Then God said, “Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the livestock and over all the earth, and over every crawling thing that crawls on the earth.” Genesis 1:26 NASB Image/ likeness – How many times have we examined the implications…
Let my soul live that it may praise You, and let Your ordinances help me. Psalm 119:175 NASB Live/ help – We don’t need to mention the mistaken translation “soul.” You certainly know that nepeš isn’t “soul,” which is the Greek term psyche. But we should note the idea that praise can only happen while we…
My soul keeps Your testimonies, and I love them exceedingly. Psalm 119:167 NASB My soul – It’s no surprise that the English translations of this verse use a word that is thoroughly Greek. “Soul” came into English through Greek philosophy, and as such, represented that invisible, eternal element of human being that eventually left the corrupt material…
Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might reach out with his hand, and take fruit also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever” Genesis 3:22 NASB Live forever – “But two horrible fears haunt man steadily, trailing him like an everlasting shadow: the…
For He has satisfied the [a]thirsty soul, and He has filled the hungry soul with what is good. Psalm 107:9 NASB Soul – Did you see that tiny footnote before the word “thirsty”? I hoped that the footnote would explain that the Hebrew word nepeš does not mean “soul,” ah, but not a chance. The footnote merely says…
and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away. Revelation 21:4 NASB Death – Inevitability! The quip “death and taxes” isn’t always true, but “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” and “the…
For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.’ Leviticus 17:11 NASB Life/ souls/ life – “Life is in the blood.” How many times have we heard this…
Abram took his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, and the people which they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan; so they came to the land of Canaan. Genesis 12:5 NASB People – Language evolves. Words that used to mean one thing now mean…
For He sates the thirsting throat and the hungry throat He fills with good. Psalm 107:9 Robert Alter Throat – Robert Alter stresses the need to translate Hebrew terms consistently. His point is simple. Hebrew has a rather sparse vocabulary. Often a single Hebrew word has many different potential English translations. Since English style tends…
Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living [g]person. Genesis 2:7 NASB Living person – You’ll notice the little footnote in the NASB text. The footnote reads “Or soul,” but that is about as misleading as you could get. God does not…
