In Genesis 28:14, Jacob dreams that his descendants will spread out “to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south” (NRSV). Leaving aside the odd choice of English grammar here (what’s wrong with “west, east, north, and south”?), what’s interesting is that in Hebrew, the words for two of…
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What do dinner seating arrangements, shepherds, and Hebrew sacrifices have in common? It turns out to be an important question with an interesting answer. 1. Genesis 43:32 has a curious observation about the meal that Joseph ordered to be prepared for his brothers during their second visit. Joseph, still masquerading as an Egyptian — he…
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Until June 30, you have another chance to win a free, singed copy of my And God Said: How Translations Conceal the Bible’s Original Meaning. From the book’s blog: We’re giving away a free copy of And God Said: How Translations Conceal the Bible’s Original Meaning, autographed by the author. For the best chances of…
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From the About page comes this interesting pair of questions: 1. Is it true that there was no blue in the Bible, and that the word “blue” in our modern versions is a mistranslation? and 2. How do we know what the Hebrew names of the colors represent? The first question was prompted by a…
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Theophrastus has an interesting post — “Men without hats: Anachronism in Daniel 3:21” — about the Aramaic word kar’b’la in Daniel 3:21. He notes that many translations use the word “hats,” even though “we can be sure that the headgear worn in the Babylonian Captivity most certainly was not a hat.” Take a look. It’s…
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Again, slightly off topic, but I think important for those of us who take the Bible and these issues seriously: Dear Mr. Morgan: I believe you have been promoting bigotry and helping to perpetrate a fraud. During both of your interviews with Pastor Joel Osteen on your CNN broadcast, you let the religious leader tell…
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In English, Hosea 2:23 (also numbered 2:25) seems bland: “And I will have pity on Lo-ruhamah, and I will say to Lo-ammi, ‘You are my people’; and he shall say, ‘You are my God’” (NRSV). But as I just pointed out, the names “Lo-ruhamah” and “Lo-ammi,” Hosea’s children, mean “unloved” and “not my people,” respectively.…
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I’ve posted some thoughts about how modernity and science interact with the historical Adam: “The Apostle Paul did not Believe in the Historical Adam” A debate has been raging about whether Adam was an historical figure. I think it’s important, because it represents a more general debate about how to live a modern religious life.…
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The prophet Hosea, we read, has three children, named yizrael, lo-ruchama, and lo-ammi in Hebrew, but in Greek their names are Yezrael, Ouk-Ileimeni, and Ou-Laos-Mou. What’s going on? Normally Greek names are simple transliterations of the Hebrew sounds. The answer is that the second two Hebrew names are actually phrases that mean “not loved” and…
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Recent posts from my Ancient Wisdom, Modern Lives:
