“Take full vengeance for the sons of Israel on the Midianites; afterward you will be gathered to your people.” Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm men from among you for the war, that they may go against Midian to execute the Lord’s vengeance on Midian.” Numbers 31:2-3 NASB The sons of Israel – Moses is about to die. …
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth Genesis 1:1 NASB In the beginning – Did you realize that the very first word in the Hebrew Bible has been the subject of intense theological interpretation rather than translation? You might have noticed that something was amiss when the JPS translation (1985) reads, “When…
The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s. Song of Songs 1:1 NASB Of – A friend of mine spent a lot of time working in Asia, particularly with Chinese people. Of course, communicating usually meant translating, especially when business contracts were involved. But translating wasn’t just a matter of finding a Mandarin word for an English…
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a [a]virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14 NASB Virgin – Italy is a young nation. In fact, it’s much younger than the United States, becoming a unified nation on March 17, 1861. Before that date,…
She weeps bitterly in the night and her tears are on her cheeks; she has none to comfort her among all her lovers. All her friends have dealt treacherously with her; they have become her enemies. Lamentations 1:2 NASB Weeps bitterly – Someone sent me a quote from Tzvi Freeman: “The first job of a teacher is to…
casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7 NASB Cares – What is a paradox? We could rely on dictionary definitions like this one: “a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true,” but what this really says is that a paradox is only an apparent problem. The definition…
“Three times a year you shall make a festival to Me.” Exodus 23:14 (J. Green) Festival – As the sun goes down tonight we will complete the last day of Sukkot. This experience is a remembrance of the time in the wilderness when God delivered His people from the hand of bondage in Egypt. This…
Taking the child by the hand, He *said to her, “Talitha kum!” (which translated means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). Mark 5:41 NASB Talitha kum – What was the native tongue of Yeshua and why does it matter? The common understanding and teaching of most theological schools of the West is that “Jesus” spoke Aramaic, not…
God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. Genesis 1:31 NASB All that He had made – Gutenberg destroyed the Bible. Oh, yes, he printed it in German, but in the process he forever changed that way we understand the…
The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. Genesis 6:6 NASB Grieved – We’ve explored the theological bias that treats this verse as anthropomorphic. Hopefully, that’s settled. God really does feel. When the verb ʿāṣab is used to describe God’s reaction to the corruption of creation, the…
