Page 60 - Coincidences in the Bible and in Biblical Hebrew
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CHAPTER 2   CASES OF DESIGN IN THE HEBREW LANGUAGE
          CHAPTER 2   CASES OF DESIGN IN THE HEBREW LANGUAGE                 39 39

            virtue. Conversely, a virtue ceases to be such if a certain behavior lacks the right
          measure.
             Once again, we realize that the Hebrew language and biblical messages are
          intertwined in words of seemingly no relevance to one another—that is, unless
          one inserts design  into the overall equation.


          “Acknowledge,” “Thank,” “Confess”
          “Acknowledge,” “thank,” and “confess” represent unrelated modes of activity of a
          human being.


              •  One  acknowledges  that  a  letter  has  arrived,  that  the  signature  on  a
                  document is hers—or, simply, that the world is beautiful and beyond
                  imagination.
              •  One thanks for a present that he has received, for a rescue from disas-
                  ter due to assistance of fellow men and women, or, more generally, for
                  everything that he has.
              •  One confesses that she was indeed involved in this crime, that she is
                  responsible for the error that was the source of all this trouble, and that
                  her conduct indeed was inappropriate.

             There are three modes for a human being to stand before God: by  acknowledging
          (“O Lord, how manifold are thy works! In wisdom hast thou made them all,”
          Pss. 104:24), by thanking (“to give thanks to the Lord because his steadfast love
          endures forever,” 1 Chron. 16:41) and by confessing (“And it shall be, when he
          shall be guilty in one of these things, that he shall confess that he has sinned in
          that thing,” Lev. 5:5).
             By sheer coincidence, this triad of verbs (to acknowledge, to thank, to confess)
          share the same root in Hebrew. Indeed, they are all expressed by a single word:
          le-hodot. 42


          2.1.2   Designed Words with Hidden Information

          Shanah (Year)
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          The word “year” in Hebrew is shanah.  The obvious revealed content of this
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          word is clear. Both shanah  and shnayim  (two) derive from a common root:
          S.N.H. This root originates various words associated with the act of repetition.
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          Thus, when one continuously repeats learning a lesson, we say that he shanah.
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