Hebrew | Hebrew | Hebrew | Hebrew | |||
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This Hebrew letter has been more difficult for me to track down. I have done a lot of research on it.
The meaning many people give to this letter is Camel. Yes גָמָל means camel. But in my simple mind I don't see a lot of camels in the temple, and my thesis is that the Hebrew letters carry temple themes and imagery. I've always liked the love story where Rebekah lighted off her camel when she saw Isaac, but still it didn't do much for me in the way of my proposal.
I found that the meaning of camel came from Strongs H1580
"to deal fully", it was not the primary meaning.
"to deal fully", it was not the primary meaning.
However, as gam can infer "to gather", I can see a camel helping in that way. The ancient pictograph could be a foot. Strongs H1571 tells us the word "gam" comes from an unused root meaning "to gather".
גַּם gam, gam; by contraction from an unused root meaning to gather; properly, assemblage (Strongs #H1571)
gam shemayim meaning "all two" has the thought of gathering together for the holy feasts.
גַּם gam, gam; by contraction from an unused root meaning to gather; properly, assemblage (Strongs #H1571)
gam shemayim meaning "all two" has the thought of gathering together for the holy feasts.
Some propose that the gathering would often be to a place of water.
Anciently, people and animals tend to gather at a place where there is water. Furthermore, a place of water was generally green, with foliage, perhaps even garden-like.
Margaret Barker has written about Solomon's temple that "the wall of both the inner and outer rooms were decorated 'with carved figures of cherubim's and palm trees...'(1Kings 6:29)...The doors of the inner sanctuary...were carved with cherubim, palm trees and flowers...The temple interior was a garden representing the...Garden of Eden." (Barker, Margaret. The Gate of Heaven: The History and Symbolism of the Temple in Jerusalem.)
"Here is Joseph Smith's definition of his character gamel. In the "second part, first degree," Joseph Smith had it pronounced as "gah mol." And his definition is:
A fair prospect of anything; Landscape; a place or country; the face of the country; beautiful, situated; a country under a promontory, a promising situation for man.
There seems to be a cognate root in Hebrew that answers to Joseph Smith's definition, which is not the classic GML/GMR ("camel"/"throw-stick") derivation of the regular Semitic gimel/gamel in the Semitic Alphabet. Rather, the cognate root that we are concerned with here is unrelated to those. Here, the one that we are looking at is kerem (krm), which is Strongs 3754, meaning a vineyard. And then, the related/derived place name Carmel (Strongs 3760), which is the name of a promontory that means "fruitful, plentiful field." And the related word karmel (Strongs 3759) means "a plantation, garden land, fruit, garden growth." There is a related Assyrian word, karanu, meaning vine. Remember that one of Joseph Smith's readings of the word, which may or may not have been a mistake, was "gah-nel" with an N rather than an M. Now, there is indeed Egyptian cognates, which seem to represent both N and M forms. As John Tvetdnes writes:
The cognate to kerem in most of the Semitic languages means "vineyard." . . . Lane gives karam the meaning of "generous, good, fertile land," which implies a more general meaning for the word.
Egyptian, which is related to the Semitic language family, has two basic forms for "vineyard." The older form has a final n and is variously written [Egyptian characters], etc. and is to be read k3nw. The use of both the tree and the vine determinative at the end of the word is evidence that it really means both "vineyard" and "orchard." Both meanings, along with "garden," are given . . . for the later form of the word, k3m, variously written [Egyptian characters], etc.
. . . the later form became Demotic k3m, "garden" . . . We may also note Egyptian k3my, "gardener of wine/flowers," which Černý lists with Demotic k3my, "gardener" . . . Compare also Egyptian k3ry, "gardener of wine/flowers," and k3ny, "gardener of wine/fruit."
Erman and Grapow list Hebrew krm as a cognate to the later Egyptian form k3m. Albright, however, believed that the younger Egyptian form was a borrowing from Semitic. If Egyptian borrowed from Semitic, however, we would expect the Egyptian form to be krm rather than k3n or k3m. Albright contends that the use of the glottal stop (3) shows that it is "a very old" loanword. However, the Egyptian form with the final m is, as Erman and Grapow have indicated, clearly the later form—the one which, as noted above, continued into Demotic and Coptic. It is much more likely that the Egyptian is merely cognate to Semitic.
The Encyclopedia Miqra'it notes that "The Egyptiam k3mu could be used for both a vineyard of vines and a plantation of mixed fruit trees. . . . The scribe Any counted twelve vines that he planted in his garden, and alongside them 100 fig trees, 170 date palms, and the like." (http://preview.farmsresearch.com/publications/books/?bookid=124&chapid=1484)
Now, in Joseph Smith's translation, we were told that it was a promising, fair prospect, or beautiful or promising country. This matches very well with the k3m/k3r/k3n cognates in Egyptian, and with the Semitic KRM/KRN cognates. And it especially makes sense that one of the characters for the Egyptian gamel is the Lily Plant, keeping consistent with this theme of plants."
Perhaps there could also be a change from a "G" to a "C" sound could be from the way the letter is pronounced. (see notes at end)
Gam means to gather. Gam is gathering to the garden. Adam and Eve were driven out of the garden
which is the Hebrew word גָּרַשׁ gârash; a primitive root; to drive out from a possession; —cast up (out), divorce, drive away (forth, out), expel, × surely put away, trouble, thrust out.Each of us as "Adam" and "Eve" now need to שׁוּב shuv, return and repent and make our journey back to the garden. I love Michael P Lyon's illustration of this theme. (Sacred Topography of Eden and the Temple, 1994)
We must then help others gather to the garden as well. We are gathering Israel, gathering the wheat in the field so white. Zayin is planting, nourishing and harvesting. Gimel is gathering to the garden and the garner.
"Behold the field was ripe, and blessed are ye for ye did thrust in the sickle, and did reap with your might, yea, al lthe day long did ye labor; and behold the number of your sheaves! And they shall be gathered into the garners (Temple), that they are not wasted.
Elder David L Bednar taught: "The sheaves are newly baptized. The garners are the Temple. When we are baptized our eyes should gaze beyond the font to the temple."
Before the sheaves of wheat were gathered into the garner (I like the letter "g" in this post) :), they were taken to the threshing floor so that the wheat could fall from the chaff. Of course you would not want it to fall into dirt, so this was done on a threshing floor- A גֹּרֶן gôren.
The Temple Mount in Jerusalem was the original Threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. Solomon built the temple on the threshing floor David bought. (2 Chr 3:1)
The prophet Gad :) which not-coincidently comes from a root גָּדַד gâdad which means "to cut" (sheaves), to gather, to assemble troops (missionaries) :) [parentheses my thoughts].
2 Sam 24:18, 19 -- And Gad came that day to David, and said unto him, Go up, rear an
altar unto the LORD in the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. And David, according
to the saying of Gad, went up as the LORD commanded.
(David prophesied the building of the Temple on this site, the threshing floor of Araunah or Ornan the Jebusite on the top of mount Moriah. This is the place where God chose to meet with Israel. This is where Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice.)
A threshing floor was often located on a high mountain, because the wind was able to carry away the chaff. The wheat is thrown up into the air letting the wind separate the whea fruit from the chaff.
My husband often comments about the wind as we walk to the door of the Oquirrh Mountain temple. I tell him, "It has to be that way!" Temples are built on high mountains on threshing floors. :)
"Yea, they shall not be beaten down by the storm at the last day; yea, neither shall they be harrowed up by the whirlwinds; but when the storm cometh they shall be gathered together in their place, that the storm cannot penetrate to them; yea, neither shall they be driven with fierce winds whithersoever the enemy listeth to carry them.
I like the imagery of the Garden. Certainly a temple theme. What happened in the Garden of Eden is reversed in the Garden of Gethsemane and at the Garden tomb. Jesus appears as the gardener to both Adam and then again to Mary (who represents Eve).
(Rebecca Stay notes)
גֶּפֶן gephen, gheh'-fen; from an unused root meaning to bend; a vine (as twining), especially the grape:—vine, tree.
I think this is a good representation of gam:
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. John 15:5
Some say that the ancient gamel sign was signifying a foot walking with the thought of gathering and also walking to water. In desert climates this gathering place would be a "garden". The vineyard and garden are both symbols of a beautiful, productive gathering place for the Lord's covenant people." (Val Brinkerhoff, Lost Wisdom, 9
Megiddo as seen from Mt Carmel
Gamol - Daleem is another meaning for this letter. The Jewish thought is that Gamol daleem or Gemilut Chasadim means to give personal acts of loving kindness. It consists of giving to the poor. Charity. Even tithing. Using your heart and hands to help others. Gemilut Hasadim, literally means "the giving of loving-kindness".
A virtue which includes every kind of help: visiting the sick, comforting those who mourn, escorting the dead to the grave. The Mishnah counts it among the things for which no limit has been prescribed by the Torah. Since gemilut chasadim consists of personal acts of kindness, it can be practised by rich and poor alike. Gemilut chasadim finds expression in all efforts of goodwill, and is exemplified by receiving all men cheerfully, by lving peace and striving for peace.
In Psalms we find:
Masoretic Text
and of course in Psalms 119 where we find the Hebrew alphabet we read for Gimel:
Masoretic Text
Reverse Interlinear
| English (KJV) [?] | Strong's | Root Form (Hebrew) | Parsing | ||
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גָּמַל gamal
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עֶבֶד `ebed
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חָיָה chayah
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שָׁמַר shamar
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דָּבָר dabar
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In Neh 10:36-38 we read about dealing bountifully to the Lord: Also the firstborn of our sons, and of our cattle, as written in the law, and the firstlings of our herds and of our flocks, to bring to the house of our God, unto the priests that minister in the house of our God:
And that we should bring the firstfruits of our dough, and our offerings, and the fruit of all manner of trees, of wine and of oil, unto the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and the tithes of our ground unto the Levites, that the same Levites might have the tithes in all the cities of our tillage
And the priest the son of Aaron shall be with the Levites, when the Levites take tithes: and the Levites shall bring up the tithe of the tithes unto the house of our God, to the chambers, into the treasure house.
Because of this I see the garden symbolism rather than a camel. |
To conclude, I must share the word גָּאַל gâʼal, a primitive root, to redeem (according to the Oriental law of kinship), i.e. to be the next of kin (and as such to buy back a relative's property, marry his widow, etc.):—avenger, deliver, (do, perform the part of the next of kin, purchase, ransom, redeem(-er), revenger. In the garden sense above, it also means to redeem a field. (see Lev 25)
Our Savior, Jesus Christ stands as the eldest of all of our Father's children. When Adam and Eve partook of the fruit in the garden, they needed someone to redeem them so that they could return to Father's presence. Jesus Christ, our elder brother performed the part of the next of kin. He ultimately purchased us, ransomed us, and is indeed our Great Redeemer! This atoning sacrifice in which he suffered יָגָה took place in a sacred garden.
גַּת gath שֶׁמֶן shemen
Garden of the Oil Press
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Notes:
Perhaps the change from a "G" to a "C" sound could be from the way the letter is pronounced. I found an interesting thought about this:
No two letters of the alphabet are closer than C and G, fraternal twins in shape and sound. Settle your tongue and make the sound "k", which shoves air along the rear roof of your mouth (the velum, or soft palate). Leave your tongue in place, but this time start from your vocal cords: "g". Thus C (or K) is the unvoiced velar stop; G is the voiced velar stop. The kinship can be heard in the word "scorn," which would be pronounced much the same if spelled "sgorn." (Another example: On your next memo to your boss, try writing across the top "As we disgust.")
This also helps to explain why C became the third letter in English, instead of G. The Greeks converted gimmel into gamma, but the Etruscans who borrowed the writing from the Greeks, had no G sound. The nearest sound was "k" and so they turned gamma into "C". Later, the Romans needed a letter for the G sound, and created the letter "G".
Another proposal is that the Gam is the Gamma Square
The ancient glyph was
The ancient glyph was
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The ancient Greek Gamma is quite similar to the ancient Hebrew Gimmel. And the Hebrew became the Greek letter Gamma.
As I studied this I remembered the picture I had seen with gamma marks.
Note the temple themes:
Here is the link to an interesting article on freemasonry symbols:
“By letter four and science five, this “G” aright doth stand.” “Letters four” properly refers to J H V H, the tetragrammaton or four-letter word, the Hebrew designation of deity, which we call Jehovah, for want of a more likely rendition of the vowels (omitted in early Hebrew writing).
“Science Five,” of course, is Geometry.
The Pythagoreans reverenced numbers as sacred; geometry was to them the sacred science. It initial letter, Gamma, a square, was especially revered. The Gamma looks like a square used by builders; it was the symbol of the actual, four-sided, or geometrical square, the first whole number square, and therefore, the representative of deity, the four-letter word, the tetragrammaton. Symbols are easily converted the one into the other and back again. If the Gamma, which appeared like a workman’s square, was a symbol of the geometrical square, which in turn was a symbol of Deity, then, by a simple reconversion looked like Gamma, which in one position looked like the square of the workman, soon came to symbolize the tetragrammaton or four-letter word.
The square is used for measuring the earth and matter. The compass is linked to the circle, Heaven and the spirit.
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