Tag: Shem

Thick as a Brick

Posted on by jovial_cynic

They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar.
Genesis 11:3 (NIV)

The Hebrew word for “bricks” is found twice in this verse, and then seven times in Exodus.

Isn’t that interesting? It’s like the writers want to show us something about this word. They want us to look more closely.

Here, a point is made: Bricks instead of stone.

What’s significant about bricks and stones? Why the distinction? There are clues in the following verse.

And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”
Genesis 11:4 (NKJV)

Verse 4 shows us arrogance and pride. Maybe it’s our accomplishments and self-sufficiency, and patting ourselves on the back.

But actually, it’s much worse than that.

“Let’s make A NAME for ourselves.”

What’s lost in the English is that this word “name” (שֵׁם) has a quirky meaning in Hebrew. It’s the same word as a certain person’s name: Shem. That’s right. Shem’s name means “name.” And as we learned in the last chapter, Shem is BLESSED.

But the Jewish reader will also note that one of the designations for God is “HaShem,” which means “THE NAME.”

So when the people said “Let’s make A NAME for ourselves,” this is heavily packed with meaning: “Let’s seize our own blessing. Let’s make a god for ourselves.”

This is idolatry, but it’s a kind of idolatry that’s going to be echoed later in Scripture.

When Israel is delivered from Egypt and are given the 10 commandments, it starts with a reminder of their freedom.

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
“You shall have no other gods before Me.
Exodus 20:2-3 (NASB)

It’s in this context of deliverance from slavery that the bricks come up again in the story:

Exodus 1:14 – Bondage and bricks
Exodus 5:7 – Make bricks
Exodus 5:8 – Quota of bricks
Exodus 5:16 – Make bricks
Exodus 5:18 – Quota of bricks
Exodus 5:19 – Daily task of bricks

They were delivered from bondage, from the land of slavery under the Egyptian gods, but they were also spared from God’s wrath, poured like a flood against those who harmed His people.

So God cautioned Israel: Have no other gods; idolatry is intrinsically tied to bondage.

But in the land of Shinar, the people forgot about the flood and God’s mighty hand that preserved humanity in an ark. “Let us make a name for ourselves,” they said, and they stepped into the slavery of brick-making for the first time.

But there’s a problem.

There aren’t enough bricks to make a proper name for yourself, friend. You’ll keep building towards heaven and never get there.

If I make enough money…
If I parent well enough…
If I have enough followers…
If I drive the nicest car…
If I work hard and get that promotion…

“MAKE MORE BRICKS!” the slaver demands.

It’s like Cain’s rejected sacrifice: “Look what I acquired!” as his first-fruits burned to ash. Perhaps his sacrifice was burned atop an alter of bricks.

God doesn’t seem to desire this.

A people who continually provoke Me to My face,
Offering sacrifices in gardens and burning incense on bricks;
Isaiah 65:3 (NASB)

In fact, what God wants is an altar of made of uncut stones, just the way they were found in the ground. Just stones in a pile, big enough to make an offering, as though the rocks are a reminder of who we are, and where we’ve come from. God just wants our whole selves.

And if you make an altar of stone for Me, you shall not build it of cut stones, for if you wield your chisel on it, you will profane it.
Exodus 20:25 (NASB)

So the lesson I see is that every vain pursuit of “making a name for yourself” is ultimately a pursuit of idols. A pursuit of your own claim to a blessing. A pursuit of a god who will reward you and cheer your ever-growing tower.

This always leads to slavery and confusion.

Adam’s Language

Posted on by jovial_cynic
If Genesis is meant to be read literally, this is a fun thought: Eber, great-grandson of Shem, son of Noah, refused to help with the Tower of Babel, so the Hebrew language didn’t get confused during God’s action on humanity’s languages. Therefore, Hebrew is the same language Adam spoke.

It doesn’t have to be true. But it’s fun!

From the Wikipedia article on the word/name “Eber:”

The 13th-century Muslim historian Abu al-Fida relates a story noting that the patriarch Eber, the great-grandson of Shem, refused to help with the building of the Tower of Babel. As a result, his language was not confused when the tower was abandoned. He and his family alone retained the original Adamic language, which he identified as Hebrew, a language named after ʿEber.

Crossing Over

Posted on by jovial_cynic

Sons were also born to Shem, whose older brother was Japheth; Shem was the ancestor of all the sons of Eber.
Genesis 10:21 (NIV)

Linguistic historians note that “Eber” may be the source of the word “Hebrew.” The word means “crossing over.”

Scripturally, we link this to crossing over the Euphrates (Abraham) or the Jordan (Israel), but we also use this phrase to talk about crossing over into the afterlife.

Will Shem have Children?

Posted on by jovial_cynic

Sons were also born to Shem, whose older brother was Japheth; Shem was the ancestor of all the sons of Eber.
Genesis 10:21 (NIV)

Jewish commentaries say the phrase “were also born” is a narrative device that’s meant to come after a pause. The readers should wonder if Shem will have children. The writer delays giving the answer.

“Blessed” Noah had no more children, so how will God fulfill his Promise to bless the world? Would the blessing on Shem be the same or something different? And now we have the answer. Shem will also have children.

The Two Boats

Posted on by jovial_cynic
There is a link between the boat of Genesis and the boat of Jonah.

When God called Jonah (Shem) to preach to Nineveh (Ham), Jonah fled to Tarshish (Japheth).

Javen, son of Japheth:

The sons of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittites and the Rodanites.
Genesis 10:4 (NIV)

This is Nimrod, son of Cush, son of Ham:

From that land he went to Assyria, where he built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah
Genesis 10:11 (NIV)

God has set Himself against the curse from the beginning.

Cursed be Canaan

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Canaan was the father of Sidon his firstborn, and of the Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, Arvadites, Zemarites and Hamathites.
Later the Canaanite clans scattered and the borders of Canaan reached from Sidon toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and then toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboyim, as far as Lasha.
Genesis 10:15-19 (NIV)

Any reader with even the tiniest exposure to Bible stories should read these names and say, “oooh.”

God seems to execute on the curse by wiping these people out later in the story.

What does it mean to curse? It seems like the generations that Noah cursed become a threat to his favorite and blessed son Shem.

Perhaps those we curse become a curse to us.

Japheth

Posted on by jovial_cynic

The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshek and Tiras.
The sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, Riphath and Togarmah.
The sons of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittites and the Rodanites. (From these the maritime peoples spread out into their territories by their clans within their nations, each with its own language.)
Genesis 10:2-5 (NIV)

Of the three sons of Noah, you’d think Ham and his son Canaan would get the fewest page-space on account of the curse, cutting their line short. But oddly, they get the most written about them in the Table of Nations in Genesis 10.

It’s Japheth who gets the fewest words written about his lineage. In the chapter, only two of his sons get any more detail written about them.

It’s strange.

Backwards

Posted on by jovial_cynic

When something is repeated in scripture, it might be because you are supposed to pay attention to it. Underline it. Highlight it.

I wondered why the text uses this word אֲחֹרַנִּית (ahoraneeth) twice in the same sentence. Backwards, or Reverse.

But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it on both their shoulders and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were [a]turned away, so that they did not see their father’s nakedness.
Genesis 9:23 (NASB)

[a] Lit backward

If you’ve followed along, you know that I have to chase these words down and try to find meaning in them and their usage in the text. Sometimes, this results in dead ends, but often it’s quite enlightening.

But sometimes, it gets very interesting…

One learning is that Genesis is full of spiritual versions of words that later are demonstrated in physical words.

Examples:
Good is the spiritual root of beautiful
Shame is the spiritual root of naked/uncovered

So we’re supposed to view them in a related way. This is the nature of parables.

The Genesis Ark is covered inside and out in “pitch,” and we later learn that this word is the same word used for “atonement.” In Exodus, when Moses is in the basket (same word: Ark), it’s also covered in “pitch,” but it’s the natural version of this word. But it’s linked.

And then there is the relationship between the Genesis Ark (“tayVah”) and the Exodus Ark (“ahRon”) of the Covenant. Same concept… except different words are used. One covered in pitch/atonement, the other covered in gold/purity. Sort of like our house vs God’s house? Maybe.

So anyhow, this word “backwards” appears here in Genesis 9, and the next time we see it is in 1 Samuel 4.

Samuel learns that his two wicked sons have died and that the Ark of the Covenant has been taken. In his shock, he falls backwards and dies.

Then the one who brought the news replied, “Israel has fled before the Philistines and there has also been a great defeat among the people, and your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas are also dead; and the ark of God has been taken.” When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell off the seat backward beside the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for he was old and heavy. And so he judged Israel for forty years.
1 Samuel 4:17-18 (NASB)

Isn’t that interesting?

Eli has two wicked sons who die, and Noah has two good sons who are blessed. The Ark was taken away instead of God’s people exiting it. Eli falls backwards, breaks his neck, and is forever shamed in the text for being fat vs. the two good sons walking in backwards to protect Noah’s dignity to prevent further shame. These stories seem so connected.

Kind of weird, right? But stranger yet, we later have three back to back instances in Scripture that point to another set of “backwards.”

It’s when Elijah demonstrates the power of God to Hezekiah. He appears to reverse the clock, and then set it forward again by 10-degrees.

So Hezekiah said, “It is easy for the shadow to decline ten steps; no, but have the shadow turn backward ten steps.”
2 Kings 20:10 (NASB)

Then Isaiah the prophet called out to the Lord, and He brought the shadow on the stairway back ten steps by which it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.
2 Kings 20:11 (NASB)

Behold, I will make the shadow on the stairway, which has gone down with the sun on the stairway of Ahaz, go back ten steps.” So the sun’s shadow went back ten steps on the stairway on which it had gone down.
Isaiah 38:8 (NASB)

Incidentally, ten degrees by the sun-dial equates to… 40 minutes. And we’ve already learned that 40 = testing or trials. It represents a time of testing.

So here’s an interpretation:

Noah cursed Canaan instead of forgiving him. He thinks he has good reason for this: he wants vengeance.

We can choose vengeance (Noah’s way) or forgiveness (God’s way). There’s time to consider it – a time of testing where God makes the clock stand still. Through our forgiveness or acting out in wrath, we move the sun. We either move forward or backward. We create or destroy.

That’s what forgiveness and wrath do: they create and they destroy. They move creation forward or they undo it and send it back into chaos.

Perhaps we’re meant to see this and understand that time is connected to all of this. God is telling us how to move through time rightly.

The last, and possibly most important instance of “backwards” is in the center of the listings, in 1 Kings 18. This is when Elijah faces off against the prophets of Ba’al, when he calls down fire from heaven.

He prays that God turns the clock of hearts… “backwards.” Back to Him.

Answer me, Lord, answer me, so that this people may know that You, Lord, are God, and that You have turned their heart back.

—

And here’s another thought:

Based on these connections, I suspect Noah did not merely curse Canaan. He pummeled him with his fists.

Why?

Because Eli’s sons names are as follows:

Phinehas: – root meaning: mouth. This points to the curse from Noah’s mouth.

Hophni – root meaning: fist. This points to the physical beating from Noah’s hands.

Their deaths points to undoing all of Noah’s vengeance as God turns the clock back.

Good Deeds

Posted on by jovial_cynic
One of the faults in reform-adjacent Christianity is this insistence on a works-less faith. We have a whole system for what “good works” even means, taking Isaiah’s “righteousness is like filthy rags” and rendering good acts of nonbelievers as meaningless.

This is broken.

I’ve often argued that Paul’s “war against works” was never intended to be used the way the reformers wield it, and that Paul was pushing back against a pious self-righteous boasting about accomplishments and holiness.

In Genesis, it seems like God looks for good works.

After Ham does something (we’re not really sure what) to Noah, the text says that Ham’s brothers address their father’s shame by taking a garment and covering him, shielding him from further humiliation.

But the Hebrew language hides a clue here.

But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it on both their shoulders and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were turned away, so that they did not see their father’s nakedness.
Genesis 9:23 (NASB)

While we read “Shem and Japheth” in English, the Hebrew uses an idiom that doesn’t translate well into English. It’s not “they.” It’s “he,” and it points to Shem as the initiator.

The focus is on Shem.

(Gen. 9:23:) THEN HE, SHEM AND JAPHETH, TOOK A GARMENT. R. Johanan said: “Then they took” is not stated here, but THEN HE TOOK. Shem first showed his courage [in the worthy act] and afterwards Japheth. Ergo: THEN HE, SHEM AND JAPHETH, TOOK A GARMENT.
Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Noach 21:2

Without seeing this, the resulting blessing by Noah makes little sense. While the fate of Ham’s son is repeated, we are told that Shem is God’s man, and Japheth will be blessed by Shem’s abundance.

Why is Shem singled out? The text gives one answer: his good deed.

He also said,

“Blessed be the Lord,
The God of Shem;
And may Canaan be his servant.
May God enlarge Japheth,
And may he live in the tents of Shem;
And may Canaan be his servant.”
Genesis 9: 26-27 (NASB)

And the good deed here is God’s own heart: to defend those who are shamed. We can quibble about drunkenness and nakedness, but the focus is Shem honoring his father and defending the vulnerable from shame.

This is the work God desires. Perhaps this is why God uses Shem.