Hindu Presence
Some photos of the influence of Hinduism in India.
Revised by Rashi
To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Genesis 3:16 ESV Pain – We have examined this verse in some detail in the past (it is also analyzed in my book, Guardian Angel). We pointed out that a small emendation in the syllabication…
INDIA: A Believer’s Perspective
Yesterday I attended a baptism of a young woman. The church (pictured below) is the only Christian church in the entire area. A congregation of 12 including the pastor were on hand. Being Christian in this Hindu/Muslim world means something real. The pastor’s family is the only Christian family in the village where he lives….
Sins of the Flesh
Concerning Edom. Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Is wisdom no more in Teman? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their wisdom vanished?” Jeremiah 49:7 ESV Vanished – In Sanhedrin 38b the rabbis describe sin with the word sarah. The implication is insightful. Sarah is a word that describes putrification, corruption and decay. The…
Absentee Landlord
And they say, “How could God know, and is there knowledge with the Most High?” Psalm 73:11 (Robert Alter translation) Know – Put this verse into the ancient near-Eastern world. Is there any doubt that God knows? Of course not. God knows everything that happens. But in the ancient near-East, God (and the gods) doesn’t…
Exegetical Guesswork
Therefore, his people turn back to them, and find no fault in them. Psalm 73:10 ESV Turn back – Sometimes the biblical text that we have doesn’t seem to make any sense at all. Alter notes that this cryptic verse “has almost certainly suffered mangling in scribal transmission.”[1] Alter follows the proposed emendation of Hans-Joachim…
Let’s Take a Walk
They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue struts through the earth. Psalm 73:9 ESV Struts – Yes, we know it’s poetry, but does that explain why it sounds so odd? Do we just dismiss the improper grammar and the misplaced imagery simply because we give Asaph poetic license? And how would you…
Counting Calories
Their eyes swell out through fatness; their hearts overflow with follies. Psalm 73:7 ESV Fatness – Asaph’s description of the physical qualities of the wicked is certainly metaphorical. Asaph is not writing about corneal edema. He is poetically describing the results of a life of opulence; a life that pursues luxury. But his use of…
Japan, Singapore, India and back
Well, I am now in Japan on the way to Singapore to catch another flight to India. Obviously, IF YOU ORDER BOOKS in the next 10 days, I won’t be able to ship them until April 14. Please be patient. I’ll send some photos. Right now I just need some sleep. Skip
Applied Hesed
or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. Romans 12:8 NASB Mercy/ cheerfulness – Paul completes his inventory of charismata with the phrase ho eleon en hilaroteti (“he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness”). But the typical English translation presents us…
