Grailhunter
Well-Known Member
The problem of course is many of us too often have a mixture what we hear from God and what we hear from elsewhere.Not getting into your discussion of the lack of J's on the one hand and the abundance of them on the other, specifically, but generally. Your thoughts bring to mind the following event in the book of Judges:
"...when those Ephraimites which were escaped said, Let me go over; that the men of Gilead said unto him, Art thou an Ephraimite? If he said, Nay;
Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth: for he could not frame to pronounce it right. Then they took him, and slew him at the passages of Jordan: and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two thousand." Judges 12:5-6
This story in Judges of the problems people have in pronunciation reminded me also of a personal experience I observed when I first arrived in southern Germany as a student in 1969. I met a man from Puerto Rico who like me was trying to learn German. I already knew quite a bit of Spanish and soon realized his biggest trouble with conquering the German language was his native Spanish pronunciation in the Puerto Rican dialect. German is very dependent on word endings at times to determine what part of the sentence the word is, such as subject, predicate, nominative, accusative, dative, etc. My Puerto Rican friend, like those men of Ephraim, could not help but mispronounce words where the endings made a difference. Anyone having been around a native Spanish speaker speaking English will often hear for example the word "Spanish" pronounced "Espanish". This happens with many words and the person may never lose this way of speaking.
In another example my step-father, a native Portuguese speaker, spoke fluent English, but no native American would ever believe that English was his first language.
Similarly, the contention that there is always a right way to say the name of God with our human mouths of flesh for me stems from the human influence, that is in human frailties and shortcomings or limitations, both in speaking and in writing... as if man's speech and man's writing would really have a bearing on how God communicates with men. I do not believe God spoke in Hebrew to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and I would be surprised to hear that Adam and Eve spoke to each other in Hebrew.
Men have always had among themselves communication problems. God has never had such a problem. As we approach being like God, our communication problems with one another should also be on the decrease...:
"He must increase, but I must decrease" John 3:30
But... do not His sheep hear His voice? When we hear His voice, why would we fail to understand what He was saying. The problem of course is many of us too often have a mixture what we hear from God and what we hear from elsewhere. This is the root of those many thousands of denominations claiming to be followers of the Holy Spirit.
That is my point, whether you intend to agree?
It is good to read God's Word...not man's.
It is not a religion of men.
I believe that God the Father and God the Son deserve to have their names in the Bible. I think it was a crime to take them out.
How many consider their chosen translation of the Bible as the certified Word of God. Whatever errors that are in that translation it is a matter of faith for them to trust that it was intended by God for those errors to be there. Thereby in effect, elevating the writers and translators to the level of God.
Still, all things in perspective and in motion...As is, nearly all translations of the Bible provide the information needed to be saved and lead a good Christian life....the details, put the transmission in drive and hit the accelerator. It is the transmission mechanic that worries about the integral parts. History and details save few....belief in Yeshua save many.