Page 57 - Coincidences in the Bible and in Biblical Hebrew

COINCIDENCES IN THE BIBLE AND IN BIBLICAL HEBREW
36 36 COINCIDENCES IN THE BIBLE AND IN BIBLICAL HEBREW

in the mother’s womb. As the embryo is growing in the womb, completely helpless,
mercy is the ultimate essential ingredient in the mother’s feelings and conduct
toward the yet unborn. The Hebrew language seems to adopt this depiction of the
interrelationship between the mother and her yet-unborn offspring.
We repeatedly relate in this book to how the Hebrew language, or the Bible,
generate epitomes for certain concepts, scenarios types, and modes of conduct or
feelings. Two such examples are given elsewhere in the book: the concept of the
ultimate sham (there) and the concept of the ultimate ayin (source of water)—see
chapters 5 and 10, respectively.
For mercy, the Bible likewise reserves an ultimate object that embodies the
concept.
In Hebrew, “a womb” and “mercy” are derived from the same root: R.Ch.M.
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A “womb” is rechem, and to have mercy is le-rachem. That the Bible refers to
a woman’s feelings toward her offspring as the ultimate embodiment of mercy
and compassion can be realized by the following verse, from the prophet Isaiah,
speaking in the name of God: “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she
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should not have compassion [me-rachem ] on the son of her womb? Even these
may forget, yet I will not forget thee” (Isa. 49:15).
These apparently unrelated common-root words provide another indication
for design in the Hebrew language.

Ani, Anochi (I)
What does “I” mean? This concept is elusive, and has been the subject of much
discussion throughout history, in almost all cultures and in various schools of phi-

losophy. Any attempt to define “I” seems doomed to fail.
Yet some clues may be derived from the Bible, and from an exploration of
Hebrew words derived from the same root as “I.” We start with the ultimate “I,”
the source of all meaning: God. The Ten Commandments starts with “I”: “I am
the Lord thy God” (Exod. 20:2). Repeatedly, it is emphasized in the Bible, over
and over again—in particular by Jewish prophets—that God is the absolute and
ultimate “I.” This focus on God as the ultimate “I” is carried out, with Jewish
prophets speaking in the name of God, by repeating twice the word “I” as a major
description of God in his relationship to humans.
Examples: