But Jonah got up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship that was going to Tarshish, paid the fare, and boarded it to go with them to Tarshish away from the presence of the Lord. Jonah 1:3 NASB To flee – Apparently Jonah hadn’t taken courses in theology, especially not in the…
I will also break the gate bar of Damascus, and eliminate every inhabitant from the [c]Valley of Aven, as well as him who holds the scepter, from Beth-eden; so the people of Aram will be exiled to Kir,” says the Lord. Amos 1:5 NASB Eliminate – Perhaps you recognize the symbolic, metaphorical use of this term. It’s karat. “The most important use of the root is ‘to cut’…
The enemy has come to an end in everlasting ruins, and You have uprooted the cities; the very memory of them has perished. Psalm 9:6 NASB Memory – What was the ultimate objective of the victor in military conflict in the ancient Semitic world? In a word: extinction! It’s not surprising that David praises God for wiping out the very memory of his…
Yet You have made him a little lower than God, and You crown him with glory and majesty! Psalm 8:5 NASB God – You probably learned this verse as “a little lower than angels.” But that’s not what it says in Hebrew. Take a look. וַתְּחַסְּרֵ֣הוּ מְ֖עַט מֵֽאֱלֹהִ֑ים וְכָב֖וֹד וְהָדָ֣ר תְּעַטְּרֵֽהוּ The crucial word here is ʾĕlōhîm (with…
And they also acted with wile, and they went, and disguised as ambassadors, and they took worn sacks for their donkeys, and wine bottles, rotten, split, and tied together. Joshua 9:4 Chabad Disguised as ambassadors – Exactly how did the Gibeonites present themselves? Oh, we know they acted deceptively. That was a matter of survival. But…
And they also acted with wile, and they went, and disguised as ambassadors, and they took worn sacks for their donkeys, and wine bottles, rotten, split, and tied together. Joshua 9:4 Chabad Also – The first thing to notice about this verse is that most popular English Bible translations leave out the word “also.” Only…
Be gracious to me, Lord, for I am frail; heal me, Lord, for my bones are horrified. Psalm 6:2 NASB Horrified – Have you ever felt that your bones are horrified? Broken, maybe. Frail, yes. Aching, okay. But “horrified”? What does that mean? What does that feel like? This is an idea we need to understand, especially when it’s used again in the next verse: And my soul is greatly horrified. We…
Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger, Nor discipline me in Your wrath. Psalm 6:1 NASB In Your Anger – Quite often Hebrew syntax is radically different than the translations provided in English. We shouldn’t be surprised. The arrangement of words according to linguistic rules differs from one language to another, even in languages with…
