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By Elise - 28 Jun 2017

Dear Frank and Mary,

I have been on your site many times over the past few years and referred several people to you bible tab.  I emailed you a few years ago and appreciated getting your thoughtful remarks during a time of confusion in my life.

Since then I have been plant based for nearly 3 years and vegan for 2.  

Recently, I have been looking more at Genesis 9 re-read your commentary on that. 

I wanted to share with you my thoughts  - they may be quite jumbled - but my knowledge of Hebrew is so limited.  I found a jewish/english version on bible gateway and am trying to make sense of that.  I just get this feeling that there is more to understand in this passage.

3 Every remes (hebrew for "Reptile")

that liveth Shall be (bible hub - yih yeh - Hebrew 3rd person for "YHWH" ??but verb translated as "shall be")

food for you; even as the yarok (hebrew for "green" - older days meant "colorful vegetation") esev (Hebrew for "weed") have I given you all (people and animals).

4 But basar (Hebrew for "flesh" - human or animal)

with the nefesh (Hebrew for "sentience" - human beings and other animals are both described as having nephesh)

thereof, which is the dahm (Hebrew for "blood") thereof, shall ye not eat.

5 And surely your dahm (blood) of your nefeshot (sentience of human beings and animals) will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the yad (Hebrew for "hand") haAdam (Hebrew for "the man"); at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the nefesh (sentience) haAdam (the man).

There are several parts I am interested in here.. most significantly (9:3 Shall Be - If yih yeh is indeed a 3rd person of YHWH - is it connected in some way to I am?  I shall be makes sense in this case but not sure if this is a far stretch..)   I am understanding that the way of speaking was much more broad in biblical times than we have now but in my own intuition I feel God is telling us that he is present even in the reptiles even there he will be the food he is giving us?  It may be a bit of a stretch.. 

I am also perplexed by 9:5, especially the very end.  It is againa broad way of speaking and the interpretation isnt clear.  So many versions translate it that the flesh of a human is or killing a human is what God is talking about.  To me it seems that it goes both ways.  God will require the nefesh from both human and animal for taking life.  

I know you mentioned at one point that you do not believe God is everything because the darkness was never created.  I have thought a lot about that.  On the one had I feel god is all there is and on the other hand I feel that there is false knowledge - the duality that we currently see.  How that can be I do not understand. 

Any insights you have into my rambling trail is greatly appreciated!

Peace,

Elise

Go on to comments: By Frank and Mary Hoffman - 28 Jun 2017
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