Deuteronomy 6:4 and Proverbs 4:18

by I.Wonder 6 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  I.Wonder

  “Listen, O Israel: Jehovah our God is one Jehovah.

  Hi everyone!! I was reading this yesterday during the public talk. Why does it say “Jehovah our God is one Jehovah” and not “Jehovah our God is one God”? I was just wondering why it reads the way it does. What does it mean?

  Thanks,
  I.Wonder

  Oh I was also wondering if any of you know of some good threads about Proverbs 4:18. What does this verse mean when read in context? I don’t have much of an education (did terrible in school and dropped out to get married) so I am sorry if my questions seem “juvenile”.

  We sang song 111 “The Light Gets Brighter” to start the Service Meeting on the same night we had to review the November insert on blood fractions. Very convenient!
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  Narkissos

  As to Deuteronomy 6:4, due to the absence of an explicit verb the Hebrew text can be translated in a number of ways (Yhwh is our god, Yhwh is one; Yhwh our god is the one Yhwh; Yhwh our god is Yhwh the One; Yhwh is our god, Yhwh alone, etc.) -- no doubt it was understood in many ways in different stages (and circles): in henotheistic (implying that Yhwh is our only god but not the only god) or monotheistic contexts for instance. The only sense I can imagine for the NWT translation ("one Yhwh") is: the same Yhwh everywhere, in opposition to local Yhwhs (like the Baals) which are attested in expressions like "Yhwh of Teman" or "Yhwh of Samaria" (Kuntillet 'Ajrud inscriptions).

  As to Proverbs 4:18, it is a very general wisdom saying, referring to the increase of knowledge and understanding which comes through education and experience (read the whole chapter). Wisdom literature is noteworthy for its natural methodology: using your mind to understand the phenomena, as opposed to prophetism which looks for supernatural revelation. So applying Proverbs 4:18 to progressive revelation is really against the context.
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  Apostate Kate

  Narkisso is there anywhere in the Bible to your knowledge that can be used to justify the doctrine that there was information left to be revealed after the crucifixion of Christ? (new light)

  We know that the "Comforter" was to come and would be revealed at Pentecost, but other than that...
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  Narkissos

  Hi A. Kate,

  Even if you hold that all four Gospels are the exact report of what Jesus did and say before the crucifixion, what about the rest of the NT (Paul for instance, or Revelation)? What about Christian prophetism (attested in Corinth and Acts)?

  Even the Johannine Paraclete (although not related to the Lukan Pentecost) has a revealing function, e.g. 16:13: "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come."

  (Of course this has nothing to do with the contextual meaning of Proverbs 4:18, re: the present topic.)
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  I.Wonder

  Thanks So Much Narkissos!!

  I really value your imput on these subjects. I am very glad you took the time to respond.

  I.Wonder
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  Apostate Kate

  Narkissos I try so hard to understand your posts. I know you are a veritable encyclopedia of knowledge but it is so hard for me to keep up with you.

  Thank you for sharing so much with us, I'm going to try to focus
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  Apostate Kate

  (Of course this has nothing to do with the contextual meaning of Proverbs 4:18, re: the present topic.)

  ..lol..when you have ADD ...he wrote about the song they sang and my mind went off topic