Laying a Foundation

Going back to the original ancient Hebrew is something that most people do not do nor teach. The reason for this is because we live in what is called a Greco Roman society where we have taken on the thought and culture of the Greeks and Romans, but have not embraced God's original culture. In other words, after Yeshua (Hebrew for Jesus) was crucified and moved to heaven the devil immediately started going to work. Satan knew that he better move fast, or he would be in trouble with the body of believers once the Holy Spirit showed up on the scene.

So this is where I would like to pick up and try and take you back to that original mindset, or culturally cultivate our way of thinking back into what God designed it to be.

The original Hebrew thought is known to be concrete, whereas, the Greek mindset is abstract. In other words, if it touches one or more of the five senses (touch, smell, see, hear and feel) then it is considered concrete, else, it is known as abstract. Another thing about the Hebrew mindset is that it is based on function and not appearance. The Greeks always idolized how the body should look, or how their culture should look. This is because it was based on appearance.

An example of this mindset can be seen in a pencil. We see that it is approximately 6 inches long and yellow (or whatever color). The Greek mindset says that it is yellow and long, but the Hebrew mindset says that it writes, or it draws. The Hebrew's relate more to its function, whereas, the Greek's relate more to its description. As you can see according to the Hebrew mindset we cannot determine what it is by our western way of thinking.

With that in mind, just realize that some words the Hebrew scriptures will not translate the way that you believe they should. Simply because our understanding is based on a western way of thinking, or we tend to think with an abstract mind. For example, the Hebrew word for life actually means stomach. Because of our mindset we cannot comprehend what is meant by this word, but looking at what the original author was thinking he meant that to have a full stomach is to have life. Looking at Job 38:39 the Hebrew word for appetite is the same word used for life in Deuteronomy 30:19 ...choose life.... The only difference though, is in Job the word is singular and in Deuteronomy it is plural.

In closing, look at the following verse: Psalm 122:6 is generally translated "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, May they prosper who love you." Here is what it is really saying: "Request completeness and wholeness for Jerusalem, those who love you will be at rest." The word for peace is shalom and its root meaning is completeness and wholeness. Yet, it is a word that also is used as a greeting for hello or goodbye.

So until next time... Shalom!