“By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, until you return to the ground, because from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Genesis 3:19 NASB Dust – Remember this: The Hebrew word dakkāʾ means both “crushed” and “contrite.” However, it has a second root spelling exactly the…
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18 NASB Crushed – One of the joys of teaching English to Italian businesspeople is explaining English idioms. Every language and every culture has its own idioms. Italian, for example, has a lovely idiom about keeping a secret: acqua en boca, which…
Behold, I will make you small among the nations; You are greatly despised. The arrogance of your heart has deceived you, Obadiah 1:2-3a NASB Arrogance – In a conversation with the Rabbi here in Parma, the topic of political arrogance came up. He directed me to the smallest of the prophetic books, Obadiah. The book is purportedly…
You shall not go about as a slanderer among your people; and you are not to [a]jeopardize the [b]life of your neighbor. I am the Lord. Leviticus 19:16 NASB Slanderer – Leviticus 19:16 is the foundation for the prohibition against lashon hara. What is lashon hara? “Lashon Hara is any derogatory or damaging statement against an individual. In Hilchot Deot 7:5,…
If you want to see the interior of Oratorio di Sant’Ilario in Parma, you better be on time. The celebration of the patron saint of Parma happens only once a year, on January 13 when the city is blessed by the bishop. That’s it! If you miss, you’ll have to wait another year to see…
Do not trust in noblemen, in mortal man, in whom there is no salvation. His spirit departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish. Psalm 146:3-4 NASB Nobleman – The world is continuously more and more interconnected. Two years of pandemic disruption could hardly be better evidence. Our lives are intertwined with many, many others, most of…
You shall also speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘If anyone curses his God, then he will bear the responsibility for his sin. Leviticus 24:15 NASB Anyone – The more you look, the more complicated it becomes. That’s how I feel after a few decades of investigating the issue of textual transmission. When I first became…
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: Ecclesiastes 3:1 KJV A time – How do you read the Bible? Perhaps that question is far too broad. What I want to ask is this: What lens do you use when you’re reading the Bible? Do you read…
They quickly forgot His works; they did not wait for His counsel, but craved intensely in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert. Psalm 106:13-14 NASB 1995 Quickly forgot – māhar šokḥu reads the Hebrew text, but it is hyperbole. Clearly Israel didn’t forget the works of YHVH overnight. It took decades for the…
I am the vine, you are the branches; the one who remains in Me, and I in him bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. John 15:5 NASB Apart from me – On the surface, Yeshua’s claim seems patently false. Just look around. Men have accomplished amazing things apparently without any…
