HEBREW PICTOGRAPHS
As I explained in my introductory post, sod סוֹד ("secret or mystery") is a mode of rabbinic interpretation where the mystical or hidden meaning of the Hebrew Scriptures can be arrived at by investigating the correlation of Hebrew letters, numerical values, unusual spellings, transposing letters and reinterpreting words, etc. In other words, this level assumes that God hides the deepest meanings in the smallest letters or number values of the Hebrew words.
In this post I am going to show you two examples of this method of interpretation by using Hebrew pictographs. The Hebrew characters (letters of the aleph bet) originally were pictograms or pictures that are symbolic.
THE SACRED NAME
יְהוָ֔ה Yod-Hey-Vav-Hey
The most important of God's names is His covenant name of Yehovah. It is the four-letter name represented by the Hebrew consonants: Yod-Hey-Vav-Hey known as the "Tetragrammaton“ (meaning "the four letter word").
Hebrew characters originally were pictograms or pictures that are symbolic. Yod is a “hand.” Heh stands for “breath” and הֵןהֵ hey-nun-hey means “behold.” Vav is a “nail” God’s Covenant Name is the hand-behold-the nail-behold – Behold the Nailed Hand.
LEVIATHAN
In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that twisted serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea. Isaiah 27:1
Leviathan was a sea dragon – perhaps a dinosaur such as a plesiosaur. A plesiosaur is an extinct, large, aquatic marine reptile. The terms dragon and serpent are often used in describing Satan.
And the LORD said unto Moses, Make you a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looks upon it, shall live. Numbers 21:8
God brought the children of Israel to the border of the Promised Land, but when the people heard the reports from the spies, their faith failed. They said that God could not overcome the giants in the land. As a result of this unbelief, God sent them into the wilderness to wander until that generation died. In Numbers 21, the people again got discouraged and murmured against Moses for bringing them into the wilderness. They had forgotten that it was their own sin that caused them to be there. As a judgment against the people, God sent poisonous serpents into the camp, and people began to die. This showed the people that they were the ones in sin, and they came to Moses to confess that sin and ask for God's mercy. When Moses prayed for the people, God instructed him to make a bronze serpent and put it on a pole so the people could be healed.
As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; John 3:14
The children of Israel were facing death due to their unbelief and murmuring. In repentance and in faith they had to look up to the bronze serpent on the pole so that they would not die but live. In a similar fashion, we who are dead in our sins and trespasses must look to the finished work of Christ on the cross, repent and receive God’s grace by faith.
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21
The sinless Son of God took our sins upon Himself so that we would be imputed His righteousness. Yeshua our Messiah would be lifted up and nailed to a cross.
The word translated as Leviathan in English is from the Hebrew word: לִוְיָתָֽן(liv-yaw-thawn'). From right to left, It is written – Lamed Vav Yod Tav Final Nun. The pictographs of those Hebrew letters are as follows: lamed – is an ox-goad (which is a pointed stick or spear); vav – a nail; yod – a hand; tav – a cross; and final nun – a snake or serpent.
Yeshua (Jesus) became sin on our behalf. As the serpent was lifted up on a pole, He was on the cross where His hands were nailed and a spear pierced His side.
If you were blessed by this teaching and missed seeing my four previous posts, please use the links provided below:
"Revealing the Mysteries of the Bible" Part I - Introduction -
https://steemit.com/christianity/@lastdays/revealing-the-mysteries-of-the-bible
“Hearing God’s Voice” -
https://steemit.com/christianity/@lastdays/hearing-the-voice-of-god
“Keys for Unlocking the Treasure of Divine Understanding” -
https://steemit.com/christianity/@lastdays/keys-for-unlocking-the-treasure-of-divine-understanding
"The Full Armor of God" -
https://steemit.com/christianity/@lastdays/the-full-armor-of-god
Thank you for sharing this is really interesting.
I am grateful for your kind words of encouragement. If you have some time, I would sincerely appreciate it if you would check out some of my recent posts. The links to these teachings are available at the bottom of this post.
I really enjoyed reading this...it falls in the group of things that could have been included in a course I once took, called evidences of God.
Thank you for your kind and gracious words of encouragement. As a Jewish believer in Jesus as Messiah and the Son of God, I have some unique insights and understanding of the scriptures that I desire to share with the Christian community on Steemit. If you have some time, I would appreciate it if you would check out some of my recent posts. The links to these teachings are available at the bottom of this post.