It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1 NASB For freedom – Paul is not a Stoic. That won’t mean much to you unless you know something about the Greek concept of freedom. To put it as simply as…
Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, Matthew 3:1 NASB Saying – Yesterday we discovered that the Hebrew expression le ʾmōr is not really a word to be translated. It is the Hebraic substitution for quotation marks. Now, when we look at the Greek text of Matthew, we find the…
Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying, Genesis 9:8 NASB Saying – Note the same verse translated by Aryeh Kaplan: “God said to Noah and his sons with him.” [The Living Torah] And by Robert Alter: “And God said to Noah and to his sons with him.” [The Hebrew Bible]…
Grant us grace, LORD, grant us grace. For we are sorely sated with scorn. Psalm 123:3 Robert Alter Grant – How did you come to believe? I’m not asking how you came into religion. That happens mostly by drifting through cultural or family expectations. No, I’m asking something else. How did you realize that God…
God has spoken once; twice I have heard this: that power belongs to God; Psalm 62:11 [English] NASB Once; twice – You wouldn’t know it from reading this English translation, but the rabbis used this verse as a prooftext for the assertion that every verse in the Bible demands multiple interpretations. Why did they use this verse? …
If I but trust to see the LORD’s goodness, in the land of the living—Hope for the LORD! Let your heart be firm and bold, and hope for the LORD. Psalm 27:13-14 Robert Alter Hope for – “We live in an age of despair, and those who despair would seem justified, considering the compounding crises…
And the LORD said to Moses, “Write this down as a remembrance in a record, and put it in Joshua’s hearing, that I will surely wipe out the name of Amalek from under the heavens.” Exodus 17:14 Robert Alter Record – Compare the translation of the same verse in the NASB: Then the Lord said to Moses,…
For the sake of Your name, LORD, give me life, in Your bounty bring me out from the straits. Psalm 143:11 Robert Alter Give me life – The NASB translates this single Hebrew word as “revive me,” but that implies I only need resuscitation. Alter’s translation is more fundamental. “Give me life,” implies that I…
“Oh that my words were written! Oh that they were recorded in a book!” Job 19:23 NASB Book – It seems obvious, doesn’t it? Scrolls are not books. The Bible wasn’t written as a collection of books. We all know that, but what we might not realize is how this affects our understanding of the text. …
By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. There on the poplars we hung our harps, for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land? …
