The GOSPEL in the names pf the Patriarchs This issue will examine one of the most powerful proofs of G-d’s plan for salvation and of the inspiration of the scriptures which can be found. I have tried very hard to present what should be a scholarly treatise in as simple a fashion as possible, so that everyone can understand, learn, and be blessed. Please bear with me and I promise you, that at the conclusion you will find one of the most beautiful jewels which G-d has hidden in the scriptures. We know that G-d speaks to us in parables, stories which require us to seek His Holy Spirit for enlightenment and understanding. Not only did Jesus speak to his disciples in this way, but we know that the prophecies of the old covenant are also veiled in mystery. For instance, Isaiah’s prophecy of the suffering servant in Isaiah 53 paints a perfect picture of the suffering and death of our Messiah, Jesus. Yet, we remember how the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8 struggled with this passage, seeking to understand just whom the prophet was discussing. G-d hides His wisdom within His Word so that they who would seek understanding would be forced to diligently seek it out. What G-d has told me to seek out is the meaning of the names of the sons of Seth (and Adam) up to the flood. This is what we will now do. ADAM: Man, but this is one of several words which are translated man. In fact, we shall examine three of those words today. Yet, ADAM is a special name for man. It is the name which his creator gave to him: Gen. 5:2 Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created. So then this is not just MAN but perfect MAN as originally created by haShem. This is why Paul referred to Jesus as the last ADAM, which was the restored perfection of G-d. SETH: All the commentaries and lexicons agree, SETH means SUBSTITUTED. From various lexicons and commentaries the root word from which this name is derived indicates: replacement or in place of. Obviously, Adam saw in Seth a replacement for the two sons he had lost. ENOS: (literally ENOSH) This is another word which is translated man, but it is used to refer to the basest and lowest qualities of humanity or to the mortality of man. It can be translated frailty, mortality, incurable, and even blood. For our purposes let us assume that this name takes on it’s most common meaning (according to the commentaries) MORTALITY, referring to the ultimate fate of man: death. CAINAN: (pronounced KI-NAN) Things get a little more difficult here. Various commentaries translated this as FIXED. Bullinger (whose study bible I normally use) translates this as A POSSESSION. The root word (KAIN) is used for dwelling, house, or more commonly nest. Four our purposes I will use Bullinger’s translation, for a dwelling is a FIXED POSSESSION. MAHALALEEL: This is universally translated as PRAISE OF G-D. But to really find the meat of what this name says to us we must dig just a little deeper. This word is derived from two other words: MAHALAL and EL. EL of course is a common Semitic (Hebrew, Arabic, etc.) word for G-d. MAHALAL is a specific type of praise, which refers praise of others who have tested a man according to his word or works. The BDB Lexcon, which is the standard source for understanding the Hebrew words relates this to FAME. At least one commentary called MAHALALEEL, the fame of G-d. This then is a praise of G-d for his PROMISE, or what can be better called THE PROMISE OF G-D! (Sounds like Jesus to me!!!) JARED: Almost every source refers to JARED as GO DOWN or DESCENDED. In fact, JARED is commonly translated when used as a verb as DESCENDED. ENOCH: The seventh son from Adam is no doubt one of the most important lessons found in scripture. Here is a man, that G-d raptured before the rest of us. He is a symbol of the rapture to come, and Jude tells us that he was a prophet who saw the coming of the L-rd. His name is commonly translated INITIATED, but the root word is translated CONCECRATED or OFFERING. All of these concepts tie together to indicate that ENOCH led a CONSECRATED life of service and fellowship with G-d. His very life was an OFFERING to G-d. METHUSELAH: (litterally METH-U-SHE-LEK) This is the one name that alomost every commentator got wrong. They all translate this name as MAN OF THE DART (or SPEAR). It is another compound word, being formed from METH = man and SHELECH which is dart, spear, sword, or weapon. However, Job 33:18 and 36:12 translate this same word as PERISH. The root word, SHLCH, refers to putting away violently. So then SHELECH can indeed refer to the weapon, but also to the death which the weapon brings. Remember, Job is an ancient book, believed by many to predate the books of Moses. Would not the meaning of this word in Job be closer to the meaning used before the flood? So then one possible meaning is MAN THAT PERISHES. However, I do not believe that these other scholars have correctly identified the other word used in the compound word. METH is man, but METHU (METHY) is IN TIME or WHEN, if used in a question. Thus it is entirely possible that this should be translated AND WHEN HE PERISHES (VIOLENTLY). Please note that if you examine the chronology of the ante-diluvians (those that lived before the flood), you will find that in the same year that METHUSELAH died, the flood came. Was the first prophet, ENOCH, prophesying through the name of his son, that at his death the world would be destroyed? I was pleased to discover that this was exactly the way Bullinger translated this name: AND WHEN HE DIES THE END WILL COME. LAMECH: This is an enigma. All of the commentaries and lexicons indicate that the root word is never again used in scripture or in extra scriptural literature. This has become a lost word. However, at least one commentator (Budde) traces this root to TOTALITY or COMPLETION. Bullinger translated this name as POWERFUL, but fails to explain how he derives this meaning. Though we can not be sure, it appears that this word means POWERFUL, COMPLETION. NOAH: ENOCH, himself, gave us the meaning of this name: COMFORT. Gen. 5:29 And he called his name Noah, saying, This [same] shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which haShem hath cursed. What then do we have? ADAM PERFECT MAN SETH SUBSTITUTED ENOS MORTALITY (DEATH) CAINAN as a DWELLING PLACE MAHALALEEL but the PROMISE OF G-D JARED DESCENDED ENOCH as an OFFERING METHUSELAH and WHEN he PERISHED LAMECH he brought a POWERFUL, TOTAL NOAH COMFORT PERFECT MAN SUBSTITUTED MORTALITY AS A DWELLING PLACE BUT THE PROMISE OF ELOHIM DESCENDED AS AN OFFERING AND WHEN HE WAS DEAD, BROUGHT A COMPLETE COMFORT! From the very beginning G-d has laid before us the perfection of His plan for our salvation!
Posted on: Tue, 21 Jan 2014 19:43:11 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015