When a word is only used once in the Holy Bible, it is referred to as a Hapax Legomenon. Of course, when this occurs, there is much speculation as to the correct meaning of the word, as there is nothing to compare it to. This is the case in Genesis 6:16. The word for "Window" in our English translations is actually the Hebrew word צהר (Zohar or Tzohar), which literally means "Radiance". The typical Hebrew word for window is חַלוֹן (Chalon).
No one really knows why the word Zohar is used in this passage, but we know that it's significant; as everything single word in the Bible is very significant and this is backed up by the following verse:
"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." - 2 Timothy 3:16-17
So, lets examine the this mysterious verse in detail:
"A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it." - Genesis 6:16
G*d instructs Noah to illuminate the ark by tzohar taaseh "A brightness you will make." This term, Zohar, literally means "Bright/glittering/noon light" and the Hebrew word for noon (Tzohoriyim) is derived from the same root word. According to the Jewish Mystics, the esoteric understanding is that this is actually a kind of luminous gemstone holding the primordial light of creation.
This concept has been written about for centuries:
“Make a tzohar for the ark.” R. Johanan said, The Blessed Holy One instructed Noah: 'Set there precious stones and jewels, so that they may give you light, bright as the noon." We can see the play on words being used here, as Zohar is the root word for Noon.
The Talmud also speaks of another tradition in which Abraham also had a miraculous stone in the following:
"R. Shimon b. Yochai said, Abraham had a precious stone hung round his neck which brought immediate healing to any sick person who looked on it, and when Abraham our father left this world, the Blessed Holy One hung it from the wheel of the sun." - Baba Batra 16b
"It was taught, the light which created in the six days…cannot illumine by day, because it would eclipse the light of the sun. Where is it? It is stored for the righteous in the messianic future...He set it apart for the righteous in the future" - Midrash / Genesis Rabbah 3:6
"The Holy Blessed One created many things in His world, but the world being unworthy to have the use of them, He hid them away...the example being the light created on the first day, for Rabbi Judah ben Simon said: Man could see with the help of the first light from one end of the world to the other." - Midrash / Exodus Rabbah 35:1
In The Encyclopedia of Jewish Myth, Magic and Mysticism: Second Edition, the author Geoffrey Dennis, states the following about this mysterious Zohar:
"Those who possessed the tzohar not only had illumination, but access to the secrets of the Torah and all its powers. Thus the "chain" narrative that emerges from this various threads is that God created it, but then hid it away for the sole use of the righteous. The angel Raziel gave it to Adam after the Fall. Adam gave it to his children. It passed to Noah. While in the passage we read, Abraham returned the tzohar to heaven and hung it on the sun, other traditions track its continued use by the righteous of each subsequent generation: Joseph used it for his dream interpretations. Moses recovered it from the bones of Joseph and placed it in the Tabernacle."
A text known today as "The Queen of Sheba and Her only Son Menyelek," states the following:
"How the House of Solomon the King was illuminated as by day, for in his wisdom he had made shining pearls which were like unto the sun, the moon and the stars in the roof of his house."
The idea that this "Zohar" is some type of magical stone that was hung in the ark doesn't seem that farfetched. One small window in such a large ark would not be very beneficial as a light source, or as a ventilation source. To have an opening in a structure that is going to be subject to a flood seems strange and unlikely. How much light could actually a small window during a huge storm, where the visible light is obscured by clouds? This definitely raises some questions about the window translation. The Zohar as a magical gem that would both illuminate the ark and maintain its inhabitants' natural circadian rhythm of days and nights within the enclosed space.
The main idea here is that G*d expects Noah to bring light into the flood's darkness, much like what's expected of us. We must be a source of light that illuminates this dark world that we live in today. To me, the ide of this Zohar as being a miraculous precious stone which illuminates actually parallels the very definition of G*d's Word, as it illuminates our lives and fills our souls with The Light.
Much Love!
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