The SUN Shall Be Darkened...

Picture of the sun
courtesy of the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory ( SOHO)
Year of OUR LORD, 7.18.2013
GMT 13:06

Isaiah 13

⁶ Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. ⁷ Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt:

⁸ And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.

⁹ Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.

¹⁰ For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.

¹¹ And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.

Dear Brethren: 

Let us strive to stand 

TOGETHER, 

for the times are upon us 

now. 

One does NOT have to be politically astute to realize what is happening amongst the Coptic Christians in Egypt, the Maronite Christians in Syria, or the Christians in the Sudan to realize that the times are upon us. 

One only has to follow along the daily news in the briefest possible way to read about the earthquakes and sinkholes, the monster storms, the massive coronal hole in the sun, to realize that the times are upon us. 

Those times are repeatedly spoken of in our Scriptures, for instance in Isaiah 13, Matthew 24,  Mark 13, and Revelation 18... to list a few. 

Thus, in the light of these Scriptures, let us look at CORDS vs PAIN, PANGS ( i.e., birth pains)  ... for in Thy Light we shall see light (Psalm 36:9).

^{Acts 2:24} whom ALAHA hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that HE+ should be holden of it.  

The word in question is CheBeL, which is found in Acts 2:24, translated as CORDS ... which is legally correct... equally as correct as translating it as PAINS or PANGS. 

Mrs. Janet Magiera, an Aramaic scholar and translator, has stated in her footnote #4 at Acts 2:24 of her Aramaic Peshitta New Testament Translation that the CheBeL form used in that verse is a homonym: 

it looks and sounds 

exactly the same

 when used as CORDS 

or 

when used as PAIN, PANGS.  

In her translation, Mrs. Magiera opted for CORDS, also, as did Mr. Younan and the "Golden, Best, and Historic" Netzarim version of the New Covenant. 

However, there is another option: One could check the use of CHeBeL against how it is found used in OTHER Scriptures... and how it is used prophetically. 

Let's look at Isaiah 13:8. In that Scripture, PANGS  is translated from the word Tsyreem, Strong's #6735. The word SORROWS  is V'CHaBaLeeM, Strong's #2256.  

The primary root of #2256 is CHaBaL , which is #2254... meaning: 

To wind tightly ( as a rope) , 

i.e., to bind

fig: to pervert, to destroy, 

also to writhe in pain 

(esp. of parturition*)

*Webster's: parturition = act or process to giving birth to offspring. 

The last word for PAIN in Isaiah 13:8 is Strong's #2342, which is  Y'KyLuN.  It means to twist or whirl, to writhe in pain, esp. of parturition. 

So, we see 2 words that are used when referring to child-birth throes. CHeBeL is often translated as SORROWS, even in the homonym form. 

Interestingly,  ChaBeL, CheBeL, is used when referring to 

• PHYSICAL, CONCRETE cords ( Joshua 2:15,  Jer. 38:6 ), or
• ACTIVE child-birth pains or pangs (Is. 66:7, Jer. 22:23), or 
• ABSTRACT anguish of some sort (  Is. 5:18, Jer. 49:24, Job 21:17, 39:3) !

Now then... 

what does all this 

have to do with 

YESHUA+ HA MASHIKAH+ 's 

descent 

into the Heart of the Earth ? 

Was HE+ in the process of loosing 

the  "CORDS of  SHEOL ( death)" 

--- or --- 

bringing forth  a 

 New Creature..  

... i.e., the Christian Church

 ? 

Yes, HE+ certainly DID overcome all the confines and bindings that Death placed upon the human race 

and in particular, 

upon HIM+

and the Righteous Dead.

( Remember: Abraham rejoiced to see His+ Day. 

And he saw it and was glad ! ) 

But, 

the REASON 

HE+ endured the Cross 

and 

suffered the shame 

to overcome death 

was 

to FORM A NEW CREATURE 

IN CHRIST, IN MASHIKAH+

... the Church !

Acts 2:24, 

prophetically-speaking... 

  WHOM+ 

ALAHA hath raised up, 

having loosed 

the pains of death ( or Sheol*): 

--- not necessarily  "cords" of Sheol ( or death*) --- 

because it was not possible 

that HE+ 

should be holden of it. 

 *Sheol or death both refer to the nethermost regions of the unseen world. They are used interchangeably in Scriptures.  

When HE+ descended into Sheol after His+ death on the Cross, those BIRTH PANGS of that ONE New Nation Under ELOHIM occurred !  

That is what Psalm 139:15, 16 states: 

"My substance was not hid from  THEE when I was made in secret and curiously wrought in the LOWEST PARTS OF THE EARTH.* 

"Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in Thy Book all were written in continuance were fashioned when as yet there was none of them.* "

(Note Bene: * These phrases canNOT be referring to a human baby being formed. NO BABY is formed in the heart of the earth. 

The part that reads "... covered me in my mother's womb" , vs 13 , then refers, perhaps, to the heart of the earth. A more in-depth look at WOMB and MOTHER in  Psalm 139 in another blog, hopefully. SrJH. )

HE+ ascended on High and took --- with HIM+ --- Captivity captive, releasing all those in Abraham's Bosom in Sheol and moving them UP to the Paradise of ELOHIM, which is in Heaven. 

HE+ formed a New Nation... one part of which is Victorious and resting in the Heavenlies, and one part which is Victorious yet suffering as His+ Body, here on planet earth.... until HE+ returns and unites the Heavenly saints with the Earthly saints !

We are privileged to discover this Truth if we choose to interpret Acts 2:24 prophetically in the Light of the OTHER Scriptures, as the BIRTH PAINS of a NEW CREATURE, a NEW nation is formed against which the gates of SHEOL cannot prevail ... both NOW and FOREVER !

Amen and thankfully so.  

The CAMELS are Marching !

~ or ~
The Evidence is Mounting !

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A Look at the CAMEL Variants

as found in the ancient

New Covenant texts...

Nestle-Aland's Greek New Testament, while certainly not my favorite for accuracy, has made a valuable contribution in the researching and listing of manuscripts of the New Covenant.

Considering that there are THOUSANDS of manuscripts and fragments of the Greek New Covenant, Nestle-Aland's work stands as a classic, in this regard especially, in spite of their eclectic text. [ 1979 edition, 12th printing, 1991]

This Nestle-Aland volume is helpful in tracking down the CAMEL vs ROPE discrepancy found in the "Golden, Best, and Historic" ( GBH ) version of an Aramaic English translation published by the Netzarim publishing house.

This discrepancy is only found in the Aramaic TRANSLATIONS, not in the actual Aramaic texts themselves.

The texts online at Dukhrana's collection have oftentimes NO vowel pointings for the Aramaic word for "camel," GaMLa, as in Mr. Steven Silver's Khabouris T manuscript and Mr. Paul Younan's manuscript.  

The Aramaic texts which DO retain vowel pointings, as in the "G, B, and H" Netzarim volume, have the normal vowel pointings which marks GaMLa as "camel."

The vowel pointings ARE marked as GaMLa, (which is correctly translated as "CAMEL")  in the Dukhrana Aramaic texts of :

• Khabouris C
• Peshitta New Testament, New York, 1886 Mingana Manuscript
• Syriac Manuscript 148-38a

... And this is TRUE for all 3 mis-translated verses in question: Matthew 19:24, Mark 10:25, and Luke 18:25.

Yes, all three verses of YESHUA+ HA MASHIYACH+ 'S  very words are mis-translated as "rope," according to the existing VOWEL POINTS of GaMLA found in the Eastern texts listed above. 

They were changed into ROPE in the English translations of Mr. Younan and Mr. Lamsa... and the "Golden, Best, and Historic" Bible translation published by the Netzarim Publishing House... with apparently no vowel pointings able to be found to substantiate the change !  

Recall that the Netzarim "Golden, Best, and Historic" version says that GaMLa is actually a "GaMaLah"... a rope... due to the vowel pointings, ( page 56   of the Mis-Pag. Edition, footnote 182, for Matthew 19:24).

Unfortunately, these particular vowel pointings, claimed to make a ROPE out of a CAMEL,  are nowhere to be found!

They are not even in the Aramaic text itself that is SUPPOSED to be translated in that volume ! 

Significantly and in opposition to the erroneous translation of the Netzarim Bible, in the two other parallel verses in Mark 10:25 and Luke 18:25, the vowel pointings are the same as in the text of Matthew 19:24... the vowel pointings which make the word CAMEL not ROPE.

The vowel pointings making CAMEL into ROPE are also not found in the Aramaic Lexicons, Klein's Semitic Etymology, or the other Aramaic texts themselves which are available online for all to see, through Dukhrana.

?   ?   ?

Where, then , is the linguistic authority to verify even this claim that GaMaLah means ROPE ? 

Where also is the written grammar or lexicon reference which verifies that an extra vowel point is added ... and indeed, that word is USED in Aramaic literature... to make another, bona fide Aramaic word out of GaMLa ?   

Why Go to the Greek Manuscripts

to check an Aramaic discrepancy ?

RIGHT!

By far the  most logical place to check the Aramaic CAMEL vs. ROPE word would be to look   in the Aramaic resources: Aramaic lexicons, Semitic etymology volumes, and such Aramaic online resources as Dukhrana and the Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon ( CAL )   for that word GaMLa, camel, and the rope word, GaMaLah.

In ALL the Aramaic resources listed above (and in earlier posts), however, "GaMLa" and its compounds and prefixed forms retain the definition of CAMEL... never ROPE.  

And GaMaLah is just not found !

Because Aramaic is actually a conglomeration of several Semitic dialects, the goodly Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon found online at Dukhrana allows readers to check EACH WORD in a verse. It displays the Aramaic dialect of each word used and its slightly different shades of meaning.

A most excellent, scholarly tool ! 

It has been developed by HEBREW, not GREEK, scholars at the Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, Ohio.  

For instance, let us look momentarily at the Aramaic word for ROPE found in the New Covenant.  ROPE  is actually "CHaBL"... much like the English word "cable." 

The interesting thing is that "CHaBL" ( for rope) is found in ALL THESE ARAMAIC DIALECTS: 

• Jewish Literary Aramaic, Targumic
• Galilean
• Palestinian Targumic Aramaic
• Christian Palestinian Aramaic
• Samaritan
• Syriac
• Late Jewish Literary Aramaic

Now note this: CAL also listed other definitions in these various dialects for "CHaBL" which were somewhat related to ROPE or CORD:

• Syriac ... a measuring line or line
• Syriac and Late Jewish Literary Aramaic ... snare
• Galilean and Syriac ... region
• Syriac ... seashore or space
• Syriac and Late Jewish Literary Aramaic ... a flame, a twisted thing.  

However, no "CAMEL" was to be found hiding within the Aramaic word for  "ROPE" ... and vice versa !

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The Greek Documentation 

Because: the Aramaic resources of lexicons, Dukhrana, CAL, and their quoted references:

• NEVER list GaMLa and its forms as ROPE
• ALWAYS list GaMLa  as CAMEL 
• ALWAYS list CHaBL as ROPE
• NEVER list ROPE    for GaMLa
• and NEVER include the "GaMaLah" form to mean ROPE

... as found in the New Covenant Peshitta and other old writings...

then: the only other resource available to locate this anomoly, this odd Aramaic  discrepancy .... is the Greek ! 

  

 ( More to come on this exciting find. )

   

Q^Q: When IS a CAMEL ALWAYS a CAMEL ?



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Answer:

In about 260

[out of about 266* ]

Greek manuscripts
which include the "Good News", 
"Good Message" or "Good Speech"
GOSPEL books 
(i.e., the bona fide meaning of GOSPEL 
which has been erroneously etymologized, 
in the "golden, best, and historic"
Aramaic-English New Covenant
published by the Netzarim Publishing House
as ( in error):
" God's Spell," footnote 40, Matthew 4:23.)
The Correct Etymology of GOSPEL is according to the classical reference found in the Oxford English Dictionary .

* N.B.: It is difficult to ascertain the total of the Gospel manuscripts correctly, as listed in Nestle-Aland's Greek NT introduction (Novum Testmentum Graece, 1979, 12th printing, pages 49-50). Of the 296 Gospel mss, 30 of these have 2 or more of the Gospels in them, with some verse omissions. These numbers simply give the reader a picture of the incongruency of the tiny number of text variants supposedly used to argue for a translation change of CAMEL to ROPE. The six variants are listed by their manuscript by Nestle-Aland in their footnotes at Matthew 19:24, Mark 10:25, and Luke 18:25.    

(We will discuss the findings of those 6 Greek manuscripts in a forthcoming post. )

Also in...

  the Pre-Nicene Christian

writers:

Clement of Alexandria

( AD 153 to 193 or 217) 

and

Origen

( circa AD 185- 254),

both of which we will examine later.  

Also in...

Dukhrana resources:

Khabouris C, T, Mingana 148, and BSFS manuscripts, as well as in the Aramaic Lexicons of Jennings ( pg. 48)

 and J. Payne Smith ( pg.72).

In addition to those lexicons, 

Dukhrana's resouces include

the Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon (CAL) which has "GaMLa" listing as CAMEL in the "Common Aramaic" literature and as "dromedary" in the Syriac... as well as some compound words made from CAMEL. 

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The thoroughly scholarly CAL also includes the comprehensive information found in Sokoloff's

A Dictionary of Jewish Palestinian Aramaic, 1st draft,

and

an extensive citation from M. Jastrow's Sefer Millim.

Both of these CAL resources cite many ancient writings, including the Targum and rabbinical sources, along with camel-compound words and 

proverbs from that era,

which use CAMEL for "GaMLa". 

Also...

Ernest Klein's fastidious and thorough Semitic-language volume, 

A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language for Readers of English, 

on page 103, includes several root usages of GML in addition to CAMEL... but not one of them includes a hint at rope, cord, or cable.

As in CAL and the other Lexicons, several CAMEL compound words are listed under GaMLa.

As a matter of fact, there was NOT ONE resource that I could find from the Aramaic Lexicons, Hebrew Lexicons, or Ancient Aramaic or Hebraic Writings which listed ROPE as being a possibility for ANY word from the G-M-L root.

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But even more importantly than all the scholarly writings and lexicons...

the Aramaic Scripture text itself bears witness that GaMLa means CAMEL.

There are two New Covenant verses that refer to rope, cord, or ship's cable. One verse is found in John 2:15. This verse records the whip of cords The LORD used to cleanse the Temple of the money-changers.  

The word for cord is the Aramaic-Syriac word "CHaBLa" ... which was derived from the Hebrew word "CHaBeL" ... similar to the English word "cable."  It occurs in Proverbs 23:24. This information is according to Ernest Klein, pg. 206.

This same word is found in Acts 27:32, where the Apostle Paul advises the soldiers to keep all the sailors on the ship, so they cut the cables on the lifeboat. 

Thus, if "CHaBLe" means "rope" in the two verses in the New Covenant where rope is REALLY a ROPE...

then why would anyone go against all these witnesses and declare that

"GaMLa" means "CHaBle" ? 

What

is the source 
--- or sources --- 

of this error ?

And worse...

WHY

is this error

being promoted?

( to be continued).      

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