Last week, I was inspired to discuss an interesting verse in the book of Ecclesiastes which was written by King Solomon, which I posted here:

As I mentioned, King Solomon was the wisest man who had ever lived, and the proof of it runs deeper than can been seen at first glance.  When I discovered how brilliantly he intertwined his explanation of the human heart with Yahweh’s creation, it made me want to re-read Solomon’s writings again and see if anything else jumps off the page.  I didn’t have to look very far.  All I had to do is begin re-reading the book of Proverbs.

Prov. 1:6–“To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.  ⁷ The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

My takeaway from this passage has always been, if you wish to understand scripture you must first honor and acknowledge Yahweh, otherwise you’re a foolish person who can’t stand to be corrected.  Isn’t that pretty much the way that you’ve read this passage too?  Obviously, in this context, “the words of the wise” are a clear reference to Solomon’s own writings, but what did he mean by their “dark sayings”?  I decided to break down all of verse 6 into its Hebrew equivalent transliteration.  This created a much different expression than what I first read.

Hebrew: להבין פועל, את הפרשנות, את דברי החכמים ואת דבריהם החשוכים, or “l-ebin mshl u-mlitze dbri chkmim u-chidth-m” becomes “to-to–understand–of proverb and-parallel words-of wise-ones and-enigmas-of-them”.

Before Solomon even begins his thoughts in verse 7, he has already told us in verse 6 that we can understand scripture if we look at their PARALLEL WORDS to discover those ENIGMAS!  This was an exciting discovery!  I was already well acquainted with the importance of using all parts of scripture, not just one sole verse, to fully understand what the author is conveying (a.k.a.: “parallel words”), but I had not thought about what he meant by the expression “dark sayings”.

One of my passions is to solve riddles, puzzles or other such brain-teasers, and here Solomon has just opened the door to do just that, letting us know that the interpretation of scripture–if at first it seems hard to understand–CAN be understood, because it is an enigma, a mystery or a puzzle which can be solved if you just look hard enough to discover its hidden meaning.  The expression “dark sayings” is not a closed-door where it’s impossible for us to understand it.  To the contrary, it is a CHALLENGE to us to have the Bible reveal exactly what these “dark sayings” actually mean.

Game on.

The Hebrew word for “dark sayings”, as noted above, is “chidth”, sometimes spelled “chiduth”.  This expression is pretty easy to identify its “parallel words” because that expression only occurs two other times in all of the Bible, both in the book of Psalms.

Psalm 49:4–“ I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp.”

Psalm 78:2– ^“I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old:”

First, a brief explanation of the book of Psalms.  This book, the largest in the Bible, contains 150 chapters, the majority of which were written by King David.  There were at least five other known authors, including Solomon.  Chapter 49 was written by David.  Chapter 78 was written by a member of the Asaph family.

The Psalms which were authored by King David were not just poetic words put to parchment.  They were the lyrics to songs which were sung on certain occasions.  With this in mind, re-read 49:4 again.  Not only is David explaining that these lyrics would be put to music “upon the harp”, he uses the exact same expression–“dark sayings”–that his son, Solomon did in Proverbs!  And here, it takes on greater significance.  If the lyrics to the songs, called Psalms, “will open my ENIGMAS”, David is telling us nothing less than the lyrics in Psalms are actually PROPHECY!”

Keep in mind, Solomon did not become king until his father, King David, had died.  So, David’s words in Ps. 49:4 would have been written BEFORE Solomon wrote Proverbs.  In other words, what I discovered in Proverbs about those “dark sayings” being a riddle to solve, was really just Solomon validating what David had written previously.  AND, it tells us that the book of Psalms is actually a book of prophecy, not just the words to the songs.  The last mention of the expression “dark sayings”, in ch. 78, provides even greater detail what is specifically written to our generation TODAY.

Psalm 78:2-4–“I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old:  ³ Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.  ⁴ We will not hide them from their children , shewing to the generation to come [OUR generation] the praises of Yahweh, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.”

Wow!  The hidden meanings, which Solomon called “enigmas” will finally be shown to the generation to come (always a reference to “that generation” just prior to the return of Yahshua).  Not only are the words in Psalms a prophecy for us to understand the truth, those enigmas were only going to be revealed to OUR generation and no other.  This only gets better by the minute.  Is any other secret [enigma] revealed in any of these three passages that contain the words “dark sayings”?  Yes there is, and it’s so big I almost want to jump out of my skin.

When David wrote the words “dark sayings” in Ps. 49:4, it was something he had specifically composed to a group of people, not just to the general population.  In fact, chapter 49 is the last of seven chapters that David wrote FOR this same group.  Who were they?

They were “the sons of Korah”.  Chapters 42 and 44 through 49 were all written to the sons of Korah.  Why is this such a big deal?  If you’ve read another earlier post on this blog about the Apostle Judas, I went into great detail explaining who Korah was.  He was a person in the book of Numbers who rebelled against Moses.  This rebellion resulted in Yahweh killing him, about 250 close followers, then another 14,700 others killed afterward, including all their property and possessions.  Blog post here:

Now, here in the book of Psalms, David has dedicated SEVEN chapters to the “sons of Korah”, yet Korah himself met an untimely death due to his rebellion.  What are some of the things that David is telling them in these seven chapters?

Psalm 42:9–“I will say unto Elohim my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?“  Are these “sons of Korah” some kind of modern day enemy of Yahweh?

Psalm 44:2-3–“How thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand, and plantedst them; how thou didst afflict the people, and cast them out.  ³ For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favour unto them.”  This is an obvious description of the return of Israel to their ancestral homeland.  Who were the people that had been living there when Yahweh drove them out?  [Ans.: Arabs].

Ps. 44:13–“Thou makest us a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and a derision to them that are round about us.“ Boy, I’ll say.  To say that Israel has been a “reproach” to her neighbors is an understatement.

Ps. 45:17–“ I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations: therefore shall the people praise thee for ever and ever.“  Uh oh….  There is only one name by which Yahweh shall be praised.  If the “sons of Korah” are those related to the person who rebelled AGAINST Yahweh, does their praise go to worship someone OTHER than him?

Ps. 46:10–“Be still, and know that I am Elohim: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth”  Is THIS another description, addressed to the “sons of Korah”, that their deity will eventually be Yahweh, not some other?

Ps. 47:8–“Elohim reigneth over the heathen: Elohim sitteth upon the throne of his holiness.”  Are the “sons of Korah” being identified as “the heathen”?

Ps 49:5–“Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about?”  Again,this is a clear description of the condition that Israel finds itself in ever since they returned to their original lands in 1948.  Is David calling the “sons of Korah” EVIL?

Remember that enigma thing?  I began to wonder whether these “sons of Korah” could possibly be describing the entire Arab population that surrounds Israel today.  After all, each verse above, written to them, is describing a group of people who are antagonists to Israel and who oppose her survival.  If this is the case, and these same Arab people boast their allegiance to a DIFFERENT diety–Muhammad–could this be describing them?

That’s when it clicked.  The holy book that the Arabs read is called the Quran.  It was completed in the year 632, many centuries after Yahshua’s appearance on earth, and many MILLENNIA after the events with Korah and Moses had occurred in the Old Testament.  And yet, David and Solomon have drawn our attention to Korah, with the emphasis that they will be a significant people in our generation.  It seemed odd to me that the book called the Quran has such a similar sound as the name Korah.

In the Arab language, the name Korah (a.k.a.: Kore or Core) is sometimes rendered Qarun or Qaroon, making it sound even MORE similar to the word Quran.  I looked up the actual Arab text, breaking down each word into their exact alphabet.  This is what I found.

Quran in Biblical Hebrew

קוראן

Kore in Biblical Hebrew

קורא
קרא

I admit, I have absolutely zero understanding of the Arab language, so I cannot say whether this discovery is significant or not.  Other than the slight difference, where the Hebrew word “Quran” appears to have the Hebrew letter Vav in it, which looks similar to our modern letter “l”, these words are exactly alike.

But whether or not the person named Korah could have formed the etymology of the word Quran, one thing is certain.  The PEOPLE that David and Solomon identified are those who would be driven out of the land, a reproach to their neighbors, the “heathen” who worship someone else, and are the cause of Israel’s “days of evil”.  Every single description is pinpointing the identity of the “sons of Korah” as the Arab peoples who are still a thorn in Israel’s side and who are still determined to wipe them off the face of the earth.

Their time is almost over.  Soon, every nation that dared take up arms against Jerusalem [and Israel] will meet this fate:

Zech. 12:9-10–“And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.  ¹⁰ And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.”

This mourning will precede a moment of such immense joy, it will boggle the mind.  And, this joyous moment will include everyone, even the “sons of Korah”.

Not to mention, you and me.