Though I was pretty young, I think I can remember the first time I heard the thunderous roar of the Pacific Ocean. It was both staggering and glorious. Seeing the blue green waves roll into millions of foamy white bubbles caused my feet to dance as I raced up and down the beach. Then a few minutes later I would hear a loud “BOOM” as another giant wave crashed onto the sand in front of me. As beautiful as it was, the ocean took my breath away. It’s power, and the thunderous sounds it created held me in awe. “Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise! Let the earth and all living things join in” (Psalm 98:7 NLT).
You may have similar memories. When you were a young child, did you ever try to hold a seashell or conch shell to your ear so that you could hear the “sound of the ocean”? As kids we might have believed that it was really the ocean, but as adults we realize what is being heard is the environmental noise around the shell, resonating within the cavity of the shell, creating the similarity of the sound between ocean movements and airflow. Psalm 29:3-9 says, “The voice of the LORD is upon the waters; The God of glory thunders, The LORD is over many waters. The voice of the LORD is powerful, The voice of the LORD is majestic.”
When we take a closer look at the first words of the Genesis account in the Hebrew language, we find some amazing concepts that give us insight into God’s voice. The power of God’s voice expresses the fullness of His nature and the sound of His voice holds the universe together. If God is holding everything together with His voice, He can surely calm the stormy seas of whatever may be happening in our day-to-day lives.
In Genesis 1:2, we see that the Spirit of God moved (hovered) upon the face of the waters. Bible teacher and author Bonnie Gaunt reveals in her book Genesis One, Sacred Code, “When the material world is examined down to its smallest particles, they are found to be vibrations. All creation is organized vibrations.”
The author describes how the worlds were created by the word of God, or by the voice of God, or by the utterance of God and that “this utterance is both by music and by the Hebrew alphabet.” The interrelationship of music and the Hebrew alphabet are magnificent—and not surprisingly, they also relate to creation.
What does the author mean when she says that creation happened both by music and the Hebrew alphabet? Let’s start with the first letter of the alphabet—ALEPH.
Aleph
The graphic form of this letter symbolizes the infinite, eternal nature of God. It is one letter, but consists of three parts. The upper right segment of the letter is a “yod,” its lower left segment is a “yod”; and these two letters are connected by a diagonal letter—“vav.” Many scholars and theologians recognize that Hebrew is not only a beautiful, poetic, and multi-dimensional language, but that it is also a divine language. Because the universe was created by the “sound” of God’s voice, and the Hebrew language is so accurate in describing the world around us, it has been called the “DNA of Creation.”
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” John 1:1
Numeric Value of Aleph
In the letter “Aleph” each “yod” has a numerical value of 10, and the “vav” has a numerical value of 6, yielding a total of 26. This equals the numerical value of the four-letter divine name YHVH. (The four-letter name is a proper Name of God, and for that reason it is not pronounced as it is spelled. “Adonai” is used for the reading of Scripture or while reciting prayers. “Hashem” [the Name] is used in ordinary speech or written form.) When we sound the letter “Aleph” we hear three syllables: “Ah – le – ph.” Each sound corresponds to its original letter.
(This is an example of the Hebrew language having perfect syntax.) If we look at the meaning of each letter we have, the eternal God of all things speaks with authority and power. He is a God of wonder who is a marvelous miracle worker.
Isn’t that amazing? Triple digits. When you look at the number “111” in hertz or sound frequencies, it equals the musical note “A.” Where else does the number “111” appear in the Bible?
“For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6
Pele = Wonder
Pele comes from pala’ and means a miracle—marvelous thing, wonder(-ful, -fully) (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance). The Hebrew word “Pele” consists of three letters—“Pey,” “Lamed” and “Aleph”—which is actually Aleph spelled backwards. (This is an example of the Hebrew language having perfect syntax.) If we look at the meaning of each letter we have, the eternal God of all things speaks with authority and power. He is a God of wonder who is a marvelous miracle worker.
I have come to believe that this intricate system of letters and numbers in the Hebrew language interlock to illustrate the characteristics and nature of God, and to show the Divine authorship of God’s Word the Bible. Just as we can see numeric patterns expressed through geometric shapes found in nature, we can hear the patterns of the Hebrew letters through frequency, sound and music. Inside the Hebrew language there is an alphanumeric ‘symphony’ of frequencies, letters and numbers that when sung or played in combination can heal and restore the mind, body and spirit.
Letter Meaning Numerical Value Aleph = God, Creator, First 1 Lamed = Rod, Authority, tongue 30 Pey = Mouth, Speak, Open 80 Total 111
Holy Roar
In his book Holy Roar, worship leader Chris Tomlin unpacks seven Hebrew words with Pastor Darren Whitehead, that explain the “different words the ancient Hebrew people used to express their praise to God.” “Tehillah” means a hymn, a song of praise, or a new, spontaneous song. Chris encourages the reader, “even if you can’t carry a tune, even if you don’t know quite what to sing, practice raising a spontaneous song of praise to God…if you do, I know you’ll find this truth: God will inhabit, incarnate your act of tehillah.”
The word “tehillah” is found in Jeremiah 17:14 “Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise.”
Did you know that the Lord sings over YOU? In Zephaniah 3:17 it reads, “For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs” (NLT).
The sound of God’s voice singing over us resonates in the key of love. He promises to inhabit or ride on our praises; to heal and restore us. What a wonderful, amazing God we worship! Let’s respond with our whole hearts and become a worshiper who lifts up a Holy Roar!
Sandi Padilla is a worship leader, author and the director of Pure Worship Ministries. She has shared the stage with Darlene Zschech, Sarah Kelly and Lincoln Brewster. For over twenty years Sandi has been equipping worship leaders and songwriters at conferences and retreats. She also spreads music, love and laughter for church groups, at retreats and retirement communities. Find out more at www.pureworshipministries.org
