Spoke 17

Two Theophanies

Genesis 17 Matthew 17

And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,

Genesis 17 (vs. 1f)

When God appears to a person in the Bible, it is called a Theophany, from the Greek roots (Theos, God) and (Phaine, Shine/Show). The second of these roots is deeply integrated with the meaning of the Pey KeyWord (Panim, Face), the basic idea being that of showing oneself by turning to face another. This is the word used in the verse quoted above when God said "walk before me, and be thou perfect." The word translated as before is (L'Pani) which is construct form of the Pey KeyWord Panim prefixed by the Letter Lamed. Its distribution is maximized on Spoke 17 in the Esther KeyPhrase "Before the King". Panim appears again in the next verse when Abram fell on his face. This is the scriptural debut of the idea of "falling on your face" in the presence of God. The exact words written are:

The word translated as "And he fell" is just "he will fall" prefixed with the Letter Vav, which signifies the conjunctive and indicates past tense. The phrase "he will fall" is just "yifoll" - the Yod prefix indicating the second person imperfect. The stem is the common letters found in all inflections that carries the permanent meaning. In this case, the stem of the Hebrew word meaning fall is Pey - Lamed, pronounced fall. This is probably the most obvious of the manifold Hebrew roots seen in English as well as many of the worlds languages.

In perfect harmony with Genesis 17 and the meaning of the Letter Pey, we find exactly the same pattern in chapter sequence of Matthew. The first occurrence of a Theophany with people falling on their faces is found in the Transfiguration reported in Matthew 17:

And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.

And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only.

We have this integrated thematic link based on the meaning of the Letter Pey:

Conceptual Debut: Falling on the Face before God

Genesis 17Matthew 17

Both passages begin in verse 17.1. This links directly to the value of "The Face of God" which also is a Pey KeyWord:

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