February 23, 2015 - Significance of name David; Verb Paradigms

1. *Interesting discussion on the inherent numeric aspect of Hebrew Names. Hebrews do not have numbers so they use the letters in their alphabet to represent numbers. Therefore, every word is also a number. Because of this, Hebrews were inclined to play word games with numbers, but they were also used for more than entertainment - some words/numbers had doctrinal significance.
1. דוד means "David" The letter for D is the 4th letter in the alphabet, and the letter for V is the 6th letter of the alphabet, creating the equation 4+6+4=14. 
2. David was the first king to fully unite Israel. He declared that future kings would come from his own house, the house of Judah. 
3. Mathew Chapter 1 presents the ancestry of Jesus Christ, which includes David, but does a bit more than that. In verse 17 he was careful to show that Jesus was a literal descendant of David, and used the number 14 to distinguish three significant events. Readers and followers of prophecy would have recognized Matthew's announcement of Jesus' ancestry as a fulfillment of prophecy.
2. My name (Eric) would be spelled אֶרִך and is 1+20+11 = 32
3. VERB PARADIGMS

FORM - COL ASPECT - ROW	Qal simple active	Nifal passive or reflexive	Piel active intensive	Pual passive intensive	Hifil Causative Active	Hofal Causative Passive	Hitpael Causative intensive
Perfect - Complete (past, present, and future)	He Killed	He was Killed	He Slaughtered	He was Slaughtered	He caused to be killed	He was caused to be killed	He was caused to be slaughtered
Imperfect - Incomplete (past present, and future)	He will kill	He will be killed	He will slaughter	He will be slaughtered	He will cause to kill	He will cause to be killed	He will cause to be slaughtered
Imperative - Command (2nd person)	You will kill	You will be killed	You will slaughter	You will be slaughtered	You will cause to kill	You will cause to be killed	You will cause to be slaughtered
Cohortative - Command (1st person or to oneself)	I must Kill	I must be killed	I must slaughter	I must be slaughtered	I must cause to kill	I must cause to be killed	I must cause to be slaughtered
Jussive - Command (3rd person)	They must kill	They must be killed	They must slaughter	They must be slaughtered	They must cause to kill	They must cause to be killed	They must cause to be slaughtered

February 18, 2015 - Amen; Hebrew Verbs; Church/State

1. * Every language has at least one Hebrew word... "Amen" אַמּן. It is most often translated "Verily", and means "Of a truth". We do not use the word "Amen" in English the way the Savior used it, in fact, it is usually used as a meaningless word to us. He often used it in the middle of sentences, and even twice to place emphasis on particular doctrines, many of which uses had reference to covenants.
2. The Hebrew bible has 23,000 verses, and contains 72,000 verbs, averaging 3 verbs per verse. This means Hebrew loves the verb! This is convenient to English which also loves the verb, unlike Latin which favors the noun. Therefore Hebrew to English translations flow better. All nouns are derived from verbs, such as "Walk" to "Walker".
3. * The sense of the horrific nature of the Lord's commandment to Abraham to offer his son Isaac is lost in the English translation. The King James version renders the command "sacrifice", but due to some grammatical conditions in the original text a more accurate translation might be "Slaughter". The point is that it would have been a difficult command to heed. 
4. *When you explore the bible it is important to understand it in all of its contexts, such as:
1. Language, 
2. Culture (Religion and State)
1. * Our culture has a strong divide between church and state, and that divide grows day by day. This divide was not present in Hebrew culture, as church and state were one. Our divide was necessary to bring about the restoration of the gospel, but secularism continues to grow as the religion of the state
3. History
4. Geography
5. Climateology, etc
5. Hebrew verbs fall in one of two categories:
1. Actions
2. Can describe the state of being (to be).

_____________1st Person_________2nd Person____________3rd Person

• PAST           I was                      You were                         He/she was, They were
• PRESENT   I am                        You are                            He/she is, they are
• FUTURE     I will                       You will                          He/she will, they will

6. Verbs turn into nouns through the participle aspect

February 13, 2015 - Offering; Trees/Living Water; Moriah

1. All Hebrew nouns are derived from verbs
2. * The word for "Offering" is the same as the word for "to go up". עֹלָה  "Olah"
3. *I was SO glad brother Satterfield provided a handout with many of the scriptural references to his discussion on the theme of the tree from the Hebrew Bible. Here is a followup to that conversation. 

• *The reader of the Hebrew bible immediately picks up on an interwoven theme of trees and living water, and their strong association with covenant making, and ultimate reunion with God. This is perhaps the greatest of the "plain and precious truths" that have been lost in the bible translation, mentioned by Nephi. The authors of the bible intended the reader to understand the basic lesson of the tree, which in essence is this: The world as we know it came about by Adam and Eve partaking of the fruit of a certain tree. Prior to this event they lived in the presence of God. The fundamental lesson for all of God's children on this earth is that we must strive to go back to that original tree state of existence when Adam and Eve lived with God. That's it! It's true, we get that message in a round about way in the scriptures, but in the Hebrew text it is apparently in the forefront of the readers attention. Here are a number of scriptures that describe this theme, a number of which have been mistranslated, or left out altogether (NOTE: Not an exhaustive list), (NOTE2: Watch for words like Tree, Water, Moriah, Moreh, etc. Trees are often a symbol of the Lord's covenant people, Israel. Also, the Ladder is a symbol of a tree. Lastly, the land of Moriah is a sacred hill where many ancient prophets made covenants. This is where Abraham offered Isaac, and ultimately where Jesus Christ was crucified)

• Gen. 2:8-17
• Gen. 3:1-24
• Gen. 12:6 - Mistranslation, we don't see Abraham and the tree
• Gen. 13:18
• Gen. 21:33 - Abraham plants grove of trees
• Gen. 28:11-22 - Isaac has a dream in the area of Moriah. The Ladder is a symbol of the tree AND Christ and thus, the way to get to heaven.
• Gen. 35:1-15
• Ex. 15:23-26
• Deut. 21:22-23 - Law of Moses requires grievous sinners to be hung on a tree (reference to Christ)
• Joshua 24:1-28
• Psalms 1
• Jer. 17:1-8
• Ezek. 47:1-12
• John 1:43-51 - Verse 51 is the key... Jesus Christ is the ladder from the tree to heaven
• Gal. 3:13
• 1 Pet. 2:24
• Rev. 2:7
• Rev. 22:1-5
• 1 Nephi 8:9-12
• 1 Nephi 11:1-23
• 1 Nephi 15:22
• 2 Nephi 2:14-25
• Alma 5:34
• Alma 12:20-37
• Alma 32-33
• Alma 42:1-28
• Helaman 3:27-30
• D&C 101:44-56

Conclusion: 

1. Jesus Christ is the way for men to return to the heaven-like prefallen garden state before Adam and Eve took of the fruit of the tree.
2. The Land of Moriah (Moreh, etc) is a sacred and specific land consecrated by God and many holy prophets, and is strongly associated with covenants necessary for exaltation

February 11, 2015 - Idioms, Scriptures have lost Tree significance

Today I tried to drink from the firehouse of Brother Satterfield's exceptional lesson but I'm afraid I couldn't keep up. I do however have enough clues that I might be able to reconstruct many of his thoughts using the scriptures and some Hebrew insights to share it properly in another blog. But for now, here are some interesting highlights:

1. *IDIOMS. Common in English and Hebrew (And most languages). They exist as a way of respectfully discussing special topics such as using the bathroom (an idiom in itself), sexual topics, and I would add the topic of death to the list. As languages and cultures devolve, they become more literal, crude, as they move further from respect.
2. Translators must figure out these idioms and find some way to translate them - doing so literally would not make any sense in English. For example, Hebrews used the expression "to cover ones feet" with regard to 'going to the bathroom'. This expression has been incorrectly translated a number of times in the King James Bible. When King Saul was with his men, he told them he needed to go cover his feet, but it was rendered go to sleep in a cave. This translation of going to sleep has been repeated, probably because covering ones feet provides the imagery of pulling a blanket over the person.
3. *CONSTRUCT STATES. This phrase is a familiar concept to anyone who has read the scriptures and is familiar with what we think of as strange word orders. There is no word for "of" in Hebrew, so they simply put two nouns together. Anytime we see two nouns together, we simply stick an "of" between them in English. Examples include "Altar of Stone" (Eng. Stone Altar); Plates of Brass (Eng. Brass Plates); Sword of Laban (Eng. Laban's Sword).
4. *TREES have enormous significance in the Bible that has been lost in English. Beginning with Adam and Eve's Tree of life, and tree of knowledge (death); Then a bunch of trees in the old testament (I couldn't write fast enough); The familiar biblical reference to "The plains of Moriah" is actually "The Tree of Moriah" in Hebrew. Aparently Abraham always lived near/under trees. Lehi's dream is centered around a tree. He and his family camped near trees, gathered seeds of every kind, etc. Psalms has strong tree imagery. The tree of Shechem, where covenants were made. Joshua put a rock under a tree as a token to Israel's righteous covenant. This same tree was on the plains of Moriah, and was later purchased by King David. Jerusalem was built on this location. And finally, Jesus Christ was lifted up on a tree at this same location. This truly was/is sacred ground.

February 9, 2015 - Many Grammar concepts and Hebrew Word Meanings

1. *Started class by discussing the appropriateness of asking for gifts of the spirit, and particularly the gift of tongues and interpretation of tongues in this class. The motives for asking for gifts should always be for building up the Lord's kingdom, not for a sign.
2. *Genesis 22:1 "After these things"... WHAT things? ANSWER: The preceding chapters since Genesis 12. The author is making an important note that this chapter is a climactic event.
3. *Chapter 12 begins with a test, and chapter 22 is a test. In the first test Abraham is asked to leave his fathers house, his kinsman, and his country, and go to a land the Lord will show him. In other words, he is being asked to leave EVERYTHING (His inheritance) for the Lord. 
4. *COOL GRAMMAR LESSON: ABRAM is two syllables "Ab" (Father), and "Ram" (High). Abram means "High Father". Made a connection with the syllable "Ram" to the Book of Mormon Hebrew word "Ram-e-um-tom", (High place). 
5. *COOL WORD LESSON: "Malach" means Angel, but in Hebrew can mean "Messenger", whether mortal, immortal, or even God. So, Malach is often translated as angel, but may not always have the heavenly messenger context.
6. *"Seraph" has a strong connotation of burning, cremation, fire, etc. "Seraphim" was used by Isaiah to describe angels who burned his lips with a coal. "Seraphim" literally means burning ones.
7. "Isaac" means "He Laughs". This suggests he was so named at birth because he laughed as a newborn.
8. "Nathan" means "He Gave"
9. * God issues commandments. There is no need to soften his commandments, but he did in one instance in Genesis 22. The King James version of the Bible rendered it "Take now thy son, thine only son...". There is found an interesting syllable with the word for "Take" which is pronounced "nah" and means "Please". The correct translation would be "Please take your son...". This is significant because God softened his commandment. Why? Perhaps because he was about to ask Abraham to do something horrific, and knew the difficulty of the task. Perhaps because The Lord was able to personally relate to Abraham like no one could in offering his own son. Interestingly, the Lord commanded Abraham to leave his home and go to a land he would show him. It was in that land he was asked to sacrifice his son, Issac. The Land of Moriah is the same area where the Savior was crucified, possibly a stone's cast from where Abraham nearly sacrificed Isaac.
10. *The syllable "Nah" just mentioned is found in the familiar expression of worship, "Hos-san-NAH". The syllable "Hos" has reference to "Jehova". The syllable "San" has reference to being saved. So the command "Hoshan" means "God save us!", but because man does not command God, it is softened by adding the syllable "Nah", and means "God, please save us!"
11. *"Helpmeet" in the scriptures according to the instructor is a good translation, but not quite accurate, as no English word exists for the Hebrew word. The Hebrew word denotes a strong connotation of being Opposite, different, and yet, Equal, and totally necessary. He then used the example of an airplane wing on one side. The wing on the opposite side is opposite, different, equal, and totally necessary for flight. In my experience, the previous generation at large does not tend to treat woman equally to men. I love knowing woman are equal to men in God's eyes! I love knowing men and woman are opposite by divine design! I love the soaring feeling I share with my sweet wife at my opposite side!

February 2, 2015 - "Har" and Perfection

1. "Har" can mean "Mountain" or "Temple"
2. * The Hebrew word for "Perfect" doesn't necessarily denote sinlessness, but rather "Completeness". There are four degrees of completeness, the Celestial, Terrestrial, Telestial, and the fourth lacking a name is outer darkness. Our choices culminate into a point of completion following our mortal experience. This adds insight to the Savior's command to "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in Heaven is perfect", or in other words, strive for his level of completion... DON'T SETTLE FOR LESS!