Genesis 6:9: “Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations. And Noah walked with God.”
Genesis 5:2: “And Enoch walked with God and he was not for God took him.”
“And He walks with me
And He talks with me
And He tells me I am His own.
And the joy we share, as we tarry there
None other, has ever known.
-C. Austin Miles.-
I am often asked what the word walk means in the Hebrew as “Enoch walked with God.” I usually give a nice little run down on the halakah (a righteous walk) and what it means, but for some reason I never took a look at this grammatically. I remember a student working on this verse pointed out to me that this was in a Hithpael form. I couldn’t believe it, I went to my Hebrew Bible and indeed, there it was, and not only Enoch walking with God in a Hithpael but Noah walked with God in a Hithpael.
What caught my student’s attention and mine is that the Hithpael form is reflexive. That means the rendering should be: “An Enoch walked himself with God. One other thing, to note, when Enoch walked with God it is found in a future tense but when Noah walked with God it is found in a past tense. I’ll let you chew on that, because I won’t have time to address it.
Obviously the text had a reason for putting this in a Hithpael (reflexive) form rather than the simple Qal form that every English translation uses. The proper translation is: “Enoch walked himself with God.” Take a closer look, the word with is not even in the text. Literally this is rendered: “Enoch walked himself, God.” For this passage to make sense we need to plug in a preposition so translators stuck the preposition with in there. Since we are just going to stick any old preposition in there, why not use as, after, before, beside, by, following, for or towards? We have over a hundred different prepositions in the English language to choose from. Hebrew has plenty of prepositions in its own right, so why is there no preposition in this sentence to begin with? If I could answer that question I might win a seat at the Jerusalem University. However, I think it is tied into the use of the Hithpael. Somewhere in some journal buried in some archives someone addressed this issue in the past. If I find it I will let you know.
For right now I am going to throw tradition out the window and choose my own preposition, one that works for me. If it doesn’t work for you, then go on, get your own preposition. If the text was going to be choosy, then it would have put a preposition in there, but seeing there is none, why should I let some scholar, sitting in his ivy tower, who hasn’t had to sacrifice a finger nail for God decide what preposition I’m going to put in there. I am going to follow what I believe is the Holy Spirit within me and choose my own preposition – thank you. I am choosing the preposition, for. Like I said, this is for me and me alone, you go get your own preposition that fits you. I find this fits perfectly with the future tense. And Enoch will walk himself for God (’s sake).
Right now, I am waiting upon God for a decision type miracle. You know what I find myself doing? I find myself walking the halakah (a righteous walk), a walk in tune or in harmony with God for my own sake. I somehow hope to bribe God with my righteous walk and my good deeds. Maybe then He will say: “Oy, and what good things you are doing for me Bunkie, come, come, here is your miracle, you’ve earned it, enjoy.” I am simply walking (halakah) for my sake. Enoch and Noah are giving me a lesson here, they are walking (halakah) for God’s sake, not for any reward.
Over a century ago, song writer C. Austin Miles, had a layover in a small town while taking a train to New York City. It was Sunday morning so he went to a little church in that town where a young pastor introduced his wife and said she wanted to share something with the congregation. Actually, it was an apology. This woman told how she and her husband were just married out of seminary and they never had a honeymoon as he had to begin his duties as pastor of that church right away. Day after day his duties kept him from home. Although she knew it would be this way being married to a pastor and accepted this when she married him, she had no idea how lonely it would be. One morning she woke up early to find her husband had to attend to a member of the congregation who was ill. Once again she felt so alone lying in that bed. She could not sleep so she got up and walked into the garden. Then she spoke these words that C.Austin Miles took with him back to New York and compose that beloved hymn “In The Garden.” She said: “I came to the garden alone, the dew was still on the roses. Then I heard a voice falling on my ear, it was the Son of God. And now every morning I come to the garden and He walks with me and He talks with me and He tells I am His own, and the joy we share as we tarry there, none other has ever known.”
Why do you walk the halakah, so you can just be translated to heaven like Enoch or avoid a disaster like Noah? How about the idea that God’s heart is lonely for you and even though you walk yourself, you invite Jesus to join with you in that halakah (righteous walk) for you know He is lonely for you and you do not want to bruise His heart by walking a walk that is not in harmony with Him.
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