Aramaic Word Study – Harmonious Relationship – Tamah – תֵּמהָ  Taw Mem Hei 

Acts 10: 9-10: “On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour: (10) And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance,” 

We learn in Acts 10:9-10 that Peter fell into a trance while he was praying and during this time he received a vision where God spoke to him, giving him understanding about what is clean and unclean. The word in Aramaic for trance is tamah, which is a word for wonder, astonishment, or amazement. So, Peter fell into a state of astonishment or amazement.  Is that a conscious state, a dream state, a trance, or sleep?  Digging further into this word I discovered that is used in extra-Biblical literature as entering into a state of harmony with someone. It is used as a musical term for being in perfect harmony, perfect pitch. 

During his prayer, Peter entered into a perfect harmonious state with God such that his spirit and the Spirit of God were joined together.  The Talmud describes our relationship with God, like a fighting a battle.  The object of ancient warfare was to capture the king. The king would go with his men into battle but he would dress like an ordinary soldier so the enemy would not quickly spot him and concentrate all their efforts on reaching him and capturing him.  Yet, they would soon be able to identify the king because he would surround himself with the strongest and most powerful warriors.  Then they would have to battle this warrior to reach the king and once they overcame these warrior bodyguards, they would be victorious and have the king’s full attention. 

You see, God doesn’t need us. I mean he is the Creator of all things, and all His needs are met.  He created us, not because He needs us but because he wants us. But He is not satisfied with just another creature that He created to be in harmony with Him, unlike the rest of creation He gave us free will where we decide if we want Him.  He doesn’t just want us, He wants us to want Him as well. 

While in the flesh there is a constant war going on keeping us from a harmonious relationship with our King.  The enemy has control of our will which is the flesh and the mind. The flesh is occupied with the things of this world and it is keeping our spirit from giving our full attention to the Spirit of God and blocking the Spirit of God from having our full attention.

However, when we are asleep, the mind and the body are out for the count but the Spirit is now free from the warriors of the flesh and mind that block our Spirit from entering into a full harmonious relationship with God. It is during our time of sleep, according to the Talmud, that God can commune with our spirit.  

I Corinthians 14:32: ‘And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.” We can control our spirits.  Just as David controlled his soul and all that is within him (which includes his spirit): Psalms 103:1: “A Psalm of David. Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.”  He literally picked his soul up by the collar and slammed it against a wall commanding it to bless the Lord and then he turned to all that is within him which includes his spirit to praise the Lord. Try it sometime. Before you go to sleep command your spirit to praise the Lord.  As the soul and body become unconscious, the spirit remains wide awake and can enter into a harmonious relationship with God.  

The Talmud tells us that in such a state we know things God knows, the past, present, and future.  As we would not be able to handle all that knowledge, especially the future, God wraps it all up in a dream full of symbolism or He just causes us to forget the dream. 

Sometimes He might just let us remember this harmonious encounter and give us a glimpse of the future as he did with this rabbi, or He may allow us to intercede in prayer for someone like He did with me. Many times, you may find yourself just waking up praising God. I recall one time having a dream where I was singing a song of praise. I never heard this song but I was singing a song with lyrics of praise with a beautiful voice I mean I can clear a room very quickly when I sing in the natural, I can make dogs howl.  But in my tamah state of harmony with God, I was singing with a beautiful voice.  

One day I shall enter eternity and that complete state of tamah and I shall again be singing that song. I look forward to singing that song with you. Someday we will all sing together as a beautiful choir of praise in perfect harmony with God as our Choir Director.  

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