Blessed and Holy: Understanding Them Better Through Exodus 34 (Transfer Relationships - Part 2 of 5)

PREFACE

One of the hardest parts of my writing is making sure I understand a text there and then before I leap to the here and now.  The goal is to free myself as much as possible from an outsider's point of view and instead put on an insider's hat.  Only then can transfer from insider to outsider really happen in a way that is true and humble. 

One of the greatest errors in the past for trying to understand blessed or holy inside the Bible is the habit of falling back on two methods that have to do with relationships of place and time or transfer between differences of place and time.  One method is the use of etymology.  The other method is the use of using cognate languages.  While there are times that both of these methods are essential, I think in the case of blessed and holy this is not the case.  In fact, I would even suggest that a person is better off to avoid each method as much as possible based on what we know about deciphering unknown languages. 

I base my view on my own revised version of the five fundamental pillars identified by Michael Coe, a highly regarded expert on Mayan decipherment, for all successful decipherments of unknown languages. 

 

                                                  Photo of Michael Coe


Those pillars are:

·         The language must be a presently known language in at least one of three ways.  As a whole, the method requires some connection with known languages to be effective.

·         There should be a large enough database and texts of the language.  This addresses the amount of text that is needed to be effective. 

·         There should be a connected cultural context of the language.  This addresses the issue of relationship where there must be a connection to be effective.

·         There should be understood parallel or bilingual inscriptions of the language.  The  key action in this case is understanding a less well understood from a parallel that is even better understood. 

·         There should be pictorial or concrete references with the text of the language.  The thing that can really help is a referent to go with meaning and both kinds are very helpful. 

I will limit my discussion mostly to the meaning of holy here, because I have studied it far more extensively than I have blessed.  Many of the same things, though, could be use for finding the meaning of any words in the text. 

If you were to pick up a typical lexicon of Hebrew, you would likely arrive at the idea that qadosh (the Hebrew word for holy), is best defined as "set apart".   This is largely derived from an etymological argument for the Hebrew word that we typically translate as holy. 

There are two problems with the argument for its etymology.  One is that this etymology is more theory than model.  Second is  that the uncertainty of the theory is usually not opening acknowledged.  It is known, but only to those who have studied the word to the extent of writing a more lengthy word study. 

Regarding the first concern, there is not a contemporary like the leader of the Hebrews, Moses, who wrote that this word is derived from the meanings of each of these letters or from another word similar to qadosh.  If we had that, then we would have a model description of the meaning of holy that could be very helpful.  Sometimes ancient writers give to us a legitimate etymology for a word that we know is reliable.  The problem in the case of the Hebrew word for holy, is that there is no historical example of this, which makes an etymology for Hebrew word of qadosh highly speculative. 

That leads us to the second problem.  Most of the time the speculative nature of trying to come up with a meaning either contemporary or previous to the word qadosh in the text, is not even acknowledged.  You have to open the most contemporary Hebrew lexicon or dictionary to see that acknowledged in a Hebrew lexicon.   Clines' Dictionary of Classical Hebrew is the most straightforward in acknowledging the uncertainty.  Otherwise, you have to look  it up in a book devoted at length to discussing the meaning of holy like Jo Bailey Wells' book, God's Holy People: A Theme in Biblical Theology. 

Now I would like to discuss the problem of what are called cognate languages.  These are words that are related by a common origin.  This is usually recognized by the common forms of words from related languages.  There are a number of ancient languages that have apparently related words deriving from a similar QDS root pattern.  There are issues though that can be raised based on Coe's principles. 

First, Hebrew is a much larger volume of text than are many of the cognate languages that are relied upon to define qadosh.  Second, there is no doubt that these languages are more closely connected to Hebrew than many others, yet sometimes these languages that are being relied upon are not contemporaneous but prior or later.  So the close connection is not as close as one might hope.  Third, I have not seen a lot of data for parallels.  The best here would be the Septuagint where Greek is parallel as opposed to what is found in examples of ancient cognate languages.  Finally, there are no spectacular finds of pictures or concrete examples in many of these texts.  If they do exist, I have never heard of anything of that sort in these other cognate languages when it comes to holy. The closest I have seen to anything like that is the work of Mary Douglas inside the Hebrew Biblical text rather than any reference to some related language on the outside looking in. 

                                                          Photo of Mary Douglas



What is really needed, and it is what I am attempting to provide, is an argument from the Hebrew itself.  The reason is because there is much more to learn from the large database of text in Hebrew.  And there is also a very parallel example of another language in the Greek Septuagint translation of the Hebrew.  These are far more in value due to their overwhelming database sizes and the fact that the Greek in this case can function like a Rosetta Stone in discerning the meaning of obscure words in Hebrew where we don't have a lot to work with.   But the words for blessed or holy are far from obscure words. To me, using etymology and cognate languages are quite unnecessary. 

But really the biggest issue is that each of these methods, etymology and cognates, have each undercut rather than enhanced the direct study of Hebrew in its own right.  The great majority of the time  in reading a word study on qadosh/holy, the decision on the meaning of holy is made way before the Hebrew text is even encountered.   Qadosh is often treated like we have a really small data base to work with instead of huge one that indicates that etymology and cognate words will not be very valuable in the end.  It is encountering qadosh and its other forms inside the text that I think is the most valuable of all. 

Mary Douglas' treatment of holy from inside the Biblical text begins things in the right direction.  Let's study first the text that has come down to us.  After all, the insider may know more than the outsider! 


TRANSFER FROM THEN AND THERE TO HERE AND NOW


You may wonder about my process of the 5 T's.  Let me shed some light on each of these, by defining each one.  The central concept is a relationship that changes from there and then to here and now (and even to elsewhere and later).  So here is how each compares in my effort to relate things from there and then of Scripture to the here and now of our lives:


The Five T's of Transfer (Relationships of different kinds):


Translation is a transfer of amounts from there and then to here and now

Transfer is a transfer of relationships from there and then to here and now

Total is a transfer of wholes from there and then to here and now

Training is a transfer of actions from there and then to here and now

Teaching is a transfer of things from there and then to here and now.























Exodus 

[diagram of text]

[contemporary outline of text] 


[This piece is still being worked on due to an interruption today.  I hope to revisit it fairly soon. 


In Christ,

Jon

 

Holy: Understanding it Better through Leviticus 19 (Transfer Relationships - part 2 of 5)

This post will be delayed like most of my 2 of 5 posts due to the extensive work it takes to really understand the transfer part of a passage.  I will be updating this later, so please check back. 

Sorry for the inconvenience.  Thank you for understanding.


[I have now found my prior work on the connections in the text.  I hope to copy and post these soon and maybe even today - 4/3/14]. 

Sincerely,

Jon

Holy: Understanding It Better Through Gen. 1:1-2:4a (Total)

PREFACE

The definition of holy has certainly seen its share of conflict and controversy in the last 100 plus years.  But also it has high level of importance in the Bible and in terms of personal interest and its potential connection to a very timely topic - healthy.  The personal interest is seen in its close connection with a person's name, as for an example, God's name of Yahweh.  "Holy be your name" is part of the opening in the Lord's Prayer.  The topic of being whole or being healthy is currently one of major importance.  With the possible definition of "moral wholeness", it could tie directly into healthy as one of the hot topics of the 21st century.   So the overall or total approach to determining a word's meaning is looking at all four areas of interest or concern: 1) translate to an equal, 2) transfer from and to a location and time, 3) total to avoid need gaps, 4) train in the skills for application, and 5) teach what is what. 

So far in my entries this week, I have dealt with translation and transfer.  Today, I will be spending some time beefing up 1) translate and 2) transfer.  I will also use today to look ahead to 3) training and 4) teaching elements.  This is what I call the total.  It keeps me from leaving gaps in my attempt to persuade others of the meanings for Yahweh, blessed, and holy. 

In the Western world, we usually associate the total of something with the opening and closing of what we say, but I want to take a more Eastern approach and place it primarily in the middle.  This approach I learned from Mary Douglas, a rather famous anthropologist, who has written on the different structural pattern found in Hebrew writings in the Bible.  This does not mean that I will not also have the total of all the parts in the opening and closing, as is usually found in the West.  Rather it means I will keep my eye on the whole of the process also in the middle of my writing like the Hebrews. 

I value the total so much, because without it things are not complete or total and can therefore easily fail.  One writer in speaking of the persuasion cascade pointed out that his method would not work, if it was not completed through the whole of the steps.  He understood that there would then be gaps in the persuasion process which then could lead to persuasion failure.  I think this also applies to defining words and trying to make a good case for a particular view. 

The greatest example of the opposite of what I am saying is the view that the context is THE key to understanding the meaning of a word.  Now that the etymology of holy in the Hebrew, the Aramaic, and the Greek is seen as a matter of conflict and controversy; context is now being promoted as THE way to resolve its meaning.  I find that very unsatisfactory.  It is only one part of at least four perspectives in the total reading and understanding process of reading the Scripture. 

That is critical to understanding my approach.  Context alone for defining a word will not work in my view.  It requires a much more comprehensive approach.  Then from that larger perspective, a person can see the convergence of perspectives hopefully all pointing to the same thing. 

My goal through this blog is to give people another choice in the area of meaning that they have not previously been aware of as people, who desire to know the meaning of key words in their Bible.  I am trying to shed light on the topics of God's name, blessing, and holy that have been hidden in the darkness.   Beginning with a choice is critical in reaching the ultimate goal of celebration.

The 5 step persuasion process is like this for the one trying to persuade others:

1) choice by helping people see,
2) chance by enabling people to do,
3) connect by a willing opportunity,
4) change by filling empty hands to satisfaction, and
5) celebrate by people enjoying the experience of not having gaps in fulfilling their needs.

My goal through these 5 steps is to get people to seeing, able, willing, and ready.  It takes all of that to reach full blown personal eagerness. 

Here's another way to express in words what is desirable for those seeking answers to questions:

1) A choice that you see,
2) A chance for you to be able,
3) A connection that you willingly embrace,
4) A change that fills you up to ready, and
5) A celebration that is all that you need rather even one need short. 

Here's Jesus' purpose and goals for similar kinds of things (in Luke 4:18):

1) to restore sight to the blind, who are  those not seeing,
2) to free the oppressed, who are those unable,
3) to liberate the captives, who are those unwilling,
4) to tell the gospel to the poor, who are those unready, and
5) to fulfill the whole of the purposes or goals (ex. Jesus' bucket list or ministry goals), and not even one less than this to those suffering, who are those not eager due to a purpose gap. 

If you are not eager, then you are suffering.  If every one of the criteria is met: seeing, able, willing, and ready, then suffering is relieved.  The point is that you only have to be missing one of those things to suffer and not be eager. 

If you are not eager,

then you are suffering. 

So why are you not eager for work?  Have you ever thought about it lacking one or more of these goals or purposes?  Why are you not eager to go to church?  Could it be that this organization that is supposed to be built around Jesus' goals has lost its bearings? 

If you fulfill all these things on Jesus' bucket list of goals, then you will eliminate or at least alleviate suffering.  So you might ask this: "So how do I become eager?"  It is through finishing the goal list that Jesus laid out. 

If we changed all things to the direction of Jesus' goals, then I believe people will be so eager they will be breaking down the doors to churches.  We can then return to standing room only and people waiting outside to get in. 

Here's how you can become eager (based on the rewards for not just you but others equally):


So now, let's lay out the choices :

20th ct. choice - the definition of holy is set apart, and it has less to do with purity or with wholeness compared to what was previously thought. 

21st ct. choice - the definition of holy is moral wholeness, the implication is purity, and the significance is that this is what sets us apart (the definition and the implication altogether).

Let's lay out the chances:

20th ct. chance - not much of a chance, but the only real chance we have to draw people back to the church is through being contemporary in terms of music and technology. 

21st ct. chance - the practical aspect of making things morally whole or physically whole means that we can do things that were impossible previously

Let's lay out the connections:

20th ct. connect - the various denominational and non-denominational teams on the landscape will continue to be tied to the same leaders of the past in Protestantism and there will be little future hope of reconnecting in a tightly formed team

21st ct. connect - there will now be a real chance to join together in a way that is tightly bound to one another rather than in a loose alliance

Let's lay out the changes:

20th ct. change - the continued changes in technology will drive us to the greatest changes we are capable of making

21st ct change - the change will happen on a personal level with human beings and their moral character resting on a new quality standard and accomplishment. 

Let's lay out the celebration:

20th ct celebration - the best of that optimism happened in the 1950s and is unlikely to be revived to a higher pitch going forward

21st ct. celebration - the biblical stories of "it felt like we were dreaming" will be the same kind of reason we are celebrating. 


So as I go forward the next couple of days I hope I can demonstrate the value of training and teaching in terms of new capabilities and possibilities and also new sight and a reduction in blindness.  May God bless the remainder of your day and please visit all 5 blog entries this week to grasp the whole picture. 


In Christ,

Jon

Holy: Understanding it Better Through Answering the Question "Why?"

So why does the definition of holy matter?  There are fundamentally two answers to that question.  The first is the life-relevant answer.  The second is the teaching-relevant answer.  I have generally spent more time on the second than on the first in this blog.  I have a second blog that answers more the first question, but it depends a great deal on answering the teaching-relevant question that this blog focuses on the majority of the time.  Today, I want to expand more on both answers to the why questions you might have. 

By the way, before I get too far, I want to say that holy can be defined according to the level of adherents for each view, either as: (1) set apart, (2) pure, or (3) whole/wholly.  I'll say more on this as I progress, but I know some readers are visiting this blog just for the fast answer and they will not read any further.  For those who are reading further, here is what I am up to in my blog and in my paper for my post-graduate work. 

My plan is as follows:

I will define holy (Leviticus 19:1-2) as either: 1) set apart, 2) pure, or 3)whole/wholly depending on the evidence that I collect from Scripture in its original languages of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek  ....

...  using both biblical exegesis and linguistic synthesis & analysis as my tools, including:
    1) 5 T's - Translate, Transfer, Total, Train, and Teach - Nehemiah 8 (issue: Whole)
    2)  clarity and meaning combined (issue: Amount)
    3)  contextual structural analysis diagrams to identify precise parallels (issue: Relationship)
    4)  pre-state and post-state diagrams as well as syntactical tools to clarify actions (issue Action)
    5)  the combination of lexicons based on both classical grammar and scientific linguistics to insure
    the best results (issue: Things) ...

... Because:
    1)  the definition of holy is a potential solution to corporate and individual struggles in the church 
     and even worldwide, based on its implications
    2)  other potential solutions that have been tried in recent decades and years have fallen short of
    solutions during past periods of church reformation and revival
    3)  there is a measure of uncertainty or lack of clarity for what holy is by definition, and there is
     a likely way to reduce the uncertainty that has been acknowledged by big name scholars (Otto,
     Snaith, Kline, etc.)
    4)  there is a moral obligation to pass on the gifts given to me by my teachers (and I believe the
     Holy Spirit) to the wider world
    5)  the effort to define holy fits with the tools that I received for exegesis and for linguistic
     synthesis, so it means that I can contribute something to the discussion because otherwise I should
     do nothing, so I don't waste the time of others.

So the first 5 focus on what is the "How?" for what I am doing.  The second 5 get at the nitty-gritty part of "Why?" am I doing all this.  For me life matters more than teaching, but also teaching is sometimes the means to life change.  May God richly bless you this day and may He guide my efforts at teaching, so they have worth and value to others and to myself.  Thank you for taking some time to read to the end of my writing today. 


In Christ,

Jon