And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. Matthew 16:18 NASB Peter/ rock – Only in Greek. That’s right, the pun that’s involved here occurs only in Greek, not English (or almost any other translation). It’s…
And the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and He breathed into his nostrils the soul of life, and man became a living soul. Genesis 2:7 Chabad Formed – Let’s consider the crucial role of midrash in Jewish thought. We can do this by taking an example for Genesis Rabbah. Here is…
Now Moses was pasturing the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the [a]west sideof the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. Exodus 3:1 NASB To the west side – Sometimes translators of Bibles with Western perspectives alter the text in order to make it sensible to Western…
Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: Isaiah 1:18a KJV Reason – Despite the later translation corrections of this Hebrew verb (yākaḥ rendered in the NASB as “debate” and in the NIV as “settle”), most believers of a certain age recall this verse in its King James vernacular, “let us reasontogether.” We won’t…
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us; and we saw His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14 NASB Became flesh – Suppose for just a moment that John is thoroughly Jewish. Suppose he is operating in the typical way Jews handled the Tanakh in the first century. Suppose he’s writing…
For Ezra had set his heart to seek the law of YHWH, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and ordinances Ezra 7:10 JPS 1917 To Seek – More than a decade has passed since I wrote this initial study of Ezra 7:10. When I read Gordon Tucker’s footnote about this verse…
The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails—given by one shepherd. Ecclesiastes 12:11 NIV One shepherd – This phrase, “given by one shepherd,” is almost the same no matter what English translation you choose. It is also the typical treatment in Jewish context. On this basis, rabbinic tradition…
For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Hebrews 10:4 NASB Impossible – If it’s impossible for the sacrificial system to take away sins, then why did God give such elaborate instructions about the process? Why did the early followers of Yeshua continue to offer sacrifices at the…
And the disciples came up and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” Matthew 13:10 NASB Parables – Read the rest of the passage (Matthew 13:10-16). Yeshua’s remarks are particularly discouraging! What he essentially says is this: If you haven’t been granted the ability to understand, you simply won’t. Furthermore, only some…
There *came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus *said to her, “Give Me a drink.” John 4:7 NASB *came – Read the introduction. Yes, that’s right. Your English Bible has an introduction. In the NASB, the introduction has a section about translated Greek tenses. You will find this note: “In regard to the use…
