Words and word studies Essay Example for Free

Words and word studies Essay Do a word study on the Hebrew word Bara (`create`) as it is used in the whole book of Genesis. Does the word always refer to `creation out of / using nothing`? In the search of the Hebrew term ‘Bara’ in the entirety of the book of Genesis, there were eight particular instances that the term created (Hebrew Bara) was mentioned. Most of the time when the term created was used, the writer is implying about how God undertook the task of creating by using nothing in particular save for his godly powers to create things out of nothing. But in Genesis 6:7 the writer seemed to have hinted about how God made man from earth when it indicated that And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth. The term face of the earth refers to the soil that covers the land area of the planet. Here, readers are inclined to think that man was made from dust or soil (ergo the belief that when the body of a man dies, it returns to original form dust since it will become mere dust once the process of decomposition is complete). Can the word mean this in Genesis 1:1? Yes, the use of the term ‘Bara’ or create in the first verse of the first chapter of Genesis refers to the display of God of his power to produce material and tangible things without using other things existing already so that the process of creation is undertaken. When discussing the ability of God to create, Christian religious tenets have it that God creates out of nothing due to his absolute power that cannot be explained by the science and logic of man, ergo making Christianity a religion hinged on faith alone even when scientific or empirical explanation is not available (example of that is the creation of the world, which many scientists hypothesized to have started from an activity occurring from something extant already, which is still unsettled even up to now). Now look up Isa. 45:18 and find the Hebrew words behind Gods creative activity in that verse. Look up these words (there are two) in the Hebrew dictionary you are using, and then find any occurrence of them in the whole book of Genesis In Isaiah, three other forms similar to create is found; the term formed (yatsar), made (asah) and established (kuwn). The term formed was mentioned three times in the book of Genesis in the verses seven, eight and 19 of the second chapter in the book, referring to his forming of man and the beasts that roamed the earth. The term made or make was found more often in the book of Genesis, nearly present in all of the chapters of the book, generally because asah is a primitive root along with kuwn, which was mentioned in 41:32, 43:16 and 43:25 of the book of Genesis. Do either of these words refer to `creation out of / using nothing`? If not, do the authors of Genesis and Isaiah have different theology? Like what was mentioned earlier in the paper, not all of the terms that pertain to God’s creative activity points to the idea that God did not use any other thing to assist him in his creation; there were instances like the creation of man and woman wherein God used earth to create man and used man’s ribs to create a woman, references to the use of tools of God during particular times of his creative process which does not decrease the ability of God’s power for creation (i. e.God can make man and woman even without the use of earth and the man’s ribs). But was a necessary act since the creation and the symbolisms that surround it has an important socio-religious meanings in the overall theology, belief and practices of the early Christianity all the way to the more modernistic form of the faith. 2) Do word study on the term `unmarried` in I Cor. 7 The term Unmarried, or the Hebrew agamos is found in the seventh chapter of the first letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians. It appears that ‘gamos’ is the root word that is supplemented by a prefix a that connotes negativity (ergo agamos for unmarried, the negative version of married, which is positive). As the English translation implies, this term is used as reference during the time of St. Paul for individuals who is still without a legal wife or husband and has not yet undergone the ritual of marriage. Try and use the context to define what `unmarried can mean – During the time of St.Paul when he wrote to the Corinthians, the prevailing practice is to take a lawfully wedded husband or wife, consistent with existing laws and religious practices. This does not guarantee however that people during those times were not vulnerable or susceptible to the temptations of extra marital affairs, and because of that, St. Paul focuses his discussion on marriage and sex in the context of what is allowable in the eyes of god through the accepted practices of the Catholic religion. The term unmarried refers to a person who is without a partner, and all unmarried individuals are encouraged by St. Paul to abstain from unlawful and taboo forms of sex from other people – may they be married to other people or similarly unmarried. Unmarried as a social name tag is reserved for those who are not ‘married’, and by married one refers to the actualization and consummation of the rituals of marriage of union of two people. Does I Cor. 7 allow for remarriage after divorce or not? – Divorce is a practice that is prohibited in the Roman Catholic belief and practices, and because it is not allowed, so is the idea of remarrying after leaving one’s partner whom God joined in the sacrament of marriage. St. Paul speaks of this in I Corinthian 7: 11-12, saying that And unto the married I command, [yet] not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from [her] husband: But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to [her] husband: and let not the husband put away [his] wife. There is an indication in Chapter 7 of the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians about remarrying for those who are already widowed. In I Corinthians 7:8-9, it says that I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I. But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn. Here St. Paul tells the unmarried and the widows that it is alright for them to remarry, encouraging them to remarry instead of engaging in sexual acts that is not allowed in Christian doctrine that may be the reason for the burning of their souls in Hell. Works Cited: Blue Letter Bible. 26 April 2008 http://cf. blueletterbible. org/lang/lexicon/lexicon. cfm? Strongs=H22t=KJV. King James Bible With Strongs Dictionary. 2001. 26 April 2008 http://www. htmlbible. com/sacrednamebiblecom/kjvstrongs/index. htm.