The language of ivrit ( עברית ) Genesis 2, DTube Video #3
Welcome back to my DTube Hebrew reading & language series.
The full study is now on line covering the Alef-Beyt here in my blog. This is a beginners program to teach letters, vowels, and reading. The vowels are marked in this bible and are designed to help avoid confusion on what a word is and how it is pronounced. The confusion is obvious in the hundreds of interpretations globally. In modern Hebrew, only children need a niqqud or vowel marking for each letter. Old manuscripts also usually have vowels marked.
This week - Genesis 2:7-10
Today's reading takes us from the formation of man to the planting of the garden and on to the choice of life or death, all in two verses. There is enough theology in these two verses to write a book or two. There are also some obvious answers to some long standing questions.
God formed man from the dust, breath into him, and he became a living soul. You may notice that there was no need to breath life into the woman.
Why?
Because God had already blown the breath of ha'yim (life - plural) into the man.
The ending im or eem in Hebrew is either plural or something that emphatically complete.
If plural, then lives in the man, enough for two when the woman was created.
If complete, then part of the body and part of the soul were both taken to make the woman.
Both work for me, leaving this open for interpretation via the rest of the Tanakh, but the second seems to go with the famous wedding verse, "... and the who shall become one flesh, and what God has joined, let no man separate." (loose paraphrase). I will not go into reading Matthew 19 in full.
A quick look at the Greek gives us 'sarx' (flesh) and my handy Hebrew B'rit Hadasha also gives me בשר אחד (one body). That said, there are many verses that say, it is not good for man to be alone. From experience, I can tell you that being parted from a wife feels like your soul has been ripped in two. Further study may render the union between man and wife to be the joining of souls as well as sexual union.
Moving on
He planted a garden with every tree that is desirable and good for food. Then after that, he (also) put the tree of life in the middle of he garden and the tree of knowledge there. This begs the question involving three types of trees. Those that were good for food, another of life, and the last of knowledge of good and evil.
- Many for food
- One for life
- One for knowing good and evil.
Food is obviously necessary for nourishment. One would argue that the other two trees were there in order to present man with the reoccurring choice of life or death.
Parallels.
Death was in man's future once he had watched as the woman ate, and he ate. Dominion over the world had been transferred to the adversary. Access to the tree of life was cut off along with entry to the garden.
Babel, trying to make a name (not God's name) for themselves rendered the death of communication, a dispersion to other locations (loss of community), and the loss of the tower they had been working on.
Israel, when disobedient, gave them captivity (death of their freedom), loss of their city (access to the land flowing with milk and honey), and the destruction of the Temple (access to God's presence).
Israel was constantly given the choice of to serve other gods or the one God. The consequences for their choices were consistent throughout their history. There are many other calls to "Choose."
- Deut.30:15 ... I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity.
- Deut. 30:19 ... I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life.
- Prov. 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.
- Jer. 21:8 "Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death."
- John 10:10 The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy: I am come that they might have life...
These two trees spark the question of choice. Every man, woman, and child choose daily, all day. The definition of good and evil is factual only when we read what the creator of those two trees has to say. Otherwise, these words are defined by the opinion of the soul that tries to define them. The hit-man finds what he considers to be a good target but considers missing them to be bad. The thief finds a good mark, and it is bad when he is caught. The swindler? The rapist?
We will surely talk more about choices as we read on.
Here is today's reading
The readings are kept short because upload times for a two-minute video are in excess of three hours at DTube. I cannot reasonably make longer videos.
Here are the links
Please click over to DTube and read the above passage with me in Hebrew.
▶️ DTube
▶️ IPFS
Note: my pronunciation of The Name as Yehovah is explained more fully in Genesis 2, DTube Video #2 and the coinciding audio is linked here.
If you are just starting, my lessons are all here starting at Alef, adding vowels (the dots and lines) as we go, the sofit formations and numerical values. Just go to my blog and scroll to the bottom or click here
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Thanks for taking the time to watch and read.
We all have a choice to choose life or death. And we're constantly presented with options to choose. Often it becomes easier to continue choosing the same when when you've been choosing it over and over. It creates habits that make it more difficult to start choosing the other.
I can see how certain thought processes have been making things more difficult for me in the last few weeks, so I had to change some of those. I'm trying to do better and will continue to try as the choices will never end until I'm gone. Hopefully that will be a long time from now. I have much left that I would like to accomplish.
I had a huge breakthrough in understanding from this lesson!
When you were reading the part of the verses that included the word "life" I realized that the pronunciation for life was included in the word for God, Elohim. There's literally life in God. That's so cool.
I also got a better understanding of who He is through His name ending in "im." As you said, that represents plural or complete. God is made up of three persons and he is complete, so He's both those. I didn't realize/remember that the word demonstrated that. Thanks for presenting it to us.
On another note, I don't know what your history is, but you alluded to knowing the pain of losing a wife. I'm sorry for your loss. A wife is precious and to lose a good one would be terrible. I can only imagine that you're correct when you say it's like your soul being ripped in two. I'm sorry.
Thanks for this post. It really encouraged me a lot. There were distractions and opposition to keep me from it, but I felt I should watch it and read it now before I let the moment pass. Thanks for being faithful to post your reading and study of the Word. It has been a light for me, especially in these last few weeks. Thank you!
Your comments are post worthy at least. You always have something relative to say, empathetic and compassionate. Thank you.
I almost stopped myself from adding the part about my wife because of my intention to present facts only. My statement about how it feels to lose my wife is as close as I come to throwing opinions out there. It is still factual because the feeling was mine and I experienced it. It could be different for other people, but not likely.
Your observation about God. There are books that have been written about this. It is one of the first observations made by many learning the language.
But, Elohim is no his name, it is only a title. More times than not, his name comes before Elohim, Elohechah (your God), Elohaynu (our God) and other forms with possessive pronouns at the end.
Still, the complete, or plural God always uses masculine singular verbs. So there is no doubt, He is one. Here is a parallel: mai-yim which is water or waters, is always plural like God's title. Would anyone deny that clouds, lakes and glaciers are all different, but still water? A complete view of water, if you will.
One last note: when Israel went in and captured cities, the were supposed to destroy all the many carved gods they found. Those are written elohim as well in scripture and they are used with plural verbs and adjectives.
Well, thank you. I've been through enough things that I can have some perspective and sympathy (if not empathy) on what people are going through. Pain and loss are never easy, so I shouldn't treat others' pain as trivial. My pain never was trivial. So I can understand what others are going through, even if my understanding is limited in their specific situation.
I'm glad you included it. It's subjective to you, but it's true for you. And it's something that most people could at least conceptually understand. I think it helps makes your point. Although, it's possibly still painful for you and I'm in no way trying to diminish your loss. It does help demonstrate your point.
Title, not name. That's a good clarification. Ok, that makes more sense why they have both of the words together. I noted that, but didn't quite understand.
Your example of water is a good one. That is easily understood. They're all separate, but they're all water.
I haven't read in Hebrew the parts where they were to destroy the carved gods. Now I'll be looking for it.
It still amazes me how much more understanding you can get from something by looking at it in a different language. The subtle differences in the way the languages present ideas can provide a lot of perspective.
@hebrew,
I am in a different religion, but it understood how god did all these creations through this article. Yeah I didn't go through the video lesson yet. I am going to watch it! Great work and good effort you put to teach us these old and great language! Thank you very much!
Shabbat Shalom~
I appreciate your loyalty! It is alright if we have different beliefs as long as we have an open mind. I believe Christians imagine God sitting in the clouds looking one way and those of Israeli blood see him in a completely different way. Both are half right in their own way. Where one misses the mark, the other picks it up and gets it right according to my studies.
Shabbat Shalom @hebrew sir
Yet another great tutorial from you and your detailed interpretation of genesis is really appreciable. Thank you.
Oh yeah @hebrew, it's an amazing lesson and it's always nice to hear from you, especially through video, the detailed interpretation of Genesis, especially when it happens in Hebrew, the language of wisdom passed through the ages. Well done, go on!
Thank you. Videos take a very long time to upload. I read at 7:30 and the upload finished at midnight. That gave me time to write the post and grab some relative images, but the time involved for a two-minute video is frustrating. Still, I believe in DTube and would rather wait for long upload times than feed the corporate whale.
When DTube improves, I will add more commentary and make longer videos.
Hebrew is the most ancient & creative language in the world. We found in our history in ancient revolution are started by hebrew language. Thank you @hebrew sir for your great activity .
God bless you..
@hebrew, That would be another excellent Dtube pronunciation indeed Ivrit tutorial introduction. Very easily pickup simply introduction being your style. I prefer to your teaching style sir. Nice explain about Genesis 2:7-10. Keep going everyone with hebrew language.
Shabbat Shalom.
Really amazing your D tube Hebrew reading and language series, very clearly described here that really possible to learn. I always follow your D tube video that highly appreciate you and nice subject chosen today. Thanks to share and as always you are doing
that not possible to do easily for any people. You are the great sir. Thanks to share another knowledgeable post.
Hiiii respected @hebrew / Shabbat Shalom as usual glad to see your weekly blog here. In which the full study of Alef-Beyt is on line for better understanding of the lessons. For beginners to teach letters, vowels, and reading. Your effforts and passion for the promotion and awareness of this ancient language is awesome and the way of teaching is really unique.
This is very effective line I copied from your blog you shared.
המשאלות הטובות ביותר שלי תמיד בשבילך, לטפל ולהישאר מבורך.
Great lesson and important language.this is valuable article.
Thanks @hebrew
Have a great day.
Hello @hebrew
I am thanking you for this great job you are putting forward to us. With your posts i have learned some words and i am now able to speak them or understand them.
I read your every post and i learned these words...
Again thank you for your help.