The Spiritual Significance of "Seven" in Hebrew

It has been over a year since my Biblical Hebrew class, and I have missed it immensely. Fortunately for good friends and family members, I sometimes get asked about the Hebrew significance of certain words. The credit for this word study goes to my brother Mark.

We have all heard and know of the importance of the number seven to Jews and its frequent use in scripture. Before studying its Hebrew origins I probably would have said Seven is a perfect and complete number and has spiritual importance. Sure, that's true. But it is of course deeper than that.

The reason Hebrew is so cool is because we learn about one word by studying all the other words that have the same root, and all the words can mean the same thing, but with slightly different meanings. The number Seven has LOTS of related words that share the same root. Here are some examples...

*The root word for seven (shebah), is the same for the word Sabbath (shebat), and satisfy (sabea), and swear (saba), and be complete (Shaba), and cease or rest (Shebat).

Each of those words have very strong relationships that go without the need for explanation, but I find the swearing aspect to fit less than the others. So if you say "I swear that I will...", you would literally be saying "I seven that I will..." Or, if you pledge allegiance to God or - "To the Flag", then you "Seven yourself to God". Or the pledge would say "I Seven myself to the flag of the United States of America..." But on the Sabbath, we swear ourselves, or make (renew) covenants with God.

So if we put it all together we could say something like this: "On the Sabbath Day, we rest from our labors, we are satisfied, feel complete, and swear ourselves to God".

Or here is what it would sound like to a Hebrew Person... "On the seventh day, we seven from our labors; we are seven'd, feel seven'd, and seven ourselves to God. No wonder Seven is so meaningful, and is the perfect number.

*The New Strong's Expanded Dictionary of the words in the Hebrew Bible; pg 270-271

July 8 - Divine Assemblies / Councils (Council vs. Counsel)

The doctrine of "Divine Assemblies", or "Divine Councils" is an uncomfortable one for most Christians to address, yet it is laced throughout all scripture. Here are some that readily came to Brother Satterfield's mind:

1. Amos 3:7
2. 1 Nephi 1:8 (When Lehi was in vision and saw "numerous concourses of angels" in council with God.
3. Scattered all throughout Isaiah
4. 1st Kings 22:19-20; Jehosaphat and Ahab "saw Lord sitting on throne and all heavenly hosts..."
5. DC 121 - Joseph understands premortality and discovers his need to translate Abraham
6. Abraham 3,4,5 each deal very specifically with Divine Councils
7. D&C 121:32 - "According to that which was ordained in the midst of the council..."
8. Psalms 82
9. Moses 7:35 We are told many of the names of God; "Man of Holiness", "Man of Counsel"
1. Interestingly, the Joseph Smith Manuscripts #1 and #2 vary on their wording. #1 uses "Council", and #2 uses "Counsel", which seems to be a combination of both concepts but is incorrect in spelling. So, which sort of council(sel) was intended? Bro. Sat. would love to interview Joseph.
2. The Morning & Evening Star published these verses, as well as "The Times and Seasons" published this verse twice, and each are spelled in various ways. 

God uses councils, and does nothing without addressing His councils first (the real message of Amos 3:7). Check the Hebrew words for "Revealeth his secrets to his servants the prophets". Implies "Council", not "Counsel". 

God's councils are as follows:

1. Father and Mother
2. Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
3. Council of Heaven (Involves other leaders)
4. Earthly councils
1. Adam's final council before his death. All gathered in council
2. Church Hierarchical councils

July 1, Three Types of Sin, and the Way to Overcome Them

We were translating 1 Samuel 7:6, and came to an interesting word חטא, which launched the following discussion:

1. There are three types of sin. Exodus outlines them like this: "Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty;" (see Exodus 34: 7). 
1. INIQUITY: עָוָה (Avah) means to crook, or twist. Often translated "Pervert". These are sins where truth and righteousness are twisted. NSC says "Iniquity, perverse, amiss, turn, crooked,bowed down, troubled, wicked, wrong". It continues, "The perversion or distortion of nature that is caused by evildoing is represented by this word..."
2. SIN: חטא (Chatah) means to "Miss the Mark". It is used in regard to hunting or spiritual failings. Denotes that the correct path is not followed. The first Commandment: "Thou shalt have no other Gods before me", was not followed by the Israelite's at this time, so they missed the mark of following the true and living God.
3. TRANSGRESSION: פשׁע (Peshah) denotes two ideas of rebellion or revolt:
1. A goal of independence
2. The state of rebellion in which there is no end of the rebellion in view; it is no longer goal-oriented. When committed against the Lord is usually translated "Transgress" and is an expression of an apostate way of life [NSC]
3. This was the sin committed by Adam and Eve, who crossed a known boundary.
2. The Law of Moses provided a way whereby cleansing of sins could occur through sacrifice. As a basic reminder, sacrifices didn't really clean the person, since sacrifice is only symbolic. Certain events rendered someone unclean, like touching blood, or touching a corpse, or eating certain types of meat, etc. The following cleansing process took place following sins, and was a Sweet Savor to the Lord. This process was followed in what we know as the "Tabernacle of the Congregation", but a better translation is "Tent of Feast"

	God's Feast	| Priest's Feast	| Offerer's Feast
JUSTICE Sin Offering (Chatat)	X	X	O
CONSECRATION Burnt Offering (Olah)	X	O	O
RECONCILLIATION Peace (sometimes "Thanks") Offering (Shilom)	X	X	X

1. The Book of Mormon records three ordinances (Sacrifices) performed by Lehi:
1. The first came when they arrived in the borders by the Red Sea. NOTE, No sin offering made here, just burnt sacrifice and a thanks offering. There was no uncleanness. (see
   1 Nephi 2: 5-7)
2. The second came when the sons returned from killing Laban, and retrieving the Brass Plates. NOTE: Nephi would have been considered very unclean having killed a man. All three sacrifices were made. (see 1 Nephi 5: 8-9)
3. The third time came when their sons returned with Ishmael and his family. NOTE: Laman and Lemuel, and the sons of Ishmael beat Nephi (likely to the point of bleeding) and sought to murder him. His brothers felt sorry, repented, and sacrifices were performed when they returned (1 Nephi 7: 22).
2. All these Rites and Rituals of old times find symbolism in LDS chapels today.
1. The Chapel is the "Tabernacle of Congregation", or the "Tent of Feast". 
2. The feast is the sacrament, offered upon the holy altar
3. God is represented by the presiding officer, who oversees the ordinances
4. Aaronic Priesthood holding Priests represent the High Priest who interceded on behalf of the offerers (offenders). 
5. We, like ancient Israelites, bring our offering (an animal) to the altar, but we offer a broken heart and contrite spirit. I have learned that an unsatisfying sacrament meeting is evidence that I brought no sacrifice with me to the altar. Satisfaction comes when all three, God, the priest, the presiding officer, and ourselves are reconciled. 
3. When the Angel asked Nephi if he knew the condescension of God, and the meaning of the tree he saw, he was immediately shown a young virgin. He then saw the virgin but miraculously bearing a child - the Lamb of God. The tree is a symbol of Christ, the Lamb of God, the Condescension of God. 
1. Modern day definition of "Condescension": the attitude or behavior of people who believe they are more intelligent or better than other people
2. Webster's 1828 definition: Voluntary descent from rank, dignity or just claims; relinquishment of strict right; submission to inferiors in granting requests or performing acts which strict justice does not require. Hence, courtesy.
4. Instructor used the recent gay marriage events to signify the kind of sin we have made as a nation. We have missed the mark, which is the traditional family, as defined by the Family Proclamation. We have crossed known boundaries. We have twisted the truth. Like Israel, we have sinned against God. We have lowered his position and relevance in our lives. We must have a changed view.

5/13 - The doctrinal significance of "East"

I love the doctrines of the gospel, and I love Geography. How awesome it is when they both come together!!

1. Brother Satterfield began our discussion by advising us to always begin our studies with prayer, and on the knees if possible. I felt something special when he said this.
2. When translating, before tackling individual words, take a look at the grammatical whole of the verse. This is taking a 'macro' before 'micro' approach.
3. GEOGRAPHIC DIRECTIONS - Ancient people didn't have the concept of magnetic north, which is a relatively new way of thinking about geography. Ancient people oriented themselves using "East" in the way we think of "North" today. 

1. In Hebrew, compass directions have meaning rather than a geographic direction and are shown as follows: East = "Front" / West = "Behind" / South = "Right hand" / North = "Left hand". 
2. Old Testament had negative views of things "East". Babylon was East. The desert was East. Adam and Eve were driven out "Eastward". In new times East is positive. Some face east when praying. Temples often face east. Christ will come from the east.
3. Temple structure is spiritually symbolic. In the Israelite Tabernacle, the Holy of Holies (Kodesh - Kodesheem) was on the west side of the temple. The outer court (the world) was to the east (remember, east was negative). Therefore, God was to the west. Migrating through the temple happened in a westward fashion toward God. Temple worship takes us to God.
4. The Atonement occurred with directional significance: In ancient times there was only one sacrifice that did not occur in the temple, because it was so dirty, so messy, it wasn't fit for temple worship (read about the red heifer sacrifice here). In this sacrifice the entire animal was burned, intrals, feces, and all. This sacrifice was performed east of the temple (remember east is bad, dirty, etc). Gethsemane, where the Savior suffered for the dirty, filthy, iniquities of the world was east of the temple. Christ progressed westward to Golgotha where he sealed the atonement and was reunited with God.
5. Last Days. Christ will come from the east to the west. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west as a daily reminder of the coming of the son of God the second time.

5/11 - The mistranslation of the word "Tree" in Genesis 12:6

1. When I translate from Hebrew to English, I have to admit, I always double check my version against the King James version, just to see if I'm close. The translations usually agree, especially with Nouns. But not today...
2. Genesis 12: 6 refers to 'the plain of Moreh', a special land that eventually became basically the Hill where Jerusalem is, where Abraham offered Isaac, and not far from where the Savior was crucified. The King James translated אֵלוֹן (ehl-own) as "plain", but is clearly "tree". "Moreh" means "Teaching", so the translation might have been better as "To the tree of teaching", or at least "To the Tree of Moreh", but NOT the Plain. Interestingly, the "El" prefix has the divine derivative of "Elohim", or God, so the tree can also be rendered "Tree of God".
3. For a tree to have a name like this, and for the narrator to point this out means this was a special tree; a holy tree; a tree held in high regard and was famous. It was a sacred place to Israelites. Many covenants were made there, including by Abraham, Jacob, and possibly by Joshua many years later.
4. Oh yeah, one more thing. William Tyndale translated this word correctly, but the King James translators changed it to "Plain". A Greek professor was with us in class and said he has often found the King James version of the Bible has a Latin twist on many words, though primarily written in Hebrew. Translators were much more familiar with Latin than Hebrew, so when a word got difficult, they relied on their Latin expertise, which in this case could have been either Tree or Plain. But there is no question that in Hebrew, it's "Tree". 

5/6 - 5/8 - Spiritual Hardware Store / Slaves / Crossing Over

5/6

1. The Geography of Israel. An 80 mile strip of land strategically placed at the intersection of three continents. This is the promised land for Israelite's for a reason.
2. Abraham was led there by the Urim and Thummim. His story is very similar to Lehi's story (Book of Mormon), who was also led to a promised land by a curious instrument, the Liahona. The Jaredites also were lead through the wilderness by urim and thummim to a promised land. Bro. Satterfield joked that he would like access to that 'spiritual store' of such curious devices.
3. He suggested our current technological devices are similar to Urim and Thummim's, and are in a way, actually preparing us for the day when we will learn through these curious instruments.
4. The Abrahamic Covenant is to prepare the world for the Millenium (Something that has coincidentally been on my mind a great deal. See blog post). The Lord has been preparing us for the 'knowledge of all things', line upon line, precept upon precept.
5. The Lord work's through societal culture to bring about his purposes: Evidence of this is found in the Savior's words: Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts gave this law (that a bill of divorce must be given. See Matthew 19:8)
6. New Testament Apostles referred to themselves as "Slaves" (Greek). Old Testament prophets
   
   referred to their children, 'handmaids', concubines, etc. as "Slaves" (Hebrew). The English word has negative overtones but did not exist in old times. Mary (Jesus' mother), when she spoke to the Angel Gabriel said "Behold thy Slave"... NOT "Behold thy handmaid". 
7. We were born into this world as 'slaves' to the devil. Christ came to deliver us from the devil's captivity ("Ye are bought with a price", see 1 Corinthians 7:23; 1 Corinthians 6:20). Which means we then become Christ's slaves, but are then made co-heirs with Christ see Romans 8:17). "I would be a slave to Christ any day. He takes care of his slaves".
8. Slaves in old days were tatoo'd on their foreheads, and would often say essentially "This is so and so, who belongs to so and so... please return him". Later this was considered a desecration to the body which was considered a temple and tatooing became outlawed. Slaves could ultimately buy their freedom in those days. Interesting that the book of Revelation and D&C refers to those in the last days who have Christ written in their forheads (see Revelation 14:1; D&C 133:18), because they are his slaves.
9. At the LDS Sacrament table, we take our master's name upon us (When done properly, we fully submit to his will, as a slave submits to his master). Through Him we buy our freedom. 

5/8

1. Genesis 12:6 - עֲבֹר (Aber) means to "pass through" or "cross over". It is the same word used for sin/transgression.
2. Two types of crossing over: Exodus 34 refers to the forgiveness of iniquities of the Israelite's (who had 'crossed over', or sinned). 
3. There is also the sin against the moral law of the world, or the Light of Christ within all of us. One is SIN, the other is TRANSGRESSION. (I missed which was which)

May 1 - May 4 - Covenants, and family relationships

• The word ברך (bah-rach) means "Bless", and also has reference to the word "Kneel". 
• Abraham's name is known by 3 major religions (Christian, Islam, Judaism) 4,000 years later. That is significant!! Who else is so well known after that much time? Why? Because of his faithfulness. Because he was great.
• Genesis 12: 3 says those who Bless and make Abraham's name great will become great! Those who curse Abraham will be cursed. DO WE BLESS ABRAHAM? The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints blesses Abraham, but it's members may or may not bless Abraham. Those who do are blessed!

• Marriage covenants in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have very specific reference to Abraham. Do members know what that significance is? Are they trying to understand? Do they find Abraham significant? Do they bless his name? Do they think he is great? Do they kneel to him (respect, honor, etc. NOT Worship)? If they do, the blessings of Abraham are theirs.

May 4

• Scriptures often introduce the main characters at the beginning of the narrative. Abraham chapters 12-22+ are a story of two outcomes for two different people, both of which are immediately introduced in Genesis 12 - Abraham, and Lot. The author clearly intended to highlight these two outcomes for the readers sake.
• FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS in Hebrew culture: There are no words for most family relationships we have today, such as Cousin, Nephew (Brother's son), Grandfather (Father's father). I Find this fascinating. At first I thought this was a limitation of Hebrew compared to English, but I see differently now. Imagine the intimate closeness of calling your grandpa "Father", and him calling you "My Son" (or "My Daughter"). 
• The head of a household often had many wives and concubines. There would be a house (tent) for each wife (And her servants, even if her servants bore children to the head of household). All combined would be considered a "Clan", but each wife's family would be considered a 'house". The picture above shows a Clan consisting of two wives, and therefore, two houses.