Hebraic Studies - Looking at Tehillim - Psalm 105 verse 8
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Note: On this
page I may show the four letter blessed *“Memorial
Name” of the Almighty in Ivrit - 
- Y-H-V-H, which we
usually pronounce as “Adonai” or “HaShem”.
At all times treat the most blessed Name with sanctity and when we even see the
Name, we should say “blessed be His Sanctified Name.”
*“This
is My Name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.” Shemot - Exodus 3:15.
On this site I will
mostly use a version based on the “Jewish Publication Society”
Although some minor
alterations have been made only relating to names and attributes having been
corrected
(Y-H-V-H) our Elohim; His judgments are in all
the earth. He hath remembered His covenant forever, the word
which He commanded to a thousand generations” Tehillim – Psalms
105:7-8 (JPS).
“ZaChar LeOlam BeRito DaVar TziVah LeElef Dor”
A Hebrew- transliteration of Tehillim - Psalms 105 verse 8 as seen above
You will note that the word “forever” is used, obviously, even in our understanding that should mean what it says, but not according to theologians and the church, for they believe that YaHVaH’s Covenant has now been abolished. Thus Elohim’s “forever” does not seem to hold much ground with the church hierarchy!
However in Hebrew the word “forever”
is 
“olam”, which also
translates as “eternity,” “eternal,”
“Universe,” “without end.” And there is
much more, however for now I would say that you are getting the picture.
Yet over the years, there have been many who have asked me; “But why does it state in the second part of this verse that it is only ‘for a thousand generations.’ Does this not mean there is a time limit?”
If you have asked this question, be assured it is a very good and a valid question, however I would like to provide you with three very important points that I will list below;
These three powerful points are vital for us to understand what was written thousands of years ago, in this day and age, for as we should well know, languages and understanding have dramatically changed, as have times and traditions, and this is logical. Thus when we read our wonderful Tanakh, we usually will read very much with a modern or a current understanding. But I have to tell you that there is a much better way, and that is why I am providing you with these three points of understanding!
These are the three levels
of understanding which our Elohim, blessed be He, has given to us in His Tanakh:
Elohim,
blessed be His Sanctified Name, is telling us through His chosen Prophets.
1. Who was
Elohim, blessed be His Sanctified Name, speaking
to?
2. When
was it said?
3. How was
His Word understood at the time it was spoken/given?
I do believe that these three points are very relevant to our understanding of 1. What the Creator was saying at the time - 2. And if we look back and realise the conditions we may gain the understanding of those times, thus it should give us a much better idea of what it means to us today - and 3. Especially to you and me in these modern days!
Remember, Elohim, blessed be He, was not speaking to those that had received a high education, or had the kind of knowledge that we have today, for obviously things and the world has dramatically changed in so many ways.
In regard to the Tehillim - Psalm we are
covering, we need to remember that Elohim, blessed be His
Sanctified Name, was speaking to Yisroel through the Psalmist and they at the
time of hearing it they had a certain far more simple understanding, and that
as I said was obviously very different to our understanding today. I mean, if
you could transport yourself back to London in the
600’s I can assure you that you would not understand a single word of the
English they were speaking then, not even another 600 years later in the year 1200,
for the language would have changed again over time as we, I am sure, will
know. And for many, this has even occurred in our very own generation, for I
know in my rather advanced age that many words have changed their meanings, for
example in the roaring twenties through to the sixties, the words “having
a gay time” simply meant having a happy and a wonderful time, but today
it has a completely different implication altogether! And so it is with
countless other words! Therefore, language and general understanding has
dramatically changed over time. I am not sure if you are aware, but the Ivrit we
read today is not in the original Ivrit script. The original was an ancient
script known as “Ktav Ivri” also known as the
“Paleo-Hebrew” alphabet. The current Ivrit script is known
as “Ktav Ashurit” or literally, the “Assyrian
script”. It closely resembles the ancient Aramaic alphabet and became
adopted by us Hebrews shortly after we were exiled to Babylonia after the
destruction of the First 
“Hechal” -
Paleo-Ivrit seen on the Scroll of Vayikra - Leviticus
It is located at the “Israel Antiquities Authority” at Yerushalayim
Thus we will understand that time and understanding has changed a great deal and we must be prayerful and seek Elohim’s understanding, blessed be He.
In the Tehillim we are covering we need to
understand that the (ha)... B'Nei Yisroel -
- the Children of Israel
would have been overwhelmed by the statement “Olam” being
“Forever”, for Elohim, blessed be He, was saying then that
“His covenant” with Yisroel - Israel would be “Eternal ”. And let us be honest, even with all the knowledge
available to us, combined with the advanced technology and the exploration of
outer space and the depths of the oceans, etc, no one can still measure or
comprehend “Eternity”!
Therefore Elohim,
blessed be His Sanctified Name, gave Yisroel
an understandable insight to what eternity could possibly be, but He did so
according to their comprehension at their time, by using what they clearly
understood then, and that is why this phrase was added; “the Word He
commanded, for a THOUSAND GENERATIONS.”
As we know, the Hebrew alphabet is numerical and at the time when this was given, we need to understand that the highest numerical denominator was a maximum of 1,000, (as was confirmed to me by a senior teacher at the Yerushalayim Hebrew University (where my book is in their library) therefore what Elohim was saying to Yisroel in this verse, and I am rephrasing it sort of to their understanding some thousands of years ago, “My Covenant is eternal, OK, you cannot comprehend that, well it is as far as you can possibly count 1,000!”
Having said that, you can imagine it was like
saying a million trillion years, for that number would have been something huge
for one thousand was the ultimate number. But then Elohim,
blessed be His Sanctified Name, added something even more powerful when He added
the word “GENERATIONS.”
However, there is something else that we need
to understand regarding the word “thousand.” The truth is that
using “thousand” just by itself would have been sufficient to
communicate “forever” or
“eternity,” and
OK, if a “thousand” was already sufficient to communicate “forever” why then did our Elohim; blessed be He, need to add the word “Generations?”
We clearly know from the Torah that one
generation is regarded as 40 Years, as we all know that - the Children of Israel spent 40
years in the wilderness, for the generation that departed Mitzraim - Egypt due
to their sin at Mt. Horeb etc, were not permitted to enter the “Land of
Milk and Honey”, for it was the next generation, Yahushua – Joshua
and the new generation entered and they surrounded Yericho - Jericho and having
marched around the city seven times blowing their Shofar’s the city wall
fell down!
Thus I am sure that you can now begin to imagine what the Almighty was saying to Yisroel when he added the word “Generations”, and believe me, it would have astounded them, for He had not only given them the highest number that they could possibly count to, but Elohim had now added “Generations” on top of that, and not one generation, but “A THOUSAND GENERATIONS.” Can you imagine what 1,000 times 40 years would have meant to them at that time, that would have really given them a kind of picture of what eternity really could be, in fact even now 40,000 years sounds like an eternity, does it not, for we are living in 2022? Although we may have a clearer understanding of time as we are living in the space age, but still our lives are so short, it is still incomprehensible! Can you imagine if Elohim gave them details of outer space, etc, that would have been completely beyond their comprehension!
Thus you can see what has occurred here, it
has become a number that is far beyond ancient
Have played with words and then make them mean
something they are not, just to justify the 1000’ds of man-made laws they
have created, and sadly these so called ‘Oral Laws’ which are NOT
from our Elohim, are 100% man made and sadly they tend to hide the very heart
of what was given to us in the sacred Torah by Elohim,
blessed be His Sanctified Name!
Remember what we were told in Devarim - Deuteronomy 4: verse 2, and chapter 5: verses 28-29.
“Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish from it, that ye
may keep the commandments of your
Elohim which I command you” Devarim - Deuteronomy 4:2 (JPS).
your
Elohim hath commanded you, that
ye may live, and that it may be well with you” Devarim - Deuteronomy 5:28-29 (JPS).
Tragically Elohim knew that man would
interfere with what He had given and thus on various occasions clearly stated
“Ye shall not add unto the word which I
command you, neither
shall ye diminish from it” yet they still altered what Elohim, blessed be His Sanctified Name, had so
clearly stated.
For those who have not been to Shul for a long time, yet you have a yearning to learn more about the Torah and grow in being a good and faithful Jew, why not read the other studies online as well as the guides on top of the Main Index.
Elohim, blessed be His Sanctified Name, is the
one who gave us our Life!”
Rabbi
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