Gift of the Giver (4)

So God created mankind in his own image,  in the image of God he created them;  male and female he created them.  Genesis 1:27  NIV Male and female – A few weeks ago we explored this verse for its latent connection to ḥesed.  Since we’ve just looked at the relationship between ḥesed, šāmar, and pāqad, determining that these words are…

Gift of the Giver (3)

You have granted me life and goodness; and Your care has guarded my spirit. Job 10:12  NASB Care – Be very careful with this one.  “It has been said of this verb, which occurs more than three hundred times in the ot; ‘There is probably no other Hebrew verb that has caused translators as much trouble…

Gift of the Giver (2)

You have granted me life and goodness; and Your care has guarded my spirit. Job 10:12  NASB Goodness – As we discovered the last time we examined this verse, the translation “goodness” just misses the point.  God doesn’t grant us goodness, at least not in this verse.  What He grants is ḥesed—relationship, reciprocity, transitivity, and action. …

Gift of the Giver (1)

You have granted me life and goodness; and Your care has guarded my spirit. Job 10:12  NASB Life – Yesterday we examined the Qohelet’s claim that the animating spirit returns to God at death.  This idea is an important correction to the popular Western conception of eternal life.  It is important to note that this correction…