Because I haven't made enough obscure Old Testament references recently

I must say, the Old Testament really speaks to my heart.  I'm not saying that the Book of Mormon, New Testament and Doctrine and Covenants aren't true.  They are, in fact, also true.  However, I have always felt a kinship with the thought processes, events and lives of the people in the Old Testament.  And, contrary to popular belief, you can learn a lot from these people.  While waiting for Devotional to start this Tuesday, Caleb and I were talking about how I'm an Old Testament person.  The person who was speaking at Devotional happened to have been my Old Testament 2 professor.  Caleb said, "I really don't want to take Old Testament." A little part of me died inside, but instead of saying that, I just said, "Well, you don't have to.  You only have to take 2 semesters of Book of Mormon, 1 semester of D&C and 1 semester of New Testament.  Your others are religion elective credits and there are a million and one religion classes to choose from for elective credits." 

But then, Caleb said, "I LOVE New Testament, though.  I don't know how you can read the New Testament and not see the organization of the Church in Christ's time."  Caleb might be a New Testament guy.  He also said, "That's probably why you took Biblical Hebrew.  I really want to take Ancient Greek."  I guess he IS a New Testament guy.

And it's true.  I took Biblical Hebrew.  And I loved it.  And it adds to my love of the Old Testament.  Those people who say that it doesn't add anything really, because the translation is fine?  Don't believe them.

My example that I use:

After the Sons of Jacob return from Egypt, after Simeon being left in Egypt, this is what the King James version translates the conversation as:

Jacob: Go again, buy us a little food.

 Judah: The man did solemnly protest unto us, saying, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you.  If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy thee food:  But if thou wilt not send him, we will not go down: for the man said unto us, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you.

 Jacob: Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother?

Judah: The man asked us straitly of our state, and of our kindred, saying, Is your father yet alive? have ye another brother? and we told him according to the tenor of these words: could we certainly know that he would say, Bring your brother down?

It's just so tense, and doesn't really seem like a son talking to his father.  And I see less intention, less emotion and less meaning behind their dealings with each other.  If you go from the Hebrew Bible, the conversation reads more like this (this translation done by me, with the input of my Hebrew professor):

Jacob: Go back and buy more food.
Judah: The man told us specifically to not come back without our brother. So if you'll let us take Benjamin, we'll go, but if you're not going to do that, we're not going.
Jacob: Well why did you tell him you had a brother?
Judah: Because he asked us about our family!  How were we supposed to know that he was going to demand we bring our brother?

(Note: The "ye shall not see my face" is what is known as an oath formula, and is just a cultural way of saying, "I swear you'd better not do x until y.") 

When I read the Hebrew, I hear a ticked off son giving total lip to his Dad!  It's got so much more accessibility.  

Then, there are always be awesome little double-entendres.  Like in Isaiah 29, where it says that God will " I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder."  The word for proceed in the Hebrew Bible is the verb "yod samech pay."  It usually gets translated as "repeat," according to my professor and the Brown-Driver-Briggs Biblical Hebrew Lexicon, so I don't know why King James' translators chose proceed this time.  But, they are much more learned scholars than me, and maybe there's contextual stuff I don't get.  Anyways, it's "yod samech pay."  Cool thing?  That's pronounced Yosaf.  And that is also the name Joseph. Kind of inside Mormon-joke, if you will.

Long story short, I really like Hebrew.  And I really like the Old Testament. More Old Testament insights to follow.  I have two on the blog-writing docket.  

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