“The written word is the strongest most source of power in the entire universe.”
-Gary Halbert, Arguably the Greatest Copywriter To Ever Live In History
By now, I think you would agree that properly grasping the correct meaning of certain words in Scripture is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO important.
Let’s take a look at Deuteronomy 4:1 from three different Bible translations for a perfect illustration of this point.
“Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers giveth you.”-King James Version
“Now, Israel, listen to the laws and rulings I am teaching you, in order to follow them, so that you will live; then you will go in and take possession of the land that Adonai, the God of your fathers, is giving you.”-Complete Jewish Bible
“Now, Israel, hear the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you.”-NIV
The Hebrew for what the King James Bible, the Complete Jewish Bible, and the NIV respectively render as “hearken”, “listen”, and “hear” is the word SHEMA.
I’m sure you will recognize this word as the traditional name for the famous commandment in Deuteronomy 6 that starts off with…
…”Hear O Israel…”.
Here’s the thing.
To us modern folks, the word SHEMA does NOT mean what we think it means.
In addition, when we read the King James version that uses the word “hearken“, we assume it means to passively just sit back and listen.
This is incorrect.
“Hearken” is NOT a formal old English way of saying “hear“.
During the medieval ages, “hearken” specifically meant to get off your butt and act on what you were being told.
And this is what SHEMA really means.
It is call to take action!!!
This is similar to the true Biblical meaning of the word “believe“.
While the gentile Christian understanding of the word “believe” is just a passive intellectual understanding of something, that is NOT the Jewish or Biblical understanding.
Again, we’re talking about ACTION.
It doesn’t do you any good to just give intellectual acknowledgement to something if you ain’t gonna back it up with sacrificial blood, sweat and tears.
Hence, if we were to render SHEMA in proper modern English, it would be best to say “Listen and Obey” or “Observe“.
In other words, we are to act upon what we hear.
We hear and DO!
Along the same line of thinking, the word “believe” should be rendered as “trust and obey“.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
What good is it, my brothers and sisters,
if someone claims to have faith
but has no deeds?
Can such faith save them?
Suppose a brother or a sister
is without clothes and daily food.
If one of you says to them,
“Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,”
but does nothing about their physical needs,
what good is it?
In the same way, faith by itself,
if it is not accompanied by action,
is dead.
-James 2:14-17
You seem to think that you know what (all) Christians believe; I know that “to hearken” and “to believe” are both words that require action. My belief and faith in Christ/God is what led me to this site; I was seeking to understand Jewish tradition and the Hebrew language more clearly. I know that true faith is followed by works (action) that pour out of our relationship with God. Most Christian’s know that to know Who God is is not the same as knowing Him.
You seem to have a deep dislike and condescension for Christian’s and you definitely put us all in the same category. I finally had to say something as I go through your study because so many of the things you believe to be true about (seemingly) all Christians are incorrect. There are many good pastors and people within the church who dig and study the ENTIRE Bible regularly. At this point I wish I’d called you out on every erroneous, sweeping, statement that you’ve made about the church. We do see God’s mercy and love as we read the OT. We see and have discovered many of the truths that you’ve pointed out but wrongly said we don’t understand.
Many things in God’s Word are evident, some take much study to understand and others still will remain veiled until we enter His kingdom. I think you’ve missed much concerning our Messiah, I enjoy reading the OT and NT simultaneously, there is a beautiful thread woven throughout the entirety of the Bible. I think you’ve missed it.
Great points mentioned Pauli. Thanks for sharing.