Biblical Language Reveals the Esoteric
Wednesday, November 25, 2015
"The Torah was purposefully written in a cryptic style so as to engage the mind in this most prized activity of analysis, induction, deduction and thought" - Moshe ben Chaim
I have written much over the years in reference to the metaphysical nature of the Biblical text. My source material is the predictable Rabbinic commentaries, Kabbalistic expositions, Midrashim, etc. but what needs to be pointed out is that the basis for all metaphysical interpretation begins with the Hebrew words within the Biblical narrative itself first and foremost. All of these commentaries used are subsequent and supplemental in their usefulness. In other words, if there was not an already existing body of literature concerning the metaphysical nature of the Biblical text as we have in Judaism then the esoteric nature of the Biblical narrative could still be extracted. You see, the metaphysical nature of the Hebrew is quite apparent within the narrative of a great many of the Biblical stories. Whilst history is utilized as a reference for the stories of the Bible these accounts are in no way meant to be a historical record. The Bible presents a mythologized history which is the vehicle through which a cast of characters are presented in a variety of locales, relationships and challenges. Each of these stories is meant to illuminate an aspect of the collective human experience which is lived on a very personal level. In other words, all of the nouns (persons, places and things) as well as many other words such as those adjoining the nouns all describe a metaphysical process going on right at this very moment within each human being on this planet. I have written extensively on this subject and my Torah commentaries have utilized this interpretive methodology. For the sake of conveying this vital information within the context of this article to you (the reader) let me give one specific example taken from 2 Kings. Herein there is a character portrayed by the name of Jezebel who has become a personality of renown to this day. We have all come to know of the evil exploits of this ancient Queen within the Biblical narrative and there is some indication from the archaeological field that she did in fact exist. The question we should ask in the appearance of this character in our narrative is: 'Is there a deeper meaning to this personality who is called in the Hebrew by this name?' Every name in the Hebrew Bible has a specific meaning as a Hebrew name is more than just a name but it is also a word. The word Jezebel means a 'dung hill' and some have asserted that the name also indicated 'licentiousness' and a 'whore.' Jezebel is portrayed as a Phoenician princess who marries King Ahab but before this we don't know anything about her. What we can surmise however with the application of basic knowledge of human behavior is that a parent in their right state of mind would not name their baby girl, a princess no less, 'Dung Hill,' or 'Whore.' The obvious implication is that the name Jezebel was given to this character to communicate to the reader of the story a clear message or moral within the stories involving Jezebel. Without going much deeper into the narrative of Jezebel and the implications of her name and subsequent purpose I wish to simply emphasize that the Hebrew and to a lesser extent Aramaic definitions of names and places within the Bible all reveal a deeper metaphysical reality that is just below the surface of a stories particular context, in truth this meaning is right within the context. Much of the Bible is written in symbolism disguised as allegorical truth. The next time you open up your Bible translate the names of people and places as though they were simply words and then examine the context of the story wherein these words appear and how they are used within the narrative and see if you can decipher the actual message of the text yourself. Instead of reading the story you will hereby understand the story.
0 comments: