Since 1996, I have researched the Ancient Hebrew alphabet, language and culture of the Tenach (Old Testament) to uncover the original and sometimes startling, Hebraic meanings of the Hebrew text that lay hidden behind thousands of years of translations, interpretations and misunderstandings. I have authored several books related to the Ancient Hebrew language including the Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible and A Mechanical Translation of the Book of Genesis.

The Ancient Hebrew Research Center - http://www.ancient-hebrew.org - began in Nov 1999 by Jeff A. Benner and his wife for the purpose of promoting and teaching the Ancient Biblical Hebrew langauge, alphabet and culture to bring about proper interpretation of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) and the B'rit HaHhadashah (New Testament).

Resources available through the center include; Ancient Hebrew alphabet, Paleo-Hebrew inscriptions, 1000 Biblical Hebrew Words, Word studies, Dead Sea Scrolls and  Learn Biblical Hebrew courses.

Jeff A. Benner

"How to do a Hebrew word study without knowing Hebrew" 
(http://ancient-hebrew.org/bookstore/classes-study.html) 
 
I was asked to provide some insight into the word “commit” from the following passage and interpret it from a Hebraic perspective. 
 
Commit thyself unto Jehovah; Let him deliver him: Let him rescue him, seeing he delighteth in him. (ASV, Psalm 22:8) 
 
As I began my investigation into this word and its meaning within the context of the verse, I quickly realized that this verse would make an excellent case study to show how important it is to understand Hebrew vocabulary, poetry and philosophy when studying the Bible. 
 
Before we get into the meaning of the Hebrew word for “commit,” we need to understand that this verse is written with a chiastic structure, a form of poetry common to Biblical Hebrew, especially the book of Psalms. Here is how this verse can be written, showing the chiastic structure. 
 
 1a. Commit thyself unto Jehovah 
 
 1b. Let him deliver him 
 
 2b. Let him rescue him 
 
 2a. Seeing he delighteth in him 
 
If you will notice, 1a is parallel with 2a and 1b is parallel with 2b. Also notice that the words “deliver” and “rescue” are synonyms, words with very similar meanings. This is another common form of Hebrew poetry called parallelisms. This means that the words “commit” and “delight” are also synonyms. Of course, these two words are not synonyms in the English language, which means we need to find out what these words mean in the Hebrew language. 
 
The Hebrew word translated as “commit” is the Hebrew verb galal (Strong’s #1556), which Strong’s dictionary defines as “to roll (literally or figuratively)” and in the KJV Bible this word is translated as commit, remove, roll (away, down, together), run down, seek occasion, trust, wallow. 
 
The Hebrew language is a concrete language, which means that words with a concrete meaning are used to express abstract ideas. So to really understand the concrete meaning of this word, let’s look at some of the verses that use this word in a concrete way. 
 
…and they rolled the stone from the well's mouth… (KJV, Genesis 29:3) 
 
And Amasa wallowed in blood in the midst of the highway… (KJV, 2 Samuel 20:12) 
 
…in the desolation they rolled themselves upon me. (KJV, Job 30:14) 
 
So, why did the translators translate this word meaning “to roll” as “commit” in Psalm 22:8? Because “roll over to Yahweh” is not how we speak in English, so they translated this concrete word with an abstract one in order for the English reader to be “more comfortable” with the verse. 
 
Now let’s take a look at the word “delight.” This is the Hebrew verb hhapheyts (Strong’s #2654), which Strong’s defines as “properly to incline to; by implication (literally but rarely) to bend; figuratively to be pleased with, desire.” The KJV translates this word as delight, please, desire, will, pleasure, favour, like, move and would. All of these words are abstract, with the exception of “move,” so let’s take a look at the verse where the word hhapheyts is translated as “move.” 
 
He moveth his tail like a cedar: the sinews of his stones are wrapped together. (KJV, Job 40:17) 
 
I have found the book of Job to be an ancient dictionary to the Ancient Hebrew language. What I mean by this is that Hebrew words are often used in a figurative sense, except in the book of Job, where the vocabulary is more frequently used in a concrete way and is very useful in uncovering the concrete meaning of a word. 
 
This word apparently means “to wag,” like a dog does with his tail when it is excited, and figuratively this word means “to be delightfully happy.” Because this word is a synonym with galal, we can conclude that galal more literally means “to roll over in excitement.” 
 
Now that we understand the Hebrew words galal and hhapheyts, let’s put the concrete meanings of these words into Psalm 22:8 
 
Roll thyself over to Jehovah; Let him deliver him: Let him rescue him, seeing he wags in him. 
 
By interpreting the Bible this way, we can better see into the mind, culture and philosophy of the Ancient Hebrew people. 
 
If this type of study is something you are interested in doing, let me recommend my course, "How to do a Hebrew word study without knowing Hebrew" (http://ancient-hebrew.org/bookstore/classes-study.html).

"How to do a Hebrew word study without knowing Hebrew"
(http://ancient-hebrew.org/bookstore/classes-study.html)

I was asked to provide some insight into the word “commit” from the following passage and interpret it from a Hebraic perspective. 

Commit thyself unto Jehovah; Let him deliver him: Let him rescue him, seeing he delighteth in him. (ASV, Psalm 22:8)

As I began my investigation into this word and its meaning within the context of the verse, I quickly realized that this verse would make an excellent case study to show how important it is to understand Hebrew vocabulary, poetry and philosophy when studying the Bible.

Before we get into the meaning of the Hebrew word for “commit,” we need to understand that this verse is written with a chiastic structure, a form of poetry common to Biblical Hebrew, especially the book of Psalms. Here is how this verse can be written, showing the chiastic structure.

     1a. Commit thyself unto Jehovah

             1b. Let him deliver him

  

Hebrew Word Study: Psalm 22:8

By applying the methods of textual criticism to this passage we can uncover the probable wording of the original text.

Deuteronomy 32:8 – The sons of Israel or the sons of God?

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." 
 
In Modern Western philosophy the focus is on the individual: the me, myself and I. In contrast to this, the Ancient Hebrew/Eastern philosophy always focuses on the whole or the community: the us, our and we. When we read the Bible we must interpret it according to the culture of the Ancient Hebrews and their Hebrew/Eastern philosophy, and not from our own Modern Greco-Roman/Western philosophy. 
 
In the Hebrew philosophy, the goal is the elimination of "self," or the "ego." If what I am saying is true, then why, when we read Yeshua's words, do we always see Yeshua centered on himself, in complete opposition to Hebrew philosophy. A perfect example of this is John 14:6. "I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the father but through me." The answer is, we are reading the text wrong. We are interpreting it from a Western philosophy and not a Hebrew one. 
 
To answer this question, we need to take a closer look at John 1:1, a very controversial and, in my opinion, a very misunderstood verse. In the KJV this passage reads, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." 
 
In the Old Testament, we are repeatedly told that the words of God are his teachings, which is the Hebrew word torah. God's teachings are his word. If we place the word teachings, within this verse we have, "In the beginning was the Teaching, and the Teaching was with God, and the Teaching was God." 
 
Then in verse 14 we read "And the teachings became flesh." According to this passage, Yeshua took on the persona of God's teachings. After all, isn't that what Yeshua did? He came to teach the teachings of God. 
 
Yeshua emptied himself of himself and instead took on the attributes of God's teachings. Therefore, whenever Yeshua speaks, it is not Yeshua speaking, but the teachings. When Yeshua says "I," the "I" is not Yeshua, it is the teachings. 
 
When we look at John 14:6 again, but with this understanding, we can read this as "the teachings of God are the way the truth and the life." Interestingly, this is exactly what God teachings teach in the Old Testament. 
 
Exodus 18:20 Teach them the Teachings and make known to them the way they are to go. 
 
Psalm 119:142 Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and your Teaching is the truth. 
 
Deuteronomy 32:47 Through [the Teachings] you may live long in the land. 
 
According to these passages, The teachings of God are "the way the truth and the life," do you think Yeshua would teach anything different from what God himself taught in his teachings?

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

In Modern Western philosophy the focus is on the individual: the me, myself and I. In contrast to this, the Ancient Hebrew/Eastern philosophy always focuses on the whole or the community: the us, our and we. When we read the Bible we must interpret it according to the culture of the Ancient Hebrews and their Hebrew/Eastern philosophy, and not from our own Modern Greco-Roman/Western philosophy. 

In the Hebrew philosophy, the goal is the elimination of "self," or the "ego." If what I am saying is true, then why, when we read Yeshua's words, do we always see Yeshua centered on himself, in complete opposition to Hebrew philosophy. A perfect example of this is John 14:6. "I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the father but through me." The answer is, we are reading the text wrong. We are interpreting it from a Western philosophy and not a Hebrew one.

To answer this question, we need to take 

John 1:1 from an Hebraic perspective

A quick comment explaining how the "them" in verse 7 cannot be referring to the "words" in verse 6.

An examination of Psalm 12:6-7: An addendum.

What "words" is David speaking about in this verse? Is it the "words" found in the King James Version of the Bible that the KJV onlyists claim it is?

An examination of Psalm 12:6-7

Jewish and Christian translations of Zechariah 12:10 are very different. The Jewish JPS reads; "and they shall look unto Me because they have thrust him through" and the Christian KJV translation reads; "and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced." In order to determine the correct translation we will need to take a close look at the structure of the verse.

Jewish and Christian translations of Zechariah 12:10 are very different. The Jewish JPS reads; "and they shall look unto Me ...

Zechariah 12:10 - "Pierced him" or "Pierced me?"

This is a response to Edward's video "A response to an anti-King James Bible deceiver" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3WYIabG3hU&feature=watch_response_rev 
where Edward attempts to explain the grammar of תצרנו (tistreynu) in Psalm 12:7 using his own rules of grammar to justify the error in the KJV. 
 
Personal Note: I was a little rude to Edward in this video and for this I apologize to him and everyone else.

This is a response to Edward's video "A response to an anti-King James Bible deceiver" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3WYIabG3hU&feature=watch_response_rev 
where Edward attempts to explain the grammar of תצרנו (tistreynu) in Psalm 12:7 using his own rules of grammar to justify the error in the KJV.

Personal Note: I was a little rude to Edward in this video and for this I apologize to him and everyone else.

The KJV translation error in Psalm 12:7

An exercise in Textual Criticism. An examination of Isaiah 9:6 from the King James Version, the Masoretic text and the Isaiah scroll. 
 
For another video on Isaiah 9:6 see Yarutchka's at 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QA5v5o4H5U&feature=channel_page

An exercise in Textual Criticism. An examination of Isaiah 9:6 from the King James Version, the Masoretic text and the Isaiah scroll.

For another video on Isaiah 9:6 see Yarutchka's at 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QA5v5o4H5U&feature=channel_page

The Isaiah Scroll - Isaiah 9:6

An exercise in Textual Criticism. An examination of Isaiah 7:14 from the Masoretic text, Isaiah scroll and the Septuagint. Also an examination of Isaiah 9:6 from the King James Version, the Masoretic text and the Isaiah scroll.

Jeff A. Benner Videos