Happy the man whom Yah chastises, and whom from His teaching He instructs, to make him quiet in evil days until a pit is dug for the wicked. Psalm 94:12-13 Robert Alter Chastises – Are you happy? Maybe today, but what about the days when nothing goes right? What about those days when you truly…
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us; and we saw His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14 NASB Became flesh – Suppose for just a moment that John is thoroughly Jewish. Suppose he is operating in the typical way Jews handled the Tanakh in the first century. Suppose he’s writing…
Carefully!
Then God spoke all these words, saying, Exodus 20:1 NASB All these words – Modern Jewish biblical scholars draw our attention to some difficult paradoxes. Nachmanides is an example: Our teacher Moses wrote this book of Genesis together with the entire Torah as dictated by the holy One, blessed is He. . . . It…
Then God spoke all these words, saying, Exodus 20:1 NASB All these words – kāl dābārim, “all words.” But what is the meaning of “all”? This verse precedes the recitation of the ten commandments. Are just the Ten Commandments included in “all”? What about the rest of God’s words to Moses? Orthodox Rabbinic Judaism has a…
September 24-25 take time now There will be no Today’s Word until the 26th
On that day the Branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth will be the pride and the beauty of the survivors of Israel. Isaiah 4:2 NASB The survivors – Who are the survivors? Who are the pĕlêṭât? TWOT provides some linguistic analysis: the primary use of this noun is to refer to the remnant…
For seven women will take hold of one man on that day, saying, “We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes, only let us be called by your name; take away our disgrace!” Isaiah 4:1 NASB Disgrace – What will happen once God begins His judgment of Israel. Well, a whole lot of men…
Now it will come about that instead of balsam oil there will be a stench; Instead of a belt, a rope; instead of well-set hair, a plucked-out scalp; instead of fine clothes, a robe of sackcloth; and branding instead of beauty. Isaiah 3:24 NASB Branding instead of – Something is missing from the Masoretic text, and because something is missing,…
Moreover, the Lord said, “Because the daughters of Zion are haughty and walk with heads held high and seductive eyes, and go along with mincing steps and jingle the anklets on their feet, the Lord will afflict the scalp of the daughters of Zion with scabs, and the Lord will make their foreheads bare.” Isaiah 3:16-17 NASB Make their foreheads…
