An Unintended Vanity Plate

(364-KRH)

Yes, that is the title of this write-up.

In PDF

Changing Titles: The Car Gifts

About a month after moving in to live with my Grandmother, Florence Allan, last February, I began using her car. Prior to that I was using a vehicle belonging to my parents. My car, which had been given to me, was being used by a Native American friend of mine, who did not have a car and had great need for one. I was willing to even go without if necessary as my needs at the time were not nearly as great as his. I essentially gave my car to him at that point. Therefore, that my Grandmother would let me use her car was a great blessing to me.

Last month, my uncle proposed, and it was agreed by the parties involved, including my Grandmother, that for purposes of liability, it would be best to actually transfer title of the car to myself. This they did in part as an expression of gratitude for the small role I have been able to play in helping her out while living with her. The feeling of gratitude is easily mutual. That's for sure.

So yesterday (9/11/98), I went down to the State Motor Vehicle office in Provo to have the title changed to my name. I hoped to keep the current plates on the car, but the clerk informed me that with the title change was also a required plate change.

The previous license number was 656, which number in the Greek New Testament lexicon (alphabetically numbered by James Strong⁽¹⁾) corresponds to the word , which means "separated from the synagogue; excommunicated." I rather liked that plate for its irony. 656 is the sum of the numerical values of the letters Greek spelling of Messias: = () 40 + () 5 + () 200 + () 200 + ()10 + () 1 + () 200 = 656. Page 656 in the LDS Topical Guide⁽²⁾ is where the heading "Satan" is found. Hence, I was driving around with a license plate that read, "excommunicated," "Satan," "Messiah," depending on how you looked at it.

When the clerk handed me my new license plate, I wondered what I might find in looking up this arbitrarily assigned license number using the alphabetic word and number studies. What would words 364 mean in the Hebrew and Greek, Old and New Testament lexicons? What would the various pages with that number have on them? What would KRH mean when transliterated into Hebrew? When KRH is converted to numbers by the pneumonic memorization equivalents, what would the words and pages of that mean?

Word 364 in the Hebrew Old Testament

The first thing I looked up this morning was word 364 in Gesenius' Hebrew/Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament.⁽³⁾ This ended up being the most directly pertinent and astonishing correlation.

The first thing my eyes caught was my markings on the top of page 38.

Just before 364, word 363 in the O.T. Hebrew is . As you see noted at the top center of the above copy, on March 28, 1996, I had observed that this word (363, ), as well as words 356, 358, , with varied vowel points could spell "Allan:" my last name!

That fits!

Word 364 itself (found on the previous page, as footnoted) is -, a proper name which means, "oak of Paran." Probably the closest Biblical Hebrew word to the spelling and actual pronunciation of "Allan" is word 440 , spelled Allon in English Bibles. It means, "an oak." I discovered that back on March 16 of '96. It took me until January 6 of '97 to realize that the very word number, 440, was the street number of the house I bought shortly after returned from my mission to Japan in 1985.

Now my new license plate number links to "Allan."

999 and 666

As I was placing the expiration decals on the license plate, the thought crossed my mind of playing a joke and sticking them on up-side-down. 9-99, would then read, 6-66! Psyche!

Later in the day when I looked up "Paran" in the lexicon (Gesenius), guess what page it was on? No, not 666, but 665, the page prior: just as word 363 [allan] is just before 364, my license plate number.

I mentioned above the word 440 is Allon. The word right after it, #441, is , which has nearly the identically same definition, pronunciation, and spelling⁽⁴⁾ as word 504, aleph, the name of the very first letter of the Hebrew alpha[aleph]bet: . One of the meanings of aleph is "a thousand:" which is right after 999. The Rabbis say that "to define Aleph is to define God."⁽⁵⁾ Maybe in the fact that 999 is right before 1000 is a metaphor that just before the millennial reign of Christ, Satan, 666, is overthrown (999) and cast from the earth, having no more power over the hearts of men.

Oak of Paran

Gesenius lists word 364 under word 352, which he defines as follows:

352 strong, robust; (1) mighty ones, leaders, nobles of a state; (2) a strong, robust tree, specially the oak or terebinth. Singular occurs once,

364 Gen. 14:6, in the proper noun,

The word used most often for "oak" in the Bible is word 424 , which Gesenius lists as being the same as 425. The next word, also spelled , with different vowel points, means "God." The word after that, 427, also spelled , means "oak" and is pronounced, allaw. The word Allah (the Arabic name of the Supreme Being) spelled in the English language comes just before Allan alphabetically.

Being unfamiliar with what, who or where Paran was, I keyed it into Infobases to see where it occurs in the scriptures. Besides seeing that it is mentioned as a mountain and wilderness area in proximity of Sinai, I found the last mention to be rather interesting:

"God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise. And his brightness [see #6289 just below] was as the light...." (Habakkuk 3:3,4.)

The word Paran, numbered 6290, on page 665 (Gesenius), is etymologically derived from word 6286 which has two separate definitions:

6286 I. to be beautiful, ornamented; to boil up, to be hot [versus "ice, cold" ({KRH} 7140; and 7135)], hence to be proud; (1) to adorn, be adorned, honoured, to glorify oneself, as God in bestowing favours on his people; (2) to boast.

II. to dig, to bore; to explain, to declare oneself.

The next three words preceding Paran likewise bear significance.

6287 an ornament, a tiara, a turban; of a bridegroom; of women.

6288 foilage (prop. glory) of a tree [e.g. oak]

6289 warmth, hence ruddy glow, brightness of face. [Hab. 3:4, above.]

KRH in Hebrew

The sounds of the English and Hebrew letters do not lend to an exact conversion between the letters of the two alphabets. The English K sound can be represented by either the Hebrew kaph, or sometimes quoph. The English R is straightforward, being equivalent to the Hebrew resh. The English H can convert to the Hebrew heh, or the harder German-like H: chet, which can even take a K sound. Hence, probably the closest transliteration of KRH is .

means "to dig." (Word 3738.) This matches the definition for the etymological root (which is word 6286) for the Hebrew word Paran (6290, above).

Thus the verb "to dig" comes up both for 364 and KRH in the license plate number.

When I see the word "dig," I personally find a great deal of relevance, for that is how I view these various approaches the Lord has led me to discover for uncovering amazing hitherto hidden treasures from the words of the scriptures and their usage. Dig. Dig. DIG.

There is strong and compelling scriptural support for such an approach. To compare obeying the Lord and partaking of the redeeming power of His gospel through Jesus Christ, versus the folly of trusting in the arm of flesh, the Lord uses the metaphor of building on a rock versus building on a sandy foundation.⁽⁶⁾ This key metaphor is one which many, perhaps a majority of inhabitants of the earth are familiar. But what very few realize is that in one of the places where this metaphor is used, the Lord is more explicit about what is entailed in building upon a rock: what it takes. Note very carefully the wording.

"Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will show you to whom he is like: he is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great." (Luke 6:47-49.)

From this imagery, like the story of the three little pigs, the wise and the foolish had the same circumstances to begin with, but the wise man exerted the extra precautionary, far-sighted effort. He "digged deep" first, getting to the bedrock, and then "laid the foundation on a rock." The foolish man, quick to finish his task, merely built on top of the soil, which quickly eroded when the storm came.

There is not any Biblical Hebrew word spelled .

One of the definitions for (KRH) is, "to happen, to be by chance;" (7136); or "a chance, accident" (7137). These certainly fit the idea of how I came upon this license plate number which turns out to have such interesting correlations, yet which was given to me in a wholly arbitrary way. Hence, another of the meanings given, "to make opportune" (7136).

Word 364 in the New Testament Greek
and Page 364 in English Webster's

Word 364 in the Greek New Testament lexicon⁽⁷⁾ means "Remembrance; a commemoration; a memorial, as applied to the Lord's supper." No doubt I will be able to remember this license plate number, as it is more like a memorial than a nonsensical series of meaningless digits. It is like getting a new name.

At the time the clerk processed my title, she asked me if I wanted "Ski Utah," "Centennial," or "Commemorative" plates, referring to the 2002 winter Olympics which Utah is going to host. It turns out that the entry, century [e.g. Centennial] is on page 364 of my Webster's III New International Dictionary.⁽⁸⁾

I chose "Ski Utah," and not because I knew that the letters KRH transliterated into Hebrew as (7135) or (7140) mean "cold, ice," or "crystal." First, I hadn't seen the plate she gave me after I selected "Ski Utah" (and even if I had, I certainly would not have known any of this by merely looking at the numbers, for I would have to look all these things up later). Rather, I chose "Ski Utah" as a protest against the Utah "celebration" of their Centennial at which time they gave up their quest for the kingdom of God on earth in the form of an actual government, adopting since that time the New World Order instead. And as for the 2002 Olympics, this to me represents the height of hypocritical irony. It is a manifestation of a people not only ignorant of the pending calamities which will befall them, but it bespeaks a people flagrantly eager to win the acceptance of the world, though the Savior said that when we follow him the world will hate us. Our peculiar aspects are brushed aside by embarrassed leaders, all too willing to deny or understate former beliefs and practices for the sake of winning favor. With the Centennial plate, the persecution of the most faithful saints of one hundred years ago is celebrated by the people who once stood by them and defended an odd practice, even to the extent of chronically lying about it (not that this is good). With the 2002 Commemorative plate, the denial of this awful episode and everything to do with it is applauded.

I too happen to disagree that polygamy is the exalted doctrine that it was set forth to be at that time, though all four of my grandparents descend from polygamous marriages, but I am glad to talk about such discrepancies of doctrine or practice and not feel like it diminishes my faith in the Restoration of the gospel and the groundwork for God's kingdom. I don't need to be a hypocrite about it, speaking of utter reliability of ecclesiastical leadership out of one side of my mouth, and brushing over changes and contradictions like they are "behind us" on the other.

The "Ski Utah" plates also circumvent what this state is all about, and glamorize a sport which has become a rich-man-only recreation, a form of modern idolatry. Nevertheless, it was the least offensive to my spirit of the choices presented. I just might insert a little word into the slogan to convey the truth: "Greatest snow [job] on earth."

365 Days in the Year

Speaking of century and Centennial, which have to do with 100 years, the number just after 364 is 365, the number of days in the year.

Fittingly, word 365 in the Greek New Testament lexicon is given the following definition (Zodhiates):

365 ananeo (from ana 303 [Boulder phone prefix], again, and neo, to renew, which is from neos, new, another.) To renew, make young. To be renewed insofar as spiritual vitality is concerned. Ant. to make worn out, old.

Out with the old, in with the new. Strengthening the correlation, the next word, which could be thought of corresponding to the first day of the next year, has a humorously sobering definition: , "To awaken out of a drunken sleep and become sober, to become sober" (366). The antonyms listed describe New Years' Eve festivities: "atakteo, to behave in a disorderly manner; paraluo, to enfeeble; methusko, to be drunk; methuo, to get drunk; euthumeo, to be merry."

It would be hard to find a more suitable combination of words to match the idea of 365. Yet pages 364 and 365 in Zodhiates New Testament dictionary (Greek lexicon) come close, as five of the seven words listed on those two pages have to do with "birth," "offspring," or being born. (1081, 1081, 1083-1085).

Tying, therefore, into the idea of newness, on page 366 is where the name Gesenius inserts alphabetically when transliterated into Greek. He is the one who produced the original version of the Old Testament Hebrew lexicon that I use. It was translated into English in 1831: a contemporary of Joseph Smith and the restoration of the gospel. His name inserts between words 1088 and 1089. Word 1088 means "an old man," and word 1089 means "to cause to taste, to let taste; with the meaning of to eat, partake; metaphorically to experience, prove, partake of; with gen. following, to taste of death." I see a great deal of rich symbolism here. Though Gesenius is dead and gone, and the Old Testament language of Hebrew is ancient indeed, nevertheless, through this new approach to both the language and the way it is laid it out in the lexicon (engineered by God, unbeknownst to man), an entirely new message emerges: a new message designed to facilitate the ushering in of the new heaven and the new earth, as the kingdom is taken from the "miserable, wicked" gentile husbandmen and given to others who shall render the fruit in its season. (JST-Matt. 21:55,56.) Word 1093, on the bottom of page 1093 means, "earth, land." The word before it means, "husbandman." Solidifying this metaphor, by showing its application to the time of Christ when the kingdom was taken from the Jews and given to the Gentiles, word 1087 on page 366 means: "An assembly of elders or old men, a senate, a council. The Sept. frequently uses the same phrase for the Jewish Sanhedrin."

On the next page is word 1095, "To be old." 1095 = 365 + 365 + 365. The next word means, "to begin to be, that is, to come into existence."

Page 364 in Thayer's New Testament lexicon: "Car"

Besides Zodhiates' New Testament (Greek-English) dictionary, I also have Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament⁽⁹⁾, which is also numerically coded to Strong's Exhaustive Concordance. Fourteen of the 22 words on page 364 in his book are not only relevant, but seem to share a common feature of describing the circumstances of the title change on the car and the very car itself.

Word 2948 includes the meaning of "injured; maimed," which in this context corresponds to the liability factor which spurred the decision to change the title. Word 2940 means "dice-playing," which makes me think of the arbitrary nature in which I received this license plate that turns out to be so rich in meaning. Word 2950 means "a cymbal," which with a play on words fits the idea of the "symbols" which the numbers of the plate are. Word 2941 means, "government," which ties to the idea of licensing and authorization, as well as the actual building where the title change took place.

Besides these words which describe the context, there are a number of words which describe a vehicle. Word 2942 means, "to steer." Word 2944 means "to go round, lead round." Word 2946 and 2947 refer to "rolling; thing rolled." In word 2945, "a ring, circle; round about, on all sides," I picture features like the headlights, tires, and steering wheel, as well as the sleek curving aerodynamic design of modern cars. For word 2955, I picture someone getting into a car. It means, "to bow the head, bend forward, stoop down."

At the bottom of the page, the spellings start into , kur, which is awfully close to the English pronunciation of "car."

Page 365 seems to continue with applications to car situation theme. Word 2962, kurios, means, "he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has the power of deciding; master, lord; of the possessor and disposer of a thing, the owner." Word 2960 means, "of or belonging to the Lord; relating to the Lord." Word 2961, "to be lord of, to rule over, have dominion over," relates to the first word on page 364, "a founder, a creator," (2938).

Page 364 of the LDS Topical Guide: Perdition or Perfection; its in People's Perception

As the my previous license number, 656, linked to the name "Messiah" as well as to "Satan," page 364 of the LDS Topical Guide includes the headings Perdition and Perfection. Perfection is in Christ, and Perdition is in Satan.

I get so much flack from people for the studies I am doing, like unto this present one. It is such a novel approach, totally unprecedented and yet wholly predicted. Because the conclusions alluded therein are also far out of people's grasp of reality and tradition, to them the approach seems fraught with danger. Yet what is at stake is so magnificent that I cannot turn away from these things. But to the outside viewer looking on, they cannot fathom why I would embark on such a risky path. As I told a very good friend of mine a couple of days ago, these things are too solidly burned into my soul by the Lord. I cannot deny them. I must bring them to light, though I may risk my life and even my salvation doing so. I say my salvation because as seen by the outsider, I am tinkering in things occult; I am being diverted from those other things that are more mainstream where I might have a much better chance of making a difference. At least in the accredited roads there is a precedent, a well-worn superhighway; with almost no surprises.

But no, I must stand true to what the Lord has given me, though all men may combine against me. It is such fear of man that has kept the people of the Lord from accomplishing their divine destiny. They are too fearful of what others might think or that they might be wrong. They hold back from giving everything to the Lord and trusting fully in him, being willing to take courageous steps for him, risky though they may seem.

No holding back! That leads to perdition! It is faith we must embrace. Then we will see the salvation of the Lord!

No wonder the word Perdition is right next to the word Perfection, for they are in direct opposition to one another. One represents yielding to Satan and the fear of what man might do. The other represents submission to Christ, where perfection lies, fearing God alone. No wonder the other two headings for the page (364 T.G.) are People and Perception. Do we want to do what is pleasing in the sight of God, or man?

Page 364 of Gesenius' Old Testament Lexicon

Along with this notion of reverencing God rather than man, page 364 of Gesenius' Old Testament lexicon includes word 3372, whose definition occupies more than half the page.

3372 to tremble; (1) to fear, to be afraid; (2) reverence, hence to be godly, upright; (3) to tremble for joy; [4] venerable, august; [5] stupendous, admirable; wonderful, illustrious.

The remaining two words on the page have similar meanings.

The first word on the page means, "to be snared, to be taken," and are used in Isaiah 8:15 and 28:13. The latter of these references speaks of this in the context of those who refuse to learn "line upon line, precept upon precept" when the Lord extends to them the opportunity to receive the greater light and knowledge that can be obtained by "digging deep." They refuse and ignore his voice saying, "We need no more, for we have enough."⁽¹⁰⁾

Well, that pretty well does it for reporting what it is I discovered in relation to the number on my license plate. There is another observation, which I hesitate to make, but to be thorough I suppose it ought to be included. It is something I noticed back on Sept. 10, '97.

When I prepared the photocopy of page 38 from Gesenius to show in this write-up, I erased from the copy a couple of notes I had made in the margin. One of those will remain erased for now. The other has to do with what I am now reporting.

You see on the right-hand side of this copy that word number 363 is , and parallel to it in the first column is the word , both of which could spell "Allan" with the appropriate vowel points.

What I discovered on Sept. 10, last year, was that the sum of the numeric value of the letters that spell Messiah in Hebrew, , is 358

(40) + (300) + (10) + (8) = (358)

Word number 358 in Hebrew is , "oak."

My phone prefix at present (also "arbitrarily" assigned) is 491. Word 491 in the Greek New Testament is the proper name, "Antioch." Anti does not necessarily mean "against" (e.g. anti-Nephi-Lehites), but also means, "by way of comparison, where it implies something of equivalent value, and denotes substitution, exchange, requital."⁽¹¹⁾ The suffix, och, of Antioch could loosely be pronounced "oak" in English. Hence "anti-oak," word number 491, could be seen to mean "an alternative representation for Allon."

So what does this mean? To many it sounds like a bunch of worthless, diversionary, psycho nonsense - so I am repeatedly told.

Word number 358 in the Greek New Testament means, "Without saltiness." Zodhiates lists one synonym, "moros (3474), useless." The connections are teeming here. First, the numeric sum for the letters that spell Jesus in Greek is 888, and word 888 in Greek means "useless." In Hebrew, word 890, two after 888, carries the meaning of "useless." And the sum of the numeric value of the words spelling Messiah in Hebrew is 358, which word number in Greek has the synonym, "useless."

History reveals clearly that Jesus was certainly esteemed as a thing of naught by his fellow Jews. And now history is repeating itself as the Gentile husbandmen in these latter-days, the Mormons to be exact, esteem the work of the Father among them as a thing of naught.

Speaking of Mormons, the synonym listed for 358 is word number 3478, moros, which happens to be just two words away from the insertion point of the Greek transliteration of the spelling of Mormon. The four words surrounding this insertion point all carry the meaning of "foolish," which is also the meaning of word 801 in Greek; 801 being the area code for the Wasatch Front, Utah: Mormon Central. They are as salt that is lost its savor, soon to be trodden under feet by a remnant of Jacob⁽¹²⁾, and yet they cast out from among them those who say such things about them, excommunicating them from their fellowship.

They say that only the prophet can say such things if they are so, not believing the words of the prophets that have already thus spoken. The fact is that a prophet who teaches his people "peace, peace, when there is no peace,"⁽¹³⁾ saying that "all is well"⁽¹⁴⁾ is a liar and a hypocrite and will be removed out of his place⁽¹⁵⁾.

The N.T. Greek word 358 [number of Messiah spelled in Hebrew] is used only one time in the New Testament: Mark 9:50. This verse comes at the conclusion of one of the most pivotal discussions regarding the warning to not place more trust in man than in God. The Joseph Smith Translation of this discourse, found in the appendix of the LDS Bible, adds tremendous clarity to this discourse, expounding on what the "hand" and the "foot" and the "eye" represent as metaphors. The eye "which seeth for thee," is "him that is appointed to watch over thee to show thee light." (JST-Mark 9:46.) This is very, very significant, as it addresses the core issue which keeps so many latter-day "saints" asleep to the vital issues which face them, to which they must awaken, the heart of which is their heart of hearts. Do they put more trust (faith) in a man, though he be "the prophet," than they do in God himself? Who sits in the holy of holies of their heart? Mormon culture drums into its adherents the ultimate need to "follow the prophet; he will never lead you astray." The scriptures, on the other hand, say that the Lord alone is worthy of this trust. The Mormon culture says that following the prophet is the same as following the Lord, but that is not automatic, only to the extent that he is in line with the Lord; and of that there are no assurances, for a prophet, no matter how wonderful, is not immune from error. Jesus Christ is the one sure rock upon which men might build and have safe foundation. Period. When the husbandmen step in and usurp the Lord of the vineyard, they are out of line. Jesus said that if the eye (or the hand or the foot, or what these metaphorically represent, being those individuals in whom we may tend to place a great deal of faith) "become a transgressor and offend thee, pluck him out." (JST-Mark 9:46.)

The crux:

"Therefore, let every man stand or fall, by himself, and not for another; or not trusting another. Seek unto my Father, and it shall be done in that very moment what ye shall ask, if ye ask in faith, believing that ye shall receive."⁽¹⁶⁾

Every person has a an individual right and obligation to seek after the Lord and obtain an individual line of communication with the heavens, whereby he/she might be directed from on high. As the body of Christ, we are likewise obliged to honor one another in the gifts we bring to the body, but never are we to place another person above God in our heart of hearts when it comes to our core trust. To do so is folly.

 

by Sterling D. Allan; Mapleton, Utah; September 12, 1998

Endnotes:

1. Strong, James; Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible; Hendrickson Publishers, ISBN 0-917006-01-1.

2. The Bible, King James Version, with Topical Guide, Bible Dictionary, Joseph Smith Translation, Gazetteer, Map; published by Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1979.

3. Baker Books, Grand Rapids, MI 49516; 1979. ISBN: 0-8010-3736-0.

4. the English word "vowel"? It certainly coincides with the English word "vow," for according to the Rabbis, the letter , vaw, corresponds in part to the meaning of "covenant," "bond," or "oath.")

5. Joe Sampson; Written by the Finger of God: Decoding Ancient Languages: A Testimony of Joseph Smith's Translations; Wellspring Publishing and Distributing, P.O. Box 1113, Sandy, UT 84091; 1993; ISBN 1-884312-05-5; p. 164.

6. e.g. Matt. 16:18; Luke 6:47-49; Hel. 5:12; 3 Ne. 11:39,40; D&C 11:24; 18:5; 33:15; 50:44 [compare Gen. 49:24]; 128:10.

7. Zodhiates, Spiros; Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament AMG Publishers, Chattanooga, TN 37422; 1992. ISBN 0-89957-663-X.

8. Webster's III New International Dictionary, Unabridged; G. & C. Merriam Company, Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S.A.; 1961.

9. Baker Books, Grand Rapids, MI; 1977. ISBN 0-8010-8872-0.

10. See parallel between Isaiah 28 and 2 Nephi 28.

11. Word 473, Zodhiates.

12. 3 Nephi 16; 20; 21; D&C 103; etc.

13. Jeremiah 6:14; 8:11; Ezekiel 13:16.

14. 2 Nephi 28; Helaman 13:28; Amos 6:1.

15. D&C 64:38-40; Rev. 2:2; JST-Mark 9:46.

16. JST-Mark 9:44; see also Phil. 2:10; Mormon 9:27; Ezekiel 14.

Last updated on February 28, 2002