In the original Old Testement Hebrew text, the modern Hebrew word for "electricity" appears once. Where?

jcpetersen

In Ezekiel, there is a description of angels that includes the word "chashmal", which is taken to mean radiance/energy, and is the modern word for electricity. http://www.shamash.org/lists/scj-faq/HTML/faq/12-13.html Feb 07 08, 9:24 AM

BRY2K

The word, Chashmal, appears in the Book of Ezekiel. Lightning came out of the midst of the fire surrounded by clear sapphire where a man like person on a throne sat in an electric eye. If electricity is anachronistic, the word is none the less "chashmal" which is the modern Hebrew word for electricity. The Septuagint has "electrum" and so does the Vulgate! What ever "chashmal" and "electrum" meant to the ancients who used these words it can only be said that "'eyn chashmal" in Hebrew and "opsin electrou" in Greek and "speciem electri" found in Latin in Eze. 1:27 is not "amber" as in the English translation. http://www.ao.net/~fmoeller/shekinah.htm Feb 07 08, 9:30 AM

queproblema

And why shouldn't it be "amber"? The Greeks rubbed it to make sparks, and the Greek name for amber is in fact "electron." In German it's called "bernstein," or "burn-stone." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amber http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron#History As noted by BRY2K, "If electricity is anachronistic, the word is none the less "chashmal" which is the modern Hebrew word for electricity." This, of course, doesn't mean the prophet foresaw modern electricity, but that he saw sparks in a vision. When nineteenth-century Israelis revived the dead Hebrew language they had to be very creative with their neologisms. What do you call something that was unknown in ages past? You go back, find a word, and adapt it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebrew_language#Development Feb 07 08, 7:57 PM

Arpeggionist

Certainly the old prophets knew about lightning, and possibly somebody knew about its properties. The terms for electricity probably have their roots in the old words for lightning and flashing brilliance. The modern Hebrew word for electirity was taken from the biblical reference to lightning, as did the word "electricity" in European languages. Feb 10 08, 6:50 PM