Thursday, January 01, 2009

Naked and not ashamed

(AR, AUR, AIR, ARaR, ARaM) and cognates all go back to the basic meaning of "bare," or exposed.

(AIR) shows up first alphabetically. It is translated "city" and "watch(er)," assuming an open area and/or a place that needed the watchful (and open) eye of a guard. This word is said to be from(AUM) which is translated "awake," "bare," "chaff," "skin" and even "blind," each with the idea of something spread out in the open - eyes, skin, grain, or eyes glazed over as with a skin.

(AR) comes from rye and is another spelling for "city," but is also translated "enemy" as coming from . The root (ARaM) seems be related less directly, but leads to the two translations of (AROM) so tantalizingly presented early in Genesis. Mre means either "to gather up" (from harvesting, and thus laying bare the ground?) or "to be prudent" (to be watchful, with "bared" eyes). A field denuded of its produce would be naked, and likewise, one who is prudent would have to have his eyes, and mind, wide open.

An unusual justaposition of two uses of the Hebrew word
appears in Genesis 2:25 and 3:1. The concordance has two entries, 06174 and 06175.

Here are the two together:

Ge 2:25 And they were both naked (06174), the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
Ge 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil (06175) than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

I have replaced (06175) with (naked) in every case, except for the oldest (Genesis and Job) in a positive sense of "prudence" rather than "subtle" as with the serpent.

But let us consider the translation in its purest sense as ALWAYS "naked."

Ge 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtle (naked) than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

"The serpent was more naked (being hairless!) than any beast of the field." Indeed, the reptile has no hair, and in that way may be considered like man (whose hair was fine and nearly invisible). This lends to the rather ridiculous notion that Satan actually seduced Eve in a human-like form. But it makes sense taken literally.

Job 5:12 He disappointeth the devices of the crafty (naked), so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise.

God, it is said, frustrates the plans of the naked, so that they cannot get things done. It seems that these poor saps just don't have the tools needed to do the job!

Job 15:5 For thy mouth uttereth thine iniquity, and thou choosest the tongue of the crafty (naked).

Job is accused of admitting himself to be a sinner by cursing like a naked drunkard [choosing the tongue of the {shamefully} naked].


Pr 12:16 A fool’s wrath is presently known: but a prudent (naked) man covereth shame.

"The naked cover shame," a rather prudent act for sure. Meanwhile, the fool's angry rantings are out in the open.


Pr 12:23 A prudent (naked) man concealeth knowledge: but the heart of fools proclaimeth foolishness.

The naked man covers what is known (that is, his nakedness). But fools make their foolishness known to all.

Pr 13:16 Every prudent (naked) man dealeth with knowledge: but a fool layeth open his folly.

He who is naked acts with wisdom, but a fool lets everyone see his foolishness.

Pr 14:8 The wisdom of the prudent (naked) is to understand his way: but the folly of fools is deceit.

The wisdom of him who is naked is that he knows how to act discretely, but fools are just sneaky!

Pr 14:15 The simple believeth every word: but the prudent (naked) man looketh well to his going.

Whereas the naive will trust your words, he who is naked well aware of his surroundings.

Pr 14:18 The simple inherit folly: but the prudent (naked) are crowned with knowledge.

Whereas the naive live with fools, they who are naked are surrounded by those who understand.

Pr 22:3 A prudent (naked) man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.
Pr 27:12 A prudent (naked) man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished.

He who is naked perceives evil intent and covers himself, but the naive will sin and face judgment.

The word's simple meaning is plainly to be "bare" with no pretense of self-importance. We are known fully by God, who sees through any pretense we might set forth. In the garden, Adam and Eve were fully open with one another. And then another naked creature seemingly opened itself to the same scrutiny, offering full disclosure of something he said had been covered up. That creature was inhabited by the Chief Liar of the universe.

But the nakedness the serpent displayed, an openness to discerning what is bad for relationships, is seen in those who are truly wise -- the "naked of spirit." Or perhaps, even in those who live "au naturale" in a spirit of openness most of us have a trouble with even within marriage! In these Proverbs a naked person is seen to be wise in deciding where he goes and with whom he associates. From covering himself among strangers (12:16, 23) to discreet behavior among friends, the "Edenist" is wiser than those who have things to hide. A naturist, being keenly aware of his surroundings, can sense when those who sneak in to gawk at him. He will not grant such evil desire, but will cover himself (27:12).

It doesn't work well the other direction:

Ge 2:25 And they were both naked (prudent), the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

OK. So we have the first couple before the fall, unashamedly wise beyond their (apparent) years. Hmmm.

1Sa 19:24 And he stripped off his clothes also, and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked (prudent) all that day and all that night. Wherefore they say, Is Saul also among the prophets?

Well, perhaps this is not as redundant as at first translated. Without clothes, he would be naked. But to prophecy he must have some reason left, thus "prudence"?

Job 1:21 And said, Naked (prudent) came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked (prudent) shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.

Nope, that won't work. A newborn baby is not "prudent," for he cannot reason about anything. He is totally dependent upon animal instincts at that point. And as naked as the day he was born! And, though one may be wise when he dies, it is not the body that has the smarts.

Job 22:6 For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought, and stripped the naked (prudent) of their clothing.

Job is being accused of taking advantage of his neighbors. No carefully reasoning man would allow himself to be treated like that. Unless, of course the naked man didn't want the clothes in the first place. But then, it wouldn't be so bad to take them, would it?

Job 24:7 They cause the naked (prudent) to lodge without clothing, that they have no covering in the cold.

Here we have paralellism. No clothing and no covering, pretty much leaves one naked and in the cold. For a wise man to seek lodging when he has no clothes makes sense, but then, to be out in the cold without covering is definitely not wise.
But - [They cause the prudent to grumble, being without clothing and no covering in the cold] - makes sense out of context. But in context, the sin is in mistreatment of the poor.

Job 24:10 They cause him to go naked (prudent) without clothing, and they take away the sheaf from the hungry;

As above, the disinfranchised is being sinned against. Taking a prudent man's clothes is not the same thing as taking a hungry man's food.

Job 26:6 Hell is naked (prudent) before him, and destruction hath no covering.

Pure parallelism. Hell=destruction, naked=no covering.
Alternate: "What he asked for is laid bare in front of him, but destruction is just as sure."

Ec 5:15 As he came forth of his mother’s womb, naked (prudent) shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand.

As with the passage in Job, a baby is not prudent, though an old man may be in his choices before death.

Isa 20:2 At the same time spake the LORD by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy shoe from thy foot. And he did so, walking naked (prudent) and barefoot.

Isaiah is told to drop his drawers and take his shoes off to boot. Nothing quite like opening yourself to the scrutiny of the enemy to make one wise!

Isa 20:3 And the LORD said, Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked (prudent) and barefoot three years for a sign and wonder upon Egypt and upon Ethiopia;
Isa 20:4 So shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopians captives, young and old, naked (prudent) and barefoot, even with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.

Isaiah's message is clear - as I am now, so you will be very soon! Naked and barefoot!

Isa 58:7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked (prudent), that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?

In context, the poor soul in need of covering is no doubt naked and not liking it.

Ho 2:3 Lest I strip her naked (prudent), and set her as in the day that she was born, and make her as a wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and slay her with thirst.

A very stark picture of the inhumane treatment of the treatment of a newborn or miscarriage, abandoned to die by the side of the road.

Am 2:16 And he that is courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked (prudent) in that day, saith the LORD.

OK. This one almost works the other way - "Just as courageous men flee, so shall the prudent"

Mic 1:8 Therefore I will wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked (prudent): I will make a wailing like the dragons, and mourning as the owls.

The prophet is making a racket. "Stripped and wiser (!??)," he sounds like a wild animal. Not likely. Again, it "stripped and naked" just go together.

The shamefully naked, whether by design or from mistreatment, are far from discerning in their relationships. They understand only their distraught condition. They need relief. Nakedness, if not innocent, is sin. Since we all battle sin, in its many guises, very few of us can uncover our insecurities, to be truly "aromic," without shame. Ours is a city with walls, with its guard always up. We are always wary of others who charm us with an open face, for so few are pure. Our eyes are "peeled," looking for the dangers of those who just as cunningly look to take advantage of any "opening" they can find.

Open wide and say "ARR."

What Jesus Read


On his inaugural sermon, Jesus is given the scroll of Isaiah. He opens to the place where it is written:

"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."

Luke records the LXX version, but has Jesus include: "and to let the oppressed go free," from 58:6. The English translation of the Greek NT has "opening the eyes of the blind" following the LXX. " tuflois anablepsin" is indeed best translated that way.

But what of this insertion? Why is it said to be "read" if it is not in the text. I submit that it was right there on the page, with his right thumb "marking the spot." He read his own interpretive insertion from the text in front of him.

The picture above is from the "Great Isaiah Scroll" (c. 150 BC). I have three pages as they would have unrolled from that copy of Isaiah. I have marked the words he read. Clicking on the image will give a larger version.

Jesus read everything Luke says he read, undoubtedly from a Hebrew scroll. Luke cites the LXX version because that is what he is familiar with. There is no inconsistency. The copy Jesus had may have had the verses on adjacent pages (its only a matter of a few words moved up. His copy might have been of a finer hand, putting the verses even closer on the page. The point is, this explains an apparent discrepancy in a concrete way.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Oops. What if...


I saw this poster (outtake above) at work. The message was "Teamwork." Mrs. Clause wants Santa to take out the trash.

But doesn't Santa carry another bag about the same size on his sleigh? What if Santa grabbed the wrong bag on the way to the curb and they got switched?

Talk about "egg in your face"! Day old and in the shell, even! :-)

The artwork is by Tom Marlin, cartoonist for Mad Magazine. He does a lot of Parodies.

Sunday, December 07, 2008

A young servant of God

Young Timothy Scott Seiter has ventured out to understand life through studying the Bible! This is daunting task for one so young. Timothy S. Seiter was born just 10 days before my son, Timothy S. Martin. He has produced a website called "Understand Life" that includes the whole Bible in hypertext with the opportunity for the registered reader to offer interpretations along the way.



My best wishes go out to Scott in his efforts. Here is his logo. Click on it or the link above to begin exploring the Bible with him.

Saturday, December 06, 2008

Jesus' Birthday


I have written elsewhere in this blog about the real birthday of Jesus. Here is a Bible Code that seems to verify that the date 1 Tishri (Rosh Hashana, "Jewish New Year") is connected to the birth of Immanuel (the verse marked - Isaiah 7:14). An extended date did not show up, though, since that would be from three to five characters (depending on how the date is written, in full or in part). The year marked in the text above is {3}760, a three digit rendering of a full 3760.

Of course, there are other dates there, including a very good match for 3756, four years earlier. That year corresponds with 6 BC, the agreed upon date to allow for the "error" by the medieval monk who finally dated our modern calendars from the birth of Christ. That date, it is believed by many, HAD to be few years before the assumed 4 BC death of Herod. That evidence, though, is based on an eclipse that year. Another "better" eclipse occurred in Tevet of 3761, or January of AD 1.

The total eclipse of AD 1 would have allowed ample time for the sickness and death of Herod before passover over three months later. If the magi had come that same month (or the beginning of Shevat, the next month as the darkened sky of the "new moon" allowed them a better view of the guiding "star."

Wednesday, December 03, 2008

Thank You, Sarah Palin

I came upon this video at a centrist (traditional) Democratic site. It seems that there are many Clinton supporters that are not happy with the party. Apparently they are somewhat like "Reagan Democrats." Anyway, one of them apparently has seen past the negative press and is impressed with Sarah Palin.



I like the diversity of those chosen to speak in this video. It's too bad that so many people let partisanship blind their reason and logic. In the past the true difference between the major parties was small government vs big government. The first "Democrat" was for small government (that is, Thomas Jefferson) and the first Republican was virtually the INVENTOR of "big government" as we now know it (the federal power grab of Abraham Lincoln in a noble attempt to save the union).

Things have changed. But I will cover that in another blog.

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Saying too much?


While surfing to some blogs "related" to mine, I got the link to this site. There you can build your own church marquee. The blogger had a fictional "dueling signs" post.

The above picture is of a real sign of which the "sign generator" collects from users of his site. This sign just about says it all (literally)!

A notice at the page says you can't link directly to the image, but I found it quite easy, really. I guess they want you to enjoy the REST of their site. It really IS quite entertaining.

A good rule of thumb with signs is to limit useful information to maybe fifteen words or so. The more precise the better. You'd have to stop the car to read this sign. Then what? Would you hurt their feelings if you didn't come in for a visit?

If you want to use the sign generator, the "imagemajik" links were down when I was writing this. His "classics," though, seemed to be working. I think the faq's revealed that he used readily available source code on those. Anyway, there were a lot of interesting real signs sent in

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Some more fall colors

This time I will start with a "close-up." Here is a little evergreen, surrounded with its perennial neighbors in their changing colors.


Then there were the full grown unashamedly changelings:


And then, there was this one (actually a cropped photo - my equipment doesn't frame stuff this well!) which I named "Americana." Note the "spacious skies," "the purple mountains" and even the "amber waves of grain."


Then we got a little closer to one of the mountains:


And then a little further away again.


Well, I guess I'll get back to "serious" stuff soon enough. I hope anyone who comes this way enjoys the shots.