Author: Skip Moen, Ph.D.

  • In Plain Sight

    BySkip Moen, Ph.D.

    I will open my mouth in a parable; I will tell riddles of old, which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.  Psalm 78:2-3  NASB Known – Okay, so how can this be a parable or a riddle if we’ve known it for generations?  Was the insightful story and the dark saying passed down…

  • Rome

    BySkip Moen, Ph.D.

    Some ceilings worth viewing And this last one you might want to see a little closer

  • Figure It Out

    BySkip Moen, Ph.D.

    I will open my mouth in a parable; I will tell riddles of old, which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.  Psalm 78:2-3  NASB Parable/ riddle – māšāl and ḥîdâ (parable and riddle).  How are these two terms connected? First, we need to know what the Hebrew idea of “parable” really is.  “A….

  • Unfamiliar

    BySkip Moen, Ph.D.

    Listen, my people, to my instruction; incline your ears to the words of my mouth.  Psalm 78:1  NASB Instruction – If you had to guess what Hebrew word is translated “instruction” you might be inclined to choose תּוֹרָה(tôrâ).  Not knowledge, not understanding, but teaching.  That’s correct.  It’s tôrâ.  But what you might not know is that…

  • Getting Started

    BySkip Moen, Ph.D.

    A [a]Maskil of Asaph.  Psalm 78 title Maskil – Another case where the Hebrew text isn’t included in the English psalm.  Here the introduction tells us that this song is from Asaph.  But this is a special kind of song.  It’s a מַסְכִיל (maskîl), a poem intended to promote insight.  The word comes from the verb…

  • Reconnaissance of the Heart

    BySkip Moen, Ph.D.

    And you shall remember all the way which the Lord your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, in order to humble you, putting you to the test, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.  Deuteronomy 8:2  NASB The test – In the NASB 95, this phrase is…

  • The Mother Tongue

    BySkip Moen, Ph.D.

    Now at this time, as the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint developed on the part of the [b]Hellenistic Jews against the native Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food.  Acts 6:1 NASB Hellenistic Jews – Notice the footnote?  Here’s what it says: “Jews who adopted the Gr language and much of Gr culture through acculturation.”  In other words, Luke notes…

  • The Color of Torah

    BySkip Moen, Ph.D.

    Now if people struggle with each other and strike a pregnant woman so that she gives birth prematurely, but there is no injury, the guilty person shall certainly be fined as the woman’s husband may demand of him, and he shall pay as the judges decide. But if there is any further injury, then you shall appoint as a penalty life for life,  Exodus…