Words and Phrases
The Alpha and Omega continued.
“And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.” (Zech 12:10)
A very literal rendering of the text if we translate "ETH" into its Greek alphabetical equivalent would be:
"They shall look upon ME, Alpha-Omega, WHOM they have pierced."
Is it possible to be more explicit? Is it possible to deny the connection of this idea to Rev. 1:7, 8?
Of course it IS possible. One rabbi feels confident that Zechariah teaches that the Gentiles are the pierced ones! —and he does so based on the usage of ETH which he prefers. But his prophecy is NOT (now) for the Jews to understand. Nor can we reason with rabbis on New Testament antitypes!
It should be noted that ETH is used in the first verse of the Bible. It appears (untranslated) in the middle of the sentence. "In the beginning God (eth) created the heavens and the earth." To show the futility of pursuing this with a rabbi, it is interesting to note that one Rabbi suggested that the ETH in this sentence is to show that God created the heavens and the earth rather than that the heavens and the earth created God! (Do we really think someone would have made that mistaken conclusion?)
Another explanation, based on the SYMBOL of the first (aleph) and last (tav), is found in Adam Clark's notes on Genesis 1:1. There it is suggested that ETH symbolizes SUBSTANCE —the beginning and ending, the essence or totality of everything. Thus the translation would read "God created the substance of the heavens and the substance of the earth." This is a nice thought, although the rabbi cited above did not think so! Apparently it is speculative and/or awkward to translate or explain ETH. But it seems definitely irresponsible to IGNORE it when a CLOSE STUDY is being made of a passage. After all, it IS God's Word. It is a sign of special emphasis; it is a stop sign in a sense. It frequently seems to say, "Reconsider this; it has a special significance."
Indeed, in Gen 1:1, it is not beyond reason to suspect that God (Elohim) is INITIALLY drawing attention to the fact that HE IS the ALPHA and the OMEGA —a claim which He specifically makes in Isa 44:6.
“Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: ‘I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no God.”
Thus Gen 1:1 COULD very aptly read: "In the beginning, God, Alpha & Omega, created…" Christian students of Scripture should like that thought although Trinitarians would, no doubt, spoil the meaning!
The particle, ETH, according to Strong's (#852), means SIGN in Chaldean. Gesenius confirms this same meaning in Hebrew also. Is it not likely that this emphasis particle IS, indeed, a SIGN to us?
The hard facts of Zech. 12:10 are these:
1) The Lord put a change of pronoun from ME to HIM in the sentence for SOME REASON viz. "…they will look on ME whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for HIM…" It certainly draws our attention because of the awkwardness of the passage!
2) The Lord then placed ETH (aleph-tav or alpha-omega) immediately after the word “ME” (the awkward pronoun) further yet to emphasize it in connection with “WHOM."
3) It just so happens that ETH is spelled with the two letters (אֵ֣ת: ’êṯ), which, in themselves, are a CODE for FIRST and LAST. It just so happens, additionally, that "ME" is a FORM of ETH.
Coincidence in Scripture is rarely (if ever) coincidence!
4) The Revelator quotes this text (viz. Zech 12:10) JUST BEFORE someone CLAIMS to be the Alpha & Omega, another coincidence?
We think not. It seems very poor Bible study to suggest that it might be a coincidence. It was NOT Zechariah which drew our attention to this item (except by its strange grammar.) It was Revelation. NO OTHER known explanation accounts for the out-of-place interruption of Rev. 1:8. This explanation not only accounts for it, but enhances it.
In our next post we will take a look at the Introductions to the Seven Churches, Seals, and Trumpets.
The Alpha and Omega continued.
“And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.” (Zech 12:10)
A very literal rendering of the text if we translate "ETH" into its Greek alphabetical equivalent would be:
"They shall look upon ME, Alpha-Omega, WHOM they have pierced."
Is it possible to be more explicit? Is it possible to deny the connection of this idea to Rev. 1:7, 8?
Of course it IS possible. One rabbi feels confident that Zechariah teaches that the Gentiles are the pierced ones! —and he does so based on the usage of ETH which he prefers. But his prophecy is NOT (now) for the Jews to understand. Nor can we reason with rabbis on New Testament antitypes!
It should be noted that ETH is used in the first verse of the Bible. It appears (untranslated) in the middle of the sentence. "In the beginning God (eth) created the heavens and the earth." To show the futility of pursuing this with a rabbi, it is interesting to note that one Rabbi suggested that the ETH in this sentence is to show that God created the heavens and the earth rather than that the heavens and the earth created God! (Do we really think someone would have made that mistaken conclusion?)
Another explanation, based on the SYMBOL of the first (aleph) and last (tav), is found in Adam Clark's notes on Genesis 1:1. There it is suggested that ETH symbolizes SUBSTANCE —the beginning and ending, the essence or totality of everything. Thus the translation would read "God created the substance of the heavens and the substance of the earth." This is a nice thought, although the rabbi cited above did not think so! Apparently it is speculative and/or awkward to translate or explain ETH. But it seems definitely irresponsible to IGNORE it when a CLOSE STUDY is being made of a passage. After all, it IS God's Word. It is a sign of special emphasis; it is a stop sign in a sense. It frequently seems to say, "Reconsider this; it has a special significance."
Indeed, in Gen 1:1, it is not beyond reason to suspect that God (Elohim) is INITIALLY drawing attention to the fact that HE IS the ALPHA and the OMEGA —a claim which He specifically makes in Isa 44:6.
“Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: ‘I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no God.”
Thus Gen 1:1 COULD very aptly read: "In the beginning, God, Alpha & Omega, created…" Christian students of Scripture should like that thought although Trinitarians would, no doubt, spoil the meaning!
The particle, ETH, according to Strong's (#852), means SIGN in Chaldean. Gesenius confirms this same meaning in Hebrew also. Is it not likely that this emphasis particle IS, indeed, a SIGN to us?
The hard facts of Zech. 12:10 are these:
1) The Lord put a change of pronoun from ME to HIM in the sentence for SOME REASON viz. "…they will look on ME whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for HIM…" It certainly draws our attention because of the awkwardness of the passage!
2) The Lord then placed ETH (aleph-tav or alpha-omega) immediately after the word “ME” (the awkward pronoun) further yet to emphasize it in connection with “WHOM."
3) It just so happens that ETH is spelled with the two letters (אֵ֣ת: ’êṯ), which, in themselves, are a CODE for FIRST and LAST. It just so happens, additionally, that "ME" is a FORM of ETH.
Coincidence in Scripture is rarely (if ever) coincidence!
4) The Revelator quotes this text (viz. Zech 12:10) JUST BEFORE someone CLAIMS to be the Alpha & Omega, another coincidence?
We think not. It seems very poor Bible study to suggest that it might be a coincidence. It was NOT Zechariah which drew our attention to this item (except by its strange grammar.) It was Revelation. NO OTHER known explanation accounts for the out-of-place interruption of Rev. 1:8. This explanation not only accounts for it, but enhances it.
In our next post we will take a look at the Introductions to the Seven Churches, Seals, and Trumpets.
