Wish Style

reflections of you

On Emet-Selch, Golems and מת vs. אמת

Contemplating various things here and there has made me wonder if the writers of FFXIV considered Jewish history and lore when writing and naming Emet-Selch. 

If you translate Emet-Selch''s name, the 'Emet' part in Hebrew, אמת, means 'truth.' Selch doesn't directly equate to a word, but I've read things saying it could be 'shelkha' (your) or 'selach' (forgiveness). So you would either have "forgive the truth" or "your truth." 

That's telling enough for our erstwhile frenemy, but then you get to other places the word 'emet' appears in Jewish lore: golems.  There's a lot to be said about golems and I am not always particularly happy with the name being used in video games and fantasy, but the word means something different now than it originally did and stories change over time and all. So we're not going to get into that here. What we are going to talk about is how a mainstay in a lot of golem lore is that they have the word 'emet' inscribed on their foreheads or on their chests. What if you need to deactivate the golem, temporarily or permanently? You take away the first letter, the א (yes, remember in Hebrew one reads right to left, so that is the first letter of the world) and that gives you 'met', מת, Which means 'dead.' 

The golem in many stories, like the Golem of Prague, started out as a protector and defender, but eventually caused so much carnage he had to be stopped. So roll that over in your mind again: Emet-Selch is the Convocation member in charge of the underworld. He later has a 'third eye' on his forehead, sort of like a golem mark. In Shadowbringers he seems to vacillate between cruelty and protectiveness. And, we learn in Endwalker, he missing a very crucial part of his memories that were deliberately taken away. 

End result...the Hades/Emet-Selch in Elpis becomes an Ascian who commits countless acts of mass murder and other atrocities. Truth turns to death. At the end of Shadowbringers, the Warrior of Light and Scions have no choice but to stop him.

Which suits his role in the story down to the ground.