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Shalom. Everyone has heard it and most know it’s the common phrase for both hello and goodbye. But it includes the deepest and most unsuspected meaning you’ll never guess. Discover it now.
This is the final lesson or chapter in the course Unlock Bible Meaning with 7 Keys to Master Biblical Hebrew. Thirty-five lessons later, we have come a long way. However, in some ways, it’s a very short path. Let me explain. The first Key was each SINGLE Biblical Hebrew word has MULTIPLE translations. This last key is the MULTIPLE translations all tell ONE story. Keys two through six simply explain WHY we have multiple translations. The nuances of each word express contradictory (Key 2), abstract (3), figurative (4), names (5), and roots (6).
Keys 1 and 7 contain the crux of the matter. One Biblical Hebrew word renders all the nuances of the puzzle piece. All the nuances tell one and only one story of the word, the puzzle piece. Once we discover the full story of each piece, we assemble it with the other pieces to get a complete and perfect image. The Explanation calls this Coherent Completeness. That is true theology. Why? Because God has only ONE purpose for the Creation of the Universe, Earth, and humankind on this planet.
Shalom encapsulates the entire purpose of God for humankind. One word, with all its nuances, tells this unique story.
The first time we encounter this word is in Genesis, fittingly referring to Abraham. Why fittingly? Because he is the father of the faithful. He is the first one to be blessed with the fulness of shalom.
And you (Abraham) shall go to your fathers in peace (shalom H7965); you shall be buried in a good old age.
You know the exercise. Go over to UnlockBibleMeaning.com, find the reference in Genesis, switch to Strong’s and verify H7675. Look up the root (H7999). Also, click on “next 5” after both H7675 and H7999 and read the translations of the Hebrew words with the same root letters of shalom (שָׁלַם). Then, meditate on all those meanings and BUILD ONE STORY. When you do that, first you’ll be dumbfounded (I guarantee you) by the depth of the story of shalom. Second, you will know how to unlock Bible meaning and the value of the 7 Keys to Master Biblical Hebrew.
Don’t read any further …. Do the exercise now :).
Biblical Hebrew words for SHALOM
שָׁלוֹם shâlôwm shaw-lome’; or שָׁלֹם; from H7999 (שָׁלַם); safe, i.e. (figuratively) well, happy, friendly; also (abstractly) welfare, i.e. health, prosperity, peace:
KJV – ⨯ do, familiar, ⨯ fare, favour, + friend, ⨯ great, (good) health, ([idiom] perfect, such as be at) peace(-able, -ably), prosper(-ity, -ous), rest, safe(-ty), salute, welfare, ([idiom] all is, be) well, ⨯ wholly.
H7999
שָׁלַם shâlam shaw-lam’; a primitive root; to be safe (in mind, body or estate); figuratively, to be (causatively, make) completed; by implication, to be friendly; by extension, to reciprocate (in various applications):
KJV – make amends, (make an) end, finish, full, give again, make good, (re-) pay (again), (make) (to) (be at) peace(-able), that is perfect, perform, (make) prosper(-ous), recompense, render, requite, make restitution, restore, reward, ⨯ surely.
H7966
שִׁלּוּם shillûwm shil-loom’; or שִׁלֻּם; from H7999 (שָׁלַם); a requital, i.e. (secure) retribution, (venal) a fee:
KJV – recompense, reward.
H8000
שְׁלַם shᵉlam shel-am’; (Aramaic) corresponding to H7999 (שָׁלַם); to complete, to restore:
KJV – deliver, finish
H8001
שְׁלָם shᵉlâm shel-awm’; (Aramaic) corresponding to H7965 (שָׁלוֹם); prosperity:
KJV – peace.
H8002
שֶׁלֶם shelem sheh’-lem; from H7999 (שָׁלַם); properly, requital, i.e. a (voluntary) sacrifice in thanks:
KJV – peace offering.
H8003
שָׁלֵם shâlêm shaw-lame’; from H7999 (שָׁלַם); complete (literally or figuratively); especially friendly:
KJV – full, just, made ready, peaceable, perfect(-ed), quiet, Shalem (by mistake for a name), whole.
H8004
שָׁלֵם Shâlêm shaw-lame’; the same as H8003 (שָׁלֵם); peaceful; Shalem, an early name of Jerusalem:
KJV – Salem.
H8005
שִׁלֵּם shillêm shil-lame’; from H7999 (שָׁלַם); requital:
KJV – recompense.
I suggest you read Strong’s annotations, realizing that none of it is inspired like Scripture is (2 Tim. 3:16). But he does have valuable insights and synonyms that can help to grasp the original meaning of a word better. Once you’ve located ALL the translations for shalom, (this could include other related roots and derivatives… which is not the case with shalom), simply lay them out in a list.
Here’s the list of words for shalom. Remember, the “+” and “x” in front of a word means it’s from the Revised or American Revised Standard Versions. These translations can be useful as well, I’ve included them below.
familiar, fare, favour, friend, great, (good) health, perfect, such as be at, peace(-able, -ably), prosper(-ity, -ous), rest, safe(-ty), salute, welfare, all is, be well, wholly.make amends, (make an) end, finish, full, give again, make good, (re-) pay (again), (make) (to) (be at) peace(-able), that is perfect, perform, (make) prosper(-ous), recompense, render, requite, make restitution, restore, reward, ⨯ surely.recompense, reward.deliver, finishpeace.peace offering.full, just, made ready, peaceable, perfect(-ed), quiet, Shalem (by mistake for a name), whole.Salemrecompense
Now, like we did with shabbat shabbat in the previous lesson, look for combinations and construct sentences that reveal aspects of God’s purpose. The 7th Key is ALL the translations, the nuances (the above list) of ONE (shalom) Biblical Hebrew word tells ONE story. You are now telling that story. A principle meaning of shalom is peace. What peace? Who is that peace? How do we receive that peace? Especially the spiritual peace? All these nuances/words answer those questions.
God created humans perfectly, to be safe, in good health, and prosperous. Adam and Eve quickly left that path.
But it’s God’s purpose to put humans back on the right track to finish and deliver them from their waywardness.
God sent His Son to make amends, pay in full, by restitution so that by His perfect peace offering humankind can be restored and rendered whole.
As Abraham was God’s friend, so can we be in His favor.
God’s purpose will be performed leading to safety, quiet, and welfare in the knowledge of God and ultimately a reward of peace in Salem
In your composed story, you will organize the translated words in italics for shalom differently than mine. But, we will all tell EXACTLY THE SAME STORY. That’s the coherent completeness of true theology. We have unlocked Bible meaning using 7th Key to Master Biblical Hebrew… with no fuss.
That’s the story of shalom. Amazing and so profound. Let’s point out the paradox. Every time the Jews, or anyone else for that matter, uses the greeting shalom, they are referring to Jesus Christ… and they don’t even know it. When God opens their eyes, they will immediately grasp this truth.
9 And David says, Let their (The Jews and Israelites) table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence to them:
10 Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway.
11 I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their (the Jews) fall salvation is come to the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.
15 For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?
16 For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.
17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were graffed in among them, and with them partake of the root and fatness of the olive tree;
23 And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again.
24 For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches (the Jews), be graffed into their own olive tree?
That is the incredible promise for the future, (Jer 31, Ezekiel 36…). In God’s time, according to His purpose.
All humans who, by their free will, fully accept the peace offering of God will have shalom. This is the fabulous future we can hold fast to and meditate right now and look forward to, with 100% hope, in the future. This keeps our mind sane in a crazy world.
Conclusion of this course
This unique Bible study method, Unlock Bible Meaning, with 7 Keys to Master Biblical Hebrew, takes you deep. In Key 1, we saw that most Biblical Hebrew words have many, even up to 50 different translations. In Key 7, we see that these words with the same root (shevet) and different related roots (shoov) ALL tie together to unlock Bible meaning. The Explanation uses the analogy of a puzzle piece where the contour represents the various curves and bends of all the associated words. This creates the unique shape of each piece, which has its one and only place in the puzzle. When you assemble them, you get one clear, focused image of the purpose of God. This is unlocking the Bible’s meaning.
I submit two points to you for reflection, knowing we’ve barely scratched the surface of this puzzle, although the greeting shabbat shalom gives you a wonderful outline of God’s plan for humankind.
- About 40 authors composed the Bible over some 1500 years (about 1400 BC – 90 AD). They came from various backgrounds and didn’t know each other. How could human authors use Biblical Hebrew and other language words in such a way to reach coherent completeness?
- Is this coherent completeness in the vocabulary revealing the purpose of God for humankind evidence that the Bible is an inspired book? We ought to ponder that question with an open and inquisitive mind. Should we criticize it at our first misunderstanding? Or should we take a closer look? Now, with your understanding of the problem of native language translations, you realize and know how to begin to look into Biblical Hebrew.
This course has opened your mind to answers to both of those questions. I would ask you to write a comment and tell students what you gained from this course, not so much in learning Biblical Hebrew but in unlocking Bible meaning. That was and is our goal more than ever. Maybe a ‘how you felt about your Bible knowledge and Biblical Hebrew before and after the course.’ A couple of sentences, or more, would be very helpful. 😊
You can pursue your study with more courses where we take this base and study Genesis chronologically, verse-by-verse. The first three chapters are the curtain-raiser for the Story of Humankind. They reveal the characters and their interactions, the location, and plot that is still being played out in the 21st century. The Biblical Hebrew reveals the entire story in a nutshell in these opening chapters of Genesis. God shows the end result for humankind, right from the beginning.
You need to read this exciting, authentic, and validated story in the Bible with the 7 Book Series Commentary by The Explanation that beats Harry Potter, the Lord of the Rings… and all the other classics. Now you can deeply study the Bible and understand the mind of God.
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