RESOURCE: Chuck Missler's commentary on Genesis 1:1 | Audio (Blue Letter Bible)
This is the word, 'beginning':
רֵאשִׁית
Voyages of Discovery
As is so often the case, when I sit down to write down what I've discovered on my voyages into the Bible I feel overcome with such excitement with all the knowledge, connected dots and awe-filled new understanding inside myself that I wonder where I should begin, what angle I should take, or how I should frame the topic. (Which is why I have started this particular post over three times already - and hit the pause button so I can go away and think about the how of getting it all down on proverbial paper for you. But perhaps I should write for you like I have always written my blogs: spontaneously, and with that wonderful freedom I feel when I begin to unpack an idea or tell a story...)
When I was a child and teenager, all I had at my Bible-studying disposal was a dictionary and a thesaurus. I had Bibles of all sorts of translations which I would place around me on my bed to compare how different words and phrases compared with each other from one translation to another. My mom laid such a profoundly pure and complete foundation for me as a young believer that when I discovered the principles of the historical-grammatical hermeneutic (i.e. the literal interpretation) I realised how incredibly the Lord had provided for me in this way. I wasn't swayed by the errantly spiritualised interpretations of sermonisers, and could spot error, deliberate or accidental, rapidly!
By the historical-grammatical hermeneutic, I mean the understanding derived from the grammar and vocabulary, the historical context, the textual context, parallel passages, other passages that cast light on the subject, and the general tenor of Scripture. [Lee Brainard]
“Bereshit” (‘in the beginning’), the very first word of the Bible reveals a treasure of truths and where we can see God’s whole plan of Salvation laid out in just this one word.
But before we unpack this astoundingly unique word, Chuck Missler describes how magnificently nuanced the Hebrew language is, and this is why being able to found your studying on a context-correct language interpretation of God's Word is not simply a vital necessity, but abounding in His majesty:
“The Hebrew language has some distinctive characteristics that no other language on the planet Earth has. All the early languages were written without spaces between the words, and the Hebrew language is self- parsing. In Hebrew, there are five letters that have a slightly different shape when they’re used as the last letter of a word. Because of that, it’s possible to read Hebrew without spaces between the letters.
There are only consonants in Hebrew, and no vowels. It’s what’s called a consonantal script. The meaning of a word derives from a root of three letters, and each three letter root word can be expanded to create all manner of other words. Prefixes and suffixes can be added to those three letters, forming different parts of speech or even entirely new words; the meaning is related to those three base letters.
The particular meaning of the word depends on how it’s pronounced when vowel sounds are added. For instance, the three letters sfr create the word for “book” and it’s pronounced “sapher.” A writer, on the other hand, somebody who makes books, would be called a “sopher” same letters. The plural form requires a “ym” ending sfrym – “sefarim.” The pronunciations are therefore very important. It’s not difficult for a native speaker to vocally add the appropriate vowels. We often use the consonants “bldg” for “building” and we understand the word even with the vowels (and one consonant) removed.
Native speakers would naturally read the words correctly. The root consonants are designed to give Hebrew a semantic backbone and stability not characteristic of Western languages. It also leads to word play.
Verb usage is dependent on the context, and the language lends itself to puns. There’s often far more meaning implied in the Hebrew sentence than there would be in a Greek sentence.
One of the peculiarities of the Hebrew language is that the alphabet is not just phonetic, but also symbolic. The alphabet of most languages are phonetic. Words can be sounded out if the letter sounds are known. Hebrew is phonetic, but it is a special language, because it is also symbolic. Individual letters can have their own meanings. Early in Hebrew writing, the letters were also pictographs.
Aleph, for instance, was shaped like the head of an ox and represented strength and leadership. The letter kaf was originally shaped like a hand, and “kaf” means “palm of the hand” or “to coerce.” The Hebrew language is astonishingly vivid, concise and simple. It is also so dense that it makes it difficult to translate fully. While the Greek language is precise, each word holding a specific intended meaning, Hebrew leaves many ideas to be “understood.” It requires the reader to fill in the blanks. It often takes two or three times as much space to translate the Hebrew into English because the words carry so much significance on their own.”
Source: Chuck Missler, How We Got Our Bible, 400-424 (Kindle Edition); Coeur d’Alene, ID; Koinonia House)
With this in mind, let's go back to Bereshit - and look at what dear old Chuck wrote:
“In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.” Let’s take a closer look at that. In Hebrew the words are, “Beresheet bara Elohim, et ha-Shamayim et ha-Eretz.”
The word, Barasheet, is the name of the book — Genesis. Bara is a verb meaning to create out of nothing — only God can do that.
Scientists now know that the universe is finite and that it had a beginning. The Big Bang theory is their attempt to explain a beginning without acknowledging a Creator. It has many different varieties.
The original Big Bang theory was Einstein’s Steady State Model, and he later admitted it was his biggest mistake.
The Hesitation Model was refuted in the Sixties.
Entropy laws and the lack of adequate mass refuted the Oscillation Model.
The Inflation Model requires anti-gravity forces that have never been observed.
These are all variations of what we would collectively call the Big Bang. They’re all in major trouble for various reasons.
Two other important verbs are asa, which means “to make, fashion or fabricate,” and yatsa, “to form.”
Isaiah 43:7 uses all three of these, but bara is used very rarely. “Creating out of nothing” is quite distinct from “forming” or “shaping.” Creating the clay is quite different than simply sculpting it.
Source: Learn the Bible in 24 Hours, Chuck Missler | Pages 27 - 28
And after all of that, I haven't even scratched the surface in this profoundly precious excavation dig! But perhaps this may serve as an invitation for you to venture out with your own pick and shovel to discover what treasures lay beneath for yourself!
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