Dictionary B Babel This term is a play on words as in Akkadian the term is Bāb-ilim, meaning “gate of God,” while in Hebrew it is bālal , “confusion,” or “jumbled.” Baptism See Tevilah. Behold See Hinneh. Berith Hebrew, “covenant;” a feminine noun referring to the agreement between mankind and God. See Everlasting covenant. Bet/2 Bet (or Beth, Beith, Beh, or Vet) is the second letter of the Hebrew Alphabet. It signifies the number two. Bet is the first letter of the story of creation, starting the entire Torah with Bereshit; “In the beginning…” Thus Bet represents duality; a Creator and the created, a giver (God) and a receiver (the creation). This duality creates the possibility for opposites; good and evil, heaven and hell, hot and cold, yes and no, man and woman, etc. Bet literally means house, and even looks like a type of dwelling. It is used to represent our kli, vessel that holds darkness until filled by God’s light. Within us it represents the “house” or temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16). According to Jewish legend, Bet was chosen by God to begin the Torah. Thus Bet is the tool bringing forth all of the other letters, which is to say first we build a temple for the Holy Spirit, then his fire cleans us and helps us grow in Christ’s grace. Born again Also known as the pierced heart denoting that a thing is capable of serving God. Being born again is a type of spiritual rebirth, or the birth or the soul. The pierced heart is a prayer, the true prayer. I is not a vocal prayer, or a prayer recited in our minds. It is a prayer in our hearts; it is a sincere plea to God inscribed in our very souls. This prayer comes to us the moment, in our most desperate hour, we realize we are nothing without God and desire nothing more than to be one with God (Avahr 2:11-17). In this moment we are Born Again. Being born again mergers our eternal spiritual selves and our mortal, physically selves giving birth to the soul. God answers this plea the moment one’s heart is broken. We pray in our hearts for deliverance, and God obliges us immediately (Alma 3:25-29 RAV, 5:12-14 OPV). Christ’s Grace will continue to help unify us until he has fully perfected us, body and soul, at the resurrection. See 1 Moses 4:8; 4 Moses 23:1; Mosiah 11:187-188 RAV, 25-26 OPV; Alma 3:85-88 RAV, 49-50 OPV; John 3:3-7; 1 Peter 1:23. Binah Hebrew, “Understanding.” Resting between but below Da’at and Chokhma, and between but above Chesed and Gevurah, Binah is the understanding that comes from Da’at (knowledge) and Chokhma (wisdom). It can only be reached after one is cleansed by Chesed (God’s mercy) and Gevurah (God’s Holy Fire/Judgement). Binah is the Holy Spirit giving us intuitive understanding, contemplation by Christ’s Grace. It is the womb, a temple inside us housing the Spirit of God. It is the birth of the soul. In a mundane way, Binah may also be seen as deductive reasoning. It is God helping us understanding one idea pondering or gazing at another one. Binah can be a rational process that within a person which guides us to develop an idea to its fruition. Thus scientific breakthroughs and revelation giving us guidance can both be Binah; understanding from divine knowledge and wisdom given us by God. See Book of Remembrance 1:21, 33:35-37. Black, face or skin The term “black” in the scriptures refers to the presence of pride, egoism, or sin. This is a male (selfish) and fallen presence. When the scriptures refer to dark skin in a negative way, it refers to someone or a people that once had the light of God, the Shekinah, but lost this light. As modern readers we should remember that the people of both the Bible and the Book of Mormon had literal dark skin. See 1 Moses 7:13; 27:23; Alma 1:103-104 RAV, 3:5-6 OPV; The Breath or The Breath of Elohim See Rauch HaKodesh. The Breath of Life This denotes life in God, being Born Again, or the pierced heart. See Born again. Bridegroom In the scripture this can be a title for Jesus Christ, the Bridegroom of the Church (Christians). See Jeramiah 31:31-33; Isaiah 54:4-6, 3 Nephi 10:12-14 RAV, 22:4-6 OPV; Ezekiel 16:8-14, 60; Hosea 2:13-16. Bul The eighth month on the Hebrew calendar, known as Marcheshvan or Cheshvan and is the second civil month today. It is seen as a month of darkness and decay. Cheshvan occurs in October–November on the Gregorian calendar.