Raising Our Children Through the Eyes of Wisdom

In the Bible a lot of times people read the word law but never really know what it means. A Greco-Roman mindset, or western way of thinking, would think of it like a set of rules over us to keep us in line. While this sounds all good and true it is not necessarily correct.

Background
The Greek word for law is nomos which means: anything established, anything received by usage, a custom, usage, or law. This is the same word used for Torah in the Septuagint.

The Hebrew word Torah means: teaching, instruction, or doctrine.
According to the Dictionary of Targumim, Talmud and Midrashic Literature: teaching, law, Pentateuch(the first 5 books: Genesis-Deuteronomy), in general Jewish law or Religion.

Now there is one more word I would like to look at and that is the Hebrew word musar (pronounced: moo-sar) which means: correction of children by their parents, of nations by kings, of men by God, admonition, discipline, instruction, or doctrine.

Application
Let's look at Proverbs 1:8 which states:
My son, listen! Obey the instruction of your father!
Do not forsake the teaching of your mother!
(One New Man Bible)

The reason I used this version is because the rendering of the first the Hebrew word (Sh'ma) is translated correctly. It does mean just to hear, because the root meaning of the word is obedience, so to not only listen but to listen obediently.

Now note that there are two words here that sound similar in this verse: instruction and teaching. Are these words the same or are they really different? Well according to the Websters Dictionary of 1828 it defines them as follows:

Instruction: The act of teaching or informing the understanding in that of which it was before ignorant; information.

Teaching: Instruction

Well if they mean the same thing then what is this verse trying to tell us? You noticed that the word for Torah is teaching or instruction; if that is the case then in the Hebrew both words must be Torah and translated differently to show it is the same thing without being redundant. Right? Wrong!

Let's now look at the Hebrew to see what is really there and how this verse really translates. The first word for instruction in the Hebrew is musar and as you saw earlier it basically refers to correction, but the root of that word yasar (pronounced: yah-sar)  means: to correct by blows or stripes, to chastise, to correct by words by exhortation or admonition.

As harsh as this word appears it is obviously not a true father's heart to beat his son till he bleeds, but rather brings instruction/correction by words that exhort or admonish the child. If the child still does not heed his words then yes it is time for a spanking out of love for them (Proverbs 13:24).

The only one that we know who went through this extreme love for us and took a crucial beating for us was Yeshua, as shown in Isaiah 53:5. In fact, the Hebrew word for chastisement in that verse is... you guessed it, musar. In Hebrews 5:8 it says: Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.

Now lets look at the word for teaching and we find that it is Torah and you already learned that it means to teach or instruct. So how does this apply? Well we all learn from our mothers because they are the ones who carried us, birthed us, and nurtured us. We learn love, relationship, and affection from them. In a Jewish household it is the mother who cooks and takes care of the house, she also is the one who trains her daughter(s) to learn and do some of the same things she does. When they are old enough to marry they will step right into that role without having to learn it from scratch.

The son on the other hand learns the basics of life from her like how to live and love. We see in Proverbs 10:1 that a foolish son is the one who brings grief to his mother. Why? Because she is the one who poured her heart and love into him.

I like how the the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia put it best about the mother's role:

In vain do we look in the Scriptures for traces of the low position which woman occupies in many eastern lands. A false impression has been created by her present position in the East, especially under Mohammedan rule. Her place as depicted in the Scriptures is a totally different one. Women there move on the same social plane with men. They often occupy leading public positions (Exodus 15:20; Judges 4:4; 2 Kings 22:14). The love of offspring was deeply imbedded in the heart of Hebrew women, and thus motherhood was highly respected. Among the patriarchs women, and especially mothers, occupy a prominent place. In Rebekah's marriage, her mother seems to have had equal voice with her father and Laban, her brother (Genesis 24:28, 50, 53, 55). Jacob "obeyed his father and his mother" (Genesis 28:7), and his mother evidently was his chief counselor. The Law places the child under obligation of honoring father and mother alike (Exodus 20:12). The child that strikes father or mother or curses either of them is punished by death (Exodus 21:15, 17). The same fate overtakes the habitually disobedient (Deuteronomy 21:18-21).

In one place in the Torah, the mother is even placed before the father as the object of filial reverence (Leviticus 19:3). The Psalmist depicts deepest grief as that of one who mourneth for his mother (Psalms 35:14). In the entire Book of Proverbs the duty of reverence, love and obedience of sons to their mothers is unceasingly inculcated. The greatest comfort imaginable is that wherewith a mother comforts her son (Isaiah 66:13).

So obviously from the point of view from the Torah the mother plays more of a role than we would think today.

In closing a true mother obviously not only helps teach the Torah and its principles to her children but also many other important things that life brings about.

Let's look at Proverbs 31 at the opening statement which says: The words of King Lemuel, the [burden] which his mother taught him. Who taught this to him? It was his mother. I would say that this was a God fearing woman that knew what she was talking about.

I almost forgot one thing and that is the title of this blog is called: Raising Our Chidren Through the Eyes of Wisdom. We never looked at the word for wisdom. Stick with me I promise that I am almost done.

In Proverbs 2:1,2 it states: My son, if you will receive my words and treasure my commandments within you, make your ear attentive to wisdom, incline your heart to understanding.... There are more places in the first 10 chapters of Proverbs where wisdom is giving advice, but the question to ask is who is wisdom?

The Hebrew word for wisdom is chochmah (remember that the "ch" is guttural) and this is a feminine word. So it looks like it comes back around again, that the one teaching us is still the woman/mother.


Shalom until next time....