Biblical Hermeneutics
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
PRINCIPLES OF BIBLICAL HERMENETICS ; M. M. NINAN<br />
Thus the phrase can be understood as 'amazement and desolation'. This means that a<br />
person would be amazed and astonished at anything that was there. This goes beyond the<br />
literal interpretation<br />
Septuagint has “But the earth had become unfurnished and empty,”<br />
Aramaic has “And the earth had become ruined and uninhabited.”<br />
REMEZ<br />
Remez, literally means the “hint” of something deeper. This “hint” can be something as<br />
simple as the name of a place, as subtle as a misspelled word, or as obvious as a prophecy<br />
that has as yet unfulfilled elements.<br />
A simple extention application example:<br />
An example of implied meaning may be found in Ex. 21:26-26-27 where we are told of our<br />
liability regarding eyes and teeth. But the rule is not limited to the eyes and this princople of<br />
liability also applies to other body parts aswll<br />
Aggadic example:<br />
There is a traditional Rabbinic passage describing spiritual history that relates the 6 days of<br />
Creation to the 6000 years the World will exist, and the Sabbath to the 7th Millenium<br />
Messianic Era.<br />
The first 2000 years of Creation from Adam, through Noah and the Tower of Babel, to<br />
Abraham were 2000 years when God was hidden.<br />
The next 2000 years from the Israelite Patriarchs, through the Giving of the Torah at Sinai, to<br />
the 1st and 2nd Jewish Commonwealths and Temples in Jerusalem, were 2000 years of<br />
Divine revelation.<br />
The final 2000 years of preparation when the Jewish Messiah is waited for, are 2000 years<br />
balanced between Divine concealment and revelation.<br />
A Remez-allusion to this is found in the first verse of the Torah:<br />
"In the beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth"<br />
.בראשית ברא אלהים את השמים ואת הארץ<br />
Of these 7 words, only Hashamayim-Heavens has no letter א Aleph, the first letter of the<br />
Hebrew alphabet, numerical value of 1 (gematria). Aleph, hints at its etymological variants<br />
"Aluph" (Chief/Ruler) and "Eleph" (One Thousand), the first representing the 1 God, the<br />
second representing 1000 years.<br />
Hebrew root words are generally made from three consonant letters, as vowels are read in<br />
pronunciation instead. Hebrew reads from right to left.<br />
39