Page 49 - Coincidences in the Bible and in Biblical Hebrew

COINCIDENCES IN THE BIBLE AND IN BIBLICAL HEBREW
28 28 COINCIDENCES IN THE BIBLE AND IN BIBLICAL HEBREW

Do not sin against the child; and you would not hear? therefore, behold, even
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his blood is required” (Gen. 42:22). One may wonder why the second le-emor
is required here; it is redundant altogether … unless it is perceived as a sum-
mary, or the meaning, that Reuben conveys of that which he had said earlier. In
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other words, le-emor can only be perceived as intended to express “namely” and
“meaning,” but not “saying” the words that have actually been spoken.
Let us readdress the above quote from Genesis, this time with what is probably
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the correct translation: “And God blessed them, that is to say [le-emor ], be fruit-
ful, and multiply” (Gen. 1:22). Now we realize that there is no direct talk from
God. Only the narrator’s pointing to a blessing from the Divine, and what it really
meant.

A few verses later, the same command is directed towards the just-created first
man and woman: “And God blessed them, and God said to them, Be fruitful, and
multiply” (Gen. 1:28). The same words are used as earlier, “Be fruitful and mul-
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tiply,” yet le-emor is not there. This changes the context altogether. The central
message is embedded in the four words “God said to them.” There is direct speech
from the Divine to human mortals, right from the start of their existence on
earth. This is not just some general blessing; a message is well conveyed.
This represents another lesson in precision and in delivering messages within
what would otherwise seem like naive text.

1.3.8 Summary
The examples, introduced at some length in the previous subsections, have one
objective: to acquaint the reader with the precision of biblical text, and to
demonstrate that the Bible uses very structured and well-focused language.
Pronouncements are not coincidental. No word is redundant. No phrase is put
anywhere by random selection. Words or combinations of words all intend
to convey a message, and they are not there by chance alone. The examples
expounded in earlier subsections can lead one to a single logical conclusion: one
should not take coincidences in biblical Hebrew or in the Bible too lightly. The
mathematical precision in biblical texts needs to be properly addressed and taken
into account. And when final conclusions are formed regarding possible implica-

tions and ramifications (or lack thereof) of the coincidences introduced herewith,

the precision of the biblical Hebrew and its demonstrable design should not be
ignored or forgotten.