Author: Skip Moen, Ph.D.

  • He Speaks!

    BySkip Moen, Ph.D.

    “Many daughters have done worthy things, but you—you surpass them all.”  Proverbs 31:29  Robert Alter You—you – This hymn to wives is well known in religious circles.  Apparently written by the mother of King Lemuel, it is not only a glorious recounting of the strength and valor of a wife, it is also a stern…

  • Hole in the Heart

    BySkip Moen, Ph.D.

    Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is my portion, so that I will not be full and deny You and say, “Who is the Lord?” and that I will not become impoverished and steal,  Proverbs 30:8b-9a  NASB Impoverished – What does it mean to be impoverished?  Poor?  Financially destitute?  The Hebrew is yāraš, in the…

  • Flying Carpets

    BySkip Moen, Ph.D.

    then you shall inform your children, saying, ‘Israel crossed this Jordan on dry ground.’  Joshua 4:22  NASB On dry ground – Are you having fun yet?  You’re probably asking yourself, “How many times are we going to look at this incident?  È già abbastanza (It’s enough already).”  But, you know, I’m just fascinated by the oddities…

  • Parking Spaces

    BySkip Moen, Ph.D.

    having cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares about you. 1 Peter 5:7 NASB Anxiety – Many, many years ago, when I was still a teenager, I joined a Bible study group with my friends.  It was actually a pivotal point in my life.  It introduced me to people who seriously examined the text…

  • Hebrew Scrabble

    BySkip Moen, Ph.D.

    I said to the LORD, “My Master You are, my good is only through You.”  Psalm 16:2  Robert Alter (Hebrew numbering) Is only through You – “The textual difficulties of this whole segment of the poem being here,  because the Hebrew bal-‘aleikha is unclear.”[1]  Here are a few other attempts to translate this: I said…

  • The Jacob Syndrome

    BySkip Moen, Ph.D.

    And he said, “Surely I will go down to Sheol in mourning for my son.” So his father wept for him.  Genesis 37:35b  NASB Mourning – What happened to Jacob when he thought his son Joseph was dead?  By carefully examining this narrative in Genesis we discover a lot about psychological trauma, family dynamics, and unconscious…

  • We Just Can’t Get Away

    BySkip Moen, Ph.D.

    All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness;  2 Timothy 3:16  NASB All Scripture – How many times have we investigated the nuances and implications of this single verse?  A dozen?  Two dozen?  It seems that Paul’s statement in a letter to a pupil just…