Looking for Dumbo

[Richard Amiel McGough]

The Wiki article on Dali’s Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening says the following:

The smaller pomegranate floating between two droplets of water may symbolize Venus, especially because of the heart-shaped shadow it casts.[6] It may also be used as a Christian symbol of fertility and resurrection.[7] This female symbolism may contrast with the phallic symbolism of the threatening creatures.[6]

I hope not to offend anyone on this forum. As my training is in literary and artistic interpretation and criticism and because I see clear links between Dali’s subject matter, the Dumbo movie, and Richard’s dream, I have to return to the sexual symbols observed by many commentators in Dali’s painting.

The nude woman reclines, slightly suspended above a rock at the edge of a large body of water:

<snip>

Dali’s 1937 painting Sleep depicts a similar theme in which a heavy head is suspended by supporting crutches while it sleeps:

<snip>

Beyond the sleeping head is a crutch that extends heavenward. Its position, shape, and angle parallel one of the front legs of the elephant in the Dream painting. Clearly, the theme of support is common to both works.

The SMK connection is established in both paintings, and the SMK/PYL connection is established in the Dream painting.

However, Dali is obviously exploring sexual themes in the Dream painting, which also correspond to SMK. Michael Munk says that the SMK is not only something which supports, but is also feminine, associating it with the creation of Eve and resulting sexual temptation.

If we take the numeric weight of 44=MD or DM and look strictly at the letters and what they symbolize, we have 'water door.' The woman in the Dream painting (completed in 1944) is on the threshold of an expanse of water, and she herself is a symbol of fertility and ultimately child-bearing and birth, the process in which water literally exits the female body through the threshold of the genitalia. In the womb, this water supports a newly begotten creation.

If you factor in Ezekiel 44 with the clothing requirements given to the remnant Levites for entering and exiting the Most Holy Place and the Holy Place and for ministering to those in the Outer Court, you have a picture of the priests’ primary function as foretold by Leah in Gen. 29:34:

Now this time will my husband be joined (LVH) unto me, because I have born him three sons: therefore was his name called Levi.

The Levitical priests became the vav that joined Israel in the Outer Court to God in the Most Holy Place. Whether we see this in sexual terms really doesn’t matter. The physical union of a man and woman is simply a symbol of the kind of relationship God wants with us. Through Jesus, we have a better high priest and thus a better vav than the Levitical priesthood could be for Israel or Levi could be for his mother.

How many times have we heard conservative Christian men talk like giddy school girls about having a relationship with Christ, being in love with him, being part of his Bride, and part of his body? Though the sexual relationship between a man and woman isn’t necessarily sufficient for describing the nature of the church’s relationship with Christ, it is helpful if one can get past what may feel like taboos. Likewise, there is more to all this than what we experience here in the physical plane as human beings divided from one another by sex, as well as so many other things. We are ultimately talking about a spiritual process whereby individuals begin to merge with Christ so they might eventually merge with one another so they might corporately merge again with Christ. How can we abide in him as he abides in us and as he abides in the Father and the Father in him? We should realize sexual imagery is not sufficient for seeing the full picture. However, it does help for getting some perspective on how Christ lives in and through us and on how the church is to be joined to him.

Hey there Len,

Fascinating insights, my friend! Don't worry about any "delicate sensibilities" regarding the symbolism in the art. We're all adults here. We can discuss things openly. The only problem would be if someone were trying to use such things to evoke lewd and lascivious passions or something like that. As it is, we can look at the workings of our own bodies and minds without shame, as it was in the beginning (Gen 2:25). And as you will now see, there is no getting away from the "erotic" aspect of the subconscious mind.

I was reading an article about Dali and found the source of his elephant carrying the obelisk. The image originated in a book called Hypnerotomachia by Poliphili. The name if from the Greek words hypnos, ‘sleep’, eros, ‘love’, and mache, ‘fight’ so it means something like "The Strife of Love in a Dream." It was written in 1499 AD in Latin. An old English translation is available in PDF format here where also we find this descriptions of the book:

This is a 1592 partial translation of an extraordinary early printed book published anonymously at the press of Aldus Manutius in Venice, 1499. It was written in a highly idiosyncratic language composed of Latin, Italian and Greek neologisms. The first vernacular translation of it was made in French in 1546, and this is the second translation in English.
The renown of the original is both for the typography and for the woodcuts, not all of which appear in the English translation.
A young man, Poliphilo, tells the story of a dream in which he searches for his lost beloved, Polia (his name means Lover-of-Polia) in an enchanted world of classical antiquity. This is primarily a spiritual quest, which the dream presents in enigmas. The woodcuts and descriptions of glorious architecture and garden settings were highly influential throughout Europe and the British Isles.
For any English reader who is interested in the Hypnerotomachia, while it takes a little practice to read the f's as s's, and see words like 'iuie' as 'ivy' and 'dyfhe' as 'dish', this Renaissance translation will be greatly rewarding as it conveys the flavour and mystery of the original allegory in the narrator's rich descriptions.
There is a constant play on the page between text, image, and hieroglyphic. See for example p. 81 for invented hieroglyphics, and p. 164, where early examples of Arabic and Hebrew type are set into the illustration alongside Latin and Greek.

The book contained an image of an elephant carrying an obelisk:




In the book, the author describes how the obelisk passes through the belly of the elephant.

This image was then used as the inspiration for a statue to support an Egyptian obelisk that was discovered in Rome in 1665. Pope Alexander VII wanted to raise the obelisk and needed a base, so he commissioned Bernini who suggested Poliphili's elephant. The Pope agreed, saying that he wanted the obelisk to be a sign of "Holy Knowledge." Thus on the side of the plynth is engraved the saying "a strong mind is needed to support solid knowledge." How curious is that? Here we encounter the main themes discussed earlier in this thread - the connection between SMK (support) and PYL (elephant) as well as the idea of the "Holy Knowledge" revealed by the Hierophant/Pope/Levi/Vav card in the Tarot. And the original inspiration for the elephant with an obelisk comes from medieval book about a "Dream of Love." This all feels pretty significant to me. I'm very curious to read Poliphili's book.

Here's how the obelisk looks today:



Now the root MD does mean "garment" but can also mean "measure." And it is in this second sense that seems most significant in this context. The number 12 is a "number of measurement" in both time (12 months, 12 signs fo the zodiac, 12 x 2 hours in a day, etc) and in space (12 inches to a foot, 12 x 30 degrees in a circle, etc). And the 12th letter LMD can be read as "L" (to) "MD" (measure). This is a line of thought that only occurred to me this morning, so I don't know where it will lead as yet.

Richard

[lenvande]

Thanks for helping develop this picture, Bob and Richard. It really is amazing how so many of these things are harmonized.

According to Munk, the Samekh and Vav are related. Vav’s numerical value is 6, while Samekh’s is 60. Vav’s revealed initial (V) is 6, and its hidden remainder (V) is 6. Samekh’s revealed initial (S) is 60, and its hidden remainder (MK) is 60. Fully spelled, VaV = 12, and SMK = 120. Also, both represent completeness.

Richard’s most recent post already reveals the chain of influences for Dali’s work, so I will review it only briefly here and then add some extra points that are quite interesting in light of all this.

Dali’s 1944 painting was influenced by Baroque sculptor Gian Lorenzo Berninini’s elephant and obelisk sculpture, titled Pulcino della Minerva:



Located in the Piazza di Minerva in Rome, this work was completed in 1667. You take the double numbers in this year (66), and you get the numerical value SMK-VV, which relates directly to the connection Munk makes.

Go back to 1499, and you find Bernini’s influence, a woodcut of an elephant and obelisk from Francesco Colonna’s novel Hypnerotomachia Poliphili:



The double numbers in this year (99) have the numerical value ZDY-TT.

Reduce all of these double numbers to their most basic symbols, and you have the following:

99 = ZDY-TT = Righteous Serpent
66 = SMK-VV = Support/Join
44 = MM-DLT = Water Door

Of course, a number of meanings might emerge from these symbols, but sexual intercourse and birth seem to be among the most obvious. Add to all this that we are discovering these synchronicities in 2011, the double numbers of which can be distilled into YD-ALF, or First Hand, and we have to wonder if we are seeing the hand of Zerah (the Seed) emerging from the Water Door.

Does anyone have some scarlet thread ready?

[Richard Amiel McGough]

I was reading my notes form November 11, 1992 and found this:

Lord Jesus Christ = 3168 = 6 x 528

Thus we have arrived. The Key to the Universe MPhTCh = 528 = T(32)

This is the new birth YLD = 44, in full = Yod Lamed Dalet = 20 + 74 + 434 = 528

which again is Salvation (yeshuah) written in full Yod Shin Vav Ayin Hey = 528

These were identities I have not thought about for many years. They were very convincing to me at the time when I was discovering I was Christian. Both the standard and the full values of the word YLD (yeled, birth) relate directly to the numbers given in the dream (full spelling is indicated by colons between the letters):

YLD = 44
Y:L:D: = 528 = 12 x 44

And the Hebrew name of Jesus is a simple anagram of the word for salvation - Yehoshua <=> Yeshuah and so both sum to 528 when spelled in full:

Y:H:Sh:V:Ayin: = 20 + 6 + 360 + 12 + 130 = 528

And this links back to the value of the full title of the Lord Jesus Christ in Greek:

Lord Jesus Christ = 3168 = 6 x 528 (Yehoshua in full)

I found all these relations to be very convincing to me personally since I had received the literal "key" to it all in my Dumbo Dream before I knew a lick of Hebrew.

[Richard Amiel McGough]

Thanks for helping develop this picture, Bob and Richard. It really is amazing how so many of these things are harmonized.

According to Munk, the Samekh and Vav are related. Vav’s numerical value is 6, while Samekh’s is 60. Vav’s revealed initial (V) is 6, and its hidden remainder (V) is 6. Samekh’s revealed initial (S) is 60, and its hidden remainder (MK) is 60. Fully spelled, VaV = 12, and SMK = 120. Also, both represent completeness.

Richard’s most recent post already reveals the chain of influences for Dali’s work, so I will review it only briefly here and then add some extra points that are quite interesting in light of all this.

Dali’s 1944 painting was influenced by Baroque sculptor Gian Lorenzo Berninini’s elephant and obelisk sculpture, titled Pulcino della Minerva:



Located in the Piazza di Minerva in Rome, this work was completed in 1667. You take the double numbers in this year (66), and you get the numerical value SMK-VV, which relates directly to the connection Munk makes.

Go back to 1499, and you find Bernini’s influence, a woodcut of an elephant and obelisk from Francesco Colonna’s novel Hypnerotomachia Poliphili:



The double numbers in this year (99) have the numerical value ZDY-TT.

Reduce all of these double numbers to their most basic symbols, and you have the following:

99 = ZDY-TT = Righteous Serpent
66 = SMK-VV = Support/Join
44 = MM-DLT = Water Door

Of course, a number of meanings might emerge from these symbols, but sexual intercourse and birth seem to be among the most obvious. Add to all this that we are discovering these synchronicities in 2011, the double numbers of which can be distilled into YD-ALF, or First Hand, and we have to wonder if we are seeing the hand of Zerah (the Seed) emerging from the Water Door.

Does anyone have some scarlet thread ready?

Fascinating connections Len! I hadn't noticed the Sakek/Vav double connection. It seems pretty strong.

S = 60
SMK = 120

V = 6
VV = 12

Very cool! And while thinking of "support" let us not forget that Pillar (ammud) = 120.

The double numbers are also very interesting. The appear in all aspects of the dream, including the dates of the dream (11/24) and the synchronicity (12/22).

I find it intriguing that I am waking up to this just prior to the 22nd anniversary which will happen on 12/22/12 (one day after the big 12/21/12 thing everyone seems so interested in).

Also, it is very curious that you happened to mention the "hidden remainder" since I was just thinking about that this morning, for the first time in 20 years! That's why I mentioned the fact that the name of "the 12th letter LMD can be read as 'L' (to) 'MD' (measure)." The "MD" is the "hidden remainder" of LMD. This idea plays a big role in the book by Haralick called "The Inner Meaning of the Hebrew Letters" which I took off the shelf and read this morning before you wrote your post talking about the "hidden remainder!" I find these kinds of synchronicities very encouraging. It feels like we are all caught up in a similar flow - sharing the same mind. Very cool!

[Bob May]

Pomegranate is 296
Here are some interesting connections.

The Number 296
The Earth
HaAretz

The Mountain of God

Har HaElohim

Rock, Stone

Tsur

Coverings of Tapestry [Pro 31.22]

Marbadim

For a light of the Gentiles

L'Aur Goyim

Factors: 296 = 8 x 37

Multiples: 3 x 296 = 888, 5 x 296 = 1480

The curious girdle and robe of Aaron and the breastplate with twelve stones of the tribes seems to have to do with this.
There are pomegranetes on the robe. As the hanging veil behind the High Priestess.

Exodus 39
Ex 39:1 And of the blue, and purple, and scarlet, they made cloths of service, to do service in the holy place, and made the holy garments for Aaron; as the LORD commanded Moses.
Ex 39:2 And he made the ephod of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen.
Ex 39:3 And they did beat the gold into thin plates, and cut it into wires, to work it in the blue, and in the purple, and in the scarlet, and in the fine linen, with cunning work.
Ex 39:4 They made shoulderpieces for it, to couple it together: by the two edges was it coupled together.
Ex 39:5 And the curious girdle of his ephod, that was upon it, was of the same, according to the work thereof; of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen; as the LORD commanded Moses.
Ex 39:6 And they wrought onyx stones enclosed in ouches of gold, graven, as signets are graven, with the names of the children of Israel.
Ex 39:7 And he put them on the shoulders of the ephod, that they should be stones for a memorial to the children of Israel; as the LORD commanded Moses.
Ex 39:8 And he made the breastplate of cunning work, like the work of the ephod; of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen.
Ex 39:9 It was foursquare; they made the breastplate double: a span was the length thereof, and a span the breadth thereof, being doubled.
Ex 39:10 And they set in it four rows of stones: the first row was a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this was the first row.
Ex 39:11 And the second row, an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond.
Ex 39:12 And the third row, a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst.
Ex 39:13 And the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper: they were enclosed in ouches of gold in their enclosings.
Ex 39:14 And the stones were according to the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet, every one with his name, according to the twelve tribes.
Ex 39:15 And they made upon the breastplate chains at the ends, of wreathen work of pure gold.
Ex 39:16 And they made two ouches of gold, and two gold rings; and put the two rings in the two ends of the breastplate.
Ex 39:17 And they put the two wreathen chains of gold in the two rings on the ends of the breastplate.
Ex 39:18 And the two ends of the two wreathen chains they fastened in the two ouches, and put them on the shoulderpieces of the ephod, before it.
Ex 39:19 And they made two rings of gold, and put them on the two ends of the breastplate, upon the border of it, which was on the side of the ephod inward.
Ex 39:20 And they made two other golden rings, and put them on the two sides of the ephod underneath, toward the forepart of it, over against the other coupling thereof, above the curious girdle of the ephod.
Ex 39:21 And they did bind the breastplate by his rings unto the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it might be above the curious girdle of the ephod, and that the breastplate might not be loosed from the ephod; as the LORD commanded Moses.
Ex 39:22 And he made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue.
Ex 39:23 And there was an hole in the midst of the robe, as the hole of an habergeon, with a band round about the hole, that it should not rend.
Ex 39:24 And they made upon the hems of the robe pomegranates of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen.
Ex 39:25 And they made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates upon the hem of the robe, round about between the pomegranates;
Ex 39:26 A bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, round about the hem of the robe to minister in; as the LORD commanded Moses.

Hag 2:19 Is the seed yet in the barn? yea, as yet the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath not brought forth: from this day will I bless you.

Bob.

[Richard Amiel McGough]

Pomegranate is 296
Here are some interesting connections.

The Number 296
The Earth
HaAretz

The Mountain of God

Har HaElohim

Rock, Stone

Tsur

Coverings of Tapestry [Pro 31.22]

Marbadim

For a light of the Gentiles

L'Aur Goyim

Factors: 296 = 8 x 37

Multiples: 3 x 296 = 888, 5 x 296 = 1480

The curious girdle and robe of Aaron and the breastplate with twelve stones of the tribes seems to have to do with this.
There are pomegranetes on the robe. As the hanging veil behind the High Priestess.

Those are some nice identities. The word for pomegranate is ramon = 296. It is based on the root ramam meaning "high" or "exalted." It fits well with the obelisk high and lifted up on the back of the elephant.

[Bob May]

Those are some nice identities. The word for pomegranate is ramon = 296. It is based on the root ramam meaning "high" or "exalted." It fits well with the obelisk high and lifted up on the back of the elephant.

This is very appropo and interesting.
Deut, 5th book,.. 8th chapter,.. starting at the second verse,.. 582.

De 8:2 And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.
De 8:3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.

It is about God speaking to us. "And that He might make us KNOW IT." Revelation. This chapter lays out the reasons for the 40 years in the wilderness.
That what we get from the "voice of God" is not our doing.
It is all about God speaking to us and us becoming Established (40) in that Truth. This would be the elephant which is a solid base for the "mountain of God"/obilisk,.. and who never forgets.
It starts out small as manna, (what is it?) but leads to greater awareness of that "Voice of God."

De 8:7 For the LORD thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; (Dreams and flashes of greater awareness)
De 8:8 A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; (Rimmown 296) a land of oil olive, and honey;

De 8:11 Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day:

De 8:14 Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;
De 8:15 Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint;
De 8:16 Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end; De 8:17 And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.

De 8:18 But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: (elephant)for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.
De 8:19 And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish. (fall back into the state of not hearing the voice of God)
De 8:20 As the nations which the LORD destroyeth before your face, so shall ye perish; because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the LORD your God.

Breaking the rules a little here, the same voice of the Lord can be seen with the woman at Jacob's well "I that speak to you am he.."
And Rachel.
rachel {raw-kale'} from an unused root meaning to journey; TWOT - 2145a; n f AV - ewe 2, sheep 2; 4 1) ewe
Joh 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
Joh 10:2 But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
Joh 10:3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. Joh 10:4 And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.

Mr 6:34 And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.


Jer. 31:15 Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not.

God speaking from the ground through the blood (life) that was spilled.
Words are slightly different, Resh, Mem, Heh, (245)for the voice heard in Ramah,...
And Resh, Mem, Vav, Nun (296) for Rimmown,..
But we are possibly seeing the female principle in the Heh ending and Rimmown sounds like a male name to me.
Though the pronunciation might be similar.

But it all seems to fit with the idea of realizing God is speaking to us after coming out of wilderness testing, where we are not sure thast it is God speaking, we just know something is happening,, But "What is it???"

Coming out of the wilderness into the promised land is being Established in that knowing.
This is why Jesus when coming out of his Wilderness experience went immediately to the synagog and "Found Himself" in Scripture and also showed those around him (And US) what he had found.

This is the same pattern that manifests itself in our lives. We go through a period that we don't know what it is 40. Once we know what it is we are to stay in it. 40. Years for the Israelites, days and nights for Jesus.
Once we are established in this understanding we come out of this wilderness.
It is not for God's benefit that this testing/extablishing occurs, it is for ours. Because if we stay in it we recieve more.
It is not attainment, it is receptivity and belief in what is happening. Disbelief shuts off the receptors and we "die to" these higher things, the voice of God.

The elephant is obviously hearing as proves the large ears. But it is hearing much higher things as it is standing on stilt legs.
Also the phallus nose which can be used for many things just a sex enegy when used for higher things than obvious, can bring us to greater sensory awareness. This is the candlestick with seven lights.

Bob

[Bob May]

I was in the hobby Lobby yesterday afternoon and these verses were on a plaque.

Pr 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Pr 3:6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

This seemed to sum up all of these conversations and I bought it and another for my brother-in-law.
Completing the circle and returning to God.

Bob

[Richard Amiel McGough]

I was in the hobby Lobby yesterday afternoon and these verses were on a plaque.

Pr 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Pr 3:6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

This seemed to sum up all of these conversations and I bought it and another for my brother-in-law.
Completing the circle and returning to God.

Bob

That always was, of course, one of my favorite verses. But now I don't think it really has much meaning since it all hinges upon how I interpret "the LORD" ~ the primary options being either the basically Hindu concept that "Thou art that" (i.e. there is only one Self and each of us is it) or the traditional Theistic concept that there is a God "out there" utterly distinct from us. Now the beauty is that the Bible actually teaches the Hindu concept when it says that we are one with God. So I'll go with that. Then everything in the Bible is redeemed.

John 17:20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; 21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. 22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: 23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

We are "one with God" in exactly the same way as Christ! We are part of the Godhead ~ eternal as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We are divine, as declared by Peter:

2 Peter 1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, 3 ¶ According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

We are partakers of the Divine Nature, one with God in exactly the same way as Christ himself.

How's that for a Christmas gift?

Merry Christmas one and all! (Or shall we say One and One or "I and I" as would our Rastafarian brothers and sisters?)

Richard

[lenvande]

Of course, a number of meanings might emerge from these symbols, but sexual intercourse and birth seem to be among the most obvious. Add to all this that we are discovering these synchronicities in 2011, the double numbers of which can be distilled into YD-ALF, or First Hand, and we have to wonder if we are seeing the hand of Zerah (the Seed) emerging from the Water Door.

Does anyone have some scarlet thread ready?

[/QUOTE]


This is one of those embarrassing etymology-by-sound moments that my classics professor warned me about. Of course, Zerah is not Zayin-Resh-Ayin, but rather Zayin-Resh-Chet. Hence, the name means 'rising' rather than 'seed.' Thank you for taking the 90% that was worthwhile in the post, and letting the translation oversight slip by.

Still, there is something to be gained by revisiting the name Zerah. Of course, Zerah is the twin brother of Pharez, who is the primogenitor of the Davidic and Messianic lines. However, some interesting synchronicities involving Zerah’s name are hidden underneath all the heavy furniture of Pharez’s power household. What struck me most regarding the Biblical usage of the name was this passage from the Blue Letter Bible Lexicon:

5) the Ethiopian or Cushite, invader of Judah in the reign of Asa who defeated the invaders; probably the same as the Egyptian king Usarken I, second king of the Egyptian 22nd dynasty or perhaps more probably Usarken II, his 2nd successor

After reading this, I was stunned that this otherwise forgotten king (Usarken or U-Sarak-en), recorded in an obscure chapter of 2nd Chronicles, was a member of the 22nd dynasty of Egypt.

I pushed this a little further by doing some of the gematria on Zerah’s name through the database but didn’t find much. However, when I combined the name with Pharez, his brother, I found the following:

Zerah (ZRCh) = 215
Pharez (PhRTs) = 370
Total 585

There was nothing particularly obvious about the weight or identities listed, but at the bottom appeared two verses that summed to 585. One was Psalm 54:6, which didn’t strike me as significant, but the other was Ezra 7:4:

The son of Zerahiah, the son of Uzzi, the son of Bukki

Here is a variation of the name Zerah in Ezra’s geneaology in a verse that sums to the same weight as Zerah’s and Pharez’s names summed together.