Psalm 23 – God Didn't Say That

The Lord isn’t the Shepherd You Think (or: Don’t Mess with the Shepherds)

“The Lord is my shepherd.” This line from Psalm 23 is among the most famous images from the Bible. But as I describe in And God Said, for most people the English words hide the ancient imagery. Shepherds To get started, here’s a question: which actor would you cast as a typical shepherd? When I…
Read more

JoelMHoffman October 21, 2011 32

When the Liturgy and the Bible No Longer Match

I got a great question during a lecture I gave last week in Washington, DC: Quotations from the Bible frequently appear in prayers. What should we do when a better understanding of the Bible’s text forces a new translation that no longer matches the prayers? For example, in And God Said I argue against the…
Read more

JoelMHoffman May 28, 2010 8

How Can I Quote the Bible if They Keep Changing the Translation?

Buses in Israel have the following written over the priority seating reserved for the elderly: mipnei seivah takum. Though the first two words sound esoteric to adult Israeli speakers and are often incomprehensible to children, the line is, in my opinion, a beautiful nod to the holiness code of Leviticus: “Stand before the elderly.” Unfortunately,…
Read more

JoelMHoffman November 8, 2009 3

Ancient Wisdom, Modern Lives

Recent posts from my Ancient Wisdom, Modern Lives:

Interest Rates Old and New: How High is Too High? A short history of ancient interest rates, in light of a 10% cap on credit-card interest rates proposed in the US Senate by Bernie Sanders and Josh Hawley
In the AI of the Storm We should all embrace AI instead of fearing it. Here's why.
Happy Year of the Snake Why is there a year for such a despicable animal as the snake? There might be a very good reason...
The Surprising Connection Between Hanukkah and Christmas Hanukkah and Christmas, which happen to coincide this year, happen to have a surprising shared history. Here it is.
Positivity Is Poisoning the Holidays (but It Doesn't Have To) Here is an antidote the poisonous pressure to be happy, especially during the holidays.

Tag: Psalm 23

The Lord isn’t the Shepherd You Think (or: Don’t Mess with the Shepherds)

When the Liturgy and the Bible No Longer Match

How Can I Quote the Bible if They Keep Changing the Translation?

Ancient Wisdom, Modern Lives

Recent Comments

Categories