When a word with multiple meanings is encountered in a sentence, how does one discern which meaning is to be used?
Most people know that it is the usage within the sentence that tells us which meaning is intended by the author.
This issue keeps popping up and I thought I'd start a thread for this issue to avoid dragging other topics off course.
This thread is not restricted to any one word or verse in the Bible. I will be starting with Peg's favorite though, since it keeps popping up.
Yom in Genesis 1. Even after a
long discussion in the
Define literal vs non-literal. thread. Peg apparently still doesn't or won't understand how to discern which meaning of a multiple-meaning word is to be used within a sentence.
From
Message 136 in the
Is faith the answer to cognitive dissonance? thread:
Peg writes:
purpledawn writes:
The rules may be different, but there are rules and whatever rules are in place in Hebrew to determine which meaning is to be used when there is more than one meaning available is what we have to follow. You haven't even shown the pointers within the Hebrew rules.
what amazes me most is that in the very verse that says there was a 'first day', the yom is described as the 'light', and yet you continue to say that the gramma does not indicate that the yom is anything but a 24 hour time period.
According to the verse, the Yom is only the light....nothing to do with time at all.
Genesis 1:3 And Elohim said, Let there be light: and there was light [Tehillim 33:6,9].
4 And Elohim saw the light, that it was tov (good); and Elohim divided the ohr (light) from the choshech (darkness).
5 And Elohim called the light Yom (Day), and the darkness He called Lailah (Night). And the erev (evening) and the boker (morning) were Yom Echad (Day One, the First Day)
Peg, the usage within the sentence tells us which meaning to use. The first occurrence is the name of the light hours, the second occurrence refers to what we call a 24-hour day.
God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning--the first day.
Rules of Bible Interpretation
1) The rule of DEFINITION
Yom: From an unused root meaning to be hot; a day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset
(This refers to the name of the light hours), or from one sunset to the next
(This refers to what we call a 24-hour day)), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb) -- age, + always, + chronicals, continually(-ance), daily, ((birth-), each, to) day, (now a, two) days (agone), + elder, X end, + evening, + (for) ever(-lasting, -more), X full, life, as (so) long as (... Live), (even) now, + old, + outlived, + perpetually, presently, + remaineth, X required, season, X since, space, then, (process of) time, + as at other times, + in trouble, weather, (as) when, (a, the, within a) while (that), X whole (+ age), (full) year(-ly), + younger.
2) The rule of USAGE: It must be remembered that the Old Testament was written originally by, to and for Jews. The words and idioms must have been intelligible to them - just as the words of Christ when talking to them must have been.
As noted above, the common usage refers to the name of the light hours or what we call a 24-hour day.
3) The rule of CONTEXT: The meaning must be gathered from the context. Every word you read must be understood in the light of the words that come before and after it. Many passages will not be understood at all, or understood incorrectly, without the help afforded by the context.
The words around yom (night, day, evening, morning) are consistent with what we call a 24-hour day.
4) The rule of HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: The interpreter must have some awareness of the life and society of the times in which the Scripture was written. The spiritual principle will be timeless but often can't be properly appreciated without some knowledge of the background. If the interpreter can have in his mind what the writer had in his mind when he wrote - without adding any excess baggage from the interpreter's own culture or society - then the true thought of the Scripture can be captured resulting in an accurate interpretation. Oliver Wendell Holmes said, "Our only interest in the past is for the light it throws upon the present."
Ancient Egypt: The Father Of TimeSun Dial of Ahaz:
Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees, which is gone down in the sun dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So the sun returned ten degrees, by which degrees it was gone down. (Isaiah 38:8)
The Priestly writer was aware of a 24 hour day as was his audience. So they knew the length of a regular day.
5) The rule of LOGIC: Interpretation is merely logical reasoning. When interpreting Scripture, the use of reason is everywhere to be assumed. Does the interpretation make sense? The Bible was given to us in the form of human language and therefore appeals to human reason - it invites investigation. It is to be interpreted as we would any other volume: applying the laws of language and grammatical analysis.
Notice:
It is to be interpreted as we would any other volume: applying the laws of language and grammatical analysis.
The common usage for the word "yom" is the name of the light hours and for what we call a 24-hour day. Without clear indicators signifying a figurative use, the logical translation for the first occurrence would be the name of the light hours and the second occurrence would be what we call a 24-hour day.
The context of the sentence, which mentions evening and morning, clearly tells us that "yom" should be translated as a 24 hour day. There are no indicators in the sentence to suggest otherwise. Peg, if you feel there are indicators that tell us to use a figurative meaning, then show me the indicators (English or Hebrew) within the sentence that tell us to use a figurative meaning.
6) The rule of PRECEDENT: We must not violate the known usage of a word and invent another for which there is no precedent. Just as a judge's chief occupation is the study of previous cases, so must the interpreter use precedents in order to determine whether they really support an alleged doctrine.
Now you like to try a use other verses to set a precedent for what you propose, but this rule does not negate the usage of a word within a specific sentence. The rules of language and grammar still prevail.
So let's move forward, Peg. Show me the indicators. Don't rehash the same arguments as the other threads. No one has disagreed that the word yom has more than one meaning. No one has disagreed that it has been used figuratively within the Bible. In this one sentence:
God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning--the first day.
Show me the indicators, in Hebrew or English, that tell us to use a figurative meaning of yom.
(Bible Study please)
™ Version 4.2