Towards, unto, into and in Theos

Just to remind ourselves why the notion of antithesis is relevant to this discussion. We noted in the early posts while discussing homographic uses of ‘el (אל) that one such usage was a less common word for ‘not’ and was an inversion of the more common word for the negative – lo’ (לא). As we also saw, when we looked at inversions, the inversion of letters can have a number of senses. It clearly indicates a relation of juxtaposition as we saw in the case of ‘grace’ and ‘Noah’ and also in the case of kaporeth and paroketh. It may also have a sense of inverted meaning so that ‘el (אל) could at one and the same time mean ‘not’ and, as it were, ‘not not’ or the inversion of the negative, that is the positive, for example, yes. It may be deemed therefore, as we see in the ten commandments, that fundamental to the meaning of the identity of ‘el (אל) is the idea of negative and, by implication, its antithesis. The ten commandments show this inasmuch as they are determined to be the fundamental commandments to be obeyed which form the basis of the covenant with Yisra’el and they take the form of a series of negative and positive propositions.

Furthermore, we will see in the following analysis an example of antithesis set in the context of the journeyings of the children of Yisra’el. So, a part of the identity of ‘el (אל), that is the association of him with both positive and negative, is juxtaposed with another fundamental part of his identity, that is the directional sense of ‘el (אל), both in the direction towards the land and in the direction of the kerubym one toward another seen in the kaporeth.

Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; A blessing, if you hearken unto (אל) the commandments of Yahweh your ‘elohym, which I command you this day: And a curse, if ye will not hearken unto (אל) the commandments of Yahweh your ‘elohym, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other ‘elohym which you have not known. And it shall come to pass, when Yahweh thy ‘elohym has brought thee in unto (אל) the land where thou go to possess it, that thou shall put the blessing upon mount Gerizym, and the curse upon mount ‘Ebal. (Deuteronomy 11.26-29)

The book of Deuteronomy is the revelation which Mosheh received and delivered unto the children of Yisra’el in one day just prior to them crossing the Yarden and entering into their possession, a seeming fulfilment of a part of the promises made to ‘Abraham. In this specific chapter there is an emphasis on this crossing over and being in that possession and the way they should behave in the land. Indeed, Deuteronomy, as a whole, is a revelation given in the wilderness in anticipation of obedience to those precepts in the possession. In that sense Deuteronomy is very like the word given to those willing to receive it. It is instruction to be adhered to now in anticipation of observance of such in the place destined to be inherited. As such, it is determined that to obey these commandments, and to receive the blessings that come from that obedience, is to walk in the way. To disobey, and therefore to receive the cursings that come from such disobedience, is to stray out of the way and turn aside to other ‘elohym. To be in the way is to face ‘elohym and to move towards him; to be out of the way is to have turned aside to face other ‘elohym.

There are blessings toward the observance of these precepts and there are cursings involved in their disobedience. After entering the land, these blessings and cursings were to be enunciated on these two mountains on the other side Yarden.

In the Old Testament we find two distinct families of Hebrew words that translate the English ‘curse’ and in The New Testament we find a similar story with there being two distinct and unrelated families of words covering the same ground. The same is also true for the words ‘bless’ or ‘blessing’. That is that both in the Old Testament and the New there are two distinct families of words that cover this subject.

You may recall from the post ‘What is the euangelion?’ we looked at a number of Greek words that started with the same prefix ‘eu’ (ευ). One of these words is the word ‘to bless’ (eulogeo ευλογεω). Coming from two words, eu and logeo, it joins these two ideas together – that of ‘good’ or ‘well’ and ‘to speak’ – into one idea which is ‘to speak well’ and exists in both directions of the kaporeth. It is something that is given, that is, Theos speaks well of the patriarchs, and it is something that is received and reciprocated, as in when a believer blesses Theos. The inverse can be said to be true of one of the words for ‘curse’. This verb kakalogeo (κακαλογεω) is made up of the word kakos (κακος) meaning ‘evil’ or ‘wicked’ and the verb logeo (λογεω) from the noun logos (λογος), meaning (as in the word ‘to bless’) ‘word’ and from that ‘to speak’. Thus, cursing is the antithesis of ‘to speak well’, that is, it is ‘to speak evil’ and, therefore, can be inferred to be bi-directional, as ‘blessing’ is.

Thus:

For Theos commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curses father or mother, let him die the death. (Math.15.4)

Cursing here is seen as an antithesis to honouring father and mother and is set in the terms of a commandment of Theos. Indeed, honouring father and mother is one of the ten commandments that formed the elements of the covenant deposited inside the ark and covered by the kaporeth. It is also described as the first commandment with promise as it spoke of the promise of life to come. That is, that obedience to this commandment was couched in terms of the children of Yisra’el living long in the land, a prefiguring of living for ‘olam. The second part of this quotation that Iesous refers to is taken from Exodus 21:

And he that curses his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death. (Exodus 21.17)

This route back to the Old Testament gives us one of the two words for ‘curse’ in the Hebrew. The word is qalal (קלל) and, although being predominantly translated ‘curse’, also has a number of alternative translations, including ‘abate’, ‘swift’, ‘revile’ and ‘light’. It seems to carry the sense of belittling, lightly esteeming etc. It is clearly used in a verbal slur as in:

And the Pelishty said unto Dawid, Am I a dog, that thou come to me with staves? And the Pelishty cursed Dawid by his ‘elohym. (1 Shemu’el 17.43)

In this passage Golyath is clearly cursing Dawid verbally by his ‘elohym, whereas Dawid tells him that he comes to him in the name of Yahweh, whom he has defied. Cursing, therefore, is a counterpoint to upholding Yahweh’s name.

The feminised noun from this word ‘to curse’ (qelalah קללה) is also used extensively and translated as ‘curse’ and is used, sparsely, in the references to ‘Ebal and Gerizym:

And these shall stand upon mount ‘Ebal to curse; Re’uben, Gad, and ‘Asher, and Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtaly. (Deuteronomy 27.13)

The Hebrew here being better translated as ‘upon the curse’, as qelalah (קללה) is a noun.

And:

But it shall be, if thou will not hearken unto the voice of Yahweh thy ‘elohym, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee: (Deuteronomy 28.15)

The curses, like the blessings (as we shall come to see), are the words which are spoken in advance of the possibility of them coming to pass. The curses are conditional on disobedience, as the blessings are conditional on obedience, and the acts that are foretold in that, as it were, speech of evil will come to pass once that disobedience has been established. Cursing can be evil speech, it can be belittling or demeaning speech, as is intimated in the dishonouring of parents spoken of in Exodus 21 or the blasphemy of Yahweh’s name perpetrated by the man in the wilderness (Leviticus 21), but it can also be speech concerning an evil outcome. Therefore, we can see the cursing from ‘Ebal as the true speech of Yahweh predicting an evil outcome for the disobedient children of Yisra’el, whereas the blessing is both that which speaks well of someone but also speaks of a positive outcome for those who are obedient to Yahweh’s commands. This anticipatory speech covers the events at Gerizym and ‘Ebal, as we have seen, because it is a command given in the wilderness with the expected obedience of such command in the possession where they are headed. Cursing and blessing, therefore, can be seen in tandem with the journey itself. The journey always has the destination in mind. Throughout the journey there is an anticipation of the journey’s end. Commandments given on the journey are expected to be accomplished, complied with, when the possession is inhabited. Such a compliance with the journey commandments will lead to the blessing of the ‘olam inheritance. The opposite occurs with failure to do so.

The most common Hebrew word used in the ‘Ebal cursings is ‘arar (ארר):

Cursed is he that establishes not all the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen. (Deuteronomy 27.26)

This word is also used in Genesis to describe the bad outcome for the man and his future tillage of the land following the disobedience of the man and woman in the garden:

And to the man he said, Because thou hearkened to the voice of thy woman, and have eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shall not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shall thou eat of it all the days of thy life; (Genesis 3.17)

The outcome of the disobedience of the man is a deteriorating and less fruitful existence leading to his return to the ground from which he was taken. Death as an outcome of disobedience to the one commandment they were given was foretold. They were warned of the consequences of disobedience. From that point on they were expelled from the garden and the way to the tree of lives was guarded by kerubym. However, in the proclamation of such devastating consequences, there was still a hope of another journey and destination set out before them by the victory of the woman’s seed over the seed of the serpent.

The blessings, as the counterpoint to cursings, are seen in the promises made to ‘Abraham which, as in Genesis 3, look forward to an obedient seed to cause their fulfilment. The Hebrew word used here is one of two words used to describe ‘blessing’. Here, as in the blessings of Gerizym, the word used is barak (ברך). It describes the blessedness of man, and the prospect of his ensuing fruitfulness, in Genesis 1; it is used to describe the blessedness of the seventh day following the six days of creation; and it is used to describe the outcome of the promises on ‘Abram on account of his obedience:

And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shall be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curses thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. (Genesis 12.2,3)

These positive sayings about positive outcomes are repeated in the following chapters. They are used concerning the words that Melkytsedek, the king of Shalem and the priest of the most high ‘el (אל), pronounces upon ‘Abram and which ‘Abram reciprocates by giving tithes and his subsequent words to the king of Sodom. It is used concerning Sarah and the son that will be born of her (Yitshaq) who, being ‘Abraham’s seed, prefigures the seed (Iesous) who will proceed from him, both genealogically and in spirit. It is used to ‘Abraham by the angel who stayed his hand from slaying his son Yitshaq, the promised seed, who ‘Abraham, in figure, killed and received back from the dead:

By belief Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaak: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, towards whom it was said, That in Isaak shall thy seed be called: Accounting that Theos was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure. (Hebrews 11.17-19)

As we saw with cursings, there is evidently a journey of speech leading to outcome. This is clearly the case with blessings too. The believing and obedient ‘Abraham was to be the recipient of positive outcomes. There were some of these positive outcomes in his life: the positive words spoken to him by Yahweh and by his representative, himself a figure for Iesous, but the positive outcomes that were promised were not realised in his lifetime, neither in the lifetimes of his natural descendants, the children of Yisra’el, unto whom it appears that these promises were made. The positive outcomes, the fruitfulness and blessings, can only be achieved through his seed and will only be realised when ‘Abraham is there, in his resurrected form, when the possession he was promised is an ‘olam inheritance.

The other word for ‘blessing’ in the Old Testament is the Hebrew word ‘eshrey (אשרי) and it comes from the word ‘asher (אשר). We can see the correlation in the naming of one of the sons of Ya’aqob:

And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name ‘Asher. (Genesis 30.13)

We have seen in previous posts that the word ‘asher (אשר) is at the heart of the meaning of Yahweh’s name. In Exodus ‘elohym says unto Mosheh, in response to Mosheh’s question as to what he shall say to the children of Yisra’el when they ask the name of the one sending him:

And ‘elohym said unto (אל) Mosheh, I will be who I will be: and he said, Thus shall thou say to the children of Yisra’el, I will be has sent me unto (אל) you. (Exodus 3.14)

The word ‘who’ here is the Hebrew ‘asher (אשר) and denotes that medium through which the ‘I will be’ will appear unto those who he will become. This blessed medium is, in this context, Mosheh but looks forward to the mediator of the New Covenant, Iesous. It also, however, embodies all ‘who’ manifest that name of Yahweh in word and work, thus:

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of Yahweh; and in his law does he meditate day and night. (Psalm 1.1,2)

We see here the word for ‘blessed’ (‘eshrey אשרי) alongside the word for ‘who’ (‘asher אשר), showing a close juxtaposition of the two words. The man ‘who’ is embodying, and walking in, the way of Yahweh, revealed in his law, and who has these precepts dwelling in him day and night, is/will be blessed. Furthermore, his behaviour is characterised by a series of negative propositions. He does not walk, sit or stand in evil ways (the negative) because (the positive) he delights and meditates continually in Yahweh’s law.

Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Yahweh imputes not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. (Psalm 32.1,2)

The outcome of this manifestation of Yahweh’s way is that sin is removed from the blessed man. This man (‘adam, as in Genesis 3) is any man who declares Yahweh in himself but, primarily, it is that second ‘adam in whom there was no fault. This faultlessness as an outcome of absorption of, and immersion in, the words of Yahweh is the same principle we saw outlined in the day of the atonements when the blood of the offerings for priest, his house and the people were all sprinkled on the kaporeth, that symbol of reciprocal manifestation.

Psalm 32 gives us a route into the New Testament as it is quoted in Romans 4:

Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. (Romans 4.7,8)

Here we have the use of the words who/whose that are, perhaps, implied but not uttered in Psalm 32. As in the quotation from Deuteronomy 32.43 into Romans 15.10, which we looked at in the ‘homographs’ section (in regard to the homographic nature of ‘with’ and ‘people’), the homographic relationship of ‘blessed’ and ‘who’ is made explicit in the New Testament quotation. This reference in Romans 4 also gives us a New Testament link to the Hebrew ‘eshrey (אשרי). The Greek here is the word makarios (μακαριος) and this is used in, what is commonly called, the sermon on the mount:

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see Theos. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of Theos. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. (Math.5.3-12)

Set on top of a mountain, Iesous proclaims 9 statements of blessedness which is concluded with a commandment to rejoice. It is as though we have a new ten commandments here being offered to a plural blessed group, as the word ‘blessed’ appears in its plural form. These are positive propositions which are based on manifestation. Therefore, those who are merciful will obtain mercy. The positive propositions are, however, contrasted with their antitheses. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled; those who mourn will be comforted; and, above all, and offering us the one command form – ‘rejoice and be exceeding glad’ – is the idea that, in this age, those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness shall receive the reward of the heavenly values of the age to come. Ultimately, those who are cursed by those of this present, evil age shall be blessed in the future by Theos. All of the ones who attempt to show in themselves the qualities of Theos are offered future reward, future comfort. The contrast, where there is one is in the present (wilderness journey) and the future (the inherited possession). This is the blessing/cursing antithesis.

We have seen, in the above, and, particularly referring back to ‘Ebal and Gerizym, that the future reward is dependent on the present obedience while en route to that aionian destination. The two mountains that represented that antithesis between blessing and cursing were juxtaposed opposite one another to show the divergence of these two behaviours and outcomes. The one mountain of Iesous’ teaching offers one set of outcomes based on one set of behaviours. These behaviours were seen in him who sat at the mountain top and led to him being without fault before Theos. If we walk after the example of that manifesting kerub, hearken to his voice and are reciprocal to it in word and deed, we too can be heirs of him. The antitheses of blessing and cursing show the difference between the now and the future and those who will inherit it. Cursing is of the now, it was the failure of the man and the woman in the garden that led to the curse of suffering and death. The blessing that was offered to ‘Abraham and to his seed is the obedience to the covenant of the cutting off of the flesh and holds promise for the undoing of the curse of ‘Eden and the return via the kerubym to the tree of lives and its fruit. The man and woman failed in kerubic manifestation, the woman teaching, falsely, the man how to behave and undermining the teaching of ‘elohym. The true pattern was the command of ‘elohym to man and the man’s reciprocation by receiving, reciprocating and turning to become the manifesting kerub to the woman. In ‘Eden this pattern was usurped. In the blessings of Gerizym, and the mountain of Iesous’ teaching, the true pattern is followed. In the cursings of ‘Ebal, and the failure of the children of Yisra’el to keep the covenant offered to them by Mosheh from the mount, we have the continuation of the expulsion from ‘Eden. Entering into Yahweh is dependent on the obedience of Iesous and those who are blessed in him through obedience to him. The identity of ‘el (אל) is premised on these contrasts.