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To: fish hawk
every dot and tittle has a meaning

More true than most on this thread can imagine! There are levels of depth in the Hebrew that simply cannot be fully plumbed. Even the spaces are counted in the Hebrew text, and they as well have meaning.

However, the Almighty speaks in the language of men. He means to be understood, clearly and literally. He uses the language of the hearer/reader (in this case, the original reader). That means that you will never fully understand Scripture if you do not understand the people of the Book. Attempts to Hellenize the Scriptures both the "New Testament" and the "Old Testament" erases the language and the culture of the people who wrote down the Almighty's words, and were the first readers of those words. This can lead to all sorts of twisting of meaning.

For instance, in Matthew 19:24, Jesus says, "And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of G-d."

In the Fifth Century, Jerome was living in Bethleham translating the Greek into Latin. He tried to understand this phrase, but without the help of those that knew the idioms of the day. He made up this eloborate theological system which spoke of a gate called "the eye of the needle" in Jerusalem, and camels had to unburden themselves to go through it to get into the city - therefore, rich people had to "unburden themselves" from their riches to get into the Kingdom of Heaven.

This is utter nonsense. There was never a gate called "the eye of the needle" in Jerusalem. Camels are unclean, they are not allowed into the city. Instead, if he had humbled himself, and simply ASKED, he would have discovered that the notion of a "camel going through the eye of a needle" is simply an idiomatic way of saying that something is impossible. Something similar is in the Talmud. The key to the verse is not rich people giving away all their wealth (no doubt to the church). No, the point is, what He actuially says in verse 26, "With men this is impossible; but with G=d all things are possible." You see, He speaks in the language of men.
45 posted on 07/05/2010 12:33:13 PM PDT by Tzfat
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To: Tzfat

agreed


74 posted on 07/05/2010 3:50:58 PM PDT by fish hawk (Hussein Obama: Golf/Gulf, not very good at either.)
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