Monday, November 27, 2017

Life After Death - Part 6

An acquaintance of mine has complained that I'm not using the KJV! So, I want everyone to know that from day one I have been doing searches on certain key words, and yes, even in the KJV, because I knew that most folks in America have a "KJV slant".

Some of the search words are; death, hell, heaven, spirit, etc. In other words, I'm attempting to locate anything having to do with death and dying, and anything that may have something to do with life after death.

Like most Americans, I grew up with the KJV! As I've studied over the years, however, it has become clear to me that there are many, many errors in it. You must understand, the people who compiled the KJV worked under serious constraints and could have been put to death if they included the wrong words and phrases. Just study the lives of the early Bible translators and you'll see what I mean.

And yes, I am perusing the entire biblical text looking for clues!

continuing ... you'll see some interesting differences here among the versions!,

In Gen 35:8, Deborah, the nurse of Rebekah died and was buried. Nothing additional is presented here.
...
(ESV)
Gen 35:16  Then they journeyed from Bethel. When they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel went into labor, and she had hard labor.
Gen 35:17  And when her labor was at its hardest, the midwife said to her, "Do not fear, for you have another son."
Gen 35:18  And as her soul [psuche] was departing (for she was dying), she called his name Ben-oni [Son of my grief] but his father called him Benjamin.
Gen 35:19  So Rachel died, and she was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem),
Gen 35:20  and Jacob set up a pillar over her tomb. It is the pillar of Rachel's tomb, which is there to this day.
...
Gen 35:28  Now the days of Isaac were 180 years.
Gen 35:29  And Isaac breathed his last, and he died and was gathered to his people [prostithēmi], old and full of days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

G5590
ψυχή
psuchē
psoo-khay'
From G5594; breath, that is, (by implication) spirit, abstractly or concretely (the animal sentient principle only; thus distinguished on the one hand from G4151, which is the rational and immortal soul; and on the other from G2222, which is mere vitality, even of plants: these terms thus exactly correspond respectively to the Hebrew [H5315], [H7307] and [H2416]: - heart (+ -ily), life, mind, soul, + us, + you.

G4369
προστίθημι
prostithēmi
pros-tith'-ay-mee
From G4314 and G5087; to place additionally, that is, lay beside, annex, repeat: - add, again, give more, increase, lay unto, proceed further, speak to any more.

(It is clear that Rachel let go of her breath and died - later, Isaac breathed his last and was simply counted among the dead of his people)

(ABP)
Gen 35:16  departed And Jacob from Beth-el, and he pitched his tent beyond the tower of Gader. And it came to pass when he approached Chabratha, to come into Ephrath, Rachel bore. And in the giving birth she suffered birth pangs.
Gen 35:17  And it came to pass in her harshly bearing, said to her the midwife, Be of courage! for also this to you is a son.
Gen 35:18  And it came to pass in her letting go [aphiēmi] the soul [psuche], for she was dying, she called his name, Son of my Grief; but the father called his name, Benjamin.
Gen 35:19  died And Rachel, and she was entombed in the  way of Ephrath, this is Beth-lehem.
Gen 35:20  And Jacob set up a monument for her memorial. This is the monument upon the tomb of Rachel, until this day.
...
Gen 35:28  And were the days of Isaac which he lived, years a hundred eighty.
Gen 35:29  And failing, Isaac died. And he was added to his family [prostithēmi], older and full of days. And entombed him Esau and Jacob two sons his.

G863
ἀφίημι
aphiēmi
af-ee'-ay-mee
From G575 and ἵημι hiēmi (to send; an intensive form of εἶμι eimi (to go)); to send forth, in various applications: - cry, forgive, forsake, lay aside, leave, let (alone, be, go, have), omit, put (send) away, remit, suffer, yield up.

G5590
ψυχή
psuchē
psoo-khay'
From G5594; breath, that is, (by implication) spirit, abstractly or concretely (the animal sentient principle only; thus distinguished on the one hand from G4151, which is the rational and immortal soul; and on the other from G2222, which is mere vitality, even of plants: these terms thus exactly correspond respectively to the Hebrew [H5315], [H7307] and [H2416]: - heart (+ -ily), life, mind, soul, + us, + you.

G4369
προστίθημι
prostithēmi
pros-tith'-ay-mee
From G4314 and G5087; to place additionally, that is, lay beside, annex, repeat: - add, again, give more, increase, lay unto, proceed further, speak to any more.

(It is clear that Rachel let go of her breath and died - later, Isaac breathed his last and was simply counted among the dead of his people)

(BSEP)
Gen 35:16  [And Jacob removed from Baethel, and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Gader,] and it came to pass when he drew nigh to Chabratha, to enter into Ephratha, Rachel travailed; and in her travail she was in hard labour.
Gen 35:17  And it came to pass in her hard labour, that the midwife said to her, Be of good courage, for thou shalt also have this son.
Gen 35:18  And it came to pass in her giving up the ghost [gâva‛] (for she was dying), that she called his name, The son of my pain; but his father called his name Benjamin.
Gen 35:19  So Rachel died, and was buried in the way of the course of Ephratha, this is Bethleem.
Gen 35:20  And Jacob set up a pillar on her tomb; this is the pillar on the tomb of Rachel, until this day.
...
Gen 35:28  And the days of Isaac which he lived were an hundred and eighty years.
Gen 35:29  And Isaac gave up the ghost [gâva‛] and died, and was laid to his family, old and full of days; and Esau and Jacob his sons buried him.

H1478
גָּוַע
gâva‛
gaw-vah'
A primitive root; to breathe out, that is, (by implication) expire: - die, be dead, give up the ghost, perish.

way·yiḡ·wa‘  in Hebrew, meaning the same; "breath"

  

(The overall narrative is still the same with Brenton's Septuagint except the word, "ghost". Here is where man has stepped in and introduced error. Please notice, the meaning is still, "breath", but the English translators who worked on this version of the Septuagint used "ghost". Ghost can also mean a disembodied apparition, or specter; very pagan terms that connote a belief in which dead people are said to haunt the living. This has absolutely no place in Judaeo-Christianity. It is demonic and is referred to in Scripture as "necromancy"; or, conjuring up the dead for some sort of communication or hidden reason. Later on, we'll see King Saul does this very thing with the Witch of Endor!

Have you thought about what happens when someone says; "Dear old Mom is looking down from Heaven at us and taking care of us through Jesus!" Folks, this is SIN! It is the promotion of necromancy! Why do you think the Roman Catholic Church says you can pray to deceased relatives and saints, asking for help? It's paganism, pure and simple! It's wrong!

But wait a moment, Tiger! Wasn't the Septuagint written by Jews? Yes indeed! But the Brenton Septuagint is the most respected version in the Christian world. You see, the Christian scholars have re-translated the Septuagint many times. This is why I showed the Hebrew transliteration. It still means "breath"!)

(NASB)
Gen 35:16  Then they journeyed from Bethel; and when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and she suffered severe labor.
Gen 35:17  When she was in severe labor the midwife said to her, "Do not fear, for now you have another son."
Gen 35:18  It came about as her soul [nephesh] was departing (for she died), that she named him Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin.
Gen 35:19  So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).
Gen 35:20  Jacob set up a pillar over her grave; that is the pillar of Rachel's grave to this day.
...
Gen 35:28  Now the days of Isaac were one hundred and eighty years.
Gen 35:29  Isaac breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people, an old man of ripe age; and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

H5315
נֶפֶשׁ
nephesh
neh'-fesh
From H5314; properly a breathing creature, that is, animal or (abstractly) vitality; used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental): - any, appetite, beast, body, breath, creature, X dead (-ly), desire, X [dis-] contented, X fish, ghost, + greedy, he, heart (-y), (hath, X jeopardy of) life (X in jeopardy), lust, man, me, mind, mortality, one, own, person, pleasure, (her-, him-, my-, thy-) self, them (your) -selves, + slay, soul, + tablet, they, thing, (X she) will, X would have it.

(It is clear that Rachel let go of her breath and died - later, Isaac breathed his last and was simply counted among the dead of his people)

Guys, hopefully this one has been of interest! So far, I have not seen any definitive declaration that a person dying goes anywhere. What we have seen is that our breath, spirit, ruach, nephesh, etc. leaves us and we expire. As always, I'll keep looking, as long as I have breath!

... no pun intended!

The Observer

Saturday, November 11, 2017

Life After Death - Part 5, continuing on ...

(ESV)
Gen 9:28  After the flood Noah lived 350 years.
Gen 9:29  All the days of Noah were 950 years, and he died.

... the other versions say the same thing - Noah lived to be 950 years old and died. No mention is made of an afterlife, at this point.
-----------------------------------------

(ESV)
Gen 23:1  Sarah lived 127 years; these were the years of the life of Sarah.
Gen 23:2  And Sarah died at Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.
Gen 23:3  And Abraham rose up from before his dead and said to the Hittites,
Gen 23:4  "I am a sojourner and foreigner among you; give me property among you for a burying place, that I may bury my dead out of my sight."

... the other versions say the same thing - Sarah lived to be 127years old and died. No mention is made of an afterlife, at this point.
------------------------------------------------

(ESV)
Gen 25:7  These are the days of the years of Abraham's life, 175 years.
Gen 25:8  Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people.
Gen 25:9  Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, east of Mamre,
Gen 25:10  the field that Abraham purchased from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried, with Sarah his wife.

(ABP)
Gen 25:7  And these were the years of the days of the life of Abraham, as many as he lived, a hundred seventy-five years.
Gen 25:8  And failing, Abraham died in [old age a good], an old man and full of days. And he was added to his people.
Gen 25:9  And [entombed him, Isaac and Ishmael] [two sons his], in the [cave double], in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre;
Gen 25:10  the field and the cave which Abraham acquired from the sons of Heth. There they entombed Abraham and Sarah his wife.

... the other versions say the same thing, essentially - I wanted to show the ABP because it's use of the phrase, "added to his people" is telling. Some folks have told me that being "added to his people" means that upon death Abraham was gathered together with rest of his dead relatives, in Heaven. The Greek doesn't say that, however.

G4369
προστίθημι
prostithēmi
pros-tith'-ay-mee

From G4314 and G5087; to place additionally, that is, lay beside, annex, repeat: - add, again, give more, increase, lay unto, proceed further, speak to any more.

The Greek word is where we get the English word: "prostrate", or, to lie down as if dead. Being added to the number of ones dead relatives is simply to be "counted" with the rest who have died, that's all. Even Brenton's Septuagint, which seemingly would indicate some Hebraic hint of an immediate afterlife does not differ from the other versions.
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[Notes/Conclusion: So far we have not seen any indication of an immediate afterlife. But, I will continue my search!]

The Observer