THE CLOSED MEM (for YAH is may Father).
Shalom Yah is my Father.
I must tell you that appreciate the respectful way in which you disagree with others on this thread. It is refreshing.
I wanted to address something that you said. In regards to Yahshua being a mere man, we need to think about two things. First, a mere man can't atone for sin because he would have sin himself. Of course we know that Yahshua had no sin. We also know that since "all have sinned" Yahshua must be unique.
I have a rabbinical friend who likes to argue that Yahshua could not have been born of a virgin. Of course you and I have the apostolic scriptures or the Ketuvim Netzarim (writings of the Netzari). The reason old Joe was going to divorce Miriam secretly is because he thought she was out messing around. Of course we know that an angel told him not to leave her because the child was not conceived by another man but by the Ruach Elohim.
My rabbinical friend (who naturally rejects the New Covenant writings) argues that the prophesy in Yeshayahu (Isaiah) does not speak of a virgin:
Therefore the YHWH himself shall give you a sign: Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Yeshayahu 7:14My friend argues that the word we have translated "virgin" is actually the word "almah" meaning young maiden. The thing he doesn't realize is that in 1st century Jewish culture an Almah better darn well have been a virgin or she would have been stoned to death. It was implied that an almah was indeed a virgin. My have things changed in 2 thousand years, huh?
But my friend has an even bigger problem when we look at this verse. Let’s see, YHWH will give us a sign...and that sign will be that a young girl will have a child? Not much of a sign, huh? No, the sign would be something miraculous, something distinctive. Young girls have babies every day.
I have heard it said that our sin is a blood disease. It is passed by the seed of the man (semen). Which is precisely why a natural conception would not do.
And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Genesis 3:15So we have the whole "Miriam is pregnant ashunda (scandal)" where Yoseph has to be calmed down and reassured by the angel. We have the prophesy in Yeshayahu as well as the prophesy in Genesis...
But I also offer you the following study. I believe YHWH offers those with a sincere heart the subtle confirmation of things like this:
THE CURIOS CLOSED MEM IN YESHAYAHU 9:6The letter mem in Hebrew corresponds to our English letter “M.” It is one of five letters in the Hebrew alphabet that take a different form when occurring as a final letter of a word. When it occurs in the beginning or middle of a word, it has an opening at the lower left side. But when it occurs as the final letter of a word, it is fully enclosed.
In words like “Messiah,” (Mashiyach, in Hebrew), or “truth” (emet in Hebrew), the letter “mem” is “open.” This is sometimes called the “open mem,” since it has a little opening on the lower left side of the letter. When the letter “mem” ends a word, however, such as “mother” (em in Hebrew), or “peace” (shalom in Hebrew), it is made with its final form, closed in on all sides. This is referred to as the “closed mem.” Note that the word “shalom” -- ends with a closed “mem” (read word from right to left).
According to the rules of Hebrew grammar, the closed mem can only occur at the END of a word, as the final letter of a word.
However, in one place in the Hebrew Bible, this rule is violated in the text. There is one place where a “closed mem” occurs within a word, and not at the end. This peculiar oddity is found only in a prophecy in Isaiah -- a famous prophecy of the coming Messiah. We read in Isaiah 9:6-7, in the KJV --
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be
upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty
God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.
“Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne
of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and establish it with judgment and with
justice for henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”
The “closed mem” appears in the word translated “of the increase” -- l'marbeh in Hebrew. The first letter of this word, in Hebrew, is lamed, and is translated “to the,” or “of the.” The main part of the word marbeh, which means “increase,” begins with the letter mem. But it is a CLOSED MEM!
This word marbeh is found in several other places in the Old Testament. It always has an “open mem” at the beginning, as one would expect, due to the rule of grammar. The only place where the word marbeh begins with a “closed mem” is in this Messianic passage dealing with the birth of the Messiah who will rule the world and bring true peace to the earth! Interestingly, rabbis associate this letter “mem” with the “womb.” Rabbinic sources are Sefer Yetzira 3:4; Bahir 85; Etz Chaim, shaar Ha Yereach 3. So says Daniel Botkin in his article “The Mystery of the Closed Mem” (published in Gates of Eden, May-June 1995).
Botkin goes on to say:
“A closed mem is a closed womb; an open mem is the womb opening to give birth (Bahir
84). What does this tell us about the child in Isaiah's prophecy? It tells us that this Child
will be concealed inside a closed womb, i.e., the womb of the Virgin spoken of in Isaiah
7:14: ‘Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with
Child and bear a son, and she will call his name Immanuel (God with us).’
“It is interesting to note that there is a Hebrew word for womb which begins with mem –
hey ayin mem (me'eh = ‘womb’). This word appears in the story of Ruth, one of the
few women listed in the genealogy of the Messiah in Matthew chapter 1. It is also
interesting that the Virgin mother, who descended from Ruth, had a name that begins
and ends with the letter mem. Christians know her as Mary, but her Hebrew name was
Miriam.
“Of course the rabbis don't see any hints of Miriam in Isaiah’s prophecy, but they are
aware of this mysterious closed mem and of its Messianic implications. The rabbis
teach that when it is time for the redemption, the closed mem of Isaiah's l'marbeh will
open for the coming of the Messiah (Radak, Isa.9:6).
“In light of all this, we can see why the Holy Spirit inspired Isaiah to break the rules
of Hebrew grammar and spelling by writing (l'marbeh). The purpose is to draw our
attention to the letter mem, where we see the initial of Miriam, the mother of this Child.
We also see it as the initial for me'eh, 'womb,' which in this case is a closed mem -- the
closed womb of the virgin Miriam , which opened at the time of Redemption to give
birth to the Child spoken of in this prophecy.”
Edited by user Tuesday, July 29, 2008 6:37:33 AM(UTC)
| Reason: Not specified
