{"id":2114,"date":"2021-06-06T09:47:51","date_gmt":"2021-06-06T14:47:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.charlesdermer.com\/wordpress\/?page_id=2114"},"modified":"2021-09-28T17:54:10","modified_gmt":"2021-09-28T22:54:10","slug":"commentary","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.charlesdermer.com\/wordpress\/bible\/commentary\/","title":{"rendered":"Commentary"},"content":{"rendered":"

The depth of scripture cannot be adequately probed in a single book or a single lifetime. Nevertheless, I encountered many issues that required background study to get a better understanding. I\u2019ve also included some thoughts that occurred to me while reading the Bible.<\/p>\n

Old Testament<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. At least in the early histories and gospels, one remarkable thing about the Biblical literary style is how \u201cmuscular\u201d the prose is, at least through Kings in the OT and through the Acts in the NT. It consists almost entirely of narrative and dialog.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. The Bible provides a window into pre-scientific thinking, where cause & effect as regards the origin of, e.g., sickness & death, is ascribed to, or at least can be remedied by, God.<\/li>\n
  3. The murder of Abel by Cain (#Gn4), a fratricide, is notable because it shows that people can do evil even to one\u2019s own kin. Also notable is that Cain was a tiller of the soil & Abel was a shepherd, mirroring the larger antagonism occurring between farmers & nomads.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. In Fiddler on the Roof, <\/i>Perchik teaches Hodel that \u201cLaban fooled him [Jacob] and gave him his ugly daughter Leah.\u201d Leah is said to be \u201ctender-eyed\u201d (KJV) or had \u201cweak eyes\u201d (NIV), as contrasted with Rachel, who was beautiful & had a good figure (#Gn29:17). But it nowhere says\u2026 1\/2<\/li>\n
  5. \u2026that Leah was \u201cugly.\u201d Even the OJB translation says she has \u201cweak eyes.\u201d Either the translations are wrong, or Perchik was a poor teacher. His lesson is that \u201cyou can never trust an employer,\u201d which seems self-referential, since Perchik was employed to teach Hodel. 2\/2<\/li>\n
  6. Already in #Ex3, the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, & Jebusites are named as tribes alien to the Israelites. The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live from the sea to the Jordan River (#Nm13:29).<\/li>\n
  7. The Hebrew people are said to be monotheistic, but only because they worship one God. Yet the God of the Hebrews is not a rejection of the gods of other peoples. Even the first commandment\u2014Thou shalt have no gods before me\u2014is an explicit recognition of other gods (#Ex20). 1\/4<\/li>\n
  8. This type of monotheism is referred to as \u201cmonolatry\u201d or \u201chenotheism.\u201d 2\/4<\/li>\n
  9. Given the multiplicity of deities in the OT, and the tripartite nature of God in the NT, Islam appears to be the first truly monotheistic religion, which is not to say Islam is therefore superior. 3\/4<\/li>\n
  10. One could (and many do) just as well say that atheism is better still by dispensing with God entirely. History of avowedly atheist countries like the Soviet Union or Maoist China gives no confidence that an atheist society is any better except for those of the ruling class. 4\/4<\/li>\n
  11. The Ten Commandments are given in#Ex20, yet because they are not distinctly enumerated, different religions present variants by aggregating them differently. For example, the Roman Catholic version has two commandments against covetousness, 1\/2<\/li>\n
  12. whereas the Hebrew Bible has only one. This is done in the Catholic version by combining two of the Commandments against strange gods and graven images, unlike in the Hebrew version. 2\/2<\/li>\n
  13. #Ex21,22 is the first iteration of the law beyond #Gn9. #Lv provides the second. The distillation of Old Testament law is in #Lv19:18, namely, Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.<\/li>\n
  14. #Ex26 and #Ex29, referring to animal sacrifice as part of a religious observance, now seems alien to the modern mind. According to JBPeterson, sacrifice is an attempt to bargain with the future. 1\/2<\/li>\n
  15. I assume the sacrificial meat was consumed by the people after the priests and the Levites got their fill. These festivities would expand the religion to include communal feasting. 2\/2<\/li>\n
  16. #Lv24 and #Nm10 reveals an OT God of vengeance and jealousy, with the imperiousness found in #Job. The face of God markedly shifts from the jealous, angry, and bargaining God of the Histories, to the commanding and authoritarian God of Job, to the distant God of the NT.<\/li>\n
  17. The Lord is slow to anger, abounds in love, and forgives sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sins of the parents unto the third and fourth generation. The mills of God grind slowly, but exceedingly fine. #Nm14 #Dt5 1\/2<\/li>\n
  18. The Shema Yisrael (Hebrew: \u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05de\u05b7\u05e2 \u05d9\u05b4\u05e9\u05b0\u05c2\u05e8\u05b8\u05d0\u05b5\u05dc); “Hear, O Israel” is a central prayer of Jewish life (#Dt6:4-5). It is recited at Yom Kippur and as last words. She-ma yisrael, adonai eloheinu, adonai echad, Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One. 1\/2<\/li>\n
  19. This may be followed in lowered voice by Baruch shem kavod malchuto l\u2019olam va-ed; Blessed is the name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever. The remainder draws from #Dt6:5. See here<\/a> for more.\u00a02\/2<\/li>\n
  20. Nevertheless, Mosaic law says \u201cThe fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin.\u201d (#Dt24:16). This law is invoked in #2Kg14:6 and #2Cr25:4. 2\/2<\/li>\n
  21. Israel is the light unto all nations: \u201cI will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth\u201d (#Is49:6). For contrast, however, #Dt2:25 says 1\/2<\/li>\n
  22. \u201cThis day will I begin to put the dread of thee & the fear of thee upon the nations that are under the whole heaven, who shall report of thee, and shall tremble, and be in anguish because of thee.\u201d 2\/2<\/li>\n
  23. The 12 sons of Jacob\/Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Isaachar, & Zebulon from Leah; Dan & Naphtali from Rachel\u2019s maid Bilhah; Gad & Asher from Leah\u2019s maid Zilpah; Joseph& Benjamin from Rachel. The only named daughter is Dinah, whose mother is Leah.1\/3<\/li>\n
  24. The 12 tribes of Israel are counted as follows: Joseph\u2019s sons Ephraim & Manasseh are counted as heads of tribes, but not Joseph, which would make 13 except that the Levites are granted no distinct land (though cities and pasturelands), giving 12 tribes. 2\/3<\/li>\n
  25. In #Rev7, seals are placed on the foreheads of 12000 of each of the 12 tribes of Israel, which include the tribes of the patriarchs (Jacob\u2019s sons) minus Dan, though including Jacob\u2019s grandson Manasseh but excluding Ephraim. 3\/3<\/li>\n
  26. #Dt6:8,9 is the basis for phylacteries, tefillin, & mezuzas; see also #Dt1118,20 and #Prv7:3. Note that the Shema, #Dt6:4, \u201cThe Lord our God, the Lord is one\u201d seems to anticipate the first part of the Islamic Shahada: \u201cThere is no God but God, and Muhammad is his Prophet.\u201d<\/li>\n
  27. Moses needed an editor: the bringing of the Ten Commandments is told 3 times. The Passover story is repeated many times. In one chapter alone, #Dt12:21-24 repeats what it has already said in #Dt12:15,16.<\/li>\n
  28. #Lv27 reveals that the Israelites under Moses constituted a theocracy. The Torah should be called \u201cRules for Setting up a Theocracy for a Nomadic Desert People.\u201d #Nm<\/li>\n
  29. The Old Testament Law of War is stated in #Nm31:17,18: Kill every male, kill every woman except those who have not slept with a man, & give them to the warriors. Although one of the commandments is \u201cDo not kill,\u201d the Lord admonishes Israel to do a lot of killing. See, e.g., #Dt8<\/li>\n
  30. God here: The good news is that you will inherit the promised land, a land flowing with milk and honey. The bad news is that you have to slaughter all the inhabitants to receive it, and some of you will die in the process.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  31. After all the preamble of gaining the promised land, and with a few short battles (Jericho and Ai) and skirmishes, suddenly in one chapter (#Jsh12), 31 kings are killed and Israel has overtaken Canaan. It feels like we missed the most exciting parts of the movie.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  32. Translations of Hebrew, Masoretic, & Septuagint texts can be different. E.g., #1Sam13:1 in NIV reads \u201cSaul was thirty years old when he became king, & he reigned over Israel 42 years,\u201d whereas the KJV reads \u201cSaul reigned one year; & when he had reigned two years over Israel,\u201d.<\/li>\n
  33. In #1Kg2, Solomon becomes enraged when his brother Adonijah asks to wed the virgin Abishag the Shunammite who had warmed an old and ailing David. Ownership of the concubines is a direct threat on power, showing that Adonijah had not given up fully on the idea of becoming king.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  34. There is an apparent conflict between #1Sam17:12, where David is the youngest of 8 sons of Jesse, in contrast with the genealogy in #1Cr2:13-15 listing 7 sons of Jesse. It may be explained if one of the sons had died without leaving an heir, so only 7 are listed in the genealogy.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  35. The commandment Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness is very different from one saying Thou Shalt Not Lie. OT figures lie, as in #1Sam21, where David tells the priest Ahimelek that he was sent on private business. To accuse someone falsely is proscribed; lying is not. 1\/4<\/li>\n
  36. In #1Kg15:5, the Lord says that David was obedient in all ways except concerning Uriah the Hittite (#2Sam11). The Lord does not fault David for lying to Ahimelek, priest of Nob\u00a0 <\/span>(#1Sam21), though it leads to the deaths of\u00a0 <\/span>85 priests and the destruction of Nob (#1Sam22). 2\/4<\/li>\n
  37. David is also given a pass by the Lord for adultery with Bathsheba, which is punishable by death under Mosaic law (#Lv20:10; #Dt22:22). Another case of one set of rules for the rich and powerful, another for the poor and defenseless. 3\/4<\/li>\n
  38. In 1Kg13:18, a man of God is deceived by a prophet who falsely claimed that the Lord\u2019s restriction against eating had been lifted. Yet it is the man of God who suffers\u2014he is killed by a lion\u2014but the lying prophet is not punished. 4\/4<\/li>\n
  39. The verse 1Sam:25:1 (KJV) preceding the story of Abigail reads, \u201cAnd Samuel died; and all the Israelites were gathered together, and lamented him, and buried him in his house at Ramah. And David arose, and went down to the wilderness of Paran.\u201d 1\/3<\/li>\n
  40. When Saul sought out a medium (since the Lord and the Urim of his priests were not responding), he visits the witch of Endor (1Sam28:2) \u201cNow Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented him, and buried him in Ramah, even in his own city. And Saul had put away those that had familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land.\u201d 2\/3<\/li>\n
  41. He was in bad shape at this point, and the witch of Endor, after summoning Samuel who tells Saul that \u201ctomorrow you and your sons will be with me,\u201d she has to encourage him to eat in order that he has strength to leave. 3\/3<\/li>\n
  42. Old Testament, rated X for extreme violence and multiple instances of sexual deviance, e.g., rape, incest, sodomy and cannibalism. For example, #1Sam6, #2Sam2, passim<\/i>; #Gn18, #Gn19, #Gn34, #Jdg19, passim<\/i>, #2Kg6:29.<\/li>\n
  43. In #1Sam18:7, \u201cAs they danced, they sang, \u2018Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands\u2019\u201d (NIV), and KJV: \u201cSo the women sang as they danced, and said: \u201c\u2018Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands\u2019.\u201d<\/li>\n
  44. Ahimelek, son of Ahitub, priest of Nob, is slain in #1Sam22 but Ahimelek, son of Abiathar is David\u2019s priest in #2Sam8. This must have been a common name for priests, yet its literal meaning in Hebrew is something like \u201cBrother of King.\u201d<\/li>\n
  45. King David\u2019s dance is the one unforgettable image of II Samuel. Worth checking out Richard Gere\u2019s depiction of King David for that scene alone.<\/li>\n
  46. Elijah\u2019s cry to God (#1Kg19:10,14) is echoed in the NT. \u201cLord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me.\u201d #Rm11:3<\/li>\n
  47. One reads the Bible not only to learn about the history of the Israelites, the Old Testament prophets, and Jesus and the Apostles, but to learn about oneself as the peoples who have been forged in this worldview and are the inheritors of this ancient tradition.<\/li>\n
  48. In #1Cr20:5, Lahmi, the brother of Goliath, is slain by Elhanan. Some scholarship suggests that Elhanan was the real slayer of Goliath, but David was given credit to burnish his image, & Elhanan was named as Goliath\u2019s brother\u2019s slayer as a consolation prize.<\/li>\n
  49. #1Cr21 is a repeat of #2Sam24, though adding some details that Satan called for David to conduct a census of Israel. This seems to be Satan\u2019s first appearance in the Bible after #Gn3. Satan has a central role in Job and, of course, in the New Testament.<\/li>\n
  50. The transition of power from David to Solomon in #1Cr29 could not be more different than that described in #1Kg1 & #1Kg2. No ailing David, no attempted usurpation by Adonijah, no appearance of Bathsheba, no deathbed curses to his enemies. #1Cr gives us the kinder, gentler David.<\/li>\n
  51. Notice in #1Cr and #2Cr that there are many references to the Annals of the Kings of Israel and Annals of the Kings of Judah, which are unfortunately lost. Time is measured by comparing with the year of the reign of the king in the opposite kingdom\u2026 1\/2<\/li>\n
  52. \u2026of Israel or the kingdoms of Assyria or Persia. The universal significance of placing the birth of Jesus as the signal event provides a zero point in history. Both the Mosaic religion and the religion of Jesus and Paul are rooted in historical narrative. 2\/2<\/li>\n
  53. The kings of Israel and its history are entirely omitted in #2Cr, and this book tells only the story of the kings of Judah. The exile of Israel to Assyria, from which they do not return and disappear into history, gives us the legend of the \u201c10 lost tribes.\u201d 1\/2<\/li>\n
  54. It is thought that the Assyrians dispersed and forced Hebrew assimilation, leading to their disappearance. By contrast, the exile of Judah to a single city, Babylon, allowed the\u00a0 <\/span>peoples of Judah to keep their traditions, and Cyrus lets them leave only 70 years later. 2\/2\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  55. Who was Zedekiah, the last king of Judah (not the Zedekiah, son of Chenaanah who smote Micaiah on the cheek (#1Kg22:24, #2Cr18:23))? Was he the uncle of the previous king Jehoiachin (#2Kg25:17) or brother (#2Cr36:10)? Jeremiah (#Jer1:3) says he was the son of Josiah, so uncle.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  56. Babylon\u2019s motto is the place \u201cwhere they are put to the sword.\u201d Living there might not be so bad if you have a good book to read, & the only thing you\u2019re doing is waiting for the sword to fall (#Ez). Ezra ends abruptly, which can discomfort the reader. It certainly discomforted me.<\/li>\n
  57. The Kings of the Persian Empire mentioned in the Bible are: Cyrus (lived c. 600-530), Darius (522-486), his son Xerxes (486-465). & Antaxerxes (465-424). Exile to Babylon: 586. Return from exile c. 536. (#Ez). Seventy-year exile in Babylon: 605-536. NkB: 605-562 (all dates BC).<\/li>\n
  58. Does Esther describe the 1st pogrom? The order to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews\u2014young and old, women and children\u2014on a single day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods.<\/i> (NIV) (#Est3:13)<\/li>\n
  59. Esther (#Est) seems to be Biblical atheist literature. The Lord is never mentioned. Mordecai shows up as a superhero. My opinion is that Esther is the weakest book in the OT, made all the clearer after reading the first pages of the Book of Job.<\/li>\n
  60. The assignment of the date of Purim commemorating Esther\u2019s rescue of the Jews is 14th day of Adar in the Hebrew calendar. Purim 2022: Mar. 17, 2021:Feb. 26, 2022: Mar 17. It is likely related to the lunar calendar.<\/li>\n
  61. There is something brave and uncanny about fashioning a religion around events of historical contingency, whether Noah\u2019s ark, Moses\u2019s tablets, or the historical Jesus. Because the stories are peculiar, they are therefore not universal. Evidence turns up, 1\/2<\/li>\n
  62. but the evidence may contradict scripture. A revealed truth grounded in historical contingency, as we see in the Bible, is a different type of religion than one with embroidered statements of airbrushed truth. 2\/2<\/li>\n
  63. #Job12 is pre-Christian thinking. \u201cI have become a laughingstock to my friends,\u00a0though I called on God & he answered\u2014a mere laughingstock, though righteous & blameless<\/i>!\u201d Job has no original sin, and assesses himself positively\u2014righteous & blameless\u2014on a scale of devoutness.<\/li>\n
  64. The Book of #Job is chronologically misplaced, occurring, according to KJV c. 1500 BC,\u00a0 <\/span>even before Exodus (c. 1491 BC). It is placed in the KJV after the stories of the rebuilding of the 2nd temple & walls (#Neh) & the return of Judah\u2019s remnant from Babylon (#Ez, #Est). 1\/2<\/li>\n
  65. Following the historical narrative, Israel has just lost 10 tribes. A lamentation is in order (recall the tribulation when a guilty Benjamin was almost completely cut off in #Jdg21). So the ordering of Job makes sense, as a salve for the grief at the lost tribes of Israel. 2\/2<\/li>\n
  66. I (unwittingly) wrote two summations of the Book of Job, Chapter 33, showing how different they can be. Besides the one given at #Job33, we have this rendering:1\/2<\/li>\n
  67. Elihu objects at Job complaining that God never answers his words. God speaks in different ways, such as sickening one. Near-death events are God\u2019s way of encouraging people to turn from wrongdoing. Enjoy the light of life, and turn back from the pit, for you are clay. #Job33 2\/2<\/li>\n
  68. As to the Lord answering words or prayers, this reminds me of the story\u00a0 <\/span>(see the movie Some Kind of Heaven<\/i>) of the girl who prayed for hours so that God would revive a squirrel that she had rescued. The squirrel died anyway. 1\/2<\/li>\n
  69. Complaining to her mother that God had not answered her prayers, her mother wisely answers \u201cGod always answers prayers, but it\u2019s rarely the answer you want.\u201d 2\/2<\/li>\n
  70. One startling thing about the #Psa is the strict dichotomy between the righteous and wicked. One is either with the Lord or against him: there is no middle ground. This is in striking contrast to NT morality, as summarized in Solzhenitsyn\u2019s famous words that 1\/2<\/li>\n
  71. \u201cThe line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor classes or political parties — but through all human hearts. This line shifts. Inside us, it oscillates with the years. And even within hearts overwhelmed by evil, one small bridgehead of good is retained.\u201d 2\/2<\/li>\n
  72. #Psa37 is a template for some of the powerful themes in the Sermon on the Mount: The meek shall inherit the earth, the righteous shall inherit the land.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  73. #Psa47:8 seems to be the first time in the OT (not counting the Book of Job) where the Lord is not only the God of the Israelites but also of all people. For God is the King of all the earth, and reigns over the heathen.<\/i><\/li>\n
  74. Though the doctrine of original sin is a Christian belief, it is found in #Psa51:5: Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.<\/i> 1\/2<\/li>\n
  75. This verse and #Psa51:6 argues for personhood, if not from conception, in the womb: in the hidden part, you gave me wisdom. <\/i>See also #Psa139:13: thou hast covered me in my mother\u2019s womb<\/i>. 2\/2<\/li>\n
  76. #Psa84:6, which is found in the summary of #Psa84, is reimagined in the Anglican Book of Common Prayer as \u201cWho going through the vale of misery use it for a well; and the pools are filled with water.\u201d It seems to mean that from misery & hardship we quench our thirst with wisdom.<\/li>\n
  77. #Psa115 cannot be read without being reminded of its inversion in Shakespeare\u2019s Merchant of Venice. #Psa115:2-7 (repeated in #Psa135:15-17) says,\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhy should the heathen say, Where is their God now? 1\/4<\/li>\n
  78. \u201cThey have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat.\u201d 2\/4<\/li>\n
  79. Compare this with Shakespeare\u2019s Merchant of Venice, Act 3, Scene 1, where Shylock says: 3\/4<\/li>\n
  80. \u201cI am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? \u2026 If you prick us, do we not bleed? if you tickle us, do we not laugh? if you poison us, do we not die? and if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?\u201d 4\/4<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \n
    1. In #Psa119:83 (\u05db<\/a>) The phrase \u201cwineskin in the smoke\u201d refers to the ancient practice of hanging wineskins above the fire used for cooking. After a sufficiently long time, the wineskin ages and cracks, becoming useless, which is the meaning of the phrase.<\/li>\n
    2. For other echoes of the Psalms found in Shakespeare, consider #Psa123:4: \u201cOur soul is filled\u2026with the contempt of the proud. \u201c(KJV) \u201cWe have endured no end\u2026of contempt from the proud\u201d (NIV). Compare Hamlet, Act III, Scene 1, \u201cThe oppressor\u2019s wrong, the rich man\u2019s contumely.\u201d<\/li>\n
    3. #Psa137, the most beautiful of Psalms, is also the most disturbing. After weeping for and singing songs to Zion from the banks of the rivers of Babylon, the psalmist, referring to daughters of Babylon, says (#Psa137:9): 1\/2<\/li>\n
    4. Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones<\/i>. This psalm is famous in American letters for being cited by Frederick Douglass in his chilling \u201cWhat to the Slave is the Fourth of July?\u201d speech of 1852 that preceded the American Civil War. 2\/2<\/li>\n
    5. The Lord is referenced with male pronouns, even though he gave birth to the cosmos and created both man and woman in his image. By contrast, wisdom is referred to with the female pronoun. In #Prv1:20 (KJV), e.g., \u201cWisdom cries without; she utters her voice in the streets.\u201d<\/li>\n
    6. The principal virtue exalted in Proverbs is wisdom. #Prv3:7 (NIV) says \u201cThe beginning of wisdom is this: get wisdom.\u201d In other places, \u201cThe beginning of wisdom is fear of the Lord\u201d (#Prv9:10). I would add, the beginning of wisdom is to realize there are people wiser than yourself.<\/li>\n
    7. Wisdom is exalted in #Prv to gain honor, riches & long life. In contrast, the principal NT virtue is love, even for your enemies. There is no guarantee of love\u2019s bounties. Instead, suffering may be your lot, though you will gain heaven\u2019s reward. How different are the world views!<\/li>\n
    8. In #Prv6:17-19, the seven abominations of the Lord are (KJV): \u201cA proud look, a lying tongue, & hands that shed innocent blood. An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,\u00a0 <\/span>A false witness that speaketh lies, & he that soweth discord\u2026 1\/3<\/li>\n
    9. \u201c\u2026 among brethren.\u201d Five of the abominations found in Solomon\u2019s wisdom correspond to five of the Ten Commandments of Moses, the main exceptions being the \u201cfeet running to mischief,\u201d and \u201che that soweth discord.\u201d It is odd that stealing is not found in this list. 2\/3<\/li>\n
    10. By the time of the NT, particularly in #1Cn, the injunction to avoid discord with your brethren is emphasized. Perhaps there should have been an eleventh or twelfth commandment. 3\/3<\/li>\n
    11. In #Prv25:21,22, and #Rm12:20. \u201cIf thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head\u201d (KJV). I interpret this to mean that by doing an act of kindness to an enemy, fires of belief and faith may be lit in his mind.<\/li>\n
    12. #Prv30 introduces guest contributor Agur, son of Jakeh, who delivers a great sermon, with this rhetorical device: \u201cThere are 3 things that it can do, no 4 things that I count.\u201d The list of such things includes are never satisfied, no too amazing, the earth trembles, are small, & stately in their stride, 1\/2<\/li>\n
    13. This mode of argumentation\u2014this dialectic\u2014gives us a glimpse of life in the historical epoch before science and the enlightenment became the prevailing ethos, when metaphors from nature were as logical as anything else. 2\/2<\/li>\n
    14. I hadn\u2019t heard it expressed this way before (#Ec1:11, NIV ): \u201cNo one remembers the former generations, and even those yet to come\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span>will not be remembered by those who follow them.\u201d I will use it for an epigraph in my next scientific article.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
    15. The famous verse from #Ec1:2 (KJV), \u201cVanity of vanity, all is vanity\u201d is translated (NIV) as \u201cUtterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.\u201d So different in spirit are these solipsistic & nihilistic renderings that it is doubtful that\u00a0 <\/span>the text\u2019s true meaning can ever be known.<\/li>\n
    16. #Ec7: A good name is better than precious ointment; & the day of death than the day of one\u2019s birth. Wisdom strengthens the wise more than 10 mighty men which are in the city. Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.<\/li>\n
    17. There should have been eleven, not Ten Commandments; the universal commandment \u201cLove your neighbor\u2026\u201d is not found in the Ten, and seems to be added later in the face of intra-sect feuding that took place in the OT and NT.<\/li>\n
    18. Commentary on #Jer7:17- Images of Ishtar. Here is a vision of heaven interrupted by Yahweh\u2019s wrath: In the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, The children collect the wood, the fathers light the fire, The women knead the dough 1\/2\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n
    19. to make cakes for the Queen of Heaven<\/i> (Ishtar). Provoking the Lord, To spite me, they pour out libations to alien gods. Cut off your tresses, throw them down\u00a0 <\/span>On the bare heights raise a dirge, For Yahweh has rejected, has abandoned, a brood that he detests. 2\/2<\/li>\n
    20. There is a heavy pall that hangs over Jeremiah*. He, or rather, Yahweh who speaks through him, is so resolutely anti-Judaean and anti-Jerusalem that it offends even his defenders. Surely there was a remnant of Yeshurun to rise up in Jerusalem to protest that they had 1\/4\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
    21. followed the Law,\u00a0 <\/span>but Jeremiah makes only blanket condemnation with such personal and tribal vitriol I\u2019m surprised that he was not summarily executed. Mixed in with self-pity, and the murmurings that Jeremiah profited from NkB (a pension for life), this begs the question: 2\/4<\/li>\n
    22. Was Jeremiah a spy or paid propagandist for NkB? He, or Yahweh, says, \u201cThe nations that bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will let remain still in their own land\u201d (#Jer27:11). But this verse speaks against the accusation: 3\/4<\/li>\n
    23. \u201cThey shall be carried to Babylon, & there shall they be until the day that I visit them, saith the Lord; then will I bring them up, and restore them to this place.\u201d (#Jer27:22).\u00a0 <\/span>*(Comment written when only half-way through #Jer.) 4\/4<\/li>\n
    24. The fate of Shiloh, midway between Samaria and Jerusalem, which played an important role in securing the ark, is unclear except that it was destroyed (#Jer7:12,26:9), not, apparently, during the time of the exile to Assyria, but by Philistines. See, e.g., here<\/a>.<\/li>\n
    25. Having now completed #Jer, I conclude it is one of the most exciting books of the Bible. Plenty of action and killing, with Jeremiah placed in the middle of it all. The writing is taut and suspenseful. There is one (made for TV) movie based on it, though not recommended.<\/li>\n
    26. #Lm3 deserves reflection. It begins (as I interpret it) as a commentary on the vicissitudes of aging: \u201cMy flesh & my skin hath he made old;\u2026he hath made my chain heavy,\u201d even to become a \u201cderision to all my people.\u201d This dread is forestalled by \u201chope\u201d that it is because of \u201cthe Lord\u2019s mercies that we are not consumed.\u201d \u201cThe Lord is my portion, says my soul; therefore I hope in him. \u201c After praising patience and proto-Christian virtues: \u201cHe gives his cheek to him that smites him\u201d (cf. #Mt5:39, #Lk6:29), a further fear surfaces: \u201cOut of the mouth of the most High proceeds not evil and good?\u201d Surveying the destruction of Zion and the \u201cdaughter of my people,\u201d the prophet despairs: \u201cI am<\/i> their music,\u201d an instrument to be played by the Lord.<\/li>\n
    27. Sins of the Father, pt. n. #Lm5:7 \u201cOur fathers have sinned, and are not; and we have borne their iniquities.\u201d This might not be a command but a reflection on the human condition. Yet the persistence of malevolence from an earlier (usually) father-figure proceeding to infect atavistically subsequent generations is a chilling view of human nature.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Commentary: New Testament<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. The word \u201ctestament\u201d appears not once in the KJV concordance, & I did not find the word apart from the titles. In my mind, a better description would be \u201cOld Covenant\u201d and \u201cNew Covenant\u201d or \u201cOld Testaments\u201d and \u201cNew Testaments,\u201d as this is the testimony of many prophets & saints.<\/li>\n
      2. Genealogies of Jesus appear in #Mt1 from Abraham to Jesus, and in #Lk3 from God to Jesus. The difference in genealogies from David to Joseph & Mary has been attributed to different lineages pertaining to Joseph on the one hand (#Mt1) and Mary on the other (#Lk3).<\/li>\n
      3. We are farther in time from Jesus (~2000 years) than Jesus was from Abraham who, according to modern scholarship, was born ~1860 BC, dying ~1680 BC (~1950 BC \u2014 ~1800 BC in KJV).<\/li>\n
      4. The Lord\u2019s Prayer: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, in Earth, as it is in heaven. & lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. (#Mt6) For thine is the kingdom, & the power, & the glory, forever. Amen. (#Lk11)<\/li>\n
      5. The Matthew principle\u2014For whosoever hath, to him shall be given\u2026but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath (#Mt13:12 )\u2014is a term for prominent people getting undue credit. It applies to Matthew too, since it also appears in #Mk4:25 & #Lk8:18.<\/li>\n
      6. There are many paraphrases of Proverbs in the Sermon on the Mount. Compare #Prv6:6, \u201cconsider her [the ant\u2019s] way\u201d with , and #Prv6:25 with.\u00a0[TBC]<\/span><\/li>\n
      7. I don\u2019t know if \u201csalvation through faith alone\u201d is a pernicious doctrine, or if I am pernicious for thinking that it is (#Rm3,4). Paul explains more clearly in #Gal2, that it is not faith vs. works, but faith in Christ vs. works of the law, i.e., the Mosaic law.<\/li>\n
      8. There is a disconnect between the Gospels & Acts on one hand & the Epistles on the other. The latter almost never refer to Jesus\u2019s words or phrases, which burn with a bright spiritual intensity. Instead they are mainly about doctrine & Christian behavior, some contrary to Jesus.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
      9. If only the cross of Jesus had slain the enmity between Jews and Gentiles (#Eph2). Historically, one could argue that it only increased it.<\/li>\n
      10. A common theme:\u201dWhoso sheds man\u2019s blood, by man shall his blood be shed\u201d (#Gn9:6); \u201call they that take the sword shall perish with the sword\u201d (#Mt26:52); \u201che that kills with the sword will be killed with the sword\u201d (#Rev14:10).\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
      11. There will always be enmity between Jewish and Christian believers. From the Christian to the Jew, \u201chow could you not accept Jesus as the Messiah?\u201d From the Jew to the Christian, \u201chow could you be so credulous to believe that Jesus is the Messiah?\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        The depth of scripture cannot be adequately probed in a single book or a single lifetime. Nevertheless, I encountered many issues that required background study to get a better understanding. I\u2019ve also included some thoughts that occurred to me while reading the Bible. Old Testament At least in the early histories and gospels, one remarkable […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":1024,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2114","page","type-page","status-publish","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.charlesdermer.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.charlesdermer.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.charlesdermer.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.charlesdermer.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.charlesdermer.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2114"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.charlesdermer.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2114\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2614,"href":"https:\/\/www.charlesdermer.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2114\/revisions\/2614"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.charlesdermer.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1024"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.charlesdermer.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}