A Living and Active Language
A Baptist might “steer” a word in the direction of baptist theology. The Methodist in the direction of Methodist theology. A Mormon might reign in a word to fit theirs. A Catholic, a Muslim, even a Hebrew professor might do it. Different Jewish sects have done it for ages. The Masoretes did it 1200 years ago to an extent unheard of—adding over 1,300,000 pronunciation marks and changing over 1300 words. Even the Greek Septuagint translation contains translation bias and even paraphrasing. This tendency to shape interpretations is a reflection of human bias and the desire to find meaning that aligns with one’s beliefs and/or traditions. It is essential to recognize bias in translation methodology because what we are ultimately after is life and peace.
The RBT Project is an endeavor to uncover and rebuild the long-hidden “ruins” of the ancient languages as written. It bypasses the mess of Masorete markings, and researches the scripture as it was penned.
For centuries scholars have been perplexed at the undecipherable “accusative of time and place” within the language of Hebrew. This is because they have presupposed it as an earthly language written with an earthly bias. An earthly language of men like Greek has obvious syntax for the accusative of space and time. But how does an eternal language speak in the accusative of time and place, when what is eternal is, by definition, beyond place and beyond time?
The RBT understands (has a bias) that everything—the syntactics, markups, etymological meanings, and lexicographical particles, the difficult phrases, as well as “untranslatable words” found in the sacred texts are intentional. When a poem is written, the poet is writing in an intended style, way, or pattern. And so also the prophet.
Writing from Tomorrow?
It is predicated on the belief that the Hebrew language itself is sourced from an eternal “frame of mind”, that is, living and active beyond space-time constraints. Is it even possible to communicate anything coherent in such a way? And what are the implications upon a body of literature? Most philological studies don’t take into consideration such a frame of thinking. If one were to attempt to write some letter from the standpoint of tomorrow, what would it look like? Is it even possible? But before any such theoretical idea can be proven, one has to put himself into that linguistic frame of mind, then he may read and translate, and find out.
Tokens of Meaning
With the RBT, a concerted effort is made to consistently translate Hebrew words in a way that keeps them distinct from one another, thus preserving the unique definitions as much as possible. A word represents a constructed sequence of letters that conveys a specific meaning. For example, miqneh (#4735), behemah (#929), and beir (#1165) are often inconsistently translated with similar terms (livestock, cattle, herd, beast, wild beast, etc.). Such translation practices assume that words are chosen without careful consideration or serve little literary purpose in their own right. Take the Hebrew word nephesh, for instance, which means “breath” but is translated in various ways in the NASB, most notably as “soul.”
any (1), anyone (2), anyone* (1), appetite (7), being (1), beings (3), body (1), breath (1), corpse (2), creature (6), creatures (3), dead (1), dead person (2), deadly (1), death (1), defenseless* (1), desire (12), desire* (2), discontented* (1), endure* (1), feelings (1), fierce* (2), greedy* (1), heart (5), heart’s (2), herself (12), Himself (4), himself (19), human (1), human being (1), hunger (1), life (146), life* (1), lifeblood* (2), lives (34), living creature (1), longing* (1), man (4), man’s (1), men* (2), mind (2), Myself (3), myself (2), number (1), ones (1), others (1), ourselves (3), own (1), passion* (1), people (2), people* (1), perfume* (1), person (68), person* (1), persons (19), slave (1), some (1), soul (238), soul’s (1), souls (12), strength (1), themselves (6), thirst (1), throat (2), will (1), wish (1), wishes (1), yourself (11), yourselves (13).
This results in roughly eighty English expressions being employed to represent a single Hebrew term. Translators often presume that “breath” can encompass a multitude of meanings and have generally favored broader, more figurative definitions over retaining the original Hebrew word itself, such as “nephesh.” However, this methodology presumes the Hebrew language evolved over time from pictorial glyphs just like any other, and was functionally used just like any other. It overlooks the notion that through Moses a “language from heaven” breaking all normal linguistic conventions was inaugurated, even utilizing its ancient Phonician elements.
The RBT translation minimizes the inclusion of fill words. If something doesn’t make sense, we don’t add words to make it make sense. We look closer for the sense. Adding words to make sense of something that otherwise doesn’t make sense, is cheating.
A Book of Dark(ened) Sayings, Brought to Light
Rather than distancing from or concealing the cryptic intricacies within the language, this translation immerses the reader in the enigmatic, heavenly thought pattern of “all in one” as simply as possible, that, being from heaven, ought to engender heavenly light—he who has an ear to hear, let him hear.
The primary aim is to eliminate the “bias of the flesh”—earthly preconception, agenda, speculation, and interpretation—from the translation process, preserving the etymological or lexicographical meanings as they are known. This allows readers a chance to understand dark texts for themselves. Let the reader understand (Matt. 24:15). Biblical Hebrew fundamentally challenges modern theoretical notions of linguistics and authorship. For example, what is the purpose of writing a letter in reverse?
נ ׆
“The primary set of inverted nuns is found surrounding the text of Numbers 10:35–36.” Are they a textual-critical mark? An editorial annotation? Are they brackets denoting a separate “lost” book and thus signifying that there are actually seven books of the Torah as the Talmud states? The dispute over the meaning is an interesting one. Cf. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_nun)
Perhaps the inverted nun speaks of something heavenly? A dark mystery? In essence, this translation doesn’t rely on individuals “figuring it out” through contextual reasoning. Instead, akin to Jesus eluding the crowd, it skillfully avoids attempts by modern scribes to manipulate the text to serve an agenda. Instead, it seeks to present the text in its raw, unfiltered form, revealing the narratives to be far more profound than previously believed. Many translations over the past two millennia have been marred by presuppositions and traditions. Reading these concretely translated words allows readers to place themselves more closely into a “heavenly context” to determine the intended message, eliminating authoritarian bias that has pervaded many translations.
The Greek New Testament has also been subject to agendas, traditions, and religious interpretations. Key words like “face of genesis,” “new woman,” “up-born,” “deep-knowledge,” “enigma,” and “wheel of genesis,” “zoe-life,” “psyche,” “throw-down” are not translated as such. The RBT adheres closely to concrete definitions, using classical Greek definitions rather than “contextualized,” “extended,” “tropical,” or “elliptical” definitions.
Importance of Hebrew Syntax: Ishmael and Isaac as a Seed of One
Take another look at Galatians 4:28-29 in the unfiltered literal translation, and you’ll notice that the distinctions between Isaac and Ishmael might not be as clear as previously believed:
“and you brothers, according to Isaac [whose name means He Laughs], are children of a promise. But just as at that time the one who was generated according to flesh was chasing the one according to the spirit, in this manner also now.” Galatians 4:28-29 RBT
“The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its voice, but you know not where it comes from or where it goes forth, thus is the whole of those begotten from the Spirit.” John 3:8 literal
Genesis 21:12-13 poignantly describes the promises to both Isaac and Ishmael:
“…for in He-Laughs [Isaac] a seed is being called to-you. And also, אֶת-the son of the Slavewoman to a nation I am placing [Ishmael] him, for your seed is him [Ishmael].” Genesis 21:12-13 RBT
Notice how the text points to Ishmael as being the seed of Abraham, while Isaac is also the seed of Abraham.
“And to Abraham were spoken the promises and to his seed. It does not say ‘And to the seeds, as of many, but as of one, ‘And to your seed’ which is Christ.” Galatians 3:16 RBT
Is Paul here saying that Ishmael and Isaac are an allegory of one and the same seed? No commentator or scholar has ever understood how Ishmael “persecuted” Isaac because there is no mention of such an event in the Genesis narrative. In fact, the mystery becomes even stranger when we read Genesis 21:9 (the textual basis of the assumption of Ishmael “persecuting” Isaac) in the literal:
“And Noblewoman [Sarah] is seeing אֶת-the son of Hagar of Dual-Siege [Egypt], whom she has borne to Father-of-Multitude [Abraham], is he-who-laughs.”
The author is referring to Ishmael in the participle “he who laughs,” which happens to also be the meaning of the name Isaac. Could it be that Paul sees Ishmael as an allegory of the body of Christ and seed of Abraham, and sees Isaac as an allegory of the heavenly Christ, the same seed as of one? In any case, it is important to recognize here that the Apostle Paul is pointing to seemingly minute Hebrew syntax to reveal deeper knowledge.
Hebrew as Beyond Time and Place: To become, First, Last, Beginning, End
One of the most profound mysteries lies in how the ancient Hebrew language approaches the accusative of time and space. The existing scholarship on this topic is sorely lacking and remains inconclusive. It’s worth noting that even today, astrophysicists grapple with understanding space-time, and theories proposed by brilliant minds since Einstein are truly mind-boggling.
One of the most often overlooked aspects by translators is the absence of distinct past, present, or future tenses in Hebrew verbs. Instead, Hebrew employs “complete” and “incomplete” forms. Translators have traditionally assumed that these forms were merely linguistic limitations and that the ancient writers used them to convey a past, present, or future “sense.” Interpreting the precise sense was left to context and educated guesses. However, it is uncertain to them whether the ancients even conceptualized time in a past-present-future framework. This is because the design of Hebrew was meant to be, as the very definition of ‘Hebrew’ signifies, from beyond.
In the case of the “Complete/Incomplete” forms presented in the RBT translation, we aim to emphasize, rather than obscure, the distinction between them as much as English allows. This approach helps to vividly differentiate between a finished or complete action and an ongoing or incomplete one. Traditionally, modern tenses have been ascribed to Hebrew verbs based on contextual factors like prepositions, adverbs, dialogue, etc., rather than the verb conjugation itself.
The Hebrew language seems to perceive heavenly time as a singular unit—both “before” and “after.” A more fitting analogy might be to envision time as encompassing us from both the front and behind, akin to two horizons or as a continuous, circular flow of water. This concept could be likened to a ring of water flowing in opposite directions from a single source. The Hebrew text subtly alludes to these images and patterns repeatedly. This perspective differs significantly from our Western linear notion of plotting points from left to right. It’s evident that Hebrew thought was fundamentally different from ours. They saw Genesis as the past and future, and their concept of “now” and “today” held profound significance. Time was perceived in terms of completeness or incompleteness, a notion which is challenging to grasp in lieu of our conventional understanding of time. Consequently, comprehending and translating the Hebrew accusative of time and space has consistently posed a conundrum for scholars and translators because it doesn’t align with Western notions of time.*
Likewise, the Hebrew Scriptures appear to offer durations of time when we, in our modern context, seek specific points in time. This also extends to place versus direction, such as north, west, east, and south. Even Sheol (commonly referred to as Hell) is not depicted as a precise or terminative point or location but rather as a terminative direction (see note at Genesis 37:35 in RBT).
The Hebrew Scriptures may have been written from right to left for a purpose. What we perceive as moving forward may, in the Hebrew mindset, be akin to moving backward. Throughout the scriptures, a conspicuous literary “game” or cryptic element is discernible, involving inverse thought, opposites, reflection, type and antitype, doubles, pairs, and twins. The question, and perhaps the hidden truth, remains: What did we miss? Many words are found in the enigmatic dual or pair form, signifying that they are neither singular nor plural. These words include “eyes,” “waters,” “heavens,” “loins,” “breasts,” “feet,” “double,” “nostrils,” “footsteps,” “wings,” and more. Even words like “stones” and “Jerusalem” occasionally appear in the dual form, adding to the enigmatic “dual” nature of the language.
Time and space seem to be subject to this intricate literary enigma of the eternal, as exemplified by the words in Ecclesiastes 3:15: “Who is he who has become? He is long ago. And who is to become? He has become long ago. And the Elohim is seeking him who is chased [persecuted].” (Ecclesiastes 3:15 RBT)
A statement like this gains coherence if we envision time as a wheel with the eternal “above” in the middle of it. This gives rise to the Hebrew notion of here—there—and back to here again. This three-part, time-defying enigma is also evident in Jesus’ words regarding John: “he is Elijah, who was, who is about to come” (Matt. 11:14). On the surface, it appears that Jesus is suggesting that John occupies two (or even three) “places” in time simultaneously, with the man in the middle not actually within a place in time, but eternally in the middle. If so, he would form his own “trinity”, no? One, two, three, with the man in the middle.
Sign אות. Like a trinity of existence? Two born within time, and the eternal one in the middle.
To grasp this ancient Hebrew concept of space-time, we must consider the idea of a circular time continuum, and even then, it remains a challenging concept to grasp. But therein we read the Bible telling us that we must “grasp” the eternal. Scholars and translators have struggled to comprehend these Hebrew notions, resulting in translations that often miss these subtleties of syntax.
Julia Smith and Robert Young are some exceptions, as they attempted to preserve this strange aspect of the language in the Smith Parker Translation and Young’s Literal Translation (YLT) respectively. However, throughout history, many Christian scholars have regarded the transition from the Hebrew Bible to the Greek New Testament as grounds for deeming Hebrew thought outdated or irrelevant for contemporary understanding. Consequently, they replaced the enigmatic writing style of the Bible with a “watered down” narratives, focusing on particular “messages” of “well known stories.”
Yet the Hebrew writers seemed to have viewed the beginning as also the end. From the eternal vantage point, the beginning is also the end. This concept appears to be illustrated through various picture-enigmas in Ecclesiastes 1:1-11, in the words of Hagar, and even in the organized arrangement of Jacob’s family as they crossed over a torrent-valley in Genesis 33. Ecclesiastes was intended to be read literally, as the author skillfully crafted riddle-like sayings throughout the text:
Vapor[Abel #1892] of vapors, the gatherer has said, vapor of vapors: the Whole is vapor.
What is the profit to the Adam in the whole of his labor who labors below the Sun?
A generation walking, and a generation coming in, and the Earth to the eternal is she-who-stands-firm.
And the Sun has broken forth, and the Sun has come in. And toward his standing-place he is panting [running the race, Ps. 19:5, Heb. 12:1], he-who-breaks-forth is himself there.
He-who-walks toward freedom [south/right] and he-who-circles-around towards hidden [north/left], he-who-circles, he-who-circles, he-who-walks is the Wind, and upon his circuit the Wind is he-who-turns-back [cf. John 3:8].
The whole of the Brooks are those-who-walk toward the Sea, and the Sea is not full [satiated]. Toward a standing-place which the Brooks are those-who-walk there, they are those-turning-back to walk.
The whole of the Words are tired. A man is not able to speak [mute]. An eye is not satisfied to see [blind]. An ear is not filled to hear [deaf].Who is he who HAS BECOME? He who IS BECOMING. And who is he who has been made? He who is being made. And nothing of the whole is new underneath the sun.
Is there a word of whom he is saying, ‘See, this one is new’? Himself HAS BECOME long-ago to the ages, whom HAS BECOME from-to our faces [from our faces to our faces, 1 Cor. 13:12]. There is no remembrance [foresight] to the First Ones; and also to the Last Ones WHO ARE BECOMING. HE IS BECOMING not to them a remembrance with those WHO ARE BECOMING to the Last One.”Ecclesiastes 1:2-11 RBT
This Hebrew literal is not easy to understand. But notice how Ecclesiastes 1 is full of participle verbs which speak of actions with specific pronominal suffixes (he/she/them), but without any definite indication of time or place. The participle form in Hebrew is absent of any accusative of time or place. The Hebrew participle is often called a “non-finite” verb form. In other words, it carries a timeless sense.
Accordingly, each circuit would be considered a “remembrance” just like each day is a called a memory. Imagine yourself walking into a memory. We call such an experience déjà vu. It has happened “before”. The whole Hebrew Bible is structured in this manner. What is becoming, and about to become, and has already become “long ago”. That is the essence of the “eternal,” and those born of the eternal.
The wind is he-who-makes his circuit, the words are recorded in “history,” and then they are fulfilled, exactly, for what has been made is he who is being made, i.e what is complete is yet being completed. From his face, to his own face. The thinking of the Hebrew Scriptures is not based on then, but right now as the Sabbath Day is called “Today” and thus “Today, if you hear the voice of himself” (Heb. 3:7,15 4:7, Ps. 95:7). And the idea of “Heaven” is such that then and now are one. Or should be. Behold, now is the time of favor [a bending down]; behold, now is the day of salvation.
Notes:
*See Meek, Theophile James. “The Hebrew Accusative of Time and Place.” Journal of the American Oriental Society 60, no. 2 (1940): 224-33. doi:10.2307/594010.