January 28 - February 6

Grammar concepts...

January 23, 2015 - Hebrew words. Israelite Exile periods; Scribes

1. *Some words are spelled exactly the same, and have opposite meanings (CLEAVE)
2. Some words are spelled exactly the same, and are pronounced differently (READ, READ)
3. *Phonecians are Canaanites (Greeks called them Phoenecians)
4. *An important part of Hebrew culture is understanding the Exhile (Pre-Exhillic, Exhillic, Post-Exhillic)
1. Following David/Solomon, Israel was divided into two lands. The tribe of Judah lived to the south, and the rest of the tribes lived in the north. Israel was scattered and has not yet returned; Judah was exhiled but returned.
2. 1,300 B.C - 586 BCE = Pre-Exhillic
3. 586-520 BCE = Exhillic
4. After 520 AD = Post-Exhillic
5. *Gallileans colonized the Northern areas and were essentially considered 'hillbilly's" to the Judeans in Jerusalem, who were considered more of the upper class. Jesus Christ came from the lower Gallilean class, which may have been a reason he was rejected by many Judeans.
6. *Sopherim - means "Scribes". It was a rare class of people who were literate. Even kings in those days were not literate. Nephi was likely a Sopherim, due to his fine literacy skills. He made comments in his account referring to his skills. "written by my own hand", "I Nephi wrote these things", "Taught in the learning of my father", etc.
7. *Lehi may not have had access to the scriptures before Nephi secured them from Laban. When he read them he was overcome with the spirit of prophecy.

January 16, 2015 - Hebrews wrote right to left

1. Hebrew runs right to left. The reason is believed to be due to the chisel and hammer approach of writing. It would have been very difficult the other way.
2. More grammar stuff
3. Realized I like the word אֶרֶץ (Earth. Pronounced "Airetz"). And it actually resembles the English and Afrikaans sound for earth, 'Ardt'.

January 14, 2015 - Sophos / Moros (Wise / Foolish)

1. In Greek, "Sophos" means "Wise", and "Moros" means "Moron". So what is a "Sophmore"? :-)
2. In the parable of the 10 virgins, the five foolish were rendered "Moros", and the five wise were rendered "Sophos". 
3. Reviewed the Dagesh Forte and Lene.

January 12, 2015 - Plurality of Gods

1. The Hebrew Letter צ (Tsade) makes the "ts" sound we hear in "Nuts". Since there is no English equivalent letter, bible translations appear with "Z's", or "S's". This explains the sometimes different spelling for the word "Zion", which is sometimes rendered "Sion". Pronounced properly would be "Tsion". 
2. Hebrew is a gender language. Words ending with a "im" sound are male plural. Words ending in a "oath" or "oat" sound are feminine plural.

• Cherub-im (Angels, plural); Seraph-im (Burning ones (angels), plural); Eloh-im (Gods, plural; This is NOT the name of Deity as we sometimes suppose, but a title)
• Remember when Solomon went after the false gods of "Baalim" (Male plural) and "Ashtoroth" (Female plural)? (Notice the plural male and female forms of deity, though false gods in this case.

1. Hebrew Conjunctions: In English it is improper to begin sentences with a conjugation (like And, But, Therefore, etc), but it was totally legit in Hebrew. Look at any Book of Mormon or Bible passage and nearly every sentence begins with a conjunction. This is "Bad English, but good Hebrew". AND it came to pass... (And's are represented by the single Hebrew letter, ו Vav). Incidentally, "And it came to pass" looks like this: וַיְהִי (pronounced "Vaihee").

January 7, 2015 - Greeks/Phonecians/Canaanites; Hebrew Vowels and Consonants

A bit of Semmitic History

1. Greeks acquired written form of language from Canaanites, who are also known as Phoenicians; thus, the origin of phoenix, or phoenetic alphabet.
2. Israelites were commissioned to destroy Canaanites, or they would be destroyed by them (AND THEY EVENTUALLY WERE).
3. 22 letters in Hebrew, and they are ALL consonants
4. In any language, every vowel is really a consonant. Consonants are formed when two pieces of flesh come together.
5. Gutteral consonants are low in the throat and resemble 'hawking a loogie' (my words)
6. These so called Hebrew words are actually Aramaic transliterations of the original Hebrew words. No surviving ACTUAL Hebrew text.
7. Dots and dashes comprise the vowel system
8. Most letters have little lines that resemble serif's. Many letters look very similar (Dallet, Bet, Yod, Resh). These serif's are what Jesus referred to as "Jots" and "Tittles".
9. Every syllable begins with consonant

January 5, 2015 - First day Back; Hebrew Bible; School of Prophets; Language Evolution; William Tyndale;

First day of Class - Notes on the basic nature of the Hebrew Language

1. Can not do word for word translation
2. Grammar is essential for understanding Hebrew
3. Bible was not an "A" to "B" translation (like the Book of Mormon). More like "A" to "B" to "C" (Hebrew, to Greek septuagint, to English King James).
4. Kirtland School of the Prophets - 1st semester was dedicated to learning English Grammar (1833). Began to learn Hebrew in 1836 from Rabai.
5. There is no Hebrew dictionary. Therefor we use a Lexicon, which a compilation of all the known or found Hebrew words. Lexicon expands as new words are discovered through archaology
6. Ancient languages have a tendency to 'devolve', or begin complex and simplify over time. True of Hebrew.
7. Hebrew has no vowels. English vowels are not consistent, must know context before we understand pronunciation in English. Same is true of Hebrew, need context.
8. Hebrew loves the Verb. English loves the Noun.
9. Septuagint is a translation of an unknown Hebrew text
10. Hebrew is difficult to read, but follows a consistent prescribed order of words. Greek is easy to read.
11. 83% of existing King James version of the bible was written by William Tyndale. Scholars do not understand where/why he learned Hebrew.

* Was touched by the spirit today. Felt the important nature of a teacher's role in our lives, and the way their teaching stays with us for a really long time.