But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.” Exodus 33:20 NIV One – Let’s begin this investigation by noticing an important change in the English translation. The NIV (as above) uses the phrase “no one,” rather than the direct Hebrew “no man.” The actual Hebrew word is ʾādām, but the NIV translators have offered…
Your people will volunteer freely on the day of Your power; in holy splendor, from the womb of the dawn, Your youth are to You as the dew. Psalm 110:3 NASB Womb of dawn – Not to belabor the point, but if you read this verse in the NASB you will discover that it contains four footnotes, all indicating alternatives or…
He will redeem my soul in peace [l]from the battle which is against me, for they are many who are aggressive toward me. God will hear and humiliate them—even the one who sits enthroned from ancient times— Selah Psalm 55:18-19a NASB Sits enthroned from ancient times – Before we tackle this text, we need to understand the caution provided by Nahum Sarna: Translations, particularly those adopted…
So God heard their groaning; and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Exodus 2:24 NASB Covenant – I suppose the first thing we need to address in this verse is the possibility that God forgot about His covenant and it took the groaning of the people to remind Him. At least, that’s what this translation might suggest. When we use the word “remember,”…
But the men of Israel said to the Hivites, “Perhaps you are living [b]within our land; how then are we to make a covenant with you?” Joshua 9:7 NASB Men of Israel – What seems like a fairly straightforward verse and translation is anything but. This verse is really complicated. Let me explain why. First, let’s look at…
It’s Sunday. Just enjoy the color. The man of biblical faith “looks for the image of God not in the mathematical formula or the natural relational law but in every beam of light, in every bud and blossom, in the morning breeze and the stillness of a starlit night. In a word, Adam the second…
“You shall be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy.” Leviticus 19:2b JPS Be holy – Levine’s excursus in the JPS commentary on Leviticus provides an important qualification about the term qādôš (holy): The biblical term for holiness is kodesh. Though the noun is abstract, it is likely that the perception of holiness was not thoroughly abstract. In fact, kodesh had several meanings,…
“You shall be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy.” Leviticus 19:2b JPS Be holy – The English translation doesn’t quite capture the force of this command. Baruch Levine translates it as “You must be holy!” He adds: “The verse is distinctive in that it provides a rationale for a commandment: Israel must…
You shall not hate your fellow countryman in your heart; you may certainly rebuke your neighbor, but you are not to incur sin because of him. Leviticus 19:17 NASB Not to incur sin – How can you rebuke someone but not sin doing so? If “rebuke” means “to judge, prove, reprove, and correct,” then what approach should…
When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their evil way, then God relented of the disaster which He had declared He would bring on them. So He did not do it. Jonah 3:10 NASB They turned – “The repentance of the Ninevites, from a psychological standpoint, is less plausible than the physical possibility of the miracles…
