BIBLE
DIGEST - Number 74 September
1997
"MUTH
TEMUTH" - YOU SHALL SURELY DIE
By Allon
Maxwell
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The following
comment on the Hebrew idiom for the word "surely" is
taken from YOUNG'S
ANALYTICAL CONCORDANCE. (Copyright
1982 by Thomas Nelson) It is found at
the front, just before the "A"s, included in a list of
"ADDITIONAL WORDS". SURELY In Hebrew often
expressed by repeating a verb in an infinitive form (adverbial infinitive). So
with come (Hab. 2. 3), deliver, (2 Ki. 18. 30), die (Gen. 2. 17, Judg.
13.22), be put to death (Exod. 19. 12, Judg. 21. 5), etc. The word
"surely" occurs with "die" or "be put to death"
about fifty times in the Old Testament and is then always a translation of an
emphasizing infinitive. A COMMON
FUNDAMENTAL MISCONCEPTION The expression
"surely die" from Genesis 2:17,
is a translation of the Hebrew words This confusion
arises from wrongly interpreting the note in the margin of the KJV, ("Dying
thou shalt die") to say that God's "surely die"
meant a long slow process of "dying",
occupying more than 900 years! It is claimed
that this 900-year process, is the death penalty of
"mortality", which was imposed on Adam for his sin. It is then
further claimed that our own "human nature" somehow involves us in
that penalty, because we have inherited our "mortality" from Adam.
However, as we shall see, this is an error which results from ignorance of
the Hebrew idiom contained in the words "dying thou shalt die". If we do
understand this idiom correctly, we shall also be able to form a much clearer
picture of what really did happen in Eden, following that first sin. UNDERSTANDING
THE HEBREW IDIOM Of course, most
of us don't understand Hebrew at all. Fortunately, however, we do not need to
become experts in Hebrew to correctly understand the idiom. A quick visit to
Young's Concordance will find the extract quoted above. "Muth temuth" is what Young calls an "emphasising
infinitive". By using this Hebrew idiom God was emphasising the certainty
that, if Adam sinned, he would be put to death. But God did not
say only that death was certain. He also said, ...... "in the day"
(Hebrew "b'yom"). The threatened
punishment was certain death on the very same day on
which the sin was committed! WHY DID ADAM
HIDE? No wonder that
Adam and Eve hid themselves when they "heard the sound of the LORD God walking
in the garden in the cool of the day". (Genesis 3:8) The day was
nearly over. They understood clearly that the threatened punishment was
imminent! They thought God was coming to get them! Put yourself in
their place and feel their fear. DID ADAM
"SURELY DIE" THAT SAME DAY? The simple
answer is that Adam and Eve did not die that day. Instead, they
were promised a Saviour and pardoned! Adam lived on for 930 years. "MUTH
TEMUTH" IN EZEKIEL Ezekiel helps
us to understand why Adam and Eve did not die on the day
that they sinned. Ezekiel
33:14-16 "Again, though I say to the wicked, 'You
shall surely die,' (muth temuth) yet if he turns from his sin and does what is
lawful and right, ..... and walks in the statutes of life, committing no
iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die. None of the sins
that he has committed shall be remembered against him; he has done what is
lawful and right, he shall surely live." That is what
also happened in Adam's case. He did not die! He surely lived! JUDGEMENT IS
CONDITIONAL God's
threatened judgement against sinners, is conditional. It is
conditional on our response to the offer of an opportunity to repent. For those who
do repent, God has given His Son to save us from the penalty of our sins. In
Christ we are forgiven, and the penalty is cancelled. When God
confronted Adam and Eve in the garden on the day they sinned, He did not put
them to death. Instead, He promised Jesus as the one who would destroy the
power of Sin. Then He expelled them from the garden of Eden to live under the
new and harder conditions, on which their probation for immortality was
renewed. MORTALITY versus
PENALTY It is important
to discern the difference between dying because of "mere
mortality" and dying because we have incurred a penalty for sin. Of course,
either way we are just as dead! But the reason for the death is
what makes the difference. The death that
results from "mere mortality" comes to all men as a result of
having bodies which are subject to decay or accident. It is a sleep
from which we can be awakened at the Resurrection. On the other
hand, to die as a result of incurring a death penalty, is to have life
deliberately cut short by God, as a judgement against sin. From that
"penal death" there can be no return. The death of
Jesus does not save us from experiencing the sleep that is the
common lot of all men ..... sinners or saints alike. But for those in Christ,
it certainly does save us from the fearful prospect of the judicial
"second death". At the Judgement, we shall not die. We shall
surely live! But the certain
lot of unrepentant sinners is that they shall indeed surely die. UNTO DUST SHALL
YOU RETURN Those who
misconstrue the idiom of "surely die" also extend the mistake to
those other words from Genesis 3:17-19.
These too are incorrectly interpreted as the penalty of Adam's sin. Of course, they
are clearly consequences of Adam's sin, But they should not be
seen as the "penalty". There is a difference between the two! When David
repented of his sin with Bathsheba, Nathan said "The LORD
also has put away your sin; you shall not die".
(2 Samuel 12:13) Of course,
this did not mean that David was no longer mortal, any more than it did for
Adam. It did mean that he was not going to be stoned to death
for adultery. There were
however unavoidable consequences of David's
actions, which could not be undone. Just so for all
of us. The story of Adam and Eve tells us that, even though we can know now,
the assurance of sins forgiven, we also may have to live with the unpleasant
consequences of the past. There was also
a time limit for Adam's probation. When he reached that limit,
he would return to the dust, to await the resurrection and the outcome of his
probation. That also is a lesson for us. "Behold now is the acceptable time; Behold
now is the day of Salvation." (2 Corinthians 6:2) CONCLUSION To read the 900-year
continuing process of Adam's mortality into the Hebrew idiom "muth temuth" flies in the
face of Young's comment on the correct meaning. It also ignores
other important evidence, which enables us to understand why the incurred
penalty was never carried out, and why, instead, Adam and Eve were pardoned
and allowed to live. Today we call
that the Good News, the Gospel of repentance, and forgiveness,
and remission of the penalty of sin. It is ours through the grace of God, and
the gift of His Son, first promised in Eden. When those
animals were slain in Eden to provide a covering for the shame experienced by
Adam and Eve, God was speaking to all of us. The story
contains a wonderful promise of our own pardon, and release from the guilt
and shame of our sins. We also can surely live
for the rest of our mortal lives, no longer under fear of judgement, but
pardoned. We also can be restored to relationship with God, under conditions
where we can "work out our salvation in fear and trembling".
(Philippians 2:12) (But of course,
also like Adam and Eve, our probation is served outside Eden, until the day
comes when God is ready to re-open the way to the tree of life.) To see clearly
how God really did deal with Adam and Eve, is an important aid to our
understanding of how God will deal with our sins. As God dealt with Adam, so
He will surely deal with us. God's patience
with us is our salvation, just as it was for Adam and Eve. This is an
exciting discovery which gives great comfort for the repentant sinner! |