18. WHY ARE GALAXIES NOT MENTIONED IN SCRIPTURES?

DR EARL PARVIN, 5/21/21

We read in the Scriptures about the myriads of stars [Gen 15:5 “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.”]. We know stars are found in many different kinds, shapes, luminosities and gathered in “clusters”. These stars are organized in various super galaxies, walls of galaxies and stretched out over light years of filaments of galaxies a plenty all over the cosmos in the cosmic web. Yet no mention is given although God is super meticulous about these things. I could mention DNA the blueprint for the building materials for the creation of self-replicating mankind. Or what gravity is as it operates in the galactic world of swirling masses of planets, suns, moons and stars in their orbits or planes by the work of an intricate designer.

So I went searching for some insight concerning this anomaly. I thought, search the scriptures. There certainly are glimpses of reality in word study. This is what I found hidden away in word definition possibilities between the Hebrew and English languages.

The Bible makes no effort at being a science text book. However it makes no mistakes in what it does mention. Science has made wonderful advances by unraveling portions of God’s intricate designs in so many ways.

I have discovered that all languages are living systems. So many words are enhanced by usage with expanded optional shades of meaning in areas of extensive usage. On the other hand, some words fall out of common usage. Knowing what observational science has revealed is a wonderful teacher about what shade of meaning to choose to gain some further translation may be fitting in the light of the surrounding context.

It is also true of some words that the best guess at a given meaning of especially a hapax legomenon [once used] concept is no longer available, and so noted.

The FIRST usage of the word star is in Gen 1:16.” God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. ¹⁷ God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth”.

The Hebrew word for stars is “cocabim”. In this offhanded statement concerning the creation of stars does not give the reader much understanding as to what the word means. The context offers some enlightenment by adding the words “greater & lesser lights. Also as lights they were all to shine light on the earth.

It is helpful to know, by observation, that the greater light is the sun, which is also a very special star, though not by any means the only sun-star system. The lesser light being the moon is not a star but a reflector of the sun-star’s light.

Now what can we learn from our word study? “cocabim” comes from the tri-radical rout CBB which meaning according to BDB, p 456 says “meaning not wholly clear” then adds: troop of horses, band of men, roll threads into a ball; therefore, the word star has a root meaning of round shape & many of them.

Next we consider the context. In the following verse [17] we read that “God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth,” The verb “to set” is “nathan” and means not only to place or put something, but “to personally hand it”. The word also carries a sense of “permanence” .

Oh my. What seemed like an emphasis on two greater lights shining on the earth to empower, for instance, the vegetation by means of photosynthesis to provide food. The reference to stars seemed to be but an after-thought. However the mere reference to the term [star] gives a much more meaningful action by God.

. Now I have understanding that verse 17 makes clear that God has set the sun, moon and stars in place. It did not happen by evolutionary chance.

SECOND, the Psalmist intones, “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them? [8:3-4].

The Psalmist uses another Hebrew word: “cun” also correctly translated star. Why did he led to use another word?

The Psalmist was directed by the Holy Spirit to convey that the star was placed by God along with other stars in a particular designated place such as in a Galaxy! Illustrated by referring to the placing of the items of furniture in the wilderness tabernacle in designated places.

THIRD

The servant of the Lord, Obadiah, said, “Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down, declares the Lord”. He chose yet another Hebrew word, “sum” correctly translated star. Why was he led to interject the term which could continue the metaphor for ‘height’? Eagles do build nests in clefs of rocky heights. But certainly not with stars! Consider this. This word is also used in Gen. 2:8 where it says God “put there”  the man in a garden which He had especially prepared. This construction “put there” is the repeating of the same word. WHY?

What Obadiah is conveying is not only “stars” but that the stars were specially made by God! And what pieces of masterful design are elliptical or spiral galaxies of vast numbers  of colorful blue or red stars.                                                            

FINAlly, I consider a saying of Solomon in his Song of Solomon 6:10. “Who is this that appears like the dawn, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, majestic as the stars in procession? [NIV]

Now consider the same passage in the KJV. “Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners?

The Hebrew translates literally, “awesome as banners [? armies]

What the translators have done is seek to follow the sense of the passage keeping with the simile of the sun and moon.

Since the NIV translators have done well to keep the metaphor, I note there is no word for star. Therefore, I bow to first usage of the word and pass with a SUMMARY.

In answer to my query about the absence of the use of the word galaxy in the Bible as the home of most of the plethora  of stars. I note that the understanding of the idea that stars congregate mostly in galaxies is a relatively recent discovery after the observation of more recent exceedingly powerful telescopic inventions. Yet a relatively accurate study of the word usage in the text reveals clearly that this understanding of clustering of stars in clustering galactic homes is exactly where God in Christ called them forth from their watery womb, numbered, named and set them meticulously in their planes in the fabric of the universe in an ordered, detailed fashion. [Not helter-skelter from dense globules of hydrogen gas from stellar nurseries.