They exchanged the glory of God for the image of an ox that eats grass. Psalm 106:20 ESV Glory – Translators have added words of explanation to this verse. In Hebrew it reads: va-yamiroo et kevodam betavnit. The et identifies the direct object of the verb mur (to exchange). But notice that the direct object…
Happy those who keep justice, who do righteousness at all times. Psalm 106:3 (Robert Alter translation) At all times – “If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands. If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands. If you’re happy and you know it then your life will surely show it.” So…
You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you. Deuteronomy 4:2 NASB Nor take away – Moses’ statement makes it crystal clear that no one is to remove anything from God’s commands. …
So Moses came and called the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which the LORD had commanded him. Exodus 19:7 NASB Set before them – Until the revolution of the “new,” no one wanted to embrace a way of life that did not have a long legacy of success. In…
Brethren, do not be children in your thinking; yet in evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature. 1 Corinthians 14:20 NASB Thinking be mature – So what about speaking in tongues? Ah, such a divisive question. Some believe this manifestation of spiritual ecstasy is an essential step in full fellowship. Some believe it…
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. . . Matthew 28:20 ESV Teaching – No, we are not going to investigate the obvious connection between this commandment and Torah. It’s so obvious we just won’t even mention it. What we want to ask ourselves is this: “What does it mean to teach?” …
Recently several readers informed me that Daniel Botkin (whom I have never had any conversation with) wrote a very critical, perhaps caustic, review of my book Guardian Angel. They asked if I would respond. At first I was quite hesitant to do so. After all, in the “Four Disclaimers” of his review he clearly states…
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love. Ephesians 4:1-2 ESV Walk – Can there be any doubt about Paul’s use of peripateo as a Greek…
“You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” Deuteronomy 6:9 ESV Doorposts – So this commandment is about the mezuzah, right? Well, not exactly. According to the commandment, the mitzvot of YHWH are to be written on the doorposts and the gates, not inscribed in a small decorative cylinder…
“Speak to the sons of Israel, and tell them that they shall make for themselves tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and that they shall put on the tassel of each corner a cord of blue.” Numbers 15:38 NASB Tassels – So what about tzitzit? The translation “tassels” or “fringes” renders…
