Genesis 17:1-2, “And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.”
The word before means “in front of, or in the presences of” (Webster’s 1828). God was calling Abraham to a personal relationship with Himself. He wanted Abraham to live in His very presence.
In Hebrew/Jewish literature the Rabbis and Sages teach that this verse should read
Walk WITH Me.
This is interesting because we are to understand that only after the fullness of 99 years, Abraham was finally invited to Walk WITH YHVH/Yahoveh/God as we are informed in Genesis that Enoch did also.
And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him. Amplified Bible And [in reverent fear and obedience] Enoch walked with God; and he was not [found among men], because God took him. Genesis 5:24
Was Abraham able to do this because He understood that YHVH/God was El Shaddai, the Almighty or all sufficient God/YHVH? The rabbis and sages further say that 90 is the number of humility and 9 is the number of completion. So this infers that when Abraham was 99, he became complete (9) in humility(90) and recognized that YHVH/Yahoveh/God was truly El Shaddai – all sufficient, only then he could walk WITH Yahoveh/ YHVH/ God.
Humility is defined as: not for one moment trusting in self, in the arm of the flesh or in all securities we have built up; but having complete and total trust in our Heavenly Father God/El Shaddai, to be all sufficient for us.
אל שדי (el shaddai) the almighty
Genesis 17:1 HEB: אֲנִי־ אֵ֣ל שַׁדַּ֔י הִתְהַלֵּ֥ךְ לְפָנַ֖י NAS: to him, I am God Almighty; Walk KJV: and said unto him, I [am] the Almighty God;
And when Abram was ninety nine years old and the LORD appeared to Abram, and he said to him, I am El Shaddai, walk before me, and be perfect Genesis 17:1
7706 Shadday: Almighty
Original Word:שַׁדַּי Part of Speech: Noun Masculine Transliteration: Shadday Phonetic Spelling:shad-dah’-ee
In the previous post we looked at the meaning of the word
אל el,
as found in אל שדי (el shaddai),
and the word שדי (shaddai).
Most Bible translations translate this word as Almighty.
Many times a translator will not, or is reluctant to, translate a Hebrew word literally;
Why?
Because the literal meaning would not make sense to the Western mind and in some cases could or would actually offend them.
This is the case with the word שדי (shaddai).
The use of the word “Almighty” by the translator is their attempt at translating the text in a manner that will both make sense to the Western reader as well as to retain some of the meaning of the original Hebrew word.
Let’s take another look at this word.
The parent root for this word is שד (shad).
The original pictograph for this word is:
The (sh) is a picture of the two front teeth
and has the meaning of:
“sharp,” “press” (as from chewing)
as well as “two.”
Shin: His Heartbeat apparent in the fervent ardency and the intense, fiery, consuming, passionate power of His essence; A picture of His desire which is evident in; the works of His hand – the brought forth One – the author and finisher.
The picture is the two front teeth.
The whiteness of the teeth shine.
Picture: Teeth
Associations: Shine
Sound:sh
Ancient Name: Shin
Modern Name: Shin
Modern Form:ש
Meaning: Sharp, Press, Eat, Two.
The (d) is a picture of a tent door
with a meaning of
“hang” or “dangle” as:
the door is hung or dangles down from the top of the tent.
Dalet – Door, passageway –
Process of entering-in; according to the Instructions, through the ‘Promised’ Instructor!
Move, hang, entrance, open, path or way.
The entrance of the Hebrew’s tent was covered by a curtain suspended from a horizontal pole.
The picture of this letter represents the “door” of the tent.
Picture: Door
Associations: Door
Sound: d
Ancient Name: Dal
Modern Name: Dalet
Modern Form: ד
Meaning:Move, Hang, Entrance
The combined meanings of the
shin and dalet
could be two danglers.
The goat was a very common animal within the herds of the Hebrews. It produces milk within the udder and is extracted by the goat kid by squeezing and sucking on the two teats dangling below the udder.
The function of these teats is to provide all the necessary nourishment for the kids, as they would die without it.
The Hebrew word שדי (shaddai)
also has the meaning of a teat.
Just as the goat provides nourishment to its kids through the milk, God nourishes His children through His milk and providesall the necessities of life.
This imagery can be seen in the following passage:
“And I will come down to snatch them [Israel] from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up from that land to a good and wide land to a land flowing with milk and honey.” Exodus 3:8
The word שדי (teat) is often coupled with the word
אל (mighty, strong)
creating the phrase
אל שדי (el shaddai)
and literally meaning
the “mighty teat,”
hence we can see the translator’s reluctance to literally translate this phrase and instead using the more acceptable “God Almighty.”
It has also been termed as the Almighty breasty One.
The idea of God being characterized as having breasts/teats does not sit well in our Western culture. We are familiar with identifying with God as a father, but not as a mother.
The Hebrew word for
mother is אם (em)
or
in the ancient pictographic script.
The ox head
meaning strength
combined with the picture for water
forms the word meaning: strong water.
Animal’s hides were placed in a pot of boiling water.
As the hide boiled, a thick sticky substance formed at the surface of the water and was removed and used as glue, a binding liquid or “strong water.” The mother of the family is the “one who binds the family together.”
Our Heavenly Father God can be seen as the
“glue” that holds the whole universe together;
which is more than a figurative statement however it is also quite scientific. We know that all matter is made up of atoms, each atom consists of protons which have a positive charge and electrons which have a negative charge. The protons are packed together in the nucleus, which is the center of the atom, while the electrons orbit/surround the nucleus. Since each proton has a positive charge, each proton should repel the others causing the protons to fly apart, but for some unknown reason, they do not. This phenomenon is called nucleic bonding. Our Heavenly Father God literally binds the entire universe together. WOW!
In Genesis 1:27 we are told “male and female he created them.”
This passage states that man was created as male and female and also that man was created in the image of God. God has the characteristics of both male and female and these characteristics were put into His creation, male characteristics in men and the feminine characteristics were placed in women. When a man and a woman come together, they unite these characteristics as one, now a perfect ‘representation’ of God. AsGenesis 2:24 states and they shall become one flesh.
(In His image and likeness.)
God promised the nation of Israel that he would bring them into a “land flowing with milk and honey.”
God as the אל שדי (el shaddai), the mighty teat, will supply His children with His life sustaining milk.
A brief note highlighting some of the problems with Biblical translations.
There are many aspects that comprise a translation which are both unknown and unseen to the reader. Many people assume that the English translations of the Bible are all equal representations of the original text in which it was first written down. Due to the huge difference between both the ancient Hebrews language and culture compared to our own, an exact translation into our English language is impossible. The job of any translator is extremely difficult as they attempt to bridge the gap between both languages and cultures.
Because the Hebrew text can be translated various ways, sometimes the translator’s personal beliefs have an influence how the text is translated; then it becomes more of a interpretation of the original text based on the individuals own theology and doctrine.
Whoever reads this translation has no choice but to believe the translators understanding of the text and it then also becomes the readers’ foundation.
For this reason, readers will often compare translations, but are usually limited to Christian translations. And many do not have the resources or education to do the research themselves and just simply accept what is presented in the version they have available.
A wise recommendation for any student of His Word is to include a “Hebrew/Jewish” translation when comparing texts, as this will give a different and more authentic perspective. Of course it will be biased toward the Hebraic/Jewish faith, but then Christian translations are biased toward the Christian faith too; so being able to compare the two translations can certainly help to understand the different viewpoint each one contains. We miss so many hidden gems and pearls when we confine ourselves to just one translation…Hopefully these posts help to illuminate and explain some of the more obscure scriptures which because of language ambiguities can seem to be contradictions.
The aim and heart of these posts are not to offend any readers, nor to take the place of personal study and research. No one understands it all and we are all learning along the Way. Our relationship with our Heavenly Father is the most important aspect, drawing closer to Him through His Word and so; having even a small glimpse into Hebrew language/culture, albeit clumsy, hopefully reminds us how little we really know and then only with the help of His Spirit. As always be encouraged to study for yourself and forgive any errors in the text, the writer simply wants you to fall in love with His Word.
Here is one that we can ponder on..
Is God Inhabiting Holiness or Praises?
In Psalm 22:3 it is written:
and thou art holy sitting …the praise of Israel.
Youngs Literal Translation.
In KJV it reads
3But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.
In other translations it reads as
enthroned
The word inhabit in Hebrew Strongs# 3427
is
יָשַׁב
YASHAV or Yashab
Phonetic Spelling: yaw-shab’
(recall the letters for v and b are interchangeable.)
Yashav means many things related to dwelling,
so, it could be sitting,
as used in Youngs translation,
or it could be
remaining, staying,
set in one place an abodeorestablishing.
Again, depending on the context where the word is used and is most applicable to what the original writer was trying to convey.
Here is a question.
Are our bodies the temple/sanctuary of God
or
are they the Yashav/yashab of God?
Many translations insert the word Temple
yet sanctuary is more appropriate.
Ephesians 2:21
Why?
Because the inner, holiest part of the temple complex was the place where YHVH/Gods’ shekinah presence dwelt.
(whereas naos denotes the central sanctuary itself) of the Temple (at Jerusalem or elsewhere) — temple.2411. hieron
3485naós (from naiō, “to dwell”) Phonetic Spelling: (nah-os’) Definition: a temple, a shrine,
that part of the temple where God himself resides.– properly, a sanctuary (divine dwelling-place);
a temple (sacred abode), the place of divine manifestation. 3485(naós) refers to the sanctuary (the Jewish Temple proper), i.e. with just its two inner compartments (rooms).
As His Spirit of Holiness is now imparted into our innermost being, then it would seem more likely that the holiest place would be just that, in our innermost being – the sanctuary of our hearts.
Something to think about…
Returning to yashav/yashab,
And some more questions..
Are we hoping Gods’ presence will somehow come
… when we praise Him?
Is it that we somehow think/believe we can entice Him to join us by praising Him?
Doesn’t this signify that He is not yet in the midst of us or that He is not indwelling each of us by His Spirit? Yet
Does He inhabit the praises of His people
or
does He inhabit His Holiness?
Or maybe it could read literally from the Hebrew as:
He the praise of His people?
A serious and more revealing question is:
what is the praise of our congregations?
What are we as a body of believers lifting up?
Is it the leadership, the building?
The number of those attending, is it the denomination and it doctrines and beliefs?
Then we must ask… what is the individuals focus in praise?
Is it our family, job, career, house car etc etc?…
because what we praise
and give our allegiance to and focus on is what our priority is.
All we have to do is listen to conversations all around us, because out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. What’s in there in abundance will come out of our mouths in conversation.
The Lord is Holy and we are to let no unholy thing come out of our mouth.
1Peter 1:15 be holy in all manner of communication.
Kadesh – holy means:
to be separate and sacred.
The One we are to be in intimate communication with, is Our Heavenly Father and in that intimate relationship, we are drawn to Him Who, Jesus/Yeshua and His Spirit of Holiness always point us to;
and when He dwells within us,
He becomes our praise.
The word for praise here is
HALAL which means: to SHINE.
When we say Hallelujah, we are saying:
God SHINE in us let the world see You not us.
God already inhabits His people so
He obviously inhabits the praises that come forth from them.
God is our praise and He dwells in us, there’s no treasure anywhere that can even come close to who He is;
2Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
Our treasure is that holy spirit within our “earthen vessels”. Earthen vessels are jars or containers made of clay. Jar of clay or earthen vessel is a figurative description of the human body as formed of clay (Gen. 2:7; 3:17)
and it should cause us to be continually praising Him, which in turn will give no room to be praising anything else.
As Yeshua/Jesus said, if people are forbidden to shout praises theThe very stones will cry out..
Let it be our aim to
walk with Him
and to let the
el shaddai who
(yashab) inhabits us
as His sanctuary here on earth;
inspire the praises that issue forth from our lips
by His indwelling Spirit of Holiness.
He is then inhabiting the Holiness of our praises!
Here I bow – live common gathering.
Shalom
friends and family!
Shavua Tov, Have a blessed week,
you are greatly loved and prayed for daily.
Please don’t leave here without assurance of your salvation
Not sure ..you can be…
Make certain Messiah Jesus/Yeshua is your Redeemer,
Savior, Lord, and soon returning King
and that you have a personal relationship with Him.
It’s all about Life and Relationship, NOT Religion.
You are very precious in His sight.
SIMPLY SAY THE FOLLOWING MEANING IT FROM YOUR HEART..don’t delay one more minute, SAY IT RIGHT NOW…
Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.
I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name.
First a P.S. for those who read last weeks post 
