Metaphors: Introduction
June 2, 2024Pastor Patrick presented today's message, "Metaphors: Introduction." Here's a video of the message.
For this week's essay, I thought I'd simply mention some metaphors from the Old Testament (or at least that started in the Old Testament).
God and Jesus are commonly refered to with a rock metaphor. That metaphor began as early as Deuteronomy 32:4, "He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he."
Describing Judah as a lion's cub is an even earlier metaphor in Genesis 49:9.
The notion of God being a father to us is introduced in the Torah. See Deuteronomy 32:6b, "Is he not your Father, your Creator, who made you and formed you?"
While not in the Torah proper, one of the most famous Old Testament metaphors is from Psalm 23, "The Lord is my shepherd." Or how about Psalm 119:105, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."
"Do not uncover his nakedness" means don't have sex with him, Leviticus 18:6.
As you might imagine, the Psalms are full of metaphor. Here's one example. "The Lord God is a sun and shield" (Psalm 84:11).
Sometimes metaphors take shape in dreams, like the dreams of Pharoah about full ears of corn and meager ears of corn that Joseph interpreted as good years and bad years of food. Or, Jacob's dream of a ladder reaching to heaven.
God says, "I am going to make My words become fire in your mouth" (Jeremiah. 5:14).
In Jeremiah 1:18, God makes Jeremiah like a "fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall" in order to stand against the Kings of Judah.
Bonus
Another License Plate: HASHEM
We were beginning a week-long vacation starting in Denver. Pulling away from our hotel as we were crossing the street was a car with a license plate that read HASHEM. I immediately knew what it meant (unlike the KARAN12 license plate story). Hashem (accent on the second syllable) is a Jewish term commonly used to refer to God "by name" without actually saying God's name. Hashem is Hebrew for "the name" (ha=the and shem=name).
While the term is not used as God's name in the Torah (or the entire Old Testament either), it did later become a popular Jewish way to totally avoid the risk of taking God's name in vain (Third Commandment). Hashem is typically used outside of reading the scripture as God's name or a way to reference God, that is, in day-to-day conversation. When reading scripture, the more Biblical name of Adonai ("Lord") is typically used (as well as several other names in the Torah for God, e.g. Elohim, El Shaddai, etc.
I discussed Prager's view of what the Third Commandment is actually prohibiting in an earlier essay. See The Unforgivable Sin for that discussion. Here's a hint: it doesn't really involve the occasional use of OMG.
You may recall that Shem is a name that was used in the Torah. The example many folks remember is that one of Noah's sons was named Shem. Literally, his name was "Name." His name, Shem, eventually led to the term Semite, as in anti-Semitism.
I vividly recall the trouble this word (Hashem) gave me when I started reading contemporary Jewish material or listening to recordings by Jewish speakers on Biblical issues where "Hashem" is generously sprinkled. I kept wondering, "Who/What are they talking about?" A little digging finally revealed what was happening.
In essence, HASHEM on a Jew's license plate is about the same as having GOD on a Christian's license plate.