I am always amazed at the incredible craftsmanship of the Italian Renaissance. Here is a tapestry hanging in Santa Maria Maggiore in Bergamo. Imagine the work that went into this. It’s about 8 feet tall and 20 feet long. The detail is stunning. Yes, of course, it’s an Italian version of the crucifixion (you can…
For the sake of Your name, LORD, give me life, in Your bounty bring me out from the straits. Psalm 143:11 Robert Alter Give me life – The NASB translates this single Hebrew word as “revive me,” but that implies I only need resuscitation. Alter’s translation is more fundamental. “Give me life,” implies that I…
“Oh that my words were written! Oh that they were recorded in a book!” Job 19:23 NASB Book – It seems obvious, doesn’t it? Scrolls are not books. The Bible wasn’t written as a collection of books. We all know that, but what we might not realize is how this affects our understanding of the text. …
“ . . . reckoning the crime of fathers with sons and sons with sons, to the third generation and the fourth.” Exodus 34:7 Alter This was supposed to go out on October 8, but the server missed the schedule. Reckoning – Robert Alter’s attempt to render the Hebrew pāqad avoids the totally misdirected implication…
By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. There on the poplars we hung our harps, for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land? …
And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. Genesis 1:31b NASB The – Other than the fact that Robert Alter’s translation of this verse changes “there was” to “it was,” is there anything really significantly different? To answer that question, we need to read “Introduction to the Five Books” in his translation…
So often in Catholic churches in Italy the conversion decision is portrayed in stark relief. Here’s something from Chiesa di San Vitale in Parma. You get to decide which path you want to choose (and notice who is in the “comforting” one): This? Or this?
Happy who seizes and smashes your infants against the rock. Psalm 137:9 Alter Happy – It’s difficult to believe God in the midst of great trauma. If God is good, if He cares about us, then why do we suffer so much? It doesn’t feel like a test. It feels like abandonment, or divine failure. …
So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. Romans 7:12 NASB Law – Why is the Law holy? Before you answer, consider the radical difference between the Greco-Roman view of Law and the Semitic biblical view of Law. Christine Hays offers some insight: “Divine law can be minimally…
“For My devisings are not your devisings, and your ways are not My ways,” says the Lord. For as the heavens are high over the earth, so My ways are high over your ways and My devisings over your devisings.” Isaiah 55:8-9 Robert Alter Devisings – You’re probably more familiar with this verse translated in the popular religious vernacular: “For My…
