ARAMAIC WORD STUDY – APPLAUSE – SEPHAQ ספק Samek Pei Qop

II Corinthians 3:5: “Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God.”

To me when I hear the word adequate I am thinking of something that barely passes. When I was teaching I considered a “C” grade as adequate, just about average maybe a little below. So, I read II Corinthians 3:5 which tells me that my adequacy is from God. Is that all God is going to give me to do His work? Just adequate? The word adequate in Greek is hikanoi which means to be sufficient, competently strong, worthy or suitable. That sounds a little better but I do like the Aramaic word that is used much better which is sephaq. It is a word used for the striking of hands at an event, in short, it is applause. Now read this verse using our English word applause: “Not that we receive applause for ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our applause is from God.” I believe the story I wrote about Sylvia Pig when I was paying my way through college as a ventriloquist explains this verse quite adequately (there’s that word again)

A PIG IN THE SUNSHINE

If you were to visit Uncle Otto’s farm you would be impressed by how well kept and maintained his farm is. Everything is in good repair, the grass is mowed and it really is well-tended except for one small area, the pigpen. Grass never grows in the pigpen, in fact, even in the driest weather, the pen is still just one big mud puddle. The reason is that pigs love to roll in the mud and then just lay in the sunshine and let that mud bake on their backs.

Now the pigs were not the only ones who appreciate the sunshine. King, Uncle Otto’s white stallion is well aware that all that grass, hay, and alfalfa that he eats would not be possible if it were not for the sunshine. The chickens know to lay their eggs when the sun comes up and Baby Doll, Uncle Otto’s milk cow, knows it is time to give milk when the sun comes up. Yes, indeed, all the animals know the consequences if there should be a morning and the sun does not arise. For this reason, they live in mortal fear that Rooster, their sun prophet would one day not crow.

For you see every morning when Rooster crows, the sun comes up. Therefore, by animal logic, Rooster crows, the sun comes up, therefore Rooster makes the sun rise.

Well, let us jump to our story about Silvia Pig. Silvia was not as large as the other pigs, as pigs go. She did not smell as foul as the other pigs. Worst of all Silvia’s oink was unlike the oink of the other pigs. It was sort of high pitched, squeaky like. Silvia just did not match up to the other pigs by the pig criteria that would exalt a pig in pigdom. However, she loved to roll in the mud and let it bake in the sunshine just as much as the other pigs, but alas, the other pigs paid Silvia no mind. She was often shunned to the remotest part of the pigpen, usually in the shade where there were little mud and little sun.

“Oh,” bemoaned Silvia. “If only I could do something really great, really important. Something that would make me special in the eyes of the other pigs.” Silvia would dream of some great exploit, doing something very heroic and all the pigs praising her and Bruno Sow fawning over her, giving her his spot in the muddiest and sunniest part of the mud puddle that Bruno reserved only for his favored pigs.

One morning Silvia observed Rooster as he crowed to call the sun up in the morning and began to think. Now you must realize that pigs are of such little brain, that they often think things that seem strange to us who are of more brain. Silvia began to wonder why the sun would listen only to crow and no one else. Maybe it was his special voice. Maybe, yes, not maybe, but a fact that Silvia’s strange oink was not a curse but a gift. A gift to call up the sun every morning.

Oh, my friend, when one thinks a fantasy about himself, before long he begins to believe that fantasy. Soon Silvia began to puff herself up and share with the other chickens her new revelation about herself. She was indeed a sun prophet, ordained to be a back up to Rooster. She was the prophet in waiting. If Rooster ever failed to crow, she, with her gifted oink, would call the sun up.

Well, of course, all the other pigs laughed and mocked Silvia. For even though pigs have little brain, they knew enough to know that Silvia indeed had more bacon than pork.

But one morning, the animals on Uncle Otto’s farm faced their worst nightmare. Rooster lost his voice, he had a bad cold. Instead of a bold “cockle doodle doo” All that came out was a pitiful “cockle doodle doo.” “Oh” mooed Baby Doll, “The sun will not arise, how will I ever give my milk” “Or our eggs” clucked chickens, “I will have no hay,” Whinnied King. Yes, and even Bruno Sow showed signs of panic: “My beautiful mud hole will not be soft and moist.” Oinked Bruno Sow mournfully.

“Quick,” said Baby Doll to Buddy, “Go get Uncle Otto’s cough medicine.” “I’m on it!” barked Buddy. Now, Uncle Otto used to make his own cough medicine. The word for Uncle Otto’s cough medicine comes from the same root word as Moonshine. But, hey it worked for Uncle Otto it will surely work for Rooster.

Rooster began to sip Uncle Otto’s cough medicine. It burned as it went down. “That means its working” snorted King hopefully. “Yes,” said Pigs, “It is burning away that nasty cold that keeps Roosters cockle doodle doo quiet.

However, Rooster did not look too good after drinking Uncle Otto’s cough medicine. In fact, it appeared he had problems standing. “Go ahead” encouraged Baby Doll to Rooster, “Give it a try.” Rooster fluffed himself up, staggered a little and let out: “Cock, hic, a, hic, do, hic a hic dooooooooooooooooo!” He was out cold. “Oh,” moaned the farm animals, he will never wake up now to call the sun. We are doomed, doomed!.”

In walked “Silvia. “You need not fear, my friends, for I have been gifted with a special oink. I have studied oink in the best pig pens in the country, I studied under the world’s best oink prophets. I even studied at the School of Oink. I know how to call the sun up.” Well, all the animals knew Silvia was never at any other pig pens, but this was not a time to argue. It was worth a try. Desperate times called for desperate action. They quickly led Silvia to Rooster’s fence post and left her there to call up the sun, as each farm animal took their usual morning positions.

“What have I done?” thought Silvia, “What if the sun does not arise. Oh, how the farm animals will laugh at me.” But Silvia had no choice and maybe this was fate. So she gave it her best oink. “Oink di oink oink.” And you know what dear reader? The sun did come up, shining as bright as ever.

“She did it, praise to Silvia, she oinked the sun up.” Shouted all the farm animals. All the animals gathered around Silvia, praising and honoring her as a truly gifted pig with a gifted oink. Silvia just beamed. Then Bruno Sow stepped forward. “Come, little Silvia. Come share my mud puddle with me in that nice hot sun you oinked up.” Silvia’s dream had come true and that afternoon as King and Baby Doll walked by the pigpen, there they saw Silvia laying in the muddiest and sunniest part of the pigpen. “Yes, “ said King, “Silvia is truly a pig in the sunshine.”

II Corinthians 3:5: “Not that we receive applause for ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our applause is from God.”

THIS AND OTHER STORIES ARE FOUND IN MY BOOK: BIBLICAL TRUTHS FROM UNCLE OTTO’S FARM. WHICH MAY BE PURCHASED THROUGH AMAZON https://www.amazon.com/Biblical-Truths-Uncle-Ottos-Farm-ebook/dp/B0792XJPPB/ref=sr_1_14?crid=5AC2CWTWLC9J&keywords=chaim+bentorah&qid=1582324823&sprefix=CHAIM+bENTORAH%2Caps%2C172&sr=8-14