Hebrew Word Study – Lizards – Semanith – שממית Sine Mem Mem Yod Taw
Proverbs 30:28: “The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings ‘palaces.” KJV
Yesterday I pressed the button on my dashboard to open the doors of my disability bus to let off one of my passengers on 26th Street on the border of Berwyn and Cicero. This is in the heart of the Metro Chicago area, a pure city. The only wildlife you see are a few squirrels and some birds nothing more. There have been occasional sightings of coyotes, but they are pretty elusive.
Yet, when I opened the doors standing on the sidewalk in front of the opening doors stood a dragon as if he were waiting to board my bus. I am not kidding, a dragon. Ok, I am romanticizing, it was a big lizard. No not the Jurassic Park-size lizards, just your ordinary green, scaly, creature with horns and warts, about a foot and a half long. I mean driving a bus through Chicago I have come to expect almost anything when I open the doors to my bus, but a lizard? That I never expected to see. You know how your mind works, my first thought was that the Wicked Witch of East Cicero put a curse on one of our drivers and turned him into a lizard and he was trying to get a ride back to the terminal. Of course, I dismissed that idea completely. It would have had to be a toad, not a lizard.
Would you like Chaim Bentorah as your personal Hebrew teacher?
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He appeared to be quite polite as if he were waiting for my passenger to disembark before he stepped onto my bus. My passenger was not charmed by his manners. She just let out a blood-curdling scream –“EEEEEK it’s a monster.” Poor little guy, scared him to death. He quickly scurried off under a bush. I had to personally walk the little old lady to the door of her apartment assuring her I was ready to slay that dragon if he should attack, which was very unlikely as this lizard is about as out of place in the big city of Chicago as a, well as a lizard in the big city of Chicago. I actually thought he was cute in a lizardly sort of way. It was just as well he scurried away; I probably could not have given him a ride anyway. You had to be a resident of Cicero to ride the bus and you had to either be a senior citizen or disabled. The only disability I could detect on my little friend was being green which was not enough of a disability to qualify for a ride. He certainly did not appear to be a senior and I seriously question he was a resident of Cicero. I think we have some sort of ordinance forbidding lizards as pets. I took a poll of the other drivers and no one, no matter how many years they have worked for the town could recall ever seeing a lizard, let alone one waiting for a ride on their bus.
I had really been seeking an answer in Scripture to a personal issue so I began to assume that maybe this was yiredu. I mean if a lizard shows up at your door in the middle of the City of Chicago, perhaps he came to share a message.
So I began to search the Scriptures on lizards and behold, I found the answer to the issue I have been struggling with for many months now. Actually, I have been struggling with this since the release of my newest book which has not been doing that well. You see I have been suffering from something called an inferiority complex.
I mean I do have degrees from good schools like Moody Bible Institute and Denver Seminary, all accredited by North Central but it is not like I have degrees from Princeton, Harvard, or Oxford. I do not have a large platform like some of the big names in our Christian world. Yet, I am proposing something I have never heard anyone propose and that is that we learn how to enter God’s heart, to know His heart, to experience what His heart feels both His love and His broken heart. I have been on a search for the heart of God now for almost 20 years and I have had many unusual experiences, that I long to share and encourage others to experience. But, I mean like who am I against all these big names in Christianity? Sort of like, “Buddy, you don’t have an inferiority complex, you are just inferior.
I felt led to this passage in Proverbs which seems to be addressing two things. One is that the spider is taketh hold with his hands. One Jewish rabbi renders the word yadaim not as hand but as handiwork. Only a privileged few are allowed to enter a king’s palace, let alone perform his handiwork, but an insignificant creature like a spider manages to wander into the palace and even demonstrates his handiwork in the throne room. I sensed God telling me to just be that spider and spin my personal handiwork. He will let my work be seen in a throne room if He wants.
There is one other thing about this passage. The word in Hebrew for spider is ‘akabyish and the word for lizard is leta’ah. Yet the word used in Proverbs is semamyth. I read this in twenty different modern English translations and twelve render this as lizard while eight render it as spider. Now there is a big difference between a spider and a lizard.
My point is this, we evangelical Christians are just so trusting of our handful of scholars who translate the Bible for us, and we just accept what they say without question. Then we are confounded when we see such a variance in renderings. I mean a spider and lizard? The simple fact is that our great Bible scholars literally have no idea what semamyth really means, they are just giving it their best guess. How many other English words in the Bible are merely man’s best guess or what tradition has dictated? Worse, what particular denomination or school of thought dictates what a particular Hebrew word should mean? There are more such words than we care to imagine. That is why the Jews teach their children from the age of four to read Hebrew so they can read the Scriptures themselves and not depend upon some expert who may have a biased opinion or even a personal agenda.
I believe with all the resources we have today online and readily available, there is no reason why any of us can be a spider or lizard and approach the throne room of the elite scholars with our own handiwork in interpretation guided by the Holy Spirit.
Maybe that old lizard didn’t make it on my bus because he was just so out of place, but dog gone it, you can’t blame him for trying and when the doors opened he was there. If that lady hadn’t screamed and called him a monster he might just have got on my bus and would be munching on my carrot sticks right now in my apartment. Too often we come up with some revelation given to us by the Holy Spirit and someone in authority who thinks they have some special knowledge lets out a scream and we take our little revelation and hide out in the bushes. After all, who are we to argue with the great minds of our denomination or church leaders? Ok maybe the little lizard did not have the proper credentials to ride my bus; he wasn’t a senior or disabled and probably not a resident of the town. Just like many of us do not have the credentials to offer our little insight that the Holy Spirit has given us. Not only are we not allowed to board the bus of revelation but someone screams and needs another leader to guide them and slay the dragon with that bit of insight that they think is beneath them. I mean they have the Holy Spirit to teach them, but then so does everyone else who has given their life to Jesus.
I say to all of us Spiders and Lizards of the Christian world, let us arise, it is our time to enter that elite throne room and share the insights that the Holy Spirit has given us.
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Thanks & Blessings, it means a lot to me!
Amen
LOL, I love your lizard story Chaim!
It’s so interesting that the word was translated to both spider and lizard, two totally different things.
They both eat each other though, which is ironic!
I was raised in a denomination where I learned religion by rote. I knew about God but I did not know God. One day when I was 26 I woke up with this thought in my mind, “Who is this God that I have heard about all my life? What does He expect from me and what can I expect from Him?” That was in 1976. I have discovered that you cannot know God if you do not know His heart. And you can only know His heart by God revealing it to you and you actually feeling how He feels about things, or at least as much as you are able to bear. My “revelations” of God and the heart of God are so much more valuable to me than anything I learned about God by rote. One is dead doctrine to me, the other is LIFE! I have also learned that when I pull my great treasure out of my pocket to share with someone who only knows God by rote, all they see is a black rock. Whereas what I see is a precious, dazzling stone that is resplendent with the light and the glory of God. And so I close my hand around my treasure and I put it back into my pocket.
Well I’m sure I’m off the reservation with this one. If you look at 8078 and 8080 you will see that the lizard and spider are astonished at what they observe in the kings palace and how fat (apply your own definition to the word fat) they have become. (smiles) I’m not setting in judgment of our rulers because Jesus instructs us to pray for them. I am saying the kings, presidents and dictators of the world do not have an admirable track record. So if we were to be a fly on the wall we would be right there along with the lizards and spiders.
This article about the lizard resonates with me. I usually think everyone else has more important revelation or must be more studious than I. So, thank you for that. BUT, I am more interested in your desire to know and feel Yah’s heart. I am going to seek the same. Thank you for sharing.
When will your Devine Kiss book be available?
YES YES YES!!
VERY, VERY, GOOD!
Amen to that! I write a Christian blog and struggle with that very thing. Thank you Chaim and thank you Jesus!
Amen, yes! May we all focus on doing our best work and let the Lord decide where to show it off.
Thanks for putting this struggle with inferiority into words; more of us have it than you know!!
Aye, my friend. Eleven years ago I found the freedom of hearing God’s word for me through the questions you asked me. The rabbinical approach caused me to search the scriptures differently which profoundly impacted mine and my wife’s lives. There had been a barrier in my search for the heart of God, but through your books I have gleaned more than I thought possible. There are impossible decisions to make in the near future and I know the Heart of God is there waiting for me to speak to me His good pleasure. Lord bless you and keep you….
Thank you for your honesty and transparency! That’s how we touch the heart of the Father as well as the hearts of others. I, for one, have so appreciated as well a learned from your Holy Spirit inspired insight.
Thank you!
What more can one say. Get on board.
What a blessing you are to this 86 yr old woman.. I have been reading Ezekiel 6:9… “ I AM BROKEN”.. all the internet explanations attribute the phrase to Ezekiel.. but I believe it IS the Lord God of Israel that is broken hearted.. as the sins are dtt try icing the Glory of God OUT OF THE TEMPLE..
It breaks my heart to see our LORD so broken..
am I reading this correctly ?
vanaly826@gmail.com
Of all the days… I came downstairs for lunch and there was a gecko on the kitchen floor!
I opened the sliding glass door and he took off, then I check my email and Chaim’s email comes in with the title “Lizard”
When it’s odd, it’s from GOD ❤️
I do enjoy how you seek purpose and God’s movement in every experience of your day! Thank you for sharing!
So Many confirmations Right Here! of the Same things the Lord has shown me this very week! Just in other Ways!
HE qualifies those HE has called.
Be confident that every precious truth He gives us to share WILL reach those He intended it to. Those few whose hearts will receive.
Well brother Chaim… this one is amazing and the timing of this teaching.. and the understanding of the teaching are 2 things Father has had me to use in understanding if something was from Him to me.. quite a few times. And I truly kinda stay in the bushes myself and share this type learning with the very few in the bushes when I happen to run in there. Anyway. I got what you said exactly!!! Dealt
with it most all my life from childhood when dealing with stuff from Father.
This is simply awesome!
I thank God for you AND your sense of humor! Thanks for the encouragement to speak up! I, for one, am not interested in any mega or un-mega churches these days w/ all their actors & liars!!! I praise God for discernment w/o which I would be sunk! HE is worthy of ALL my quest for His heart & truth!
There’s not much that I can say but thank you. I needed this! It encouraged me to keep going at a time where I was feeling like giving up because of my circumstances. Again, thank you!
Amen! Christ in us, The hope of glory! Amen. We all carry His greatness.. His handiwork. We are not beggars we are ambassadors!
A true, noble and encouraging word about The Word and it’s study.
Chaim, According to the Myers Briggs personality test, there is one rare type called the INFJ. I am that type. Maybe you are too. INFJ’s perceive what they see and hear quite differently than most people. They have more insight. What you write touches my heart and is more meaningful to me than any of the big name preachers. I have ordered some of your books and I would love to be able to participate in your classes, but my husband and I have just moved to southern MO and our renovating an old house and farm. Physically, I am not disabled, but at the end of the day, I just do not have the mental energy to do in depth study. Your devotionals are profound and quite often like the lizard provide me with just the word of encouragement that I need to hear. Also, I keep a prayer journal. On one page I write about what I am dealing with. On the next day, I write a response that comes from the Holy Spirit that is meant for me and my situation. Please know that what you write means a whole lot to certain types of people – ones of us that are just hanging in there and who are dealing with a lot of difficulty and who need really deep spiritual insight.
Absolutely! The Spirit lives in all of us followers of Christ and He is never silent and sometimes speaks to us in unconventional ways.
Keep sharing your treasured insights that are truly from the Throne Room. I am continually blessed by them!! 🤗
All I can say is thank you for sharing this. It speaks softly to my heart. I am blessed.
So good! This really resonated with me!
Thank you so much as a young author with my first book I can readily identify with a lot of what you have said. Thank you so much
I love this story. I am always amazed at God’s ability to use ANYTHING to speak truth. If only we had better ears and wider eyes to hear and see. Thank you.
This message spoke volumes to me.
It’s vital to explore the Bible properly and not rely on pastor teachings.
Chaim Bentorah MUST continue with this valuable work.
Thank you for this great lesson!
If your book isn’t selling its not your fault or a fault with the book. The problem is that more and more Christians are turning to the Jews to learn from them. It’s predicted in the Bible that this will happen . ” Ten people from every language and nation will take hold of the shirt\sleeve of Jewish people and say we want to go with you because we know that God is with you!I
Even some of the greatest Christian teachers will fail if this is becoming true. To survive a Christian teacher must become the best that they can be. Above all they must be honest and show that they can be trusted!
If they make a mistake in their teaching they must acknowledge their mistake to their students and not try to hide it. Good teachers learn from their students a well as teach them. A good teacher is not afraid to show that they are human and this endears them to their students!
Remember that spiders are eaten by lizards and lizards are devoured by something greater!
Wow !
This spoke volumes to me. I am on a journey of exploration against church traditional teaching.
There are a few people I follow who provide great insight and I pass on what I discover. I have a Bible study WhatsApp group – only small but growing well.
The main people are follow are you, Jeff Benner and Abraham Ojeda.
You must keep on doing what you do and remember that those who are last become first and your humility also speaks volumes.
There are so many Bible mistranslations and we all need to spread education and recalibrate our understanding.
Now Chaim if this isn’t a call for those of us who question things, ah la Prof Somner Millar with his “Why is it so” catch phrase, to speak up what we believe the Holy Spirit is revealing, nothing is. Keep it up. I appreciate it greatly.Keep looking out for those critters who seem to search you out to deliver something from God.