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.

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 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 18, 2015 - Another slight mistranslation with huge significance

1. "Paul used the septuagint, but knew his Hebrew". The New testament verse Hebrews 11:19 gives a strong indication that Paul knew something about Abraham's faith that we don't quite have in the KJV translation. "Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure." The Old Testament says nothing of this belief held by Abraham. 
2. There are intensive verb forms in Hebrew, that are relatively uncommon, and Gen 22:6 has three of them, each of which failed to make the KJV translation. The first is on the word "Nelcah", or "we will go". Intensify that phrase and you have "We will indeed go". It doesn't sound like a significant difference but it is. Abraham was eager to obey the Lord's command, and possessed a sense of confidence.
3. *The second intensive verb that was lost was on the word for "worship". This opened an awesome discussion on the word in English. In the USA, we don't really use the word, or practice the word like it was used in practically every other culture, and age. We are all equal, so we do not show respect as in the form of bowing to our superiors, like the President. This is common in even present day cultures elsewhere to bow to a superior. "The higher the rank, the deeper the bow in other societies", bro. Satterfield said. He then demonstrated a short quick bow, a deeper longer bow, and then got on his knees in front of the class and got VERY low. Then he said, "This is still not the form of the word for worship used here." He then laid completely prostrate, as low as he could possibly go, and said "This is the kind of worship this verse is talking about". It's an intensive form of worship. Abraham knew what kind of intensive slaughtering and consuming that was about to occur on the altar. Intense sacrifice equals intense worship.
4. *This led to a discussion on the "olah sacrifice", the most intense sacrifice of Hebrew times spoken of in previous class notes. In this type of sacrifice you divide the body by the head, fat, inwards, arms, legs, and skin. You wash certain parts. Then you burn them in their entirety This is the most intense sacrifice. 
5. *He then spoke about the symbolism of each part of the sacrifice, and listed three rules for interpreting symbols:
1. Look beyond the symbol itself
2. Examine the nature, characteristics, and attributes of the symbol which reveals meaning
3. Look to the Lord for the interpretation
6. *The head has the brain, eyes, ears, mouth, nose, and represents our senses, and thinking, and intellect. (Tangent, the nose is the only organ that produces an actual direct connection with the brain). Fat cells store energy, and thus represents all of the strength. The inwards come from the part of the body that feels emotion in all its varieties and thus represents feeling, emotion, heart, etc. Consuming these things upon the altar and sending them up in smoke represents giving our all to him. This is an intense sacrifice and form of worship.
7. *The third intensive verb form is in the expression "and return unto you". Intensify this expression and you have "We will indeed return unto you". Notice the inclusion of Isaac in this expression that missed the KJV translation. Abraham had the confidence and faith that he would go worship, perform the complete sacrifice of his son, and yet would return (in a very intensive form) with his son.

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