HOW DO WE KNOW THAT ELOHIM IS USED IN THE SINGULAR?

Many people have asked, "Elohim" אֱלֹהִים appears plural with the ending '-im'. Therefore, they believe this is an error. Or some use this to mock the Christian God saying it is God in the plural.

However, allow me to use my understanding of Hebrew to explain why Elohim when it is used for the God of Israel, it is always SINGULAR.

Like Greek, in Hebrew, the adjective must always agree with the noun. What this simply means is: when you use an adjective for a plural noun, the adjective must follow the grammatical number (either singular or plural) of the noun.

We have lost this in English, except for one or two examples, like you cannot say, "This are the men who came to school this morning." Automatically, you know something is not write and you have to swap the word 'This' with 'These'.

In Hebrew, if the noun is plural, the adjective also must appear in the plural form. Therefore, we have the example of:

נְעָרִים טוֹבִים

This means, "Good young men".
The adjective טוֹבִים     (טוֹב  means 'good') is in the plural; hence, the adjective in this case, 'agrees' with the plural noun 'young men'.

More examples here:

Likewise, in Jeremiah 16:6, we see the adjective גְדֹלִים refers to the 'great men' (plural noun).









NOW, once you understand that the Hebrew noun and adjective must agree (plural noun/plural adjective and singular noun/singular adjective), we then see how the word גָּדוֹל which means 'great' does not appear as a plural adjective. This is because it could never be the case when Elohim when referring to the God of Israel is in the singular.

 

THE HOPE תִקְוָ֔ה

תִקְוָ֔ההַ

It is interesting that a country's national anthem should be just titled, "The Hope". As I analyse it, I begin to understand and know who God is.

Hope is all there is for a nation that has been crushed for many centuries. They were often attacked by their enemies but the biggest devastation encountered was the attack of the Babylonians in 576 BC where they were taken on exile to Babylon. The Solomon temple was destroyed and Jerusalem was razed to the ground.

Then in 70 AD, the nation was again destroyed by the Romans and the second Jerusalem temple was destroyed. Once again, they became exiles. For many years, they were dispersed throughout the world.

All that the people had was continuing on with their hope that God gave them. 

From Job 4:6 we are reminded that our integrity is our hope:

Job 4:6 הֲלֹ֣א יִ֭רְאָתְךָ כִּסְלָתֶ֑ךָ תִּ֝קְוָתְךָ֗ וְתֹ֣ם דְּרָכֶֽיךָ׃

Job 4:6  “Is not your fear of God your confidence, 
And the integrity of your ways your hope?


Hope is something that God -- and God alone -- can give us for the future. As believers, we do not depend on the fortune tellers to tell us about our future. We know that in God, we have a future and a hope.

Jer. 29:11 כִּי֩ אָנֹכִ֨י יָדַ֜עְתִּי אֶת־הַמַּחֲשָׁבֹ֗ת אֲשֶׁ֧ר אָנֹכִ֛י חֹשֵׁ֥ב עֲלֵיכֶ֖ם נְאֻם־יְהוָ֑ה מַחְשְׁב֤וֹת שָׁלוֹם֙ וְלֹ֣א לְרָעָ֔ה לָתֵ֥ת לָכֶ֖ם אַחֲרִ֥ית וְתִקְוָֽה׃

Jeremiah 29:11 ‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.


We know that our hope in God is that He will restore double to us.

Zech. 9:12 שׁוּ֚בוּ לְבִצָּר֔וֹן אֲסִירֵ֖י הַתִּקְוָ֑ה גַּם־הַיּ֕וֹם מַגִּ֥יד מִשְׁנֶ֖ה אָשִׁ֥יב לָֽךְ׃

Zech. 9:12  Return to the stronghold, O prisoners who have the hope; 
This very day I am declaring that I will restore double to you.

And lastly, we know that God Himself is The HOPE.

Jer. 17:13 מִקְוֵ֤ה יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ יְהוָ֔ה כָּל־עֹזְבֶ֖יךָ יֵבֹ֑שׁוּ יְסוּרַי [וְ][סוּרַי֙] בָּאָ֣רֶץ יִכָּתֵ֔בוּ כִּ֥י עָזְב֛וּ מְק֥וֹר מַֽיִם־חַיִּ֖ים אֶת־יְהוָֽה׃ ס

Jer. 50:7  “All who came upon them have devoured them; 
And their adversaries have said, ‘We are not guilty, 
Inasmuch as they have sinned against the LORD who is the habitation of   
        righteousness, Even the LORD, the hope of their fathers.’


Indeed, the national anthem of Israel grew "from the depths of despair to the heights of a new hope!" God is the hope who gives hope.

You can watch by clicking this Facebook link,

FREE ONLINE HEBREW CLASSES FOR BEGINNERS USING ZOOM

Do you want to read the Old Testament in Hebrew?

It is not difficult. All you need to learn is the Hebrew Alphabet which has only 22 consonants. Greek has 24 letters while English has 26!

After learning the alphabet, you need to learn the niqquod (or the Hebrew vowel system) which was developed by the Masoretic scholars around the ninth century AD.

Once you are able to read the syllables (made up of the consonants and the vowels), you should be on the path to reading the Hebrew Bible yourself!

To kickstart your learning, I have decided to do a three-lesson programme on Zoom. This is offered free-of-charge. To join, you have to register yourself on Zoom and download the App either on your computer or smart phone.

You can view the previous recording of the classes on Zoom. Click here to download the files on your PC.. Bear with me as I am still very new in using Zoom.

This is a form of support that I try to provide in addition to the book, "You can't read Hebrew? Let me prove you wrong!" Read comments about the book.

Date:                           Time:                       Lesson: 
30 Jan 2020 Thurs       9:00 - 9.40pm          Learning the Aleph-Beth
31 Jan 2020 Fri             9:00 - 9.40pm           Learning the Niqquod
1 Feb 2020 Sat             9:00 - 9.40pm          Learning to read the Syllables
                                                                              and Words

Check here for future dates of similar classes. There is nothing like being able to participate in the classes.

To Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/5041625369
or open the Zoom app and key in the Meeting ID: 504 162 5369

No password is created for you to join this session. Meeting will be for only 40 minutes as Zoom allows it for only 40 min.

Please check here for any change of time.





 

HEBREW WORKSHOP FOR BEGINNERS

Alongside with my latest book on Hebrew for beginners, I will put in efforts in 2020 to help more people to read the Bible in the orignal languages, targeting especially the young people. 

I believe God wants to raise a generation of believers who are able to read His Word in Hebrew (and Greek). 

Half-day or one full day workshops can be organised as long as you are able to bring together a group of 20-40 people. 

The sessions will conducted on a public holiday (especially when it falls on a weekday) or on a Saturday. 

Here, a group of seven ladies invited me to conduct a workshop for them in Kajang. They were all beginners in learning Hebrew. We had fun playing games as well to help them with the niqquods (Hebrew vowel system).

They were excited and after the session, they completed their homework. This is all part of the learning process.

After you have learnt the basic Hebrew, you can volunteer to teach Sunday School children in your church some very simple Hebrew words to whet their appetite. It is not impossible for kids to learn to read Hebrew when they are still young. Never underestimate their ability to learn. This is a good example:

Suggest that you charge each participant a certain amount but not more than RM40 in order to get their full commitment. With that, you only pay me RM20 for each copy of the Hebrew book which every participant will receive as part of the workshop. If they have already purchased the book, they can give it away to friends to encourage them to learn Hebrew. The rest of the money can go to your church ministry.

This workshop is designed as a crash course to build a foundation for you to be able to follow other Hebrew classes conducted by individuals or seminaries. If you are interested, please contact Stephen.Ng.EJ@gmail.com.

I am are available on the following public holidays  in 2020:

Sat    Feb 1 (Federal Territory Day)
Fri     May 1   (Labour Day)
Thurs May 7 (Wesak Day)
Mon   May 25 (Raya)

IN THE BEGINNING TIME HAD NOT EXISTED....

Gen. 1:1 בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית בָּרָ֣א אֱלֹהִ֑ים

 אֵ֥ת הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וְאֵ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ׃

John 1:1

Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος

  In (the) beginning was the Word.

It is interesting that the first word of the Bible is בראשימ (bere'shit) which means, "In beginning..." The definite article 'the' is absent in this word; otherwise, if it is there, it would have been 'bare'shit'. 

The absence of the definite article has significant meaning to the Jewish mind. It means that the story of creation in Genesis begins at no specific point in time. We call this in theology the 'eternity past'. Time had not been put into place until the first day of creation, when God defined evening and morning. 

Therefore, when John started his book with this verse, he wrote it with a Jewish mindset intentionally omitting the definite article 'the':

Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος

In beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God (John 1:1). 

It is done intentionally to show that he was referring to the 'eternity time' which was not confined to time.

FEEDBACK FROM PEOPLE WHO READ THE HEBREW BOOK

To most people, Hebrew looks intimidating. After crossing over the valley of intimidation, the author found Hebrew an easy language to learn. Within just four months, he was able to read the Hebrew Bible, after using some free online resources teaching the basic Hebrew language.

In this book, he not only explains why it is important to hear God’s heartbeat by reading the Bible in the original Hebrew language, but also shares passionately how you can learn the language that God chose to communicate His message to mankind. Written in a style that makes reading easy and fun, he outlines how any ordinary person can now learn to read God’s word in Hebrew.

Author: Stephen Ng is the author of a number of books, including the more recent ones, “Where is Pastor Raymond Koh?”, “Kajang Redemption”and“From a Pest to Pest Controller.” He loves the Hebrew language and within a short span of four months, he was able to read the Hebrew bible proving that Hebrew is not difficult after all.

In this book, he not only explains why it is important to hear God’s heartbeat by reading the Bible in the original Hebrew language, but also shares passionately how you can learn the language that God chose to communicate His message to mankind. Written in a style that makes reading easy and fun, he outlines how any ordinary person can now learn to read God’s word in Hebrew.

Author: Stephen Ng is the author of a number of books, including the more recent ones, “Where is Pastor Raymond Koh?”, “Kajang Redemption”and“From a Pest to Pest Controller.” He loves the Hebrew language and within a short span of four months, he was able to read the Hebrew bible proving that Hebrew is not difficult after all.

 

Feedback

"The book is a timely learning aid to Beginners of the Hebrew language.   I have purchased numerous books to learn this language during the past 18 months.   Stephen's book is a refreshing addition to the stock of currently available Hebrew learning aids.   His book is written in an user- friendly and systematic way which sustain interest and perseverance in learning.    He has included easily accessible links to interesting sites throughout the book to supplement the learning journey.  Thank you Stephen for your labor of love."
 - Michael Tang, Singapore

"I bought 10 copies of your book and gave away five copies to some staff and colleagues (at the seminary) and told them the passion of the author of this book in learning biblical languages." - Dr Philip Siew, Seminari Theoloji Malaysia.

"Your book is very helpful to prep before the class. It gives a good background and the tools to memorise some Hebrew alphabets. (STM Biblical Hebrew lecturer) Dr Siew's class reinforced the learning by letting us hear how they are pronounced and added further information. Overall it's went better than expected as I was quite overwhelmed just learning the alphabets."    - Yaw Kem Keong, Perth, Australia

"I have always wondered about learning the Hebrew language: Would it be easy or difficult? Can I cope with it? Even though I am just taking it as an Audit subject, but I still take it seriously. My perception of Hebrew changed after I saw your book being sold at the canteen. It looks like God is answering my prayers. Although I had not expressed all my concerns, He heard my prayers. God is so good. I bought only your book about Hebrew but not the other Hebrews books that were on sale because I feel it can help me better understand and boost my confidence in learning Hebrew. The book is an answered prayer. Thank God for it. Also, thank you Stephen. Your book came in very timely. Wow! God is so good!"  - Anna Binti Anyus, Student, Seminari Teoloji Malaysia


"Shalom Stephen

"I read your book as someone who has gone through basic Hebrew. The book provided me and my wife a quick revision and bring us to a new confidence level.

"We thought the book was clear and precise and helpful links to help us to reach other resources. This is very transparent of you." 

- Jonathan David Choong, Ambassadors' Central, Petaling Jaya.


Find out more about the book. To purchase a copy of the book, go to Canaanland HQ at  No. 23-25 Jalan PJU 1A/41B, Pusat Dagangan NZX, Ara Jaya, 47301 Petaling Jaya. Tel: +603-7885 0540/1/2 (3 lines) or order online. For bulk purchases, contact LearnHebrew5780@gmail.com.

GOD THE VICTORIOUS WARRIOR AND HIS BRIDE

יְהוָ֧ה אֱלֹהַ֛יִךְ בְּקִרְבֵּ֖ך גִּבּ֣וֹר יוֹשִׁ֑יעַ יָשִׂ֨ישׂ עָלַ֜יִךְ בְּשִׂמְחָ֗ה יַחֲרִישׁ֙ בְּאַ֣הֲבָת֔וֹ יָגִ֥יל עָלַ֖יִךְ בְּרִנָּֽה׃

We read in Zephaniah 3:17 that God is depicted as the גִּבּ֣וֹר יוֹשִׁ֑יעַ or the Victorious Warrior. Interestingly, this passage addresses Israel as a female entity when the pronominal suffixךְ is used in the word, אֱלֹהַ֛יִךְ which means, 'your God.' 

Again, the following words use the pronominal suffix ךְ , which clearly tells us the gender of the person being addressed to. She is a female person as contrast to a male person where the pronominal suffix ךָ would have been used. The idea of a female person addressed in this text is somehow lost when translated into English with the word, 'you.' 

בְּקִרְבֵּ֖ך which means 'in your midst'.

עָלַ֜יִךְ which means 'over you.' 

It is interesting that when Zephaniah depicts God as the Victorious Warrior, God becomes the Warrior who saves  (יוֹשִׁ֑יעַ) the Bride, His Church. 

Amen, come Lord Jesus our Victorious Warrior, we the Bride of Christ are awaiting You!