The Invention of the Individual

BySkip Moen, Ph.D.

Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn; I have done as you told me.  Genesis 27:19a NASB I am – Some time ago (September 28, 2018) I wrote about the shift in the idea of “individual.”  I noted that ancient, non-industrial cultures exhibit group consciousness rather than discrete, individual consciousness. I cited works by Gabor…

The Letter kaf

BySkip Moen, Ph.D.

Behold, I am with you  Genesis 28:15a NASB I – hinneh ʾānōkî  (“Behold, I”) says YHVH to Jacob in the famous dream of Genesis 28.  Here the text uses ʾānōkî rather than the shorter form, ʾānî. But since ʾānōkî and ʾānî are both translated “I,” we would have a hard time distinguishing the two. Sometimes they are used interchangeably.  But sometimes they…