I was seen by Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as God Almighty (El Shaddai) but by my name YHWH, I did not make Myself known to them.  Genesis 6:3

          We are indebted to Dr. Stephen Jones for what follows below.

          The Hebrew phrase, El Shaddai,  is almost universally translated “God Almighty”.  “El” is not in any dispute as meaning anything except “God”.  So far, so good.

          However, the origin of “Shaddai” is unclear, as is the translation to “Almighty”, for which no one can reasonably account.  However, it is generally recognized that the word “shaddai” may have some relation to “shad”, which in Hebrew means “breasts” and more specifically those belonging to a lactating mother.  Perhaps the reader can see why “almighty” was more or less invented, because we really couldn’t have a “Breast God”, now could we?

          The gender of the nouns is of no help, and is actually misleading.  “El” is masculine, and “Shaddai” is masculine, but so is “shad”.  Imagine a masculine noun meaning a woman’s breasts!  See Strong’s Conc. #H7699.

          God is neither male nor female, but His expression as YHWH is undeniably masculine.  So too, His expression as Shaddai is feminine.  Notice how the word is always used in relation to a sense of fertility in Genesis 28:3, 35:11 and 49:25.  And as God is one, these expressions will always be in agreement.

          God continues to express Himself today THROUGH those to whom He chooses to express Himself.  Sometimes the spokesperson is aware of it, sometimes not.  This is one of God’s methods of continuously revealing Himself to men.  (See, for example, Romans 1:18).  God chooses to express Himself through men and women.  Thus, through the man, YHWH wll express, while through the woman, El Shaddai will express.

          What is God’s purpose in this?  It is that when a husband and his wife both learn to hear God’s voice, and speak His words, they will be in agreement.  The expression will be different to account for the difference in the messenger, but not contradictory.  In this way, the husband and his wife, or the wife and her husband, fulfill the law of the double witness in a beautiful and harmonious way.

          We will not argue about who is supposed to be the leader of the family, since ultimately Christ is the leader of the family.  Instead, we choose to focus on the necessity of learning to hear God’s voice.  Then, whoever He chooses to speak to first can tell the other spouse of the Lord’s leading.  The other spouse then can seek the Lord for confirmation and to “establish” the matter.

          Insisting that one party lord it over the other, and that the other is to “submit”, results in the complete disregard of the law of the double witness.  It has been given to be a divine safety net, a protection against pride and mistake.  Moreover, the leader is not to be a dictator, but a servant, humbly believing that God can get the message through to the other spouse.  The wise husband will listen for the message El Shaddai is trying to get to him, the husband, through the wife.  Even though the spouses may agree on the subject matter, they may yet be apart on the timing.  Thus, the husband may be ready to go, but the wife may be hesitant, or perhaps vice versa.  By listening to the voice of YHWH and the voice of El Shaddai, the spouses can know that the decision is right AND the timing is right.  This is very important.  Here is the law of the Double Witness:

 15A single witness shall not rise up against a man on account of any iniquity or any sin which he has committed; on the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed.  Deuteronomy 19:15

          This law is expressed in different ways a total of seven times in the Old and New Testaments, and spoken of by Jesus with approval.  See for example, Matthew 18:16.  As Dr. Jones has stated, it is one of the foundational laws of the universe.  Much more could be said about it.  But the point is, God is expressing Himself through women, so men should listen up!

          How fitting that the Song of Songs should confirm this understanding of the woman’s part in establishing God’s will by being a faithful witness.  Notice this:

I was like a wall, and my breasts (shaddai) like towers; then I became in his eyes as one who provides peace.  Song of Songs 8:10

          The woman is saying, “I was like a wall, but Shaddai is higher up (like towers  above the wall), and when I spoke Shaddai’s words, then I became in his (the man’s) eyes as one who provides peace.”  It can be easily seen that the confirming witness of the woman brings peace to the household and to the husband.  This is very beautiful and unknown to most of the church today.

          The next verse confirms the above construction with a simile about renting the vineyard.  The price of its fruit?  1000 pieces of silver.   The number 1000 signifies the glory of man, since woman is the glory of man.  See 1 Corinthians 11:7.

Blessed are you O Shaddai our God, blessed among women, for you have spoken peace and compassion and established the law of the Double Witness.

 

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