Thread by @AriLamm

Why Read the Bible in Hebrew?

Let's talk about one of the most common questions I get about the Bible: Why does God care about a particular land?

If God is everywhere and created the whole world, why is there a "holy land"?

A thread (for non-Hebrew readers too!) 🧵 1

The best way to answer the question is to look out for the very first time that the land appears in the Bible. And that brings us to Genesis 12.

God tells Abram: "Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land (eretz) that I will show you" (12:1). 2

The key word here is "eretz" (meaning "land").

Now, what happens immediately after this? God continues: "I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless (b-r-ch) you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing (b-r-ch)" (12:2)

We see two new things here. 3

First: God blesses Abraham. And the Bible describes this using the verb "b-r-ch", meaning "to bless".

Second: The blessing God bestows upon Abraham is the blessing of having many children.

These are both crucial points. Because ask yourself: where have we seen this before? 4

The answer is...

The story of Creation!

Think back to the beginning of Genesis: "God blessed (b-r-ch) them, and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply…'" (1:28)

Here are the same two elements: God bestowing the blessing (with the verb b-r-ch) of having many children! 5

And we don't only see this in the Creation story... We also see it in the Re-Creation story!

What's that, you ask?

Well, remember how God destroys the earth with a flood and remakes it anew (Gen 8-9)? That whole section deliberately uses TONS of language straight from Gen 1. 6

And actually one example of this happens right when Noah exits the ark.

"God blessed (b-r-ch) Noah and his sons and said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply…'" (9:1).

Boom! We got the verb b-r-ch ("bless") and the many children thing. This is no accident. 7

The Bible is calling our attention to the fact that Abraham's encounter with the land is somehow linked to the Creation and Re-Creation of the world.

And once we're alert to this parallel, we can ask: are there other manifestations of it?

Omg glad you asked!!! 8

Okay, so let's go back to Abraham (I know he's still Abram here!). What's the very next thing God tells him?

"Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, 'To your offspring I will give this land'" (12:7).

After the blessing of many children, God promises Abram the land. 9

And this is super important, because where else have we heard the blessing of children followed immediately by the blessing of land?

You guessed it...Creation!

"God blessed them, and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it'" (1:28). 10

And guess where else we find blessing of children + land?

Bingo! The Re-Creation story: "God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth" (9:1)

Ah, but this isn't a blessing about land, right? The verse says "earth" not "land"! 11

Well this, folks, is why we...[drumroll]...read the Bible in Hebrew!

Because the word being translated "earth" in Genesis 1 and 9, and the word being translated "land" in Genesis 12 are...the same word: "eretz"

Now, importantly, it actually didn't *have* to be this way. 12

After all, the Bible totally has other words for "the earth". Like the word "tevel": "The channels of the sea were seen and the foundations of the world (tevel) were laid bare" (Ps 18:15)

Genesis could've used a word like "tevel" to describe the earth's creation. So why not? 13

The answer: "tevel" can only mean "the earth". It *cannot* refer to "a land" (as in Canaan).

Only "eretz" can mean both.

So in God's words to Abraham, the Bible yet again deliberately draws our attention back to the Creation stories by using the same word in both. 14

...But wait there's more!

What's the very first thing Abraham does in response to God's promises?

"He built (b-n-h) an altar to the Lord (mizbeach la-hashem) and invoked (k-r-') the name of the Lord (b'shem hashem)" (Gen 12:8)

Where have we seen all this before? 15

ROLL THE TAPE!

What's the first thing Noah does when he leaves the ark? "Then Noah built (b-n-h) an altar to the Lord (mizbeach la-hashem)" (Gen 8:20).

Altar-building! Exact same vocabulary here as with Abraham.

Okay, but what about calling out in the name of the Lord? 16

So that verb + prepositional phrase combo is REALLY rare. It only appears 8 times in the entire Bible! The second time it appears is in Gen 12, with Abraham.

Where's the first time?

Spoiler alert: it's in the wake of the Creation story! 17

After the Cain and Abel debacle, Adam and Eve have another child, Seth, who has a son named Enosh. The Bible tells us only one thing about his life: "At that time people began to invoke (k-r-') the name of the Lord (b'shem hashem)" (Gen 4:26).

Exactly as in Abraham's story! 18

The Bible clearly wants us to connect Abraham and the land to Creation. But why?

Well, let's think about Abraham's role in Gen 12. It's the same as Adam and Eve in Gen 1; Noah and his children in Gen 8-9.

The lesson: Abraham, like those characters, is human—a created being. 19

I know, I know, hold your applause.

But seriously, I know what you're thinking: *that's* your big conclusion?! The Bible wants us to know Abraham is one of God's creations?! This is...umm...obvious, no?

Well you'd think that. But here's where the Bible throws us for a loop. 20

Because let's look at other parallels between Abraham in the land and Creation. For instance, what are the very first words Abraham speaks in the land?

Abraham tells his nephew Lot to split up from him: "Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me" (13:9) 21

The Hebrew behind that phrase, "separate from", is the verb "p-r-d" (separate) and the preposition "me-al" (from). We'll get back to this.

But for now, what's Abraham doing as he divides the land? He takes two things that are alike—family members—and separates them into two. 22

All together now: WHERE HAVE WE LAST SEEN THIS?!

Where have we seen like things divided in two?

Yup...the Creation story!

"So God made the firmament and separated the waters that were under the firmament from the waters that were above the firmament" (1:7) 23

God divides the water in two. The parallel's deliberate. How do I know?

Because if not, the Gen 13 verses about Abraham would be grammatical mush!

The Biblical verb "separate" in Gen 13 (p-r-d) appears over two dozen times, always with a specific preposition: "from" ("me-") 24

Okay, so what's the problem? "Separate from" is exactly what Gen 13 says, right?

Wrong!

That's how it's translated in English. But it's not actually what the Hebrew says. This is the one time in the Bible where p-r-d has a different preposition: "me-al"

And that's weird. 25

Why? Well, because "me-al" doesn't actually mean "from". Literally, it means "from on top"...or "above".

So what does it mean for Abraham and Lot to separate "above" each other? How does that make any sense?

Answer: it doesn't...unless you've read Gen 1! 26

Because in Gen 1 what does God separate? The waters below the firmament from...the waters "above" the firmament! And what's the Bible's word in Gen 1 for "above"?

Yep, it's "me-al"!

Abraham separating Lot "above" him only makes sense if you know it's an echo of Gen 1

27

So this is yet another connection between Abraham in the land and Creation. But here's the key. Did you notice what role Abraham plays in *this* parallel? Abraham's the one separating like things in two. Who does that in Gen 1?

God!!!

In Gen 13, Abraham stands in for God. 28

The very next verse hammers this home:

"Lot looked about him and saw that the plain of the Jordan was well watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord" (13:10)

The place where Abraham sets up Lot is explicitly compared to Eden, the place where God put Adam and Eve! 29

So now we see the creative tension the Bible has deliberately built up in using Creation as the blueprint for telling us about Abraham in the land.

On one hand, Abraham plays the role of humanity—creations.

On the other, Abraham plays the role of God—Creator.

What gives? 30

What's going on here is that God is presenting a solution to the problems of the previous chapters in Genesis.

Prior to Gen 12 the Bible tells of two attempts God makes to establish a relationship with humans. First, God creates Adam and Eve.

This is humanity's childhood. 31

In this stage of the relationship, God has no real expectations of humanity. Oh, there are technical demands—don't touch this tree—but that's like how you'd tell a child "don't touch this stove". That's not a mission, or a purpose in life. That's just keeping the kids safe. 32

Other than that, God just showers Adam and Eve with blessing and makes no existential demands of them. Much the way you'd treat your children!

But this fails miserably. Because as humanity began to grow up, we *needed* a purpose—otherwise we're no different from mere beasts. 33

So that brings us to the Flood. In its wake, God does give us a mission...but it's an individualized one:

"Whoever sheds the blood of a human, by a human shall that person’s blood be shed, for in his own image God made humans" (9:6).

Just be personally virtuous. 34

This model, too, leads to disaster. Because if the highest human purpose is individual, then perhaps all that matters is the individual. And if I'm all that matters—if I am my only concern—that means I matter more than you.

And it's a pretty quick hop from there to tyranny. 35

This resulted, ultimately, in the first totalitarian society in human history: Babel. I covered this in a prior thread (check it out later!)

In the wake of Babel's implosion, God tries once more. And that brings us to Gen 12—Abraham in the land. 36

https://twitter.com/AriLamm/status/1560611614226882560?s=20

Instead of simply showering humanity with blessing, or giving us tasks as mere individuals, God says: it's time for you to learn responsibility—to have a mission.

How?

I'm going to put you in *my* place. I'm going to assign you as stewards over my Creation. 37

Now, this is one of the most volatile ideas in history. Because when you tell a human being that he is responsible for the earth just like God is, he may begin to think: "I am god".

It's with this in mind that God first approaches Abraham. 38

He tells Abraham: I'm not going to make you steward over THE earth ("eretz" in Gen 1). Instead, I'll make you steward over A land ("eretz" in Gen 12). And let's see how you care for it.

A poignant ancient interpretation by Rabbi Joshua b. Levi (3rd century) makes this point. 39

He asks why, in Genesis 18, God consults with Abraham about Sodom and Gomorrah.

He answers that God reasons, "I've given Abraham stewardship over this land, and Sodom Gomorrah are within its boundaries. So he needs to be part of the decision." 40

God assigns Abraham a manageable measure of responsibility for a particular land. In doing so, the Bible tells humanity two things:

First, you are not gods. Only God Himself can claim responsibility for the entire world.

But neither are we mere children frolicking in Eden. 41

Unlike Adam and Eve—and unlike even Noah and his children—we're given an affirmative collective purpose. We aren't gods, but we *are* called upon to imitate and partner with God. God assigns Abraham to tend a Creation in miniature.

This, in short, is the Biblical revolution. 42

As the historian Joshua Berman writes in his fabulous "Created Equal", the Bible radically reshaped how the ancient world understood humanity

The rest of the Ancient Near East saw humanity as slaves of the gods. But the Bible sees us as God's partners 43 amazon.com/Created-Equal-…

This is why the Bible expresses His relationship with Abraham as a covenant. In the ancient world, a covenant was an agreement binding a vassal to a king

That's how God conceives of Abraham in the land—God's vassal taking responsibility for its wellbeing and moral character. 44

Abraham, taking responsibility for *an* eretz, must imitate God who takes responsibility for *the* eretz...the whole earth!

This is why the prophets foresaw the land as central to the redemption of humankind. Isaiah prophesied that "all the nations shall stream to it" (2:2) 45

Abraham, in other words, is meant to be a model. When each nation sees Abraham taking responsibility for his land—a microcosm of Creation—they too will aspire to serve as God's partner—His steward over their own land.

For if God can have one vassal, then He can have many! 46

This is why the Bible cares about a land. If Abraham must be a light unto the nations, the land itself serves as a *lab* unto the nations.

After humanity at large fails twice—Eden and post-Flood—God says: let's start with something small. One land. And let's build it out! 47

We can embody this idea in our own lives. Each of us is a grand divine experiment in the making. The world as it is may not yet be the world as it ought to be...but virtue can start small. It can start with one person, one community, one society.

It can start with us! /end

P.S. If you liked this thread check out my podcast Good Faith Effort -- @gfaitheffort -- we do stuff like this on the pod all the time.

The latest episode featured the magnificent @AngelParham (and has some great stuff on Exodus!). podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the…

@gfaitheffort @AngelParham P.P.S. This thread began as a talk for the "Theology of Land" symposium at @RegentU (audio below). Thank you so much to @BaseballPesach for giving me this platform! And to @Dru_Johnson for coming to the talk and discussing this with me afterwards! shoulder2shoulder.libsyn.com/97-the-theolog…