From Installment 1 posted in May we learned that one of the basic reasons Heavenly Father gave mankind language was to let us know who we are, why we are here and where we are going. Martin Luther, the great Protestant reformer, wrote that it was important to know Greek and Hebrew when studying the scriptures: “The languages are the sheath in which the sword of the Spirit is contained.” Hebrew, like Greek, is an evolved language of symbolic pictograms whose letters – single and combined – stand for meaningful concepts of wisdom, sacred knowledge, God’s commands, nobility of thought and action, and the history of Hebrew itself.
Hebrew developed during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC from Phoenician script. Following the Babylonian exile, Jews gradually replaced it with Aramaic script. That later evolved into the modern 22-letter Jewish, or “square” alphabetic script (alef-bet) that is used today. For more, see www.answers.com/topic/hebrew-alphabet-1#Orthographic_variants. Hebrew scholars believe each letter serves as a symbolic channel connecting heaven with earth. For instance, the first Hebrew letter is the aleph:א Its form is a connection of 3 parts. The top and bottom are yudhs =y. Connecting them is a vav=v. A numeric value is assigned to each Hebrew letter. This ancient numbering system is called Gematria, giving added spiritual meaning to all Hebrew letters. An Aleph’s value totals 26. The number 26 is the same as the sum of the four-letter (tetragrammaton), the sacred, unpronounceable Hebrew word for God, YHVH.
The Aleph, then, represents the divinity of God. Since it is the first letter, it is at the head of the alef-bet, like a king. It is leader and master of all letters, helping to form the very elements of creation; therefore representative of the mastery of God, the life of the Jewish people, of Adam and Abraham; unique, a spiritual tool in the hand of God. Even the utterance of a Hebrew letter, when put upon the air, is like a prayer, a manifestation of praise that is meant for and sent to find the ear of the Almighty himself. But for non-Hebrew readers, these symbols by themselves are meaningless. So let’s see if English language scripture readers can study in a way that also brings out the richness and spiritual depth of Hebrew.
Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has the best advice: He suggests that in all our scripture study we seek for connections, patterns, and themes. One pattern in the Doctrine and Covenants is woven into the very nature of the book itself. As the introduction indicates, “These sacred revelations were received in answer to prayer, in times of need, and came out of real-life situations involving real people.” The revelations were personal and answered specific questions concerning things that Heavenly Father knew would “be of the most worth” (D&C 15:6; 16:6) to each individual. See Because We Have Them before Our Eyes , Liahona, April 2006.
Reading scripture effectively is really a workshop enterprise. He lists the principles: Pray for understanding and invite the help of the Holy Ghost, work, be consistent, ponder, write down impressions, thoughts, and feelings.You do not have to know Hebrew or Greek in order to understand and derive great meaning from scripture. When we do read and ponder in private study we can have confidence that God can reveal the meaning of His Word. See 2 Timothy 3:16-17; John 14:26 and D&C 82:10. “And now, my sons, I would that ye should remember to search them diligently, that ye may profit thereby; and I would that ye should keep the commandments of God, that ye may prosper in the land according to the promises which the Lord made unto our fathers”. Mosiah 1:5–7, (Bednar’s emphasis).
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