and God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:12 ESV (and others) That it was – Familiarity is the enemy of investigation. How many times have you read this phrase? How many times have you recalled the Genesis story and considered the goodness of God’s actions? And how many of those times have you noticed…
Within it there were figures resembling four living beings. And this was their appearance: they had human form. Ezekiel 1:5 NASB Figures – Ezekiel’s vision is fodder for all kinds of eschatological grist mills. The history of interpretation of these verses demonstrates how paradigm pre-suppositions affect religious belief. But this penchant to read the text…
“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!” Deuteronomy 6:4 NASB Hear – Most scholars shy away from any discussion of Paleo-Hebrew. Everyone knows that Paleo or Proto Hebrew was the written language of Israel prior to the Babylonia captivity. There are some significant examples confirming this in archeological discoveries (you…
The weekend conference in Fresno has ended. What a joy to see so many who were in Israel together. THANK YOU BRIAN AND SUZANNE for hosting so many in your home and making us all feel so welcomed! What a joy it was to see you and all those who came. What great discussions and…
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Psalm 18:2 NASB Take refuge – In the Semitic world, metaphors are often linked to tangible entities, especially geographical locations. Sometimes a word that has…
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Psalm 18:2 NASB Rock – First, David establishes the idea of security. “The Lord [YHVH] is my rock,” uses the word sela’. YHVH is my…
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Psalm 18:2 NASB Rock – If you’re like most English readers, you will think that this is the translation of the Hebrew tsur, the usual…
The Continuing Saga of Theological Mathematics Those who grew up in the Christian Western paradigm (I include myself) find it emotionally difficult to think about divinity in any other terms except the ones defined by the Church. We are so used to considering the words “divine” and “deity” as exclusive markers for “God” that any…
“I love You, O Lord, my strength.” Psalm 18:1 (English version) NASB Strength – The Hebrew word, hezqa, means “strength.” There is no argument about this nor is it unusual. But David often does something with words that make them different, and in this verse, he uses the root hezeq, the only place in Scripture…
If you didn’t have a chance to accompanying the group to Israel in October, you can still listen to all the discussions. CLICK HERE to order your download audio files.
