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Contradictory meaning for the same Biblical Hebrew word is a tough concept to integrate into one’s thinking. Let’s see why it’s essential.

Key 2. Contradictory meanings. One Biblical Hebrew word includes conflicting meanings.

Key 2. Contradictory meanings. One Biblical Hebrew word includes conflicting meanings.

God is love. Why does He exterminate the world’s population at Noah’s flood and also admonish us to love our enemies? The correct answer unlocks Bible meaning. Key 2, contradictory meanings for the same Biblical Hebrew word, goes a long way to solving this mystery.

 

Contradictory meaning for words is present in the English language, but we pay little attention to it. The phenomenon even carries two names: Contronyms or autoantonyms. Funny, probably not, but both those words came up as errors in my spellcheck. Just goes to show how poorly known this concept is in our mother tongue. Here are a few examples of common words.

  • Left means either stay or leave: (contradictory meaning). If the ladies have retired to the sauna, who’s left? The ladies have left and the children are left.
  • Seed means remove or plant. Here’s a practical way to seed pomegranates. Come spring, you will seed your lawn.
  • Trim means decorate, in good shape or the contradictory meaning, to cut off and equalize. She walked out in a dress with gold trim followed by her dog, which was fit and trim. He had his hair trimmed.

Here are more detail and examples. This is practically unknown and untaught in English, even if it would make for some fun word games.

I dare say; it is even more unrecognized in Biblical Hebrew. This is probably the least known of the 7 keys to mastering Biblical Hebrew; certainly the most disconcerting. In the introduction to this course, I mentioned I took two years of online Biblical Hebrew studies with the Institute of Biblical Studies in Jerusalem. I felt the need to verify my study method because I hadn’t seen it expressed in these terms elsewhere. When I mentioned this point of a single word possessing opposite meanings, they didn’t agree. My claim surprised both fellow students and even the professor!

As we proceeded throughout the year, I pointed out some examples as we studied them for other purposes. By the end of the year, they could see this and were even pointing it out themselves. I had the verification I was looking for. You can be assured that each of the 7 Keys to master Biblical Hebrew is corroborated many times over. There are practical examples throughout the Bible. The goal of this course is to awaken your mind to their presence. This understanding unlocks Bible meaning.

Contradictory meaning is more present than one thinks. You must understand not only the concept but especially the consequences. I’d even say that understanding how God and humans function relates to Key 2 of mastering contradictory meanings in the language of the Bible.

Let’s see how contradictory meaning relates to everyday life. In Genesis 1:28, God gave humankind the primary purposes for which He placed them on Earth. They included two principal areas.

Genesis 1:28

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.

Everything humans accomplish, and only humans fall into these two fields. How we treat people and how we treat the planet. The contradictory nature of our dealings with our fellow humans and in ecology witness to the phenomenon’s worldwide existence.

In fact, these societal contradictions are the subjects of the two books Audit of the Universe and Audit of Humankind. The Explanation asks, is the glass of peace and prosperity on Earth getting fuller or emptier? Are relationships and rulership on our planet improving or degrading? This is the contradictory nature of human existence.

This contradictory meaning in Biblical Hebrew words reflects this dual nature in humans to cherish and demolish relationships. And to build or destroy our planet.

Why does God permit this? He could eliminate the evil, but He doesn’t. There’s an apparent inconsistency here. This contradiction is superficial even if Bible detractors jump on such supposed discrepancies. Contradictory meanings for the same Hebrew word will put us on the right track for adequate answers to such problems.

We’ll get into some down-to-earth examples of Key 2, the contradictory meaning of Biblical Hebrew words.

Exercise:

  • Go over to UnlockBibleMeaning.com.
  • Find Genesis 1:28.
  • Switch to Strong’s Concordance.
  • Verify subdue, H3533.

Do you see the contradictory nature of this word? You’re unlocking Bible meaning.

 

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