Tag Info

One consideration for translations is to distinguish translated names from the in-text explanations of names that we sometimes get (e.g. the explanations for the names of many of Yaakov's sons). A translation should never give the impression that the text explicitly assigns a name when it does not. So, for example, since "ha-satan" can mean many things, ...

Side note: This is an example of poetic verse where a lot is lost in translation. "I form light and create darkness" Yotzer or u'voreh choshekh - Just four words in the original Hebrew "I make well-being and create calamity" Oseh shalom u'voreh ra – also just four words in Hebrew "I am the LORD, who does all these things." Ani Adonai oseh kol eleh - ...

To say that "God is the author" of the Bible is not entirely a correct statement of the Christian position. Christians do not believe that God dictated the words of the Bible, in the way that Islam believes about the Koran. The Catholic and Protestant positions are summarized here. To induce a person to write is not to take on oneself the responsibility ...

This answer addresses the five books of Moses (torah), not the whole of tanakh (and nothing from the additional Christian scriptures). The most popular multi-author theory is the Documentary Hypothesis, which postulates four sources (not authors) -- J, E, P, and D -- and a redactor. Richard Friedman's book Who Wrote the Bible? is an accessible, ...

The context of the two books gives an insight: In the Psalm, the Psalmist is saying that those who follow God (The Righteous) will flourish. The Righteous delight in the LORD (vs 4-5), they Praise the LORD (vs 1-3), etc. Isaiah on the other hand is a book of Judgement on Israel. Isaiah 57 looks at the fact that although Israel is chosen as God's people, ...

Hermeneutic principles for understanding this passage: The Christology of the the law and the prophets. It's all is about Christ; even if you were to disagree with this personally, this is certainly the overarching principle of hermeneutics that Matthew is working with (see my answer here for a few example passages). This gives us pause in claiming that ...

I have searched my electronic copy of Biblia Sacr JUXTA Vulgatam Clementinam and it seems in all three cases I could find, lucifer means the morning star (the planet Venus) or possibly just the day in one instance. It seems to be used as an image which suits both the Devil and Christ. It is only Capitalized as a personification in Isaiah where it seems to ...

Isaiah 52:13-53:12 constitutes what is considered the fourth Servant song. The others are Isaiah 42:1-9, Isaiah 49:1-13, and Isaiah 50:4-9. Also, some consider Isaiah 61:1-3 a fifth Servant song, though the word "servant" is not used there. All of these songs speak of a Servant called by God to lead the nations. There is no clear referant within Isaiah ...

The NET Bible translator's notes: The precise meaning of לִּילִית (lilit) is unclear, though in this context the word certainly refers to some type of wild animal or bird. The word appears to be related to לַיְלָה (laylah, “night”). Some interpret it as the name of a female night demon, on the basis of an apparent Akkadian cognate used as the name of a ...

I think the "meaning" of this word in the context is that Yahweh (God) will lift the curse from the ground. The thorns and thistles (nettles) are the result of the curse on the ground. Isaiah is prophesying that there will be a time when these products of the curse of the ground will be removed, and then substituted with "living" plants that actually bear ...

I guess we are into Bible trivia here but it is an unidentified desert plant. It apparently comes from the root word סָרַף which means to burn. Therefore it was probably a prickly bush/plant that 'burned' when one was pricked by it. It is not used anywhere else in the Bible.

That is a good question, Stephen. Isaiah does not give many details, but he also does not claim that God told him to go in to this woman. He only claims that God provided the name for the child. There are a few things to consider: Isaiah was told to take his son with him in the previous chapter (Isaiah 7:3), which should indicate that he did have a wife. ...

Hebrew The entire English phrase "Those who wait upon" (or "Those who wait for") is translated from one word: vekovye (וְקֹויֵ֤). This word finds its root in Hebrew qavah. If we look at the Strong's entry for this word, we see this: to wait, look for, hope, expect (Qal) waiting (participle) (Piel) to wait or look eagerly for to ...

Option 1 is almost certainly what Isaiah meant El-Gibbor strongly parallels names like Ishmael ("God has hearkened") and Elizabeth ("God's promise"). According to a footnote in the NET Bible: גִּבּוֹר (gibbor) is probably an attributive adjective (“mighty God”), though one might translate “God is a warrior” or “God is mighty.” Scholars have interpreted ...

All translation is based on an understanding of the underlying text, and so is to a greater or lesser extent doctrinal in nature. Most of the time it doesn't matter. But these things are really a matter of opinion. The Hebrew is invariant, the transliteration is of the Hebrew that would be translated. I suspect that the Jewish translation is more motivated ...

"The name of YHVH comes from afar" seems puzzling; YHVH may come from afar, but what does it mean for his name to do so? Rashi, the medieval compiler of rabbinic tradition, writes the following: the Name of the Lord: His might, which will be for Him as a name, viz., what He will do to Sennacherib. He does not give a source, but this interpretation is ...

The answer isn't difficult if you get the translation right. The translation used in the question is skewed to fit with the Christian image that G-d only creates good. That is not Isaiah's lesson. He is teaching that there is only one G-d and that G-d creates all things. The question here makes that analysis difficult because it mistranslates a single, ...

Verse 1 of this chapter says that the sinner can still be delivered. 59:1 Look, the Lord’s hand is not too weak to deliver you; his ear is not too deaf to hear you. The word for deliver comes from yasha which means "be liberated," "saved," or "placed in freedom" (Isaiah 30:15; Jeremiah 4:14). Yasha' may also be used for "victory" in such places as ...

Not necessarily. I would recommend reading the entire chapter. In Isaiah 59:20, it is written, "And the Redeemer shall come to Tzion and to those who turn from transgression in Jacob," said YHVH. Repentance, regeneration, and faith in the Redeemer will spare you from eternal damnation.

The question is apparently, "Why does the prophet use something rare and valuable that is used in purification ceremonies as a metaphor for sins?" The first answer is that the scarlet dye was the most permanent pigment then known. Once dyed, it could not be totally bleached out, a stain always remained. In this respect, the metaphor comes to say, "Even if ...

This verse is complex. Here are some brief thoughts. The Hebrew word תֹורָה (torah) does not translate as "the Law" (note the definite article), but simply "law" or "a law." At first impression, one may be inclined to think that the phrases "the mountain of YHVH" and "the house of the God of Ya'akov" refer to a rebuilt physical Temple in Yerushalaim. ...

Rashi argues that the count is not from the time of Isaiah's prophecy but from the time of Ahaz. Here is a rather lengthy quote (reformatting mine): Ephraim shall be broken, no longer to be a people: Ephraim shall be shattered, no longer to be a people, for Sennacherib will exile them with their king, Hoshea son of Elah. Go out and calculate from Amos’ ...

When one sleeps, it actually appears like the person is a corpse. (When I sleep, I snore, but that is different.) When my children were very, very young and sleeping in the crib, I would actually nudge them to ensure they were not dead, because in sleep the resemblance is almost exactly akin to death (except for those who snore like me). When the Bible ...

The only substantive clue may appear to be in verse 7, where a reference is made that this person will receive the throne of David, and will uphold justice and righteousness "forevermore." In other words, the Israelites who first read this would have had to understand this person to be the Son of David, who was the "Anointed One" of Psalm 2. This reference ...

שׁם for name also means 'fame' or 'reputation' שׁמם which is considered a different root, but has the same form as the plural of םשׁ means 'desolate' or 'to make desolate'. Since שׁם is in שׁמם, the one who makes desolate gets a reputation for doing it. The context of Is 30.27 is suggestive of the linked meaning: See, the "reputation for making desolate" ...

Hezekiah's Sin Did Hezekiah sin in this matter? Quite simply, yes. God would not come and pronounce judgment on him in response if he had not sinned. But what was his sin? What ought he to have done instead? The OP wrongly insinuates that his sin was to receive the Babylonians; rather it was the manner in which he received them. Joel Beeke and James La ...

@Richard A bit of reading of some commentators on the subject does indicate that pride is the cause. A significant emissary was visiting King Hezekiah and it appears that by showing the Babylonians everything he had, Hezekiah was trying to impress them - putting stock in his relationship with them, over his relationship with God. He should have shown more ...

I do not believe in a literal millennium of one thousand years but if I did there are some Biblical principles that would be at play that might help you form your own good opinion. First, to be clear the Jews did expect a literal reign of Christ but it was to be a brief period whereby the Gentiles would be defeated in a war against Gog and Maggog. For ...

In prophetic recapitulation, the story of Christ is told repeatedly in many ways. Noah in the ark, Moses and the ark of bulrushes [1], the tablets of the law in the ark of the covenant are all prophecies of Christ. Using this principle A, B and C prophesy D. If an author is aware of A but not B, C or D he can write of A and appear to be prophesying of B and ...