Hebrew pictographs

[Fenris]

Eh. Keep your parlor games, I'll keep my bible.

[episkopos]

Eh. Keep your parlor games, I'll keep my bible.

May God bless you!

[Fenris]

You too............!

[Live4Him]

Hello all.

About 10 years ago the Lord told me "learn Hebrew". All of a sudden I had a tremendous urge to learn the language. It became a passion for me.


Along the way I discovered that Hebrew is made from ancient pictograms where every letter is actually a word.

My study began when a lady asked me what "eden" meant. She had heard of my studying and thought I might provide some insight for her.

Well I saw that the first letter "ayin" was the Hebrew word for "eye". This got me going....

So I contacted the lady and told her that the letters meant "to see the door to life"

I have taken this farther over the years. I even went on a messianic TV show to do a series on the subject!

Here is a little primer...

The word for man is "ish"

it is written as איש


This means..."the power to work and eat"

Now, the word for fire is "esh"

It is written as.. אש

Notice the youd for work is missing....this can be rendered "the power to eat (consume)

Now here is a lesson....

The word for woman is "isha" and this is written as.. אשה

Notice it is the feminine form of "fire"...as much as it is of "man"

So a woman is as fire to a man...his burning passion. Playing with fire...etc...

This is fascinating to me, there are so many treasures to be found if we take the time to look for them. I'm looking forward to reviewing the links you and Ta-An have provided. This is an entirely different door yet uncovered for me, can not wait to dive into this.
Thanks for sharing all the links and information.

[RabbiKnife]

This is fascinating to me, there are so many treasures to be found if we take the time to look for them. I'm looking forward to reviewing the links you and Ta-An have provided. This is an entirely different door yet uncovered for me, can not wait to dive into this.
Thanks for sharing all the links and information.

I would suggest mastering the text in your native language translation before "diving" into secret means of purported knowledge.

[Sherrill]

We must realize that we in fact are the hungry, the naked and the orphan without the Lord. He feeds us inwardly so we can be a river that flows outwards into the world.

Man shall not live by bread alone but by every DAVAR that proceeds from the mouth of God.

Even MORE radical concept!

Shalom

I thought about learning Hebrew several months ago...thought it would be awesome...as well as Greek...to be able to read the Bible as it was originally written...so much to be learned from the Word of God.

Your posts did make me hunger again to learn more...so much the Bible has to offer...I am praying for the ability, knowledge and wisdom to apprehend this feat...

I do hope the others have not discouraged you and Ta-An to share more of this...

May God be with you, Brother...

I pray the Holy Spirit guides you in all Truth...

[episkopos]

I thought about learning Hebrew several months ago...thought it would be awesome...as well as Greek...to be able to read the Bible as it was originally written...so much to be learned from the Word of God.

Your posts did make me hunger again to learn more...so much the Bible has to offer...I am praying for the ability, knowledge and wisdom to apprehend this feat...

I do hope the others have not discouraged you and Ta-An to share more of this...

May God be with you, Brother...

I pray the Holy Spirit guides you in all Truth...

Very good Sherill! I'm planning on posting more when I get a little time.

God bless you sister!

[episkopos]

The versatility and the efficiency of the pictograms and their meanings will be shown through these and other examples. We will see that not only do the pictograms have something to say about the basic nature of the things they are describing, but also the more hidden, even prophetic, aspects as well. The words of scripture have a story to tell and a message to convey.

Let us explore a few more examples of words and their corresponding meanings which may be derived from the letters or pictograms found in them. For example, the Hebrew word for good is tov. טוב

The first letter is a tet (ט) which can mean to contain, or to surround. The second letter, the vav (ו) can mean to attach or to secure. The third letter is a vet (ב), which can mean within, or in. We could say that God's administration of good in this world is contained and secured within based on the meaning of the individual pictograms.

טוב good – contained and secured within

Should we ask within what? No, rather we should ask – within whom? What God has accomplished in His creation is protected and surrounded by His strength. The good is to be found within Him. It is His nature. That which is good is in effect, secure from any or all forms of attack. Nothing is good outside of God. Only God is tov (good). There are many forces that seek to bring down the good. Our concept of “good” is so often subverted through our fallen nature. Adam and Eve chose wrongly to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Consequently, we are easily misguided concerning what is “good.”

The word good implies goodness. Goodness must proceed from a nature that is good. Only God possesses that nature. The goodness of God is beyond us. It belongs to Him. His goodness, however, can be imparted to us through the new birth into His family by the new nature which is in Christ. As Paul says, “In me dwelleth no good thing, that is, of the flesh.” Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is within you”. This could also be rendered, the kingdom of God is among you. Both meanings are supported in the Hebrew rendering. The final vet, as can be seen from the chart, can mean family. Does God's indwelling spirit make us good? No, but the works that are wrought through the Spirit are good. They are works prepared in advance whose origin is of the Lord.

[episkopos]

Let's look at the Hebrew word for bad or evil, ra.
רע - bad, evil

The first letter is a resh, (ר ) which means the first or beginning. The second letter, is an ayin (ע), which means to see (as previously stated). This word, then, could be rendered the first thing you see. Think of Adam and Eve and how they were the first to have their eyes “opened” after they sinned by eating the forbidden fruit. So then this word speaks of the works of the fallen Adamic nature; the sin nature we inherited through Adam. When Paul says, “We walk by faith and not by sight,” the ra or evil proceeds from the nature that depends upon what it sees. We are tempted so often through our eyes since the Adamic nature relies on the senses. This is contrary to faith, therefore evil in the sight of God.

Now, let us look at other words that are similar in spelling yet have a vastly different meaning. This will give us more insight into the flexibility and efficiency of the Hebrew language. The Hebrew word for friend or neighbour is raeh or reah.

רעה – friend, neighbour

Notice this word uses the same letters as the word ra (רע), but with an added hey (ה) which can mean to behold.

We are to love our neighbour as ourselves. When Jesus was asked, “who is my neighbour?” He told the story of the Samaritan; meaning your neighbor is - the first one you see and behold. We can't choose our neighbors, but we can choose to obey the Lord.

Let's take a look at one more related Hebrew word, in this case the verb, ra-ah. (Notice the letters are the same as in the previous word, the noun for neighbor or friend. In this case only the vowel sounds change.)

רעה - to shepherd or tend a flock.

In order to do this, you must be the eyes that watch over others. You must be the first to see and behold any danger.

In all three proceeding examples, the statement: the first to see, applies to each, but with a different connotation. In order to compare these words let's list them.

רע - bad, evil -the first thing you see
רעה – friend, neighbour – the first one you see...
רעה - to shepherd or tend a flock – the first
one to see...

[Live4Him]

WOW! The inferences these relay are incredible, bringing a deeper and broader understanding to the Word. Thank you for sharing and I hope you post more!

[episkopos]

“For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” Matthew 5:18

It is often said that much is lost when translating from one language to another. This could not be more the case than when translating the Hebrew language from the biblical text. Not only do we have an ancient viewpoint to deal with, along with its inherent word plays and multiple meanings, but we also have the added dimension of an alphabet or should I say, “alephbet,” consisting of pictographs or symbols each having a meaning in themselves. Practically speaking, we have here what amounts to a language within a language. A language very different from our own and one that is read in the opposite way, namely, from right to left.

When Jesus said that, “not one jot or tittle will change from the law until all is accomplished,” He was stressing the continued relevance of the Scriptures for the duration of this present age. This not only shows the importance of the content of the Scriptures, but also the value or weight of every letter contained in it. God has taken the trouble of providing us with a treasure trove of Godly insight and Spiritual wisdom in His written word, if we would but seek after it. There is a wealth of treasure hidden in God's Torah. We could say that it is in plain view hidden from sight. It is, however, a treasure that is meant to be found.

Jots and Tittles

Now, a jot means a “youd” which looks like this: י. The youd ( י) is the tenth and smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet.

A tittle represents the smallest part that distinguishes one letter from another. The “kots” or thorn is shown added on the letter to the left which differentiates it from the letter on the right. כ ב Notice the difference. So really, we are being drawn to notice the details of the letters because they is much to discover in them.


Here are more word pictures...

[episkopos]

Let us continue with a very important word from scripture. The word is righteousness (tsedek).

צדק - righteousness

The first letter is a tsadik (צ) meaning to wait, whichsounds likeand is very much related to the word for righteousness itself, tsedek. The second letter is a dalet (ד ) which represents a door or doorway. The third letter is a kouf (ק), which can mean time.

This word then, could be rendered, to wait at the door for a time. In other words, to wait upon the Lord. As it is written in Isaiah, “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.” The door is the Lord, Himself, as Jesus said, “I am the door.”

The feminine form of the word for righteousness is
tsedakah.

צדקה - righteousness

The hey can mean to reveal or simply, revelation.
The word in this form could be rendered, to wait at the door for a time of revelation. We should wait upon the Lord to act according to His righteousness and not our own. The feminine form if anything makes clearer what it is we are waiting for when we watch and pray. So then, listed below for the sake of comparison are the two forms.

צדק - righteousness – to wait at the door for a
time
צדקה - righteousness – to wait at the door for a
time (of revelation)

To wait in the biblical sense, is an active watching that requires our fullest attention. As Jesus said, “Watch and pray.” Watching is in no way passive. To seek or wait requires the whole measure of faith that we have been given. When we look to God in trust and wait upon Him rather than man, this world, or even ourselves, than we are on the way of righteousness. A way towards HIS righteousness.

[episkopos]

A word that opens up a whole range of study is the Hebrew word for truth, emet.
אמת- Truth

Let us attempt to get an understanding of some of the many facets of the meaning of this word. The first letter, an aleph, (א ) means power or strength. The second letter, a mem (מ ) can mean, from or give access to. The third letter, the tav (ת ) , is a very interesting one; it means a mark or sign. This mark consists of two crossed sticks in the shape of a cross.

The very pictogram of the tav is a cross! It will be remembered that this symbol for the last letter of the alephbet was in use before 1300 B.C. Could the symbol of this letter contain a prophetic message? Could this have been a hidden clue regarding the future Messiah? Is this an example of what appears to be an obvious clue hidden in plain sight?

Tav comes from the root, tavah which means: to make a mark or sign. In Ezekiel chapter 9, there is an account of what amounts to a type of Passover where a man clothed in linen, (Jesus) places a mark on the foreheads of those that are spared from judgment in Jerusalem. At Passover, blood was applied to the dwelling; in Ezekiel 9 the mark is on the earthly tabernacle, the human body. Where it is written, “set a mark upon the foreheads” both set and mark are both of the same root in Hebrew, tavah. In fact, the word that is used for the mark that is put on the foreheads is the word tav itself, the word for the last letter of the Hebrew alephbet. So then, another way of reading this passage is that a tav was inscribed upon the foreheads of those that were being saved. As we see on the chart in figure 1 the mark of the tav is the sign of the cross. Does this literally mean that a cross is marked on the foreheads of these people or is it symbology? Either way a powerful allusion to the saving power of the cross is hard to miss here.

So then, some of the possible renderings of emet, the word for truth, could be: power and abundance given, the power from the cross, or more significantly, the power that gives access to the cross.

Let's take a closer look at this word. If we take the first and last letters in the word emet, we get the first and last letters in the Hebrew alephbet or we could say the alpha and omega. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life...”, “I am the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last.”

The middle letter which is a mem is to be found right in the middle of the alephbet when the letters in all their forms are included. We have added the five final forms to the 22 letters of the alephbet. This leaves 13 letters on each side.

אבגדהוזחטיכךלמםנןסעפףצץקרשת

The truth then, both frames, and occupies the center of the alephbet in the same way the truth frames and is the center of the universe. It is also significant that the last letter of the alephbet is a tav , or a cross. This illustrates the fact that our life, the life of the old man, ends at the cross. Our natural or carnal life represented by the alephbet thus culminates in the experience of the cross; the end of our self-life. We then begin the alephbet again in newness of life beginning with the first letter which signifies new power or strength. Thingsmay look familiar, (the letters are the same) but everything has changed. “Behold, all things are become new.”

If we remove the aleph from the word emet, we are left with מת. The two last letters in emet taken together spell met meaning “dead.” When the power (aleph) is removed from the truth it produces death. The truth is the power over death! This is another rendering taken from the letters of the word emet (truth). As it is written in the Bible, “the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” The Spirit, of course, is the Spirit of truth that guides us into all truth.

אמת – truth – the power that gives access to the cross,
א - מת- the power over death

Jesus said, “The truth shall set you free.” So then, the truth lifts us from our mortal ways and gives us a life that is free from the stain of sin. He sets us...
- free from the power of death
- free from the works of death
- free from the works of the flesh and the
judgment upon them.
–
If we follow Christ then we are ambassadors of truth. The truth need not be defended – especially not by human reasoning! As it has been rightly said, “the best defense of the truth is the practice of the truth.” We are not of the truth by simply believing the right things. A tree is known by its fruit. We must be doers of the truth and not only speakers of the truth. This is our victory over death, that we believe and follow Him, and live in the truth. Of ourselves we can do nothing. The truth is not of the flesh but in the hidden things of the Spirit; the resurrection life.
–
– Having said that, there is a great danger in speaking the truth without love: to speak the truth but without the nature of God behind it. A nature that is characterized by love. If we don't act from love when speaking the truth then we can only bring death. We are not to appropriate the truth and administer it ourselves. This is a great evil albeit a common mistake among the immature and over-zealous. As Paul wrote in 2nd Corinthians “The letter kills but the Spirit gives life”

א – מת - the power of death

We should be very careful, then, to speak the truth in love. No one owns the truth. It should be remembered that we can only reveal as much truth as we ourselves practice.

[episkopos]

A study on the nature and hidden meaning of words would hardly by complete without a look at the Hebrew word for faith and faithfulness, emounah

אמונה

Using the chart we could render the meaning as the power that gives access to and secures life and revelation. This word is a little cumbersome for the purpose of our present study. A simpler form of this word which we are more familiar with and means much the same is the word amen אמן. As we know the word amen is used as an exclamation that means, so be it, or, that's true! Among the meanings of the word amen are:

- faithful,
- true (as in the statement, it is true),
- trust, (as in it is trustworthy),
- believe (as in, I believe)
–
This simpler form of the word faith (amen) can be taken as: the power that gives access to life. Obviously then, faith is keyto obtaining eternal life. Faith, yes, but also faithfulness. In Hebrew, faith and faithfulness go together. Amen means faithful as much as faith.So then we can say that faithfulness is also key to obtaining eternal life. Let us now compare faith with truth.

אמת – truth – the power that gives access to the cross,
the power over death

אמן – amen (faith, faithfulness) – the power that
gives access to life


When we compare these words directly, we see how close their meaning is. This is in large part due to the fact that their Hebrew spelling is very similar. The first and middle letters of each word are identical, namely the aleph (א), and the mem (מ). These together can mean the power that gives access to. But, these two letters also form a new word in and of themselves. A word that reveals something about the nature of both faith and truth.

[episkopos]

We have already spoken of a type of Passover (Ezek. 9). We have also spoken in some detail about the letter tav. Speaking of these things brings to mind the word tevah, תבה, the Hebrew word for ark (as in Noah's ark). One of the ways the letters of this word could be said to read is – to mark the house. This is derived from the first letter tav, (ת) meaning “to mark” and the second letter vet,(ב) meaning “house”. Just as the future Israelites made a mark on the door posts of their houses to be spared from judgment, so the ark represents the means through which salvation was to be accomplished, and this, long before the actual Passover event in Egypt! We see here a prophetic message hidden in the meaning of the Hebrew word for ark. The pictographs that make up this word provide a message of the future. Encapsulated within the word tevah, we find a divine mystery, both foretold and revealed! (the last letter hey ה can mean“reveal”) We see here once again, the kind of weight and the import that a simple word from scripture can have when we break it down into the combined meaning of every letter in the word. Again, this is just one of the ways, (and an awe-inspiring way at that!), that God has chosen to reveal His will to those who seek to search out the things of God.
Another way in which the letters in the word tevah can be formulated, is – to give house (or shelter). This possibility is derived from an alternate possible meaning of the first letter, tav (ת). To give house or shelter is of course the more obvious meaning that can be used to describe a vessel that was to become a temporary home to both Noah's family, and the pairs of animals destined to survive the Flood.

Let us look at a few final examples in this chapter. The word, Eden, for instance, besides being a literal place, has come to mean a paradise for mankind. If we look at the Hebrew letters that make up this word, עדן we find that it begins with an ayin ( ע) which represents the eye or sight. The second letter is a dalet (ד ) , which represents a door (delet is the Hebrew word for door even today). The third letter is a final nun (ן ), representing life. When we put these pictographs together we get something like to see the door to life.

Before the Fall, Adam and Eve lived in fellowship with God. They knew the divine presence of the Almighty, the shechinah glory.

If we take just the first two letters and drop the final nun, we get simply ed, עד or witness. So then, to see the door, makes us a witness. Who is the door? Jesus said, “I am the door.” He is the door to life. He is our Eden.
עדן- Eden- to see the door to life
עד- witness- to see the door

To become a witness then, we must see Him, not just repeat the testimony of another, not just read about Him, or express a personal view of Him. No, to truly be a witness of Christ we must see Him. In this way we are relating something from Him and not from ourselves. We can describe what we see. That is our testimony.

God has chosen to speak to the world through witnesses. This is by His own will. When we seek to influence others out of our own beliefs or opinions we are not doing God's will, but our own. We do God and His creation an injustice when we do things our own way. It must be God's way and not our way lest we tear down the very thing we claim we are building. We must see the door. We must see Him. There is no human reasoning or methods that can get us anywhere with God. It takes faith.

To see Him is a great blessing. The greatest blessing of all. He is the doorway, not just to eternal life, but also to eternal glory. Seeing Him is the foundation of our faith and present Spiritual life. Walking through this door causes us to partake of the divine nature. We can then experience things that are not of this world but of the world to come.

The adversary would have us think that the things of the world to come are reserved for another time, another age. He would have us think that this divine power and experience are not for now, and more specifically, not for us. It must be admitted that he has been largely successful in his design (a little leaven leavens the whole batch). Even a little doubt is enough to prevent us from having a full consecration and a whole hearted faith in God. It is much easier to destroy something than to build something. This is as true of spiritual things as of natural things.

We see then through the word that there is a spiritual connection between the experience of Eden and the experience of Jesus Christ. Man was cut off from Eden because of sin. God's remedy was that Christ be cut off for man's sin to give us access back to Eden. Eden is thus fully restored to man in the mature spiritual walk. Not in the physical realm of course, but the spiritual reality is the same. We enter into an Eden of fellowship with God. This is a great secret in our time and not experienced by many of His children. No, not enough. The Devil seeks to take away or at least short circuit this living testimony to the power and will of God, the Almighty. If we walk in Eden, then we will not be drawn to the things of this world. Instead, we see Him! We become the witnesses of His kingdom and the partakers of His divine nature. (Walk in the Spirit and ye shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.) This can in no way be accomplished through our own discipline or efforts, but through the spiritual power that comes to us by faith. Not just belief, but faith. A faith that sees. A faith that sees Him.