The Problem with Bet
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1 NASB
In the beginning – When does it all begin? Most believers point to the first verse of Genesis. “It begins with the creation of heaven and earth,” they reply. Theologians point to the same verse and proclaim that it all started with God’s creation. They mean that before “in the beginning” there was nothing at all. No material world. Not even time.
This seems so obvious. What else can “in the beginning” mean? The problem is that the opening word in Hebrew doesn’t actually mean “in the beginning.” The word is bere’shit. It is the combination of the letter bet and the word reshit. We already examined the fact that there is no definite article, so the proper translation cannot include “the.” Perhaps it is more correct to say, “At a beginning.” That could be expanded to “At (the time of) a beginning.” But some rabbinic scholars objected to even this. They pointed out that the letter bet has both a locative and an instrumental function. In other words, adding a bet to a word can point to a location (like “at the time of”) but it could also describe the process of something. In its instrumental sense, we should translate the opening word of the Bible like “By means of reshit, God created the heavens and the earth.”
But what does that mean?
The rabbis asked, “What was in existence before the creation of the heavens and the earth? What was there that God used to bring about the creation?” The answer they found in Proverbs 8:22-25. Wisdom was “at the beginning (reshit).” If you read this passage in Proverbs like the rabbis read the passage, you discover that there was something before reshit. Ecclesiasticus reiterates the idea (Ecclesiasticus 24:3, 9, 23). The rabbinic modification was so influential that the Jerusalem Targum translated the first verse of Genesis as “With wisdom did God create the heavens and the earth.”
Why should we care about this tidbit of rabbinic exegesis? The attentive reader will realize that the gospel of John begins with the same rabbinic approach. What existed before creation? The Word! Christian exegesis often associates the Word with the personification of Wisdom in Proverbs, but perhaps John anticipated all this when he connected the Word, the Son and the instrumental use of bet. Perhaps John was a lot more Jewish than we imagine. There is historical evidence that the exegesis of Genesis 1:1 based on the instrumental use of bet was popular during his time. Perhaps John was writing to Jewish rabbis since he employs their techniques. If John is savvy enough to employ rabbinic exegesis in the opening of his gospel, wouldn’t we expect the same techniques in the remainder of his account? Doesn’t that make the gospel of John a rabbinic document? Maybe the distance between Jew and Gentile wasn’t very far in the first century. What happened? Why are we so far apart now?
Topical Index: bet, in the beginning, reshit, wisdom, John, Genesis 1:1
Shalom dearest Skip. We Jews, Christians and the gentiles are so far apart because of the deceiver who has been so successfull in his mission – to change, kill, destroy, steal what is true. What is rightfully our inheritance. The masses do not take Master Yehoshua’s warning seriously about this. He warned us when He walked the earth that the deceiver would deceive the whole earth. We have only the very elect of which our brother Judah is the caretaker of the septer to turn back to the old path. The irony of this is that the masses are not interested. They like the lukewarm water that they are playing in. The gospel has been reinvented to please the masses. Master Yeshua also taught that The True Way is NARROW and that FEW FIND it. This clearly indicates that we have to search again and rediscover This True Way. The masses got lost just like the fabel characters Hanzel and Gretel. We want to go Home but we are finding it difficult to turn BACK and trace His footsteps back to the way it was. Too many wolves are standing on the side of the road calling us to follow them to the road going nowhere. They are selling the McDonalds gospel and this is the problem of the state of apostacy we are in. “Loving Heavenly Father please hear us cry and help us and let Your Truth return to our hearts and minds. We are Your people. Your convenant people. We pray this in the mighty Name of our beloved Saviour and Good Shepherd Yehoshua HaMoshiach. Help the true sheperds to find Your true sheep please. Let the True Gospel return please. Amein and Amein! We love You Abba Father, Son and Ruach HaKodesh. We want to love you more.”
Boker Tov!!!
The Gospel of John is the interpretation of Jesus’ teachings through the fourth level of PaRDeS: SOD.
I like these kind of studies, they take us a little deeper into our understanding of God. I was looking at the word ABAD today, and I wondered why it contained the idea of wandering away or destruction if it was so closely associated with AB which means father. I found out when I caught the DIRECTION of the word. Here’s A breakdown in comparison to the REVERSE word Dobe, or a quiet strength or rest.
In the word ALEPH-BET-DALET you could read strong-house-entering. If we understand that the Bet is a house, and more specifically the strong house (AB) why is the DALET placed in the final position? Because to leave the stong house is to enter (DALET) into nothing, hence the wandering and destruction. Note the directional flow of the letters in relation to their meaning. The reverse word (in directional flow) is Dobe or DALET-BET-ALEPH it would mean entering in to the house of strength. Into The Father’s house is quiet strength. This brings to mind Yeshua saying, “your either for me or against me.” No neutral ground, your either entering into the Fathers house AND leaving the enemies house, or your entering the enemies house AND leaving the Fathers. Which way am I going, either way I’m entering a house.
This is how I see the BET at the Beginning (head) of scripture. ALL things flow from the House, the only real house which is ELOHIM. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t believe the interpretation is limited to this one, only that it helps me understand some of the purposes of God (and therefore God Himself) in the creation of this world.
Shalom brethren,
By beginning the Torah with two ‘BET’ words (Bere’sheet Bera), the Holy One is pointing out that there was something before ‘beginning’ (bere’sheet) and before ‘created’ (bera). What is before BET, is ALEPH (that is why there is an ‘alphabetical order” 😉 ). The next two words, “Elohim Et” are the two ALEPH words which were there before beginning and created.
That is what John meant in John 1:1-3 when he wrote “In the beginning was the Word (‘Et’=ALEPH-TAV=Messiah), and the Word was with God (‘Elohim’=GOD). and the Word was God. the same was in the beginning (‘Bere’sheet) with God. All things were made (‘Bera”) by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made.” :-D)
God (Elohim) and the Word (Aleph-tav) were indeed there prior to beginning and prior to creation!
o/o/o/
Nice to see you back, Tom. Thanks for this.