The poverty and rich complexity of biblical Hebrew

Did you know that biblical Hebrew includes just about 8,000 words? Compare that to more than 400,000 words in modern English.

So what, you say? It's actually a big deal. Each word in biblical Hebrew, then, contains so much more meaning than a random word in the English language we know today.

The author of Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus, Lois Tverberg, examines the word "hear" in chapter 2. In biblical Hebrew, the word shema (pronounced "schma") is usually translated as "hear." But it means a lot more than simply transmission of sound to ear to brain -- the physical process of hearing. Shema is, she points out, actually three sections of Scripture repeated twice daily to remind each Jewish person of his or her commitment to God (Deuteronomy 6:4-9; 11:13-21; and Numbers 15:37-41).

And I learned something. The shema begins thus: "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One."You know what Jesus said about the greatest commandment of all? "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself." What we don't get in our New Testament (at least, I've never seen it) is the first part of Jesus's answer to the teacher of the law who asked him the question: "The most important one, answered Jesus, is this: 'Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God, the Lord is One.'

I never realized that Jesus was actually quoting Deuteronomy when he said that. But I checked, and sure enough. And apparently quoting the shema has been employed as a way to identify Jewish children who were separated from their parents during World War II, after the Nazi threat had disappeared. It's that familiar to them. The Jewish children started reciting it with the rabbi who was seeking to find them and take them back home, after some had been living with other Gentile families for so many years, they didn't remember who they were. But when the shema was recited, they remembered and responded.

But back to shema as hearing. We translate shema as "hear," but shema also means "obey" most of the time. So it's not just hear my words, listen, then go on about your merry way. It means to hear and obey. To pay attention, to understand and to take action. So the psalmist David was not just asking God to listen to him; he was asking God to respond to his plea.

And what about that very odd sounding phrase Jesus used frequently -- those who have ears to hear ought to hear"? Don't we all have ears? And was Jesus discriminating against the deaf, who have ears but cannot hear?

No, of course not. He was telling those who had listened to his teaching to embrace it, live it and obey him. In other words, actions speak louder than words (you've heard that one before, of course).

Another word, "remember," is like "hear" in biblical Hebrew. God "remembers" people by answering their prayers and pleas. He caused the waters of the great flood to recede for Noah.

Another word like that is "know." Mary didn't understand how she could be with child since she had never "known" man. After Adam "knew" Eve, Cain was conceived. To "know" someone is to have a relationship with them, to care about them and in some cases, to be intimate with them.

So taking action as a result of what God has taught us, given to us and done for us is an appropriate response to those gifts, especially in light of this new knowledge about biblical Hebrew. When Jesus said, "those who have ears to hear ought to hear," or whenever he told us to hear what he was saying, he truly meant more than just listening. He intended for us to respond by changing the way we relate to others, by interacting differently and putting aside our own selfish wants to be of service to others.

The author pointed out that there is often a disconnect between what Christians profess to know and believe, and what they actually say and do. She pointed out also that on judgment day, we will be held accountable for those disconnects. Then she dropped her zinger: "Just imagine what he'll read off from his heavenly computer monitor as he scrolls through out online comments."

Indeed.

The longest 12 inches, she says, that your faith has to move is from your head to your heart. But once it does, it naturally comes out through your hands and feet.

And the other part of shema? The word "echad" means "one," as in "The Lord is one." But some scholars think it might also mean "unique" as in "the only one" or even more significantly, "alone," as in "The Lord is our God, the Lord alone," or the only God. This could mean monotheism, as in there's only one God, or it could mean Israel's only God -- a declaration of loyalty rather than a statement about whether other god's exist.

Every Sunday at Mass we recite the Nicene Creed, which encapsulates the essence of our Catholic Christian faith. One line of that creed says "I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic church." Those are called the four marks of the church -- one (united in faith), holy (sacred, worthy, God's), catholic (lower-case on purpose, it means universal) and apostolic (conforms to the teachings of the New Testament). So unity in belief and practice is another definition of  "one."

I like the idea of shema, of having a constant reminder that we should keep God at the center of our lives, every day. I am going to find a Scriptural passage (shorter than the Jewish shema, given my own short memory and attention span) to remind me several times a day during Lent that God should always be kept front and center. Something like this: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God made man, have mercy on me, a sinner. But maybe not that one, necessarily. I'll post it when I find it, and I will keep it with me until Easter. Maybe after that, too.

Seven Pages a Day

by guest blogger Rose Mattax

For Lent I’ve decided to read the entire New Testament.  The last time I did that was in my first year of college.  I read the entire Bible, cover to cover.  Loved it—even the boring parts.  Since then, I’ve read the Bible mostly through Bible studies and Mass readings.  But I’ve never read the entire Bible again. 

I read the Revised Standard Version the first time.  This time I’m going to read the Good News Bible.  I have a couple of reasons for choosing this translation.  One, it reads like a fast-paced novel.  Two, it’s 288 pages long.  I did the math and found if I read seven pages a day, I would get it done in 42 days.  Hence, the title of my blog.   

I won’t be blogging daily.  So think of these blogs—however often they arrive—like a Yahoo group email digest that show up in your mailbox once or twice a week.   Today, I’ll report on the first seven pages.

I’ve started with Matthew’s Gospel.  I’m  amazed how much can be packed into seven pages.  Already, Jesus has been born, grown up and moved out on his own.  He moved to the town of Capernaum.  Matthew says, “When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he went away to Galilee.  He did not stay in Nazareth, but went to live in Capernaum, a town by Lake Galilee."

It wasn’t the first time he’d fled for his life.  He was just a baby when Mary and Joseph moved to Egypt to avoid Herod’s genocidal rage against the boys in Bethlehem murdered because they might grow up to be king.   John’s imprisonment posed for Jesus another imminent danger from another Herod.

Sound familiar?  It reads like current events, summarized nicely in this quote from the Christian Century:

“On television screens and on the covers of newsmagazines the picture is a constant one: innocent people fleeing their homes to escape the terror of violent and inhuman authorities. Jesus is in their company, man and boy, seeking refuge from those who imprison and kill. Matthew’s stories are not simply historical recollections; they are current events. King Herod is dead, to be sure, and so are Archelaus and Antipas, but not really. Their successors seem to wait in line to raise the sword against God’s Christ and against those whose ways are the ways of God. The gospel continues to have its enemies and not solely in totalitarian states. Love without partiality and those who are zealous for racial, cultural and social "purity" will rise up in great numbers and from surprising quarters. Teach and practice forgiveness and the voices of vengeance will come screaming at you.” Christian Century, January 17, 1990, p. 43

Which is why I love the three Kings, three political rulers who were wise men indeed:

“And so they (the three kings) left, and on their way they saw the same star they had seen in the East.  When the saw it, how happy they were, what joy was theirs!  It went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.  They went into the house, and when they saw the child with his mother Mary, they knelt down and worshiped him.” Matt. 2:9-11

Unlike Herod, they were not threatened by Jesus’ birth.  Instead, they were curious, open-minded, willing to learn, eager to serve and humble enough to adore the one born to be their king. 

How refreshing is that?

Day One of the Dust of Rabbi Jesus

I am reading the explanatory part of the book right now. The author suggests that it may be our western culture that least understands the Bible, biblical references and has the most to learn about its origins and original meaning.

I think she's onto something.

For example, as explained in the first book, Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus, calling Jesus a rabbi has a meaning that is not exactly what we would understand it to be. Calling him rabbi does not mean he was an innovative teacher or leader in a Jewish temple. His message was not intended as a marketing plan for the Kingdom of God. Nor do we understand the shock value of his announcement that he was God's promised Messiah among his peers (his human peers, that is) in 1st century Judea. The rabbi label correctly identifies his mission to teach his people, God's chosen people, the Jews, how God wanted them to live.

The title of this book is also explained. Jesus taught by example. He invited each of his disciples to accompany him, observe him as he lived and interacted and listen as he followed up with explanations about God's Kingdom. It was, according to this author, out of this unusual teaching method that a well-known saying arose: You should learn from a rabbi by "covering yourself in his dust." Literally. If you walked closely enough behind someone else, you would be covered by the billowing sand raised by his footsteps.

And more than that, the Hebrew word halakh, walk, encompases more; it refers to your lifestyle and how you conduct yourself morally. Jesus meant both -- literal and metaphorical. And the word for road or path -- or "way," which is how the body of Jesus' teachings were labeled -- literally meant the track left behind that we refer to as footsteps.

If you doubt that cultural context matters, consider how some future sociologists might ponder some of what we say and do today. For example, how would they interpret random references to, say, "9/11"? Would they scratch their heads and wonder why those numbers are so significant? What about our road signs, which contain no words, but only iconic images? Long after our roadways have vanished from view, what might an archaeologist think if he uncovered a road sign with a squiggly arrow pointing upward?

Get the picture? Context lends deeper meaning. that's why I 'm so excited to have found this book just in time for Lent. I am looking forward to unpacking some deeper meaning in what we read, in what we pray and what we do in liturgy.

It's that time again

As Shrove Tuesday winds down, I'm looking forward to Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. I used to see Lent as a time of deprivation, sacrifice and barrenness but I now see it as a time to strip away all the things that do not matter so much and delve deeper into the mysteries and spirituality that bring us closer to our God.

I am planning to post to this blog at least twice a week (good intentions and all that), and I welcome my lifetime friend Rose, who will be posting once or twice a week as well. We will be posting on Lenten themes.

I am going to read a new book, a sequel to one I read a couple of years ago. This one is called Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus, and it is supposed to shed light and deeper meaning into the words of the New Testament -- I mean that literally. It will explore the cultural context of those words themselves, which were used in the 1st century Jewish culture that Jesus lived in, and from which those inspired words were recorded. The previous book was called Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus, and it unpacked some of the cultural meaning to the events and behaviors and parables that are contained in the New Testament. So I am hoping to share some of what I learn in the sequel, and perhaps explore some of the implications of that new knowledge.

Rose is going to read the New Testament straight through, and she will be posting about her own experiences with that. I am looking forward to her posts.

The blog will be shared on Facebook for anyone who wishes to read it.