Hebrew Heritage Learning Center

Transcription

1 November 2010, Issue #006 Hebrew Heritage Learning Center Online Monthly Magazine In this issue the relationship between the remaining patriarchs in Genesis 5 and the eventual decline of the earth into wickedness will be examined. Last time Cainan (Qenan), the great grandson of Adam, was shown to have been a wise and influential man. Now his son, Mahalalel, will be discussed. David D. Mahoney Contents of this Issue 1. Monthly Topic: Man Began to Increase pg Patriarch Biography: Mahalalel pg Products pg Bibliography pg. 5 Copyright 2010 David D. Mahoney, Hebrew Heritage Learning Center You are encouraged to use and distribute any information in this magazine, but only for non-profit purposes. This copyright statement must accompany the material. Thank You! 1

2 1. Monthly Topic: Man Began to Increase At this point in the progression of antediluvian history, the Hebrew Bible quickly moves to the events leading to what is commonly known as Noah s flood. In passing, the names of the patriarchs from Adam to Noah are given (Genesis 5). Little is offered, however, concerning each man in this genealogical sequence. Only from the meanings of their names and traditional information passed on within Jewish literature and culture can anything be known regarding these individuals and the times in which they lived. For this reason the rest of the patriarchs (Mahalalel through Noah) will be discussed in relation to the events leading up to the Flood, which probably began during Noah s lifetime. Therefore, even though the birth of Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, and Lamech precede Noah and the eventual decline into wickedness, their lives extend into that period. Following the genealogical list of Genesis 5, Genesis 6 begins with the decline of human civilization during the antediluvian era. The early part of Noah s life seems to mark this decline. But the progression of decline does, in a way, reflect the birth and lives of Noah s ancestors. It has been shown that some of the names given were in accord with their birth, such as Adam indicating from what he was created, or Enosh whose birth (and early life) marked a wicked use of the Creator s name. However, some of the meanings of their names are prophetic in the sense that it correlates with the end of their life, or even the end of the antediluvian era. The last patriarch discussed was Cainan (Qenan) who is described in the Book of Jasher as having prophesied the coming of the deluge. If this is true then his descendants were probably echoing his prophecy in how they were naming their children. As will be seen, the meanings of the names of the remaining patriarchs will relate to the decline of the human race toward the end of their lives. So even though they were not born at that time, the discussion of their involvement must be in relation to the events leading to the Flood. Genesis chapter 6 begins with the following statement: Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, Genesis 6:1, NKJV The rest of the chapter discuses how the world falls into corruption that ends with God s decision to destroy the earth with a Flood. The actual Hebrew word translated as men here is the Hebrew word Adam (meaning mankind, the descendents of Adam). Since God had commanded Adam to multiply and fill the earth, it does seem ironic that compliance with this commandment would begin the decline into wickedness. Nevertheless, it does appear to mark the apostasy of the Seth family. The answer to this little irony appears to be that their fruitfulness (which is the other part of the commandment to multiply) in teaching their children the ways of God did not equal their physical multiplication. For example, the implication of the description that follows is that they continued to multiply through the immoral means of adultery. God wanted the human race to flourish and multiply, but with it he wanted righteousness to spread throughout the earth. When such an important and fundamental commandment is perverted, the consequences must be terminal; hence, God s resolution to destroy The Antediluvian World. 2

3 2. Patriarch Biography: Mahalalel Preveiously, Cainan (Qenan) was described as most probably marking a golden age for the righteous family of Seth. His wisdom and prophecies brought many of the people of the earth into following the ways of the Creator. When Cainan was 70 years old he begot a son named Mahalalel, in Hebrew ה ל ל א ל,מ which means Praise of God. Praise used in this sense really means fame. So the implication is that the Creator has received praise or fame in the earth from the wise teachings of Cainan. For this reason he named his son Mahalalel, Fame of God. For all intents and purposes this could mark the short lived continuation of Cainan s golden age. In other words, this was a time when righteousness increased in the earth, just as the population would later. But as would happen later during Noah s life, this explosion of increase would not be contained for long within the boundaries of God s graces. As will be seen in the naming of Mahalalel s son, the decline of the earth s inhabitants into wickedness was quickly to return. 3

4 3. Products The New Testament Reference Guide of Requirements, Parables & Renowned Persons carefully documents the essential teachings of the New Testament and the major players and books of the earliest centuries of Church history. ISBN: The Torah Concordance: A Reference Guide for Biblical Law is indispensable for studying the commandments of the Old Testament. It contains a catalog of all commands put upon the people of Israel in the first five books of the Bible. For ease of use, the laws have been arranged under relevant categories and subheadings, complete with biblical references. ISBN: The Chronology of the Hebrew Bible Charts, gloss printed on 17x11 inch poster stock, detail each successive period of the Old Testament in chronological order, with dates indicating the year from creation. They can be purchased as a set or individually. For more information on these products or to purchase, please visit the Hebrew Heritage Learning Center website: 4

5 4. Bibliography BIBLE VERSIONS AND COMENTARY The Holy Bible. New King James Version. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, The Holy Bible. King James Version. The New American Bible. New York: Catholic Book Publishing Co., The Stone Edition Tanach. Brooklyn, NY: Mesorah Publications, 1996, Bullinger, E.W. The Companion Bible. Hertz, Dr. J.H. The Pentateuch and Haftorahs. London: Soncino Press, The Stone Edition Chumash. Brooklyn, NY: Mesorah Publications, 1998, REFERENCE MATERIAL Strong, James. The New Strong s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, Wigram, George V. The Englishman s Hebrew Concordance of the Old Testament. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, (1843) Green, Jay P. Sr. The Interlinear Bible, 4 volumes. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, The BDB Hebrew and English Lexicon. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, Holladay, William L. A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, Benner, Jeff A. Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible. College Station TX: Virtualbookworm.com Publishing, The Oxford Pocket Dictionary and Thesaurus. New York: Oxford University Press, The Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Price, Simon; and Kearns, Emily (Editors). The Oxford Dictionary of Classical Myth & Religion. New York: Oxford University Press, SOURCES FOR HEBREW LANGUAGE EDUCATION Dobson, John H. Learn Biblical Hebrew. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 1999, Fuller, Russell T. Invitation to Biblical Hebrew: A Beginning Grammar. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, Kelley, Page H. Biblical Hebrew: An Introductory Grammar. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, Simon, Ethelyn; Resnikoff, Irene; and Motzkin, Linda. The First Hebrew Primer (Third Edition). Oakland, CA: EKS Publishing Co., Arnold, Bill T. & Choi, John H. A Guide to Biblical Hebrew Syntax. New York: Cambridge University Press, BIBLICAL TRANSMISSION AND TRANSLATION Lightfoot, Neil R. How We Got the Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, Comfort, Philip W. Essential Guide to Bible Versions. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale, Dewey, David. A User s Guide to Bible Translations. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, Vance, Laurence M. A Brief History of English Bible Translations. Pensacola, FL: Sysling, Harry (Executive Editor). MIKRA: Text, Translation, Reading & Interpretation of the Hebrew Bible in Ancient Judaism & Early Christianity. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1988, RESEARCH AND SOURCE MATERIAL The Book of Jasher. Muskogee, OK: Artisan, (A reprint of the J.H. Parry publication, Originally translated from the Hebrew, 1840.) Guggenheimer, Heinrich W. Seder Olam: The Rabbinic View of Biblical Chronology. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, Midrash Seder Olam. A Photostatic Reproduction of Ber Ratner s edition of the text, notes and introduction. Brooklyn, NY: Moznaim Publishing Corporation. Gardiner, Alan. The Egyptians. London: The Folio Society (Oxford University Press 1961), Translated by William Whiston. The Works of Josephus. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers,