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"Master YHWH" and "I AM"s in the Peshitta
#14
Janus Parallelism, Fun with Words

Besides James 3:18, another instance of Janus Parallelism appears in Mt 13:31-32:
He [Yeshua] spoke another mathla [parable] in figure to them and said,
"The kingdom of heaven is likened to a grain of mustard seed
that a man took (and) sowed in his field.
And it is smaller than all the small seeds,
but when it grows it is greater than all the small herbs,
and becomes a tree
so that the birds [or: blossoms/flowers]
of heaven come (and) nest in its branches."

This has Janus Parallelism poetry, since the Aramaic word rendered 'birds' can also mean blossoms/flowers.
Hence, one way to read the poem would be to focus on the plant aspects:
seed - sowed in field - seeds - grows - herbs - tree - blossoms/flowers - in branches.
Another way to read the poem would be to focus on the bird aspects:
tree - birds of heaven - nest in branches.

Cyrus Gordon located a Janus parallelism in the Song of Songs 2:12, where the word for "pruning" can also mean "singing"-- see Lataster on poetry.
Song of Songs 2:12 (NIV), my bracket
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Flowers appear on the earth;
the season of singing [or: pruning] has come,
the cooing of doves
is heard in our land.

Here are two possible ways of focusing on certain aspects of the poem:
flowers - earth - season - pruning - land.
____________ - season - singing - cooing - heard.

===================================.
Another instance of Yeshua having fun with varying definitions of a particular word is in Matthew 19:12:
"For there are mahaymina who were born thus from the womb of their mother.
And there are mahaymina who became mahaymina by men.
And there are mahaymina who made themselves mahaymina for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven.
He who is able to comprehend, let him comprehend."

'Mahaymina' can mean eunuch or believer or many similar words; see Lataster. The verse could be translated this way:
'For there are eunuchs who were born thus from the womb of their mother.
And there are eunuchs who became believers by men.
And there are believers who made themselves eunuchs [i.e. chose celibacy] for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven.
He who is able to comprehend, let him comprehend.'
See also Acts 8:27.

===========================,
Yet another case of Yeshua having fun with varying definitions of particular words is from his conversation with Niqodemus at John 3:8:

"The Rukha [Spirit or wind]
will nashaba [breathe or blow] where it desires,
and you hear its qala [voice or sound],
but you do not know (from) where it comes or (to) where it goes;
likewise is everyone who is born from Rukha [Spirit]."

Yeshua does wordplay with three Aramaic words. One rendering is,
'The _wind_ will _blow_ where it desires/wills,
and you hear its _sound_,
but you do not know from where it comes or where it goes;
likewise is everyone who is born from _spirit_.'
Another rendering is,
"The _Spirit_ _breathes_ where he desires/wills,
and you hear his _voice_,
but you do not know from where he comes and where he goes;
thus is everyone who is born from the _Spirit_."

Niqodemus was perplexed, probably in part because of the wordplay. See PY & GB. Cf. John 20:22, where Yeshua "breathed on them and said to them, 'Receive the Rukha d'Qudsha'" [Spirit of Holiness].
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Re: "Master YHWH" and "I AM"s in the Peshitta - by DavidFord - 12-06-2014, 11:20 PM

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