Now it will come about that instead of balsam oil there will be a stench; Instead of a belt, a rope; instead of well-set hair, a plucked-out scalp; instead of fine clothes, a robe of sackcloth; and branding instead of beauty. Isaiah 3:24 NASB Branding instead of – Something is missing from the Masoretic text, and because something is missing,…
Moreover, the Lord said, “Because the daughters of Zion are haughty and walk with heads held high and seductive eyes, and go along with mincing steps and jingle the anklets on their feet, the Lord will afflict the scalp of the daughters of Zion with scabs, and the Lord will make their foreheads bare.” Isaiah 3:16-17 NASB Make their foreheads…
So it shall come about, when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your surrounding enemies in the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, that you shall wipe out the mention of the name Amalek from under heaven; you must not forget. Deuteronomy 25:19 NASB Wipe out – What single word…
But the sons of Israel acted unfaithfully regarding the things designated for destruction, for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, took some of the designated things; therefore the anger of the Lord burned against the sons of Israel. Joshua 7:1 NASB Burned against – What…
whom the Lord of armies has blessed, saying, “Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.” Isaiah 19:25 NASB My people – “This remarkable prophecy has no equal in biblical literature; nowhere else is YHWH represented as calling a foreign nation ‘my people.’”[1] Perhaps you need to read Kaufmann’s remark again. …
When a man lays hold of his brother in his father’s house, saying, “You have a cloak, you shall be our ruler! And these ruins will be under your authority,” Isaiah 3:6 NASB These ruins– What are the minimal requirements of a leader in times of anarchy? Isaiah gives us one. Any man who has been able…
And I will make mere boys their leaders, and mischievous children will rule over them, and the people will be oppressed, each one by another, and each one by his neighbor; the youth will assault the elder, and the contemptible person will assault the one honored. Isaiah 3:4-5 NASB Youth/ contemptible – These two verses in Isaiah could have been the inspiration for…
God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Genesis 21:17 NIV As he lies there – We’ve looked at this verse twice before. Once in connection with Julia Blum’s…
Leave off from man, who has breath in his nostrils. For of what account is he? Isaiah 2:22 Robert Alter Of what – כִּֽי־בַמֶּ֥ה ki-va me(h). Stringing together ki (for, but, thus, because, when, . . .), ba (in, at, with, away from, among, upon . . .), and me(h) (what, which, that, how), the…
For it is a day of the LORD of Armies, over all the proud and lofty and over all on high and lifted up. Isaiah 2:12 Robert Alter Lifted up – Robert Alter’s translation comes with an explanation. “lifted up. This emends the Masoretic ‘lowly,’ which doesn’t seem plausible. This whole clause is repeated as…
