A Jewish Incarnation

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 – Millard Erickson’s book The Word Became Flesh is an exercise in Trinitarian justification.  No effort is spared to prove that Jesus is the Second Person of the Godhead, equally…

Strategically Redundant

Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, “Go up and spy out the land.” So the men went up and spied out Ai. Joshua 7:2 NASB Spy out – Hey, wait a minute!  Didn’t Joshua learn anything from his first reconnaissance?  Or from Jericho?  Didn’t…

Written in Stone

Remember, please, the word which You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples;  Nehemiah 1:8  NASB The word which You commanded – Nehemiah is a personal account of the effort to reconstruct fallen Jerusalem.  It’s a vivid, compelling, intensive story of one man’s fervent desire to restore…

The End of the Beginning (3)

For Ezra had set his heart to seek the law of YHWH, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and ordinances   Ezra 7:10  JPS 1917 To seek – Judaism and Hellenism, Martin Hengel’s magnum opus, might at first glance appear to be a study of the difference between these two streams.  At…

Qere Ketiv

And it came about, as soon as Moses approached the camp, that he saw the calf and the people dancing; and Moses’ anger burned, and he threw the tablets from his hands and shattered them to pieces at the foot of the mountain.  Exodus 32:19  NASB Hands – Exodus 32:15,  a few verses earlier, reads, “Then Moses turned and…

The Nature of a Commandment – Initial Thoughts

But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.  Galatians 3:25 NASB Under – Paul’s view of the Law is probably the most controversial element of all his writings.  It certainly separated Christianity from Judaism and it contributed to replacement theology and anti-Judaism, perhaps even to pogroms.  When the Church interpreted Paul…

The GREEK New Testament

“For from ancient generations Moses has those who preach him in every city, since he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”  Acts 15:21  NASB Moses – Typical Christian exegesis of the Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15 concentrates on the requirements (or lack thereof) for Gentile believers.  But this fixation on what Gentiles must believe and…

Essence and Attribute

My strength and song is God, and this is my deliverance; This is my God, I will enshrine Him, My father’s God, I will exalt Him.  Exodus 15:2  Aryeh Kaplan Is God – The NASB translates the opening of Moses’ song like this: “The Lord is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation.”  The…

Generational Trauma

“Listen now, you rebels; shall we bring water for you out of this rock?”  Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their livestock drank.  Numbers 20:10b-11  NASB Struck – We know this story from Sunday school days.  The ensuing punishment given…