Sing It Again

A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. For the music director; according to Mahalath Leannoth. A [a]Maskil of Heman [b]the Ezrahite.  Psalm 88:1 (Hebrew) Music director – Of course you know that many of the psalms (mizmôt) are really lyrics for songs.  No news there.  But some of these songs are particularly interesting—and troubling.  This…

Silent Running

Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.  Genesis 1:3  NASB Let there be – I suppose this is a bit better than Paul McCartney’s version (“Let It Be”), but it still sends us in the wrong direction.  The English suggests that God was involved in some kind of command bringing light into…

Up to date Delays

Many of you have written wishing us blessings on our return to Italy.  Well, it hasn’t happened yet.  We were supposed to fly on August 31, but some medical issues suggested we delay a bit, so we did.  Then we discovered that Italy changed the entrance requirements on September 1 (during which time we would…

Backing Up

And all the people were watching and hearing the thunder and the lightning flashes, and the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it all, they trembled and stood at a distance.  Exodus 20:18  NASB At a distance – It’s a nice translation but it doesn’t really tell us what happened.  In order…

Prophetic Hallucinations

And within it there were figures resembling four living beings. And this was their appearance: they had human form.  Each of them had four faces and four wings.  Ezekiel 1:5-6 NASB Human form – With the verse, Ezekiel begins to share his visions.  Commentators and end-times prognosticators have had a field day with Ezekiel’s descriptions.  Maybe that’s because they…

A Little More to Read

I have excerpted material from the following academic PDF so that you can have a better understanding of some of the issues surrounding the Dead Sea Scrolls and the impact on modern biblical translations.  Enjoy.   Excerpts from: Emanuel Tov Understanding the Text of the Bible 65 Years after the Discovery of the Dead Sea…

Sacrificial Lambs

For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly practice justice between a person and his neighbor, if you do not oppress the stranger, the orphan, or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, nor follow other gods to your own ruin, then I will let you live in this place, in the land that I…

Keeping Them Down

For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly practice justice between a person and his neighbor, if you do not oppress the stranger, the orphan, or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, nor follow other gods to your own ruin, then I will let you live in this place, in the land that I…

Neighborly

For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly practice justice between a person and his neighbor, if you do not oppress the stranger, the orphan, or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, nor follow other gods to your own ruin, then I will let you live in this place, in the land that I…

Emphatic Duplication

For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly practice justice between a person and his neighbor, if you do not oppress the stranger, the orphan, or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, nor follow other gods to your own ruin, then I will let you live in this place, in the land that I…