Neo, In the Hebrew Matrix, You Don’t Have a Mind (part 1)

No, this isn’t a secret blooper scene from The Matrix 4. In the Hebrew world of the Bible, you don’t have a mind. Okay, I know what you’re thinking: this guy is nuts. He’s lost it. One too many trips to the Western Wall. Actually, we’re talking about a powerful truth that has the potential to deepen your relationship with God in ways you never imagined.

First, however, I need to explain. What I said above was not exactly, well, exact. The truth is that there is no single word in the Hebrew language that means “mind”. There are many words that touch on various aspects of the mind, but the actual word is just not there. This isn’t just a missing entry in the dictionary: this reflects a whole different culture and way of thinking. We’re going to talk about this phenomenon and what it means for you in this three-part series on the mind in Hebrew.

Part 1: The Hebrew Culture: This isn’t Kansas, Toto

The ancient Hebrew culture was very different than our modern Western culture. Many of you probably know that most of the people were farmers, living in agricultural-based communities. They fought bloody battles and life was, umm different (in other words, they didn’t have modern toilets). But did you know that the ancient Hebrew culture was actually oriental?

That’s right, I said oriental. Like Chinese. Like Japanese. Like Pad Thai. Okay maybe they didn’t eat Pad Thai. But the ancient Hebrews lived in the east (that’s where the “East” in Middle East came from) and as such, they were very connected to the overall oriental style of life: deep connections to the land, high degree of honor and respect in the family, and a picture-based language. Picture-based language you say? Yes, Hebrew was originally written with pictographs, similar to ancient Chinese (see below).

For example, let’s talk about honor and respect. All of us are probably familiar with the eastern concept of “honor”: in traditional eastern cultures (China, Japan, etc.), it is considered extremely improper for children to correct their parents, even if the children are right. Now take a look at Deut. 21:18-21: God commanded the ancient Israelites to kill their rebellious children. How’s that for a culture of honor and respect? And if you’re not convinced yet, all throughout the Bible there are references to nature and the earth (i.e. Ps. 1) – another oriental concept.

Now let's talk about the Hebrew language. Hebrew was originally written with pictures (like ancient Chinese). Jeff Benner has a great book called the “Ancient Hebrew Lexicon” that explains this in-depth and provides definitions to Hebrew words according to their ancient word picture. For example: the word “father” is made up of two pictures: the picture of a house and the head of an ox. The ox’s head symbolized strength, giving the picture of “father” as “strength of the house”.

The net effect is that when you looked an ancient Hebrew word, you didn’t just understand the word, you “saw” it. You didn’t just have a mental experience, you received a revelation in your heart as you took in the word picture. We’ll be talking more about that in part 3.

In summary, the ancient oriental Hebrew culture was very different than our modern Western culture. In many ways, the ancient Hebrews understood the Bible differently than we do today. One example is the word “mind”: it doesn’t exist in Hebrew, and in the rest of this series, we’re going to ask why – and what it means for you in your walk with God.

Till next time!
H.B.

HebrewNuggets: Lights, Camera, Action!

OK, so this is my first blog post in the new HebrewNuggets blog. What are HebrewNuggets? They are little cool tidbits about the Bible (Old and New Testament) that you can only see if you know a little Hebrew. Hebrew you say? Yes, Hebrew. The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew, and although we don't know what language the New Testament was written in, there's a good chance that Jesus spoke or at least thought in Hebrew. Bottom line: there are a lot of very cool things about the Bible that you discover when you look at it in Hebrew. This blog is here to tell you about ‘em!

A little about me: My name is H.B. Nugget. No, that's not my real name. Why the pseudonym you ask? Well if I told you, I'd have to......just kidding. Yes, I live in Israel and speak, read, and write Hebrew. I'm also a believer in Yeshua (Jesus), so when I say Bible, I mean the whole thing (both the Old and New Testaments). I invite you to post comments, let me know what you think! And pass the word on to your friends, family, and yes, even your neighbor's hamster. Everyone deserves to know about this blog!!! (ok I am shamelessly pulling for a higher Google rating, but you get the picture).

See ya for now,
H.B.