Friday, January 30, 2009

Upcoming lessons - pearl and leaven

Pearls - how does one approach this with children? I don't teach the parable this week but I may stay a bit longer to see what the approach is like, since next week I am supposed to prepare the materials and teach the parable of the leaven - (which usage I wonder? Likely Matthew 13:33, Luke 13:21 - not Matthew 16:6 and parallels)?

And again he said, "To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? It is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened."

He told them another parable. "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened."

What Hebrew letters would you choose for the pearl?

Hmmm pearl גביש (gavish) occurs only once in the ancient writings, Job 28:18 - and it contains other rarely used words.

רָאמֹות וְגָבִישׁ לֹא יִזָּכֵר וּמֶשֶׁךְ חָכְמָה מִפְּנִינִים
ra-amot (high and precious things - coral?)
vegavish (pearl?)
lo yizkar (that's a word we did recently - this one is niphal passive - not remembered - or as KJV has it - no mention shall be made)
umeshek hokmah (for the price of wisdom)
mpaninim (is above jewels / rubies?)

Pearls get a good press in Revelation 21:21

I was going to move on to the final mem and/or the samech - the suggestion that samech meaning support symbolizes the presence of God in the world is a nice one. It is curious that it is in the place of our O and that it looks like O. But it isn't O. But it is the shape of a pearl!

Read those links - the play that John Parsons has with the letters is delightful.

Psalm 145:14 is a good example of the use of samech (it is in the acrostic - the last ABG psalm.)

סֹומֵךְ יְהוָה לְכָל־הַנֹּפְלִים וְזֹוקֵף לְכָל־הַכְּפוּפִים
somech יְהוָה lecol hanoflim vezoqeph lecol-hakfufim
Sustains יְהוָה all the fallen
and he raises up all the distressed

note to self: the alef-bet is easily sung to ABC

alef-bet gimel-dalet / hey-vav zayin
chet-tet-yod kaf-lamed /mem-nun-samech ayin
peh-tsade qof / resh-shin taf
that's all the letters / that you have
now I know my alef-bet
see if you can sing this set
AlephBet / VetGimmelDaletHeyVavZayinChetTetSamekhAyinYodLamedMemNunKaf / Khaf

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