Hannah’s prayer continued:

In the Tanakh (Table3 below) חָדֵ֑לּוּ was translated have ceased, or ceased in the KJV.  The translators of the NET understood חדלו (châdal) as no longer lack, though the rabbis who translated the Septuagint (Table4 below) chose παρῆκαν γῆν (have forsaken the land).  This variation of meaning was evident in the first occurrence of חדלו (châdal): So HaShem scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth; and they left off (וַיַּחְדְּל֖וּ) to build the city.^[1]  They stopped building in the NET (Table5 below) because few (or none) remained to continue.  The rabbis chose ἐπαύσαντο (Table6 below) the middle voice of παύω which can mean “to stop doing (something)” as well as “to leave” or “to cease to exist.”

In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied (חָדְל֖וּ), and the travellers walked through byways.^[2]  The KJV was identical here (Table7 below) while the NET had caravans disappeared (châdal, חדלו).  The Tanakh on chabad.org rendered it caravans ceased.  All conjure an image of depopulation.  The Greek word ἐξέλιπον (Table8 below) was translated they deserted the ways in one version of the Septuagint and kings were lacking in another.

The inhabitants of the villages ceased (חָדְל֧וּ), they ceased (חָדֵ֑לּוּ) in Israel, until that I Deborah arose, that I arose a mother in Israel.^[3]  There is some question who ceased or were scarce (Table9 below) or was lacking or failed (Table10 below), but all seemed to be attempting a translation of חדלו (châdal).  I wanted to consider at least one example where the clear intent was to stop something: And Samson said unto them, Though ye have done this, yet will I be avenged of you, and after that I will cease.^[4]  Samson promised to quit killing after he got revenge (Table11 below).

Though the rabbis chose different Greek words—παρῆκαν, ἐπαύσαντο, ἐξέλιπον, ἐξέλιπεν and κοπάσ—I’m convinced, except for the BLB version of Judges 15:7 (Table12 below), that some form of חָדַל (châdal) was the Hebrew word in question.  Again, the Tanakh and KJV have the most accurate translation as far as the range of meaning of the word is concerned, but Hannah probably meant something more like the hungry no longer lack or the hungry have forsaken the land.  So the cautious translation—ceased or have ceased—is a tacit admission that the translators of the KJV and Tanakh had no more idea what Hannah actually meant than I do.

I lacked the patience for this kind of ambiguity when I searched the Bible for rules to justify me and condemn you if we disagreed.  Such ambiguity threatened the veracity as well as the harshness of my judgments.  Studying to know…the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom [He] sent^[5] is another matter entirely.  Lessons on the limitations of the language that carry that knowledge are part of the process.  I won’t spend any more time here trying to crack the code of what Hannah actually meant.  I’m more interested in what she prayed next, something that has enjoyed more universal agreement among translators.

This was the first time the Hebrew word ויעל (ʽâlâh; Tanakh: bringeth up) was used to mean resurrection.  It was translated ἀνάγει (a form of ἀνάγω; brings up) in the Septuagint (Table14 below).  Now may the God of peace who by the blood of the eternal covenant brought back (ἀναγαγὼν, another form of ἀνάγω) from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep, our Lord Jesus, equip you with every good thing^[6] to do his will, working in us^[7] what is pleasing before him through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever.^[8]  Amen.^[9]

The prophet Ezekiel was told (Ezekiel 37:12-14 Tanakh):

Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up (וְהַֽעֲלֵיתִ֥י) out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.  And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up (וּבְהַֽעֲלוֹתִ֥י) out of your graves, And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD.

Here וְהַֽעֲלֵיתִ֥י (come up) was translated ἀνάξω (another form of ἀνάγω) and וּבְהַֽעֲלוֹתִ֥י (brought…up) was translated ἀναγαγεῗν (another form of ἀνάγω).  I admit I have taken this resurrection literally.  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke January 27, 2010 at Auschwitz in Poland, and said:

We, the Jewish nation, who lost a third of our people on Europe’s blood-soaked soil, have learned that the only guarantee for defending our people is a strong State of Israel and the army of Israel…

The Jewish people rose from ashes and destruction, from a terrible pain that can never be healed. Armed with the Jewish spirit, the justice of man, and the vision of the prophets, we sprouted new branches and grew deep roots. Dry bones became covered with flesh, a spirit filled them, and they lived and stood on their own feet.

As Ezekiel prophesized:

“Then He said unto me: These bones are the whole House of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, our hope is gone; we are doomed.’ Prophecy [sic], therefore, and say to them: Thus said the Lord God: I am going to open your graves and lift you out of your graves, O My people, and bring you to the land of Israel.”

Almost three weeks later an anonymous blogger wrote:

Israel came back from the dead in 1948.  In spite of the obviousness of the situation, there are many who continue to deny this and look at this as either an accident of nature, or simply due to Israel’s stubborness.  However, in spite of the all the odds, Israel once again became a nation.  Not only this, but since that time, the language of Hebrew (also dead as a language prior to that point), was resurrected.  This is unheard of that dead languages are resurrected!

Today, continuing against all odds, Israel exists.

It is the kind of activity Hannah credited to God:

As Paul wrote believers in Corinth (1 Corinthians 1:27-29 NET Table):

God chose what the world thinks foolish to shame the wise, and God chose what the world thinks weak to shame the strong.  God chose what is low and despised in the world, what is regarded as nothing, to set aside what is regarded as something, so that no one can boast in his presence.

But the Masoretic text continued:

The Hebrew word translated pillars was מְצֻ֣קֵי (mâtsûq).  It only occurred one other time: The one crag rose up (מָצ֥וּק) on the north in front of Michmas, and the other on the south in front of Geba.^[10]  The rabbis translated this verse in the Septuagint without translating the modifier מָצ֥וּק (mâtsûq).  In the English translations of the Septuagint (Table26 below) the word was was supplied just like מָצ֥וּק (mâtsûq) was translated in the NET (Table25 below).  But a crag or cliff face “pillared up” conjures a mental image not unlike an igneous rock formation called columnar jointing.

An entry titled “The Hexagon Pool” on Milestones Israel online reads:

A fact maybe not widely known is that many of the mountain and rock formations in Israel are volcanic.  The result is beautiful sites such as the Hexagon Pool which can be found in the Yehudiya Forest in northern Israel.

I can easily imagine Hannah describing columnar jointing as pillars of the earth.  The most apparent reason why the rabbis wouldn’t translate it was deference to Greek knowledge of a spherical earth.  Perhaps a world (תֵּבֵֽל) placed on pillars sounded a little too much like a flat earth.  Though this strikes me as more a modern than an ancient concern, the Wikipedia article “Spherical Earth” reads:

The Hebrew Bible imagined a three-part world, with the heavens (shamayim) above, Earth (eres) in the middle, and the underworld (sheol) below.^[35] After the 4th century BC this was gradually replaced by a Greek scientific cosmology of a spherical Earth surrounded by multiple concentric heavens.^[36]

I still wanted to examine the scriptures.  Since I couldn’t pursue מְצֻ֣קֵי, pillars, any further I looked at תֵּבֵֽל (têbêl), world.  And the channels of the sea appeared, the foundations (מֹסְד֣וֹת) of the world (תֵּבֵ֑ל) were laid bare by the rebuke of HaShem, at the blast of the breath of His nostrils.^[11]  The rabbis had no problem with this one: And the channels of the sea were seen, and the foundations (θεμέλια) of the world (οἰκουμένης) were discovered, at the rebuke of the Lord, at the blast of the breath of his anger.^[12]  This is repeated with minor variations in Psalm 18:15 (Table29 and Table30 below).  Granted, the rabbis may have perceived David’s song as less literal than Hannah’s prayer.

I began to investigate verses which contained both מֹסְד֣וֹת (foundations) and אֶ֨רֶץ֙ (earth) as a proxy for pillars of the earth.  For a fire is kindled in My nostril, and burneth unto the depths of the nether-world, and devoureth the earth (אֶ֨רֶץ֙) with her produce, and setteth ablaze the foundations (מֽוֹסְדֵ֥י) of the mountains.^[13]  The rabbis translated this practically verbatim: For a fire has been kindled out of my wrath, it shall burn to hell below; it shall devour the land (γῆν; NETS: earth), and the fruits of it; it shall set on fire the foundations (θεμέλια) of the mountains.^[14]  As far as it goes it’s a fairly good description of volcanism, except for attributing volcanism to God’s anger at Israel’s sin and rebellion (Deuteronomy 32:21).

Then the earth (הָאָ֔רֶץ) did shake and quake, the foundations (מוֹסְד֥וֹת) of heaven did tremble; they were shaken, because He was wroth.^[15]  The rabbis render it: And the earth (γῆ) was troubled and quaked, and the foundations (θεμέλια) of heaven were confounded and torn asunder, because the Lord was wroth with them.^[16]  This theme of earthquakes and God’s anger continued.

Then the earth (הָאָ֗רֶץ) shook and trembled; the foundations (וּמֽוֹסְדֵ֣י) also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth.^[17]  The rabbis translated it: Then the earth (γῆ) shook and quaked, and the foundations (θεμέλια) of the mountains were disturbed, and were shaken, because God was angry with them.^[18]

They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations (מ֥וֹסְדֵי) of the earth (אָֽרֶץ) are out of course.^[19]  The repetition of this theme is causing me to repent of any tendency to use my admittedly meager knowledge of volcanism and plate tectonics to ascribe such naturalness to them as to scoff at God’s wrath as their cause.  The rabbis translated it: They know not, nor understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations (θεμέλια) of the earth (γῆς) shall be shaken.^[20]

I saved the final two occurrences of מֹסְד֣וֹת (foundations) and אֶ֨רֶץ֙ (earth) as a transition to considering the alternative that Masoretes added for the pillars of the earth are HaShem’S, and He hath set the world upon them to Hannah’s prayer.

Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations (מֽוֹסְדֵי) of the earth (אֶ֖רֶץ) searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD.^[21]  The Septuagint was significantly different.  Though the sky should be raised to a [greater] height, saith the Lord, and though the ground (ἔδαφος) of the earth (γῆς) should be sunk [lower] beneath, yet I will not cast off the family of Israel, saith the Lord, for all that they have done.^[22]

The first thing that leapt out at me was the possibility that μετέωρον (Table46 below) was a copyist’s jumble of μετρέω and μέτρον.  On the other hand, if one considers astronomy and geophysics as fulfilling the conditions specified in the Masoretic text to cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, the rabbis’ translation in the Septuagint might become preferable to those who believe that God is faithful to Israel for the sake of his holy name.

This prompts the question afresh: Did the rabbis refuse to translate When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment?  Or was it not there originally to be translated?  I won’t explore that here but will consider that possibility in Hannah’s prayer.

Jacob “Freudenthal’s ultimate conclusion…was that ‘the translation of the so-called Septuagint bears no traces of the inroad of Greek philosophy into Jewish Hellenism.’”^[23]  If I wonder whether that might apply to Greek cosmology as well, and consider more seriously that the Masoretes’ “ultimate goal was to uphold the traditions of the Jewish people,”^[24] my attention becomes focused on why they would add something to Hannah’s prayer?  My assumption would be for misdirection.  They wanted my attention drawn away from the Savior/Judge Hannah had praised up to that point and onto the Creator.  So I fastened on inherit the throne of glory because of its proximity, preceding the suspected addition.

The Hebrew word translated throne was וְכִסֵּ֥א (kissêʼ) and glory was כָב֖וֹד (kâbôd).  I began with the most notable throne one might inherit, God’s promise to David through the prophet Nathan.

So the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God!  Listen: You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.  He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne (θρόνον) of his father David.^[25]  He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end.”^[26]

I’ll pick this up in another essay.

Tables comparing 1 Samuel 2:4; 2:5; Genesis 11:8; Judges 5:6; 5:7; 15:7; 1 Samuel 2:6; Ezekiel 37:12; 37:13; 37:14; 1 Samuel 2:7; 2:8; 14:5; 2 Samuel 22:16; Psalm 18:15; Deuteronomy 32:22; 2 Samuel 22:8; Psalm 18:7; 82:5; Isaiah 24:18; 40:21; Micah 6:2; Jeremiah 31:37; Proverbs 8:29; 1 Chronicles 17:11; 17:12; 17:13 and 17:14 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET; and tables comparing 1 Samuel (Kings, Reigns) 2:4; 2:5; Genesis 11:8; Judges 5:6; 5:7; 15:7; 1 Samuel (Kings, Reigns) 2:6; Ezekiel 37:12; 37:13; 37:14; 1 Samuel (Kings, Reigns) 2:7; 2:8; 14:5; 2 Samuel (Kings, Reigns) 22:16; Psalm 18:15 (17:16); Deuteronomy 32:22; 2 Samuel (Kings, Reigns) 22:8; Psalm 18:7 (17:8); 82:5 (81:5); Isaiah 24:18; 40:21; Micah 6:2; Jeremiah 31:35 (38:35; 38:37); Proverbs 8:29; 1 Chronicles (Supplements) 17:11; 17:12; 17:13 and 17:14 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor) follow.  Following these are tables comparing Hebrews 13:21 and Luke 1:32 in the NET and KJV.