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 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.

April 29 - Righteous Cities

What started as a boring Hebrew Grammar conversation got really interesting and ended in an amazing doctrinal discussion of righteous cities. Here's how it went:

1. The Hebrew word גָּדוֹל (Gah-dohl) means "Great". But what kind of Great? The kind related to size. Abram was told in Genesis 12: 2 that his posterity would be that kind of great. 
2. Abraham wanted a City. He had heard about Enoch's city, and Melchizedek's city of Salem. He knew how Melchizedek through some hardship was able to persuade a wicked city, like Sodom, to repent and become righteous. But the Lord was able to do better than a city, as he promised Abraham would be a father of many 'nations'. 
3. The sad thing for Abraham was, he would live near where his city would be established, but would never actually acquire it (Hebrews 11: 8-10, 13 describes this further, and shows the exceptional faith he and his family had). Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob's covenant wives were all barren, yet each miraculously bore children who became the covenant lines. They did it all by faith.
4. The first shot at a righteous nation through Abraham was when Moses established Israel. David and Solomon did a pretty good job at it but then blew it through sin. Jerusalem was a geographically strategic place for spreading the gospel, for standing out and converting the world, but instead, they let the world persuade them. 
5. The second shot at it came in the 1830's when Joseph Smith tried to establish a righteous nation, but they blew it again, or the timing wasn't right.
6. We live in the third attempt at a righteous nation. The elect are gathering in all the time. We know at the time of the Lord's second coming, Israel will be gathered as a righteous nation (actually, many righteous nations) - even a global city of righteousness, and the Abrahamic Covenant will be complete. At this time, the earth will be translated from a temporal state, and will remain translated for 1,000 years until it is resurrected and becomes the celestial city. 
7. We go into the Celestial Kingdom as Cities, not as individuals.

April 1 - Intelligence, Visions, and Intergalactic time travel

1. Genesis 22:12 - The Lord says "Now I know that...", wait a minute! Doesn't God already know all things? Yes, but He speaks to us according to our understanding, and according to our time reckoning. God can SEE the timeline, he does not MAKE the timeline. The Hebrew name, יְהוָה (Jehovah) has the imperfect verb form meaning it has never had a beginning or and end. Like as in "I AM", rather than "I WAS". Yes, God always knew Abraham would make the choices he did, but NOW he is seeing it. A slightly missed translation here points out that Abraham did not only prove that he learned to fear God, but God recognized that Abraham actually IS the Fear of God. 
2. Big discussion on Fear, and what that means in English vs. what that means in Hebrew. In short, they really are very much the same. There really is a bit of the English "FEAR" in the real Hebrew word, meaning, if you are afraid of a certain consequence, then you don't do that thing. Elder Christofferson has a talk on Fear "A sense of the Sacred" (Part 5 entitled "Godly fear". When you fear God, you depart from evil. We don't' naturally want bad consequences in our lives.
3. There are many scriptural synonyms terms for light: Glory, Intelligence, Power, Light, Truth, Power, Life, The Light of Christ.Gods learn to control this perfectly and completely, and have FULL CONTROL over it. (As a side note, I recently read a talk by Cleon Skousen who taught that these particles of intelligence respect God, and God respects them). The Lord is ALL POWERFUL within parameters/natural laws. D&C 88 - Light is in everything, priesthood, ordinances, etc.
4. We have had a lot of light infused into this world, especially since the 1700's. This light will continue to grow until we make this world the Terrestrial Kingdom, and Christ's light will be added through the Millennium until this world becomes the Celestial Kingdom. The purpose of this dispensation is to PREPARE FOR THE MILLENNIUM!! 
5. The Andromeda Galaxy is the nearest galaxy to our Milky Way galaxy, at 2.5 Million Light years away. This means, as we look and behold the galaxy with our naked eyes, we are literally beholding it as it was 2.5 M years ago, in the present. Energy/Light/Intelligence/Power/Truth/Etc left that sphere all that time ago, and we are now seeing what was recorded on those energy particles with our mortal eyes in the present. This is how God can use light to show things past, present, and future. If he wants to give someone a vision of the Savior's atonement, he controls the light/energy/etc, etc which directly witnessed that event and calls it to the attention of the person beholding the vision. 
6. Abraham was faithful to all the tests presented to him. If WE want to be as Abraham, and be promised all that was promised to him, then WE must be tried as Abraham!
7. The Holy Ghost Administers the Light of Christ
8. Marion Romney spoke of light coming to us in three phases. The first is the light that comes to us at birth; the second is the Gift of the Holy Ghost; the last phase is The more sure word of prophecy, and is directly administered by Christ. (The Light of Christ - Marion G Romney, April 1977)

March 30 - The Many Names of God

1. The English words for Deity, God, Gods, gods, Jehova, Lord, LORD, etc, come from three basic Hebrew words (Elohim, Jehova, Adonai). The English word choice depends upon the context of the sentence. In many cases it simply is not known which specific God is being dealt with. 
2. Deuteronomy 10:9 is a good example of the frequent repetition of various names for Deity. What is the point of this repetition? Anytime a word is repeated is for emphasis (Verily, Verily / Wo,wo / Lord of Lords, etc). The point of the repetition in this verse is simply to say "The True God"... Which true God? It doesn't matter, because as we learned from the word Ma'lak, anyone who is a messenger of God will deliver the same message.
3. Genesis 22:12 - There are two words used before verbs that NEGATE the verb : אַל־ and לֹו. The first use means "Not right now", and the second means "Not EVER". The "Not Ever" form is the one used with regard to the Ten Commandments. In this verse, the messenger of the Lord told Abraham not to lift his hand (to slay) using the "Not right now" form, because a ram was about to become the sacrifice. 
4. Sometimes literary license is needed in translation, due to idiomic expressions, or cases where there are no similar words in English. This license can introduce doctrinal/theological bias. The ram is significant to Christians because it becomes a symbol of the Savior's sacrifice in saving Isaac. To the Jews, who don't believe in Jesus as the Messiah, this command to not slay Issac is interpreted as the divine direction not to perform human sacrifice. Bruce Satterfield's argument then is "Why did they use the 'don't kill right now' form of the negation word?", surely the Lord would use the "Not Ever" form if that were the case.
5. The sacrificed ram following the test of Abraham sealed the Abrahamic Covenant.

March 27 - Ministering Angels / Messengers

1. We had a really interesting discussion on the Hebrew word, מַלְאַךְ (Maw-lach), which means "Messenger". But this word often gets translated as "Angel" in the scriptures. Hebrew doesn't have the word for the English word "Angel". Messengers in Hebrew can be mortal or immortal, or can even be God Himself. The same word in Greek is translated "Angelos", and also does not have the divine overtones we have in English. 
2. Some rules about the word מַלְאַךְ: (click here for more rules)
1. Messengers represent the one who sent them (And often speak in first person) 
2. Messengers do not usually provide details concerning their commission (who sent them) 
3. Bro. Satterfield said The Lord can send whoever He wants as a messenger (whether living, dead, or whatever) 
3. Judges 2, references an 'angel' who was actually a mortal prophet from the nearby community of Gilgal, who was sent by the Lord to deliver a message. It is interesting to note the 1st person aspect of his communication. Messengers represent the one who sends them. 
4. We should translate this word as "Messenger", rather than "Angel". It is more accurate. 
5. The same organization that exists in the LDS church, namely the priesthood lines of authority through prophets, apostles, stake and ward leaders, and ultimately quorum leaders, must surely exist on the other side of the veil. 
6. The Holy Ghost has an important responsibility as a messenger (מַלְאַךְ) , testifying of the Father and the Son. We learned that the Holy Ghost is an orchestrator for providing our spiritual experiences, and is the one responsible for assigning messengers to us. Many doctrinal examples support this idea, including the story of Nephi, Laman, Lemuel, who were continually followed by their מַלְאַךְ, and who often heard his voice, literally beheld him, and felt his promptings at times. These מַלְאַךְ act under the directing influence of the spirit, and convey the feelings, thoughts, peace, guidance, etc. we associate with the Holy Ghost. This doctrine is further discussed by Elder Dallin H. Oaks, of the quorum of the 12 apostles in his talk, "The Aaronic Priesthood and the Sacrament". This doctrine does not in any way take away from the divine role of the Holy Ghost. Understanding that he is the one orchestrating each spiritual manifestation in my life, whether it is Him directly, or one He sends to me (Likely an ancestor) it doesn't matter, the message is the same. This doctrine is strongly supported in D&C 1:38, whether it is the Lord's voice, or the voice of his servants, it is the same. Frankly, I LOVE the concept of my ancestors having direct dealings with me, and having my own 'assigned' מַלְאַךְ. I think most people love this doctrine and want to believe it is true. 
7. Lastly, he spoke of the need for the Nephites who were having a difficult time understanding the Savior's words, to go home, pray for the spirit, and return the next day. They did so, gathered others, fasted, prayed, and had the literal ministration of מַלְאַךְ (Angels), and the Savior immediately appeared. The point is that The Holy Ghost can not always strive with us when we sin. But our מַלְאַךְ can minister to us, get us to repent, and bring the Holy Ghost back in our lives, and allow the Savior to administer to us.

________________________________

see also: Bruce Satterfield's collection of sources on this topic
Rules for the understanding of the Hebrew word Mal'ak - http://emp.byui.edu/SATTERFIELDB/Rel302/MalakMessengerAngel.html

March 23, 2015 - Covenants, Land, and Sacrifice

1. The King Follet Discourse was compiled from many people's notes, and was reported to have lasted 2 1/2 hours long. The amalgamated version of the talk would be no longer than 45 minutes long. Lesson: There is missing material! This is likewise true of our scriptures, and many of the prophetic experiences prophets have held. Though we certainly have what we need, we can definitely ascertain that there is missing material.
2. Verbless sentences (See NOTE 49B in Workbook)
3. When translating, stick as close to the word order as possible
4. *COVENANTS: Always include two things; 1) Cutting 2) Blood. In Genesis 15:12, Lucifer attempts to stop the covenant Abraham was about to enter into, which would establish this very critical covenant that would bind the Lord to the House of Israel. NOTE: This is similar to Joseph Smith's experience with the adversary just before offering his prayer in the Hill Cumorah. 
5. *Abraham and his posterity (at different times) both lived in Egypt to gain posessions/substance before passing into the promised land of Canaan, which is essentially a desolate place (no resources). 
6. *Abraham's covenant included receiving a promised land. Lehi also made a covenant similar to Abraham's. We don't have an account of the experience, but we have Lehi's testimony: "But behold, I have obtained a land of promise" (see 1 Ne 5:5). His confidence in the Lord was sure, many years before (and on a different continent) he even received it! He knew God does not break his promises.
7. *ALTARS - Altars are commonly understood in Hebrew as "Places of slaughtering" - a connotation that totally doesn't exist in English. But understanding this when we visit modern day temples can deepen the experience if we bring a part of ourselves to slaughter there upon the altar.  Furthermore, in ancient times the animal was cut up, washed, annointed, and then offered up to God. This pattern still exists in temples today, but not with regard to animal slaughtering. Therefore, what do we slaughter on our altars?

March 15, 2015 - Abrahamic Covenant

Best day of class yet. Brother Satterfield jumps into the doctrine of Abraham. The discussion was so involved I couldn't take notes, so here are some highlights:

1. *As discussed previously, Abraham's offering of Isaac was more than just a commandment to kill his most loved son. Abraham knew full well that the Lord intended for him to take his son and literally butcher him, divide his body parts and fat, and then consume him on the altar. The word in Hebrew is Olah, which means to cause to go up. There would have been nothing left of Isaac since he would have gone up in smoke and ash to God. Abraham knew all this is what God was asking of him.
2. *Abraham got up early the next day to commence the three day journey. He was eager to serve the Lord, but must have walked in absolute disgust (not the best word... remorse, melancholy, terror, horror, depression??)
3. *Genesis 22:2-4 says "go to the land I will show you and 'olah an olah'". That means "go up and cause to go up". This is common Hebrew talk, to take a verb and turn it into a noun. Other examples include for example Lehi who said "I have dreamed a dream" (I have verbed a noun, same word), "or in other words, I have seen a vision (or I have seen a seen... same word). 
4. *The best part of the lesson for me was when the class was over, I went up and asked him a follow up question. I have loved the scripture Abraham 1:2-3 for a long time and wanted him to connect the two scriptures together. He did... He explained it something like this: Abraham was living in a land of heathon's and had attained the lower gospel from someone, somehow - meaning he was baptized and may have attained the lesser priesthood. Then he sensed there was something greater to be had and longed for it, the Lord led him to a strange land and ultimately to Melchizedek, where he attained the higher priesthood and higher laws and ordinances he so desperately sought.
5. *He then explained the power of Abraham's covenant with God, how diligent he was to the Lord, and how his righteous faithfulness had placed God in a position to honor His part of the covenant to feel after Abraham's posterity, and reclaim them. God is bound to do this because of Abraham's faithfulness. This concept is prominently declared on the Title Page of the Book of Mormon, where it says "Which is to show unto the remnant of the house of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever". I loved hearing this! It made me rejoice in Abraham's faithfulness, and made me want to do my part to fulfill this covenant. 
6. *Lastly, he spoke of the return of Elijah in this dispensation and the important event that was in fulfilling the Abrahamic covenant, I suppose in part to turn our hearts to the Abrahamic Covenant, but also in providing ordinances of exaltation.
7. This discussion really moved me today. As I write this two days later, I'm exploring everything I can get my hands on related to Abraham and am really overwhelmed by what an amazing person he was and what a special role he plays in the Plan of Salvation. I may need to make a blog post on this stuff soon!

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.

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 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.