Learn to read the Hebrew Bible as it was always intended
When God called Ezekiel for the first time, He put on quite a show. The sky lit up with fire and “gleaming amber.” The original Hebrew word for “gleaming amber” is chashmal חַשְׁמַל. This is a very rare word, appearing only in the Book of Ezekiel. For centuries, translators have scratched their heads concerning the meaning of this word. It is obviously something shiny, but what exactly? The first translation of the Hebrew Bible – the 3rd century BCE Greek version – rendered this word elektron.
Fast-forward to the 20th century. In Israel, modern Jewish linguists were hard at work reviving Hebrew, updating the age-old language of the Bible to fit modern times. To refer to the relatively newly discovered “electricity”, it was decided that the mysterious word chashmal – because it had been first translated as elektron - was a perfect fit. And so, to this day the modern Hebrew word for electricity is the very ancient but brilliant chashmal.
Are you thirsty for real biblical knowledge? Do you want to join the tens thousands of students who study the Bible and feel the same sense of a reinvigorated biblical understanding? Studying biblical Hebrew in our live online courses is the ultimate “gleaming amber” that can reignite your spiritual life. A new biblical Hebrew course is starting soon. Register now!
