I have informed you today, even you. Have I not written for you thirty things in good counsel and knowledge? Proverbs 22:20 Robert Alter Thirty things – “The Masoretic Text has shalishim (‘captains’?) in the ketiv (consonantal text) and shelishim (‘threes’?) in the qeri (marginal gloss). Neither makes sense, and the translation [here] adopts Michael…
Extend your ear and hear the words of the wise, and apply your mind to my knowledge; Proverbs 22:17 NASB Words of the wise – Many years ago I led a Bible study on the book of Proverbs. When we reached this section (which runs to 24:22), I remarked that this material was most likely…
For hundreds of years, the Good Friday procession commemorating the death of Jesus has been an important religious ritual in Tuscania, a small medieval city in Italy. Attended mostly by the local citizens, this Friday I was once again in the crowd. This time I noticed several important things. First, at the end of the…
So that day Esau started on his way back to Seir. Jacob, however, went to Sukkoth, Genesis 33:16-17a NIV However – Take a moment to read Genesis 33, Jacob’s reunion with Esau. You’ll find something odd about Jacob’s protests. Again and again, Esau shows no animosity, no hidden agenda of revenge, but Jacob turns away…
On the Friday before Easter, the village of Tuscania performs a parade of the suffering of the Messiah. Here’s some of what you would see. Notice, if you will, all the syncretism. Topical Index: Good Friday, Tuscania, syncretism
Now they were expecting that he was going to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had waited a long time and had seen nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and began to say that he was a god. Acts 28:6 NASB Fall down dead – It’s a famous story. Paul…
When God started creating, He chose to abdicate control. Genesis 1:1 Skip Moen paraphrase When – “Bereshit, ‘in the beginning,’ describes not the clarities of origin and cause, but the potentialities of purpose.”[1] So writes Avivah Zornberg, reflecting on Rashi’s comment on creation. Potentialities demand alternatives. Things might not work out as we expect, and…
Then God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” Genesis 1:6 NASB Separate – “In the act of creation, there is perhaps inevitable sadness, as the work works itself loose from the vision.”[1] The Egyptians believed in unity, that is, the absolute unity…
and when all the people had finished crossing, then the ark of the Lord and the priests crossed in front of the people. Joshua 4:11 NASB Crossed – Yesterday we reflected on the paradigm commitment to miracles, noting that reconciling apparently conflicting texts sometimes leads to some fairly irrational conclusions. Today we’ll focus on a much more pedestrian item. …
