What is your character…. part 1

While discussing the study of scripture with people I will mention that I study in the original Hebrew and Greek. Many look at me with the “I just saw an alien” blank stare. Here is why….. it tells me something “Joe Sunday” the preacher doesn’t.

“A rose, by any other name, would smell so sweet?”

Ok, so the question was asked, but really, is it prolific at all? Consider this…..

Isaiah 12:4 “In that day you will say: “Give thanks to Adonai. Proclaim His Name!* Declare His works to the peoples, so they remember His exalted Name.*”

*H8034 שֵׁם shem n-m. 1. honor, 2. authority, 3. character.

1. high respect; great esteem.
2. the power or right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience.
3. the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual.

 

The short answer is a resounding YES! Should you hand me a cherry blossom and define it as a rose, my nose would send signals to my brain to the contrary. While the cherry blossom is pretty, and has its own sweet smell, it does not fit the bill for a rose.

The distinct smell of the rose is a defining moment in the character of the flower. It is the combination of the smell, color, shape and visual appearance that makes the flower specifically a rose. It is the same with the names (and characters) of people, and that of God.

 

Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore Adonai Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will conceive. When she is giving birth to a son, she will call his name Immanuel. *”

 

*H6005 עִמָּנוּאֵל `Immanuw’el (im-maw-noo-ale’) n/p. (meaning) with us (is) God.

 

The common name for the Messiah among the Evangelical or Protestant movement in America, as well as abroad, is Jesus. So, the question is posed, does Jesus and Immanuel mean the same thing?

 

Matthew 1:21 “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus*: for he shall save his people from their sins.”

*G2424 Ἰησοῦς Iesous (yee-sous’) n/p. (meaning) He is Salvation, Yahweh saves (i.e. the Savior). [of Hebrew origin (H3442 as the shortened form of H3091)]

H3442 יֵשׁוַּע Yeshuwa` (yay-shoo’-ah) n/l. Yah will save.

H3091 יְהוֹשׁוּעַ Ya huw Shuw`a (yeh-ho-shoo’-ah) n/p. Yahweh-saved.

 

I won’t pretend to know everything. I would like to point something out. One is future tense and one is past. The obvious thing here is that there is more study to do, on the how and why, that is, that way. And which one is correct or are both correct.

 

Isaiah 53:10 King James Version (KJV)

9-10 “And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.”

 

We could spend days unpacking the whole of this verse, and probably will at a later time, but for now let’s look at one specific section. Starting in the Hebrew…..

וַיִּתֵּן אֶת־רְשָׁעִים קִבְרֹו וְאֶת־עָשִׁיר בְּמֹתָיו עַל לֹא־חָמָס עָשָׂה וְלֹא מִרְמָה בְּפִֽיו

וַיהוָה חָפֵץ דַּכְּאֹו הֶֽחֱלִי אִם־תָּשִׂים אָשָׁם נַפְשֹׁו יִרְאֶה זֶרַע יַאֲרִיךְ יָמִים וְחֵפֶץ יְהוָה בְּיָדֹו יִצְלָֽח

The word “prolong” is אָרַךְ ʼârak, aw-rak’; a primitive root; to be (causative, make) long (literally or figuratively):—defer, draw out, lengthen, (be, become, make, pro-) long.

 

This is a promise of eternity for the seed of Yeshuwa. Those born again through the redemptive power of the Messiah.

Beginning with second yod in the word prolong, counting every 20^th letter from the left to the right, will spell the following… שמי ישוע or in English…

“My name (shem) is Yeshuwa.”

 

My character is salvation! How beautiful!