And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2:7 NASB Firstborn son – For four hundred years, Christianity struggled to define the person of Jesus. You would have thought that this task was…
But rather we will certainly carry out every word that has proceeded from our mouths, by burning sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, just as we ourselves, our forefathers, our kings and our princes did in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then we had plenty of food and…
Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” John 14:9 NASB Who has seen Me – Imagine standing with Philip during this conversation. Yeshua directs a question and a comment to…
Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures Luke 24:45 NASB Understand – When we read this verse, we’re likely to imagine some kind of mental expansion miracle. As Western believers, we automatically assume that “understand” means cognitive comprehension. Our own educational experience leads us to interpret this text as if Yeshua were preparing…
Who is wise? Let him give heed to these things, and consider the lovingkindness of the Lord. Psalm 107:43 NASB Who is wise? – I’ve been at this awhile. Actually 6,700 Today’s Word additions so far. Obviously, not quite enough. There are still many more unanswered questions. It is a lifelong process and I am…
For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 1 Timothy 2:5 NASB The man – Consider the following quotation from John MacArthur, popular Christian pastor and teacher: Village life was so deeply ingrained and so clearly understood at every level of society that the customs reflected in the biblical narratives…
I recently read an exegesis of the particularly important passage in Genesis 3 regarding the punishment God issues after the disobedience of the first couple. Since the author is a well-known Jewish scholar, I was a bit surprised to find that his exegesis actually incorporated many ideas from interpretations that arose centuries later. Here’s the…
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; Genesis 1:26a NASB Image/likeness – According to a footnote in my Siddur, a synonym for nefesh hayah in the Mishnah (Bava Kanna 2a) is mav’eh which the Talmud derives from the root ba’ah (to ask, request, seek). Furthermore, Onkelos renders nefesh hayah as “speaking spirit” (ruah mamlal’). The implication is significant. Our identity is…
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; Genesis 1:26a NASB Image/likeness – As we begin another “eternal return”[1] cycle, perhaps we should start with a decidedly different view than the one behind a New Year’s pagan festival. The OT recognizes man’s total dependence with great clarity. Man is a creature…
