Homelessness

Woe, who add house to house, who put field together with field till there is no space left and you alone are settled, in the heart of the land.  Isaiah 5:8  Robert Alter You alone – Private property and boundaries are at the heart of Israel’s social system.  Since the day the tribes settled in…

Resignation or Praise

And he said, “Naked I came out from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there.  The LORD has given and the LORD has taken away.  May the LORD’s name be blessed.”  Job 1:21 Robert Alter Naked – “You can’t take it with you.”  We all know that is absolutely true.  We came into…

The Invention of Religion

Elu v’elu divrei elohim hayim  Talmud Eruvin 13b Elu v’elu (These and these) – The Talmud relates the following story: Rabbi Abba said that Shmuel said: For three years Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel disagreed. These said: The halakha is in accordance with our opinion, and these said: The halakha is in accordance with our opinion. Ultimately, a Divine Voice emerged and proclaimed: Both these and those…

Who’s to Blame

So the Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! Why is it that you have fallen on your face?  Joshua 7:10 NASB וַיֹּ֧אמֶר יְהֹוָ֛ה אֶל־יְהוֹשֻׁ֖עַ קֻ֣ם לָ֑ךְ לָ֣מָּה זֶּ֔ה אַתָּ֖ה נֹפֵ֥ל עַל־פָּנֶֽיךָ Stand up! קֻ֣ם “Stand up”  1999           קוּם (qûm) rise, arise, stand[1] לָ֑ךְ “toward”  “from”  1063  לְ (lĕ) to, at, in, in reference to, of, by etc.[2] …

Translation?

  וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל-יְהוֹשֻׁעַ, קֻם לָךְ; לָמָּה זֶּה, אַתָּה נֹפֵל עַל-פָּנֶיךָ So the Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! Why is it that you have fallen on your face?  Joshua 7:10 NASB וַיֹּאמֶר  – “What is the best translation?”  Perhaps this is the most frequent question I am asked.  In the past I have often replied, “Every translation…

Bad Love (Again)

The man said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”  Genesis 2:23  NASB 1995 Now – The verse that just doesn’t quit!  We have come back to it over and over, discovering more depth each time.  We already…

The Direction of Forgiveness

as far as the east is from the west,  so far has he removed our transgressions from us.  Psalm 103:12  NIV East/ west – You have undoubtedly heard this verse offered as proof for God’s forgiveness, but perhaps you haven’t considered some of its more esoteric implications.  So, let’s ask a few questions.  Why the order…

Un-hardening the Heart

and the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have their request. Therefore they plundered the Egyptians. Exodus 12:36  NASB Let them have – Imagine you’re an Egyptian.  You’ve just had your crops ruined, your water made undrinkable, your livestock destroyed, and your sons killed.  And it’s all…