Wayne's Worldview is a place to share my unique perspective of the world as formed from my interpretation of the scriptures and my experience as a Christian. As a pastor, I am asked a lot of questions about current issues, life dilemmas, personal problems, politics, biblical interpretation...etc.I offer these "How I see it" thoughts in effort to challenge people to think about their worldview, and to stimulate good conversations that will help us become more whole.
Welcome to the conversation.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Hebrew made simple

Comprehending the Bible can be a challenge, but with a little attention you can identify some trends in the Bible that will help you get more out of God's word.For example: The place BETH-EL: A town on the border of the territory of Ephraim (Josh. 16:1–4), at an important road junction 11 miles north of Jerusalem. Abraham built an altar there, Jacob had a dream there (Gen. 28:10–22), and named it Bethel:

House (Beth) of God (El)- which is the meaning of the Hebrew name. We also find Beth in Bethlehem (house of bread), Bethesda (House of grace) and Bethshan (house of quiet). Maybe when all my children leave the home some day it will become Bethshan!

You might recognize the similar el prefix or suffix in other Hebrew words like Immanuel(God with us), Elijah (Jehovah is God), and Israel (He struggles with God)- The name given to Jacob when he struggled with God.

Now that you know that el means God, and Beth means house, you will recognize them in hundreds of texts.
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2 comments:

  1. MariApril 8, 2010 at 5:06 PM

    Thanks for that information. I didn't know about either of those words!

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  2. AnonymousMay 10, 2010 at 4:46 PM

    As a Christian mother, I am very disturbed by your blog. Your worldview is not formed by Christianity nor is it formed by the scriptures. It is formed by distrust and xenophobia. I pray that Christ will help heal your soul.

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