes one step further; while number one can mean there is also a number two, only means He's the only one Israel follows. In contrast to the other nations that usually worshiped a head god (#1) and several lesser gods.

In Hebrew the a verb most often has both a mental and physical action attached to it. The word "hear" in verse 29 isn't only about perceive the sound of the word Jesus is about to speak in the following verses, but also understanding and believe those words. But above all act according to those words. Just like when a mother asks her kid "Did you hear me when I said clean up you room." she isn't inquiring about the sound of her voice but referring to her commandment to clean the room.


All that combined means verses 29 and 30 should be read as:
Mark 12:29-30 "Obey the only God of Israel with all your thoughts, acts and life as good as you possibly can."

So it's more a statement of loyalty than a statement of faith.




A closer look at "love" with strengthens the above conclusion.

Deut 6:4 Hear, O Israel: Yahweh, is our God,––Yahweh alone.
Deut 6:5 Thou shalt therefore love Yahweh thy God,––with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might;

Is this verse really about having emotional feelings for God? Well it certainly would be great; but it's not the only meaning of the Hebrew word "ahavah".
It can also mean "act lovely towards" or "be loyal towards". When an defeated king pledged love toward a conquering king, he wasn't declaring romantic feelings but obedience.
So, when we read love as meaning obedience it aligns nicely with the meaning of "hear".
Like with the verb hear, the verb love also has a physical component. (to obey)

A closer look at "heart".
In the ancient Hebrew mind the heart was the seat of emotions and thought. So with "all they heart" means "with all your thoughts


So the Jesus gives the Scribe (Mark 12:28) just one answer instead of two.  Obey the only God of Israel. The word obey is repeated several times with synonyms.

[joeteekay]

Thanks WW. I have always wondered if it meant One God or God Alone in the Shema. I have seen it debated both ways.
The word loyalty and obedience adds more depth to understanding.

http://www.jewfaq.org/prayer/shema.htm

:thumbsup:

[micah7:9]

 :thumbsup: :dsunny:

[WhiteWings]

Idiom #80 - In the name of

" in the name of"  often means "on behalf of" or "for the sake of".
Sometimes, mostly in poetry, it means "you".
"in the name of" isn't about the persons name at all; it's about a person's identity.

Matt 10:41 The one receiving a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and the one receiving a just one in the name of a just one will receive a just one's reward.

"in the name of the prophet"  establishes the identity of that person as a prophet.
"in the name of the just one"  establishes the identity of that person as a just one.

Matt 10:41 The one receiving a prophet because he's prophet, will receive a prophet's reward, and the one receiving a just one because he's a just one, will receive a just one's reward.


To clarify: When a person knows that a certain man is a prophet and for that reason receives that man will receive the same reward as the prophet.

An example:
1Kgs 17:9 Rise up, go to Zarephath that belongs to Sidon; and you shall live there. Behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain you.
1Kgs 17:10 And he rose up and went to Zarephath, and came in to the entrance of the city; and, behold, a widow woman was gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, Please bring to me a little water in a vessel, and I shall drink.
1Kgs 17:11 And she went to bring it. And he called to her and said, Please bring me a bit of bread in your hand.
1Kgs 17:12 And she said, As YAHWEH your Elohim lives, I do not have a cake, only a handful of meal in a pitcher, and a little oil in a jar; and behold, I am gathering two sticks and will go in and prepare for myself and for my son; and we shall eat it, and die.
1Kgs 17:13 And Elijah said to her, Do not fear, go, do according to your word, only first make me a little cake of it, and bring to me and afterward prepare for you and for your son.
1Kgs 17:14 For so says YAHWEH the Elohim of Israel, The pitcher of meal shall not be consumed, and the jar of oil shall not fail, until the day that YAHWEH sends rain on the land.
1Kgs 17:15 And she went and did according to the word of Elijah, and she ate, she and he and her household, many days;
1Kgs 17:16 the pitcher of meal was not consumed, and the jar of oil did not fail, according to the Word of YAHWEH that He spoke by the hand of Elijah.

The widow "received a prophet in the name of a prophet". Because it was a famine the widow hardly had any food for herself, but because she knew Elijah was God's prophet she shared her food with him. Her reward was that God sustained her during the famine.

In Joshua a prostitute gives shelter to a righteous spy. Her reward is that she receives shelter herself by being allowed to live in Israel.

[Cardinal]

 :cloud9: :thumbsup:

[WhiteWings]

Idiom #81 - The name in him - This idiom is very closely related to Idiom #80.

Exod 23:20 Behold, I send an Angel before you, to keep you in the way, and to bring you into the place which I have prepared.Exod 23:21 Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him.


The person who has the name in him has the the authority of the 'owner' of the name. That person acts on behalf of the 'owner' of the name. The person with the name in him was regarded as the very same person who has sent him.So when you read a verse with "in the name of the LORD" you should understand that as "in the authority of the LORD"

Deuteronomy 18:5 and 7 speak of serving in the "name" (authority) of the LORD.

Deuteronomy 18:22 speaks of prophesying in the "name" (authority) of the LORD.

In 1 Samuel 17:45, David attacked Goliath in the "name" (authority) of the LORD, and he blessed the people in the "name" (authority) of the LORD (2 Sam. 6:18).

In 2 Kings 2:24, Elisha cursed troublemakers in the "name" (authority) of the LORD.

[WhiteWings]

Idiom #82 - Lying in the bosom
This idiom is about a last will and testament, about appointing an heir.

[greg]

These Hebrew/Aramaic idioms are great, and more evidence of the fullness of the gospel.

Like Ronen, I read the Aramaic gospel as my primary text, and then use the Greek for reference on specific questions.

I happily refer to myself as an Aramaic primacist – the position that the gospel was most likely written in the Aramaic language of the apostles.  Idioms are often strong evidence of Aramaic primacy, and also, the split word examples (two Greek words coming from one original Aramaic word) really make the case too compelling to ignore, especially in the gospel of Matthew.  Indeed (as evidenced by those early Christian quotes you cited), it may be that Matthew was written in temple Hebrew rather than Aramaic. We ultimately don't know for certain, and I don't think that's some cosmic accident -- I think the Father wants us to focus on the language of the heart primarily.  In that case, perhaps I'm a heart primacist  :HeartThrob:

Indeed, the key point here is that people can be stumbled in any language if their heart isn't speaking in harmony with Yahshua.  Aramaic & Hebrew are no exception.  There are no shortage of Aramaic-speaking people today who believe in everlasting hell.  They simply go along with their church-crowd that happily departs from the literal meaning of the ancient words.  "Oh, it means 'world' here in this verse, but 'forever' here in this verse... because... just because that fits our theology."

Gary Amirault highlighted earlier in this thread:

... the law kills, whether written in Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek ...

Indeed, the bible is filled with examples where the Hebrews transgressed their commandments written in Hebrew, and so their kingdom/language/culture was taken from them (i.e., they were enslaved in Egypt under Pharaoh, then enslaved in Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar, then enslaved under the Roman Empire, and here we are today -- enslaved all over again). 

Matthew 21:43-45, "Therefore, I say to you, the Kingdom of God will be taken from you and will be given to a people who will produce fruit.... And when the chief priests and the pharisees heard his parables, they knew that he had spoken against them."

Greek was a punishment to the Hebrews and a struggle in 30AD.  Latin was a punishment and a burden to the Jews in 300AD.  English is a punishment and forked weapon of our day.  Even Aramaic – the language of Babylon -- was a punishment and curse to the Hebrews around 500BC.  They found it coarse and bitter, and the priests & lawyers tried to preserve oaths and temple service in Hebrew over the centuries leading up to 30AD, but it was ultimately futile (indeed, it certain instances Hebrew oaths were a bit comical where two words had opposite meanings).

Key point -- in all punishment and struggle, there is opportunity for growth. 

Consider Samson, who lived in a transitionary time of two languages fighting for dominance: Hebrew (Jews) & Aramaic (Philistines).

Once we realize that Hebrew = sweet honey to the Hebrews, then Samson's riddle actually makes sense in terms of biblical history:

Notice this word in Song of Songs 5:16, ממתק, which is also in Nehemiah 8:10. It comes from the root מתק ("sweet"), which is used several times in the bible and also refers to a place of the same name מתקה associated with Mt. Hor.

How should it be interpreted? We can see Ezekiel 3:3 uses the same word מתוק:

Ezekiel 3:3-6, "And He said unto me, 'Son of man, thy belly thou dost feed, and thy bowels thou dost fill with this roll that I am giving unto thee;' and I eat it, and it is in my mouth as honey for sweetness.' And He saith unto me, 'Son of man, go, enter in unto the house of Israel, and thou hast spoken with My words unto them. For, not unto a people deep of lip and heavy of tongue are thou sent - unto the house of Israel; not unto many peoples, deep of lip and heavy of tongue, whose words thou dost not understand.'"

The verse in Ezekiel advises that sweetness in the mouth is the native language (literally "tongue"; לשון) of those chosen to receive the word of אלהא.

Ezekiel 3:3 also helps one read Revelation 10:9 today - when the angel advises John the Apostle that he will eat the scroll and it will be like honey (דבשא) in his mouth but it will be bitter (נמרו) in his stomach. How do we interpret this today in the West?  In English, only the surface definitions of the words can be seen. The sweetness of the language of the chosen of אלהא cannot be heard or tasted. It is beyond the face of the Western language.

In Proverbs 27:7, we read this word  מתוק again, "Every bitter thing is sweet to one hungry." And there's that word bitter again – what's beyond the surface?

Notice this Aramaic phrase in Rev 10:9 "will be bitter" (נמרו) is a prophetic wordplay for "leopard" (נמרא), as in the third beast in Daniel 7:6 that represents Babylonian power in Greece (or that Greece foreshadowed if you prefer that iteration of prophetic cycles). See also the body of the leopard in Rev 13.

Again, the only tongue that deciphered Samson's riddle about honey inside the lion was the Hebrew-speaking Samson himself. Scholars say the Philistines spoke a type of mixed Aramaic & Greek, and the bible records that they were unable to decipher the riddle. Now ask logically - was the honey bitter in the lion's belly when Samson opened it up? No, because the beast was already a carcass when the bees inhabited. But had the lion been alive, who would desire to eat honey from its belly? Inside of an acidic stomach, would that honey not be bitter?

Was it not bitter when the Israelites were carried off as slaves to the living lion of Babylon, and their עברית ("Hebrew", the language believed to "cross" (עבר) between earth and heaven) was eaten by the lion?  Although forced to speak the language of Babylon (Aramaic), the Hebrews would eventually receive sweetness again in the carcass of that lion, through Yahshua, speaking Aramaic! YHVH is that awesome!  As the Word was given to Yahshua, YHVH put sweet honey (Aramaic) in the carcass of the lion (Babylon). For me, Aramaic without Yahshua is like Greek without Yahshua - the language is not sweet to me.

It's ironic that Samson's riddle has been translated to sound sweet in English, "Out of the eater, something to eat; out of the strong, something sweet." We the modern like our rhymes, fresh from the mouth and right on time. But when do our rhymes deceive us, our assumptions made to lead us?

I think the lion represents wayward Judah taken captive to Babylon, a kingdom represented by a "bitter" name נמרד ("Nimrod"). Spiritually, "Babylon the Great" (Rome) and "Egypt/Sodom" (Israel) are presently usurping the throne of Judah as the Father accomplishes His will through mystery and punishment. Who will separate the  איל ("strong", "ram") from theעז  ("strong", "she-goat")?

Yahshua is the anointed one, the lion of Judah, chosen to end the reign of she-Babylon's countless apostate-religions, the wayward goats. At the appointed time, I trust Yahshua to rightfully restore the throne to YHVH's promised land, a land flowing again with milk and דבשא

The strength and cleverness given to Samson through the lion foreshadows the lion messiah in Rev 5:5, "Behold, the lion from the tribe of Judah, the root of David has conquered. He will open the book and its seals."  Samson conquered the Philistines, David conquered the Philistines, the messiah will conquer the Philistines. They are a symbol of strong bitterness. The symbols travel across languages into deep paradigms that examine the human character.

So, Hebrew was honey.  It was sweetness to the tongue. 

[WhiteWings]

Gary Amirault highlighted earlier in this thread:

... the law kills, whether written in Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek ...

Indeed,

My first response/thought to that quote is often "Which Law?"

Genesis 2:7. "Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature."
Tim 3:16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

In Psalms it's often said how great the words and commandments of God are. Nothing about killing.

When Jesus had one of His many fights with the Scribes He never said the old laws were wrong. He always showed/proved them their interpretation was wrong by quoting OT verses.

So again, the letter of which law kills?
I think the manmade laws. In Jesus time there was a written law and an oral law. That oral law was a real burden. Rules invited by the leaders not by God.
Both the written Law (coming directly from God) and the oral law ('improvements' of man) were simply called "the law"
Otoh the law was nailed to the cross, done away with. So starting 2 millennia ago the laws against murder, theft and blasphemy are null and void. Obviously the letter of the NT kills too.
Or not?  :Chinscratch:

[greg]

John 14:21, "Whoever has my commands and keeps them, he loves me."

WW, you make a fine point -- but I actually wasn't trying to suggest the law is useless, or even that death is useless. To the contrary, the law is awesome, often like a sword is awesome.  It kills people who need it, and it protects people who need it. 

I suppose a key point here is that grace is necessary for life (beyond this world), because no one is actually able to comply with all the laws applicable to them in this world, except perhaps infants.

Who among us here would step forward and say, 'I found my life by my strict compliance with x, y, z laws.

I think people are more likely to say and believe, 'I seek life in Messiah Yahshua, and therefore strive to comply with his commandments. And I feel grateful for any grace afforded to me.'

Can we even comply with this: Matthew 22:36-40': "'Teacher, which commandment in the written law is the greatest?' Yahshua said to him, 'You shall love מריא אלהכ  from all your heart and from all your soul and from all your power and from all your mind. This is the great and the first commandment. And the second which is like it is, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commands depend all the written law and the prophets."

When words are written on paper in Hebrew or any other language, they are not really 'alive'.  The word "speak" is especially noticeable in the following verse: John 6:63, "The spirit is that enlivening; the body does not profit anything. The words that I speak with you are spirit and life."

Matthew 5:17-19, "Do not think that I have come to revoke the written law or the prophets; I am not come to revoke but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you that until heaven and earth will pass away, one yod or one stroke will not pass away from the written law until all/any will be. Anyone therefore who violates one of these small commandments and will teach thus to the children of men will be called small in the kingdom of heaven, but anyone who will do and will teach the same will be called great in the kingdom of heaven."

[Seth]

I believe ALL that is the letter leads to death, even commandments such as "do not covet" IF they are absent the Holy Spirit. Absent the Spirit, even the command to love our neighbor will lead to death, because the more we try to follow it, the more sin will exceed within us (Romans 7). That doesn't mean there is a problem with the Law, but a problem in the heart of man, but the Law is weak to change that condition. However, with the Spirit, God places what we need in our hearts to have the morality to not covet for example. At that point, we don't need a written law to say "don't covet" because we will be controlled by God already. God doesn't need a law to tell him "don't covet." Who is going to tell God not to covet when God doesn't have coveting in his nature?

If at times we fail, grace chastens us to right our path and teaches us morality. (Titus 2:11-12)

[Lazarus Short]

These Hebrew/Aramaic idioms are great, and more evidence of the fullness of the gospel.

Like Ronen, I read the Aramaic gospel as my primary text, and then use the Greek for reference on specific questions.

I happily refer to myself as an Aramaic primacist – the position that the gospel was most likely written in the Aramaic language of the apostles.  Idioms are often strong evidence of Aramaic primacy, and also, the split word examples (two Greek words coming from one original Aramaic word) really make the case too compelling to ignore, especially in the gospel of Matthew.  Indeed (as evidenced by those early Christian quotes you cited), it may be that Matthew was written in temple Hebrew rather than Aramaic. We ultimately don't know for certain, and I don't think that's some cosmic accident -- I think the Father wants us to focus on the language of the heart primarily.  In that case, perhaps I'm a heart primacist  :HeartThrob:

Indeed, the key point here is that people can be stumbled in any language if their heart isn't speaking in harmony with Yahshua.  Aramaic & Hebrew are no exception.  There are no shortage of Aramaic-speaking people today who believe in everlasting hell.  They simply go along with their church-crowd that happily departs from the literal meaning of the ancient words.  "Oh, it means 'world' here in this verse, but 'forever' here in this verse... because... just because that fits our theology."

Gary Amirault highlighted earlier in this thread:

... the law kills, whether written in Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek ...

Indeed, the bible is filled with examples where the Hebrews transgressed their commandments written in Hebrew, and so their kingdom/language/culture was taken from them (i.e., they were enslaved in Egypt under Pharaoh, then enslaved in Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar, then enslaved under the Roman Empire, and here we are today -- enslaved all over again). 

Matthew 21:43-45, "Therefore, I say to you, the Kingdom of God will be taken from you and will be given to a people who will produce fruit.... And when the chief priests and the pharisees heard his parables, they knew that he had spoken against them."

Greek was a punishment to the Hebrews and a struggle in 30AD.  Latin was a punishment and a burden to the Jews in 300AD.  English is a punishment and forked weapon of our day.  Even Aramaic – the language of Babylon -- was a punishment and curse to the Hebrews around 500BC.  They found it coarse and bitter, and the priests & lawyers tried to preserve oaths and temple service in Hebrew over the centuries leading up to 30AD, but it was ultimately futile (indeed, it certain instances Hebrew oaths were a bit comical where two words had opposite meanings).

Key point -- in all punishment and struggle, there is opportunity for growth. 

Consider Samson, who lived in a transitionary time of two languages fighting for dominance: Hebrew (Jews) & Aramaic (Philistines).

Once we realize that Hebrew = sweet honey to the Hebrews, then Samson's riddle actually makes sense in terms of biblical history:

Notice this word in Song of Songs 5:16, ממתק, which is also in Nehemiah 8:10. It comes from the root מתק ("sweet"), which is used several times in the bible and also refers to a place of the same name מתקה associated with Mt. Hor.

How should it be interpreted? We can see Ezekiel 3:3 uses the same word מתוק:

Ezekiel 3:3-6, "And He said unto me, 'Son of man, thy belly thou dost feed, and thy bowels thou dost fill with this roll that I am giving unto thee;' and I eat it, and it is in my mouth as honey for sweetness.' And He saith unto me, 'Son of man, go, enter in unto the house of Israel, and thou hast spoken with My words unto them. For, not unto a people deep of lip and heavy of tongue are thou sent - unto the house of Israel; not unto many peoples, deep of lip and heavy of tongue, whose words thou dost not understand.'"

The verse in Ezekiel advises that sweetness in the mouth is the native language (literally "tongue"; לשון) of those chosen to receive the word of אלהא.

Ezekiel 3:3 also helps one read Revelation 10:9 today - when the angel advises John the Apostle that he will eat the scroll and it will be like honey (דבשא) in his mouth but it will be bitter (נמרו) in his stomach. How do we interpret this today in the West?  In English, only the surface definitions of the words can be seen. The sweetness of the language of the chosen of אלהא cannot be heard or tasted. It is beyond the face of the Western language.

In Proverbs 27:7, we read this word  מתוק again, "Every bitter thing is sweet to one hungry." And there's that word bitter again – what's beyond the surface?

Notice this Aramaic phrase in Rev 10:9 "will be bitter" (נמרו) is a prophetic wordplay for "leopard" (נמרא), as in the third beast in Daniel 7:6 that represents Babylonian power in Greece (or that Greece foreshadowed if you prefer that iteration of prophetic cycles). See also the body of the leopard in Rev 13.

Again, the only tongue that deciphered Samson's riddle about honey inside the lion was the Hebrew-speaking Samson himself. Scholars say the Philistines spoke a type of mixed Aramaic & Greek, and the bible records that they were unable to decipher the riddle. Now ask logically - was the honey bitter in the lion's belly when Samson opened it up? No, because the beast was already a carcass when the bees inhabited. But had the lion been alive, who would desire to eat honey from its belly? Inside of an acidic stomach, would that honey not be bitter?

Was it not bitter when the Israelites were carried off as slaves to the living lion of Babylon, and their עברית ("Hebrew", the language believed to "cross" (עבר) between earth and heaven) was eaten by the lion?  Although forced to speak the language of Babylon (Aramaic), the Hebrews would eventually receive sweetness again in the carcass of that lion, through Yahshua, speaking Aramaic! YHVH is that awesome!  As the Word was given to Yahshua, YHVH put sweet honey (Aramaic) in the carcass of the lion (Babylon). For me, Aramaic without Yahshua is like Greek without Yahshua - the language is not sweet to me.

It's ironic that Samson's riddle has been translated to sound sweet in English, "Out of the eater, something to eat; out of the strong, something sweet." We the modern like our rhymes, fresh from the mouth and right on time. But when do our rhymes deceive us, our assumptions made to lead us?

I think the lion represents wayward Judah taken captive to Babylon, a kingdom represented by a "bitter" name נמרד ("Nimrod"). Spiritually, "Babylon the Great" (Rome) and "Egypt/Sodom" (Israel) are presently usurping the throne of Judah as the Father accomplishes His will through mystery and punishment. Who will separate the  איל ("strong", "ram") from theעז  ("strong", "she-goat")?

Yahshua is the anointed one, the lion of Judah, chosen to end the reign of she-Babylon's countless apostate-religions, the wayward goats. At the appointed time, I trust Yahshua to rightfully restore the throne to YHVH's promised land, a land flowing again with milk and דבשא

The strength and cleverness given to Samson through the lion foreshadows the lion messiah in Rev 5:5, "Behold, the lion from the tribe of Judah, the root of David has conquered. He will open the book and its seals."  Samson conquered the Philistines, David conquered the Philistines, the messiah will conquer the Philistines. They are a symbol of strong bitterness. The symbols travel across languages into deep paradigms that examine the human character.

So, Hebrew was honey.  It was sweetness to the tongue.

Truly awesome post!  :thumbsup:

[rosered]

Truly awesome post!  :thumbsup:

I have really enjoyed ALL  these posts as well Laz!! :goodpost: 's    Thanks be to God for you all ...

[WhiteWings]

Idiom #83 - Devoured

Lev 26:38 And you shall perish among the Gentiles, and the land of your enemies shall devour you.

Devour is an idiom for taking into captivity. Israel was inside the enemy's nation.

[WhiteWings]

Idiom #84 - Hornet

Josh 24:12 And I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites, not with thy sword, nor with thy bow.

The national symbol of Nothern Egypt was a hornet.

[WhiteWings]

Idiom #85 - Tremble
Tremble means 'shake with great emotion'. The exact meaning is to be determined by context.

Isa 66:5 Hear the word of the LORD, ye that tremble at his word; Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name's sake, said, Let the LORD be glorified: but he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed.
→ Tremble with joy

Gen 27:33 And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, Who? where is he that has taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before you came, and have blessed him? yes, and he shall be blessed.
→ Tremble with anger, disbelief or perhaps disappointment.

Deut 2:25 This day will I begin to put the dread of you and the fear of you on the nations that are under the whole heaven, who shall hear report of you, and shall tremble, and be in anguish because of you.
→ Tremble with fear.

[marie glen]

Very interesting posts! :thumbsup:

I've always loved Isaiah 66:5.. "tremble at His Word.." :cloud9:

[Cardinal]

 :cloud9: New site I stumbled upon that supports the OP....good read.

http://www.promotethetruth.com/id23.html

[marie glen]

 :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[eaglesway]

Excellent!