Interpretation via Paradigms

April 1  But the sons of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly, and multiplied, and became exceedingly mighty, so that the land was filled with them.  Exodus 1:7  NASB

Increased greatly – April Fool’s Day seems like a good day for us to examine our own foolishness.  For example, the sixth letter of the Hebrew alphabet is vav.  It has a numerical value of six; a number that the rabbis associate with physical completion.  According to rabbinic thought, this letter signifies the following:  the physical world completed in six days with six dimensions, the Jewish nation is complete and self-contained, the Jewish census at Sinai consisting of 600,000 “corresponding to the 600,000 letters of the Torah.”[1]  In addition, “When God responded to Egyptian persecution of the Jews by miraculously increasing their number, He did it by giving Jewish mothers six babies in each birth (Berachos 63b).”[2] 

Let’s consider these claims.  Was the physical world completed in six days?  There is almost no scientific evidence to support this unless you first assume that the Genesis account is supposed to be a divinely revealed physics text.  And six dimensions?  Whatever can that mean?

Does the number six indicate the completed, self-contained uniqueness of Israel?  Perhaps Kabalistic theory could come to this conclusion, but how would you ever justify the claim apart from a religious perspective?

Were there 600,000 men at Sinai?  Consider this analysis (click here) http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/39_exodus.html describing the logistical problems and the issues with translation of the text.

Are there 600,000 letters in the Torah?  No, there aren’t—unless you use the following logic:  click here  http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1254056/jewish/Where-Are-the-600000-Letters-of-the-Torah.htm

Did God give each Jewish mother six children during the Egyptian persecution?  There is no independent record, even in Scripture, of this claim.  It exists only in rabbinic material and it is subject to the same critique we find in the discussion of the 600,000 men.

But the most important question is slightly different.  That question is, “Do the facts make any difference?”  Surprisingly, the answer is, “No!”  The reason the “facts” don’t matter is that these claims are paradigm-dependent.  In other words, once I adopt the orthodox, rabbinic paradigm for interpreting the biblical text, anything I find in the text will be molded to fit the requirements of the paradigm.  The jacket cover of Munk’s book claims, “he has developed and proven a profound thesis.  The alphabet—if correctly understood—is a primer for life.  Ethical conduct, religious guidance, philosophical insights, all are nestled in the curls, crowns, and combinations of the Hebrew letters.”[3]  The key phrase, of course, is “correctly understood.”  In other words, if we look for ethical  conduct, religious guidance and philosophical insights in the shapes of the letters, we will not fail to find them because we have already determined that they are there.  That’s the way paradigms work.  A paradigm tells you what the “facts” are before you being to look.  Consequently, you find what you expected to find, and then you assert that this proves your paradigm is true.  But it should be obvious that all it proves is that you discovered what you wanted to find.

Am I being too harsh?  I don’t think so.  Exactly the same criticism can be leveled against the hard science practitioners of the past.  Prior to Copernicus, scientists and theologians gathered all kinds of evidence to “prove” that the earth was the center of the universe.  Until oxidation-reduction, world-renowned scientists claimed that an invisible substance called phlogiston was the reason that some materials grew heavier when they burned.  After the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, many physicists claimed that the event was staged because, according to their theories of physical matter, the atom was the smallest building block of nature and could not be split.  And, of course, there are the Creationists for whom any evidence of aged nature older than 6,000 years (notice the number) is simply confirmation that God made the substance appear to be aged.  It’s paradigms, paradigms, paradigms, not “facts.”  We see the world according to our web of beliefs many of which only make sense inside the worldview. 

Do you believe that the Church replaced Israel, that God no longer expects Torah obedience, that grace is the new medium of religious relationship, that the rapture will occur before the Tribulation, that wives are commanded to be completely submissive to their husbands, that we must all practice on-purpose soul winning, that when you die your soul immediately goes to heaven?  Paradigms often dictate those beliefs.  Demonstrating contrary evidence usually makes no difference.  The power of a paradigm is found in its ability to manipulate any piece of evidence so that it fits the prior commitment.

Consider the letter vav.  Of course God gave every pregnant Jew six children.  That’s what we want to believe and so it becomes reality.

When you read your Bible, are you reading according to a paradigm commitment?  How would you know if everything is interpreted by the paradigm?  What hints, clues or anomalies would ever indicate to you that perhaps, just perhaps, you are finding what you want to find rather than seeing what’s really there?  How porous is your paradigm?

Topical Index:  paradigms, facts, vav, six, Exodus 1:7