Tuesday 1 September 2015

Approaching the rest, an analysis

In the three books, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, here is how often the mid point rest of a verse is approached from tifcha to atnach. 1,612 times. And without the tifcha 2,635 times,

In the '21 books', here is how often the mid point rest of a verse is approached from tifcha to atnach. 17,199 times. And without the tifcha only 54 times. Perhaps this is why the default tone that Haik-Vantoura chose is what it is.

It is no wonder that the simple rule quoted by de Hoop that tifkha precedes atnach is hard to express. First it is only in the 21 books that we would suggest this thesis and there we would break it a few times. So it is rare but not impossible to approach the mid point rest without a tifcha.

In music this is getting to the A without a G#. It happens in the 21 prose books of the Bible 15 times - I could cite them all: Deut 11:27, 24:10, Exodus 4:10, 33:14, 33:18, Genesis 15:8, 18:3, 19:7, 24:34, 30:28, 34:31, 35:5, 44:6, Leviticus 8:19, 22:19 - all in the Torah.

You can look at them, but don't trust the translation. Who is trying to keep you in place? Come now someone who know better than I and tell me why this example is translated with IF, IF, rather than THAT, IF? Why - because people know that God is a horror to be appeased. Such a lie.

אֶֽת־הַבְּרָכָ֑ה
אֲשֶׁ֣ר תִּשְׁמְע֗וּ אֶל־מִצְוֺת֙ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֧ר אָנֹכִ֛י מְצַוֶּ֥ה אֶתְכֶ֖ם הַיּֽוֹם

This has the remarkable property that the first word is the first half of the verse. It reads to me

A blessing, [There is a rest on this important word - pause!]
that (אֲשֶׁ֣ר) you might hear the commandment of Yahweh your God that (אֲשֶׁ֣ר) I command you today.

The path to the rest is direct from e to A musically. To obey / to hear / is to have rested!

then verse 28 is a long and tortuous route to the rest: from e to the octave above C then B then back to e then B then down a major seventh to c d f g(#) and finally to the rest on A. This verse has the word if you do not (אִם־לֹ֤א) in it. It is a warning. But the first verse of the pair, verse 27 is a down payment and it is not conditional - except in English translations!

וְהַקְּלָלָ֗ה אִם־לֹ֤א תִשְׁמְעוּ֙ אֶל־מִצְוֺת֙ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶ֔ם וְסַרְתֶּ֣ם מִן־הַדֶּ֔רֶךְ אֲשֶׁ֧ר אָנֹכִ֛י מְצַוֶּ֥ה אֶתְכֶ֖ם הַיּ֑וֹם
לָלֶ֗כֶת אַחֲרֵ֛י אֱלֹהִ֥ים אֲחֵרִ֖ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר לֹֽא־יְדַעְתֶּֽם

And I would not render this word as a curse but rather as a Denial. (See my Deuteronomy 28). I am not ready for this.

A denial if you do not hear the commandment of Yahweh your God and you turn aside from the way that I have commanded you today [There is a rest on this word - Pause - You are there as long as it is called today! You know this.]
to go after other gods that you do not know.

There a complex simplicity here in that word 'know' that I have not got the information for to put it into words. The blessing is the knowledge and the knowledge is one of deep care - and other Elohim (gods) do not have the knowledge that is in Yahweh God (Elohim).

Fighting over it, in a sectarian way, will not do of course. But if we learn to sing these verses maybe we will get the point and be healed.

I got distracted - there are hundreds of ways in which A is approached via g. More later. (Hundreds in the 21 books). And hundreds of ways in which it is approached without the g - in the three books.

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