The Mountains Sing

The earth is full of Your goodness, Lord; teach me Your statutes.  Psalm 119:64  NASB Goodness – There’s hardly a more insipid translation of ḥesed than the crop of English expressions in Bible translations.  We have “love, unfailing love, steadfast love, loving devotion, mercy, goodness, lovingkindness, faithful love, mercies, constant love, kindness.”  None really capture the…

The Rationale for Suffering (1)

Happy the man whom Yah chastises, and whom from His teaching He instructs, to make him quiet in evil days until a pit is dug for the wicked.  Psalm 94:12-13  Robert Alter Chastises – Are you happy?  Maybe today, but what about the days when nothing goes right?  What about those days when you truly…

The Objective

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 2 Timothy 3:16  NASB Training – The verse is quite familiar.  In evangelical circles it is often the sine qua non of the doctrine of inspiration. Arguments about the proper exegesis of the verse typically center on the meaning…

Hand in Hand

You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day. Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God commanded…