Doubling, or repeating, is a characteristic feature of Hebrew. Hebrew loves to say things twice (or more!) by adding equivalents. Words, phrases, sentences, and even stories, are doubled (or tripled). Sometimes, this doubling is quite complex, for example: "The men of Nineveh will arise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. The queen of Teman will arise at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here." (Lk.11-31-32;Mt.12:41-42).
One of the most important Hebraisms is known as "parallelism," expressing the same thought in two or more different, though synonymous, ways. "Parallelism" is the hallmark of Hebrew poetry.
Rather than invest energy in refining a definition of "parallelism," let's gain a feeling for this feature of Hebrew by looking at a few examples from the Hebrew scriptures.
The Book of Psalms is full of parallelism. The book's first verse contains a 3-part parallelism: who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
or stand in the way of sinners,
or sit in the seat of mockers. (Ps 1:1;NIV)
The prophet Amos transmits God's message: "But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream." (Amos 5:24;RSV)
Again God speaks in parallelism through the mouth of Moses: "They have stirred me to jealousy with what is no god; they have provoked me with their idols." (Deut.32:21;RSV)
Mary used parallelism in her poetic praise of God: "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior." (Lk.1:46-47;RSV)
Each of the two sides,or ribs, of a parallelism has the meaning of the other. Roughly speaking, whatever one side of a parallelism means, its other side means the same. More than half the words in the Hebrew Bible appear only once or twice, but happily, often in a parallelism. Sometimes, the only clue scholars have to a rare biblical vocabulary item's meaning is its known equivalent, its opposite found in a parallelism.
You could say that "parallelism" is the essence of the Hebrew language. Parallelism is pervasive in the Hebrew Scriptures, especially in poetry. A prophet could scarely open his or her mouth without parallelisms popping out. Likewise, parallelisms are everywhere in the synoptic Gospels, especially in the sayings of Jesus, an indication that the Greek of these Gospels is derived from a Greek source translated from Hebrew.
Here is a sampling of the many doublets and parallelisms we find in the sayings of Jesus:
"The wise and understanding" (Lk.10:21); "prophets and apostles" (Lk.11:49); "kings and governors" (Lk.21:12); "two men will be in the field...two women will be grinding with a handmill" (Mt.24:40-41); "look at the birds of the heaven...consider the lilies of the field" (Mt.6:26,28); "they make their phylacteries wide...and their tassels long" (Mt.23:5); "when you see a cloud rising in the west...when you see the southwind blowing" (Lk12:54,55); "a reed shaken by the wind...a man dressed in fancy clothes" (Mt.11:7-8, Lk.7:24-25); "eating and drinking...a glutton and a drunkard...tax collectors and sinners"(Mt. 11:19, Lk.7:34); "you are the salt of the earth...you are the light of the world" (Mt.5:13,14); "as it was in the days of Noah...as it was in the days of Lot" (Lk 17:26,28); and "nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom" (Mt.24:7; Mk.13:8, Lk. 21:10).
Please fill in the blanks in the following parallelisms:
"A disciple is not above his teacher and a ________ is not above his ______". Mt.10:24-25
"My yoke is easy and my ______ is_________" Mt. 11:30.
"Foxes have holes, and the _____ ___ ____ ___have______ " Mt. 8:20;Lk.9:58.
"You build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the_______of the righteous" Mt.23:29.
"Jerusalem, Jerusalem,killing the prophets, and stoning ______ _____ ____ ___" Mt.23:37,Lk.13:34.
"The master of that slave will come on a day he (the slave) does not expect and at an hour____ ____ ____ ____" Mt. 24:50; Lk. 12:46).
Next time we will look at parallelisms that are more complex. A sensitivity to Hebrew parallelism allows scholars to interpret correctly a number of Jesus' sayings, e.g.,"Do not give the holy to the dogs, and do not throw your pearls before the pigs, lest they trample them with their feet, and turning,rend you Mt.7:6.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Gates (Sharim)
Most cities in the ancient world were surrounded by walls. The only way in or out of a city was through its gates. The large doors in the gates were locked at night and at times of war for protection. Towers were on each side with watchmen on duty day and night.
The city gate was a very busy place. Markets sold their goods there, news was heard and talked about and prophets and priests made announcements there. It was the center for administration, courts were held and disputes settled. Princes and judges sat at the gates performing their official duties. The word gate became known as power and authority. To be within the gates meant that a person was under authority of the elders of the city who presided in the gates. There are many places in the Bible that speak of gates. Gen 19:1 Lot sat at the gate of Sodom, Ruth 4:1 Boaz sat at the gate, Deut.22:15 & Joshua 20:4 mention elders who judged at the gates of cities in Israel.
God desired righteous judgement at the gates, but that wasn't always the case. Ps 24:7 says Lift up your heads, O you gates. And be lifted up, you everlasting doors. And the King of Glory shall come in, the psalmist is referring to the necessity for righteous judgment in the gates. Zech. 8:16 also says These are the things you shall do: Speak each man the truth to his neighbor, give judgment in your gates for truth, justice and peace.. Proverbs 8:3 cries out at the gates of the city, and Proverbs 31:23 says a virtuous woman's husband is known in the gates.
Jesus is the Gate. Ps 118:19-20 Open to me the gates of righteousness, I will go through them, and I will praise the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord, through which the righteous shall enter. Matthew 7:13 Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Jesus is the narrow Gate, the Gate of the Lord which the righteous enter. He is the "gate of heaven" that Jacob saw at Bethel, Gen 28:17. John 1:51 says You shall see heaven opening and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man. He became the true Gate of Heaven as He identified Himself as the Mediator between God and man, the only way to have access to the Father.
The Gates of Old Jerusalem
There are eight gates surrounding the city of Jerusalem, The Damascus Gate, is flanked by two towers and crowned by a decorative motif. The old road that led north to Damascus began at this gate. Herod's Gate or Flowers Gate is the ancient Roman entrance to the city. On July 15, 1099 Crusaders breached the wall at this gate and took the city of Jerusalem, proclaiming the Latin Kingdom. The Lion's Gate also called St. Stephen's Gate (because he may have been stoned there) has a beautiful carving of two pairs of lions. This gate opens towards the Mt. of Olives. The Dung Gate, named for its location near a rubbish dump just outside the city walls, leads directly to the area of the Western Wall today. The Zion Gate built by Suleman the Magnificent in 1541 is pockmarked with bullet holes from 1948 and the battle for the Jewish Quarter. Jaffa Gate is the origin of the old road leading west to Jaffa. It retains the ancient L shaped interior, a defensive method of slowing the advance of armies through the gate. The New Gate, opened in 1889 linked the properties near the wall in the northeast of the city with the Old City. The Golden Gate also known as the Eastern Gate, Gate of Mercy, and the Beautiful Gate is the oldest and most famous gate of the city. This is the gate that Jesus passed through on His way to the Temple. It was sealed by the Muslims in 1541 in order to prevent the Messiah's entrance. Jewish tradition teaches that the Messiah will come through the Golden Gate. He did, and He will again.
The city gate was a very busy place. Markets sold their goods there, news was heard and talked about and prophets and priests made announcements there. It was the center for administration, courts were held and disputes settled. Princes and judges sat at the gates performing their official duties. The word gate became known as power and authority. To be within the gates meant that a person was under authority of the elders of the city who presided in the gates. There are many places in the Bible that speak of gates. Gen 19:1 Lot sat at the gate of Sodom, Ruth 4:1 Boaz sat at the gate, Deut.22:15 & Joshua 20:4 mention elders who judged at the gates of cities in Israel.
God desired righteous judgement at the gates, but that wasn't always the case. Ps 24:7 says Lift up your heads, O you gates. And be lifted up, you everlasting doors. And the King of Glory shall come in, the psalmist is referring to the necessity for righteous judgment in the gates. Zech. 8:16 also says These are the things you shall do: Speak each man the truth to his neighbor, give judgment in your gates for truth, justice and peace.. Proverbs 8:3 cries out at the gates of the city, and Proverbs 31:23 says a virtuous woman's husband is known in the gates.
Jesus is the Gate. Ps 118:19-20 Open to me the gates of righteousness, I will go through them, and I will praise the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord, through which the righteous shall enter. Matthew 7:13 Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Jesus is the narrow Gate, the Gate of the Lord which the righteous enter. He is the "gate of heaven" that Jacob saw at Bethel, Gen 28:17. John 1:51 says You shall see heaven opening and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man. He became the true Gate of Heaven as He identified Himself as the Mediator between God and man, the only way to have access to the Father.
The Gates of Old Jerusalem
There are eight gates surrounding the city of Jerusalem, The Damascus Gate, is flanked by two towers and crowned by a decorative motif. The old road that led north to Damascus began at this gate. Herod's Gate or Flowers Gate is the ancient Roman entrance to the city. On July 15, 1099 Crusaders breached the wall at this gate and took the city of Jerusalem, proclaiming the Latin Kingdom. The Lion's Gate also called St. Stephen's Gate (because he may have been stoned there) has a beautiful carving of two pairs of lions. This gate opens towards the Mt. of Olives. The Dung Gate, named for its location near a rubbish dump just outside the city walls, leads directly to the area of the Western Wall today. The Zion Gate built by Suleman the Magnificent in 1541 is pockmarked with bullet holes from 1948 and the battle for the Jewish Quarter. Jaffa Gate is the origin of the old road leading west to Jaffa. It retains the ancient L shaped interior, a defensive method of slowing the advance of armies through the gate. The New Gate, opened in 1889 linked the properties near the wall in the northeast of the city with the Old City. The Golden Gate also known as the Eastern Gate, Gate of Mercy, and the Beautiful Gate is the oldest and most famous gate of the city. This is the gate that Jesus passed through on His way to the Temple. It was sealed by the Muslims in 1541 in order to prevent the Messiah's entrance. Jewish tradition teaches that the Messiah will come through the Golden Gate. He did, and He will again.
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