Jovial (19 Aug 2004)
"Symbolism of Brick for Stone"
I'm using SPTiberian Hebrew fonts, if you want to see the Hebrew part of this post.
"And they used brick (hnbl-LeBoNaH) for stone (Nb)l-L'AVeN) and asphalt (rmx) for mortar (rmxl)." (Gen/Ber 11:3)
Most words in Hebrew are built from 2 or 3 letter roots. The words for "brick" and "stone" share 2 of 3 root letters, Ben (
b) and Nun (N n). They differ in the first, with Lammed (l) for brick and Alef ()) for stone. But here the text adds a Lammed (l) to the Hebrew word for "stone", turning "stone" (Nb)) into "for stone" (Nb)l), or "in substitution of stone". So these words are spelled almost the same, and their meaning is closely connected. The word for "brick" looks a lot like the term "for stone" in Hebrew. Why do the scriptures bother to stop and tell us what material they were using? Because it paralleled the intent of their heart. They were substituting a man-made material (brick) for something found in nature that our Maker formed (a stone). This parallels the intent of their heart, which was to substitute the plan the Creator had with their own plans. They wanted to reach into the heavens.Now this is an example of two things that Elohim / G-d often uses to speak to man. One is wordplay, which occurs frequently in the Tanakh. Another is the use of symbolism, which occurs here. The symbolism does not negate the fact that the literal details actually occurred the way it is described. So when Yeshua talks of the vultures in Matt 24, I suspect He is speaking of something that will actually happen, but that much like the "brick for stone" mentioning in Gen 11, it probably does represent something deeper as well. Perhaps it represents the way the false messiah and his co-horts will prey upon those who are spiritually dead. Of course, that doesn't mean that Ezek 39:11-20 won't be fulfilled literally as described, but it was simply mentioned because it adds meaning to the other context in discussion.
Shalom,
Joe
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