HEBREW WORD STUDY – I,I  ‘ANIKI ANIKI  אנכי אנכי   Aleph Nun Kap Yod    Aleph, Nun Kap Yod

Isaiah 43:10-11: “Ye [are] my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I [am] he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. (11) I, [even] I, [am] the LORD; and beside me [there is] no savior.”

God is declaring to His people that He is the only God.  To really emphasize His point He says: “I, even I…” In Hebrew, it is just the word ‘aniki repeated two times. In Semitic languages when you want to really emphasize something you repeat the word.  I mean we get the message,  he makes it very clear in verse 10, that He is Jehovah God.  Was there really any need to make a further emphasis?  In verse 10 He makes His point very clear; “that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I [am] he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.” It tends to get a little redundant or monotonous. Alright already, we get your point. 

God’s not really into monotony or redundancy.  He will not insult the intelligence He created in us. The sages teach that such things are often a remez.  A remez is a hint of a deeper message.  A hint that there is a further message buried in His Word for those who will seek Him and search for Him with all their hearts. I have found most Christians don’t really seek or search for Him with all their hearts, not as I have seen with the Rabbinical teachers.  Some Christians have enough trouble just reading through the Bible in one year, let alone study it, research it, and meditate on it

Let’s do a little meditation on this verse and that simple pronoun “I” or ‘aniki.  First, let’s look beyond the double use of aniki as an emphasis.  Many just reading the Bible will not give it another thought.  Most translations seek to make it sound less awkward than saying: “I, I  am the Lord.”  Some show this emphasis by adding words like “even.”  I, even I am the Lord. In English the word “even” when used as an adverb is used to show surprise, something unexpected or paradoxical. Sort of like: “I, believe it or not, I am the Lord.’  Sometimes it is used in the sense of: “I as it so happens I am the Lord.”  I am just not sure of using the word even.  I suppose many would see it as an emphasis so I would not call the translation wrong, it is just me and what enters my ears when I hear the English word “even.”  Most modern translations walk in lockstep with the English word “even” because they, like myself, just can’t think of another word to take the awkwardness out of it.  Some just leave it awkward and say: I, I am the Lord. There are a couple of translations that say: “I, yes, I am the Lord.”  That however conveys to me the idea of: “I, yes, don’t be so surprised I  am the Lord.  I just don’t think God’s people would be shocked to hear that the Lord God is Jehovah. 

My point is that there is clearly a hidden message here. When it comes to a personal search for a hidden message, anything is fair game. I mean that in the sense that I am open to any message God may have for me when I am seeking a personal message from God and allowing

God to speak to me. Tonight, in our Hebrew/Aramaic workshop we are continuing our studies into ways the Jewish teachers search for these hidden or deeper meanings or messages.  It will be recorded and posted on our Learning Channel.

I will not share the entire lesson on this but only share one little aspect of my search.  I used the Gematria.  The word ‘aniki is spelled  Aleph = 1, Nun = 50, Kap = 20 and Yod = 10 for a total value of 81.   What other words have a value of 81?  Since there are two ‘aniki(s) in this mystery I looked for two words that equal 18 and found  Vala’dam  and Aleph Pei which means “I am also for (all) mankind.”  You see God is speaking to his people, the chosen people, and telling them that He is their savior but buried in that message he doubles the aniki and tells us that He is also for us, He is also a savior for us, the non-Jews as well.   

I have always been a little hesitant to include myself, a non-Jew, in many of the promises of God because in the context, as we find in Isaiah 43:10-11, it is just a reference to the Jews.  I know the Apostle Paul says we are grafted in and all that through Jesus but, you know, it is nice to just find a little confirmation of that when you seek God with all your heart, soul, and might. :

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