Capital Confusion

“Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God He made man.  Genesis 9:6  NASB By – Is abortion murder?  That’s the rabbinic concern with the translation of this verse.  Oh, you thought this verse was about a court determining the basis of capital punishment.  But that’s because…

The Problem with Bet

 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.  Genesis 1:1  NASB In the beginning – When does it all begin?  Most believers point to the first verse of Genesis.  “It begins with the creation of heaven and earth,” they reply.  Theologians point to the same verse and proclaim that it all started with…

Second Story

In the beginning Genesis 1:1 In The Beginning – The Tanakh opens with a single word, bere’shiyt, a compound of the preposition be and re’shiyt, a noun that means “the first, the chief, the best.” The rabbis noted a curious thing about bere’shiyt.  It begins with a bet, the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet. …

Painful Consequences

“I, YHWH, search the heart, I try the kidneys, and give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.” Yirmeyahu 17:10 (ISR) According To – The Hebrew here is not difficult, at least not on the surface.  It is simply the letter bet attached to the nouns for “ways” and…