Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Harold Holmyard <hholmyard AT ont.com>]

Dear Yigal,

> As you understand, I do not accept NT interpretation of the Tanakh. I also 
> don't neccesarily accept Talmudic interpratation as binding, although it is 
> relevant for understanding the developement of Jewish tradition.
>
> We must remember, that God is not human. What does "hate" mean to God? Does 
> God truly have emotions, or does scripture use human emotions in the same 
> way as it uses other human characteristics, such as God's hand, arm, face, 
> backside etc. , as imperfect metaphors that help US comprehend a small point 
> of God's characteristics.



HH: God inspired the Bible, so he wants us to think of him in terms of 
having emotions.



> So your question of "Why should God create 
> something He hates?" is simply irrelevant - because it's part of His plan, 
> of which we can only see a small part.
>  



HH: Genesis 1 describes how God created, and God saw everything as good 
and was pleased. He did not create something he hated.

>  
>
> > HH: They are not wicked when created.
> >    
>
> What about Gen. 8:21: "For man's yetser-lev is evil from his youth"?
> I understand "yetser-lev" as "inclination of the heart".
>  



HH: Genesis 8:21 is long after the creation. The fall of man has 
occurred through sin (Genesis 3), so that all children are born affected 
by it.

>  
>
> > HH: There are complex reasons why storms occur, but it is not God's job
> > to stop storms from occurring.
> >    
>
> Why not? He created the laws of nature - he could have created them 
> differently.
>  



HH: He did create them differently, but then the fall of man through sin 
came, and it was appropriate for God to make changes or for changes to 
occur.

Yours,
Harold Holmyard