B: Solemnity of the Epiphany (3 Jan 2021) - ARISE, JERUSALEM (Isa 60:1-6)

“Arise, shine [Jerusalem] for your light has come, the glory of the Lord has dawned on you” (Isa 60:1).

Most English Bibles (King James Version, New American Bible, New Revised Standard Version, etc.) have this translation of Isa 60:1 that basically does not carry the appellation “Jerusalem”—a few would put the name between brackets (e.g., Complete Jewish Bible). From this information, one can know whence the English was translated, i.e., from the Hebrew Bible. Accordingly, the Masoretic Text has the phrase "kumi ’ori," which literally means “Arise, shine.” Surprisingly, some few English Bibles bear the name “Jerusalem” in their translation of the passage (e.g., New Living Translation and the New English Translation of the Septuagint). These versions are actually translated from the Greek Septuagint that has the phrase "Phōtizou, phōtizou, Ierousalēm," which literally means “Shine, shine, Oh Jerusalem.”

The big question here really boils down on which source is given more credence as more original: the Hebrew or the Greek text. As such is a complicated issue to unpack, we simply accept at this point that both sources are important. Meanwhile, in juxtaposing both languages, i.e., “Arise, shine” vis-à-vis “Shine, shine, Oh Jerusalem,” one can infer that there was an attempt from either a translator or a later editor to equate “arise” with “Jerusalem” while the verb “shine” is retained in the translation.

There are many speculations on the etymology of the name “Jerusalem”. But one popular explanation is that it was either a reference to a Canaanite god named “Shalem” or to the Hebrew word “shalom” (or Arabic “salam”) that denotes the concept of “peace”. If such is the case, then, Jerusalem is etymologically a land of peace. Ironically, in the three-millennia history of the city, lasting peace was largely missing considering the complex geopolitics of the Middle East and the unique status of the Jews within a predominantly Muslim neighborhood.

Despite the chaos happening not only in Jerusalem but all around the globe, we must be convinced that peace is something achievable since it is neither a physical situation nor a temporal event, but a disposition of the heart and the mind. The Greek word for peace is "eirēnē" which fundamentally means “a state of concord, peace, harmony” or the absence of conflict. However, this lexeme also carries another meaning, i.e., “a state of well-being, peace” (cf. BDAG) which captures best its Hebrew equivalent "shalom" that refers to some sort of holistic peace, viz., blessed life, health, well-being, good standing, or human satisfaction. In short, "shalom" can in a way mean “keeping on moving on by having a well-rounded life,” or it can simply be expressed by the one word “arise.”

We are all called to be peacemakers in one way or another. Maintaining peace is not only a divine ordinance but is an offshoot of our universal yearning for everybody to live in a community or territory that is free from violence, oppression, and war. While our normal human thinking is usually conditioned by this utopian definition of peace with the absence of turmoil, such a desire is far from the daily realities. Nonetheless, we can still achieve peace if we all start with a humble disposition of living a blessed, righteous, and caring lives. Thus, we decide to be peaceful, and we fight for peace to reign. We do not simply surrender but we arise.

As we face 2021, may we, then, begin to cultivate this inner peace in each of us, and hope that universal peace will blossom from our common efforts of establishing holistic peace.

- Rex Fortes, CM