Timshel

My sister keeps making fun of me. She says that Timshel sounds like the name of a dragon. I then tell her she shouldn't make fun of me about stuff like that when she's an avid fan of both of the Eragon books.

Anyway, I thought I should explain why I chose this dragonesque. Anyone who has read East of Eden by John Steinbeck knows why. Basically, a character, Lee, tried to get to the literal translation of Genesis chapter 24 of the Bible; the Cain and Abel story. He did many months and years of research to come to this:

“Don’t you see? . . . The American Standard translation orders men to triumph over sin, and you call sin ignorance. The King James translation makes a promise in ‘Thou shalt,’ meaning that men will surely triumph over sin. But the Hebrew word, the word timshel—‘Thou mayest’—that gives a choice. It might be the most important word in the world. That says the way is open.” (Sparknotes.com)

He found the Hebrew translation and saw that it wasn't an order or a promise, it was permission. It meant that men have a choice to triumph over the sin and temptations in their lives, and this is what the book is really about.

In the book, Cal's family has a history of evil, and Cal struggles with overcoming this legacy. Lee's discovery that God didn't promise or command Cain to overcome sin, but told him he had the ability to overcome sin was hope. This was hope for all the people who have something haunting them, who have temptations, who have sins they feel they can't escape.

Ultimately, Lee's timshel helps Cal see the truth in this and overcome his family's dark past.

I really liked this because of the hope it gave me while I was reading it. The thought that I have the ability to overcome my sin or my past or anything else that may be hindering me is encouraging, and it was presented in such an awesome way.

Not only is this one of my favorite books, timshel has become one of my favorite words, even if it does sound a little bit like a dragon.