Holy Hormones Bible Study: If your book isn’t a buzz, it’s not the Bible.
WHAT ON EARTH WAS JESUS WRITING??
More gossip about the Adulterous Woman
Key Words: Dove, adulterous woman, Jesus writing in the ground, Christianity, Bible
Introduction
For those who may have read the article, THE DRAMA OF THE WOMAN CAUGHT IN ADULTERY — EDITOR’S CUT, you may remember that evidence was offered from the OT to show that the Religious Glitterati and the Naughty Woman were only supporting roles. It was Jesus’s potential disobedience that was the focus of the episode.
It’s up to you to believe that or not.
But one vexing point, what Jesus wrote on the ground, was only glossed over. This has bubbled-under in my spirit and will not go away. Did the Holy Spirit just write it there for jollies in order to toy with our emotions? Or does He provide us with more information than we give Him credit? After all, this figure shows that there is a lot of knowledge crammed into those 66 Books.
Is it hidden knowledge? Or is it knowledge waiting to be discovered?
PERHAPS SOME FORENSIC CROSS-ANALYSIS WILL REVEAL WHAT HAS BEEN WAITING IN PLAIN SIGHT
Brace yourself! This is more of a teaching blog than an entertaining one. It may not be an easy read because there is more here than a normal, well adjusted person would generally want to know. But the time will be well spent. The detail which makes me a boring person brings the Bible alive for me. If, however, you happen to like what you read, there’s more to be found here.
The methodology of the analysis is based on the Big Mac Principle.
Try as I might, my articles are never an easy read so you will have to be hungry.
If you try to stuff the whole Big Mac burger in your mouth you will surely die. The trick is to take bight-sized pieces and chew them well before the next bight. That applies here — getting to know God, chewing on one Truth at a time. (The Mac will kill you eventually, but not today.)
Another outrageous principle will be that the Holy Spirit chooses His Words well and tells us as much as is necessary — but we may have to look carefully.
The mechanics of the process
The driving engine here is Hebrew logic, which is different from the Greek thinking pattern that is the basis of Gentile logic.
I’m not Jewish but I’m told that, to the Rabbinical mind, Pattern-is-Prophecy-is-Pattern. A look at the different approaches to Prophecy is a good example of the different types of logic.
Schematic 1 is a diagram showing the Greek pattern which is like a cycloid curve; beginning — middle — end → beginning — middle — end → and so on . . .
Schematic 2 shows the Hebrew pattern which is like a forward tumbling motion; beginning — middle — beginning — middle — beginning — middle — beginning…, trending toward an end.
The recurring tumble concept of the Hebrew logic has been applied here. After all, the Bible is a Semitic Book written by Semites using Semitic logic. Gentile Theology is a dog’s breakfast because Greek logic is used by Christendom to decipher the Hebrew. One weak analogy is a Rugby Union team playing a Rugby League team, each using their own rules. But, by the Grace of God, there is enough similarity between Hebrew and Greek logic to answer the vital question from both Gentiles and Jews, “What must I do to be saved?” After that, in 2 Timothy 2:15 Paul commands ALL Saints || Be diligent/study to present yourself approved to God. So it is possible for a Gentile to get to know enough of the words unspoken that the Jews heard (through the knowledge of the OT texts) as time progresses.
The series, Patterns through the Bible expands on this topic for anyone interested.
Who is the target audience of this article.
This is not an evangelizing instrument. You’re past the necessity for that if you have reached this far.
If you are satisfied with your current depth of knowledge, why go any further?
Also, if you think it will be a waste of time, this article is not for you. Perhaps you are right, it may be a waste of time. But perhaps you’re just not ready, yet, so why not keep it on the back-burner. The choice is yours.
Intelligence, or lack of it, is not the issue. It is interest. My experience has been, if I show interest, the Holy Spirit will show something interesting.
Who are the main protagonists?
° Jesus: a Jew, a Rabbi, someone Who would be expected to know the Tanakh.
° The Religious Glitterati: Priests, Scribes and Pharisees; Jews who also would be expected to know the Tanakh.
Who are the main audience?
The Jewish crowd in the Temple were only fleeting because, sooner-or-later, they all would no longer be obliged to pay taxes.
History shows the episode was recorded for posterity — you and I.
The location of the episode.
This Figure shows a layout of Herod’s Temple. I take the accuracy at face value.
It is written in John 8:2 that Jesus came to/into the Temple. (The Greek preposition could be either of these.) Examining the Figure above shows that there were places in the Temple that were restricted to certain classes of people. There are different opinions concerning the entry of Gentiles but, at that time, Jesus’s Message was for the Jews. (Check it out. Don’t believe me.) It seems that He was the Main Attraction in town and pulled a mixed-sex crowd that would need room.
The inside of the soreg fence (yellow shaded area) seems a racing certainty [that is, the horse probably will win but could fall over at the finishing line].
Because of the amount of traffic around the Temple wouldn’t it be reasonable to expect that the area would be paved? Especially because the three compulsory Feasts — Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles — would bring multitudes of people.
If it rained that area would become a quagmire.
True . . . if it rained.
The almost universal English word used is, “ground,” and some translations say, “dust.” It is written in John 8:6 || This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground (G1093 — gē).
G1093 — gē, noun = ground/land/earth → natural surface.
However, examination of Genesis 2:7 in the LXX shows that both dust (G5522 — chous) and ground (G1093 — gē) are used in the same phrase, dust of the ground, so there is a distinction. Also, the context of Genesis 2:7 would not include paving so the case can be made that the area in the Temple was natural surface. This conclusion is further enhanced because a word-search on the Greek words for dust, cobble stone, paving, covering, and similar words show that none of these occur anywhere in the Book of John.
But what about the rain?
A simple explanation of the rainy seasons in Israel shows that they are intricately scheduled to provide Dry Windows for the compulsory Feasts. (And remember it is written in Leviticus 23:1 that Yehovah says, “These are My feasts.” It is not unreasonable to deduce that He can arrange such things.) The paving would not be necessary.
So what?
Based on the discovered evidence, it seems reasonable to deduce that the area where Jesus was rudely interrupted in His Teaching was an expanse of barren land.
The context of the narrative makes it clear that those who interrupted Him held the positions of Shepherds intended by Yehovah to protect, and tend to, His Sheep but were actually wolves in sheep’s clothing doing the exact opposite.
(You may disagree.)
Ho hum, big deal.
Referring back to Schematic 2, is there anywhere else it is written about writing on the ground in NT that may provide a clue to what is going on here?
Methodology
The only way to reliably do this is to use the language provided by the Holy Spirit. (No time will be wasted here arguing about languages other than Hebrew or Greek. Hyper-intellectuals [hypo-intellectuals?] can argue with God as you stand before Him on Judgement Day.) Personal experience is that doing word-searches using only English, because of translation differences in different Bible versions, misses many important things which, in turn, accidentally leads to Doctrine-by-ignorance.
Blue Letter Bible has the capability to conduct such a search.
It is written in John 8:6 || τοῦτο δὲ ἔλεγον πειράζοντες αὐτόν ἵνα ἔχωσιν κατηγορεῖν αὐτοῦ ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς κάτω κύψας τῷ δακτύλῳ ἔγραφεν εἰς τὴν γῆν
ἔγραφεν εἰς τὴν γῆν occurs twice in Textus Receptus, both in John 8, adjacent, as shown here.
Not much joy there. What about the LXX?
Yes, there is one result, Jeremiah 17:13, shown here with a literal translation.
In English it is written in Jeremiah 17:13 || O Lord, the hope of Israel, All who forsake You shall be ashamed. “Those who depart from Me [i.e. YHVH] Shall be written in the ground [G1093 — gē], Because they have forsaken the Lord, The fountain of living waters.” [Being written in the Rock will be addressed later.]
What is the gist of Jeremiah 17?
In the Book of Jeremiah, HaShem has nothing good to say about those exercising the authority He intended for the Shepherds of His Sheep. They were wolves in sheep’s clothing, and they were deliberately defying God by opposing His chosen vessel, Jeremiah.
Hmmm. Sounds familiar to the incident in John 8 — a prequel, even.
Hearing the unspoken word
One of the significant influences on my technical understanding on the Written Word of the Living Word of God has been Dr Baruch Korman of the Zera Avraham Institute (LoveIsrael.org). His credentials are unique. Technically, a Complete Jew, that is a born-&-bred Jew who has discovered Jesus Messiah. He is bi-lingual English/Hebrew and fluent in Koinonia Greek, having completed a PhD studying the translation of the Hebrew Tanakh to the Greek Septuagint. On top of that, he is an ordained Orthodox Rabbi. He flows between Greek, English, Hebrew, Judaism and Christianity, seamlessly. He often speaks of hearing the words unspoken. A simple example of this is when someone reads/hears you name, they ‘hear’ the picture they have in their mind which comes from their experience with you — how you look, how you behave, etc. — it is instant, it can’t be stopped. Every Culture has its peculiar vocabulary of words unspoken. That is why some phrases do not slide seamlessly across the borders of languages.
This conversation was Hebrew↔Hebrew and this Religious Glitterati were well drilled in the Tanakh so it is not unreasonable to deduce that they picked up on Jesus’s nuances.
How can I make such a statement?
It is written in Matthew 2:4|| And when he (i.e. King Herod) had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
THEY KNEW WHERE TO GO AND KILL THE YOUNG BOYS!
And what did they hear?
Dr Baruch’s Teaching, with its particularly unique blend of Jew/Judaism/Hebrew/American/Greek/Christ raised in USA and living/teaching in Israel Cultural insights, implies that the Religious Glitterati would hear the Words Unspoken by Jesus when He wrote in the barren, desolate ground. They would shuffle forward and see what was written. The sight of only one familiar name from the group would be enough to send them scurrying because Jeremiah 17:13 describes the situation, and Jeremiah 17:6 proclaims the Prophecy || For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, And shall not see when good comes, But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, In a salt land which is not inhabited.
What triggered the minor Exodus?
The spiritually deep interpretation of 17:6 +17:13 is summarized in Jeremiah 23:1–2 || “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” says the Lord. Therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel against the shepherds who feed My people: “You have scattered My flock, driven them away, and not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your doings,” says the Lord.”
And it is written in John 3:18–20 || “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.
The structure of the text is that only the false prophets, scribes, and Pharisees left. The LIGHT had arrived but their hearts were hard and Jeremiah 17:6 was active. The vermin and pestilence were now scampering toward the darkness. The oldest left first because they were the Teachers of the teachers and knew the Tanakh best.
But the Gospel of John, and the Book of The Acts, showed that not all the Jewish Glitterati were bad dudes. Interestingly, there is no mention of any Sadducees coming to Christ; but lots of Pharisees.
Again, so what?
To most people, this would not mean much. But those who see themselves as the modern day versions of prophets, scribes, and Pharisees should have itchy bums right now.
Perhaps you disagree?
Let me know.
What happens to those whose names God writes, but not in the Earth?
That’s the next cab off the rank. But I can’t promise when.
The forgoing evidence has not been presented to convince any reader but to allow a personal decision to be made. There is much more to know about this subject. Perhaps you’ll pay another visit, sometime. If you have seen something you like, I encourage plagiarism. So, always check everything I say first, then please re-cycle, re-brand, re-structure, re-issue, re-label, or re-gurgitate in any manner you please. No need to acknowledge me because the Holy Spirit Who holds the Intellectual Rights.
All Glory to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
(We all have a plank in our eye. It’s bigger than we think.)
