Genesis 16:11-12 — Whose Error? The Translators’, Vic Alexander’s, or Ours?
What’s wrong with Genesis 16:11-12? I think it is not now like it originally was. Its intent has been changed. The King James Version says:
“And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Behold, thou art with child and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the Lord hath heard thy affliction. And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.”
My copy of the Stone Tanach says,
“And an angel of Hashem said to her, ‘Behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son; you shall name him Ishmael, for Hashem has heard your prayer. And he will be a wild ass of a man; his hand against everyone, and everyone's hand upon him, and over all his brothers shall he dwell.’”
Interestingly, to Abram Hagar had conceived back in verse 3; yet in verse 11 God, “the Name of Hashem” — the mode? — who spoke with her says she WILL conceive. I guess Abram had imagined it, and it was certainly GOING TO come to pass. Anyway, the present Hebrew sounds like Ishmael is going to be a problem — a bane to live with who won’t go away. Irrational, argumentative, violent, and an all around bossy pain in the ass. So far, looks like an accurate prophecy.
But Victor Alexander’s translation from the ancient Aramaic is radically different:
“And the angel of the Lord told her, 'Behold, you are with child and shall give birth to a son, and you shall call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has heard of your obedience. And he shall be a helper of humanity, his hand shall be over all, and the hand of everyone shall be in his, and he shall be welcomed by all his brothers as their kin.'"
I believe the Aramaic version was the original intent of God. But I also believe that what it says now is the prophetic intent that now bears. I.e., both are right. At least the original WAS right. That was God's intent for man, which then held true for Ishmael. But like what happened to Adam, it has been changed. And like Adam, the original intent of God for Ishmael has been changed BY Ishmael. (It was a long time from Genesis' origin until its written canon form.) Ishmael's fate HAD changed. It was changed by his people who held onto what I now call the Crescendo Error, that God is divided from Creation. I.e., that God is separate from us, that Creation is no part of Him, that we are divided from Him, that God is one APART from us.
I call this the Crescendo Error because it continues and builds up right to the end of Revelation, when it, Ignorance, is cast into Eternal Destruction. The Error is not knowing that God's being one INCLUDES us. When in Exodus 3:14 God said (per the Hebrew), "I AM THAT I AM," implied was "THUS YOU ARE, TOO." It is even clearer in the Aramaic, "Ahiyeh Ashur hiyeh": "I-I come by Consciousness/Imagination everything of your world" (my own take on Alexander's notes* below).
The epitome of IGNORANCE is not knowing that we are part of God's oneness. The Ishmaelites from Abram run parallel to man in his amnesia from God. THERE ISN'T TWO, GOD AND CREATION. There isn't an "other." God did not make a family "over there," but as AN EXTENSION OF HIMSELF. There is no existence of anything except HIM. And it riles Him when we say, "Niet. There is no way that I am God or any part of God or anything like Him." That is calling God a liar. That is willfully, intentionally misreading the scriptures and denying what they say. THAT is the blaspheme of the Holy Spirit, Who says, "You are GOD, because He is you."
By the way, I am not talking about Ishmael as Arab or Islam. I am talking about a consciousness, the mindset of anything that sees God as being separate, away, distant, divided from us, inconsequential, or non-existent. It is the spirit of independence and practicality, of politics and dualistic religion. If you think God ISN'T you, you are in that camp.
Like the Ineffable in Its infancy, our ignorance is UNLIKE what the Ineffable is NOW. Its perfection demands that, as It is everything, anything unlike It become like It; that It be perfect in every way. See yourself and everything else AS God, and get rid of the ERROR.
*Victor Alexander's notes on Exodus 3:14's "Ahiyeh Ashur hiyeh":
*3:14 Lit. Aramaic:
(1) "Ahiyeh": "the One Who Comes in His Coming," the absolute sense of "the One Who Comes."
(2) "Ashur": "the Beginning Spark that kindles the Fire" or "the Light."
(3) "Hiyeh": "His Coming."
(4) "Ahiyeh" and "hiyeh" are related forms of the same word. They mean more than "the Coming." They signify also the "Eternal Presence," "the Ever-Present," and the "Never Ceasing Intent of the Comer to Come."
(5) In the same way, "Ashur" signifies "the Uncreated Creator who Creates Everything from Nothing."
(6) Also, "Ashur" signifies: "Above-the-Flames."
“And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Behold, thou art with child and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the Lord hath heard thy affliction. And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.”
My copy of the Stone Tanach says,
“And an angel of Hashem said to her, ‘Behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son; you shall name him Ishmael, for Hashem has heard your prayer. And he will be a wild ass of a man; his hand against everyone, and everyone's hand upon him, and over all his brothers shall he dwell.’”
Interestingly, to Abram Hagar had conceived back in verse 3; yet in verse 11 God, “the Name of Hashem” — the mode? — who spoke with her says she WILL conceive. I guess Abram had imagined it, and it was certainly GOING TO come to pass. Anyway, the present Hebrew sounds like Ishmael is going to be a problem — a bane to live with who won’t go away. Irrational, argumentative, violent, and an all around bossy pain in the ass. So far, looks like an accurate prophecy.
But Victor Alexander’s translation from the ancient Aramaic is radically different:
“And the angel of the Lord told her, 'Behold, you are with child and shall give birth to a son, and you shall call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has heard of your obedience. And he shall be a helper of humanity, his hand shall be over all, and the hand of everyone shall be in his, and he shall be welcomed by all his brothers as their kin.'"
I believe the Aramaic version was the original intent of God. But I also believe that what it says now is the prophetic intent that now bears. I.e., both are right. At least the original WAS right. That was God's intent for man, which then held true for Ishmael. But like what happened to Adam, it has been changed. And like Adam, the original intent of God for Ishmael has been changed BY Ishmael. (It was a long time from Genesis' origin until its written canon form.) Ishmael's fate HAD changed. It was changed by his people who held onto what I now call the Crescendo Error, that God is divided from Creation. I.e., that God is separate from us, that Creation is no part of Him, that we are divided from Him, that God is one APART from us.
I call this the Crescendo Error because it continues and builds up right to the end of Revelation, when it, Ignorance, is cast into Eternal Destruction. The Error is not knowing that God's being one INCLUDES us. When in Exodus 3:14 God said (per the Hebrew), "I AM THAT I AM," implied was "THUS YOU ARE, TOO." It is even clearer in the Aramaic, "Ahiyeh Ashur hiyeh": "I-I come by Consciousness/Imagination everything of your world" (my own take on Alexander's notes* below).
The epitome of IGNORANCE is not knowing that we are part of God's oneness. The Ishmaelites from Abram run parallel to man in his amnesia from God. THERE ISN'T TWO, GOD AND CREATION. There isn't an "other." God did not make a family "over there," but as AN EXTENSION OF HIMSELF. There is no existence of anything except HIM. And it riles Him when we say, "Niet. There is no way that I am God or any part of God or anything like Him." That is calling God a liar. That is willfully, intentionally misreading the scriptures and denying what they say. THAT is the blaspheme of the Holy Spirit, Who says, "You are GOD, because He is you."
By the way, I am not talking about Ishmael as Arab or Islam. I am talking about a consciousness, the mindset of anything that sees God as being separate, away, distant, divided from us, inconsequential, or non-existent. It is the spirit of independence and practicality, of politics and dualistic religion. If you think God ISN'T you, you are in that camp.
Like the Ineffable in Its infancy, our ignorance is UNLIKE what the Ineffable is NOW. Its perfection demands that, as It is everything, anything unlike It become like It; that It be perfect in every way. See yourself and everything else AS God, and get rid of the ERROR.
*Victor Alexander's notes on Exodus 3:14's "Ahiyeh Ashur hiyeh":
*3:14 Lit. Aramaic:
(1) "Ahiyeh": "the One Who Comes in His Coming," the absolute sense of "the One Who Comes."
(2) "Ashur": "the Beginning Spark that kindles the Fire" or "the Light."
(3) "Hiyeh": "His Coming."
(4) "Ahiyeh" and "hiyeh" are related forms of the same word. They mean more than "the Coming." They signify also the "Eternal Presence," "the Ever-Present," and the "Never Ceasing Intent of the Comer to Come."
(5) In the same way, "Ashur" signifies "the Uncreated Creator who Creates Everything from Nothing."
(6) Also, "Ashur" signifies: "Above-the-Flames."
posted by Daniel C. Branham-Steele at
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