Page 54 - Coincidences in the Bible and in Biblical Hebrew

CHAPTER 2 CASES OF DESIGN IN THE HEBREW LANGUAGE
CHAPTER 2 CASES OF DESIGN IN THE HEBREW LANGUAGE 33 33

Olam (World, Eternity)
This single word appears in the Bible, with variations, no fewer than 437 times. In
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the Hebrew language, olam represents both the physical dimension and the time
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dimension—relating, specifically, to their “boundlessness” property. Thus, olam
means, simply, “world” (all that exists), but also “eternity” (relating to boundless
future), or the elapsed time from the beginning of time to eternity.
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The word olam is derived from the root A.L.M. In the Hebrew language, this
root is origin to many words, all of which have one common sense: to be hidden,
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concealed. Examples include healem (oblivion, disappearance), taaluma (mys-
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tery), le-aalim (to conceal), and le-italem (to ignore, to act as though something
is nonexistent).
One may justifiably ask, What is the connection between “world” and “con-

cealment”? The answer is hidden in the outcry of the prophet Isaiah to God: “Alas,
thou are a God who hides himself, O God and Saviour of Israel” (Isa. 45:15).
The theme of the hiding God is repeated numerous times in the Bible. When
Moses requests of God “Show me thy glory” (Exod. 33:18), the reply he gets is,

“And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a
rock: and it shall come to pass, while my glory passes by, that I will put thee in a
cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand, while I pass by: and I will take
away my hand and thou shalt see my back: but my face shall not be seen” (Exod.
33:21—23). Jewish tradition interprets this to imply that while the presence of
God can be evidenced by things that have occurred (“thou shalt see my back”),
the very existence of God is concealed to the eye. This is often likened to how one
can see a human body, in its various manifestations, yet not the soul that resides
within. Furthermore, “Thou cannot see my face; for no man may see me, and
live” (Exod. 33:20).
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The source of the word olam now becomes clear: the whole world is a mani-
festation of the hiddenness of God. God is in the world, but the whole world is
testimony to the concealed God. The design in the Hebrew word for “world” now
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becomes obvious: into a single word, olam, the whole philosophy of the Jewish
religion—in fact, of any monotheistic religion—is poured and concentrated.

Chet (Sin)
The Hebrew language is rich with words describing moral transgressions and their
results. Indeed, it describes these with the same abundance that the English lan-
guage describes roads (or pathways, or alleys, or passageways, or highways, or
lanes, or streets, or avenues, or courses, or motorways, or tracks, or routes, or
walkways …).
Some examples for moral transgression in Hebrew follow: