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3.4 Honor In Tanakh, the place of honor is at the right: 1st Kings 2.19 “So Bathsheba went to King Solomon […] The king […] had a throne placed for the queen mother, and she sat on his right.” and Psalms 110:1 “A psalm of David. The Lord said to my lord: sit at My… Continue reading Left and right in the language of honor

3.3 Power Power and might in battle are associated specifically with the right arm and hand: Isaiah 41:10 “Fear not, for I am with you. Be not frightened, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.”; also Psalms 21:9… Continue reading Left and right in the language of power

3.2 North and south In Hebrew, South is “left” and North is “right,” based on the practice of orienting yourself when facing the rising Sun (common to many cultures). For instance, based on 2 Samuel 19:17-21, the Benjaminites (ben-yamin, “son of the right”) were the most southern tribe of House of Joseph. In the same… Continue reading Left and right for North and South

So, in the end, all uses are figurative. The visions in which Isaiah and Habakkuk saw God’s hand are how he appeared to them in a dream state. Psalms and Lamentations are really poems.  Any references to God’s right hand mean that someone is trying to get a point across in a way that can… Continue reading The use of “the Right Hand of God” in the Song of the Sea

3.1 Left and right together means everywhere A figure of speech that is commonly seen is to use the words “right” and “left” together to mean everywhere. For example, in Zechariah 12:6  “And they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left.” meaning everywhere. Where it all started…

3. The concepts of left and right in Tanakh 3.0 Similarities across semitic languages In the same way as English is a member of a group of Indo-European languages, Hebrew is one member in a group of semitic languages. Roots for “right” and “left” are common to many semitic languages, and so are their meanings.… Continue reading Left and Right in Tanakh and Semitic languages

2.4.4 Anthropomorphism: no clear cut answer So, in the end, while the mainstream view always appears to have been that the God of the Israelites is not an anthropomorphic god, there always was (and is) a significant minority with anthropomorphic beliefs. It is not possible to rule out that some of the writers of Tanakh… Continue reading Antropomorphism: a wishy-washy conclusion

2.4.3 Kabbalists and mystics One sect of Judaism are the Kabbalists, a group of mystics. In the Middle Ages, the Kabbalistic books were very anthropomorphic. For example, the book  Shi’ur Qomah, appearing some time in the 12th century, goes so far as to give names and gigantic lengths to every part of God’s body. An… Continue reading Antropomorphism: what the Kabbalists say

2.4. Anthropomorphism in medieval times (Rishonim) 2.4.1 The Great Commentators: Maimonides, Nahmanides, Rashi, ibn Ezra The greatest commentators by almost all standards would be the Rishonim. Of these the most famous are probably Maimonides (Rambam), Rashi, Nahmanides (Ramban) and ibn Ezra.  Maimonides (Rambam), in the 12th century, argues strongly against anthropomorphism in all his books.… Continue reading Antropomorphism: the views of the Middle Ages

2.3. Anthropomorphism in the time of the Talmud The Tannaim belong to the first generations that wrote down the Halakha.  They wrote the Mishnah. They also wrote the Targumim, which were translations into Aramaic, the common language in the region at the time.  Many Targumim, such as Targum Onkelos, made frequent changes to the words… Continue reading Antropomorphism: the times of the Talmud