Get truth, and do not sell it, wisdom, reproof, and discernment. Proverbs 23:23 Robert Alter Get truth – Perhaps you’re more familiar with a different translation: “Buy truth, and do not sell it.” The verb is qānâ, “to get, acquire, create,” but since the complementary is “sell,” translators adopt the idea of “buy,” particularly when a commercial translation is…
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 2 Timothy 3:16 NIV God-breathed – Until the cows come home. Yes, that’s probably how long debate about this verse will continue in the religious community. It’s not that we don’t understand what Paul wrote. The vocabulary is pretty clear. It’s that…
So the men of Israel took some of their provisions, and did not ask for the [a]counsel of the Lord. Joshua 9:14 NASB Did not ask – The crucial decision of the encounter with the Gibeonites occurs without consultation with God. That seems quite strange. Joshua certainly knows what happens when a leader acts independently of God’s directive. Ai is…
“And these wineskins which we filled were new, and behold, they are split open; and these clothes of ours and our sandals are worn out from the very long journey.” Joshua 9:13 NASB Very long journey – Have you ever considered that the syntax of a language might reflect the thinking of the speakers of that language? As…
alike newborn babies, long for the 1bpure 2milk of the word, so that by it you may cgrow 3in respect to salvation, 1 Peter 2:2 NASB Grow – First, we need to know something about the verb Peter uses. “auxánō means ‘to bring to growth,’ ‘to promote,’ ‘to raise one’s position,’ or intransitive ‘to grow,’…
alike newborn babies, long for the 1bpure 2milk of the word, so that by it you may cgrow 3in respect to salvation, 1 Peter 2:2 NASB 1995 In respect to salvation – When I was a child, my parents would stand me against a special part of the walls in our home and mark my…
One of the oldest cities in the Western world, Siracusa was founded by the Greeks in 734 BCE. Being there was quite a treat. Topical Index: Siracusa, photos
The sons of Israel did not strike them because the leaders of the congregation had sworn to them by the Lord the God of Israel. And the whole congregation grumbled against the leaders. Joshua 9:18 NASB Grumbled – “Except for Josh 9:18, a reference to Israel’s displeasure with Joshua’s handling of the Gibeonite lie, all…
And all the community of Israelites murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. Exodus 16:2 Robert Alter Wilderness – In God’s geography, the wilderness is an amazing place. First, it is the place of God’s self-revelation. Second, it is the place of total human dependence. And third, it is the place where God provides the foundation document, the constitution,…
“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to [h]follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you [i]always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20 NASB Follow – Jacques Ellul’s damning insights make the interpretation of this command all…
