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--- semim [2024/08/31 13:38] – [Abraham's sublease] ken
+++ semim [2025/05/17 11:20] (current) – ken
@@ Line 12: / Line 12: @@
 |sem | "legendary" | "the Legendary ones" |
 |sem | "rocket" | "the Rocket Men" |
-|sem | "characteristics" | "the Characteristic Ones" or possible "the Classic Ones" or "Prototypes" |
+|sem | "characteristics" | "the Characteristic Ones" or possibly "the Classic Ones" or "Prototypes" |
 ====People Of the Name====
-In the strictest literal sense, 'semim' means “the named ones”. Certain academic streams tend to interpret this as  the “people of the name”, equating this title to the Hebrew people, Jews, the people of [[Yahweh]]. There are a few problems with this interpretation. The first problem with this theory is that if semim is to be understood as the "people of the name", there is an implicit assumption that "the name" probably refers to some name in particular. The implication is that the name in question is יהוה - that is; [[Ihoh]], or as he is more commonly known, Yahweh, or Jehovah. However, the word 'semim' appears in the texts before the name in question has been established. That is to say, the Semim are mentioned prior to any mention of [[Ihoh]]. The semim are discussed at length in the first chapter of Genesis, while Ihoh himself does not appear until chapter 2. If the 'semim' are indeed the people of the name, then one would think that the name would be made clear before starting to refer to his followers in such a vague sense. The fact that the reader is given no facts or clues as to whose name is supposedly being referred to shed serious doubt on this interpretation. Additionally, even after both words are established in the text, the semim  generally remain distinctly separate from Yahweh. The semim do not appear to be intrinsically connected to Ihoh in a way that would support this conjecture. If the Semim are indeed a people of "the name", it is not apparent whose name that might be, and there is no indicaiton that it is Ihoh's name.
+In the strictest literal sense, 'semim' means “the named ones”. Certain academic streams tend to interpret this as  the “people of the name”, equating this title to the Hebrew people, Jews, the people of [[Yahweh]]. There are a few problems with this interpretation. The first problem with this theory is that if semim is to be understood as the "people of the name", there is an implicit assumption that "the name" probably refers to some name in particular. The implication is that the name in question is יהוה - that is; [[Ihoh]], or as he is more commonly known, Yahweh, or Jehovah. However, the word 'semim' appears in the texts before the name in question has been established. That is to say, the Semim are mentioned prior to any mention of [[Ihoh]]. The semim are discussed at length in the first chapter of Genesis, while Ihoh himself does not appear until chapter 2. If the 'semim' are indeed the people of the name, then one would think that the name would be made clear before starting to refer to his followers in such a vague sense. The fact that the reader is given no facts or clues as to whose name is supposedly being referred to shed serious doubt on this interpretation. Additionally, even after both words are established in the text, the semim  generally remain distinctly separate from Yahweh. The semim do not appear to be intrinsically connected to Ihoh in a way that would support this conjecture. If the Semim are indeed a people of "the name", it is not apparent whose name that might be, and there is no indication that it is Ihoh's name.
 Further contextual issues are raised by the interpretation of "the people of the name". This phrase is clearly supposed to apply to the followers of [[Ihoh]], in other words, the members of the Jewish religion. Taking a broader cultural view, one could argue that rather than a religious choice, Jews are born into a culture. In this view, the people group is synonymous with the ethnicity known as "Jewish" or "Hebrew", rather than being so focused on any particular religious belief system. With this in mind, one should logically be able to perform a word by word substitution of the word “Jews” for instances of 'semim' in the text. Let us examine a few examples of this process.
-Examining the first instance of 'semim', the semim are mentioned in the very first sentence((Genesis 1:1)) of the Hebrew corpus, one which is typically rendered "//In the beginning the [[alehim]] created the **semim** and the earth//". If one takes a traditional approach to translation, but embraces the "people of the name" interpretation, we get something to the effect of: //In the beginning the [[alehim]] created the **Jews** and the earth//. This statement raises a rather important question - if the Alehim were the creators of the Jews specifically, then who is the creator of the rest of humanity? Was there a parallel group similar to but distinct from the [[alehim]] who created other ethnic groups? The invoking of a variety of "creator gods" to create different "races" smacks of many problematic ways of thinking, including but not limited to [[wp>critical_race_theory]], discrimination, and [[wp>eugenics]]. There are of course many corollary problems here as well. Traditionally, the Hebrew people trace their ancestry back to Isaac (the son of Abraham) but exclude Abraham's other son, Ishmael. This interpretation pushes the creation of the Jews back all the way to Adam((see [[adem]])), all but destroying any semblance of the fundamental "chosen people" motif of Judaism. Could this problem be solved by a "better translation" of the context? Using the Bara Translation, we arrive at: "//the established division divided the Alehim with The Semim with territory//".
+Examining the first instance of 'semim', the semim are mentioned in the very first sentence((Genesis 1:1)) of the Hebrew corpus, one which is typically rendered "//In the beginning the [[alehim]] created the **semim** and the earth//". If one takes a [[traditional]] approach to translation, but embraces the "people of the name" interpretation, we get something to the effect of: //In the beginning the [[alehim]] created the **Jews** and the earth//. This statement raises a rather important question - if the Alehim were the creators of the Jews specifically, then who is the creator of the rest of humanity? Was there a parallel group similar to but distinct from the [[alehim]] who created other ethnic groups? The invoking of a variety of "creator gods" to create different "races" smacks of many problematic ways of thinking, including but not limited to [[wp>critical_race_theory]], discrimination, and [[wp>eugenics]]. There are of course many corollary problems here as well. Traditionally, the Hebrew people trace their ancestry back to Isaac (the son of Abraham) but exclude Abraham's other son, Ishmael. This interpretation pushes the creation of the Jews back all the way to Adam((see [[adem]])), all but destroying any semblance of the fundamental "chosen people" motif of Judaism. Could this problem be solved by a "better translation" of the context? Using the Bara Translation, we arrive at: "//the established division divided the Alehim with The Semim with territory//".
 Once we have removed the flawed idea of "creation ex nihilo" and read the text for what it actually says, we find that a **division** (see [[bera]]) of two people groups is a more accurate translation of what the original author wrote. It is now possible to interpret the narrative as the Alehim parceling out a specific land grant to the Hebrews. Yet, if this is true, and the land grant occurred at the beginning of the story, why is so much of the narrative in the Old Testament about the Hebrew people's quest for land. Abram leaves his homeland, as does Jacob, as does Moses, who spends the rest of his life wandering. The next several hundred years focus on trying to invade and keep control over lands that are already occupied.
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 ====The Legendary Ones====
-It seems somewhat dubious to interpret the semim as the people of the name. So if the root word [[sem]] in this usage does not indicate "name", consider that 'sem' is very often used to indicate "fame/infamy" or "legendary" status. Therefore another reasonable meaning of 'semim' is “the famous ones” or "the legendary ones". This interpretation is true to the etymology in both a literal and a figurative way. The famous heroes of legend are precisely those people from past eras whose names are remembered. Essentially, the "legendary ones" ARE the "named ones". We remember their names due to their legendary status, while the names of others fade into obscurity and are forgotten.
+It seems somewhat dubious to interpret the semim as the people of the name. So if the root word [[sem]] in this usage does not indicate "name", consider that 'sem' is very often used to indicate "fame/infamy" or "legendary" status. Therefore another reasonable meaning of 'semim' is “the famous ones” or "the legendary ones". This interpretation is true to the etymology in both a literal and a figurative way. The famous heroes of [[legend]] are precisely those people from past eras whose names are remembered. Essentially, the "legendary ones" ARE the "named ones". We remember their names due to their legendary status, while the names of others fade into obscurity and are forgotten.
 It was unnecessary to remind the original audience whom were already familiar with the stories of the Legendary Ones. These original readers may have known, but we have lost this context and are left guessing exactly which legends are being referred to. Could they be legends that are still with us, having been preserved in some form that has simply become removed from the Hebrew context?
-Several ubiquitous themes arise when examining the phenomenon of legends or mythology. Every culture known to man includes stories of great heroes in the distant past whose feats and features seem to transcend those of normal human limits. The exact nature of these individuals varies somewhat, and this understanding is necessarily modelled through the cultural lenses of the reader, often heavily modified by subsequent generations applying their own assumptions back onto the source material.
+Several ubiquitous themes arise when examining the phenomenon of [[legend]]s or mythology. Every culture known to man includes stories of great heroes in the distant past whose feats and features seem to transcend those of normal human limits. The exact nature of these individuals varies somewhat, and this understanding is necessarily modelled through the cultural lenses of the reader, often heavily modified by subsequent generations applying their own assumptions back onto the source material.
 Despite this, there are really only two primary explanations which remain relatively consistent throughout history for understanding the origin of these superhuman beings. Both of these interpretations are based on culturally ubiquitous themes. The first of which is that there exists some external realm beyond that of physics and time, and that these legendary beings have come from that realm((The traditional Christian creationist view fits into this category, since God is reckoned to exist outside of the universe of time and space.)). The second possible explanation is that there need not be a "place" beyond the universe, but the legendary beings have travelled from somewhere within the universe.
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 ====Why has nobody heard of them?====
+You will not find the word 'semim' or 'shemim' in any Hebrew dictionaries, lexicons, or concordances published to date. Instead, where the Hebrew word שמימ appears you will typically find it transliterated as "hassamayim".
+Perhaps this is merely an honest mistake. It is true that the word often occurs with a "ha" [[affixes#ha_prefix|prefix]], in the form of השמימ, but as is demonstrated myriad times throughout the lexicon, this prefix does little to affect the meaning of the word and should never be included in the root word.((In 82% of instnaces where the “ha” prefix occurs on any word in the Hebrew codices, the prefix is not translated at all but simply ignored in most Bible translations.))
-Some experts call them the 'Seba hassamayim' which they translate as "the armies of the sky"((see Asherah and the Sky Armies, by Paul Wallis))
+Prefixes aside, there is a bigger issue at hand. At some unknown point in its long history, an extra syllable has been inserted into the verbal pronunciation. There is no written syllable that corresponds to the supposed pronunciation ha-sa-MY-im. The made-up word hassamayim, which supposedly means "the heavens", does not exist in the ancient Hebrew texts. The texts contain only שמימ , pronounced shemim , and השמימ, which although it is pronounced hashemim((or more correctly 'heshemim', due to the lack of an א)), still just means semim.
+Doesn't it seem strange that no one seems to have noticed this? Well, actually a few people have.
+In their 1997 book “The Shining Ones,” Christian and Barbara Joy O’Brien, identified and discussed the ancient Hebrew word 'Shemim' which they interpreted as referring to the garden of Eden. It should be noted that the O'Briens literal translation of Shemim was "highlands", and they inexplicably conflagrated the words 'sem' and 'sih' in order to equate "highlands" with "plants" and thereby justify that the garden of Eden was a highland garden((O'Brien, //the Shining Ones//, p 109, 682)). But at least the O'Briens realized that שמימ was an actual word that exists, and should be pronounced 'shemim', and that it does not mean "heaven".
+Recently, a handful of biblical scholars have begun to recognize that the Semim are in fact a group of intelligent entities. Even so, the etymology remains a stumbling block. Notably, Paul Wallis discusses the concept of what he calls "the Seba Hassamayim" in his book //The Scars of Eden//, interpreting this phrase as a referring to powerful  “sky armies”. In our estimate Wallis has correctly interpreted the 'im' suffix, and is correct in his conclusion that the Semim are a group of intelligent beings.
 ====Rocket Men====
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 There is a rather curious phrase which occurs 38 times((in Genesis 1:26, Genesis 1:28, Genesis 1:30, Genesis 2:19, Genesis 2:20, Genesis 6:7, Genesis 7:3, 23, Genesis 9:2, Job 12:7, Job 28:21, Deuteronomy 28:26, 1 Samuel 17:44, 1 Samuel 17:46, 2 Samuel 21:10, 1 Kings 14:11, 1 Kings 16:4, 1 Kings 21:24, , Psalms 79:2, Psalms 104:12, Ecclesiastes 10:20, Jeremiah 4:25, Jeremiah 7:33, Jeremiah 9:10, Jeremiah 15:3, Jeremiah 16:4, Jeremiah 19:7, Jeremiah 34:20, Ezekiel 29:5, Ezekiel 31:6, 13, Ezekiel 32:4, Ezekiel 38:20, Hosea 2:18, Hosea 4:3, Hosea 7:12, Hosea 9:11, Zephaniah 1:3.)) in the Hebrew canon, yet which seems to have been completely overlooked by theologians and biblical scholars. It seems to be a portmanteau made be combining [[oyop]] and [[semim]], and it appears to refer to a specific type of semim.
-Consider the meanings inherent in those two words. The semim are a group of legendary individuals or perhaps prototypical humans. [[Oyop]] means "flying". Taken at face value, the phrase 'oyop semim' clearly seems to indicate some kind of "legendary flying men", or "flying prototypical humans". The implication of 'oyop shemim' appears to be that there were flying men in the ancient times before the ancient Hebrew period, which lived on in the legends of those days.((As a side note, an additional reference in Psalms 50:11 refers to "the flying mountain people"))
+Consider the meanings inherent in those two words. The semim are a group of legendary individuals or perhaps prototypical humans. [[Oyop]] means "flying". Taken at face value, the phrase 'oyop semim' clearly seems to indicate some kind of "legendary flying men", or "flying prototypical humans". The implication of 'oyop shemim' appears to be that there were flying men in the ancient times before the ancient Hebrew period, which lived on in the legends of those days.((As a side note, an additional reference in Psalms 50:11 refers to "the flying mountain people"))((additionally, the 'oyop semim' are often mentioned in conjunction with the [[kelebim]], or "Dog-Men"))
 If we are to believe that the ancients told tales of even more ancient flying men as appears to be the case, there are two ways to attempt to formulate an explanation. Either (A) These earlier "men" had wings like birds and could fly, or (B) these men did not have wings and feathers, but were able to fly by some other mechanism.
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 We have already addressed the rocket angle, so why not take a look at the [[angel]]ic possibility? We cannot truly rule this out, but believe it or not, the Bible does not support the popular conception of angels in any way. This will be discussed in its own separate article.
+====The Enoch Connection====
+A few fragments of the original Hebrew version of the Book Of Enoch have survived (part of the Dead Sea Scrolls) and here we can read an alternative version that parallels the narrative of Genesis 6.
+A typical English translation is:
+"//And the angels of the heavens saw them and coveted the cities and they wandered after them and said one to another: Come, let us choose wives for ourselves from among the daughters of man and we will beget We have sons//”
+note here that "angels of heaven" is actually "המלאכים בני־השמים", or ha-[[melakim]] [[ben]] ha[[semim]] which is better rendered as the "workers of the sons of the Semim" or perhaps the "worker-sons of the Semim.
+====Summary====
+In summary, the Semim are a group of entities associated with but separate from the Alehim. Both groups; the Semim and the Alehim, were given territory, but the territory of the Semim was overseen by one of the [[Alehim]], named [[Ihoh]]. Eventually, this territory was passed from the Semim and given to humans. The exact details of this transactions are not known.
+It is possible that the Semim were a proto-human species but they are also described as providers to humanity and thus, must have also been our contemporaries. Semim have been witnessed and described as flying or riding up and down on a [[kebed]] or a [[roeh]].
+Nevertheless, the Semim are most known simply for their fame or infamy; they are "the Legendary Ones" characterized as the primary characters of some ancient, presumably long lost legends. It is possible though that some of these legends may have never been truly lost or are yet bubbling back to our consciousness through archaeological discoveries.
+====More to Investigate====
+Kings 23:5 implicates the army of the semim with "overlord the sun moon constellations" and a mysterious group called "the Stirred Ones" in a burnt tower in the territory around Jerusalem.
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 This page is part of a series - see [[im]] backlinks for a dynamic list
-FIXME consolidate 8064, 98034
+View this word and its instances in our [[https://berasit.org/cgi-bin/lex.php?transliteration=semim|interactive lexicon]]
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-LexID
-[[https://bara.foundation/cgi-bin/lex.php?lexid=98034|98034]]