Alpha and Ab...

Dear Jesus - Touch our hearts with the beauty of Yourself in this study....
This post began in the end.  Revelation - that is.  Did you know the phrase 'Alpha and Omega' occurs 4 times in the Bible and all those occurrences are in the book of Revelation?  This was news to me - and got me to thinking along the lines of a very simple principle for Bible study:  Greek words generally have corresponding Hebrew words.

Of course, this is because the initial writers and readers of what we accept as our 'Bible' tended to have as their primary language either Hebrew or Greek.  Certainly down through the ages this has changed.  However, for purposes of Bible study - it is always the best to be as thorough as possible when searching the entire Bible for a single word.  Thankfully - the concordance frequently does this for us.

Guess what?  The word 'Alpha' is the first word in the concordances of Greek words.  It is also the first letter of the Greek alphabet. 

Based on the 4 verses in Revelation where this word is found - what do we learn about the intended meaning of the word?  Now - let's realize that as we see the verses below, the Holy Spirit is probably moving mightily to bring connections to various other verses, to attract us to the preceding context of each verse.  All that is great!  But for now - let's focus just on the world 'Alpha' and what the surface reading of these verses gives us:

Revelation 1:8 (KJV)

⁸ I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

Revelation 1:11 (KJV)

¹¹ Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.

Revelation 21:6 (KJV)

⁶ And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

Revelation 22:13 (KJV)

¹³ I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

What do we see about the word Alpha above?  Here's the shortest list:  Alpha

• beginning
• first
• that which was AND is
• the I AM that name-claim which so infuriated the high priest in Mark 14:62

Following our original thought process or question - what might the first Hebrew word have to add to our picture?  Or would it even be related?  How can we even find the first Hebrew word?

Honestly, I can't recall the steps I took to find this word.   It was more difficult than I imagined.  Upon reflection, it was a different word study entirely.  When I saw the number '1' my mind popped back to this and my anticipation grew.

The details of the finding were lost once I saw this:  H1 = Ab  (remember 'Abba', Mark 14:32?  Turns out - that is H2!!)

Definition:

1) father of an individual

2) of God as father of his people

3) head or founder of a household, group, family, or clan

4) ancestor

a) grandfather, forefathers -- of person

b) of people

5) originator or patron of a class, profession, or art

6) of producer, generator (fig.)

7) of benevolence and protection (fig.)

8) term of respect and honour

9) ruler or chief (spec.)

Now comes the time when I wish you were here, in person, so I could hear those elements of the study that speak so strongly to you.  Because that would enrich my personal study even more! 

Here's what I get:

Jesus speaks to us through His WORD (which is Himself according to John 1:1) even to the point of ensuring that if all we had were the first words of the Greek and Hebrew language to describe Him, we could see truth.  He truly is:

• The Beginning
• The First
• That which was AND is
• The I AM, the self-existent name-claim which so infuriated the high priest in Mark 14:62
• The Founder of His people
• The Father of His people
• The Originator and Patron of His church
• The Producer and Generator of our salvation
• The Ruler and Chief of His people

Thank You Jesus that You are the All-Sufficient One for Your people...