
Onions in PaRaDiSe (Is the Bible true? Part 6)
A way for peeling back the layers of any given storyline in scripture.
It’s time for a Hebrew lesson in interpretation. You don’t need to learn Hebrew to understand the following concept:
Paradise.
It’s an English word that teaches us 4 different lenses for looking at the storyline of any given scripture (at least in Hebrew scripture). To be clear, this is a method of Jewish Exegesis and I’m of the opinion that good Christian interpretation begins with good Jewish interpretation because let’s face it: The writers of scripture were Jewish. Besides that, it’s useful for helping us to understand what’s going on in many passages.
So let’s get on with it now:
PaRaDiSe
The bold letters represent 1 of 4 ways that scripture is translated in rabbinic Judaism (Jewish students who’ve studied this will more likely have learned the word PaRDeS and refer to this as pardes interpretation). This way of interpretation is about getting at the story at 4 different levels. It’s like peeling back an onion.
The surface of the onion might look like dried up skin. Nothing you would ever truly eat but it helps you identify what you’re looking at. Peal back this layer and the onion suddenly looks different. It suddenly looks edible. Continue peeling back an onion and before you know it, it starts taking on a different shape the deeper you go, still edible. But whether your looking at the surface, or looking at the core, it’s still an onion. PaRDeS interpretation treats scripture much the same.
P’shat — Surface level meaning. The literal or surface meaning of a passage. Noah built and ark and gathered 2 of every animal at God’s command. The human race survives because Noah trusts God.
R’mez — Deeper meaning. Hint’s at what may be the allegorical or abstract meaning of a passage. The Noah story paints a picture of a God who is personal with people. All of the other flood and gods stories of the times don’t. The God in this story is different than all of those other gods.
D’rash — Comparative meaning. This story is not unlike many others through the Hebrew Scriptures where God allows a remnant to remain. It’s a story of deliverance that repeats itself in many different ways through the Hebrew scriptures. That says something about who God is. Revelation 15 is eerily similar to the Exodus account. The D’rash interpretation would ask what does comparing these two passages say about the meaning of Revelation?
Sod — Secret or mystical meaning. DANGER DANGER DANGER. This is perhaps the least accepted method of interpreting scripture in Judaic/Rabbinic thought because it is very subjective. It doesn’t mean it’s not valid but it has the most potential for whacky interpretations. This is about getting at what meaning we might find way below the surface of a given passage of scripture. For example, some believe God sent a flood because angels slept with women (Genesis 6:4) and that’s what created giants (like Goliath). The belief is that God had to wipe this out or lose the human race forever. If you’ve ever seen Russell Crowe’s Noah, it’s based on a sod interpretation of the Genesis flood account.
Wikipedia has some more info on PaRDeS.
The takeaway. Storyline does not mean false or figurative. But at the same time it might be fiction and the point isn’t whether the story is real or not, but what it says about God. Treat each passage like a gem, turning it to see its different sides so you can arrive at a fuller appreciation of what is being revealed to you.
So is the Bible true? It depends on how you qualify that. I believe everything in scripture is true, but I don’t believe you can apply the same lens to everything. I think God is bigger and more creative than that.
But…
If you’ll take literature type, context, and storyline (and the suggestion of using PaRaDiSe to get at the storyline), you’re going to walk away with a much better understanding of what a passage of scripture is all about. You’ll also walk away with much better questions than whether the Bible is true or not.
One more thing
Pardes is the Hebrew word for Orchard where a legend about rabbis and these interpretative methods comes from. Scripture is more like an orchard or garden than a single fruit and it’s only in a full garden that you get a full meal. Can you imagine only ever eating onions and having nothing to go with them? That’s what it’s sort of like when we look at scripture through a single lens.
Is the Bible true?
- Part 1: Or maybe the better question is, “How is the Bible true?”
- Part 2: Are we retelling these stories with the same motivation the original storytellers did?
- Part 3: A process for getting at that question
- Part 4: Donkeys, Elephants, and Poems
- Part 5: Wild boars are the key to unlocking it all
- Part 6: Onions in PaRaDiSe
- Part 7: The God and Satan Contradiction
- Part 8: Creation to New Creation
- Part 9: Answering the question

