There are treasures locked up in God's Law that the world has never seen. In my own study in the Hebrew text, I have found some amazing things, and I am convinced there are many many more to be discovered.
Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
(Psalm 1:1-2)
Jesus Christ is called the son of David, and it was David who wrote this psalm, the first psalm in the book of Psalms.
About twelve years ago I decided to try my hand at translating the book of Genesis from the Hebrew. After having worked on the first few chapters for a while, and focusing on translating the meaning of names, I became interested in the four rivers in Genesis two. As I continued to dig into all possible meanings of each word and their root words, I became convinced that there was a whole system of word plays, (double meanings, like puns) in the whole section. Taking all the alternate meanings woven into the text, I found the story of God's salvation.
The first river, as it says, "flows out from Eden." So the story starts with the garden that God planted, where everything was good. But the second river divided from it, and corresponds to the fall. The third river is about salvation, and finally the last (usually translated Euphrates) means good fruit, or fruitful. There are many details that fit this alternate hidden meaning, which would take too much time to elaborate for this document.
Occasionally these double meanings are brought to the attention of the English reader by footnotes. For example in the New International Version, in Micah 1:10-15 the footnotes give the meanings of nine Hebrew names which let the English reader in on the pun. I have put each note with the line to make it easier to see the connections:
| 10 Tell it not in Gath, | [Gath sounds like the Hebrew for tell.] |
| Weep not at all; | [Hebrew. The Septuagint may suggest not in Acco. The Hebrew for in Acco sounds like the Hebrew for weep.] |
| In Beth Aphrah roll yourself in the dust. |
[Beth Aphrah means house of dust.] |
| 11 Pass by in naked shame, you inhabitant of Shaphir; |
[Shaphir means pleasant.] |
| The inhabitant of Zaanan does not go out. |
[Zaanan sounds like the Hebrew for come out.] |
| Beth Ezel mourns; Its place to stand is taken away from you. | |
| 12 For the inhabitant of Maroth pined for good, |
[Maroth sounds like the Hebrew for bitter.] |
| But disaster came down from the Lord To the gate of Jerusalem. |
|
| 13 O inhabitant of Lachish, Harness the chariot to the swift steeds |
[Lachish sounds like the Hebrew for team.] |
| (She was the beginning of sin to the daughter of Zion), For the transgressions of Israel were found in you. |
|
| 14 Therefore you shall give presents to Moresheth Gath; |
[Moresheth Lit. Inheritance.] |
| The houses of Achzib shall be a lie to the kings of Israel. |
[Achzib means deception.] |
| 15 I will yet bring an heir to you, O inhabitant of Mareshah; |
[Mareshah sounds like the Hebrew for conqueror.] |
| The glory of Israel shall come to Adullam. |
[Adullam Lit. Refuge.] |
These notes are from my 1978 hard-copy NIV Bible
and from the on-line NIV at biblegateway.com.
These eleven word plays are in just six verses.
I could give more examples of these word play puns in the Hebrew text of the Old Testament, but I believe that there are a great many more that no one alive today has ever seen.
I have worked many years learning and searching for these kind of gems in the Bible, and have spent considerable time writing various computer programs to aid and automate my study. I have many more ideas for programs to do the study I wish to do, but I am not a very good programmer, and it is more than I can do.
Word plays are only one of many ways that God has hidden treasures in His word. And there are also ways that the many things have been hidden by the way scholars, scribes, translators, professors, theologians and teachers have, usually unwittingly, hidden things that are in the plain original Hebrew text.
There have also been some unfortunate misconceptions in the field of textual criticism, especially in the Greek New Testament. Every year more ancient manuscripts are found, and more are made available to the public.
Together all these things provide a rich and expanding area of study, which I believe has the power to bring much needed understanding of God's purpose and plan for the salvation of the world.
I desire connections with people who are interested in this venture, and a few good software engineers who can bring it together.
There is a lot more I would like to explain about how these truths have been sealed up, but there are way too many obscure details than can be covered in this short document.
If you are interested, please contact me:
Harvey Block
425-422-5403 (call or text)
harvey@harveyblock.net