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Read in isolation, 2 Kings 4:38-41 can be understood as a story about a foul tasting soup that Elisha improved by adding a new flavor.
However, the context in II Kings is miracles performed by Elisha to save people from death by famine. From within that context it seems that the "death in the pot," was an actual danger that required Elisha's intervention. ...
11
There are three variants of the Greek text here:
(a) ... τῇ μεμνηστευμένῃ αὐτῷ γυναικί ... ("his betrothed wife")
(b) ... τῇ μεμνηστευμένῃ αὐτῷ ... ("his betrothed")
(c) ... τῇ γυναικί αυτου ... ("his wife")
Variant (a) is found in the majority of Greek manuscripts, including the Codex Alexandrinus (early 5th century). It is the reading ...
10
The first two thirds of Psalm 23 (from verses 1 to 4) is an extended metaphor comparing God to a shepherd and the Psalmist to His sheep. (The final two verses shift to banquet imagery.) Since the Psalm is attributed to David, the intention is to remind us of David's upbringing and early adulthood as a shepherd.
According to Phillip Keller in A Shepherd ...
10
The singular usage of "foot" and "shoe"/"sandal" in Joshua 5:15 is the collective singular (יחיד קיבוצי) that is found in all historical layers of Hebrew from the OT1 to modern Hebrew2. This is not a question about feet, or shoes, or about historical interpretation or cultural analysis, so those tags can be dropped.
Four examples from the 14 OT verses that ...
9
Using a Greek Lexicon, I was able to find that this same word is used in the Septuagint (LXX). This passage makes it seem that it is not offensive (Ecclesiasticus – Sirach):
27:4 As when one sifteth with a sieve, the refuse remaineth; so the filth of man in his talk.
27:4 ἐν σεισματι κοσκινου διαμενει κοπρια οὑτως σκυβαλα ἀνθρωπου ἐν λογισμω αὐτου
...
9
It is safe to say that commentators through the centuries have found this pair the most puzzling of the catalogue of times in Ecclesiastes 3:2-8. And, as George Barton wrote in his ICC commentary of 1908,
[t]he interpretation of the first clause is difficult.
Observations
There are obvious regularities and patterns in the pairs of opposites that are ...
9
If you are suggesting that the "discerning" or "distinguishing" of spirits in verse 10 refers to something along the lines of divination, I don't believe that this is how the verse was understood. It simply means the ability to discern false teachers and false prophets.
John Chrysostom, a 4th century Greek, explains the verse:
What is discerning of ...
8
The World Health Organization reports that the average weaning age is 4.2 years worldwide at present, however the weaning age has declined in modern times and the weaning age would have been higher in the past.
This is supported by the book of II Maccabees, 7:27 wherein a mother casually mentions giving milk to her son for three years which would be ...
8
I don't know of any scholar who denies that Hammurabi wrote a code of laws before Moses received the Ten Commandments and the accompanying law. So if the question is: Did Moses invent the idea of having a written code of laws, the answer is clearly "no".
But if the question is: Were the specific set of laws in the Ten Commandments et al not really written ...
8
Two reasons barrenness was undesirable
In antiquity there were typically two reasons that barrenness was undesirable. The first, which isn't really an issue in this text had to do with the security of the future. Children were the ancient equivalent of a retirement plan since there were no pensions, social security, etc. Therefore, the only ones to care for ...
8
To prevent the grain from being stolen. Lange's Commentary speculates that Boaz was perhaps relieving his overseer that night, since Naomi informs Ruth that “tonight he winnows barley” in verse 2.
Ver. 7. And Boaz ate and drank, and was cheerful. It illustrates the simplicity of ancient patriarchal times and manners, that Boaz, the wealthy proprietor of a ...
7
No, it wasn't a necessary thing to do (in addition to the actual circumcision) because the LORD had not commanded Zipporah to do it. The action and her words ("You [Moses] are a bridegroom of blood to me") certainly had a symbolic meaning, though that meaning, however, may or may not have been derived from "an ancient marital relationship formula recalling ...
7
Definition
The Hebrew term often translated "thigh" is ירך (yārēḵ; יָרֵךְ), which HALOT notes can refer to (my numbering; HALOT has only 2 entries and groups a number of meanings under #1 of there entry):
The upper thigh (upper leg); e.g., Exo 28:42 (distinct from the waist here, referring to the bottom extent of priest's trousers), Jer 31:19 (Jeremiah ...
7
In the temptation story, Jesus is quoting a scripture passage, introduced by the words "It is written." The focus at that point is Jesus acknowledging the truth and authority of God's word. He is saying in effect, God has spoken and I must submit to that word.
In the Sermon on the Mount, the focus is different. Jesus here is a rabbi teaching his disciples (...
6
Further Analysis
Davïd's answer gives a good statement about the verse, providing a very useful analysis. However, there are a couple of points of analysis for Eccl 3:1-8 that I believe are relevant, yet unexplored (likely both by Davïd and the commentaries he references).
Four More Relevant Observations
"More," because again, Davïd's observations are ...
6
In Sensus Plenior, the assumption is that the genre of prophetic riddle includes puns and word-play. This assumption is considered nonsense to literalists. It is used in this answer:
The shebat (rod) has the meaning of a 'tribe' or a 'sceptre'. The primary role of the king was to protect his people. The rod is symbolic of the power of God in discipline ...
6
Psalm 23:5 You prepare a table before me...
[OP]: Just what does this table represent?
First, except in the most qualified sense, this is not what is in mind in Psalm 23:5 -
The word "table"
The Hebrew term for "table" is שֻׁלְחָן šulḥān (71× in the Hebrew Bible), still the common word in use in Israeli Hebrew. But in the world of the psalmist, ...
6
The setting here is long before the invention of the printing press. The scriptures were hand copied, thus ordinary people would not have been able to own a copy of the scriptures. However, in ancient Judea during the Second Temple Period, the Jewish scriptures(Christian Old Testament) would have been publicly available in the synagogues to read. In fact, ...
5
I have two answers, a simple meaning and an allegorical meaning.
Simple meaning: After a home is built the excess stones are removed from the home (because they are in the way and no longer useful). Before a home is built we gather the stones to build the house. So this is a parallel of verse 3. See Metzudat David (an 18th C Jewish commentary that focuses ...
5
In Hebrew the text reads:
וְהִנֵּ֨ה תַנּ֤וּר עָשָׁן֙ וְלַפִּ֣יד אֵ֔שׁ אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָבַ֔ר בֵּ֖ין
הַגְּזָרִ֥ים הָאֵֽלֶּה
Lapid Esh (לַפִּ֣יד אֵ֔שׁ) literally means "a torch of fire." This would seem to be redundant, what other kind of torch is there? I submit that the verse should be read as if there was a kof before the lamed of לַפִּ֣יד (i.e. כְּלַפִּ֣יד)...
5
Surely the preceding verses give sufficient context?
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware. You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the mute idols, however you were led. Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus is accursed"; and no one can say, "Jesus is ...
4
There were many situations where a first century Christian or Jew may have encountered meat sacrificed to idols.
Meat was offered to idols before being served in temples’ dining halls
(often as part of worship) or being used for communal meals; some of
the meat served at the marketplace had been offered to idols. One who
ate in a temple would know ...
4
I do not think that obscenities/profanities can be pigeon-holed. There is no point in figuring out if σκύβαλον is an obscenity. From one era the N word is acceptable and the next it is offensive. From one period calling someone a dyke is offensive but in recent years it is celebrated by those who accept a certain life-style.
Is it considered offensive to ...
4
The word in Hebrew, verse 40, is maveth. It means death, as in pestilence.
It is used in the Bible where death and destruction is conveyed as a meaning.
It's not talking about bitterness. The message is, the prophet intervenes for these men due to Yahweh's mercy. Ref.: Gesenius's Lexicon of Hebrew and English and
my knowledge of Hebrew.
4
The robe, ring & sandals help show the father’s high level of love, honor and authority for the son. The robe and the ring are symbolic of how well the father will be treating his son (i.e. somewhat like Jacob and Pharaoh treated the favorite son Joseph).
Jacob honored Joseph by getting him a long tunic, and the jealous brothers saw how Jacob was the ...
4
religionthink.com says that, although debate continues on the details of the hypothesis, almost all scholars agree that Psalm 29’s background is Baal worship, as portrayed in the tablets from Ugarit. There is undoubtedly good reason for this, but there may be other good reasons to alter that hypothesis somewhat.
First of all, the psalm is obviously a hymn ...
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