Posted by Navah on Dec 15, 2021 in The Origin
The Book of Genesis tells us that there were creatures, nephilim, who were on the face of the earth before the Flood. Those creatures concerning whom the narrator of Genesis was very careful not to call them “humans” or “living beings”, nor did he even say they lived on the earth but “were on the earth”, were the offspring of the sons of Elohim, who cohabited with the daughters of men. Who or more properly what were those creatures whom the women bore to the...
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Posted by Navah on May 30, 2021 in The Origin
Do we know how the first man and woman were created? The Creator first created man from the dust of the earth and then from his rib He created the woman. The Tanak commentators understand that the narrative of the creation of man and woman in Gen 1:27 and Gen 2:21 refers literally to one of Adam’s ribs from which the woman was created: the Creator put man to sleep, took one of his rib, and in what appears to be “genetic engineering” He created the woman....
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Posted by Navah on Apr 9, 2021 in The Origin
This article is a continuation of the article Nephesh, Neshamah, and Ruach of the soul. There are three levels or channels of communication between the Infinite Creator and man; they are: (1) inspiration through Ruach haKodesh, (2) the oracle of urim and tummim, (3) and prophecy. The access to YHVH Elohim by means of the urim and tummim was on a lower level than that of a prophet, but it represented a higher level than hearing inspired words through Ruach haKodesh. The...
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Posted by Navah on Apr 4, 2021 in The Origin
The Hebrew Scripture (Tanak) speaks of the human soul having three elements: nephesh, neshamah, and ruach. The sages are divided in their views about the nature of the human soul. Some of them, such as Maimonides in his introduction to Pirke Avot chapter 1, claim that the soul is a single force with three sub-categories: (1) the category which houses our desires, something men have in common with the animals; (2) the source of growth, something possessed both by animals...
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Posted by Navah on Mar 21, 2021 in The Origin
There is a Jewish tradition that there is a bone in the human body called luz. This Hebrew word, whose origin is unknown, is used only once in the entire Scripture with the meaning of “almond”, as JPS renders it in Gen 30:37. The luz bone — a tiny bone most people are unaware of its existence — does not decay or perish; as a matter of fact, the luz bone cannot even be destroyed. And when it comes time to resurrecting the dead, the luz bone will play a major...
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Posted by Navah on Oct 13, 2020 in The Origin
There is a peculiarity in the Creation story. All days of creation are declared good with the concluding formula “it was good”, but it seems that the second day, when the waters were separated above and below the expanse, was not declared good. Why the narrator of the Creation story has omitted it, or has he omitted it all? And who was the narrator of the Creation, in the first place, because it was impossible for Mosheh to know the epic work of the Creator...
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Posted by Navah on May 10, 2020 in The Origin
There is something curious in the Noach story. The apostle called Noach “a preacher of righteousness” (2Pe 2:5), but the only time he opened his mouth was to curse his grandson Kanaan. Why? Noach and his family left the ark to see a world devoid of living souls; they were the mankind on the face of the earth. The first thing Noach did was to plant a vineyard and grow the fruits of the vine. Then, he got drunk, because the righteous Noach struggled with his...
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Posted by Navah on Jan 26, 2020 in The Origin
The forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is mysterious as the tree itself. But what was the forbidden fruit and what was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden? It is a Christian tradition that it was an apple, but this could have been a tradition associated with the pagan traditions involving Athena with an apple (in the Greek mythology, Athens is a goddess of wisdom and useful arts and prudent warfare, identified with...
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Posted by Navah on Dec 24, 2019 in The Origin
The account in Gen 7:21-23 says that all flesh that moved on the earth, birds, cattle, beast, and every swarming thing that swarms, and all people perished in the flood. In other words, all in whose nostrils was the breath of life and all that was on the dry land, died. The Creator blotted out every living substance which was upon the face of the earth; and only Noach and his family were left, and the living creatures that were with him in the ark. The words of Gen 7:17,...
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Posted by Navah on Nov 7, 2018 in Hebrew Study, The Origin
The creation story narrates that God created a firmament above the heavens. But, what is the firmament in Gen 1? The JPS translation of Gen 1:6-8 reads thus, ‘Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.’ And God made the firmament and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. And God called the firmament heaven. And there was evening and...
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Posted by Navah on Nov 5, 2016 in The Origin
How old is the Earth? The Torah says that the Creator made the universe and everything in it in six days. But the science claims it is billions years old. The present author’s understanding of this is that the Earth is about 6,000 years old. There is a good reason for this interpretation since the Psalmist writes (Psa 90:4): For a thousand years in Your eyes are like yesterday that has past, or like a watch in the night. For more information on this refer to chapter...
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Posted by Navah on Nov 2, 2016 in The Origin
Albert Einstein’s formula E=mC2 is probably the most notable mathematical equation. But how Einstein’s formula relates to the Creation of the world, as recorded in Genesis? Let us start from the beginning: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” This is the most recognizable translation of the verse in the Scripture. But being faithful to the desire to discover the Truth in the details, we need to go deeper than this, as we will do...
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