Lecture Notes: Culture, Language, and Biblical Hebrew

Introduction

• Culture and language are interdependent.
• Eliminating a culture often leads to the elimination of its language.
• Example: Hebrew language's survival linked to Hebrew culture's survival.

Connection Between Culture and Language

• Understanding culture aids in understanding language.
• Example: Biblical Hebrew tied to Hebrew culture.

Isaiah 40:22

• Analysis of the verse: "He who sits above the circle of the earth..."
• Focus on "stretches out the heavens like a curtain."
• Understanding requires knowledge of ancient Hebrew nomad tents.

Ancient Hebrew Nomadic Tents

• Made of black goat hair, porous with pinholes.
• Resemble night sky when viewed from inside.
• Rain causes fibers to swell, pinholes disappear like stars during cloudy nights.
• Symbolism: God's tent over his family.

Cultural Significance of Tents

• Biblical references: "Dark like the tents of Kedar."
• Modern Bedouins in Israel still use goat hair tents.

Biblical Nomads

• Many biblical figures were nomads: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, Amos, John the Baptist, Yeshua.
• Nomadic lifestyle required in desert for water and pasture.

Importance of Nomadic Lifestyle in Biblical Context

• Hebrew word for God (El) is rooted in strength and authority.
• Pictographic origins: Aleph (ox head, strength) and Lamed (shepherd's staff, authority).
• El can refer to God, gods, or strong authority figures.

Use of 'El' in Ancient Cultures

• Ancient rulers symbolized authority with horns and staffs.
• Modern crowns and scepters are evolutions of these symbols.
• Pharaohs, Caesars considered gods due to authority.

Biblical Context of El

• Abraham, Moses brought to wilderness for God to be their El.
• Wilderness lacks human kings, positions God as sole authority.
• Israel's 40 years in wilderness intended to teach reliance on God as El.

Relevance of Nomadic Theme

• Modern dependence on city infrastructure contrasts with nomadic self-reliance.
• Example: Hurricane Katrina's impact showed vulnerability of relying on societal structures.

Conclusion

• Understanding ancient Hebrew culture and language aids comprehension of Biblical texts.
• Nomadic lifestyle and its significance in Hebrew culture highlights the relationship between people and divine authority.