Thursday, December 21, 2023

THEOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT: A Response to Promoting Hebrew Transliteration over English

 

I.     


THERE ARE two aspects that the Church has to address when believers assume that the use of Hebrew transliteration as the new norm:

(a)   The assumed superiority of the Hebrew transliteration to the English equivalent when, for example, referring to God or Jesus, proponents of HRM claimed that it is improper to address the Lord Jesus except by His original Hebrew name. While it is not wrong to call Jesus by the name, “Yehoshua” or “Yeshua,” if it becomes a matter of one’s assumption that it is more appropriate to address Jesus by His Hebrew name, or else, prayers are not answered, this becomes a doctrinal issue. It is at the same time unacceptable when it becomes an obligation, where failure to address Jesus by Hebrew name is considered a sin.[1]

 

(b)   A worse proposition made by the HRM proponents is that the name Jesus is linked to the Greek god, Zeus, as this does not do justice to the name that has been used since Christianity was first adopted by the English-speaking world at least five hundred years ago, when the King James Bible was officially translated in 1611.  The idea probably came from the Sacred Name Movement, a name within Adventism which places emphasis on the use of the Hebrew name of God. One of its pioneers, Traina in The Origin of Christianity, asserted that “They (referring to the Gentile believers in the past) had worshipped Zeus, or Jupiter, as the supreme deity, so now they were told the new name was Theos, or Dios, or God. Their [sic] savior was Zeus, so now they were to accept Jesus (Ἰησους).”[2]

 

Traina’s theory, which claimed that the meaning of Jesus is “Yah=Zeus” is baseless, as there is no historical evidence to back up his theory. A mere similarity of the sound of words in two different languages does not mean that they carry the same meanings. In fact, the name Jesus originated from the Greek translation used in the second century BC Septuagint, where the name “Yeshua” was translated into Greek as Ἰησους, which later took the form of the Latin word “Iēsous,” before it took on the English form as Jesus. According to Dunning, there is “no indication the translators intended to connect Joshua to Zeus or to draw pagan Greeks to follow Joshua by using Iesous.”


Proponents of the HRM will also find it hard to explain the myriads of miracles and healings that have since been carried out or the demons cast out in the name of Jesus, if there is no power in that name. Many of the great preachers had preached in this one name, Jesus, for “… there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”[3]

 

The HRM is a recent movement in modern times, but for over the past 20 centuries, billions of Christians have used either the Greek, Latin, or modern translation of the name equivalent to Jesus. For example, Jesus in Malay is Yesus, in Mandarin it is Yesu, and in some Muslim context, He is known as Isa Al-Masihi. Therefore, to link Jesus to Zeus is to basically blaspheme the name of Jesus; it is synonymous to saying that whatever miracles performed in the name of Jesus over the centuries have little to do with the Lord Jesus and that millions of people have worshipped the wrong god. Such teaching robs the Second Person of the Trinity all the glory that is due to Him.

 

The other contention is that Bibles with the name Jesus printed in them are printed in the millions; and if Jesus only wanted to be known as Yeshua, surely, He would have through some divine intervention stopped the printing of the Bibles using a name that ascribes all the miracles that He performed during His ministry of earth to Zeus. God is a jealous God – “for you shall not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God[4]– and if the god of the Philistines, “Dagon” could not stand before the ark of the Covenant[5], no Bibles with the name that is linked to Zeus would be able to survive for so many years, and printed in so many editions.

This claim has no basis as it is obvious that the name "Zeus" originated from an ancient Phoenician god named Baal Tzephon or Baʿal Zebub (otherwise, known as "Beelzebub" in Matthew 12:24). To assume that the name Jesus is linked to Zeus is reaffirming what the Pharisees had accused of Jesus, being possessed by Beelzebub, to which Jesus repudiated, saying, “whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.” (Matthew 12:32).

 

On the contrary, the translation of the name Yeshua into Greek as Ἰησους (Iésous, in Latin) follows the earlier usage made by the seventy scholars who were involved in the Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Old Testament text. Many of the early "church fathers" used the Latin name Iesous (or Greek Ἰησους) to refer to the Messiah. For instance, Polycarp (70-155), Clement (c 96-110), Ignatius of Antioch (c 110 AD), and Justin Martyr (c. 100-165) all wrote in Koine Greek and plainly used the name "Ἰησους" to refer to the Saviour. Moreover, the Didache (Aidaxn), dating from the first century AD, made references to the name Jesus:

"First, concerning the cup: We thank thee, our Father, for the holy vine of David Thy servant, which Thou madest known to us through Jesus Thy Servant ('Indoo Too naidóç aou); to Thee be the glory forever (Did. 9:2).

The argument that the Hebrew names carry nuances that are otherwise missing when these names are translated into another language is valid. However, it does not make any difference if original Hebrew names are transliterated into the English language, since for the non-native speakers, the Hebrew names would not mean anything unless it is explained in the native tongue of the users. Hence, names such as “Shemuel” (שְׁמוּאֵל Hebrew name for Samuel), for example, would not mean anything to a non-native speaker, unless one knows the meaning of the word שֵׁם (“Shem”) which means ‘name’ and “אֵל” which is the short form for Almighty or God. To someone who knows Hebrew, the name שְׁמוּאֵל (Shemuel) in its Hebrew form is indeed a meaningful name, which means, ‘His Name is God,’ an acknowledgement that it was God who spoke to Hannah and opened her womb to have a child.

Another Hebrew name in its original form “Yehonathan” (“יְהוֹנָתָן” or Jonathan) comprises of two words:

(a)   יְהוֹ” which is a short form of the tetragrammaton יהוה; and

(b)    נָתָן which means ‘he gives.’

When put together, the name Jonathan means “God gives” or “God is the Giver.” This is the reason why learning Biblical Hebrew is so necessary for every seminary student; however, the meaning of these names also lose their nuances when transliterated in English as Shemuel and Yehonathan.



[1] (Dunning 2014)

[2] (Dunning 2014)

[3] Acts 4:12

[4] Exodus 34:14

[5] 1 Samuel 5:3

Sunday, May 7, 2023

Let's go deeper into the meaning of Rahmah or Rahamim





 


        In Malaysia, nearly everything can be politicised.

        When Mahdzir Ibrahim, linked to former Prime Minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamad's party Gerakan Tanah Air claimed that the concept 'Rahmah' currently used by Malaysia's Anwar Ibrahim government originated from Dr Mahathir himself, another writer, Hafiz Hassan wrote to claim that Rahmah is a Quranic concept.

        Mahdzir's argument is not even worth rebutting, but I have the tendency to agree with Hafiz, except to say that the concept is not entirely Quranic.


        Allow me to enlighten all of us here since I am also a student of Hebrew, Greek and to some extent Jawi.

        The Quran only came about in the later part of the seventh century. The Old Testament in its written Hebrew form was already there for a few thousand years.

        The Hebrew word (רַחֲמִים) in the Old Testament is therefore very close to the Arabic word “ra ha mim” (رحم). It is no coincidence that the pronunciation of both words is exactly the same, since both Arabic and Hebrew are cousin languages within the Semitic group,

        Translated it means ‘compassion, mercy,’ and because the root word (רחם) means a woman’s ‘womb’, it can also mean ‘brotherhood, brotherly feeling, of those born from the same​​ womb.’
An example of us is in Proverbs 12:10 which you do not need to worry about except to pay attention to that one word (רחם) which is translated as ‘mercy’:

יוֹדֵעַ צַדִּיק נֶפֶשׁ בְּהֶמְתּוֹ וְרַחֲמֵי רְשָׁעִים אַכְזָרִי׃

        The English translation is: “Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel.”

        With this, I end by saying, it is not the argument of who came out with the concept of ‘rahmah’ because it is, in itself, a divine concept.

        All of us, born from the same womb of Eve, are after all one human race and we have, therefore, to show compassion not only to our humankind, but also, where possible, to the animals.
What does this tell us about the number of street people and stray animals that we have in our community? Where is the compassion when dogs and humans are treated without human compassion that God expects of us?

        By clicking this image, you will open up Google Search for the Hebrew word rahamim. To listen to the pronunciation, click on the Speaker Icon. 





Sunday, April 16, 2023

HEBREW MADE EASY FOR YOU (Group 18)

Always come back to this blogpost for any latest update. Any changes to the event or video recording will be uploaded/updated/ announced on this same blog



Hey, does this look difficult? Let us show you the easy way to learn Hebrew

Hello there, we have just created Group18 of Learning Very Basic Hebrew together. 

If you are interested to learn to read the Old Testament in its original language, here is how.  First join this group. Invite your friends and children also to join and learn together.

https://chat.whatsapp.com/C125aeoja3TA3QaOko09NW 

Once the number reaches about 70 people, we will do two Zoom sessions. 


It's free. Go for it:  Biblical Hebrew Levels 1 and 2. You can join the classes (mostly online these days)! 



Session 1: Getting Comfortable with the Hebrew alphabet.

Date:              25 November 2023 (Saturday)

Time:             2:30 pm - 4.00 pm Kuala Lumpur Time   


Click here if you wish to enlarge the video: https://youtu.be/DKduXS4f0A0 

5 March 2023 


Session 2: Adding in the Nikkud (or Hebrew Vowels)

Date:              2 December 2023 (Saturday) 

Time:             2.30 pm - 5.00 pm Kuala Lumpur Time   


NOTE: Most people can already start reading the Old Testament in Hebrew within just two weeks (yes, just two weeks!) because we help you jumpstart. Thereafter, Sister Rita has a Wednesday session also on Zoom that allows you to join and read the Bible together in Hebrew. Praise the Lord for this opportunity to learn.


To check your local time, click on this clock. Key in the Kuala Lumpur time for the event and check that against your local time.






https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82553708455?pwd=WVFSTVBBcUtKbXF5eDlyQy9CSTVnd209


Meeting ID: 825 5370 8455
Passcode: Ibrit2

Monday, March 27, 2023

A Word of Caution



        Here is why you should learn to read the Old Testament in Hebrew: https://learnhebrewtogether.blogspot.com/search?q=Father&m=1 

        I have used the example of Abraham’s name and the misuse of gematria to caution us against the (so-called) teaching that “unravel the mysteries hidden in the Hebrew text” These are the influences from Judaism which are creeping into the churches.

        Some like Steve Cociolanti, Edlin Abraham and Pastor Chris Choo love to use Bible numbers and gematria to interpret the Bible and teach such rubbish. Pray that the Lord would be gracious to them and spare them, as they correct their teachings.

        Watch out, brothers and sisters! Some people just love to dwell into these wrong teachings and as believers, we ought to be extra-cautious to guard against false teachings that are extra-biblical. 

        Its influence is already felt in some churches which are trying to practise all the Jewish rites that even our born again Jewish bros and sisters do not follow. 

        We need not live as Jews because God accepts us the way we are whether Indian, Kadazan, Dayak, Aussie or Chinese. In heaven, I assure you people will be praising God in a multitude of tongues, not Hebrew or Greek. Rev 7:9

        We will hear God’s angels blowing their heavenly trumpets, not shofar. Jesus’ disciples never blew the shofar to cast out demons! It is sad that some have turned the shofar into a hype when it is only a simple trumpet made of nothing but the ram’s horn. In the book of Revelation, God chose not to even preserve the word ‘shofar’ or any form of its transliteration; instead He used a simple Greek word in Greek which is translated as trumpet in English. Nothing supernatural about the shofar.

        Guard ourselves against false teachings

        Instead, learn Hebrew and understand the Hebrew culture just enough for us to get the context in which the OT was written. Hebrew gives us the nuances that are lost when the OT is translated into other languages BUT I assure you these are just nuances, not the core truths of the gospel or God’s word as a whole. The nuances only help us to appreciate the original language which was used to write the scriptures. 

        A good example is Psalm 119 where every eight verses begin with a Hebrew alphabet. https://learnhebrewtogether.blogspot.com/search?q=Psalm+119&m=1 

        So, before you soak yourselves with anything and everything Hebrew as taught by the Hebraic roots movement, ask if this is in scriptures first. If it is not, it is what I call “rubbish” in the strongest sense of the word just like Paul called the Judaisers “dogs”.

        I sometimes think that God brought me through the journey just to show me how His people are turning the instruments into an object they hold so dearly to instead of worshipping the One who created the instruments.

        This ought not to scare you but make you more diligent in learning the truth yourself by being Hebrew and Greek literate.


Shalom!

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