Satan answered the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has, he will give for his life. Job 2:4 NASB Skin for skin – God repeats His evaluation of Job’s righteous character, word for word plus the acknowledgement of Job’s integrity despite the tragedies. But the accuser isn’t defeated. haśśāṭān ups the ante. “Yes,…
Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord. Psalm 119:1 NIV According to – When we began the long study of Psalm 119, we started by investigating the Hebrew terms for “blessed,” “blameless,” and “walk.” But we probably should have taken a long look at the preposition bĕ as…
How I loved Your teaching. All the day it was my theme. Psalm 119:97 Robert Alter I loved – We’ve reached the end of the Mem section of this acrostic, but before we continue, we need to recognize a larger pattern. The acrostic is made up of blocks (verses that begin with the same letter). Each…
How I loved Your teaching. All the day it was my theme. Psalm 119:97 Robert Alter Theme – Remember the “perfect” tense—the completed action—of the first part of this verse. The psalmist is describing his collective experience of God’s instruction. He’s not projecting or anticipating something yet to be realized. He’s saying that he has already…
I am Yours, save me; for I have sought Your precepts. Psalm 119:94 NASB I am Yours – While the English captures the idea, the Hebrew isn’t quite so straightforward. The phrase is lekā-‘ănî’. It’s really a preposition (l – “to, towards, in regard to”) and two pronouns (kā – you, and ănî – I). Literally, “to…
This has become mine, that I comply with Your precepts. Psalm 119:56 NASB Comply – Did you think we’ve completely mined this verse after yesterday’s investigation? Well, we learned that “This has become mine” is probably better understood as a statement of identity rather than possession. It’s not something that I have acquired. Rather, it’s a…
This has become mine, that I comply with Your precepts. Psalm 119:56 NASB Has become mine – My wife, Rosanne, carries an Italian identity card. Anywhere she goes in the EU, all she needs is this little card as her identification document. Of course, this is an entirely modern invention. In the past, identity was a…
I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, that you also love one another. John 13:34 NASB New – But this isn’t new at all, is it? Leviticus 19:18—“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Yeshua even cites this passage as the equivalent of loving God. So, how can…
and to put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. Ephesians 4:24 NASB Put on the new self – Paul is an orthodox Jewish thinker. Among other things, that means his theology is rooted in the Tanakh, interpreted by the rabbinic traditions. When he writes, even…
A merciful person does himself good, but the cruel person does himself harm. Proverbs 11:17 NASB Does himself good – Arthur Branch, the District Attorney in the television series Law and Order, quipped, “Sometimes the good you do doesn’t do you any good.” Regretfully, he seems to be correct. Human experience suggests that doing good doesn’t always…
