Symmetry and Hermeneutics

What is written by inspiration must be read by inspiration.1
     – wrf3

Natural methods do not produce supernatural results.
     – wrf3

With my background in math and science, symmetry is a very important concept. Nature is full of symmetries. The conservation laws of energy, linear momentum, angular momentum, and charge correspond to time translation symmetry, space translation symmetry, rotational symmetry, and gauge symmetry, respectively. Is symmetry maintained in the supernatural world? That is, is symmetry maintained between the reading and writing of inspired works? Nature does break symmetry and perhaps it is the case that what is written by inspiration can be understood through natural means.

There are two striking examples in Scripture where symmetry must be preserved. As mentioned in this post on
Dispensationalism, the first is Genesis 15:18:

On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your zera‘ I give this land, ...

zera‘ is ambiguous as to number, like the English word fish. Some English bibles translate it using the equally ambiguous "seed" or "offspring" but many, such as the NRSV, NASB, NIV, and NKJV use the plural "descendants". Not one uses the singular "descendent". The Septuagint, however, translates it as singular: "τῷ σπέρματί". Paul stresses this point in Galatians 3:16:

τῷ δὲ Ἀβραὰμ ἐρρέθησαν αἱ ἐπαγγελίαι καὶ τῷ σπέρματι αὐτοῦ οὐ λέγει καὶ τοῖς σπέρμασιν ...

Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his descendent; it does not say, “And to descendants,” as of many; but it says, “And to your descendent,” that is, to one person, who is Christ.

Here, symmetry between the inspiration of the writing of scripture and the reading of scripture is maintained. Natural methods of reading Genesis 15:18 result in understanding "zera‘" as plural, instead of singular.

Another example of the importance of symmetry is seen in John 3:3 and 7, where Jesus tells Nicodemus "you must be born ἄνωθεν." ἄνωθεν can be understood several ways: again, anew, from the top, from above. Nicodemus' reply to Jesus shows that he understood it in a way that Jesus did not mean. Symmetry between inspiration and interpretation was broken.

There is a further symmetry between Paul's understanding of to whom the promises to Abraham were made and Jesus' statement to Nicodemus. Paul says that covenant with Abraham was not made to the "children of the flesh" (that is, the natural descendants) but to "the children of the promise." (Romans 9:6). He then uses Isaac and Jacob to illustrate who the children of the promise were. Isaac was born through divine intervention, for Sara was barren, and selected by divine choice, since Ishmael was firstborn. Both Esau and Jacob were born through divine intervention, for Rebekah was barren, but the promise went to Jacob through divine selection. In the same way, Jesus told Nicodemus that the children of the kingdom are born by divine intervention and divine selection.



[1] A search of DuckDuckGo, Google, and Bing turns up no sources for this quote. Yesterday,
Grok attributed it to Joseph Smith, but a search of archive.org did not confirm this. Today, Grok attributed it to Ralph Waldo Emerson. But the referenced work did not contain these words.
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2024 Reading List

1Buddy Holly is Alive and Well on GanymedeBradley Denton
2Paul and the Resurrection of Israel: Jews, Former Gentiles, IsraelitesJason Staples
3Clothes, Clothes, Clothes. Music, Music, Music. Boys, Boys, Boys.Viv Albertine
4WeYevgeny Zamyatin
5Surprised by JoyC. S. Lewis
6The Wolf of Wall StreetJordan Belfort
7Catching The Wolf of Wall StreetJordan Belfort
8Embracing the JourneyGreg and Lynn McDonald
9Fritz Lieber: Selected StoriesFritz Lieber
10GenesisJohn H. Sailhammer
11Genesis: Translation and CommentaryRobert Alter
12Genesis: Beginning and BlessingR. Kent Hughes
13The LongviewRoger Parrott, PhD
14The Last Dangerous VisionsHarlan Ellison

Slow year. Started an additional 7 books that I haven't finished.
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