Exodus 39

Verse 6

In the CEV version, there is a mistake in verse six.

The CEV version reads: "Onyx stones were placed in gold settings, and each one was engraved with the name of one of Israel's sons."

The truth is that each of the onyx stones was engraved with the name of SIX of Israels sons.  In Exodus 28:9-12 we learn that there are only two onyx stones that belong in the shoulder straps of the breastplate; later in the verses it says "On one of these stones engrave the names of Israel's first six sons in the order of their birth.  And do the same with his remaining six sons on the other stone." 

It is true that the priestly breast piece has an onyx stone on the fourth row, in which only "one of Israel's sons" is named (Joseph).  But the onyx stones referred to in 39:6 are the ones placed in the "gold settings" and not the one on the breast piece; if each of these (two) onyx stones only had one name, then they would only have two of the twelve names of Israel's sons on these straps.

Other versions of the bible leave out the "one of" out of this verse, so that it does not specify how many names are written on each stone. Other versions usually read "They mounted the onyx stones in gold filigree settings and engraved them like a seal with the names of the sons of Israel." (Ex 39:6 NIV)

To correct this verse in the CEV one would have to leave out "one of" and read, "Onyx stones were placed in gold settings, and each one was engraved with the name of Israel's sons."

Date posted: 7/29/2013

Genesis 7

“In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.”

Some say there must have been an ice canopy or a vapor canopy over the earth before the flood, which melted/condensed down and flooded the earth.

But, as I mentioned in Genesis 1:14-15, the cosmos where inside this firmament that separated the waters, which made me think that there is water at the ends of the universe.  This would mean that when it is said that the “windows of heaven were opened”, it may mean that these “windows” were (not just clouds, if the were clouds I think they would have been called mists; but they were)actually portals that accessed the ends of the universe… where all the rest of the water is stored. 

Wormholes to the ends of the universe?  I think I just made the bible seem even cazier.

Reflection:
There are so many things that go observed but unexplained, like wormholes to other universes or other parts of our universe. These things have always existed and may have even been casually manipulated in the past or in other parts of the universe by higher or lower powers and beings.  But people hardly believe anything that is not mentioned in the textbooks; this is how an infinitely Reality becomes so limited and confined.

June 15, 2012

Genesis 2

Verse 7:

"And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."

"God formed man"
In the original Hebrew, the word that is translated into formed is "yasar".  Which is different than the word which is used when God created everything else "bara".  This shows that there is a distinction between how God made man, and how God made the rest of the world. 

The word "yasar" gives the impression that God formed, fashioned, and molded man as a potter forms a pot, or as a goldsmith fashions idols.  God did not just speak man into existence, as he did with the rest of the universe, but He actually gave the signature of his fingerprints when he formed man. 

August 18, 2013

Genesis 1

Genesis 1

Verse 7

“And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from waters which were above the firmament.”

The first times I read through this verse with an attentive intent, I glanced over this verse without wondering what it meant too much.  Maybe it was a typo, maybe it was talking about something else, maybe I misread.  I disregarded it for a while, but then the inevitable question came back.

Waters above the firmament?

What could it be talking about?

Is there really water above our sky or is this “firmament” refer to some other firmament?

The next verse confirms the meaning of this firmament.

Verse 8

“And God called the firmament Heaven.  And the evening and the morning were the second day.”

I noticed that in the KJV, Heaven is spelled with a capital “H”; maybe it refers to a higher heaven?

So far up to the end of the universe maybe?

Is that what surrounds our universe? Water?

And what would such water be like?

What form would it take in such location?

Would it be an ethereal state of water and therefore have a metaphorical meaning, and not really a physical state of water?

Or is this just a cheap way to explain why the sky is blue?

I looked back to it a couple of times each time I thought about it, to make sure it actually said that.  Even now it surprises me when I read it.

For a while I believed that the mysterious contents of the ends of the universe was, therefore, water;

especially because in verse 14 and 15, God places “lights” in this firmament (the sun, the moon, and the stars… galaxies and such), and if there is water above the firmament, then the water is found above all of these.  In other words, at the ends of the universe.

Until I read Genesis 7:11 where it says that the ”windows of heaven were opened” and torrents of water poured out…  So I guess there is no more water at the ends of the Universe.  I still wondered whether all or only some of the water was flushed out.

Verse 22

“And God blessed them, saying, be fruitful, and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.”

When I think of God’s words I think of something engraved in reality itself, this is how God is able to “speak things into existence”.  When God gave the command to be fruitful and multiply, I imagine it as a description of the manifestation that happened within the instinctual mind and physical anatomy and neuro-anatomy of these beings.  When God commands for something to happen, the universe morphs itself to match his command; when God commands us to do something, that command becomes part of us, so that if we decide to go against His command, we are ultimately going against something that is intrinsically and naturally part of our constitution and/or part of the design of the universe as well (and this is what is called chaos/darkness/evil/etc.).

June 15, 2012