New website is up ....

Thanks to cool designers and programmers at Bittersweet Creative, I now have a new website. It's at JanetOber - I'd love to have you visit me there.

What is Woman - part 2

Last week I wrote What is Woman - part 1 based on the Monday Morning Memo. Here's is an interesting follow-up email from the oxford scholar that was quoted, Skip Moen.

Interesting ... isn't it?
What might be better and what might be worse in the world, if this is truth ... and if we lived by that truth? 

What is Woman?

The Wizard Academy is a cool, business school in Austin, Tx founded by Roy H. Williams. (it has nothing to do with Harry Potter, wizard simply means wise)  A few years ago, I attended a one-day seminar there and hope to go back for more classes. 
Every Monday morning, the first thing I read is the Monday Morning Memo that Roy sends outs. The memo is a mixture of business/marketing advice or unique insights about what makes people do what they do or any subject that happens to capture Roy's interest. 


Today's memo is about words and women and the translation of Genesis 2. Roy says that you will laugh, cry or get angry as you read this, so be prepared. 


Here are Roy's thoughts that stemmed from a recent conversation with an oxford scholar, Skip Moen.

"It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.” - God, speaking to Himself in the second chapter of Genesis according to the English translators of the good King James in 1611

This is bad enough, but in later years “help meet for him” [help appropriate for him] became further mistranslated as “helpmate.”

Stay with me. This is about to get very interesting. 

Ezer kenegdo are the Hebrew words translated as “help meet” in 1611.

Ezer is used 20 more times in the Old Testament and in each instance it refers to God’s own effort to rescue and sustain his people. Ezer (pronounced ay'-zer) can be translated as “power” or “strength” or “rescue.”

'Blessed are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD? He is your shield and ezer and your glorious sword.' - Deut. 33:26

'I lift up my eyes to the hills-where does my ezer come from? My ezer comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.' - Ps. 121:1-2

'May the LORD answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you. May he send you ezer.' - Ps. 20:1-2

Kenegdo means “facing.” It can also mean “opposite.”

Thus, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a power facing him.”

“I will make him a strength opposite him.”

“I will make him a rescue that looks him in the face.”

Each of these translations of ezer kenegdo is imminently more accurate than “helpmate, helper or assistant.”

Like I said; you will laugh, cry or get angry.

If you dig deeper into the history of Ezer, you’ll find that it comes from an even more ancient word, Azar, meaning “to surround.” Azar can also mean “protect, aid, succor and give material and/or nonmaterial encouragement.” Azar often refers to aid in the form of military assistance.

"Helper" and "assistant" are sounding more tragic with each passing paragraph, don't you think? 

Pennie (his wife) says that you and I often live up to the things we hear said about us. This is why she's deeply frustrated by what she hears mothers say in front of their children. 
"He's such a picky eater."
"She does exactly the opposite of what I say."
"He always throws a tantrum when he doesn't get his way.""She doesn't like to take naps."

More to the point: did we make women "the weaker sex" the moment we gave them the name?

...

Roy H. Williams

This is not the first time I've heard of a different translation of 'helpmate', but this is a more thorough one. I will be pondering this for a time. You can read the whole memo here. 

Your thoughts? 

Sunday Saying - Statistics

"We must keep in mind the story of 

the statistician who drowned 

while trying to wade across a river 

with an average depth of four feet. 

That is to say, 

in a culture that reveres statistics, 

we can never be sure 

what sort of nonsense will lodge in people's heads." 

- Neil Postman

It's coming ....

A New Website is Coming

Soon and very soon, you're going to see a new site.

Soon and very soon, you're going to see a new site.

Soon and very soon, you're going to see a new site.

Hallelujah, hallelujah! There's going to be a new site.

Draft of new site by Bittersweet Creative

No more Blogger here, there's going to be a new site.

No more crying here, there's going to be a new site.

Wordpress will be here, there's going to be a new site.

Hallelujah, hallelujah! There's going to be a new site.

Soon and very soon, you're going to see a new site.

Soon and very soon, you're going to see a new site.

Soon and very soon, you're going to see a new site.

Hallelujah, hallelujah! There's going to be a new site!

With all due respect to ...

Soon And Very Soon – Author Unknown 

Verse 1:
Soon and very soon, we are going to see the King.
Soon and very soon, we are going to see the King.
Soon and very soon, we are going to see the King.
Hallelujah – Hallelujah – We’re going to see the King.
Verse 2:
No more cryin’ there, we are going to see the King.
No more cryin’ there, we are going to see the King.
No more cryin’ there, we are going to see the King.
Hallelujah – Hallelujah – We’re going to see the King.
Verse 3:
Soon and very soon, we are going to see the King.
Soon and very soon, we are going to see the King.
Soon and very soon, we are going to see the King.
Hallelujah – Hallelujah – We’re going to see the King.
Ending:
Hallelujah – Hallelujah!
We’re going to see the King.

Sunday Saying - Walking

"There are some good things to be said about walking. 
Not many, but some. 
Walking takes longer, for example, than any other known form of locomotion except crawling. 
Thus it stretches time and prolongs life. 


Life is already too short to waste on speed. 
I have a friend who's always in a hurry; 
he never gets anywhere. 

Walking makes the world much bigger 
and thus more interesting. 

You have time to observe the details. 
The utopian technologists foresee a future 
for us in which distance is annihilated. 

To be everywhere at once is to be 

nowhere forever, if you ask me."

- Edward Abbey, 

The Journey Home (1977)

Mental Health Concerns

My mom is traveling right now. Yesterday I stopped at her house to check something for her. As I was leaving, I was on the phone with her getting instructions to make sure I set the alarm system correctly when I left. 

After the system blinked "armed" I locked the door and walked towards my car while mom was telling me something about her travels.  

"Darn it," I mumbled. "I have to go back in."

"Why?" mom wondered. 

"I left my phone in your house." I said.

Unlock the garage door. Disarm the alarm. Unlock the inside door. Look over the counter, the desk and the couch, while mom asks the typical mom question, "Where did you last use it?"

Five minutes later, I'm laughing hysterically as I'm relocking doors and rearming the alarm, while being worried about both my mom's and my mental health. 

Maybe it's the record-breaking temps we've been having ...

Sunday Saying - Writing

A man who writes a story is forced to put into it the best of his knowledge and the best of his feeling.

The discipline of the written word punishes both stupidity and dishonesty. A writer lives in awe of words for they can be cruel or kind, and they can change their meanings right in front of you." - John Steinbeck