The primary, original language of the Tanakh.
-2
votes
1answer
142 views
Is the Valley of Hinnom adequately translated as hell?
Transliteration vs. Translation vs.Travesty vs. Allegory
Gehenna or Valley of Hinnom or Djennem or Hell?
Through the prophecy and book of Jeremiah the Valley of Hinnom (ge hinnom) east of Jerusalem ...
0
votes
0answers
11 views
The name Samara is Biblical?
I had found that the name Samara, means protected by god, which I know that comes from 8104. Shamar which means to keep, watch, preserve. But I can't understand why shamara suppose to mean protected ...
10
votes
4answers
463 views
Is there a modern English translation of the Bible that uses the second-person plural pronoun?
I'm looking for a modern translation of the Bible (ideally in the public domain) that retains the distinction between second-person plural and second-person singular. In Early Modern English (the ...
1
vote
1answer
29 views
Are men (brethren) really men or are they human?
Psalm 133:1 KJV
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together
in unity!
VS
Psalm 133:1 GW
See how good and pleasant it is
when brothers and sisters live ...
2
votes
3answers
372 views
Accurate translations of original scripts/text
I've been on what is becoming quite the mission to find the most accurate translation of Daniel 9:23-27 (or the (Tenach/OT) bible in general) of the most original scripts/text available. It seems like ...
20
votes
4answers
605 views
Is “kill” a valid translation for Exodus 20:13 (Thou shalt not kill)?
Exodus 20:13 (KJV)
Thou shalt not kill.
Many political statements have been made about this verse. This translation has been used by many to support their pacifist desires. However, it seems ...
8
votes
4answers
729 views
How tall was Goliath?
In 1 Samuel 17, David intends to battle against Goliath and ultimately wins by slinging a single stone into his forehead before decapitating him. As Wikipedia can confirm, there are multiple accounts ...
6
votes
2answers
131 views
Why is “raah” usually translated differently in Amos 3:6 and 9:4
Why is "raah" usually translated differently in Amos 3:6 and 9:4, even in a super-literal translation:
6Is a trumpet blown in a city, And do people not tremble? Is there affliction in a city, And ...
11
votes
1answer
168 views
What word best captures the spirit of לִּילִית in Isaiah 34:14?
Isaiah 34:14 in the Masoretic Text is the following:
גְשׁוּ צִיִּים אֶת-אִיִּים, וְשָׂעִיר עַל-רֵעֵהוּ יִקְרָא; אַךְ-שָׁם הִרְגִּיעָה לִּילִית, וּמָצְאָה לָהּ מָנוֹח
Here, לִּילִית is supposedly ...
11
votes
2answers
932 views
Is “wait” in Isaiah 40:31 active or passive?
Some translations have this verse reading "They that wait (up)on the Lord" (eg. NKJV) while others have "They that wait for the Lord" (eg. ESV) and still others "Those that hope in the Lord". (eg NIV)
...
0
votes
0answers
43 views
Waltke/O'Connor qal causation references [closed]
According to Waltke/O'Connor, "the Qal...is simple semantically in that notions of causation are absent.". An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax Chapter 22.
I'm having trouble finding ...
0
votes
1answer
45 views
Why does the KJV translate Num. 11:25 as “and did not cease”? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Understanding Numbers 11:25
Numbers 11:25 (KJV):
And the LORD came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that [was] upon him, and gave [it] ...
1
vote
0answers
99 views
What is the actual word used in “Thou shall not kill?” [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Is “kill” a valid translation for Exodus 20:13 (Thou shalt not kill)?
What word is used in the original Ten Commandments for "kill"? What modern equivalent ...
2
votes
1answer
42 views
Judgment like light(ning) in Hosea 6:5
ESV, NIV and NLT each have a rather distinctive translation of the last phrase of Hosea 6:5:
Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth, and my judgment ...
2
votes
1answer
279 views
Leaping over the threshold in Zephaniah 1:9
It would seem from the various translations of Zephaniah 1:9 that is is tricky to understand. Some translations give an apparently fairly vanilla, literal rendering:
On that day I will punish ...
1
vote
3answers
101 views
Is Hosea 4:11 teaching total abstinence from alcohol?
In Hosea 4:11 (ESV), God seems to condemn drinking wine:
They shall eat, but not be satisfied;
they shall play the whore, but not multiply,
because they have forsaken the Lord
to cherish ...
3
votes
1answer
94 views
What does “in the midst of the years” mean in Habakkuk 3:2?
The phrase "in the midst of the years" occurs in some more literal translations of Habakkuk 3:2:
Yahweh, I have heard the report of you, and your work, Yahweh, do I fear. In the midst of the years ...
3
votes
1answer
103 views
A woman is not to put on a man's dress?
I came across a web page belonging to a christian person/org.
The page (carrying on a trait I find frequent among christian fundamentalist web sites) critiques other fundamentalist christian ...
4
votes
3answers
222 views
Sacrificing and kissing calves in Hosea 13:2
Reading Hosea 13:2 ESV, I found myself confused:
And now they sin more and more, and make for themselves metal images, idols skillfully made of their silver, all of them the work of craftsmen. It ...
5
votes
1answer
114 views
What do we learn from the different usages of “aman” and “batach” in the OT?
aman (Strong's H539) and batach (Strong's H982) are both used in the OT to imply some level of trust in God.
And he believed (aman:H539) in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. ...
2
votes
2answers
96 views
Where can I find Greek and Hebrew plain text sources? [closed]
Source texts are available with software
There are numerous Biblical source texts available (free, in "public domain") for download into Bible software type programs.
Where else are they available? ...
5
votes
0answers
54 views
By what Name did God reveal Himself to Abraham?
God is on several accounts called the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (Even by Christ himself and by his apostles He is called their God. e.g. Mk 12:26 /Acts 3:3
I quote from Monica Cellio´s ...
3
votes
2answers
72 views
Genesis 23 — Why does the Bible change the spelling of Ephron's name?
In Genesis 23, we learn that Sarah has died and Abraham is looking to acquire a grave for her. He approaches the children of Heth and meets Ephron the Hittite who, initially, offers his land (which ...
26
votes
5answers
1k views
Does the Bible mention unicorns?
I was reading Psalm 22 (from this question) and I found this verse:
Psalms 22:21 (KJV)
Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.
When I switched ...
7
votes
2answers
800 views
Is “breath of life” in Genesis 2:7 is the same as spirit?
And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. Genesis 2:7 (KJV)
What is the meaning of "breath of life" ...
0
votes
0answers
43 views
Does 2 Samuel 22:27 mean that God can be unrighteous?
With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure ; and with the froward thou
wilt shew thyself unsavoury (2 Samuel 22:27)
and
All the words of my mouth [are] in righteousness; [there is] nothing
...
-1
votes
2answers
183 views
Did women contribute to the temple in exodus 35:22?
Finishing the response to the meta call for contradiction, here is the last contradiction/inconsistency I found in Genesis/Exodus/Leviticus.
In Exodus 35:22 we find the following passage.
And the ...
-1
votes
2answers
224 views
Why is a singular verb used to describe both Moses and Aaron?
Continuing the response to the meta call for contradiction.
The following contradiction is invisible in English. It appears in the Hebrew of Exodus 4:29.
וַיֵּלֶךְ מֹשֶׁה, וְאַהֲרֹן; ...
9
votes
2answers
1k views
What is the translation philosophy for tachash skins in Exodus?
In Exodus (e.g.: 26:14) we learn one of the coverings for the tabernacle is to be made of "תחש" (tachash) skins. The translation of this term appears to be especially difficult or contentious as there ...
6
votes
2answers
140 views
Does the qal in Amos 3:6 automatically imply causation?
I am looking at Amos 3:6 and I expected a permissive rather than causative verb but I found a perfect qal. Does this qal actually mean cause here?
Amo 3:6 Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and ...
7
votes
4answers
121 views
Before the Tower of Babel did all speak Hebrew as the original human language?
I find it fascinating that rabbinic literature suggests that Hebrew was the original human language. I have seen Christian authors also argue the same.
For example, from the Jewish Encyclopedia:
...
9
votes
4answers
2k views
What does “put the branch to their nose” in Ezekiel 8:17 mean?
Reading Ezekiel 8 in the ESV I came across verse 17 today and was puzzled by phrase there:
Is it too light a thing for the house of Judah to commit the abominations that they commit here, that ...
9
votes
1answer
81 views
Genesis 3:12: What is the underlying Hebrew word translated into English as “with me” (in KJV)?
In Genesis 3:12, is the underlying Hebrew word, translated into English as "with me" (in the KJV), supposed to be Strong's H5978 as the HCSB and HiSB suggests, or Strong's H5973 as the KJV suggests?
...
7
votes
1answer
79 views
What does Genesis 3:16 literally say?
I've noticed that sometimes words are repeated in the hebrew text.
Gen 3:16 אֶֽל־ H413 to הָ·אִשָּׁ֣ה H802 Unto the woman אָמַ֗ר H559 he said הַרְבָּ֤ה H7235 I will greatly אַרְבֶּה֙ H7235 ...
1
vote
4answers
313 views
What else can “Fifteen cubits from above” in Gen 7:20 mean?
When translating Genesis, I took pains to preserve the implied flat-Earth cosmology that a naive reading suggests. One of the places where this made a big difference is in the story of Noah. Noah is ...
1
vote
1answer
123 views
Grammar-Literal Translation of Genesis 1:3 and 12:3
In Biblical Hebrew there are two simple verb types (Qal and Niphal) which convey no causation. Are the below revisions of the King James Version more accurate to the thoughts expressed by the grammar? ...
5
votes
2answers
85 views
“The Name of Yahweh” a name for God?
I have often been told that "name" in the Old Testament has much more weight than it does to us today. Then I noticed this passage recently:
See, the Name of the Yahweh comes from afar, with ...
6
votes
2answers
61 views
Blessed is the man who WALKS NOT or HAS NOT WALKED?
I noticed in studying the Psalms that Psalm 1 in the old Coverdale text reads, "Blessed is the man that hath not walked in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stood in the way of sinners, and hath not sat ...
4
votes
2answers
58 views
How should רָגַז be translated in Psalm 4?
A quick survey of English translations of Psalm 4:4 shows that there is little agreement about how ragaz should be rendered:
NIV
In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your ...
4
votes
2answers
36 views
Why does the YLT render “thunder” as “voices” in Exodus 20:18?
Most modern translations of Exodus 20:18a render it something like the ESV (all emphasis mine):
Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet ...
7
votes
2answers
162 views
Who is the prophetess in Isaiah 8:3?
The bible doesn't seem to give much information for who "the prophetess" in Isaiah 8:3 is. Who is she? Many seem to assert that she is his wife, but cite no evidence to support this.
The word ...
11
votes
4answers
4k views
Translation of “Hosanna” (ὡσαννά)
What does "Hosanna" (ὡσαννά) mean (as it appears in the Gospels)? What is its etymology/derivation from Hebrew/Aramaic?
4
votes
1answer
35 views
Are Psalms 23 and 24 both by David according to their prefixes?
Psalm 23 begins with the annotation:
מזמור לדוד
While Psalm 24 begins with a similar, but slight different one:
לדוד מזמור
Yet both are marked in the NET (and elsewhere) as "A psalm of David". I ...
7
votes
4answers
187 views
What did Isaiah intend with his unusual usage of “create” in Isaiah 45:7?
In Isaiah 45:7 (ESV):
I form light and create darkness,
I make well-being and create calamity,
I am the LORD, who does all these things.
The word "create" (01254) is the same word used in ...
2
votes
2answers
55 views
God and Passive Hebrew tense and aspect
I know King James as well as other translators and even some commentators did not translate or recognize the passive tenses or aspects correctly. I've read about the Hophal, Niphal, and Pu'al stems ...
3
votes
2answers
209 views
Is “wept on his neck” a Hebrew idiom?
In a number of places, the English Standard Version uses a phrase like "wept on his neck," e.g.
Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, and Benjamin wept upon his neck. —Genesis ...
12
votes
1answer
106 views
What is the proper translation of Hosea 11:12?
I have been researching Hosea 11:12 and have come to realize that it is translated differently in many differing translations of the Bible. It is sometimes translated that Judah walked (or ruled) with ...
7
votes
5answers
713 views
What are the differences between Hebrew and Aramaic?
Can anyone give a review on the main differences between Hebrew and Aramaic? Of course, I am asking in the context of the Bible, but if there are some other known ones that lay outside of the biblical ...
3
votes
2answers
660 views
Does Exodus 22:28 call for child sacrifice?
In Genesis, we see a motif of first-born sons being overly aggressive and ambitious. Kain slays Abel out of a jealous wrath. Firstborn Esau and Jacob have a long-running rivalry that ends with Jacob ...
4
votes
1answer
75 views
What were the major objections that Augustine had with Jerome's translation of the Hebrew Bible?
I was having a discussion with someone who insisted that one of the major reasons I thought that Augustine objected to Jerome's translation of the Septuagint was completely not true. He argued that ...
