“you have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy.’” Matthew 5:43 Enemy – Who said that? Who said, “Love your neighbor and hate your enemy”? If you look at the reference in Leviticus 19:18, you won’t find the second part of this citation. In fact, you will find…
But I say to you, do not resist him who is evil; but whoever slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. Matthew 5:39 Right Cheek – Stand in front of a friend. Go through the motion of slapping him on the right cheek. What did you discover? If you are…
Many are the sorrows of the wrong; but as for the one trusting YHWH, kindness surrounds him. Psalm 32:10 (ISR) Surrounds – The Hebrew word sābab is spelled samech-bet-bet. Samech paints the picture of twisting slowly or turning. Bet is the picture of a tent or house. Let’s combine these images. Sabab is the picture of something…
because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the Law of God, for it is not even able to do so; Romans 8:7 Does Not Subject Itself – The expression is strong in Greek: ouk hupotassetai. The negative (ouk) is the unconditional kind. It is…
Not that I speak from want; for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. Philippians 4:11 Content – Most Christians have spiritualized this verse. We read this as if it were about an inner state of equilibrium of the soul. Because we think of Paul’s statement as a declaration of spiritual…
If it is the whole community of Israel that has erred and the matter escapes the notice of the congregation, so that they do any of the things which YHWH commanded ought not to be done, and they incur guilt Leviticus 4:13 (JPS Torah Commentary translation) Guilt – Is a man guilty if he does…
Thus the priest shall make expiation for them, and they shall be forgiven. Leviticus 4:20 Expiation – For centuries we have heard Christian theologians proclaim that forgiveness comes by grace alone. Pastors and professors have driven a wedge between the teaching of Leviticus and the words of Paul. The Jews were under the “law.” Christians…
Blessed is that man who has made YHWH his trust, and has not turned to the proud, and to those turning aside to falsehood. Psalm 40:4 Man – We don’t have to repeat the lesson about the difference between barak and ‘ashar to remember what “blessed” really means. We know it’s about something we do. …
Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:10 Persecuted – Matthew writes with Hebrew idioms, not Greek concepts. Sometimes the difference between these two worldviews makes all the difference in our translations into English. When it does, we often discover that entire…
He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying Matthew 5:2 Opened His Mouth – Today a good number of scholars believe that Matthew’s gospel was originally written in Hebrew and later translated into Greek. Much of the evidence for this view comes from the number of Hebrew idioms in Matthew’s Greek text. In…
