Page 225 - Coincidences in the Bible and in Biblical Hebrew

COINCIDENCES IN THE BIBLE AND IN BIBLICAL HEBREW
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204 COINCIDENCES IN THE BIBLE AND IN BIBLICAL HEBREW
modern Hebrew, another meaning was derived from the root S.M.M, based on an
extension of the root into a four-letter root S.A.M.M, meaning “to be bored.”
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A similar fate befell verbs derived from tohu and bohu in the nonbiblical
Hebrew language. Ancient written Jewish texts, as well as modern Hebrew, use
verbs derived from these words to imply wondering because no sense can be made
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of the observed (verbs derived from tohu) and purposeless gazing about, because
there is nothing to look at (verbs derived from bohu). 2
Let us explore the meanings of these verbs.
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The verb tahah means, in Hebrew (singular, masculine) “was astonished,
amazed,” but also “he reflected upon, trying to make sense.” Thus, one may say

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“Tahiti [I was wondering] what did she really mean by that.” An often used
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idiom in Hebrew is “Tahiti al kankano,” meaning, “I was wondering what is
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the essence of this man.” The verb bahah similarly means “he was surprised,
amazed.” But it also means, in Hebrew, “he gazed purposelessly in the air because
he had nothing to look at.” Thus, one may say: “I was sitting at the dentist clinic,
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and I gazed [bahiti ] at the wall.”
It is conceivable how all these are associated with wilderness. But what does
it mean that at the moment of creation, one would be wondering and amazed
because it looks like desert—namely, there was no form and contents, and, in
other words, “there was nothing to observe”?

14.2 Cosmological Theories of the Beginning
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The bizarre coincidence is now in full view. Tohu va-vohu, “devoid of form

and contents,” is exactly how modern cosmology describes the first moments

of creation. In fact, if one were asked to describe the universe at the moment
of creation or shortly thereafter, he or she could not have provided, in light of
modern cosmology, a better depiction than the universe as in a state devoid of
form and contents to such a degree that would make an observer wonder, just
as in the desert, what sense can be made of the observed. Furthermore, he or she
would gaze purposelessly, because “there is nothing to see.”
The key word here is uniformity. Modern cosmological theories speak about

lack of any information in the just created universe because of the extremely, and

unexplainable, uniformity in the distribution of energy and plasma . This unifor-
mity is supported both by theory and by experimental observations, and it is far
from being intuitive.

Let us first relate to how modern cosmologists describe the first moments of

creation. As we do not wish to delve into exact scientific descriptions, instead
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of engaging in exact time periods (like 10 , when the breaking of the ten