And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed. Genesis 2:25 ESV Naked – In the last 200 years of the great Portuguese Empire, Portugal imported nearly 6 million African slaves to its territories in the New World. The British and the Portuguese accounted for nearly 70% of all trans-Atlantic slavery. …
Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown to the ground before the ark of the Lord, remaining there till evening. The elders of Israel did the same, and sprinkled dust on their heads. Joshua 7:6 NIV Tore/ fell/ sprinkled – These three actions indicate the gravity of the situation. Joshua never expected to have any losses at all in the…
Add guilt upon their guilt, and let them have no part in Your bounty. Psalm 69:28 [Hebrew Bible] Robert Alter Guilt – In order to understand the ramifications of this Hebrew word—ʿāwōn—we need to read the explanation provided by Schultz: We note in the first place that the noun is a collective. Thus God says…
God, You know my folly, and my guilt is not hidden from You. Psalm 69:6 [Hebrew Bible] Robert Alter Not hidden – True confession. David admits his “folly.” God knows all about this ʾiwwelet. These are acts that display moral stupidity, not simply ignorance. This man actually knows what he is doing isn’t proper. He’s…
More numerous than the hairs of my head are my unprovoked foes. My destroyers grow strong, my lying foes. What I have not stolen should I then give back? Psalm 69:5 [Hebrew Bible] Robert Alter Give back – David knew his enemies, at least most of them. His poem is addressed to real, tangible foes,…
then it shall be, when he sins and becomes guilty, that he shall restore what he took by robbery or acquired by extortion, or the deposit which was entrusted to him, or the lost property which he found, Leviticus 6:4 NASB Becomes guilty – When are you guilty? As soon as you commit a sin? As…
Now if a person sins and does any of the things [a]which the Lord has commanded not to be done, though he was unaware, he is still guilty and shall bear his punishment. Leviticus 5:17 NASB Is still – Choose your Bible carefully! Depending on the translation you read, you might be guilty of things you didn’t even know…
Because of Your indignation and Your wrath; for You have lifted me up and thrown me away. Psalm 102:10 NASB Because – Who’s fault is all this? Who’s to blame for the tragedy of human living? When Heschel remarks “history is a nightmare,” we know precisely what he means. Humanity has produced escalating moral entropy since…
Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1 NASB No condemnation – More than anything I want this verse to be true. “No condemnation,” οὐδέν κατάκριμα (ouden katakrima) in Greek is very strong. The “no” is unconditional. “No one, nothing, not ever” is the sense of it. That’s good news. According…
“For your guilt teaches your mouth, and you choose the language of the crafty.” Job 15:5 NASB Crafty– “Naked I came into the world” is another way to say that when I arrived I didn’t have a hidden agenda. That’s what we learn from the phonetically similar Hebrew word ʿārôm in Genesis 2:25. Adam and Havvah were…
