Keep Yourselves From Idols, Part 2

Posted on May 28, 2024 by admin

I mentioned in another essay how difficult it is for me to recognize when I’m worshiping an idol. This essay will be somewhat exploratory because I suspect that there is an idol in here somewhere. I’m just not entirely sure where as I begin.

In a Bible study on the book of James my Pastor quoted from Ephesians (Ephesians 2:8-10 ESV):

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God [Table], not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Sometime later, as we shared a meal, I said that it was nice to hear those verses without the customary caveat. He didn’t know what I was talking about. I explained that this and faith were different genders in Greek, and so faith was excluded from the phrase not your own doing. He had never heard such a thing and pulled up the verses on his phone. I admitted I didn’t really believe it any more in any practical way but that I had heard it all my life, and that it still came to mind whenever I considered Ephesians 2:8.

He said it didn’t make any sense: yes, τοῦτο, translated this (ESV), is neuter and πίστεως, translated faith (ESV), is feminine, but so is χάριτι, translated grace (ESV). I said I should probably look more deeply into it. So, here I go.

First, χάριτι in the text was actually Τῇ…χάριτι, translated by grace (ESV) because both words are in the dative case. The example cited in GREEK NOUNS (Shorter Definitions) was, do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.¹ Here τῇ προσευχῇ and τῇ δεήσει were translated by prayer and [by] supplication respectively because all are in the dative case.

The Greek words translated faith were πίστεως in the NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸, and της πιστεως in the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text.² My Pastor was right: If πίστεως is excluded from this (τοῦτο) is not your own doing,³ because πίστεως is feminine and τοῦτο is neuter, then Τῇ…χάριτι should be excluded for the same reason. In other words, both grace and faith would be your own doing (ἐξ ὑμῶν); literally, “out from you.”

In another essay I wrote: “I’m not qualified to engage that argument,” thinking, I suppose, that it was too esoteric for my current knowledge of Koine Greek. But now it appears that I was just too lazy to engage the text. My reasons for including grace in the clause this is not your own doing have nothing to do with the genders of Τῇ…χάριτι and τοῦτο, but with many other passages of Scripture and a not insignificant amount of personal experience. I cannot exclude faith solely on the basis of the gender of πίστεως and της.

Are there other Scriptures that persuade me that faith is of my own doing? I’ll begin with a New Testament survey of πίστεως ⁴ (Acts 11:19-24 ESV).

Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen (Acts 8:1-3) traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord [Table]. The report of this came to the ears of the church in⁵ Jerusalem,⁶ and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose [Table], for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.

The Greek words translated who believed in—and a great number who believed turned to the Lord⁷—were ὁ πιστεύσας in the NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸, and simply πιστευσας in the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text (KJV: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord). Adding ὁ to πιστεύσας (a participle of the verb πιστεύω) leaves the possibility open that some who believed had not yet turned (ἐπέστρεψεν, a form of ἐπιστρέφω) to the Lord (Matthew 13:18-23; Luke 8:11-15).

What interests me more in this context is: And the hand of the Lord was with them:⁸ καὶ ἦν χεὶρ κυρίου μετ᾿ αὐτῶν. The pronoun αὐτῶν is masculine, feminine and neuter, and most likely⁹ refers back to the Hellenists (τοὺς Ἑλληνιστὰς) and forward to a great number who believed: πολύς τε ἀριθμὸς ὁ πιστεύσας. In other words, the hand of the Lord is cited preceding the faith of a great number of the Hellenists. Was Luke simply being polite to the Lord when the actual situation was that the faith of a great number of the Hellenists was of their own doing?

When [Barnabas] came and saw the grace (τὴν χάριν) of God, he was glad.¹⁰ What was the grace of God that Barnabas saw (ἰδὼν, a form of εἴδω)? he exhorted [the great number of the Hellenists who believed] to remain faithful (προσμένειν, an infinitive form of προσμένω) to the Lord with steadfast purpose.¹¹ It sounds as if Luke attributed their faith to the grace of God. Was he puffing God up with false praise when the actual situation was that the faith of a great number of the Hellenists was of their own doing?

The text continued: for [Barnabas] was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.¹² The Greek word translated faith here was πίστεως, a form of the noun πίστις. Being full of the Holy Spirit (πλήρης πνεύματος ἁγίου) precedes being full of faith. This makes sense since πίστις, translated faithfulness (ESV), is an aspect of the fruit of the Spirit. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law¹³…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law [Table].¹⁴

Since I am making so much of the word order, should I assume that Barnabas was full of the Holy Spirit and of faith because he was a good man (ἦν ἀνὴρ ἀγαθὸς)? I’ve made that assumption before. It’s not false unless I’m thinking causatively: goodness (ἀγαθωσύνη) is another aspect of the fruit of the Spirit. So I assume now that Luke and the Holy Spirit used full of the Holy Spirit and of faith to clarify their intended meaning: for he was a good man.¹⁵ And a great many people were added to the Lord.¹⁶

This is not my experience. I don’t see a great many people…added to the Lord in my immediate vicinity. I won’t blame the hand of the Lord. That leaves: I am not a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. I’ll own that and continue to Do [my] best to present [myself] to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.¹⁷ But If I rejected that diagnosis, would I blame those who are dead in…trespasses and sins for their lack of faith in Christ?

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins [Table] in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind [Table].¹⁸

So, blaming them would depend, I suppose, on who I credit for making me alive together with Christ.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace (τῆς χάριτος αὐτοῦ) in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus [Table].¹⁹

Approached in this way it becomes quite telling that my faith and my works are absent here: This is about God’s mercy, God’s great love, God made us alive together with Christ (συνεζωοποίησεν τῷ Χριστῷ) by God’s grace, God raised us up with him (συνήγειρεν, a form of συνεγείρω) and seated us with him (συνεκάθισεν, a form of συγκαθίζω) in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Why? For his own purpose: so that in the coming ages he might show (ἐνδείξηται, a form of ἐνδείκνυμι) the immeasurable riches of his grace.

There is nothing uncertain about so that…he might show: ἐνδείξηται is a subjunctive form of ἐνδείκνυμι in a purpose clause: “the action should not be thought of as a possible result, but should be viewed as a definite outcome that will happen as a result of another stated action.”²⁰ The only uncertainty here is why English translators persist in their refusal to translate Greek verbs in the subjunctive mood in purpose or result clauses into English. But when does/did all of this happen?

The verbs συνεζωοποίησεν, συνήγειρεν, συνεκάθισεν and even ἐνδείξηται are in the aorist tense and συνεζωοποίησεν, συνήγειρεν and συνεκάθισεν are in the indicative mood:

The aorist is said to be “simple occurrence” or “summary occurrence”, without regard for the amount of time taken to accomplish the action. This tense is also often referred to as the ‘punctiliar’ tense. ‘Punctiliar’ in this sense means ‘viewed as a single, collective whole,’ a “one-point-in-time” action, although it may actually take place over a period of time. In the indicative mood the aorist tense denotes action that occurred in the past time, often translated like the English simple past tense.

For example: “God…made us alive together with Christ.” Eph 2:5

“He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.” Phil 1:6²¹

When I begin to perceive any of this as true corresponds to when I received the Holy Spirit. When I as a five-year-old child prayed a sinner’s prayer to Jesus to escape from burning in hell for all eternity, nothing happened except that I believed I didn’t need to fear hell.²² When I as a twenty-something atheist stoner prayed, “If you’re really out there, I really want to know you,”²³ the Holy Spirit invaded my ψυχή: “soul, life, creature, living being, physical life, life-force; corpse, dead person; an individual person.”

I didn’t think much of the Gospel then. Been there, done that, I thought. The Gospel just didn’t work out for me. This time I was going to do it right. The objective truth of the Bible was irrelevant to me. Its truth was like that of a contract. There were things for me to do and things God would do in exchange. He knew what the contract I held in my hand said, and so could I.²⁴

In no objective sense did I as a twenty-something atheist stoner turn in faith to Jesus Christ. I was more like a bibliolater standing before the Bible as Israel stood before Mount Sinai, saying, All that the LORD has spoken [I] will do.²⁵ I didn’t keep my promise. He certainly knew I couldn’t keep my promise. Why did He give me his own Holy Spirit then and not when I was five?

I want to pause here to compile a brief dossier on Barnabas (Acts 4:33-37; 9:26-31; 11:22, 25, 26 ESV):

And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet [Table].

And when [Paul, aka Saul] had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple [Table]. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus. So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists. But they were seeking to kill him [Table]. And when the brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied [Table].

The report of this (Acts 11:19-21) came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.

So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul [aka Paul], and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians [Table].

The people who tried to lead the five-year-old me to the Lord, led me to atheism instead. It was certainly not their intent, just a fact. The twenty-something bibliolater me went back to the same church of the very same people, believing they were right and I was wrong. The difference? I was about twenty years older, but more to the point, I had been given the indwelling Holy Spirit of God. When I heard teaching or preaching the Holy Spirit brought other Scriptures to my mind. Sometimes those Scriptures agreed with what was taught or preached. That was a good day. Sometimes they did not. But I was studying the Bible on my own with the Holy Spirit, the Father and his Son. Eventually, Paul’s writings, writings that may never have been written (Acts 13:1-3) if Barnabas had not gone to Tarsus to look for Saul and brought him to Antioch, led me to Jesus. It is impossible for me to credit all of this to my faith or my effort, though I cannot imagine it transpiring apart from both.

The solution I return to over and over is:

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed (ὑπηκούσατε , a form of ὑπακούω) so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation (τὴν ἑαυτῶν σωτηρίαν κατεργάζεσθε) with fear and trembling, for it is God who works (ὁ ἐνεργῶν) in you, both to will (τὸ θέλειν) and to work (τὸ ἐνεργεῖν) for his good pleasure (τῆς εὐδοκίας) [Table].²⁶

I’ll pick this up in another essay. A table comparing Acts 11:22 in the NET and KJV follows.

Acts 11:22 (NET)	Acts 11:22 (KJV)
A report about them came to the attention of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.	Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch.

Acts 11:22 (NET Parallel Greek)	Acts 11:22 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Acts 11:22 (Byzantine Majority Text)
Ἠκούσθη δὲ ὁ λόγος εἰς τὰ ὦτα τῆς ἐκκλησίας τῆς οὔσης ἐν Ἰερουσαλὴμ περὶ αὐτῶν καὶ ἐξαπέστειλαν Βαρναβᾶν ἕως Ἀντιοχείας	ηκουσθη δε ο λογος εις τα ωτα της εκκλησιας της εν ιεροσολυμοις περι αυτων και εξαπεστειλαν βαρναβαν διελθειν εως αντιοχειας	ηκουσθη δε ο λογος εις τα ωτα της εκκλησιας της εν ιεροσολυμοις περι αυτων και εξαπεστειλαν βαρναβαν διελθειν εως αντιοχειας

Keep Yourselves From Idols, Part 3

¹ Philippians 4:6 (ESV)

² For a brief discussion of these textural differences see αὐτοῦ and ἑαυτοῦ, Part 2 .

³ Ephesians 2:8b (ESV) Table

⁴ I’ll return to consider Acts 6:5 in another essay.

⁵ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had τῆς οὔσης ἐν (“that was in”) here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had της εν.

⁶ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had Ἰερουσαλὴμ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ιεροσολυμοις in the dative case.

⁷ Acts 11:21b (ESV) Table

⁸ Acts 11:21a (ESV) Table

⁹ Perhaps I should say, “is in closest proximity to.” I can’t eliminate the possibility that αὐτῶν also refers to some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke…preaching the Lord Jesus (Acts 11:20 ESV), but then the hand of the Lord seems more laissez faire, not opposed to them, rather than the cause of what transpired.

¹⁰ Acts 11:23a (ESV) Table

¹¹ Acts 11:23b (ESV) Table

¹² Acts 11:24 (ESV)

¹³ Galatians 5:18 (ESV)

¹⁴ Galatians 5:22, 23 (ESV)

¹⁵ Acts 11:24a (ESV)

¹⁶ Acts 11:24b (ESV)

¹⁷ 2 Timothy 2:15 (ESV)

¹⁸ Ephesians 2:1-3 (ESV)

¹⁹ Ephesians 2:4-7 (ESV)

²⁰ From “Verbal Moods: Subjunctive Mood,” Greek Verbs (Shorter Definitions), on Resources for Learning New Testament Greek online.

²¹ From “Verb Tenses: Aorist Tense,” Greek Verbs (Shorter Definitions), on Resources for Learning New Testament Greek online.

²² You Must Be Gentle, Part 3

²³ αὐτοῦ and ἑαυτοῦ, Part 1

²⁴ Who Am I? Part 3

²⁵ Exodus 19:8b (ESV) Table

²⁶ Philippians 2:12, 13 (ESV)

αὐτοῦ and ἑαυτοῦ, Part 2

Posted on May 22, 2024 by admin

This is a continuation of a survey of the occurrences of αὐτοῦ and ἑαυτοῦ in the New Testament (see table below), particularly when associated with an article and noun in the accusative case. In another essay I understood τὴν παρθένον αὐτοῦ (ESV: his betrothed)¹ differently from τὴν ἑαυτοῦ παρθένον (ESV: her as his betrothed and his betrothed respectively).² It is not the customary way these phrases have been translated into English. I’ll pick up where I left off, considering the 12 occurrences of ἑαυτοῦ in Luke, 7 of which were associated with an accusative phrase [Table].

Jesus said (Luke 14:26-33 ESV):

If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own (ἑαυτοῦ) father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even³ his own (ἑαυτοῦ) life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever⁴ does not bear his own⁵ (ἑαυτοῦ) cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to⁶ complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet⁷ him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not,⁸ while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has (πᾶσιν τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ ὑπάρχουσιν) cannot be my disciple.

This section, titled “The Cost of Discipleship” in the ESV, further demonstrates Jesus’ saying: No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.⁹ The phrase, and does not hate his own father,¹⁰ was καὶ οὐ μισεῖ τὸν πατέρα ἑαυτοῦ in Greek. This is the first time I’m seeing ἑαυτοῦ following the accusative phrase τὸν πατέρα. I assume that ἑαυτοῦ is implied throughout this list: “the father of himself and the mother of himself and the wife of himself and the children of himself and the brothers of himself and the sisters of himself.”

I would consider that interpretation virtually certain if the next occurrence were την εαυτου ψυχην, his own life,¹¹ as it is in the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text. In the NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸, however, the word order was τὴν ψυχὴν ἑαυτοῦ again. I suppose I should hold onto this idea as an intuition rather than an interpretation that is “virtually certain.”

Or, perhaps, I shouldn’t be so fussy about the placement of ἑαυτοῦ relative to the noun. I was taking την εαυτου ψυχην as a reference to “the of himself life” as opposed to “the of God life” one possesses as a believer in Christ. And so, τὴν ψυχὴν ἑαυτοῦ was merely “the life of himself” as opposed to “the death of himself.” But as I struggle to spell it out, it seems more like a distinction without a difference.

In the next occurrence—Whoever does not bear his own cross¹²—ἑαυτοῦ followed the accusative phrase again in the NET parallel Greek and NA²⁸: τὸν σταυρὸν ἑαυτοῦ. It was τον σταυρὸν αυτου in the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text. According to an entry on Wikipedia:

Novum Testamentum Graece (The New Testament in Greek) is a critical edition of the New Testament in its original Koine Greek, forming the basis of most modern Bible translations and biblical criticism. It is also known as the Nestle–Aland edition after its most influential editors, Eberhard Nestle and Kurt Aland. The text, edited by the Institute for New Testament Textual Research, is currently in its 28th edition, abbreviated NA28.

The title is sometimes applied to the United Bible Societies (UBS) edition, which contains the same text (its fifth edition, “UBS5”, contains the text from NA28). The UBS edition is aimed at translators and so focuses on variants that are important for the meaning whereas the NA includes more variants.

The release of a 29th edition is expected in 2025.^[1]

Methodology

The Greek text as presented is what biblical scholars refer to as the “critical text”. The critical text is an eclectic text compiled by a committee that compares readings from a large number of manuscripts in order to determine which reading is most likely to be closest to the original. They use a number of factors to help determine probable readings, such as the date of the witness (earlier is usually better), the geographical distribution of a reading, and the likelihood of accidental or intentional corruptions.

In other words, NA²⁸ is a current scholarly best guess. The parallel Greek text in the NET is essentially NA²⁷. So, any agreement between the two indicates a modicum of stability of a particular editorial committee’s best guess.¹³ When the NA²⁸ agrees with the Stephanus Textus Receptus and/or Byzantine Majority Text and differs from the NET parallel Greek, I take that to mean a change in the best guess between the two editions of the critical text.

The final occurrence of εαυτου in this passage was the same in all four Greek texts: πᾶσιν τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ ὑπάρχουσιν, all that he has.¹⁴ An example of Jesus’ hate for his mother and brothers follows (Luke 8:19-21 ESV):

Then his mother and his brothers came¹⁵ to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. And¹⁶ he was told,¹⁷ “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you.” But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”¹⁸

This chapter begins: Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God.¹⁹ His mother and brothers may have traveled some distance to see Him. His words probably stung them a bit. On the other hand, I would assume that those listening to Him would have understood if He had jumped up immediately to greet his mother and brothers, perhaps they even expected it. His gracious words perfectly illustrate his meaning regarding discipleship, and demonstrate his own single-minded devotion to God his Father and to those who hear the word of God and do it.

Matthew and Mark recorded a similar occasion, both followed by the same event:

Matthew 12:46-13:2 (ESV)	Mark 3:31-4:1 (ESV)
While he was still²⁰ speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him.²¹	And²² his mother and his brothers²³ came, and standing²⁴ outside they sent to him and called²⁵ him.
	And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said²⁶ to him, “Your mother and your brothers²⁷ are outside, seeking you.”
But he replied to the man who told²⁸ him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?”	And he answered²⁹ them,³⁰ “Who are my mother and my brothers?” [Table]
	And looking about at those who sat around him,
And stretching out his hand toward his disciples,
he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”	he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”
That same day³¹ Jesus went out of³² the house and sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat³³ and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach.	Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large³⁴ crowd gathered³⁵ about him, so that he got into a boat³⁶ and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was³⁷ beside the sea on the land.

I bring it up to revisit the setup to the arrival of Jesus’ mother and his brothers in more current translations of Mark (Mark 3:20, 21 ESV):

Then he went³⁸ home, and the³⁹ crowd gathered again, so that they could not even⁴⁰ eat. And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”

The Greek words translated home were εἰς οἶκον. The translation into an house (KJV) is more literal. The root οἶκος can mean home, but I still might translate it: “into a home.” I’m not privy to the reasons the translators of the ESV, NASB, NASB 1995, NASB 1977, Legacy Standard Bible, Holman Christian Standard Bible, Contemporary English Version, God’s Word Translation, Good News Translation, International Standard Version, Majority Standard Bible, New American Bible and the NET chose home here.

Even if Mark meant home, I understand why he didn’t write εἰς τόν οἶκον αὐτοῦ (Luke 1:23): “into his house” or “his home.”

Matthew 8:19, 20 (ESV)	Luke 9:57, 58 (ESV)
And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”	As⁴¹ they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”⁴² And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

The Greek words translated his family were οἱ παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ; literally “those from beside him.” The word translated heard this was ἀκούσαντες, a participle of ἀκούω: So, “those from beside him hearing.” Hearing what? The context seems clear that they were hearing what Jesus was doing, probably what He was saying, but more to the immediate point: hearing where He was at a particular moment in time because they went out (ἐξῆλθον, a form of ἐξέρχομαι). For what purpose? to seize him (κρατῆσαι αὐτόν) Why? for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”⁴³

I didn’t question this translation at the time: The identity of οἱ παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ seemed confirmed when his mother and his brothers showed up standing outside.⁴⁴ And home seemed like a reasonable assumption for εἰς οἶκον since they knew where to find Him. Brad Gray, the Founder of Walking The Text online, did a really interesting video—“From Nazareth to Capernaum” | Jesus In Galilee Pt 1 | EP168—about Jesus’ move to Capernaum. In it he described the distance from Nazareth to Capernaum as about 22 miles, a day’s journey on foot.

Subsequently, I’ve heard that some are offended by the idea that Mary, in particular, thought her Son was out of his mind. One proposed solution was to take οἱ παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ absolutely literally as some present in the house with Jesus. This is interesting because it would probably mean that αὐτοῦ should be understood as an adverb rather than as a personal pronoun. But if they were already present with Jesus, why did they leave to seize him, never to return in Mark’s Gospel narrative?

I suggest looking more closely at the words translated He is out of his mind: ὅτι ἐξέστη, an active form of ἐξίστημι: “to drive out of his senses; to amaze, astonish; to take by surprise, startle; to confound, be dismayed, be distraught; to change, displace; to become separated from (something), lose (something); to lose one’s mind, go insane, faint away.” Jesus was not doing or saying the things his mother and brothers expected Him to do or say.

We’re not told exactly what each person thought He should do or say. Mary’s concern for instance, may have been exactly what Mark and the Holy Spirit expressed: the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat.⁴⁵ It’s not that hard to imagine a mother concerned that her firstborn is burning himself out at a furious pace, especially if she feels some responsibility for pushing Him out the door into this ministry (John 2:1-11).

The next occurrence was: την εαυτου ψυχην in the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text, or τὴν ψυχὴν ἑαυτοῦ in the NET parallel Greek and NA²⁸, his own life, from If anyone comes to me and does not hate…even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.⁴⁶ This hatred of “the of himself life” or “the soul of himself” was best expressed in Jesus’ prayer in the garden.

Matthew 26:38, 39 (ESV)	Mark 14:34-36 (ESV)	Luke 22:41, 42 (ESV)
Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” [Table].	And he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.” And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him [Table]. And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”	And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done” [Table].

Paul shared his insights into this hatred as well (Romans 6:3, 4 ESV; Galatians 2:20, 21 NET):

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life (ζωῆς, a form of ζωή).

I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So the life I now live in the body, I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside God’s grace, because if righteousness could come through the law, then Christ died for nothing!

The next occurrence was: τὸν σταυρὸν ἑαυτοῦ in the NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸, or τον σταυρὸν αυτου in the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text: his own cross (ESV) from Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.⁴⁷ In another essay I wrote: “To take up [my] cross is to join Jesus distrusting my own desires and saying to God, not my will but yours be done.” Here, in this context I’m thinking of it somewhat differently, perhaps more generally, as pursuing the ministry the Lord gives one in the grace He provides. Given that, I find it difficult to distinguish between ἑαυτοῦ, “the cross of himself,” and αυτου, “his cross.”

The final occurrence I’ll consider in this essay was: πᾶσιν τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ ὑπάρχουσιν, all that he has, from So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.⁴⁸ I tend to understand πᾶσιν τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ ὑπάρχουσιν as “all that of himself there is.” If I were to think of it in terms of things, it would be those things that have him. The Greek word translated renounce was ἀποτάσσεται, a middle passive form of ἀποτάσσω: “to renounce, give up; to say goodbye, bid farewell, forsake, take leave, send away” (middle voice); “to be detached, be appointed” (passive voice). So, “to renounce, bid farewell, forsake, be detached from all that of himself there is.”

Matthew 22:36b-40 (ESV)	Mark 12:29b-31 (ESV)	Luke 10:27, 28 (ESV)
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment [Table]. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” [Table]	“The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one [Table]. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength’ [Table]. The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these” [Table].	“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all⁴⁹ your soul⁵⁰ and with all⁵¹ your strength⁵² and with all⁵³ your mind,⁵⁴ and your neighbor as yourself.” And [Jesus] said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

“Who then can be saved?” Jesus’ astonished disciples asked in a slightly different context. But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”⁵⁵ [F]or it is God who works in you, Paul wrote, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.⁵⁶

I’ll continue with this in another essay. The tables mentioned above follow.

	αὐτοῦ Occurrences		ἑαυτοῦ Occurrences
	Total	Accusative Phrase	Total	Accusative Phrase
New Testament	1428	136	47	21
Matthew	267	90	2	0
Mark	163	46	0	0
Luke	249	72	12	6

Occurrences of αὐτοῦ preceding or following a phrase in the accusative case in Luke
Reference	NET Parallel Greek	ESV
Luke 1:13	καὶ καλέσεις τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἰωάννην	and you shall call his name John.
Luke 1:23	ἀπῆλθεν εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ	he went to his home.
Luke 1:31	καὶ καλέσεις τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦν	and you shall call his name Jesus.
Luke 1:49	καὶ ἅγιον τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ	and holy is his name.
Luke 1:58	ὅτι ἐμεγάλυνεν κύριος τὸ ἔλεος αὐτοῦ μετ᾿ αὐτῆς	that the Lord had shown great mercy to her
Luke 1:64	ἀνεῴχθη δὲ τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ παραχρῆμα	And immediately his mouth was opened
Luke 2:21	καὶ ἐκλήθη τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦς	he was called Jesus
Luke 2:34	καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς Μαριὰμ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ	and said to Mary his mother
Luke 3:4	εὐθείας ποιεῖτε τὰς τρίβους αὐτοῦ	make his paths straight.
Luke 3:17	διακαθᾶραι τὴν ἅλωνα αὐτοῦ	to clear his threshing floor
Luke 3:17	καὶ συναγαγεῖν τὸν σῖτον εἰς τὴν ἀποθήκην αὐτοῦ	and to gather the wheat into his barn
Luke 5:25	ἀπῆλθεν εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ δοξάζων τὸν θεόν	<and went home, glorifying God
Luke 5:30	πρὸς τοὺς μαθητὰς αὐτοῦ	at his disciples
Luke 6:13	προσεφώνησεν τοὺς μαθητὰς αὐτοῦ	he called his disciples
Luke 6:14	καὶ Ἀνδρέαν τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ	and Andrew his brother
Luke 6:20	Καὶ αὐτὸς ἐπάρας τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτοῦ	And he lifted up his eyes
Luke 6:20	εἰς τοὺς μαθητὰς αὐτοῦ ἔλεγεν	on his disciples, and said:
Luke 6:45	ἐκ γὰρ περισσεύματος καρδίας λαλεῖ τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ	for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks
Luke 7:1	Ἐπειδὴ ἐπλήρωσεν πάντα τὰ ρήματα αὐτοῦ	After he had finished all his sayings
Luke 7:3	ἐλθὼν διασώσῃ τὸν δοῦλον αὐτοῦ	to come and heal his servant
Luke 7:16	καὶ ὅτι ἐπεσκέψατο ὁ θεὸς τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ	and “God has visited his people!”
Luke 7:38	καὶ στᾶσα ὀπίσω παρὰ τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ	and standing behind him at his feet
	βρέχειν τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ	to wet his feet
	καὶ κατεφίλει τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ	and kissed his feet
Luke 8:5	ἐξῆλθεν ὁ σπείρων τοῦ σπεῖραι τὸν σπόρον αὐτοῦ	A sower went out to sow his seed.
Luke 8:41	παρεκάλει αὐτὸν εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ	he implored him to come to his house
Luke 9:14	εἶπεν δὲ πρὸς τοὺς μαθητὰς αὐτοῦ	And he said to his disciples
Luke 9:23	καὶ ἀράτω τὸν σταυρὸν αὐτοῦ	and take up his cross
Luke 9:24	ὃς γὰρ ἂν θέλῃ τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ σῶσαι	For whoever would save his life
Luke 9:24	ὃς δ᾿ ἂν ἀπολέσῃ τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ	but whoever loses his life
Luke 9:31	ἔλεγον τὴν ἔξοδον αὐτοῦ	and spoke of his departure
Luke 9:32	εἶδον τὴν δόξαν αὐτοῦ	they saw his glory
Luke 9:43	εἶπεν πρὸς τοὺς μαθητὰς αὐτοῦ	Jesus said to his disciples
Luke 10:2	ἐργάτας ἐκβάλῃ εἰς τὸν θερισμὸν αὐτοῦ	to send out laborers into his harvest
Luke 10:34	καὶ προσελθὼν κατέδησεν τὰ τραύματα αὐτοῦ	He went to him and bound up his wounds
Luke 10:39	ἤκουεν τὸν λόγον αὐτοῦ	and listened to his teaching
Luke 11:1	καθὼς καὶ Ἰωάννης ἐδίδαξεν τοὺς μαθητὰς αὐτοῦ	as John taught his disciples
Luke 11:8	διὰ τὸ εἶναι φίλον αὐτοῦ	because he is his friend
Luke 11:8	διά γε τὴν ἀναίδειαν αὐτοῦ	yet because of his impudence
Luke 11:22	τὴν πανοπλίαν αὐτοῦ αἴρει	he takes away his armor
Luke 11:22	καὶ τὰ σκῦλα αὐτοῦ διαδίδωσιν	and divides his spoil
Luke 12:1	ἤρξατο λέγειν πρὸς τοὺς μαθητὰς αὐτοῦ πρῶτον	he began to say to his disciples first
Luke 12:22	Εἶπεν δὲ πρὸς τοὺς μαθητὰς [αὐτοῦ]	And he said to his disciples
Luke 12:25	δύναται ἐπὶ τὴν ἡλικίαν αὐτοῦ προσθεῖναι πῆχυν	can add a single hour to his span of life
Luke 12:31	πλὴν ζητεῖτε τὴν βασιλείαν αὐτοῦ	Instead, seek his kingdom
Luke 12:39	οὐκ \|ἂν\| ἀφῆκεν διορυχθῆναι τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ	he would not have left his house to be broken into
Luke 12:46	καὶ τὸ μέρος αὐτοῦ μετὰ τῶν ἀπίστων θήσει	and put him with the unfaithful
Luke 12:47	ἢ ποιήσας πρὸς τὸ θέλημα αὐτοῦ	or act according to his will
Luke 13:15	ἕκαστος ὑμῶν τῷ σαββάτῳ οὐ λύει τὸν βοῦν αὐτοῦ	Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox
Luke 14:17	ἀπέστειλεν τὸν δοῦλον αὐτοῦ	he sent his servant
Luke 15:5	ἐπιτίθησιν ἐπὶ τοὺς ὤμους αὐτοῦ χαίρων	he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
Luke 15:13	καὶ ἐκεῖ διεσκόρπισεν τὴν οὐσίαν αὐτοῦ	and there he squandered his property
Luke 15:15	καὶ ἔπεμψεν αὐτὸν εἰς τοὺς ἀγροὺς αὐτοῦ	who sent him into his fields
Luke 15:20	καὶ δραμὼν ἐπέπεσεν ἐπὶ τὸν τράχηλον αὐτοῦ	and ran and embraced him
Luke 15:22	εἶπεν δὲ ὁ πατὴρ πρὸς τοὺς δούλους αὐτοῦ	But the father said to his servants
Luke 15:22	καὶ δότε δακτύλιον εἰς τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ	and put a ring on his hand
Luke 16:1	διασκορπίζων τὰ ὑπάρχοντα αὐτοῦ	was wasting his possessions
Luke 16:18	Πᾶς ὁ ἀπολύων τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ	Everyone who divorces his wife
Luke 16:20	πρὸς τὸν πυλῶνα αὐτοῦ	at his gate
Luke 16:21	ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ κύνες ἐρχόμενοι ἐπέλειχον τὰ ἕλκη αὐτοῦ	Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores.
Luke 16:23	καὶ ἐν τῷ ᾅδῃ ἐπάρας τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτοῦ	and in Hades…he lifted up his eyes
Luke 17:2	εἰ λίθος μυλικὸς περίκειται περὶ τὸν τράχηλον αὐτοῦ	if a millstone were hung around his neck
Luke 17:16	καὶ ἔπεσεν ἐπὶ πρόσωπον παρὰ τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ	and ohe fell on his face at Jesus’ feet
Luke 17:33	ὃς ἐὰν ζητήσῃ τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ περιποιήσασθαι	Whoever seeks to preserve his life
Luke 18:13	ἀλλ᾿ ἔτυπτεν τὸ στῆθος \|αὐτοῦ\|	but beat his breast
Luke 18:14	κατέβη οὗτος δεδικαιωμένος εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ	this man went down to his house
Luke 22:36	καὶ ὁ μὴ ἔχων πωλησάτω τὸ ἱμάτιον αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀγορασάτω μάχαιραν	And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one.
Luke 22:50	καὶ ἀφεῖλεν τὸ οὖς αὐτοῦ τὸ δεξιόν	and cut off his right ear
Luke 23:34	διαμεριζόμενοι δὲ τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ ἔβαλον \|κλήρους\|	And they cast lots to divide his garments.
Luke 23:55	καὶ ὡς ἐτέθη τὸ σῶμα αὐτοῦ	and how his body was laid
Luke 24:23	καὶ μὴ εὑροῦσαι τὸ σῶμα αὐτοῦ	and when they did not find his body
Luke 24:26	καὶ εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὴν δόξαν αὐτοῦ	and enter into his glory
Luke 24:50	καὶ ἐπάρας τὰς χεῖρας αὐτοῦ	and lifting up his hands

Occurrences of ἑαυτοῦ in a phrase in the accusative case
Reference	NET Parallel Greek	ESV
Luke 2:3	εἰς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ πόλιν	to his own town
Luke 11:21	φυλάσσῃ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ αὐλήν	guards his own palace
Luke 14:26	μισεῖ τὸν πατέρα ἑαυτοῦ	hate his own father
Luke 14:26	καὶ τὴν ψυχὴν ἑαυτοῦ	And…his own life
Luke 14:27	βαστάζει τὸν σταυρὸν ἑαυτοῦ	bear his own cross
Luke 15:20	ἦλθεν πρὸς τὸν πατέρα ἑαυτοῦ	came to his father
Luke 24:27	τὰ περὶ ἑαυτοῦ	the things concerning himself
Romans 4:19	κατενόησεν τὸ ἑαυτοῦ σῶμα	he considered his own body
Romans 5:8	συνίστησιν δὲ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ἀγάπην	But…shows his love
Romans 8:3	τὸν ἑαυτοῦ υἱὸν πέμψας	sending his own Son
1 Corinthians 7:2	ἕκαστος τὴν ἑαυτοῦ γυναῖκα ἐχέτω	each man should have his own wife
1 Corinthians 7:37	τηρεῖν τὴν ἑαυτοῦ παρθένον	to keep her as his betrothed
1 Corinthians 7:38	ὁ γαμίζων τὴν ἑαυτοῦ παρθένον	he who marries his betrothed
1 Corinthians 10:24	μηδεὶς τὸ ἑαυτοῦ ζητείτω	Let no one seek his own good
1 Corinthians 10:29	συνείδησιν δὲ λέγω οὐχὶ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ	I do not mean your conscience
Ephesians 5:28	ὁ ἀγαπῶν τὴν ἑαυτοῦ γυναῖκα ἑαυτὸν ἀγαπᾷ	He who loves his wife loves himself.
Ephesians 5:29	Οὐδεὶς γάρ ποτε τὴν ἑαυτοῦ σάρκα ἐμίσησεν	For no one ever hated his own flesh
Ephesians 5:33	ἕκαστος τὴν ἑαυτοῦ γυναῖκα οὕτως ἀγαπάτω ὡς ἑαυτόν	let each one of you love his wife as himself
1 Thessalonians 2:12	τοῦ καλοῦντος ὑμᾶς εἰς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ βασιλείαν	who calls you into his own kingdom
1 Thessalonians 4:4	εἰδέναι ἕκαστον ὑμῶν τὸ ἑαυτοῦ σκεῦος κτᾶσθαι ἐν ἁγιασμῷ	that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness
Revelation 10:7	ὡς εὐηγγέλισεν τοὺς ἑαυτοῦ δούλους τοὺς προφήτας	just as he announced to his servants the prophets

Tables comparing Luke 14:26-28; 14:31, 32; 8:19-21; Matthew 13:1, 2; Mark 4:1; Matthew 12:46; 12:48; Mark 3:31, 32; 3:20; Luke 9:57 and 10:27 in the NET and KJV follow.

Luke 14:26-28 (NET)	Luke 14:26-28 (KJV)
“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, and wife and children, and brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.	If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

Luke 14:26 (NET Parallel Greek)	Luke 14:26 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Luke 14:26 (Byzantine Majority Text)
εἴ τις ἔρχεται πρός με καὶ οὐ μισεῖ τὸν πατέρα ἑαυτοῦ καὶ τὴν μητέρα καὶ τὴν γυναῖκα καὶ τὰ τέκνα καὶ τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς καὶ τὰς ἀδελφὰς ἔτι τε καὶ τὴν ψυχὴν ἑαυτοῦ, οὐ δύναται εἶναι μου μαθητής	ει τις ερχεται προς με και ου μισει τον πατερα εαυτου και την μητερα και την γυναικα και τα τεκνα και τους αδελφους και τας αδελφας ετι δε και την εαυτου ψυχην ου δυναται μου μαθητης ειναι	ει τις ερχεται προς με και ου μισει τον πατερα αυτου και την μητερα και την γυναικα και τα τεκνα και τους αδελφους και τας αδελφας ετι δε και την εαυτου ψυχην ου δυναται μου μαθητης ειναι

Whoever does not carry his own cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

Luke 14:27 (NET Parallel Greek)	Luke 14:27 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Luke 14:27 (Byzantine Majority Text)
ὅστις οὐ βαστάζει τὸν σταυρὸν ἑαυτοῦ καὶ ἔρχεται ὀπίσω μου, οὐ δύναται εἶναι μου μαθητής	και οστις ου βασταζει τον σταυρον αυτου και ερχεται οπισω μου ου δυναται μου ειναι μαθητης	και οστις ου βασταζει τον σταυρον αυτου και ερχεται οπισω μου ου δυναται ειναι μου μαθητης

For which of you, wanting to build a tower, doesn’t sit down first and compute the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it?

For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?

Luke 14:28 (NET Parallel Greek)	Luke 14:28 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Luke 14:28 (Byzantine Majority Text)
Τίς γὰρ ἐξ ὑμῶν θέλων πύργον οἰκοδομῆσαι οὐχὶ πρῶτον καθίσας ψηφίζει τὴν δαπάνην, εἰ ἔχει εἰς ἀπαρτισμόν	τις γαρ εξ υμων θελων πυργον οικοδομησαι ουχι πρωτον καθισας ψηφιζει την δαπανην ει εχει τα προς απαρτισμον	τις γαρ εξ υμων ο θελων πυργον οικοδομησαι ουχι πρωτον καθισας ψηφιζει την δαπανην ει εχει τα εις απαρτισμον

Luke 14:31, 32 (NET)	Luke 14:31, 32 (KJV)
Or what king, going out to confront another king in battle, will not sit down first and determine whether he is able with 10,000 to oppose the one coming against him with 20,000?	Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?

Luke 14:31 (NET Parallel Greek)	Luke 14:31 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Luke 14:31 (Byzantine Majority Text)
Η τίς βασιλεὺς πορευόμενος ἑτέρῳ βασιλεῖ συμβαλεῖν εἰς πόλεμον οὐχὶ καθίσας πρῶτον βουλεύσεται εἰ δυνατός ἐστιν ἐν δέκα χιλιάσιν ὑπαντῆσαι τῷ μετὰ εἴκοσι χιλιάδων ἐρχομένῳ ἐπ᾿ αὐτόν	η τις βασιλευς πορευομενος συμβαλειν ετερω βασιλει εις πολεμον ουχι καθισας πρωτον βουλευεται ει δυνατος εστιν εν δεκα χιλιασιν απαντησαι τω μετα εικοσι χιλιαδων ερχομενω επ αυτον	η τις βασιλευς πορευομενος συμβαλειν ετερω βασιλει εις πολεμον ουχι καθισας πρωτον βουλευεται ει δυνατος εστιν εν δεκα χιλιασιν απαντησαι τω μετα εικοσι χιλιαδων ερχομενω επ αυτον

If he cannot succeed, he will send a representative while the other is still a long way off and ask for terms of peace.

Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.

Luke 14:32 (NET Parallel Greek)	Luke 14:32 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Luke 14:32 (Byzantine Majority Text)
εἰ δὲ μή γε, ἔτι αὐτοῦ πόρρω ὄντος πρεσβείαν ἀποστείλας ἐρωτᾷ \|τὰ\| πρὸς εἰρήνην	ει δε μηγε ετι αυτου πορρω οντος πρεσβειαν αποστειλας ερωτα τα προς ειρηνην	ει δε μηγε ετι πορρω αυτου οντος πρεσβειαν αποστειλας ερωτα τα προς ειρηνην

Luke 8:19-21 (NET)	Luke 8:19-21 (KJV)
Now Jesus’ mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not get near him because of the crowd.	Then came to him his mother and his brethren, and could not come at him for the press.

Luke 8:19 (NET Parallel Greek)	Luke 8:19 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Luke 8:19 (Byzantine Majority Text)
Παρεγένετο δὲ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἡ μήτηρ καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ οὐκ ἠδύναντο συντυχεῖν αὐτῷ διὰ τὸν ὄχλον	παρεγενοντο δε προς αυτον η μητηρ και οι αδελφοι αυτου και ουκ ηδυναντο συντυχειν αυτω δια τον οχλον	παρεγενοντο δε προς αυτον η μητηρ και οι αδελφοι αυτου και ουκ ηδυναντο συντυχειν αυτω δια τον οχλον

So he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.”

And it was told him by certain which said, Thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to see thee.

Luke 8:20 (NET Parallel Greek)	Luke 8:20 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Luke 8:20 (Byzantine Majority Text)
ἀπηγγέλη δὲ αὐτῷ· ἡ μήτηρ σου καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοί σου ἑστήκασιν ἔξω ἰδεῖν θέλοντες σε	και απηγγελη αυτω λεγοντων η μητηρ σου και οι αδελφοι σου εστηκασιν εξω ιδειν σε θελοντες	και απηγγελη αυτω λεγοντων η μητηρ σου και οι αδελφοι σου εστηκασιν εξω ιδειν σε θελοντες

But he replied to them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”

And he answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it.

Luke 8:21 (NET Parallel Greek)	Luke 8:21 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Luke 8:21 (Byzantine Majority Text)
ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτούς· μήτηρ μου καὶ ἀδελφοί μου οὗτοι εἰσιν οἱ τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ ἀκούοντες καὶ ποιοῦντες	ο δε αποκριθεις ειπεν προς αυτους μητηρ μου και αδελφοι μου ουτοι εισιν οι τον λογον του θεου ακουοντες και ποιουντες αυτον	ο δε αποκριθεις ειπεν προς αυτους μητηρ μου και αδελφοι μου ουτοι εισιν οι τον λογον του θεου ακουοντες και ποιουντες αυτον

Matthew 13:1, 2 (NET)	Matthew 13:1, 2 (KJV)
On that day after Jesus went out of the house, he sat by the lake.	The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side.

Matthew 13:1 (NET Parallel Greek)	Matthew 13:1 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Matthew 13:1 (Byzantine Majority Text)
Ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ ἐξελθὼν ὁ Ἰησοῦς τῆς οἰκίας ἐκάθητο παρὰ τὴν θάλασσαν	εν δε τη ημερα εκεινη εξελθων ο ιησους απο της οικιας εκαθητο παρα την θαλασσαν	εν δε τη ημερα εκεινη εξελθων ο ιησους απο της οικιας εκαθητο παρα την θαλασσαν

And such a large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat to sit while the whole crowd stood on the shore.

And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.

Matthew 13:2 (NET Parallel Greek)	Matthew 13:2 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Matthew 13:2 (Byzantine Majority Text)
καὶ συνήχθησαν πρὸς αὐτὸν ὄχλοι πολλοί, ὥστε αὐτὸν εἰς πλοῖον ἐμβάντα καθῆσθαι, καὶ πᾶς ὁ ὄχλος ἐπὶ τὸν αἰγιαλὸν εἱστήκει	και συνηχθησαν προς αυτον οχλοι πολλοι ωστε αυτον εις το πλοιον εμβαντα καθησθαι και πας ο οχλος επι τον αιγιαλον ειστηκει	και συνηχθησαν προς αυτον οχλοι πολλοι ωστε αυτον εις το πλοιον εμβαντα καθησθαι και πας ο οχλος επι τον αιγιαλον ειστηκει

Mark 4:1 (NET)	Mark 4:1 (KJV)
Again he began to teach by the lake. Such a large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat on the lake and sat there while the whole crowd was on the shore by the lake.	And he began again to teach by the sea side: and there was gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land.

Mark 4:1 (NET Parallel Greek)	Mark 4:1 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Mark 4:1 (Byzantine Majority Text)
Καὶ πάλιν ἤρξατο διδάσκειν παρὰ τὴν θάλασσαν· καὶ συνάγεται πρὸς αὐτὸν ὄχλος πλεῖστος, ὥστε αὐτὸν εἰς πλοῖον ἐμβάντα καθῆσθαι ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ, καὶ πᾶς ὁ ὄχλος πρὸς τὴν θάλασσαν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἦσαν	και παλιν ηρξατο διδασκειν παρα την θαλασσαν και συνηχθη προς αυτον οχλος πολυς ωστε αυτον εμβαντα εις το πλοιον καθησθαι εν τη θαλασση και πας ο οχλος προς την θαλασσαν επι της γης ην	και παλιν ηρξατο διδασκειν παρα την θαλασσαν και συνηχθη προς αυτον οχλος πολυς ωστε αυτον εμβαντα εις το πλοιον καθησθαι εν τη θαλασση και πας ο οχλος προς την θαλασσαν επι της γης ην

Matthew 12:46 (NET)	Matthew 12:46 (KJV)
While Jesus was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and brothers came and stood outside, asking to speak to him.	While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him.

Matthew 12:46 (NET Parallel Greek)	Matthew 12:46 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Matthew 12:46 (Byzantine Majority Text)
Ἔτι αὐτοῦ λαλοῦντος τοῖς ὄχλοις ἰδοὺ ἡ μήτηρ καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ αὐτοῦ εἱστήκεισαν ἔξω ζητοῦντες αὐτῷ λαλῆσαι	ετι δε αυτου λαλουντος τοις οχλοις ιδου η μητηρ και οι αδελφοι αυτου ειστηκεισαν εξω ζητουντες αυτω λαλησαι	ετι δε αυτου λαλουντος τοις οχλοις ιδου η μητηρ και οι αδελφοι αυτου ειστηκεισαν εξω ζητουντες αυτω λαλησαι

Matthew 12:48 (NET)	Matthew 12:48 (KJV)
To the one who had said this, Jesus replied, “Who is my mother and who are my brothers?”	But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?

Matthew 12:48 (NET Parallel Greek)	Matthew 12:48 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Matthew 12:48 (Byzantine Majority Text)
ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν τῷ λέγοντι αὐτῷ· τίς ἐστιν ἡ μήτηρ μου καὶ τίνες εἰσὶν οἱ ἀδελφοί μου	ο δε αποκριθεις ειπεν τω ειποντι αυτω τις εστιν η μητηρ μου και τινες εισιν οι αδελφοι μου	ο δε αποκριθεις ειπεν τω ειποντι αυτω τις εστιν η μητηρ μου και τινες εισιν οι αδελφοι μου

Mark 3:31, 32 (NET)	Mark 3:31, 32 (KJV)
Then Jesus’ mother and his brothers came. Standing outside, they sent word to him, to summon him.	There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent unto him, calling him.

Mark 3:31 (NET Parallel Greek)	Mark 3:31 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Mark 3:31 (Byzantine Majority Text)
Καὶ \|ἔρχεται\| ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔξω στήκοντες ἀπέστειλαν πρὸς αὐτὸν καλοῦντες αὐτόν	ερχονται ουν οι αδελφοι και η μητηρ αυτου και εξω εστωτες απεστειλαν προς αυτον φωνουντες αυτον	ερχονται ουν οι αδελφοι και η μητηρ αυτου και εξω εστωτες απεστειλαν προς αυτον φωνουντες αυτον

A crowd was sitting around him and they said to him, “Look, your mother and your brothers are outside looking for you.”

And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee.

Mark 3:32 (NET Parallel Greek)	Mark 3:32 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Mark 3:32 (Byzantine Majority Text)
καὶ ἐκάθητο περὶ αὐτὸν ὄχλος, καὶ λέγουσιν αὐτῷ· ἰδοὺ ἡ μήτηρ σου καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοί σου [καὶ αἱ ἀδελφαί σου] ἔξω ζητοῦσιν σε	και εκαθητο οχλος περι αυτον ειπον δε αυτω ιδου η μητηρ σου και οι αδελφοι σου εξω ζητουσιν σε	και εκαθητο οχλος περι αυτον ειπον δε αυτω ιδου η μητηρ σου και οι αδελφοι σου και αι αδελφαι σου εξω ζητουσιν σε

Mark 3:20 (NET)	Mark 3:19b, 20 (KJV)
Now Jesus went home, and a crowd gathered so that they were not able to eat.	and they went into an house. (20) And the multitude cometh together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread.

Mark 3:20 (NET Parallel Greek)	Mark 3:19b, 20 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Mark 3:19b, 20 (Byzantine Majority Text)
Καὶ ἔρχεται εἰς οἶκον· καὶ συνέρχεται πάλιν [ὁ] ὄχλος, ὥστε μὴ δύνασθαι αὐτοὺς μηδὲ ἄρτον φαγεῖν	και ερχονται εις οικον (20) και συνερχεται παλιν οχλος ωστε μη δυνασθαι αυτους μητε αρτον φαγειν	και ερχονται εις οικον (20) και συνερχεται παλιν οχλος ωστε μη δυνασθαι αυτους μητε αρτον φαγειν

Luke 9:57 (NET)	Luke 9:57 (KJV)
As they were walking along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”	And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.

Luke 9:57 (NET Parallel Greek)	Luke 9:57 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Luke 9:57 (Byzantine Majority Text)
Καὶ πορευομένων αὐτῶν ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ εἶπεν τις πρὸς αὐτόν· ἀκολουθήσω σοι ὅπου ἐὰν ἀπέρχῃ	εγενετο δε πορευομενων αυτων εν τη οδω ειπεν τις προς αυτον ακολουθησω σοι οπου αν απερχη κυριε	εγενετο δε πορευομενων αυτων εν τη οδω ειπεν τις προς αυτον ακολουθησω σοι οπου αν απερχη κυριε

Luke 10:27 (NET)	Luke 10:27 (KJV)
The expert answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.”	And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.

Luke 10:27 (NET Parallel Greek)	Luke 10:27 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Luke 10:27 (Byzantine Majority Text)
ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν· ἀγαπήσεις κύριον τὸν θεόν σου ἐξ ὅλης [τῆς] καρδίας σου καὶ ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ ψυχῇ σου καὶ ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ ἰσχύϊ σου καὶ ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ διανοίᾳ σου, καὶ τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν	ο δε αποκριθεις ειπεν αγαπησεις κυριον τον θεον σου εξ ολης της καρδιας σου και εξ ολης της ψυχης σου και εξ ολης της ισχυος σου και εξ ολης της διανοιας σου και τον πλησιον σου ως σεαυτον	ο δε αποκριθεις ειπεν αγαπησεις κυριον τον θεον σου εξ ολης της καρδιας σου και εξ ολης της ψυχης σου και εξ ολης της ισχυος σου και εξ ολης της διανοιας σου και τον πλησιον σου ως σεαυτον

Back to Keep Yourselves From Idols, Part 2

Back to Luke 8:22-56

¹ 1 Corinthians 7:36 (ESV)

² 1 Corinthians 7:37, 38 (ESV) Table

³ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἔτι τε καὶ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ἔτι δε καὶ (KJV: yea, and).

⁴ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had και (KJV: And) at the beginning of this clause. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

⁵ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἑαυτοῦ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αυτου (KJV: his).

⁶ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had εἰς here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had τα προς and the Byzantine Majority Text had τα εις.

⁷ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ὑπαντῆσαι (NET: to oppose) here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had απαντησαι (KJV: to meet).

⁸ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had εἰ δὲ μή γε (NET: If he cannot succeed) here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ει δε μηγε (KJV: Or else).

⁹ John 6:44a (ESV) Table

¹⁰ Luke 14:26a (ESV)

¹¹ Luke 14:26b (ESV)

¹² Luke 14:27a (ESV)

¹³ While there is some hint of criticism of this methodology in Novum Testamentum Graece on Wikipedia, I found a short 2019 article, “Plans for the NA29 and UBS6,” on Evangelical Textual Criticism online. It is interesting in a gossipy sort of way, particularly in the comments.

¹⁴ Luke 14:33b (ESV)

¹⁵ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had Παρεγένετο here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had παρεγενοντο.

¹⁶ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had δὲ (NET: So) here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had και (KJV: And).

¹⁷ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had λεγοντων (KJV: by certain which said). The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

¹⁸ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αυτον here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

¹⁹ Luke 8:1a (ESV)

²⁰ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ετι δε (KJV: While…yet) here, where the NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had simply Ἔτι (NET: While…still).

²¹ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸, Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had [εἶπεν δέ τις αὐτῷ· ἰδοὺ ἡ μήτηρ σου καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοί σου ἔξω ἑστήκασιν ζητοῦντες σοι λαλῆσαι] (NET: Someone told him, “Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside wanting to speak to you.”) here. The ESV did not.

²² The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had Καὶ |ἔρχεται| (NET: Then…came) here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ερχονται ουν (KJV: There came then).

²³ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had αὐτοῦ following brothers. The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

²⁴ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had στήκοντες here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εστωτες.

²⁵ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had καλοῦντες (NET: to summon) here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had φωνουντες (KJV: calling).

²⁶ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had καὶ λέγουσιν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ειπον δε.

²⁷ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had [καὶ αἱ ἀδελφαί σου] (“and your sisters,” not translated in the NET or ESV). The Stephanus Textus Receptus did not.

²⁸ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had λέγοντι (NET: had said) here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ειποντι (KJV: that told).

²⁹ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἀποκριθεὶς here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had απεκριθη.

³⁰ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had λέγει (NET: and said) here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had λεγων (KJV: saying).

³¹ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had Ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ (NET: On that day) here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εν δε τη ημερα εκεινη (KJV: The same day).

³² The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had απο here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

³³ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the article το preceding boat (KJV: ship). The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

³⁴ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had πλεῖστος (NET: Such a large) here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had πολυς (KJV: a great).

³⁵ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had συνάγεται here in the present tense, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had συνηχθη (KJV: there was gathered) in the aorist tense.

³⁶ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the article το preceding boat (KJV: ship). The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

³⁷ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἦσαν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ην.

³⁸ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἔρχεται here, a singular 3^rd person form of ἔρχομαι, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had a plural form ερχονται (KJV: they went).

³⁹ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had the article ὁ preceding crowd. The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

⁴⁰ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had μηδὲ (not translated in the NET) here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had μητε (KJV: so much as).

⁴¹ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had Καὶ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εγενετο δε (KJV: And it came to pass).

⁴² The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had κυριε (KJV: Lord) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

⁴³ Mark 3:21b (ESV)

⁴⁴ Mark 3:31a (ESV)

⁴⁵ Mark 3:20b (ESV)

⁴⁶ Luke 14:26 (ESV)

⁴⁷ Luke 14:27 (ESV)

⁴⁸ Luke 14:33 (ESV)

⁴⁹ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἐν ὅλῃ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εξ ολης.

⁵⁰ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had τῇ ψυχῇ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had της ψυχης.

⁵¹ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἐν ὅλῃ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εξ ολης.

⁵² The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had τῇ ἰσχύϊ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had της ισχυος.

⁵³ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἐν ὅλῃ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εξ ολης.

⁵⁴ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had τῇ διανοίᾳ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had της διανοιας.

⁵⁵ Matthew 19:25b, 26 (ESV) Table

⁵⁶ Philippians 2:13 (ESV) Table

Christianity, Part 15

Posted on May 15, 2024 by admin

Now I want you all (πάντας ὑμᾶς) to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up.

I wondered whether ὑμᾶς limited πάντας to men only (1 Corinthians 14:34, 35 ESV).

the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church [Table].

Various lines of reasoning made this particular limitation doubtful, but in so doing made the meaning of keep silent in the churches more difficult to decipher. I left off with the NET translators’ suggestion that 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 related:

…to the preceding regulations about evaluating the prophets (v. 29). Here Paul would be indicating that the women should not speak up during such an evaluation, since such questioning would be in violation of the submission to male leadership that the OT calls for (the law, e.g., Gen 2:18).²

The beginning of the next note (15) follows:

Some scholars have argued that vv. 34-35 should be excised from the text…because the Western witnesses…have these verses after v. 40, while the rest of the tradition retains them here. There are no mss that omit the verses.

This prompts me to consider this passage without the two verses in question (1 Corinthians 14:26-33, 36-40 ESV):

What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up [Table]. If any speak in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret. But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God. Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged, and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets. For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints [Table],

Or was it from you that the word of God came? Or are you the only ones it has reached? If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord. If anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized [Table]. So, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. But all things should be done decently and in order.

The first thing that stands out is that there is no mention of women keeping silent in the reprise of Paul’s discussion: So, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. But all things should be done decently and in order.³ Chaim Bentorah recognized something in Paul’s description I, as a Gentile, could miss:

Paul is most likely referencing the beth midrash, where members of the congregation assemble after a time of prayer…an open forum where you discuss the Torah and Talmud. Women were allowed in this room in the first-century Christian synagogue/church.

These midrashes followed certain rules and customs to maintain focus on the Word of God…

Everyone expressed his or her opinions and thoughts. They would argue and debate and sometimes get downright nasty in their search for the truth.⁴

So, I can contrast Paul’s address to all (both men and women) as followers of Jesus—that all things should be done decently and in order—to “They would argue and debate and sometimes get downright nasty in their search for the truth.” Though ad hominem arguments are recognized as logical fallacies, anyone who has ever argued recognizes how effective they can be for “winning” an argument in the moment, irrespective of the truth. Moving verses 34 and 35 to the end of the chapter makes them much less strident (1 Corinthians 14:40, 34, 35 ESV).

But⁵ all things should be done decently and in order: the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.

Chaim Bentorah continued:

Paul is not saying women keep silent, but wives, anatta in Aramaic, keep silent. Big difference. They are to keep silent in the edita, ‘adah in its Semitic root. An ‘adah is loosely rendered as church, but as already mentioned, it is not a church as we know a church to be today. If Paul meant a church, he would have used the word qahal, which means “an assembly or congregation of people.” ‘Adah, however, is a legal term for a place where witnesses testify. This is a place where everyone is free to express what he or she has experienced and seen. It would be at a specific place and time. Hence, this is likely the first-century form of the beth midrash, where everyone can share their opinions and ideas as to the meaning behind a passage of Scripture. Women are to keep shetheq during this time. Yes, it can mean silent but shetheq has more of the idea of silence in the sense of not arguing a point, not rebuking, not calling someone a toad and blasting them out of the water.

This does not mean that women were not allowed to speak or teach others. They were just not allowed to rebuke their husbands in a public forum when discussing the Holy Scriptures.⁶

I’ll keep shetheq here regarding whether Paul wrote to the Corinthians in Greek or Aramaic, and simply be grateful for the insights into the traditions of the beth midrash and the Aramaic words of the Peshitta of 1 Corinthians 14. It matters very little to me in this instance whether Paul wrote in Aramaic or translators chose the words Mr. Bentorah explained some three centuries or more after Paul wrote in Greek. Since his letter records a transition from “the traditions he delivered to them, through spiritual gifts, to a still more excellent way,”⁷ the latter option offers an even better point through which to draw the trajectory of that transition.

It’s quite moving to consider that even as Paul pretended⁸ to know nothing among [them] except Jesus Christ and him crucified,⁹ he delivered the beth midrash, a revered tool of Jewish men of learning, to Gentiles and to women. And it is instructive that this old wineskin¹⁰ blew up in his face (or away from his face, as it were) into factions centered around preferred teachers (1 Corinthians 1:10-13; 3:4-7). I’m inclined to keep verses 34 and 35 at the end of the chapter because they seem to fit better there, and the NET translators’ defense of the earlier location was based upon an imaginary manuscript:

The very location of the verses in the Western tradition [e.g., “at the end of the material on church conduct”] argues strongly that Paul both authored vv. 34-35 and that they were originally part of the margin of the text.¹¹

Frankly, if I imagine a manuscript in which verses 34 and 35 are written in the margin of the text, it won’t be original and verses 34 and 35 won’t be penned by Paul. No such manuscript is extant apparently. And no extant manuscripts omit the verses. There are many other things to consider about these verses if that were one’s purpose. These have been sufficient to persuade me that Paul and the Holy Spirit didn’t intend to limit πάντας in I want you all to speak in tongues¹² to men only.

Do Paul’s rhetorical questions limit πάντας?

Are all prophets?…Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?¹³

If Paul’s rhetorical questions with their anticipated negative answers constitute eternal truths, then they form an absolute, if unknown and effectively unknowable, limit to his desire for you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy.¹⁴ That was the answer I have preferred: I don’t speak in tongues. As I worked on this essay, I was awakened early in the morning with an urgent prayer request so complicated I prayed, “I wish I could pray in tongues because all I’ve got to say is, Aghh!!”

If Paul’s rhetorical questions with their anticipated negative answers constitute a local assessment of current circumstances, then his desire may have been much stronger. For comparison consider Jesus’ answer to a very pointed question (Luke 13:23-30 ESV).

And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from’ [Table ]. Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ [Table] In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God [Table]. And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

One person asked a question but Jesus answered everyone: Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.¹⁵ Who are the many (πολλοί, a form of πολύς)? All who do not strive as hard as I do to enter through the narrow door. But that answer had a way of coming back on me: Do I really strive hard enough to be part of the few? Over time I began to understand that Jesus didn’t threaten the many to motivate the few to strive harder. He spoke the truth. So, is this an eternal truth?

Yes, addressed to the old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires.¹⁶ But it is also a local assessment of current circumstances so dismal it cries out to a God who so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. A God who did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.¹⁷ It cries out for a Savior, a Champion, who wrests salvation from the dominion of human will or exertion to establish it firmly in the dominion of God, who has mercy:¹⁸

Jesus said to [Thomas], “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.¹⁹

No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him…²⁰

This local assessment of then current circumstances is so dismal even I can begin to comprehend why a loving Savior sent by his loving Father would lay down his life willingly to complete (John 19:28-30) the work his father sent him to do (John 10:17, 18 ESV).

For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.

Once his Father’s work is completed this loving Savior promises with all the authority of God (John 12:32 ESV):

And I…will draw all people to myself.

That is the judgment of this world; that is how the ruler of this world [will] be cast out.²¹ For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.²² This tends to make me a bit more open-minded toward Paul’s desire for you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy.²³ Though I wouldn’t compare Paul’s will to God’s, the Holy Spirit did allow him to write it.

The final occurrence of πάντας in 1 Corinthians follows (1 Corinthians 15:21-25 ESV).

For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead [Table]. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.²⁴ Then comes the end, when he delivers²⁵ the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power [Table]. For he must reign until he has put all (πάντας) his enemies under his feet [Table].

I’m not inclined to argue any limitation to πάντας here. Paul made his position quite clear (1 Corinthians 15:26-28 ESV):

The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.

According to a note (17) in the NET Paul quoted Psalm 8:6. A table comparing the Greek of that quotation in 1 Corinthians 15:27a to Psalm 8:6b in the Septuagint follows.

1 Corinthians 15:27a (NET Parallel Greek)	Psalm 8:6b (Septuagint BLB)	Psalm 8:7b (Septuagint Elpenor)
πάντα…ὑπέταξεν ὑπὸ τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ	πάντα ὑπέταξας ὑποκάτω τῶν ποδῶν αὐτοῦ	πάντα ὑπέταξας ὑποκάτω τῶν ποδῶν αὐτοῦ
1 Corinthians 15:27a (NET)	Psalm 8:7b (NETS)	Psalm 8:7b (English Elpenor)
he has put everything in subjection under his feet	you subjected all under his feet	thou hast put all things under his feet

The Greek words ὑπέταξεν and ὑπέταξας above are forms of ὑποτάσσω as are ὑποτασσέσθωσαν and υποτασσεσθαι in 1 Corinthians 14:34, translated should be in submission (ESV) and to be under obedience (KJV) respectively. The main difference is that the first two forms are in the active voice: “to subject, place under (someone’s authority); to place, place below (in a document); to subdue; to subordinate, subjugate; to bring under subjection.” This is the work of God. The second two forms are in the middle and passive voices: “to submit oneself: to be submissive; to become subject; to subject oneself; to be subjected; to be subordinated; to obey.” In other words, this is the response of godly women to the work of God. It is not something a husband, or any other man, does to a wife or can do in a wife.

The table mentioned above follows.

Occurrences of πάντας in 1 Corinthians
Reference	NET Parallel Greek	ESV
1 Corinthians 7:7	θέλω δὲ πάντας ἀνθρώπους εἶναι ὡς καὶ ἐμαυτόν	I wish that all were as I myself am.
1 Corinthians 14:5	θέλω δὲ πάντας ὑμᾶς λαλεῖν γλώσσαις	Now I want you all to speak in tongues,
1 Corinthians 15:25	ἄχρι οὗ θῇ πάντας τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ὑπὸ τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ	until he has put all his enemies under his feet.

A table comparing Psalm 8:6 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and comparing the Greek of Psalm 8:6 (8:7) in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and tables comparing 1 Corinthians 14:40 and 15:23 in the NET and KJV follow.

Psalm 8:6 (Tanakh)	Psalm 8:6 (KJV)	Psalm 8:6 (NET)
Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:	Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:	you appoint them to rule over your creation; you have placed everything under their authority,

Psalm 8:6 (Septuagint BLB)	Psalm 8:7 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ κατέστησας αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τὰ ἔργα τῶν χειρῶν σου πάντα ὑπέταξας ὑποκάτω τῶν ποδῶν αὐτοῦ	καὶ κατέστησας αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τὰ ἔργα τῶν χειρῶν σου· πάντα ὑπέταξας ὑποκάτω τῶν ποδῶν αὐτοῦ
Psalm 8:7 (NETS)	Psalm 8:7 (English Elpenor)
And you set him over the works of your hands; you subjected all under his feet,	and thou hast set him over the works of thy hands: thou hast put all things under his feet:

1 Corinthians 14:40 (NET)	1 Corinthians 14:40 (KJV)
And do everything in a decent and orderly manner.	Let all things be done decently and in order.

1 Corinthians 14:40 (NET Parallel Greek)	1 Corinthians 14:40 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	1 Corinthians 14:40 (Byzantine Majority Text)
πάντα δὲ εὐσχημόνως καὶ κατὰ τάξιν γινέσθω	παντα ευσχημονως και κατα ταξιν γινεσθω	παντα ευσχημονως και κατα ταξιν γινεσθω

1 Corinthians 15:23 (NET)	1 Corinthians 15:23 (KJV)
But each in his own order: Christ, the firstfruits; then when Christ comes, those who belong to him.	But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.

1 Corinthians 15:23 (NET Parallel Greek)	1 Corinthians 15:23 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	1 Corinthians 15:23 (Byzantine Majority Text)
῞Εκαστος δὲ ἐν τῷ ἰδίῳ τάγματι· ἀπαρχὴ Χριστός, ἔπειτα οἱ τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐν τῇ παρουσίᾳ αὐτοῦ	εκαστος δε εν τω ιδιω ταγματι απαρχη χριστος επειτα οι χριστου εν τη παρουσια αυτου	εκαστος δε εν τω ιδιω ταγματι απαρχη χριστος επειτα οι του χριστου εν τη παρουσια αυτου

Back to Christianity, Part 14

¹ John 12:32 (ESV)

² NET note 14

³ 1 Corinthians 14:39 (ESV)

⁴ From “Contradiction: Women are to be silent in the church,” by Chaim Bentorah

⁵ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had δὲ (NET: And) here. The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

⁶ From “Contradiction: Women are to be silent in the church,” by Chaim Bentorah. It seems only fair to point out that none of this subtlety is apparent in an English translation of 1 Corinthians 14:34, 35 in The Original Aramaic New Testament in Plain English (An American Translation of the Aramaic New Testament), Translated by Rev. Glenn David Bauscher: Let your women be silent in the assemblies, for they are not allowed to speak, but to be in subjection, just as The Written Law also says. And if they wish to learn anything, let them ask their husbands in their homes, for it is a shame for women to speak in the assembly. Apart from a lexicon and a grammar I’m unable to form any independent opinion. See also 1 Corinthians 14 on The Holy Aramaic Scriptures online.

⁷ Christianty, Part 14

⁸ Paul in Corinth; Romans, Part 2; Paul’s Religious Mind Revisited, Part 3; Sexual Immorality Revisited, Part 2

⁹ 1 Corinthians 2:2b (ESV) Table

¹⁰ Matthew 9:17; Mark 2:22; Luke 5:37, 38

¹¹ NET note 15

¹² 1 Corinthians 14:5a (ESV) Table

¹³ 1 Corinthians 12:29b, 30b (ESV)

¹⁴ 1 Corinthians 14:5a (ESV) Table

¹⁵ Luke 13:24 (ESV) Table

¹⁶ Ephesians 4:22b (ESV)

¹⁷ John 3:16, 17 (ESV) Table

¹⁸ Romans 9:16 (ESV) Table

¹⁹ John 14:6 (ESV)

²⁰ John 6:44a (ESV) Table

²¹ John 12:31 (ESV)

²² Romans 11:32 (ESV)

²³ 1 Corinthians 14:5a (ESV) Table

²⁴ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had the article τοῦ preceding Christ. The Stephanus Textus Receptus did not.

²⁵ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had παραδιδῷ in the present tense here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had παραδω (KJV: he shall have delivered up) in the 2^nd aorist tense.

Christianity, Part 14

Posted on May 10, 2024 by admin

There are 3 occurrences of πάντας in 1 Corinthians [see Table below], the Greek word translated all people in: And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people (πάντας, a form of πᾶς) to myself.¹ I’ve already spent significant time on the first occurrence. While I would enjoy continuing in chapter 7, it seems I would be more interested in the circumscribed will of the old man versus the freedom of choice of the new man than the meaning and usage of πάντας. So, I’ll move on to the next occurrence (1 Corinthians 14:5 ESV):

Now I want (θέλω) you all (πάντας ὑμᾶς) to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. The² one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets,³ so that the church may be built up.

The Greek word θέλω was translated I want here, I would (KJV) and I wish (NET). All are possible. The relative strength of Paul’s desire that all speak in tongues and prophesy, though known to Paul and the Holy Spirit, is a matter of interpretation for us. The Greek words translated you all were πάντας ὑμᾶς. So, does ὑμᾶς limit πάντας or intensify it to all y’all? First, I’ll consider ὑμᾶς as a limit (1 Corinthians 14:33b-40 ESV).

As in all the churches of the saints, the women⁴ should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted⁵ to speak, but⁶ should be in submission,⁷ as the Law also says. If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman⁸ to speak in church.

Or was it from you that the word of God came? Or are you the only ones it has reached? If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command⁹ of the¹⁰ Lord. If anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized.¹¹ So, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. But all things should be done decently and in order.

I want to contrast this immediately to Jesus’ word (Revelation 2:18-20 ESV):

“And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze.

“‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter¹² works exceed the first. But¹³ I have this¹⁴ against you, that you tolerate¹⁵ that woman¹⁶ Jezebel, who calls¹⁷ herself a prophetess and is teaching¹⁸ and seducing my¹⁹ servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.

I can take this two different ways: I can wag my finger and say, “You see, that’s what happens when those women don’t keep silent in the churches.” Or, I can recognize that the fact that Jezebel is teaching in the church in Thyatira tends to falsify the statement: As in all the churches of the saints, the women²⁰ should keep silent in the churches.²¹ I don’t know if the translators sought to bolster this argument or felt that the imperative σιγάτωσαν (a form of σιγάω), translated should keep silent, allowed for more logical wiggle room than ἐστιν, a 3^rd person singular form of εἰμί in the indicative mood in the previous clause: For God is (ἐστιν) not a God of confusion but²² of peace.²³

That God is not…of confusion but of peace As in all the churches of the saints, is not something that can be falsified by the actions or inaction of men or women or angels. So, rather than begin this discussion of women with a falsifiable and potentially falsified statement, I’m inclined to move the final clause of verse 33 back where the translators of the KJV had it—For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints²⁴—back to where it probably belongs.

The Lord criticized the angel of the church in Thyatira: But I have this against you.²⁵ The Greek word translated you here was σοῦ, a singular form of σύ. The verb ἀφεῖς in the next clause, translated You tolerate, is a 2^nd person singular form of ἀφίημι. Likewise ἔας and ἐᾷς are 2^nd person singular forms of ἐάω (KJV: thou sufferest). The Lord’s criticism seems to be, not about a woman teaching in the church in Thyatira (ἐν Θυατείροις ἐκκλησίας) but, about the content and effect of Jezebel’s teaching (Revelation 2:20b ESV):

…seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.

It prompted me to wonder what ἐν ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις (ESV: in the churches) meant in the instruction: the women should keep silent.²⁶ The plural ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις helps me understand that the instruction does not mean that a woman must take a vow of silence from the moment she is called by Jesus until she dies, or for all eternity. It seems, rather, to designate a special place (1 Corinthians 14:35 ESV):

If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church (ἐν ἐκκλησίᾳ).

But even place may not be a truly meaningful understanding of ἐν ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις or ἐν ἐκκλησίᾳ (1 Corinthians 11:2-6 ESV):

Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you [Table]. But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ²⁷ is God. Every man who prays (προσευχόμενος, a form of προσεύχομαι) or prophesies (προφητεύων, a form of προφητεύω) with his head covered dishonors his head, but every wife who prays (προσευχομένη, another form of προσεύχομαι) or prophesies (προφητεύουσα, another form of προφητεύω) with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since it is the same as if her head were shaven. For if a wife will not cover her head, then she should cut her hair short. But since it is disgraceful for a wife to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her head.

The Greek word translated prophesy in—Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy²⁸— was προφητεύητε (another form of προφητεύω). So, here in the instruction above I find a wife, a woman, prophesying with her head covered (out loud? in the church?). Prior to writing this letter Paul had delivered (παρέδωκα, a form of παραδίδωμι) the traditions (τὰς παραδόσεις, a form of παράδοσις), i.e., of the Jews.

This instruction was preceded by a declaration of Paul’s practice of love (1 Corinthians 10:32-11:1 ESV).

Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved [Table]. Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

There are no observant Jews seeking the Lord Jesus at the church I attend. And Paul was quite clear at the end of his discussion about hair-covering (1 Corinthians 11:16 ESV):

If anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor do the churches of God.

The ESV translation, we have no such practice, is an accurate translation of ἡμεῖς τοιαύτην συνήθειαν οὐκ ἔχομεν no matter how difficult that is to believe. Consider the Contemporary English Version for contrast (1 Corinthians 11:16 CEV):

This is how things are done in all of God’s churches, and this is why none of you should argue about what I have said.

Why spend so much time and effort explaining a tradition only to conclude that we have no such practice (συνήθειαν, a form of συνήθεια), nor do the churches of God? The explanation is found in the text of 1 Corinthians itself. Here, frozen in time, is a written record of Paul and the Corinthian church in transition from the traditions he delivered to them, through spiritual gifts, to a still more excellent way (1 Corinthians 12:27-31 ESV):

Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then²⁹ gifts of healing, helping,³⁰ administrating, and various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the higher³¹ gifts.

And I will show you a still more excellent way.

So, Paul, as he wrote this letter, still thought that observing the tradition of wives covering their heads in church when praying or prophesying was a way to show love, the more excellent way, and a possible way to Give no offense (ἀπρόσκοποι, a form of ἀπρόσκοπος) to Jews.³² This concept of giving no offense, however, had its limits (Galatians 5:2-6 ESV):

Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace [Table]. For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

This clarifies the wife’s situation as well. If covering her head when praying or prophesying in church, she can question her own motives: Do I intend to show love and give no offense to the observant Jews seeking Christ in my congregation or do I seek to be justified by Jewish tradition? But what does it mean for the women who should keep silent in the churches?³³

These women (γυναῖκες, a form of γυνή) should probably be understood as wives: If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home.³⁴ If any³⁵ woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he³⁶ consents to live with her, she should not divorce him,³⁷ Paul had already written. Since this woman’s husband could not help her learn at home, should she expect more in the church than the silence of wives with husbands who know the Lord?

Consider the Lord’s response to the daughters of Zelophehad, the only women named in the census made for dividing the promised land (Numbers 27:1-7 ESV):

Then drew near the daughters of Zelophehad the son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, from the clans of Manasseh the son of Joseph. The names of his daughters were: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. And they stood before Moses and before Eleazar the priest and before the chiefs and all the congregation, at the entrance of the tent of meeting, saying, “Our father died in the wilderness. He was not among the company of those who gathered themselves together against the LORD in the company of Korah, but died for his own sin. And he had no sons. Why should the name of our father be taken away from his clan because he had no son? Give to us a possession among our father’s brothers.”

Moses brought their case before the LORD. And the LORD said to Moses, “The daughters of Zelophehad are right. You shall give them possession of an inheritance among their father’s brothers and transfer the inheritance of their father to them.

It’s probably worth noting that, though the names of the daughters of Zelophehad are memorialized, they argued their legal case in the name of their father. But it certainly established the precedent that women in special circumstances should expect special considerations. Since wives were praying and prophesying in the church, I feel the need to consider exactly what keep silent (σιγάτωσαν, a form of σιγάω) meant: “to say nothing, keep silent; to stop speaking, become silent, be silent; to keep secret, conceal.”

The teaching which precedes this instruction follows (1 Corinthians 14:26-33 ESV).

What then, brothers? When you come together, each one³⁸ has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. If any speak in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret. But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent (σιγάτω, another form of σιγάω) in church and speak to himself and to God. Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent (σιγάτω, another form of σιγάω). For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged, and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets. For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints,

To keep silent (σιγάτωσαν, a form of σιγάω) seems to mean exactly what it sounds like, reinforced by For they are not permitted to speak. A note (14) in the NET addressed this conundrum:

For they are not permitted to speak. In light of 11:2-16, which gives permission for women to pray or prophesy in the church meetings, the silence commanded here seems not to involve the absolute prohibition of a woman addressing the assembly. Therefore (1) some take be silent to mean not taking an authoritative teaching role as 1 Tim 2 indicates, but (2) the better suggestion is to relate it to the preceding regulations about evaluating the prophets (v. 29). Here Paul would be indicating that the women should not speak up during such an evaluation, since such questioning would be in violation of the submission to male leadership that the OT calls for (the law, e.g., Gen 2:18).

There is another footnote to consider which I’ll pick up in another essay. The table mentioned above follows.

Occurrences of πάντας in 1 Corinthians
Reference	NET Parallel Greek	ESV
1 Corinthians 7:7	θέλω δὲ πάντας ἀνθρώπους εἶναι ὡς καὶ ἐμαυτόν	I wish that all were as I myself am.
1 Corinthians 14:5	θέλω δὲ πάντας ὑμᾶς λαλεῖν γλώσσαις	Now I want you all to speak in tongues,
1 Corinthians 15:25	ἄχρι οὗ θῇ πάντας τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ὑπὸ τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ	until he has put all his enemies under his feet.

Tables comparing Numbers 27:1; 27:2; 27:3; 27:4; 27:5; 27:6 and 27:7 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and tables comparing the Greek of Numbers 27:1; 27:2; 27:3; 27:4 (27:3b); 27:5 (27:4); 27:6 (27:5) and 27:7 (27:6) in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and tables comparing 1 Corinthians 14:5; 14:33-35; 14:37, 38; Revelation 2:19, 20; 1 Corinthians 11:3; 11:5; 12:28; 12:31; 14:26 and 7:13 in the NET and KJV follow.

Numbers 27:1 (Tanakh)	Numbers 27:1 (KJV)	Numbers 27:1 (NET)
Then drew near the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph; and these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Tirzah.	Then came the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph: and these are the names of his daughters; Mahlah, Noah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Tirzah.	Then the daughters of Zelophehad son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh of the families of Manasseh, the son of Joseph came forward. Now these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.

Numbers 27:1 (Septuagint BLB)	Numbers 27:1 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ προσελθοῦσαι αἱ θυγατέρες Σαλπααδ υἱοῦ Οφερ υἱοῦ Γαλααδ υἱοῦ Μαχιρ τοῦ δήμου Μανασση τῶν υἱῶν Ιωσηφ καὶ ταῦτα τὰ ὀνόματα αὐτῶν Μαλα καὶ Νουα καὶ Εγλα καὶ Μελχα καὶ Θερσα	ΚΑΙ προσελθοῦσαι αἱ θυγατέρες Σαλπαὰδ υἱοῦ ᾿Οφέρ, υἱοῦ Γαλαάδ, υἱοῦ Μαχίρ, τοῦ δήμου Μανασσῆ, τῶν υἱῶν ᾿Ιωσήφ (καὶ ταῦτα τὰ ὀνόματα αὐτῶν· Μααλὰ καὶ Νουὰ καὶ ᾿Εγλὰ καὶ Μελχὰ καὶ Θερσά)
Numbers 27:1 (NETS)	Numbers 27:1 (English Elpenor)
And when the daughters of Salpaad son of Hopher son of Galaad son of Machir of the division of Manasse of the sons of Ioseph came forward—and these were their names: Maala and Noua and Hegla and Melcha and Thersa—	And the daughters of Salpaad the son of Opher, the son of Galaad, the son of Machir, of the tribe of Manasse, of the sons of Joseph, came near; and these were their names, Maala, and Nua, and Egla, and Melcha, and Thersa;

Numbers 27:2 (Tanakh)	Numbers 27:2 (KJV)	Numbers 27:2 (NET)
And they stood before Moses, and before Eleazar the priest, and before the princes and all the congregation, at the door of the tent of meeting, saying:	And they stood before Moses, and before Eleazar the priest, and before the princes and all the congregation, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying,	And they stood before Moses and Eleazar the priest and the leaders of the whole assembly at the entrance to the tent of meeting and said,

Numbers 27:2 (Septuagint BLB)	Numbers 27:2 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ στᾶσαι ἔναντι Μωυσῆ καὶ ἔναντι Ελεαζαρ τοῦ ἱερέως καὶ ἔναντι τῶν ἀρχόντων καὶ ἔναντι πάσης συναγωγῆς ἐπὶ τῆς θύρας τῆς σκηνῆς τοῦ μαρτυρίου λέγουσιν	καὶ στᾶσαι ἔναντι Μωυσῆ καὶ ἔναντι ᾿Ελεάζαρ τοῦ ἱερέως καὶ ἔναντι τῶν ἀρχόντων καὶ ἔναντι πάσης συναγωγῆς ἐπὶ τῆς θύρας τῆς σκηνῆς τοῦ μαρτυρίου λέγουσιν
Numbers 27:2 (NETS)	Numbers 27:2 (English Elpenor)
and when they stood before Moyses and before Eleazar the priest and before the rulers and before all the congregation, at the door of the tent of witness, they said,	and they stood before Moses, and before Eleazar the priest, and before the princes, and before all the congregation at the door of the tabernacle of witness, saying,

Numbers 27:3 (Tanakh)	Numbers 27:3 (KJV)	Numbers 27:3 (NET)
‘Our father died in the wilderness, and he was not among the company of them that gathered themselves together against HaShem in the company of Korah, but he died in his own sin; and he had no sons.	Our father died in the wilderness, and he was not in the company of them that gathered themselves together against the LORD in the company of Korah; but died in his own sin, and had no sons.	“Our father died in the wilderness, although he was not part of the company of those that gathered themselves together against the Lord in the company of Korah, but he died for his own sin, and he had no sons.

Numbers 27:3, 4 (Septuagint BLB)	Numbers 27:3 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ὁ πατὴρ ἡμῶν ἀπέθανεν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ καὶ αὐτὸς οὐκ ἦν ἐν μέσῳ τῆς συναγωγῆς τῆς ἐπισυστάσης ἔναντι κυρίου ἐν τῇ συναγωγῇ Κορε ὅτι διὰ ἁμαρτίαν αὐτοῦ ἀπέθανεν καὶ υἱοὶ οὐκ ἐγένοντο αὐτῷ (4) μὴ ἐξαλειφθήτω τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν ἐκ μέσου τοῦ δήμου αὐτοῦ ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν αὐτῷ υἱός δότε ἡμῖν κατάσχεσιν ἐν μέσῳ ἀδελφῶν πατρὸς ἡμῶν	ὁ πατὴρ ἡμῶν ἀπέθανεν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, καὶ αὐτὸς οὐκ ἦν ἐν μέσῳ τῆς συναγωγῆς τῆς ἐπισυστάσης ἔναντι Κυρίου ἐν τῇ συναγωγῇ Κορέ, ὅτι δι’ ἁμαρτίαν αὐτοῦ ἀπέθανε, καὶ υἱοὶ οὐκ ἐγένοντο αὐτῷ μὴ ἐξαλειφθήτω τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν ἐκ μέσου τοῦ δήμου αὐτοῦ, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν αὐτῷ υἱός· δότε ἡμῖν κατάσχεσιν ἐν μέσῳ ἀδελφῶν πατρὸς ἡμῶν
Numbers 27:3, 4 (NETS)	Numbers 27:3 (English Elpenor)
“Our father died in the wilderness, and he was not in the midst of the gathering that conspired against the Lord in the gathering of Kore, for he died for his sin, and he had no sons. (4) Let the name of our father not be wiped out from the midst of his division because he had no son. Give yo us a possession in the midst of our father’s brothers.”	Our father died in the wilderness, and he was not in the midst of the congregation that rebelled against the Lord in the gathering of Core; for he died for his own sin, and he had no sons. Let not the name of our father be blotted out of the midst of his people, because he has no son give us an inheritance in the midst of our father’s brethren.

Numbers 27:4 (Tanakh)	Numbers 27:4 (KJV)	Numbers 27:4 (NET)
Why should the name of our father be done away from among his family, because he had no son? Give unto us a possession among the brethren of our father.’	Why should the name of our father be done away from among his family, because he hath no son? Give unto us therefore a possession among the brethren of our father.	Why should the name of our father be lost from among his family because he had no son? Give us a possession among the relatives of our father.”

Numbers 27:4 (Septuagint BLB)	Numbers 27:3b (Septuagint Elpenor)
μὴ ἐξαλειφθήτω τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν ἐκ μέσου τοῦ δήμου αὐτοῦ ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν αὐτῷ υἱός δότε ἡμῖν κατάσχεσιν ἐν μέσῳ ἀδελφῶν πατρὸς ἡμῶν	μὴ ἐξαλειφθήτω τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν ἐκ μέσου τοῦ δήμου αὐτοῦ, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν αὐτῷ υἱός· δότε ἡμῖν κατάσχεσιν ἐν μέσῳ ἀδελφῶν πατρὸς ἡμῶν
Numbers 27:4 (NETS)	Numbers 27:3b (English Elpenor)
Let the name of our father not be wiped out from the midst of his division because he had no son. Give yo us a possession in the midst of our father’s brothers.”	Let not the name of our father be blotted out of the midst of his people, because he has no son give us an inheritance in the midst of our father’s brethren.

Numbers 27:5 (Tanakh)	Numbers 27:5 (KJV)	Numbers 27:5 (NET)
And Moses brought their cause before HaShem.	And Moses brought their cause before the LORD.	So Moses brought their case before the Lord.

Numbers 27:5 (Septuagint BLB)	Numbers 27:4 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ προσήγαγεν Μωυσῆς τὴν κρίσιν αὐτῶν ἔναντι κυρίου	καὶ προσήγαγε Μωυσῆς τὴν κρίσιν αὐτῶν ἔναντι Κυρίου
Numbers 27:5 (NETS)	Numbers 27:4 (English Elpenor)
And Moyses brought their case before the Lord.	And Moses brought their case before the Lord.

Numbers 27:6 (Tanakh)	Numbers 27:6 (KJV)	Numbers 27:6 (NET)
And HaShem spoke unto Moses, saying:	And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,	The Lord said to Moses:

Numbers 27:6 (Septuagint BLB)	Numbers 27:5 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐλάλησεν κύριος πρὸς Μωυσῆν λέγων	καὶ ἐλάλησε Κύριος πρὸς Μωυσῆν λέγων
Numbers 27:6 (NETS)	Numbers 27:5 (English Elpenor)
And the Lord spoke to Moyses, saying:	And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

Numbers 27:7 (Tanakh)	Numbers 27:7 (KJV)	Numbers 27:7 (NET)
‘The daughters of Zelophehad speak right: thou shalt surely give them a possession of an inheritance among their father’s brethren; and thou shalt cause the inheritance of their father to pass unto them.	The daughters of Zelophehad speak right: thou shalt surely give them a possession of an inheritance among their father’s brethren; and thou shalt cause the inheritance of their father to pass unto them.	“The daughters of Zelophehad have a valid claim. You must indeed give them possession of an inheritance among their father’s relatives, and you must transfer the inheritance of their father to them.

Numbers 27:7 (Septuagint BLB)	Numbers 27:6 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ὀρθῶς θυγατέρες Σαλπααδ λελαλήκασιν δόμα δώσεις αὐταῖς κατάσχεσιν κληρονομίας ἐν μέσῳ ἀδελφῶν πατρὸς αὐτῶν καὶ περιθήσεις τὸν κλῆρον τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτῶν αὐταῖς	ὀρθῶς θυγατέρες Σαλπαὰδ λελαλήκασι· δόμα δώσεις αὐταῖς κατάσχεσιν κληρονομίας ἐν μέσῳ ἀδελφῶν πατρὸς αὐτῶν καὶ περιθήσεις τὸν κλῆρον τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτῶν αὐταῖς
Numbers 27:7 (NETS)	Numbers 27:6 (English Elpenor)
Salpaad’s daughters have spoken correctly. You shall give to them as a gift a possession of inheritance in the midst of their father’s brothers, and you shall confer the allotment of their father on them.	The daughters of Salpaad have spoken rightly: thou shalt surely give them a possession of inheritance in the midst of their father’s brethren, and thou shalt assign their father’s inheritance to them.

1 Corinthians 14:5 (NET)	1 Corinthians 14:5 (KJV)
I wish you all spoke in tongues, but even more that you would prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets so that the church may be strengthened.	I would that ye all spake with tongues, but rather that ye prophesied: for greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret, that the church may receive edifying.

1 Corinthians 14:5 (NET Parallel Greek)	1 Corinthians 14:5 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	1 Corinthians 14:5 (Byzantine Majority Text)
θέλω δὲ πάντας ὑμᾶς λαλεῖν γλώσσαις, μᾶλλον δὲ ἵνα προφητεύητε· μείζων δὲ ὁ προφητεύων ἢ ὁ λαλῶν γλώσσαις ἐκτὸς εἰ μὴ διερμηνεύῃ, ἵνα ἡ ἐκκλησία οἰκοδομὴν λάβῃ	θελω δε παντας υμας λαλειν γλωσσαις μαλλον δε ινα προφητευητε μειζων γαρ ο προφητευων η ο λαλων γλωσσαις εκτος ει μη διερμηνευη ινα η εκκλησια οικοδομην λαβη	θελω δε παντας υμας λαλειν γλωσσαις μαλλον δε ινα προφητευητε μειζων γαρ ο προφητευων η ο λαλων γλωσσαις εκτος ει μη διερμηνευει ινα η εκκλησια οικοδομην λαβη

1 Corinthians 14:33-35 (NET)	1 Corinthians 14:33-35 (KJV)
for God is not characterized by disorder but by peace. As in all the churches of the saints,	For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

1 Corinthians 14:33 (NET Parallel Greek)	1 Corinthians 14:33 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	1 Corinthians 14:33 (Byzantine Majority Text)
οὐ γάρ ἐστιν ἀκαταστασίας ὁ θεὸς ἀλλὰ εἰρήνης Ὡς ἐν πάσαις ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις τῶν ἁγίων	ου γαρ εστιν ακαταστασιας ο θεος αλλ ειρηνης ως εν πασαις ταις εκκλησιαις των αγιων	ου γαρ εστιν ακαταστασιας ο θεος αλλα ειρηνης ως εν πασαις ταις εκκλησιαις των αγιων

the women should be silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak. Rather, let them be in submission, as in fact the law says.

Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.

1 Corinthians 14:34 (NET Parallel Greek)	1 Corinthians 14:34 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	1 Corinthians 14:34 (Byzantine Majority Text)
αἱ γυναῖκες ἐν ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις σιγάτωσαν· οὐ γὰρ ἐπιτρέπεται αὐταῖς λαλεῖν, ἀλλὰ ὑποτασσέσθωσαν, καθὼς καὶ ὁ νόμος λέγει	αι γυναικες υμων εν ταις εκκλησιαις σιγατωσαν ου γαρ επιτετραπται αυταις λαλειν αλλ υποτασσεσθαι καθως και ο νομος λεγει	αι γυναικες υμων εν ταις εκκλησιαις σιγατωσαν ου γαρ επιτετραπται αυταις λαλειν αλλ υποτασσεσθαι καθως και ο νομος λεγει

If they want to find out about something, they should ask their husbands at home, because it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in church.

And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.

1 Corinthians 14:35 (NET Parallel Greek)	1 Corinthians 14:35 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	1 Corinthians 14:35 (Byzantine Majority Text)
εἰ δέ τι \|μαθεῖν\| θέλουσιν, ἐν οἴκῳ τοὺς ἰδίους ἄνδρας ἐπερωτάτωσαν· αἰσχρὸν γάρ ἐστιν γυναικὶ λαλεῖν ἐν ἐκκλησίᾳ	ει δε τι μαθειν θελουσιν εν οικω τους ιδιους ανδρας επερωτατωσαν αισχρον γαρ εστιν γυναιξιν εν εκκλησια λαλειν	ει δε τι μαθειν θελουσιν εν οικω τους ιδιους ανδρας επερωτατωσαν αισχρον γαρ εστιν γυναιξιν εν εκκλησια λαλειν

1 Corinthians 14:37, 38 (NET)	1 Corinthians 14:37, 38 (KJV)
If anyone considers himself a prophet or spiritual person, he should acknowledge that what I write to you is the Lord’s command.	If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.

1 Corinthians 14:37 (NET Parallel Greek)	1 Corinthians 14:37 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	1 Corinthians 14:37 (Byzantine Majority Text)
Εἴ τις δοκεῖ προφήτης εἶναι ἢ πνευματικός, ἐπιγινωσκέτω ἃ γράφω ὑμῖν ὅτι κυρίου ἐστὶν ἐντολή	ει τις δοκει προφητης ειναι η πνευματικος επιγινωσκετω α γραφω υμιν οτι του κυριου εισιν εντολαι	ει τις δοκει προφητης ειναι η πνευματικος επιγινωσκετω α γραφω υμιν οτι κυριου εισιν εντολαι

If someone does not recognize this, he is not recognized.

But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant.

1 Corinthians 14:38 (NET Parallel Greek)	1 Corinthians 14:38 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	1 Corinthians 14:38 (Byzantine Majority Text)
εἰ δέ τις ἀγνοεῖ, ἀγνοεῖται	ει δε τις αγνοει αγνοειτω	ει δε τις αγνοει αγνοειτω

Revelation 2:19, 20 (NET)	Revelation 2:19, 20 (KJV)
‘I know your deeds: your love, faith, service, and steadfast endurance. In fact, your more recent deeds are greater than your earlier ones.	I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.

Revelation 2:19 (NET Parallel Greek)	Revelation 2:19 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Revelation 2:19 (Byzantine Majority Text)
οἶδα σου τὰ ἔργα καὶ τὴν ἀγάπην καὶ τὴν πίστιν καὶ τὴν διακονίαν καὶ τὴν ὑπομονήν σου, καὶ τὰ ἔργα σου τὰ ἔσχατα πλείονα τῶν πρώτων	οιδα σου τα εργα και την αγαπην και την διακονιαν και την πιστιν και την υπομονην σου και τα εργα σου και τα εσχατα πλειονα των πρωτων	οιδα σου τα εργα και την αγαπην και την πιστιν και την διακονιαν και την υπομονην σου και τα εργα σου τα εσχατα πλειονα των πρωτων

But I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and by her teaching deceives my servants to commit sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.

Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.

Revelation 2:20 (NET Parallel Greek)	Revelation 2:20 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Revelation 2:20 (Byzantine Majority Text)
ἀλλὰ ἔχω κατὰ σοῦ ὅτι ἀφεῖς τὴν γυναῖκα Ἰεζάβελ, ἡ λέγουσα ἑαυτὴν προφῆτιν καὶ διδάσκει καὶ πλανᾷ τοὺς ἐμοὺς δούλους πορνεῦσαι καὶ φαγεῖν εἰδωλόθυτα	αλλ εχω κατα σου ολιγα οτι εας την γυναικα ιεζαβηλ την λεγουσαν εαυτην προφητιν διδασκειν και πλανασθαι εμους δουλους πορνευσαι και ειδωλοθυτα φαγειν	αλλ εχω κατα σου οτι αφεις την γυναικα σου ιεζαβελ η λεγει εαυτην προφητιν και διδασκει και πλανα τους εμους δουλους πορνευσαι και φαγειν ειδωλοθυτα

1 Corinthians 11:3 (NET)	1 Corinthians 11:3 (KJV)
But I want you to know that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ.	But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.

1 Corinthians 11:3 (NET Parallel Greek)	1 Corinthians 11:3 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	1 Corinthians 11:3 (Byzantine Majority Text)
Θέλω δὲ ὑμᾶς εἰδέναι ὅτι παντὸς ἀνδρὸς ἡ κεφαλὴ ὁ Χριστός ἐστιν, κεφαλὴ δὲ γυναικὸς ὁ ἀνήρ, κεφαλὴ δὲ τοῦ Χριστοῦ ὁ θεός	θελω δε υμας ειδεναι οτι παντος ανδρος η κεφαλη ο χριστος εστιν κεφαλη δε γυναικος ο ανηρ κεφαλη δε χριστου ο θεος	θελω δε υμας ειδεναι οτι παντος ανδρος η κεφαλη ο χριστος εστιν κεφαλη δε γυναικος ο ανηρ κεφαλη δε χριστου ο θεος

1 Corinthians 11:5 (NET)	1 Corinthians 11:5 (KJV)
But any woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered disgraces her head, for it is one and the same thing as having a shaved head.	But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven.

1 Corinthians 11:5 (NET Parallel Greek)	1 Corinthians 11:5 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	1 Corinthians 11:5 (Byzantine Majority Text)
πᾶσα δὲ γυνὴ προσευχομένη ἢ προφητεύουσα ἀκατακαλύπτῳ τῇ κεφαλῇ καταισχύνει τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτῆς· ἓν γάρ ἐστιν καὶ τὸ αὐτὸ τῇ ἐξυρημένῃ	πασα δε γυνη προσευχομενη η προφητευουσα ακατακαλυπτω τη κεφαλη καταισχυνει την κεφαλην εαυτης εν γαρ εστιν και το αυτο τη εξυρημενη	πασα δε γυνη προσευχομενη η προφητευουσα ακατακαλυπτω τη κεφαλη καταισχυνει την κεφαλην εαυτης εν γαρ εστιν και το αυτο τη εξυρημενη

1 Corinthians 12:28 (NET)	1 Corinthians 12:28 (KJV)
And God has placed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, gifts of healing, helps, gifts of leadership, different kinds of tongues.	And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.

1 Corinthians 12:28 (NET Parallel Greek)	1 Corinthians 12:28 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	1 Corinthians 12:28 (Byzantine Majority Text)
Καὶ οὓς μὲν ἔθετο ὁ θεὸς ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ πρῶτον ἀποστόλους, δεύτερον προφήτας, τρίτον διδασκάλους, ἔπειτα δυνάμεις, ἔπειτα χαρίσματα ἰαμάτων, ἀντιλήμψεις, κυβερνήσεις, γένη γλωσσῶν	και ους μεν εθετο ο θεος εν τη εκκλησια πρωτον αποστολους δευτερον προφητας τριτον διδασκαλους επειτα δυναμεις ειτα χαρισματα ιαματων αντιληψεις κυβερνησεις γενη γλωσσων	και ους μεν εθετο ο θεος εν τη εκκλησια πρωτον αποστολους δευτερον προφητας τριτον διδασκαλους επειτα δυναμεις ειτα χαρισματα ιαματων αντιληψεις κυβερνησεις γενη γλωσσων

1 Corinthians 12:31 (NET)	1 Corinthians 12:31 (KJV)
But you should be eager for the greater gifts. And now I will show you a way that is beyond comparison.	But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.

1 Corinthians 12:31 (NET Parallel Greek)	1 Corinthians 12:31 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	1 Corinthians 12:31 (Byzantine Majority Text)
ζηλοῦτε δὲ τὰ χαρίσματα τὰ μείζονα. Καὶ ἔτι καθ᾿ ὑπερβολὴν ὁδὸν ὑμῖν δείκνυμι	ζηλουτε δε τα χαρισματα τα κρειττονα και ετι καθ υπερβολην οδον υμιν δεικνυμι	ζηλουτε δε τα χαρισματα τα κρειττονα και ετι καθ υπερβολην οδον υμιν δεικνυμι

1 Corinthians 14:26 (NET)	1 Corinthians 14:26 (KJV)
What should you do then, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each one has a song, has a lesson, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all these things be done for the strengthening of the church.	How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.

1 Corinthians 14:26 (NET Parallel Greek)	1 Corinthians 14:26 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	1 Corinthians 14:26 (Byzantine Majority Text)
Τί οὖν ἐστιν, ἀδελφοί; ὅταν συνέρχησθε, ἕκαστος ψαλμὸν ἔχει, διδαχὴν ἔχει, ἀποκάλυψιν ἔχει, γλῶσσαν ἔχει, ἑρμηνείαν ἔχει· πάντα πρὸς οἰκοδομὴν γινέσθω	τι ουν εστιν αδελφοι οταν συνερχησθε εκαστος υμων ψαλμον εχει διδαχην εχει γλωσσαν εχει αποκαλυψιν εχει ερμηνειαν εχει παντα προς οικοδομην γενεσθω	τι ουν εστιν αδελφοι οταν συνερχησθε εκαστος υμων ψαλμον εχει διδαχην εχει γλωσσαν εχει αποκαλυψιν εχει ερμηνειαν εχει παντα προς οικοδομην γινεσθω

1 Corinthians 7:13 (NET)	1 Corinthians 7:13 (KJV)
And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is happy to live with her, she should not divorce him.	And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him.

1 Corinthians 7:13 (NET Parallel Greek)	1 Corinthians 7:13 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	1 Corinthians 7:13 (Byzantine Majority Text)
καὶ γυνὴ \|εἴ τις\| ἔχει ἄνδρα ἄπιστον καὶ οὗτος συνευδοκεῖ οἰκεῖν μετ᾿ αὐτῆς, μὴ ἀφιέτω τὸν ἄνδρα	και γυνη ητις εχει ανδρα απιστον και αυτος συνευδοκει οικειν μετ αυτης μη αφιετω αυτον	και γυνη ητις εχει ανδρα απιστον και αυτος συνευδοκει οικειν μετ αυτης μη αφιετω αυτον

Christianity, Part 15

¹ John 12:32 (ESV)

² The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had δὲ near the beginning of this clause, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had γαρ (KJV: for).

³ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Stephanus Textus Receptus had διερμηνεύῃ here, where the Byzantine Majority Text had διερμηνευει. Both are 3^rd person singular forms of the verb διερμηνεύω in the present tense, indicative mood and active voice. The ESV translation, someone interprets, is interesting because it demonstrates a mindfulness of Paul’s instruction in 1 Corinthians 14:27, while the NET/KJV translation, he interpret(s), may be adding a restriction Paul and the Holy Spirit did not intend.

⁴ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the 2^nd person plural personal pronoun υμων (KJV: your) in the genitive case here, potentially making this a command for others (presumably men) to enforce upon women as opposed to a command for women to obey. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

⁵ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἐπιτρέπεται in the present tense here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had επιτετραπται (KJV: it is…permitted) in the perfect tense. The KJV translation—for it is not permitted unto them to speak—is a more accurate translation of the Greek clause in the NET and NA²⁸ but επιτετραπται would mean that it was not permitted and continues to not be permitted unto them to speak. This conforms to the final clause in the verse: as the Law also says.

⁶ The NET parallel Greek text had ἀλλὰ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus, Byzantine Majority Text and NA²⁸ had ἀλλ’.

⁷ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ὑποτασσέσθωσαν an imperative form of ὑποτάσσω here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had an inifinitive form υποτασσεσθαι (KJV: to be under obedience).

⁸ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had the singular γυναικὶ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had a plural form γυναιξιν (KJV: for women).

⁹ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had the singular ἐστὶν ἐντολή (NET: is the…command) here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the plural εισιν εντολαι (KJV: are the commandments).

¹⁰ The Stephanus Textus Receptus had the article του here. The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

¹¹ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἀγνοεῖται, a form of ἀγνοέω in the middle and passive voices and indicative mood, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αγνοειτω (KJV: let him be ignorant) an imperative form in the active voice

¹² The Stephanus Textus Receptus had και (KJV: and) preceding latter (KJV: the last), following and your…works (KJV: and thy works). The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

¹³ The NET parallel Greek text had ἀλλὰ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus, Byzantine Majority Text and NA²⁸ had ἀλλ’.

¹⁴ The Stephanus Textus Receptus had ολιγα (KJV: a few things) here. The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

¹⁵ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had ἀφεῖς, a form of ἀφίημι here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had εας (KJV: thou sufferest), a form of ἐάω.

¹⁶ The Byzantine Majority Text had την γυναικα σου (e.g., “your woman,” referring back to the angel of the church in Thyatira) here, where the NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Stephanus Textus Receptus had τὴν γυναῖκα (KJV: that woman).

¹⁷ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἡ λέγουσα here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had τὴν λεγουσαν (KJV: which calleth) and the Byzantine Majority Text had η λεγει (i,e., “who calls”).

¹⁸ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had διδάσκει, a form of διδάσκω in the present tense here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had the infinitive form διδασκειν (KJV: to teach).

¹⁹ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had πλανᾷ τοὺς ἐμοὺς, with πλανᾷ as a form of πλανάω in the present tense here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had πλανασθαι εμους (KJV: to seduce my), with πλανασθαι an infinitive form of πλανάω.

²⁰ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the 2^nd person plural personal pronoun υμων (KJV: your) in the genitive case here, potentially making this a command for others (presumably men) to enforce upon women as opposed to a command for women to obey. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

²¹ 1 Corinthians 14:33b, 34 (ESV)

²² The NET parallel Greek text had ἀλλὰ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus, Byzantine Majority Text and NA²⁸ had ἀλλ’.

²³ 1 Corinthians 14:33a (ESV)

²⁴ 1 Corinthians 14:33 (KJV)

²⁵ Revelation 2:20a (ESV)

²⁶ 1 Corinthians 14:34a (ESV)

²⁷ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had the article τοῦ preceding Christ. The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

²⁸ 1 Corinthians 14:5 (ESV)

²⁹ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἔπειτα (not translated in the NET) here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ειτα.

³⁰ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἀντιλήμψεις here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αντιληψεις (KJV: helps). These appear to be alternate spellings of the same part of speech.

³¹ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had μείζονα, a form of μείζων here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had κρειττονα (KJV: best), a form of κρείσσων.

³² 1 Corinthians 10:32a (ESV)

³³ 1 Corinthians 14:34a (ESV)

³⁴ 1 Corinthians 14:35a (ESV)

³⁵ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had εἴ τις here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ητις (KJV: which).

³⁶ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had οὗτος here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αυτος (KJV: if he).

³⁷ 1 Corinthians 7:13 (ESV) The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had τὸν ἄνδρα here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αυτον.

³⁸ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had υμων (KJV: of you) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

The Children of Promise, Part 2

Posted on April 27, 2024 by admin

Paul wrote, it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God; rather, the children of promise are counted as descendants.¹ In another essay I asked, “So, if God did not allow [Abimelech] to touch Sarah, why didn’t He do the same for Pharaoh and Sarai?” I’m hoping that a thorough study of the story of Abram/Abraham and Sarai/Sarah will give me a richer understanding of Paul’s contrast between the children of the flesh and the children of promise, as well as an answer to that question. The next two verses in Genesis, a literary forerunner of the cinematic montage, follow:

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 12:8, 9 (Tanakh)	Genesis 12:8, 9 (NET)	Genesis 12:8, 9 (NETS)	Genesis 12:8, 9 (English Elpenor)
And [Abram] removed from thence unto the mountain on the east of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, having Beth-el on the west, and Ai on the east; and he builded there an altar unto HaShem, and called upon the name of HaShem.	Then he moved from there to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and worshiped the Lord.	And from there he withdrew to the mountain to the east of Baithel and set up his tent there—Baithel towards the sea and Haggai to the east, and there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord.	And he departed thence to the mountain eastward of Baethel, and there he pitched his tent in Baethel near the sea, and Aggai toward the east, and there he built an altar to the Lord, and called on the name of the Lord.
And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South.	Abram continually journeyed by stages down to the Negev.	And Abram set out, and as he traveled he encamped in the wilderness.	And Abram departed and went and encamped in the wilderness.

This is how Abram saw the land that God promised I will show you:² he moved…and pitched his tent…he built an altar to the Lord and worshiped the Lord,³ day after week after month after year. By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place⁴ he would later receive as an inheritance, and he went out without understanding where he was going. By faith he lived as a foreigner in the promised land⁵ as though it were a foreign country, living in tents…⁶ You see that his faith was working together with his works and his faith was perfected by works.⁷

In another essay I thought the Lord’s first promise to Abram began in verse 2. Until I got to verse 8 I completely missed the little one verb promise in the first verse: אַרְאֶֽךָּ (rā’â), I will show thee (Tanakh), and σοι δείξω in Greek in the Septuagint, I will show you (NETS). The Greek verb δείξω is a form of δεικνύω: “to show, point out, make known; to explain, prove; to cause to be seen; to point to; to bring to light, display; to demonstrate.”

So what was it about verse 8 that triggered me to find God’s promise in verse 1? Abram’s faithfulness wandering in the promised land day after week after month after year. As I wrote in another essay: “The enabling grace of God, implicit in his call or command, is manifest among the children of promise as obedience to his word.”

The writer of Hebrews began his remarks about Abraham with five beautiful words: Πίστει καλούμενος Ἀβραὰμ ὑπήκουσεν ἐξελθεῖν. It is a brilliant shorthand that has taken me a lifetime to begin to understand, mostly through trial and error. The first word Πίστει is a dative form of πίστις: “The dative is the case of the indirect object, or may also indicate the means by which something is done.”⁸ By faith is an acceptable translation but it is clearly shorthand for, by being sure of what we hope for, being convinced of what we do not see.⁹

The Greek word translated as a passive verb phrase being sure was actually a noun, ὑπόστασις: “sustenance, support, subsistence; foundation (of a building); substantial nature, essence, actual being, reality; possessions, property; situation, condition; existence; rebellion, resistance; good chance of (something happening); realization; mutually agreed tariff; troops stationed at a military base.” I understand why the author chose it: For this reason I tell you, Jesus said, whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.¹⁰ But I can also see that if anyone understood the writer of Hebrews to be suggesting that faith is the “substantial nature, essence, actual being, reality,” then James’ faith was perfected by works¹¹ was a welcome corrective.

The NET translators’ passive verb phrase being convinced of was another noun in Greek, ἔλεγχος: “rebuttal, refutation, reproach; proof, proving; act of questioning; conviction (of a sinner); reproof, censure, correction; something that deserves open criticism.” This noun coupled with the passive verb phrase chosen by the NET translators implies a long history of divine instruction from unbelief to disbelief to faith, as does Abram’s response to the Lord’s simple promise: I will show you:¹² It makes my question seem unnecessary, but I’ll ask it anyway: was this faith, Abraham’s certainty and conviction, something which originated with Abraham, or Abram?

Consider James again: You see that his faith was working together with his works and his faith was perfected by works.¹³ The Greek words translated his faith were ἡ πίστις; literally “the faith.” Perhaps “the faithfulness” is a better way to understand it: You see that the faithfulness was working together with his works and the faithfulness was perfected by works. In other words, Abraham’s acts of obedience to God’s word brought faithfulness to its intended conclusion. So, if the apparent faithfulness of Abraham didn’t originate with Abraham, then from what place or what source did it originate?

For from him and through him and to him are all things, Paul wrote of God. To him be glory forever! Amen.¹⁴ This is an important key to understanding the Scriptures. And so, I will understand Πίστει here as shorthand for “By God’s faithfulness.” The next word in the writer of Hebrews’ shorthand was καλούμενος.

It is a passive form of καλέω: “Grammatical voice indicates whether the subject is the performer of the action of the verb (active voice), or the subject is the recipient of the action (passive voice). If the subject of the sentence is being acted upon, then the verb is referred to as being in the passive voice.”¹⁵ The translation, when he was called, is fine and adding Paul’s key to the Scriptures, Life, the Universe and Everything is not anything I’ve ever heard debated: when he was called by God: “By God’s faithfulness, when he was called by God, Abraham (Ἀβραὰμ)…”

The fourth word is ὑπήκουσεν, a form of ὑπακούω, translated obeyed in the NET. That feels like a short circuit to me. This whole word string is an admirable description of the obedience of faith (ὑπακοὴν πίστεως) that Paul considered the hallmark of his apostleship (Romans 1:5 NET):

Through [Jesus Christ our Lord] we have received grace and our apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles on behalf of his name.

The word string, to bring about the, may be a lot to ask of εἰς. I would be willing to modify it: grace and…apostleship “into” or “unto” or “for” obedience of faith or “faith’s obedience.” What I’m calling a “short circuit,” leaping to obeyed as a translation of ὑπήκουσεν alone, is what adults do to children.

Adults have neither time nor patience for children to learn the fruit of the Spirit, or to walk or live by the Spirit, the obedience of faith in other words. Adults expect to be obeyed immediately in the flesh. And that’s how children learn to obey—or not. It’s quite a culture shock if they bring this kind of “obedience in the flesh” to Jesus and He calls them actors, pretending to righteousness. For my purposes in this essay I’ll translate ὑπήκουσεν as he listened. Adding Paul’s key would render it: “he listened to God.”

So, that gives me: “By God’s faithfulness, when he was called by God, Abraham listened to God.” The final word of this beautiful word string is ἐξελθεῖν, an infinitive form of ἐξέρχομαι, to go out. And again, adding Paul’s key would render it, “to go out in the power of God.” So, I have this word string as a beautiful description of the obedience of faith practiced by the children of promise:

The obedience of faith practiced by the children of promise

Πίστει καλούμενος Ἀβραὰμ ὑπήκουσεν ἐξελθεῖν

“By God’s faithfulness, when he was called by God, Abraham listened to God to go out in the power of God”

For he was looking forward to the city with firm foundations, whose architect and builder is God.¹⁶ So he journeyed to a land God promised: I will show you.¹⁷ It seems fairly obvious now that this promised land was a shadow cast by the new man who has been created in God’s image—in righteousness and holiness that comes from truth.¹⁸ And that insight makes a definition of what I’ll call the obedience practiced by the children of the flesh possible.

The obedience practiced by the children of the flesh

“By my faith in my own calling, I listened to my own inner voice to go out in my own strength”

This is the life trajectory projected by the old man who is being corrupted in accordance with deceitful desires¹⁹ to a wished-for-land of my own ambition, to make my name great for my own praise and my own glory. And this innate belief, the natural inheritance of our flesh, can taint or corrupt, distort or pervert even such beautiful words as Πίστει καλούμενος Ἀβραὰμ ὑπήκουσεν ἐξελθεῖν. I’ll pick up where I left off in Genesis as the plot begins to thicken.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 12:10, 11 (Tanakh)	Genesis 12:10, 11 (NET)	Genesis 12:10, 11 (NETS)	Genesis 12:10, 11 (English Elpenor)
And there was a famine in the land; and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was sore in the land [Table].	There was a famine in the land, so Abram went down to Egypt to stay for a while because the famine was severe.	And a famine occurred upon the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to reside there as an alien, for the famine prevailed upon the land [Table].	And there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, because the famine prevailed in the land.
And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife: ‘Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon [Table].	As he approached Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “Look, I know that you are a beautiful woman.	And it came about when Abram drew near to enter into Egypt that Abram said to his wife Sara, “I do know that your are a woman beautiful in countenance [Table],	And it came to pass when Abram drew nigh to enter into Egypt, Abram said to Sara his wife, I know that thou art a fair woman.

This concern occurred to him at the border of the promised land. But that promised land, with boundaries and borders one might draw on a map, was only a shadow. I want to focus this time on that land God promised: I will show you.²⁰

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 12:12, 13 (Tanakh)	Genesis 12:12, 13 (NET)	Genesis 12:12, 13 (NETS)	Genesis 12:12, 13 (English Elpenor)
And it will come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they will say: This is his wife; and they will kill me, but thee they will keep alive [Table].	When the Egyptians see you they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will keep you alive.	it will be, therefore, that should the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife’, and they will kill me, but you they will keep for themselves [Table].	It shall come to pass then that when the Egyptians shall see thee, they shall say, This is his wife, and they shall slay me, but they shall save thee alive.
Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister; that it may be well with me for thy sake, and that my soul may live because of thee’ [Table].	So tell them you are my sister so that it may go well for me because of you and my life will be spared on account of you.”	Say, therefore, ‘I am his sister’, so that it may go well with me because of you, and my soul will live on your account” [Table],	Say, therefore, I am his sister, that it may be well with me on account of thee, and my soul shall live because of thee.

This doesn’t sound like faith to me. That’s really the only thing I need to recognize here. But since I’m approaching things differently this time, I wonder: Why have I always been waylaid here, focused on Abram’s fear and unbelief? And I think I have an answer: I talk a good game. I can write things like:

Πίστει is shorthand for “By God’s faithfulness.”

But when I want to do good, evil is present with me.²¹ Doubts and arguments come to mind: No, Abram’s faith is what matters. God’s faithfulness, though beyond dispute, is not the issue here. Such doubts and arguments arise even as I write this essay, but this time I can ignore them by focusing my attention on the land God promised: I will show you.²²

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 12:14-17 (Tanakh)	Genesis 12:14-17 (NET)	Genesis 12:14-17 (NETS)	Genesis 12:14-17 (English Elpenor)
And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair [Table].	When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.	And it came about when Abram entered into Egypt—as the Egyptians saw the woman, that she was very beautiful— [Table]	And it came to pass when Abram entered into Egypt– the Egyptians having seen his wife that she was very beautiful–
And the princes of Pharaoh saw her, and praised her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house [Table].	When Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. So Abram’s wife was taken into the household of Pharaoh,	that then the rulers of Pharao saw her and praised her to Pharao and brought her into Pharao’s house [Table].	that the princes of Pharao saw her, and praised her to Pharao and brought her into the house of Pharao.
And he dealt well with Abram for her sake; and he had sheep, and oxen, and he-asses, and men-servants, and maid-servants, and she-asses, and camels [Table].	and he did treat Abram well on account of her. Abram received sheep and cattle, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.	And for her sake they dealt well with Abram, and he had sheep and calves and donkeys, male and female slaves, mules and camels [Table].	And they treated Abram well on her account, and he had sheep, and calves, and asses, and men-servants, and women-servants, and mules, and camels.
And HaShem plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram’s wife [Table].	But the Lord struck Pharaoh and his household with severe diseases because of Sarai, Abram’s wife.	And God tried Pharao and his house with great and grievous trials because of Sara, Abram’s wife [Table].	And God afflicted Pharao with great and severe afflictions, and his house, because of Sara, Abram’s wife.

This is utterly offensive to the religious mind. It believes, or wants me to believe, that all that transpired for Abram was the result, or should have been the result, of Abram’s faith or faithfulness rather than God’s (since I refuse to be thrown off the scent this time as Abram prospers pimping his beautiful wife). But the religious mind tips its hand here. I should probably say plainly that what I am calling the religious mind is a masquerade, an act, put on by the old man who is being corrupted in accordance with deceitful desires.²³ It would prefer to persuade me to believe that nothing transpired for Abram, because Abram as revealed in the Bible never existed, because the Bible lies about everything that’s written in it, especially God, because there is no God but me—e.g., the old man.

If I pay attention instead to the land God promised: I will show you,²⁴ what does that land look like? God’s promise, and be thou a blessing,²⁵ you will exemplify divine blessing,²⁶ and you shall be one blessed,²⁷ and thou shalt be blessed,²⁸ didn’t fail because Abram was faithless. It didn’t cease in response to Sarai’s apparent adultery in obedience to her husband’s command. This becomes another confirmation that Πίστει truly is the writer of Hebrew’s shorthand for “By God’s faithfulness.”

And I see something else, too (Romans 9:22, 23 NET).

But what if God, willing to demonstrate his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience the objects of wrath prepared for destruction? And what if he is willing to make known the wealth of his glory on the objects of mercy that he has prepared beforehand for glory…

This story of Abram, Sarai and Pharoah, as well as my own confusion about this story, helps me see that the objects of wrath prepared for destruction which God has endured with much patience refers, not only to Pharoah but, to something within Abram and Sarai as well: the old man (τὸν παλαιὸν ἄνθρωπον) who is being corrupted in accordance with deceitful desires.²⁹

I’ll continue with this in another essay.

Tables comparing Genesis 12:8 and 12:9 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and comparing the Greek of Genesis 12:8 and 12:9 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and tables comparing Hebrews 11:8, 9 in the NET and KJV follow.

Genesis 12:8 (Tanakh)	Genesis 12:8 (KJV)	Genesis 12:8 (NET)
And he removed from thence unto the mountain on the east of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, having Beth-el on the west, and Ai on the east; and he builded there an altar unto HaShem, and called upon the name of HaShem.	And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.	Then he moved from there to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and worshiped the Lord.

Genesis 12:8 (BLB Septuagint)	Genesis 12:8 (Elpenor Septuagint)
καὶ ἀπέστη ἐκεῖθεν εἰς τὸ ὄρος κατ᾽ ἀνατολὰς Βαιθηλ καὶ ἔστησεν ἐκεῖ τὴν σκηνὴν αὐτοῦ Βαιθηλ κατὰ θάλασσαν καὶ Αγγαι κατ᾽ ἀνατολάς καὶ ᾠκοδόμησεν ἐκεῖ θυσιαστήριον τῷ κυρίῳ καὶ ἐπεκαλέσατο ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματι κυρίου	καὶ ἀπέστη ἐκεῖθεν εἰς τὸ ὄρος κατὰ ἀνατολὰς Βαιθὴλ καὶ ἔστησεν ἐκεῖ τὴν σκηνὴν αὐτοῦ, Βαιθὴλ κατὰ θάλασσαν καὶ ᾿Αγγαὶ κατὰ ἀνατολάς· καὶ ᾠκοδόμησεν ἐκεῖ θυσιαστήριον τῷ Κυρίῳ καὶ ἐπεκαλέσατο ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματι Κυρίου
Genesis 12:8 (NETS)	Genesis 12:8 (English Elpenor)
And from there he withdrew to the mountain to the east of Baithel and set up his tent there—Baithel towards the sea and Haggai to the east, and there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord.	And he departed thence to the mountain eastward of Baethel, and there he pitched his tent in Baethel near the sea, and Aggai toward the east, and there he built an altar to the Lord, and called on the name of the Lord.

Genesis 12:9 (Tanakh)	Genesis 12:9 (KJV)	Genesis 12:9 (NET)
And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South.	And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the south.	Abram continually journeyed by stages down to the Negev.

Genesis 12:9 (BLB Septuagint)	Genesis 12:9 (Elpenor Septuagint)
καὶ ἀπῆρεν Αβραμ καὶ πορευθεὶς ἐστρατοπέδευσεν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ	καὶ ἀπῇρεν ῞Αβραμ καὶ πορευθεὶς ἐστρατοπέδευσεν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ
Genesis 12:9 (NETS)	Genesis 12:9 (English Elpenor)
And Abram set out, and as he traveled he encamped in the wilderness.	And Abram departed and went and encamped in the wilderness.

Hebrews 11:8, 9 (NET)	Hebrews 11:8, 9 (KJV)
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place he would later receive as an inheritance, and he went out without understanding where he was going.	By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.

Hebrews 11:8 (NET Parallel Greek)	Hebrews 11:8 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Hebrews 11:8 (Byzantine Majority Text)
Πίστει καλούμενος Ἀβραὰμ ὑπήκουσεν ἐξελθεῖν εἰς τόπον ὃν ἤμελλεν λαμβάνειν εἰς κληρονομίαν, καὶ ἐξῆλθεν μὴ ἐπιστάμενος ποῦ ἔρχεται	πιστει καλουμενος αβρααμ υπηκουσεν εξελθειν εις τον τοπον ον ημελλεν λαμβανειν εις κληρονομιαν και εξηλθεν μη επισταμενος που ερχεται	πιστει καλουμενος αβρααμ υπηκουσεν εξελθειν εις τον τοπον ον ημελλεν λαμβανειν εις κληρονομιαν και εξηλθεν μη επισταμενος που ερχεται

By faith he lived as a foreigner in the promised land as though it were a foreign country, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, who were fellow heirs of the same promise.

By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:

Hebrews 11:9 (NET Parallel Greek)	Hebrews 11:9 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Hebrews 11:9 (Byzantine Majority Text)
Πίστει παρῴκησεν εἰς γῆν τῆς ἐπαγγελίας ὡς ἀλλοτρίαν ἐν σκηναῖς κατοικήσας μετὰ Ἰσαὰκ καὶ Ἰακὼβ τῶν συγκληρονόμων τῆς ἐπαγγελίας τῆς αὐτῆς	πιστει παρωκησεν εις την γην της επαγγελιας ως αλλοτριαν εν σκηναις κατοικησας μετα ισαακ και ιακωβ των συγκληρονομων της επαγγελιας της αυτης	πιστει παρωκησεν εις την γην της επαγγελιας ως αλλοτριαν εν σκηναις κατοικησας μετα ισαακ και ιακωβ των συγκληρονομων της επαγγελιας της αυτης

Back to Matthew 8:23-34

Back to Exploration, Part 2

¹ Romans 9:8 (NET)

² Genesis 12:1b (NET/NETS) Table

³ Genesis 12:8 (NET)

⁴ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the article τον preceding place. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

⁵ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the article την preceding land. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

⁶ Hebrews 11:8, 9a (NET)

⁷ James 2:22 (NET)

⁸ Noun Cases: Dative Case, from GREEK NOUNS (Shorter Definitions), on Resources for Learning New Testament Greek online.

⁹ Hebrews 11:1 (NET)

¹⁰ Mark 11:24 (NET) Table

¹¹ James 2:22 (NET)

¹² Genesis 12:1b (NET/NETS) Table

¹³ James 2:22 (NET)

¹⁴ Romans 11:36 (NET)

¹⁵ Grammatical Voice of Verbs: Passive Voice, from Greek Verbs (Shorter Definitions), on Resources for Learning New Testament Greek online.

¹⁶ Hebrews 11:10 (NET)

¹⁷ Genesis 12:1b (NET/NETS) Table

¹⁸ Ephesians 4:24b (NET)

¹⁹ Ephesians 4:22b (NET)

²⁰ Genesis 12:1b (NET/NETS) Table

²¹ Romans 7:21b (NET)

²² Genesis 12:1b (NET/NETS) Table

²³ Ephesians 4:22b (NET)

²⁴ Genesis 12:1b (NET/NETS) Table

²⁵ Genesis 12:2b (Tanakh) Table

²⁶ Genesis 12:2b (NET) Table

²⁷ Genesis 12:2b (NETS) Table

²⁸ Genesis 12:2b (English Elpenor) Table

²⁹ Ephesians 4:22b (NET)

The Day of the Lord, Part 8

Posted on April 22, 2024 by admin

This is the conclusion of my consideration whether my assumption that Jesus called Judas Iscariot ὁ υἱὸς τῆς ἀπωλείας (NET: the one destined for destruction) is like Jesus’ disciples’ discussion about having no bread¹ after He said: “Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod!”² I’ll begin with a request John recorded that Jesus’ made of his Father (John 17:15 NET):

I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but that you keep them safe from the evil one.

John 17:15 Detail
Greek	English
οὐκ ἐρωτῶ	I am not asking
ἵνα	“that”
ἄρῃς αὐτοὺς	you…take them
ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου	out of the world
ἀλλ᾿ ἵνα	but that
τηρήσῃς αὐτοὺς	you keep them…
ἐκ τοῦ πονηροῦ	from the evil…

John also recorded God’s answer to Jesus’ request (1 John 5:18 LSV):

We have known that everyone who has been begotten of God does not sin, but He who was begotten of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him;

1 John 5:18 Detail [Table]
Greek	English
Οἴδαμεν ὅτι	We have known (“and continue to know” Perfect Tense) that
πᾶς	everyone
ὁ γεγεννημένος ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ	who has been begotten (“and continues to be” Perfect Tense) of God
οὐχ ἁμαρτάνει	does not sin,
ἀλλ᾿	but
ὁ γεννηθεὶς ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ	He who was begotten of God
τηρεῖ αὐτόν ³	keeps him

I’ll pause here a moment to address the NET translators’ objection (NET note 50) to ὁ γεννηθεὶς ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ as a reference to Jesus.

The One fathered by God [Jesus] protects him [the Christian].” This is a popular interpretation, and is certainly possible grammatically. Yet the introduction of a reference to Jesus in this context is sudden; to be unambiguous the author could have mentioned the “Son of God” here, or used the pronoun ἐκεῖνος (ekeinos) as a reference to Jesus as he consistently does elsewhere in 1 John. This interpretation, while possible, seems in context highly unlikely.

As I mentioned in another essay, the NET translators’ confused everyone who has been begotten of God does not sin with “the Christian.” Listen to how differently John addressed “the Christian” (1 John 1:8-2:2 ESV):

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

John had very high expectations for My little children (Τεκνία μου): ἵνα μὴ ἁμάρτητε (that you may not sin) is a purpose clause in the subjunctive mood. But this expectation is different from the positive affirmation: We have known that everyone who has been begotten of God does not sin.⁴ For this reason I would amend the NET translators’ first statement: “The One fathered by God [Jesus] protects him [the new man].” So, their main objection that “the introduction of a reference to Jesus in this context is sudden” and therefore “highly unlikely” rests solely on a desire for John “to be unambiguous.”

Did John or the Holy Spirit intend “to be unambiguous” or, rather, did they intend to highlight the strong connection between πᾶς ὁ γεγεννημένος ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ (everyone who has been begotten of God) and ὁ γεννηθεὶς ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ (He who was begotten of God)? Listen to another related request that Jesus made of his Father in the very same prayer (John 17:20, 21 LSV):

And I do not ask in regard to these alone, but also in regard to those who will be believing in Me through their word, that they all may be one, as You Father [are] in Me, and I in You, that they also may be one⁵ in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.

So, to conclude God’s answer to Jesus’ previous request that his Father keep them:

1 John 5:18 Detail Continued [Table]
Greek	English
καὶ ὁ πονηρὸς	and the evil one
οὐχ ἅπτεται	does not touch
αὐτοῦ	him

As I mentioned in another essay, the translators’ understood autou as a personal pronoun in the genitive case: “The genitive case has more uses than most other cases, but in general a noun in the genitive case helps to limit the scope of another noun by indicating its ‘kind’ or ‘class’.” None of the English translations I found understood autou as an adverb. There are probably more uses of the genitive case than I can glean from these short definitions, but this seems to ignore the genitive case and treat autou as if it were in the accusative case. I’ve begun a new thread surveying the New Testament usage of αὐτοῦ and ἑαυτοῦ so I won’t belabor that here.

My point here is the focus and concern of Jesus’ prayer as He is no longer in the world (John 17:6-12 LSV):

I revealed Your Name to the men whom You have given to Me out of the world; they were Yours, and⁶ You have given them to Me, and they have kept Your word [Table]; now they have known that all things, as many as You have given to Me, are from You, because the sayings that You have given to Me, I have given to them, and they themselves received, and have known truly, that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me [Table]. I ask in regard to them; I do not ask in regard to the world, but in regard to those whom You have given to Me, because they are Yours, and all Mine are Yours, and Yours [are] Mine, and I have been glorified in them; and I am no longer in the world, and these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your Name, whom You have given to Me, that they may be one as We [are one]; when I was with them in the world, I was keeping them in Your Name; I guarded those whom You have given to Me, and none of them were destroyed, except the son of the destruction, that the Writing may be fulfilled [Table].

At the beginning of this passage I think it’s safe to say that Jesus prayed specifically for those to whom He had ministered personally: I revealed Your Name to the men whom You have given to Me out of the world; they were Yours, and You have given them to Me, and they have kept Your word.⁷ But then his gaze broadened: I ask in regard to them; I do not ask in regard to the world, but in regard to those whom You have given to Me, because they are Yours, and all Mine are Yours, and Yours [are] Mine, and I have been glorified in them.⁸

I say that Jesus’ gaze broadened here because John also recorded who Jesus would consider Mine, and therefore those whom You have given to Me, if he was crucified (John 12:27-33 LSV):

Now My soul has been troubled; and what will I say—Father, save Me from this hour? But because of this (John 12:20-26) I came to this hour; Father, glorify Your Name.” Therefore there came a voice out of Heaven, “I both glorified, and again I will glorify [it]”; the multitude, therefore, having stood and heard, were saying that there has been thunder; others said, “A messenger has spoken to Him.” Jesus⁹ answered and said, “This voice has not come because of Me, but because of you; now is a judgment of this world, now will the ruler of this world be cast forth; and I, if I may be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.” And this He said signifying by what death He was about to die [Table];

John 17:12 Detail [Table]
Stephanus Textus Receptus	LSV	NET Parallel Greek	NET
οτε ημην μετ αυτων	when I was with them	ὅτε ἤμην μετ᾿ αὐτῶν	When I was with them
εν τω κοσμω	in the world
εγω ετηρουν αυτους	I was keeping them	ἐγὼ ἐτήρουν αὐτοὺς	I kept them safe
εν τω ονοματι σου	in Your Name	ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι σου	in your name
ους δεδωκας μοι	those whom You have given to Me	ᾧ δέδωκας μοι	that you have given me
εφυλαξα	I guarded	καὶ ἐφύλαξα	and watched over them
και ουδεις εξ αυτων	and none of them	καὶ οὐδεὶς ἐξ αὐτῶν	Not one of them
απωλετο	were destroyed	ἀπώλετο	was lost
ει μη	except	εἰ μὴ	except
ο υιος	the son	ὁ υἱὸς	the one destined
της απωλειας	of the destruction	τῆς ἀπωλείας	for destruction
ινα	that	ἵνα	so that
η γραφη πληρωθη	the Writing may be fulfilled	ἡ γραφὴ πληρωθῇ	the scripture could be fulfilled

The Greek phrase ουδεις εξ αυτων seems like a strange construction for none of them (LSV) and Not one of them (NET). Why not simply ουδεις αυτων? And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, yet none of them (οὐδεὶς αὐτῶν) was cleansed except (εἰ μὴ) Naaman¹⁰ the Syrian.¹¹ But John used ουδεις εξ three times.

Was he less proficient in Greek than Luke? I wondered. If John’s Gospel were written by a twenty-something John, I might accept that, but every indication is that it was written by the elder John who not only spent his youth with Jesus but enjoyed a lifetime with the indwelling Holy Spirit, making sense of those years. And what of the Holy Spirit? I decided to look deeper than mere occurrence.

Hasn’t Moses¹² given you the law? Yet not one of you (οὐδεὶς ἐξ ὑμῶν) keeps the law! Why do you want to kill me?¹³ The Greek word translated keeps was actually ποιεῖ (a form of ποιέω) rather than τήρει (a form of τηρέω) or φύλασσε (a form of φυλάσσω). So Jesus said to Jewish leaders¹⁴ (οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι), “not one of you does the law”? That sounds ridiculous on the face of it.

Jewish leaders were all about doing the law. Of course, one of the more salient features of the Gospels is that Jewish leaders were “all about doing the law” in much the same way I was all about doing compliance, to minimize my experience of being screamed at, to maximize my experience of being thought of and spoken of well, all for my praise and my glory. And Jesus was never all about looking at things “on the face of it” but on the heart.

It was past time to take ἐξ more seriously: Jesus said to Jewish leaders, “nothing out of you” or “from within you does the law.” In other words, nothing out of them or from within them loved God or their neighbor with the love God supplies through his own indwelling Holy Spirit (Mark 12:28-31 NET).

Now one of the experts in the law came and heard them debating. When he saw that Jesus answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is: ‘Listen, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one [Table]. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength’ [Table]. The second is: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these” [Table].

The Jewish leaders (and I) were like actors pretending to love like God by our own skill and in our own strength (weakened through the flesh). Only John recorded the disturbing words Jesus spoke to those Judeans who had believed (“and continued to believe”; Perfect Tense) him¹⁵ (πρὸς τοὺς πεπιστευκότας αὐτῷ Ἰουδαίους): You people are from your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires.¹⁶ It may not have been the best way to win friends and influence people, but it was perhaps the only way to tell his followers the truth about the evil within them, that evil Paul would later describe as the old man (τὸν παλαιὸν ἄνθρωπον) who is being corrupted in accordance with deceitful desires.¹⁷

John also recorded Jesus saying (John 16:4b-6 NET):

I did not tell you these things (John 15:1-16:4a) from the beginning because I was with you [Table]. But now I am going to the one who sent me, and not one of you (οὐδεὶς ἐξ ὑμῶν) is asking me, ‘Where are you going?’ Instead your hearts are filled with sadness because I have said these things to you.

Though Jesus’ word and his presence had already created in his disciples what Paul would later describe as the new man (τὸν καινὸν ἄνθρωπον) who has been created in God’s image—in righteousness and holiness that comes from truth,¹⁸ it was weak compared to the old man apart from Jesus’ own indwelling Spirit. “Nothing out of you” or “from within you is asking me” the most obvious question, Jesus marveled. They were focused instead on their own feelings.

So now, when I come to—Not one of them (οὐδεὶς ἐξ αὐτῶν) was lost except the one destined for destruction¹⁹—it is much easier to hear: “Nothing out of” or “from within them was lost (LSV: destroyed) except the one destined for destruction” (KJV: the son of perdition), e.g., the old man (τὸν παλαιὸν ἄνθρωπον) who is being corrupted in accordance with deceitful desires.²⁰

I wondered for a moment or two at ἀπώλετο, translated was lost (NET), is lost (KJV) and were destroyed (LSV), a form of ἀπόλλυμι, ἀπόλλω, ἀπολλύω in the 2^nd aorist tense and indicative mood. But Bill Mounce answered my concern in his article, “The Aorist is so much more than a past tense”:

I like Con Campbell’s word picture of the aorist. You are in a helicopter over the parade, looking at the parade as a whole. Buist Fanning talks about seeing the action from the outside as a whole rather than from inside the action (i.e., being part of the parade).

Because this is the basic genius of the aorist, it can have a phenomenally wide range of usage. You can be looking at the action as a whole but paying special attention to the beginning (“ingressive”) or to the end (“consummative”). It can describes [sic] something that simply is regardless of any time reference (“gnomic”).

But my favorite is to [sic] proleptic (futuristic) use of the aorist. Because time is secondary, the aorist can describe a future event and emphasize the certainty of the action. It is not a common usage, but it does show how we need to keep the idea of “time” in its proper place.

So, Jesus did not refer to Judas Iscariot any more or any less than He referred to me or anyone or everyone else. What Scripture, what Writing did this fulfill once and for all? Nothing less than the Name of God:

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Exodus 34:6, 7a (Tanakh)	Exodus 34:6, 7a (NET)	Exodus 34:6, 7a (NETS)	Exodus 34:6, 7a (English Elpenor)
And HaShem passed by before [Moses], and proclaimed: ‘The HaShem, HaShem, G-d, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth [Table];	The Lord passed by before him and proclaimed: “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, and abounding in loyal love and faithfulness,	And the Lord passed by before his face, and he called, “The Lord, the Lord God is compassionate and merciful, patient and very merciful and truthful [Table]	And the Lord passed by before his face, and proclaimed, The Lord God, pitiful and merciful, longsuffering and very compassionate, and true,
keeping mercy unto the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin; and that will by no means clear the guilty [Table];	keeping loyal love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. But he by no means leaves the guilty unpunished,”	and preserving righteousness and doing mercy for thousands, taking away acts of lawlessness and of injustice and sins, and he will not acquit the guilty person [Table],	and keeping justice and mercy for thousands, taking away iniquity, and unrighteousness, and sins; and he will not clear the guilty;

According to a note (62) in the NET Jesus quoted from Deuteronomy 6:4, 5 and Joshua 22:5. A table comparing the Greek of his quotation in Mark 12:29b, 30 to that of the Septuagint follows.

Mark 12:29b, 30 (NET Parallel Greek)	Deuteronomy 6:4b, 5; Joshua 22:5b (Septuagint BLB)	Deuteronomy 6:4b, 5; Joshua 22:5b (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἄκουε, Ἰσραήλ, κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν κύριος εἷς ἐστιν, καὶ ἀγαπήσεις κύριον τὸν θεόν σου ἐξ ὅλης \|τῆς\| καρδίας σου καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ψυχῆς σου καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς διανοίας σου καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ἰσχύος σου	ἄκουε Ισραηλ κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν κύριος εἷς ἐστιν καὶ ἀγαπήσεις κύριον τὸν θεόν σου ἐξ ὅλης τῆς καρδίας σου καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ψυχῆς σου καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς δυνάμεώς σου [Table] ἐξ ὅλης τῆς διανοίας	Ακουε, ᾿Ισραήλ· Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν Κύριος εἷς ἐστι καὶ ἀγαπήσεις Κύριον τὸν Θεόν σου ἐξ ὅλης τῆς καρδίας σου καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ψυχῆς σου καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς δυνάμεώς σου ἐξ ὅλης τῆς διανοίας
Mark 12:29b, 30 (NET)	Deuteronomy 6:4b, 5; Joshua 22:5b (NETS)	Deuteronomy 6:4b, 5; Joshua 22:5b (English Elpenor)
Listen, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.	Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord. And you shall love the Lord your God with the whole of your mind and with the whole of your soul and with the whole of your power. …with all your mind…	Hear, O Israel, The Lord our God is one Lord. And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy mind, and with all thy soul, and all thy strength. …with all your mind…

According to a note (63) in the NET Jesus quoted from Leviticus 19:18. A table comparing the Greek of his quotation in Mark 12:31a to that of the Septuagint follows.

Mark 12:31a (NET Parallel Greek)	Leviticus 19:18b (Septuagint BLB)	Leviticus 19:18b (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν	ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν [Table]	ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν
Mark 12:31a (NET)	Leviticus 19:18b (NETS)	Leviticus 19:18b (English Elpenor)
Love your neighbor as yourself	you shall love your neighbor as yourself	thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself

Tables comparing Deuteronomy 6:4 and Joshua 22:5 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and tables comparing the Greek of Deuteronomy 6:4 and Joshua 22:5 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and tables comparing John 17:21; 12:30; Luke 4:27 and John 7:19 in the KJV and NET follow.

Deuteronomy 6:4 (Tanakh)	Deuteronomy 6:4 (KJV)	Deuteronomy 6:4 (NET)
HEAR, O ISRAEL: THE HaShem OUR GOD, THE HaShem IS ONE.	Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:	Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!

Deuteronomy 6:4 (Septuagint BLB)	Deuteronomy 6:3b, 4 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ταῦτα τὰ δικαιώματα καὶ τὰ κρίματα ὅσα ἐνετείλατο κύριος τοῖς υἱοῖς Ισραηλ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ ἐξελθόντων αὐτῶν ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου ἄκουε Ισραηλ κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν κύριος εἷς ἐστιν	Tκαὶ ταῦτα τὰ δικαιώματα καὶ τὰ κρίματα, ὅσα ἐνετείλατο Κύριος τοῖς υἱοῖς ᾿Ισραὴλ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, ἐξελθόντων αὐτῶν ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου. (4) ῎Ακουε, ᾿Ισραήλ· Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν Κύριος εἷς ἐστι
Deuteronomy 6:4 (NETS)	Deuteronomy 6:3b, 4 (English Elpenor)
And these are the statutes and the judgments, which the Lord commanded to the sons of Israel in the wilderness as they were coming out from the land of Egypt. Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord.	and these [are] the ordinances, and the judgments, which the Lord commanded the children of Israel in the wilderness, when they had gone forth from the land of Egypt. (4) Hear, O Israel, The Lord our God is one Lord.

Joshua 22:5 (Tanakh)	Joshua 22:5 (KJV)	Joshua 22:5 (NET)
But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.	But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.	But carefully obey the commands and instructions Moses the Lord’s servant gave you. Love the Lord your God, follow all his instructions, obey his commands, be loyal to him, and serve him with all your heart and being!”

Joshua 22:5 (Septuagint BLB)	Joshua 22:5 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἀλλὰ φυλάξασθε ποιεῖν σφόδρα τὰς ἐντολὰς καὶ τὸν νόμον ὃν ἐνετείλατο ἡμῖν ποιεῖν Μωυσῆς ὁ παῖς κυρίου ἀγαπᾶν κύριον τὸν θεὸν ὑμῶν πορεύεσθαι πάσαις ταῖς ὁδοῖς αὐτοῦ φυλάξασθαι τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ καὶ προσκεῖσθαι αὐτῷ καὶ λατρεύειν αὐτῷ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς διανοίας ὑμῶν καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ψυχῆς ὑμῶν	ἀλλὰ φυλάξασθε σφόδρα ποιεῖν τὰς ἐντολὰς καὶ τὸν νόμον, ὃν ἐνετείλατο ἡμῖν ποιεῖν Μωυσῆς ὁ παῖς Κυρίου, ἀγαπᾶν Κύριον τὸν Θεὸν ἡμῶν, πορεύεσθαι πάσαις ταῖς ὁδοῖς αὐτοῦ, φυλάξασθαι τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ καὶ προσκεῖσθαι αὐτῷ καὶ λατρεύειν αὐτῷ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς διανοίας ὑμῶν καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ψυχῆς ὑμῶν
Joshua 22:5 (NETS)	Joshua 22:5 (English Elpenor)
But take great care to do the ordinances and the law that Moyses the servant of the Lord commanded you to do: to love the Lord your God, to walk by all his ways, to keep his ordinances and to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your mind and with all your soul.”	But take great heed to do the commands and the law, which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you to do; to love the Lord our God, to walk in all his ways, to keep his commands, and to cleave to him, and serve him with all your mind, and with all your soul.

John 17:21 (NET)	John 17:21 (KJV)
that they will all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. I pray that they will be in us, so that the world will believe that you sent me.	That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

John 17:21 (NET Parallel Greek)	John 17:21 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	John 17:21 (Byzantine Majority Text)
ἵνα πάντες ἓν ὦσιν, καθὼς σύ, \|πάτερ\|, ἐν ἐμοὶ καγὼ ἐν σοί, ἵνα καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐν ἡμῖν ὦσιν, ἵνα ὁ κόσμος πιστεύῃ ὅτι σύ με ἀπέστειλας	ινα παντες εν ωσιν καθως συ πατερ εν εμοι καγω εν σοι ινα και αυτοι εν ημιν εν ωσιν ινα ο κοσμος πιστευση οτι συ με απεστειλας	ινα παντες εν ωσιν καθως συ πατερ εν εμοι καγω εν σοι ινα και αυτοι εν ημιν εν ωσιν ινα ο κοσμος πιστευση οτι συ με απεστειλας

John 12:30 (NET)	John 12:30 (KJV)
Jesus said, “This voice has not come for my benefit but for yours.	Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes.

John 12:30 (NET Parallel Greek)	John 12:30 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	John 12:30 (Byzantine Majority Text)
ἀπεκρίθη \|Ἰησοῦς\| καὶ εἶπεν · οὐ δι᾿ ἐμὲ ἡ φωνὴ αὕτη γέγονεν ἀλλὰ δι᾿ ὑμᾶς	απεκριθη ο ιησους και ειπεν ου δι εμε αυτη η φωνη γεγονεν αλλα δι υμας	απεκριθη ο ιησους και ειπεν ου δι εμε αυτη η φωνη γεγονεν αλλα δι υμας

Luke 4:27 (NET)	Luke 4:27 (KJV)
And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, yet none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.”	And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian.

Luke 4:27 (NET Parallel Greek)	Luke 4:27 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Luke 4:27 (Byzantine Majority Text)
καὶ πολλοὶ λεπροὶ ἦσαν ἐν τῷ Ἰσραὴλ ἐπὶ Ἐλισαίου τοῦ προφήτου, καὶ οὐδεὶς αὐτῶν ἐκαθαρίσθη εἰ μὴ Ναιμὰν ὁ Σύρος	και πολλοι λεπροι ησαν επι ελισσαιου του προφητου εν τω ισραηλ και ουδεις αυτων εκαθαρισθη ει μη νεεμαν ο συρος	και πολλοι λεπροι ησαν επι ελισσαιου του προφητου εν τω ισραηλ και ουδεις αυτων εκαθαρισθη ει μη νεεμαν ο συρος

John 7:19 (NET)	John 7:19 (KJV)
Hasn’t Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law! Why do you want to kill me?”	Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me?

John 7:19 (NET Parallel Greek)	John 7:19 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	John 7:19 (Byzantine Majority Text)
Οὐ Μωϋσῆς \|δέδωκεν\| ὑμῖν τὸν νόμον; καὶ οὐδεὶς ἐξ ὑμῶν ποιεῖ τὸν νόμον. τί με ζητεῖτε ἀποκτεῖναι	ου μωσης δεδωκεν υμιν τον νομον και ουδεις εξ υμων ποιει τον νομον τι με ζητειτε αποκτειναι	ου μωσης δεδωκεν υμιν τον νομον και ουδεις εξ υμων ποιει τον νομον τι με ζητειτε αποκτειναι

Back to Romans, Part 27

Back to Christ-Centered Preaching, Chapter 3

Back to Christ-Centered Preaching, Chapter 4, Part 1

Back to Luke 8:22-56

¹ Mark 8:16b (NET) Table

² Mark 8:15b (NET)

³ The Stehanus Textus Receptus, Byzantine Majority Text and NA²⁸ had ἑαυτὸν (KJV: himself) here. In other words, Jesus protects Himself (including those who are his).

⁴ 1 John 5:18a (LSV)

⁵ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εν (KJV: one) here. The Net parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

⁶ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had καμοὶ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had και εμοι (KJV: and…me).

⁷ John 17:6 (LSV) Table

⁸ John 17:9, 10 (LSV)

⁹ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the article ο preceding Jesus. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

¹⁰ In the NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ Naaman was spelled Ναιμὰν, and νεεμαν in the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text.

¹¹ Luke 4:27 (NET)

¹² In the NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ Moses was spelled Μωϋσῆς, and μωσης in the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text.

¹³ John 7:19 (NET)

¹⁴ John 7:15 (NET); see NET note 32

¹⁵ John 8:31a (NET)

¹⁶ John 8:44a (NET) Table

¹⁷ Ephesians 4:22b (NET)

¹⁸ Ephesians 4:24b (NET)

¹⁹ John 17:12b (NET) Table

²⁰ Ephesians 4:22b (NET)

A Shadow of the Good Things, Part 10

Posted on April 14, 2024 by admin

My mother told the following story about her firstborn son:

His father worked the evening shift. Perhaps it was the only shift the young man could get. Perhaps he did it deliberately to earn more per hour. She was alone with their infant son in the afternoon in an upstairs city apartment in summer heat. She put her firstborn in a stroller and pushed him up the street to a corner dairy for a chocolate milkshake.

As they sat in the shade outside the dairy, she offered her son his first taste of chocolate milkshake. He grabbed it from her and wouldn’t let go. There wasn’t money for another. She wasn’t at all certain her husband would agree that there had been money for the first one. So, the twenty-three-year-old mother did without while her son drank too much, too soon for one so small.

I’ve heard that story many times. The time I recall most now, I was telling it myself as my sister and I reminisced after Mom’s death. Like Scrooge pleading to “sponge away the writing on this stone,”¹ I tried vainly once again to repent of a deed done before I have any memory of doing it. My sister laughed and said, “She told that story because she thought it was funny. She loves you.”

I’ve reacted to that story many different ways at different times throughout my life. I don’t think it’s funny—not now. Though I don’t recall the event, I am all too familiar with that child. He is the sin that lives in me.² He is the evil…present with me when I want to do good.³ He is the old man who is being corrupted in accordance with deceitful desires.⁴ He is unrestrained will: “I want.”

Though I say “unrestrained,” he was constrained somewhat by his stroller and the shortened reach of his chubby little arms. Do you still think he is funny? If I shout it in German, “Ich will!” perhaps you can hear the very worst of Adolf Hitler incipient in that child’s lust, a child who wouldn’t even share a chocolate milkshake with his own mother. Grant him power and he will covet and steal; he will rape and murder; he will try to conquer the world, shrieking a damnable lie: I AM AND THERE IS NO OTHER! No one I know has caused more harm to me or the people I love. And there is no one I would rather see condemned to the lake of fire for all eternity.

In another essay I began to consider the substance or body which cast the shadow of the scape-goat (English Elpenor) or the [goat] to be sent off (NETS) in Leviticus 16:8 (KJV, Septuagint) [Table]. And in another essay I wrote:

Truthfully, my religious mind wants I am unspiritual, sold into slavery to sin (Romans 7:14b NET) to apply to the old man who is being corrupted in accordance with deceitful desires.³ My old man may well be the proximate cause of my unspirituality and slavery to sin, but Paul described an I, as I am seen here and now, that is comprised of both an old man and a new man who has been created in God’s image—in righteousness and holiness that comes from truth:⁴For I want to do the good, he wrote, but I cannot do it.⁵

My sister was right: my mother loved me even before I was “comprised of both an old man and a new man who has been created in God’s image.” She didn’t grab me by the ankles and bash my brains out on the hot pavement that day. The words the only true God spoke through Isaiah the prophet to Cyrus, another old man more powerful than mine, follow:

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Isaiah 45:4-8 (Tanakh/KJV)	Isaiah 45:4-8 (NET)	Isaiah 45:4-8 (NETS)	Isaiah 45:4-8 (English Elpenor)
For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel mine elect (בְּחִירִ֑י), I have even called thee [e.g., Cyrus] by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.	For the sake of my servant Jacob, Israel, my chosen one (bāḥîr, בחירי), I call you by name and give you a title of respect, even though you do not submit to me.	For the sake of my servant Iakob and Israel my chosen (τοῦ ἐκλεκτοῦ μου), I will call you by name and receive you, but you did not know me,	For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel mine elect (τοῦ ἐκλεκτοῦ μου), I will call thee by thy name, and accept thee: but thou hast not known me.
I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:	I am the Lord, I have no peer, there is no God but me. I arm you for battle, even though you do not recognize me.	because I am the Lord God, and there is no other god besides me, and you did not know me,	For I am the Lord God, and there is no other God beside me; I strengthened thee, and thou hast not known me.
That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.	I do this so people will recognize from east to west that there is no God but me; I am the Lord, I have no peer.	so that they who are from the rising of the sun and from its going down may know that there is no one besides me; I am the Lord God, and there is no other.	That they that [come] from the east and they that [come] from the west may know that there is no God but me. I am the Lord God, and there is none beside.
I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.	I am the one who forms light and creates darkness; the one who brings about peace and creates calamity. I am the Lord, who accomplishes all these things.	I am the one who has prepared light and made darkness, who makes peace and creates evils; I am the Lord who does all these things.	I am he that prepared light, and formed darkness; who make peace, and create evil; I am the Lord God, that does all these things.
Drop down, ye heavens, from above (מִמַּ֔עַל), and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the LORD have created it.	O sky, rain down from above (maʿal, ממעל)! Let the clouds send down showers of deliverance! Let the earth absorb it so salvation may grow and deliverance may sprout up along with it. I, the Lord, create it.’”	Let heaven rejoice from above (ἄνωθεν), and let the clouds shower down righteousness; let the earth bring forth mercy, and let it bring forth righteousness as well; I am the Lord who created you.	Let the heaven rejoice from above (ἄνωθεν), and let the clouds rain righteousness: let the earth bring forth, and blossom [with] mercy, and bring forth righteousness likewise: I am the Lord that created thee.

Though I was born evil incarnate,⁵ not yet born from above (γεννηθῆναι ἄνωθεν),⁶ that evil dwelt by the grace of God in a cute and cuddly package. Most women by the grace of God find that cute and cuddly infant package adorable and appealing. I was born by the grace of God through an intensely intimate process that made my birth and my existence uniquely special to my mother. And so, I lived, not by any virtue of my own, but by the grace of a loving God who gave me a mother who loved me and hoped for me and named me Daniel, that I would grow to stand alone, if necessary, with God.

I’m torn here because I want to get back to studying the Bible but I know my mother would argue with my assessment of myself. It seems obligatory to address how I fooled my mother a large portion, if not most, of the time. I think it boils down to the same thing that surprises me now about the direct honesty of that evil infant. I can only rationalize it as naive ignorance. My earliest memory of my own motivation was that I wanted my mother, my father, anyone, everyone really, to think well of me, to speak well of me. I would attempt to do almost anything to hear their praise.

Trying to please all the people all of the time to win their praise was exhausting and led directly to what some call defiance. My little brother began life with that strategy. It seemed stupid and annoying to me, a waste of time when one is weak and unarmed. If you can’t please all the people all of the time and you can’t kill all the people all of the time, one must compromise: compliance rather than defiance is that compromise.

I tried to the best of my ability to comply as much as I was able with the demands of those I couldn’t kill or intimidate. Compliance can seem like obedience, even righteousness, to those who look on external appearance only. Compliance, to optimize my experience of winning the praise of others, fooled me, too. I wasn’t subtle enough to imagine any righteousness beyond compliance.

Jesus saying, Woe to you⁷ when all people speak well of you, for their ancestors did the same things⁸ to the false prophets,⁹ was just word salad to me. But in the right circumstances at the right time and place I could nod and “yea, verily” with the best of them, without ever hearing Jesus’ aspersion on the meaning of my life. Eventually, I was so accustomed to my strategy of maximizing praise and minimizing being screamed at by the minimal level of compliance required, even when I tried to learn from the Bible I only heard what I expected to hear.

John wrote (1 John 5:16 NET):

If anyone sees his fellow Christian (τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ) committing a sin not resulting in death, he should ask, and God will grant life to the person who commits a sin not resulting in death. There is a sin resulting in death. I do not say that he should ask about that.

The fellow Christian John described here was also an I, as I am seen here and now, an I comprised of both an old man and a new man who has been created in God’s image—in righteousness and holiness that comes from truth.¹⁰ This I is not the same as everyone fathered by God (1 John 5:18 NET [Table]):

We know that everyone fathered by God does not sin, but God protects the one he has fathered, and the evil one (ὁ πονηρὸς) cannot touch him.

This I is the new man who has been created in God’s image—in righteousness and holiness that comes from truth.¹¹ The evil one cannot touch (οὐχ ἅπτεται) him. In other words, the old man and the new man are distinct, though both dwell together within John’s fellow Christian. The Greek word ἅπτεται (NET: touch) is a passive form of ἅπτω in the middle voice: “to fasten to, touch, grab, attach, cling; to reach, get as far as.” To my mind cannot implies οὐ δύναται in Greek: an inability, a lack of power. But this is οὐχ ἅπτεται, “does not touch.” The old man, the devil, evil does not touch the new man, period, end of statement.

Making God the subject of the clause—but God protects the one he has fathered—while not wrong exactly, is not what the Greek actually says. The subject of this clause is ὁ γεννηθεὶς (NET: the one he has fathered): “the one he has fathered protects him.” The NET translators didn’t distinguish¹² between the everyone fathered by God (πᾶς ὁ γεγεννημένος ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ) who does not sin (οὐχ ἁμαρτάνει) from the fellow Christian¹³ (τὸν ἀδελφὸν; literally, “the brother”) who does.

I assume that ὁ γεννηθεὶς (NET: the one he has fathered) refers to Jesus and his work on the cross in union with the new man who has been created in God’s image,¹⁴ while αὐτόν ¹⁵ (him) refers back to the singular πᾶς (NET: everyone) of everyone fathered by God.¹⁶

John made a similar distinction between his Dear friends (ἀγαπητοί, a form of ἀγαπητός) and the new man earlier in this same letter:

1 John 3:2 (NET)	1 John 3:6 (NET)
Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We¹⁷ know that whenever it is revealed we will be like him because we will see him just as he is.	Everyone who resides in him does not sin; everyone who sins has neither seen him nor known him.
1 John 3:2 (NET Parallel Greek)	1 John 3:6 (NET Parallel Greek)
ἀγαπητοί, νῦν τέκνα θεοῦ ἐσμεν, καὶ οὔπω ἐφανερώθη τί ἐσόμεθα. οἴδαμεν ὅτι ἐὰν φανερωθῇ, ὅμοιοι αὐτῷ ἐσόμεθα, ὅτι ὀψόμεθα αὐτὸν καθώς ἐστιν	πᾶς ὁ ἐν αὐτῷ μένων οὐχ ἁμαρτάνει· πᾶς ὁ ἁμαρτάνων οὐχ ἑώρακεν αὐτὸν οὐδὲ ἔγνωκεν αὐτόν

The NET translators chose whenever it is revealed for ἐὰν φανερωθῇ, where the KJV translators chose when he shall appear. Either way, we will be (ἐσόμεθα, a form of εἰμί) like him (i.e., like God, NET or like Jesus, KJV) at some future time because we will see (ὀψόμεθα, a form of ὁράω) him just as he is.¹⁸ This likeness to God or Jesus should, at a minimum, entail not sinning. And John confirmed that everyone who sins has neither seen (ἑώρακεν, another from of ὁράω) him nor known (ἔγνωκεν, a form of γινώσκω) him.¹⁹

Paul echoed and clarified this concept for John’s Dear friends (1 Corinthians 13:12 NET):

For now we see (βλέπομεν, a form of βλέπω) in a mirror indirectly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know (γινώσκω) in part, but then I will know fully (ἐπιγνώσομαι, a form of ἐπιγινώσκω), just as I have been fully known (ἐπεγνώσθην, another form of ἐπιγινώσκω).

This leads to the conclusion that John’s more absolute—has neither seen him nor known him—denoted everyone who sins (πᾶς ὁ ἁμαρτάνων) as the old man who is being corrupted in accordance with deceitful desires.²⁰ Conversely, Everyone who resides in him does not sin, refers to the new man who has been created in God’s image—in righteousness and holiness that comes from truth.²¹

So, returning to the evil one (ὁ πονηρὸς) cannot touch (οὐχ ἅπτεται) him (αὐτοῦ):²² the NET translators apparently understood αὐτοῦ as a personal pronoun in the genitive case. I am more inclined to understand αὐτοῦ as an adverb: “the evil one does not touch here,” or “there.” In other words, John described the new man as a holy place where God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit meets with the new man who has been created in God’s image—in righteousness and holiness that comes from truth as One.

I have lived as the old man, bereft of the new man. I am living as the new man, frustrated at times by that old man. I hope to live as the new man, separated entirely from the old man. When I began to consider the final judgment as a potential deadline for Jesus to have drawn all to Himself, I thought it was mostly for my convenience.

I have no authority or standing to tell Jesus that He can draw no one to Himself afterward, but final judgment is like an event horizon I have difficulty seeing beyond. While I am aware of no Christian theology which addresses Jesus’ drawing of all to Himself, or the impact of that drawing on the judgment of this world and the ruler of this world being driven out, I can’t now go back and pretend that I don’t hear Him saying (John 12:31, 32 NET):

Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when (ἐὰν) I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all²³…to myself.

Considering the old man who is being corrupted in accordance with deceitful desires,²⁴ the sin that lives in me,²⁵ as that which cast the shadow of the scape-goat (English Elpenor) or the [goat] to be sent off (NETS) in Leviticus 16:8 (KJV, Septuagint) [Table] adds an interesting line of evidence to that convenience of my choice. Rashi’s commentary to Leviticus 16:8 reads:

And Aaron shall place lots upon the two he-goats: He would place one [he-goat] on his right and one on his left. Then, he would insert both his hands into an urn [which contained two lots, one bearing the inscription “to the Lord” and the other “to Azazel.” These lots were mixed up, and Aaron, with both hands inside the urn] took one lot in his right hand and the other in his left hand, and he would place them upon them [the he-goats]: [The one] upon which [he placed the lot] with the inscription “to the Lord,” would be for God, while the one upon which [he placed the lot] with the inscription “to Azazel,” would be sent off to Azazel. — [Yoma 39a]

Azazel: This is a strong and hard mountain, [with] a high cliff, as the Scripture says [in describing Azazel] (verse 22 below),“a precipitous land (אֶרֶץ גְּזֵרָה),” meaning a cut-off land [i.e., a sheer drop]. — [Torath Kohanim 16:28; Yoma 67b]

Assuming that Rashi was reaching back into an actual institutional memory of this ceremony, Jesus seems to have alluded to it in his description of final judgment (Matthew 25:31-33 NET):

When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be assembled before him, and he will separate people (αὐτοὺς) one from another like a shepherd separates the sheep from (ἀπὸ) the goats [Table]. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

I’ll pick this up in another essay.

Tables comparing Isaiah 45:4; 45:5; 45:6; 45:7 and 45:8 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and tables comparing the Greek of Isaiah 45:4; 45:5; 45:6; 45:7 and 45:8 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and tables comparing Luke 6:26 and 1 John 3:2 in the NET and KJV follow.

Isaiah 45:4 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 45:4 (KJV)	Isaiah 45:4 (NET)
For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.	For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.	For the sake of my servant Jacob, Israel, my chosen one, I call you by name and give you a title of respect, even though you do not submit to me.

Isaiah 45:4 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 45:4 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἕνεκεν Ιακωβ τοῦ παιδός μου καὶ Ισραηλ τοῦ ἐκλεκτοῦ μου ἐγὼ καλέσω σε τῷ ὀνόματί σου καὶ προσδέξομαί σε σὺ δὲ οὐκ ἔγνως με	ἕνεκεν τοῦ παιδός μου ᾿Ιακὼβ καὶ ᾿Ισραὴλ τοῦ ἐκλεκτοῦ μου, ἐγὼ καλέσω σε τῷ ὀνόματί σου καὶ προσδέξομαί σε, σὺ δὲ οὐκ ἔγνως με
Isaiah 45:4 (NETS)	Isaiah 45:4 (English Elpenor)
For the sake of my servant Iakob and Israel my chosen, I will call you by name and receive you, but you did not know me,	For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel mine elect, I will call thee by thy name, and accept thee: but thou hast not known me.

Isaiah 45:5 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 45:5 (KJV)	Isaiah 45:5 (NET)
I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:	I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:	I am the Lord, I have no peer, there is no God but me. I arm you for battle, even though you do not recognize me.

Isaiah 45:5 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 45:5 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ὅτι ἐγὼ κύριος ὁ θεός καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἔτι πλὴν ἐμοῦ θεός καὶ οὐκ ᾔδεις με	ὅτι ἐγὼ Κύριος ὁ Θεός, καὶ οὐκ ἔστι πλὴν ἐμοῦ Θεός, ἐνίσχυσά σε καὶ οὐκ ᾔδεις με
Isaiah 45:5 (NETS)	Isaiah 45:5 (English Elpenor)
because I am the Lord God, and there is no other god besides me, and you did not know me,	For I am the Lord God, and there is no other God beside me; I strengthened thee, and thou hast not known me.

Isaiah 45:6 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 45:6 (KJV)	Isaiah 45:6 (NET)
That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.	That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.	I do this so people will recognize from east to west that there is no God but me; I am the Lord, I have no peer.

Isaiah 45:6 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 45:6 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἵνα γνῶσιν οἱ ἀπὸ ἀνατολῶν ἡλίου καὶ οἱ ἀπὸ δυσμῶν ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν πλὴν ἐμοῦ ἐγὼ κύριος ὁ θεός καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἔτι	ἵνα γνῶσι οἱ ἀπ᾿ ἀνατολῶν ἡλίου καὶ οἱ ἀπὸ δυσμῶν, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστι Θεὸς πλὴν ἐμοῦ· ἐγὼ Κύριος ὁ Θεός, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἔτι
Isaiah 45:6 (NETS)	Isaiah 45:6 (English Elpenor)
so that they who are from the rising of the sun and from its going down may know that there is no one besides me; I am the Lord God, and there is no other.	That they that [come] from the east and they that [come] from the west may know that there is no God but me. I am the Lord God, and there is none beside.

Isaiah 45:7 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 45:7 (KJV)	Isaiah 45:7 (NET)
I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.	I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.	I am the one who forms light and creates darkness; the one who brings about peace and creates calamity. I am the Lord, who accomplishes all these things.

Isaiah 45:7 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 45:7 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐγὼ ὁ κατασκευάσας φῶς καὶ ποιήσας σκότος ὁ ποιῶν εἰρήνην καὶ κτίζων κακά ἐγὼ κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ ποιῶν ταῦτα πάντα	ἐγὼ ὁ κατασκευάσας φῶς καὶ ποιήσας σκότος, ὁ ποιῶν εἰρήνην καὶ κτίζων κακά· ἐγὼ Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ὁ ποιῶν πάντα ταῦτα
Isaiah 45:7 (NETS)	Isaiah 45:7 (English Elpenor)
I am the one who has prepared light and made darkness, who makes peace and creates evils; I am the Lord who does all these things.	I am he that prepared light, and formed darkness; who make peace, and create evil; I am the Lord God, that does all these things.

Isaiah 45:8 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 45:8 (KJV)	Isaiah 45:8 (NET)
Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the LORD have created it.	Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the LORD have created it.	O sky, rain down from above! Let the clouds send down showers of deliverance! Let the earth absorb it so salvation may grow and deliverance may sprout up along with it. I, the Lord, create it.’”

Isaiah 45:8 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 45:8 (Septuagint Elpenor)
εὐφρανθήτω ὁ οὐρανὸς ἄνωθεν καὶ αἱ νεφέλαι ῥανάτωσαν δικαιοσύνην ἀνατειλάτω ἡ γῆ ἔλεος καὶ δικαιοσύνην ἀνατειλάτω ἅμα ἐγώ εἰμι κύριος ὁ κτίσας σε	εὐφρανθήτω ὁ οὐρανὸς ἄνωθεν, καὶ αἱ νεφέλαι ῥανάτωσαν δικαιοσύνην· ἀνατειλάτω ἡ γῆ καὶ βλαστησάτω ἔλεος, καὶ δικαιοσύνην ἀνατειλάτω ἅμα· ἐγώ εἰμι Κύριος ὁ κτίσας σε
Isaiah 45:8 (NETS)	Isaiah 45:8 (English Elpenor)
Let heaven rejoice from above, and let the clouds shower down righteousness; let the earth bring forth mercy, and let it bring forth righteousness as well; I am the Lord who created you.	Let the heaven rejoice from above, and let the clouds rain righteousness: let the earth bring forth, and blossom [with] mercy, and bring forth righteousness likewise: I am the Lord that created thee.

Luke 6:26 (NET)	Luke 6:26 (KJV)
Woe to you when all people speak well of you, for their ancestors did the same things to the false prophets.	Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.

Luke 6:26 (NET Parallel Greek)	Luke 6:26 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Luke 6:26 (Byzantine Majority Text)
οὐαὶ ὅταν ὑμᾶς \|καλῶς\| εἴπωσιν πάντες οἱ ἄνθρωποι· κατὰ τὰ αὐτὰ γὰρ ἐποίουν τοῖς ψευδοπροφήταις οἱ πατέρες αὐτῶν	ουαι υμιν οταν καλως υμας ειπωσιν παντες οι ανθρωποι κατα ταυτα γαρ εποιουν τοις ψευδοπροφηταις οι πατερες αυτων	ουαι οταν καλως υμας ειπωσιν οι ανθρωποι κατα ταυτα γαρ εποιουν τοις ψευδοπροφηταις οι πατερες αυτων

1 John 3:2 (NET)	1 John 3:2 (KJV)
Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that whenever it is revealed we will be like him because we will see him just as he is.	Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

1 John 3:2 (NET Parallel Greek)	1 John 3:2 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	1 John 3:2 (Byzantine Majority Text)
ἀγαπητοί, νῦν τέκνα θεοῦ ἐσμεν, καὶ οὔπω ἐφανερώθη τί ἐσόμεθα. οἴδαμεν ὅτι ἐὰν φανερωθῇ, ὅμοιοι αὐτῷ ἐσόμεθα, ὅτι ὀψόμεθα αὐτὸν καθώς ἐστιν	αγαπητοι νυν τεκνα θεου εσμεν και ουπω εφανερωθη τι εσομεθα οιδαμεν δε οτι εαν φανερωθη ομοιοι αυτω εσομεθα οτι οψομεθα αυτον καθως εστιν	αγαπητοι νυν τεκνα θεου εσμεν και ουπω εφανερωθη τι εσομεθα οιδαμεν δε οτι εαν φανερωθη ομοιοι αυτω εσομεθα οτι οψομεθα αυτον καθως εστιν

Back to Romans, Part 26

Back to The Day of the Lord, Part 8

Back to The Children of Promise, Part 2

¹ From “A Christmas Carol (Part 4)” by Charles Dickens. Movie: A Christmas Carol

² Romans 7:17b (NET) Table; Romans 7:20b (NET) Table

³ Romans 7:21 (NET)

⁴ Ephesians 4:22b (NET)

⁵ Psalm 51:5 [Table]

⁶ John 3:7 (NET)

⁷ The Stephanus Textus Receptus had υμιν (KJV: unto you) here. The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text did not (NET note 87).

⁸ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had τὰ αὐτὰ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ταυτα (KJV: so).

⁹ Luke 6:26 (NET)

¹⁰ Ephesians 4:22b (NET)

¹¹ Ephesians 4:22b (NET)

¹² NET note 49

¹³ 1 John 5:16a (NET)

¹⁴ Ephesians 4:24a (NET)

¹⁵ The NA²⁸, Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had τηρει εαυτον (KJV: keepeth himself) here. If one does not distinguish (NET note 49) between the new man and the sinning Christian, this becomes unintelligible: “the sinning Christian keepeth himself from sinning.”

¹⁶ 1 John 5:18a (NET) Table

¹⁷ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had δε (KJV: but) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

¹⁸ 1 John 3:2b (NET)

¹⁹ 1 John 3:6b (NET)

²⁰ Ephesians 4:22b (NET)

²¹ Ephesians 4:24b (NET)

²² 1 John 5:18b (NET)

²³ I dropped the word people here, because that limitation is not in the Greek text: πάντας ἑλκύσω πρὸς ἐμαυτόν.

²⁴ Ephesians 4:22b (NET)

²⁵ Romans 7:20b (NET) Table

Nothing True, Part 6

Posted on April 3, 2024 by admin

Eliphaz continued his criticism of Job’s lament:

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Job 4:10 (Tanakh/KJV)	Job 4:10 (NET)	Job 4:10 (NETS)	Job 4:10 (English Elpenor)
The roaring (שַֽׁאֲגַ֣ת) of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions are broken.	There is the roaring (šᵊ’āḡâ, שאגת) of the lion and the growling of the young lion, but the teeth of the young lions are broken.	The strength (σθένος) of the lion and the voice of the lioness and the pride of dragons was extinguished;	The strength (σθένος) of the lion, and the voice of the lioness, and the exulting cry of serpents are quenched.

The only way I know how to understand that there was “nothing true” in Eliphaz’s argument is to compare it to other Scriptures. I’ll spend some time here on שַֽׁאֲגַ֣ת (šᵊ’āḡâ) (see table below).

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Job 3:24 (Tanakh/KJV) Table	Job 3:24 (NET)	Job 3:24 (NETS) Table	Job 3:24 (English Elpenor)
For my sighing (אַנְחָתִ֣י) cometh before I eat, and my roarings (שַֽׁאֲגֹתָֽי) are poured out like the waters.	For my sighing (‘ănāḥâ, אנחתי) comes in place of my food, and my groanings (šᵊ’āḡâ, שאגתי) flow forth like water.	For sighing (στεναγμός) comes before my food, and I cry, gripped (συνεχόμενος) by fear (φόβῳ).	For my groaning (στεναγμός) comes before my food, and I weep being beset (συνεχόμενος) with terror (φόβῳ).

Here, in the Masoretic text it becomes clear that Eliphaz used essentially the same word, שַֽׁאֲגַ֣ת (šᵊ’āḡâ), for the roaring of the lion that Job used for his own roarings or groanings: שַֽׁאֲגֹתָֽי (šᵊ’āḡâ). Though the Septuagint doesn’t necessarily corroborate שַֽׁאֲגֹתָֽי (šᵊ’āḡâ) here, Job was in pretty good company.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Psalm 22:1 (Tanakh/KJV) Table	Psalm 22:1 (NET)	Psalm 21:1, 2 (NETS) Table	Psalm 21:1, 2 (English Elpenor)
My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring (שַֽׁאֲגָתִֽי)?	For the music director, according to the tune “Morning Doe”; a psalm of David. My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? I groan (šᵊ’āḡâ, שאגתי) in prayer, but help seems far away.	Regarding completion. Over the support at dawn. A Psalm. Pertaining to Dauid. God, my God, attend to me; why did you forsake me? Far away from my deliverance are the words of my transgressions (τῶν παραπτωμάτων μου).	[For the end, concerning the morning aid, a Psalm of David.] O God, my God, attend to me: why hast thou forsaken me? the account of my transgressions (τῶν παραπτωμάτων μου) is far from my salvation.

Here, in the Masoretic text David used שַֽׁאֲגָתִֽי (šᵊ’āḡâ), my roaring (Tanakh, KJV) and I groan (NET). Again, the translators of the Septuagint had a different interpretation: τῶν παραπτωμάτων μου, of my transgressions (BLB, Elpenor). In another essay I suggested this difference as a reason for Jesus’ preference for the Hebrew or Aramaic when praying this Psalm (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34).

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Psalm 32:3 (Tanakh/KJV)	Psalm 32:3 (NET)	Psalm 31:3 (NETS)	Psalm 31:3 (English Elpenor)
When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring (בְּ֜שַֽׁאֲגָתִ֗י) all the day long.	When I refused to confess my sin, my whole body wasted away, while I groaned in pain (šᵊ’āḡâ, בשאגתי) all day long.	Because I kept silence, my bones grew old from my crying (τοῦ κράζειν με) all day long.	Because I kept silence, my bones waxed old, from my crying (τοῦ κράζειν με) all the day.

Here in another psalm of David, בְּ֜שַֽׁאֲגָתִ֗י (šᵊ’āḡâ), through my roaring (Tanakh, KJV) and while I groaned in pain (NET), was translated τοῦ κράζειν με in the Septuagint, from my crying (BLB, Elpenor). The verb κράζειν is an infinitive form of κράζω: “to cry out, call out, call aloud; to bray (sound of a donkey); to croak.” I doubt it implies tears as much as complaint.

The NET translators’ understanding, that keeping silence is a refusal to confess sin, is intriguing. The roaring of the lion…[is] broken¹ would seem then to use Job’s own word שַֽׁאֲגֹתָֽי (šᵊ’āḡâ)² against him, Eliphaz’s implication being that God was “breaking” Job’s refusal to confess his sin through intense suffering. The Hebrew word translated are broken (Tanakh, KJV, NET) was נִתָּֽעוּ (nāṯaʿ), used only here in the Masoretic text. It was translated ἐσβέσθη, a singular form of σβέννυμι in the Septuagint.

I typed “is נתעו singular or plural” into the search bar in Microsoft Bing and got “The Hebrew word נתעו is plural” as a response, but ἐσβέσθη gave me pause. Is נִתָּֽעוּ (nāṯaʿ) plural because the word translated the teeth (וְשִׁנֵּ֖י) in the Masoretic text is plural, or because the roaring…and the voice…and the teeth…are broken? Clearly, the rabbis who translated the Septuagint understood the final clause of Job 4:10 as a reference to γαυρίαμα, a singular noun: “arrogance, pride, exultation, boasting; something that awakens a sense of pride.”

Still, if Eliphaz implied that Job suffered from his refusal to confess sin or his arrogance, he was wrong about the Lord and wrong about Job (Job 1:6-12; 2:1-6). Does this qualify as nothing true³? I’ll keep going.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Isaiah 5:29 (Tanakh/KJV)	Isaiah 5:29 (NET)	Isaiah 5:29 (NETS)	Isaiah 5:29 (English Elpenor)
Their roaring (שְׁאָגָ֥ה) shall be like a lion, they shall roar like young lions: yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it.	Their roar (šᵊ’āḡâ, שאגה) is like a lion’s; they roar like young lions. They growl and seize their prey; they drag it away and no one can come to the rescue.	They rush (ὁρμῶσιν) like lions but stand by like a lion’s whelp, and he will seize and roar like a beast, and he will cast them out, and there will be no one who can rescue.	They rage (ὁρμῶσιν) as lions, and draw nigh as a lion’s whelps: and he shall seize, and roar as a wild beast, and he shall cast [them] forth, and there shall be none to deliver them.

Here is yet another Greek word ὁρμῶσιν for שְׁאָגָ֥ה (šᵊ’āḡâ), plus different pronouns. It will take a longer look to work this out.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Isaiah 5:24, 25 (Tanakh/KJV)	Isaiah 5:24, 25 (NET)	Isaiah 5:24, 25 (NETS) Table	Isaiah 5:24, 25 (English Elpenor)
Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.	Therefore, as flaming fire devours straw and dry grass disintegrates in the flames, so their root will rot, and their flower will blow away like dust. For they have rejected the law of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, they have spurned the commands of the Holy One of Israel.	Therefore, as stubble will be burned by a coal of fire and burned up by a weakened flame, so their root will be like fine dust and their blossom go up like dust; for they did not want the law of the Lord Sabaoth but have provoked the oracle of the Holy One of Israel.	Therefore as stubble shall be burnt by a coal of fire, and shall be consumed by a violent flame, their root shall be as chaff, and their flower shall go up as dust: for they rejected the law of the Lord of hosts, and insulted the word of the Holy One of Israel.
Therefore is the anger of the LORD kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them: and the hills did tremble, and their carcases were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.	So the Lord is furious with his people; he lifts his hand and strikes them. The mountains shake, and corpses lie like manure in the middle of the streets. Despite all this, his anger does not subside, and his hand is ready to strike again.	And the Lord Sabaoth was enraged with anger against his people, and he laid his hand on them and struck them; the mountains were provoked, and their carcasses became like dung in the middle of the road. In all these things his wrath has not turned away, but his hand is still high.	Therefore the Lord of hosts was greatly angered against his people, and he reached forth his hand upon them, and smote them: and the mountains were troubled, and their carcasses were as dung in the midst of the way: yet for all this his anger has not been turned away, but his hand is yet raised.

This is addressed, not to a man refusing to confess a secret sin but, to a nation that has cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.⁴ His first strike was against the mountains: and the mountains were troubled, and their carcasses were as dung in the midst of the way.⁵ This poetic description of relatively distant volcanic eruptions or nearer earthquakes⁶ and rock slides probably killed people, but the blocks and bombs, detritus and debris were mostly the size of dung, maybe manure piles.

In other words, the Lord made it difficult for the people to continue in their ways (Isaiah 1:2-20) through their streets. But everyone “knows” that volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and rock slides are “natural” phenomena that have “nothing to do with communication” from their Creator. So, Despite all this, his anger does not subside, and his hand is ready to strike again.⁷

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Isaiah 5:26 (Tanakh/KJV)	Isaiah 5:26 (NET)	Isaiah 5:26 (NETS)	Isaiah 5:26 (English Elpenor)
And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss (וְשָׁ֥רַק) unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly:	He lifts a signal flag for a distant nation, he whistles (šāraq, ושרק) for it to come from the far regions of the earth. Look, they come quickly and swiftly.	Therefore, he will raise a signal among the nations that are far away and whistle (συριεῖ) for them from the end of the earth. And behold, they are coming, quickly, swiftly!	Therefore shall he lift up a signal to the nations that are afar, and shall hiss (συριεῖ) for them from the end of the earth; and, behold, they are coming very quickly.

This is too provocative to pass by without comment. The translators of the NET and NETS couldn’t bring themselves to have the Lord hiss. Both וְשָׁ֥רַק (šāraq) and συριεῖ, a form of συρίζω, can be translated whistle (NETS) or he whistles (NET). To the reader of Job (Job 1:6-12; 2:1-6) the word hiss in the poetic prophecy of Isaiah implies the means by which the Lord lifts a signal flag for a distant nation: He gave leave for Satan to do what he is ever eager to do to the Lord’s people. But at first glance, the Lord’s promise through Zechariah to gather his redeemed people seems to call this interpretation into question.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Zechariah 10:8 (Tanakh/KJV)	Zechariah 10:8 (NET)	Zechariah 10:8 (NETS)	Zechariah 10:8 (English Elpenor)
I will hiss (אֶשְׁרְקָ֥ה) for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them: and they shall increase as they have increased.	I will signal (šāraq, אשרקה) for them and gather them, for I have already redeemed them; then they will become as numerous as they were before.	I will signal (σημανῶ) for them and receive them, for I shall redeem them, and they will be as numerous as they were.	I will make a sign (σημανῶ) to them, and gather them in; for I will redeem them, and they shall be multiplied according to their number before.

The rabbis who translated the Hebrew text into Greek chose σημανῶ (a form of σημαίνω) here, rather than a form of συρίζω which might be understood as hiss. It appears that they focused on ends in Isaiah 5:26—נֵ֚ס (nēs), an ensign (Tanakh, KJV) or a signal flag (NET); σύσσημον, a signal (Septuagint)⁸—rather than means.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Isaiah 5:27-30 (Tanakh/KJV)	Isaiah 5:27-30 (NET)	Isaiah 5:27-30 (NETS)	Isaiah 5:27-30 (English Elpenor)
None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken:	None tire or stumble, they don’t stop to nap or sleep. They don’t loosen their belts or unstrap their sandals to rest.	They will not hunger nor grow weary nor slumber nor sleep, nor will they loosen their girdles from their waist, nor will the thongs of their sandals be broken;	They shall not hunger nor be weary, neither shall they slumber nor sleep; neither shall they loose their girdles from their loins, neither shall their shoe-latchets be broken.
Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses’ hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind:	Their arrows are sharpened, and all their bows are prepared. The hooves of their horses are hard as flint, and their chariot wheels are like a windstorm.	their arrows are sharp, and their bows bent; their horses’ hoofs were reckoned as solid rock, the wheels of their chariots as a tempest.	Whose arrows are sharp, and their bows bent; their horses’ hoofs are counted as solid rock: their chariot-wheels are as a storm.
Their roaring (שְׁאָגָ֥ה) shall be like a lion, they shall roar (יִשְׁאַ֨ג) like young lions: yea, they shall roar (וְיִנְהֹם֙), and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it.	Their roar (šᵊ’āḡâ, שאגה) is like a lion’s; they roar (šā’aḡ, ישאג) like young lions. They growl (nāham, וינהם) and seize their prey; they drag it away and no one can come to the rescue.	They rush (ὁρμῶσιν) like lions but stand by (παρέστηκαν) like a lion’s whelp, and he will seize and roar (βοήσει) like a beast, and he will cast them out, and there will be no one who can rescue.	They rage (ὁρμῶσιν) as lions, and draw nigh (παρέστηκαν) as a lion’s whelps: and he shall seize, and roar (βοήσει) as a wild beast, and he shall cast [them] forth, and there shall be none to deliver them.
And in that day they shall roar (וְיִנְהֹ֥ם) against them like the roaring of the sea: and if one look unto the land, behold darkness and sorrow, and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof.	At that time they will growl (nāham, וינהם) over their prey, it will sound like sea waves crashing against rocks. One will look out over the land and see the darkness of disaster, clouds will turn the light into darkness.	And he will roar (βοήσει) because of them on that day, like the sound of a surging sea. And they will look to the land, and behold, harsh darkness in their dismay.	And he shall roar (βοήσει) on account of them in that day, as the sound of the swelling sea; and they shall look to the land, and, behold, [there shall be] thick darkness in their perplexity.

In the Masoretic text this sounds like the Babylonian conquest of Judah and Jerusalem (2 Kings 25:1-21). In the Septuagint it seems like a reference to the Assyrians failed attempt (2 Kings 19:35-37) to take Jerusalem after they captured the northern kingdom of Israel (2 Kings 17). So, while that might qualify as The roaring of the lion [e.g., the Assyrian army]…[is] broken⁹ (if Eliphaz actually meant to say that the roaring is broken), it would still refer to an army rather than an individual. Ezekiel, however, referred to an individual.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Ezekiel 19:7-9 (Tanakh/KJV)	Ezekiel 19:7-9 (NET)	Ezekiel 19:7-9 (NETS)	Ezekiel 19:7-9 (English Elpenor)
And he knew their desolate palaces, and he laid waste their cities; and the land was desolate, and the fulness thereof, by the noise of his roaring (שַֽׁאֲגָתֽוֹ).	He broke down their strongholds and devastated their cities. The land and everything in it was frightened at the sound of his roaring (šᵊ’āḡâ, שאגתו).	And he would feed in his rashness and devastated their cities, and he annihilated the land and its fullness, with a voice of his roaring (ὠρύματος αὐτοῦ).	And he prowled in his boldness and laid waste their cities, and made the land desolate, and the fullness of it, by the voice of his roaring (ὠρυώματος αὐτοῦ).
Then the nations set against him on every side from the provinces, and spread their net over him: he was taken in their pit.	The nations—the surrounding regions—attacked him. They threw their net over him; he was caught in their pit.	And they gave nations against him from countries all around. And they spread their nets upon him, and he was caught in their destruction.	Then the nations set upon him from the countries round about, and they spread their nets upon him: he was taken in their pit.
And they put him in ward in chains, and brought him to the king of Babylon: they brought him into holds, that his voice should no more be heard upon the mountains of Israel.	They put him in a collar with hooks; they brought him to the king of Babylon; they brought him to prison so that his voice would not be heard any longer on the mountains of Israel.	And they put him in a muzzle and in a cage. He came to the king of Babylon, and he brought him into custody so that his voice might not be heard on the mountains of Israel.	And they put him in chains and in a cage, [and] he came to the king of Babylon; and he cast him into prison, that his voice should not be heard on the mountains of Israel.

This reference to Zedekiah (2 Kings 24:20-25:7) comes closest to what I hear Eliphaz threatening Job, but he did not accuse Job of this: And he prowled in his boldness and laid waste their cities, and made the land desolate, and the fullness of it, by the voice of his roaring.¹⁰ If someone were to argue that Ezekiel figuratively addressed all of the disobedient kings of Israel as well as their people in the person of one king of Judah, I wouldn’t raise any objections. The final occurrence of שַֽׁאֲגַ֣ת (šᵊ’āḡâ) in the Masoretic text follows.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Zechariah 11:3 (Tanakh/KJV)	Zechariah 11:3 (NET)	Zechariah 11:3 (NETS)	Zechariah 11:3 (English Elpenor)
There is a voice of the howling of the shepherds; for their glory is spoiled: a voice of the roaring (שַֽׁאֲגַ֣ת) of young lions; for the pride of Jordan is spoiled.	Listen to the howling of shepherds, because their magnificence has been destroyed. Listen to the roaring (šᵊ’āḡâ, שאגת) of young lions, because the thickets of the Jordan have been devastated.	There is a sound of shepherds mourning, because their greatness has suffered misery! There is a sound of lions roaring (ὠρυομένων), because the pride of the Jordan has suffered misery.	[There is] a voice of the shepherds mourning; for their greatness is brought low: a voice of roaring (ὠρυομένων) lions; for the pride of Jordan is brought down.

Whether Zechariah referred to the howling of princes whose land was devastated or the roar of actual lions in a depopulated region matters very little to my understanding of Eliphaz’s accusation. Though his words and images conjure the flavor and aroma of Scriptures, Eliphaz flung them at Job with no knowledge of the actual situation. There was nothing true in his accusations despite his evocative words: nothing true about God and nothing true of Job. And my religious mind was fooled in the past because it lacked the patience to pursue his arguments in detail.

I’ll continue with this in another essay. A table of the various translations of forms of שְׁאָגָה follows.

Translations of Forms of שְׁאָגָה (šᵊ’āḡâ)
Reference	Hebrew	KJV / NET	BLB / Elpenor	NETS / English Elpenor
Job 3:24	שַֽׁאֲגֹתָֽי	my roarings / my groanings	συνεχόμενος φόβῳ	gripped by fear / being beset with terror
Job 4:10	שַֽׁאֲגַ֣ת	The roaring / There is the roaring	σθένος	The strength
Psalm 22:1	שַֽׁאֲגָתִֽי	of my roaring / I groan	τῶν παραπτωμάτων μου	of my transgressions / my transgressions
Psalm 32:3	בְּ֜שַֽׁאֲגָתִ֗י	through my roaring / while I groaned in pain	τοῦ κράζειν με	from my crying
Isaiah 5:29	שְׁאָגָ֥ה	Their roaring / Their roar	ὁρμῶσιν	They rush / They rage
Ezekiel 19:7	שַֽׁאֲגָתֽוֹ	of his roaring	ὠρύματος αὐτοῦ / ὠρυώματος αὐτοῦ	of his roaring
Zechariah 11:3	שַֽׁאֲגַ֣ת	of the roaring / to the roaring	ὠρυομένων	of…roaring / of roaring

Tables comparing Job 4:10; Psalm 32:3; Isaiah 5:29; 5:24; 5:25; 5:26; Zechariah 10:8; Isaiah 5:27; 5:28; 5:30; Ezekiel 19:7; 19:8; 19:9 and Zechariah 11:3 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and tables comparing the Greek of Job 4:10; Psalm 32:3 (31:3); Isaiah 5:29; 5:24; 5:25; 5:26; Zechariah 10:8; Isaiah 5:27; 5:28; 5:30; Ezekiel 19:7; 19:8; 19:9 and Zechariah 11:3 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor) follow.

Job 4:10 (Tanakh)	Job 4:10 (KJV)	Job 4:10 (NET)
The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions are broken.	The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions, are broken.	There is the roaring of the lion and the growling of the young lion, but the teeth of the young lions are broken.

Job 4:10 (Septuagint BLB)	Job 4:10 (Septuagint Elpenor)
σθένος λέοντος φωνὴ δὲ λεαίνης γαυρίαμα δὲ δρακόντων ἐσβέσθη	σθένος λέοντος, φωνὴ δὲ λεαίνης, γαυρίαμα δὲ δρακόντων ἐσβέσθη
Job 4:10 (NETS)	Job 4:10 (English Elpenor)
The strength of the lion and the voice of the lioness and the pride of dragons was extinguished;	The strength of the lion, and the voice of the lioness, and the exulting cry of serpents are quenched.

Psalm 32:3 (Tanakh)	Psalm 32:3 (KJV)	Psalm 32:3 (NET)
When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long.	When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long.	When I refused to confess my sin, my whole body wasted away, while I groaned in pain all day long.

Psalm 32:3 (Septuagint BLB)	Psalm 31:3 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ὅτι ἐσίγησα ἐπαλαιώθη τὰ ὀστᾶ μου ἀπὸ τοῦ κράζειν με ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν	ὅτι ἐσίγησα, ἐπαλαιώθη τὰ ὀστᾶ μου ἀπὸ τοῦ κράζειν με ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν
Psalm 31:3 (NETS)	Psalm 31:3 (English Elpenor)
Because I kept silence, my bones grew old from my crying all day long.	Because I kept silence, my bones waxed old, from my crying all the day.

Isaiah 5:29 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 5:29 (KJV)	Isaiah 5:29 (NET)
Their roaring shall be like a lion, they shall roar like young lions: yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it.	Their roaring shall be like a lion, they shall roar like young lions: yea, they shall roar, and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry it away safe, and none shall deliver it.	Their roar is like a lion’s; they roar like young lions. They growl and seize their prey; they drag it away and no one can come to the rescue.

Isaiah 5:29 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 5:29 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ὁρμῶσιν ὡς λέοντες καὶ παρέστηκαν ὡς σκύμνος λέοντος καὶ ἐπιλήμψεται καὶ βοήσει ὡς θηρίου καὶ ἐκβαλεῖ καὶ οὐκ ἔσται ὁ ῥυόμενος αὐτούς	ὁρμῶσιν ὡς λέοντες καὶ παρέστηκαν ὡς σκύμνοι λέοντος· καὶ ἐπιλήψεται καὶ βοήσει ὡς θηρίον καὶ ἐκβαλεῖ, καὶ οὐκ ἔσται ὁ ρυόμενος αὐτούς
Isaiah 5:29 (NETS)	Isaiah 5:29 (English Elpenor)
They rush like lions but stand by like a lion’s whelp, and he will seize and roar like a beast, and he will cast them out, and there will be no one who can rescue.	They rage as lions, and draw nigh as a lion’s whelps: and he shall seize, and roar as a wild beast, and he shall cast [them] forth, and there shall be none to deliver them.

Isaiah 5:24 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 5:24 (KJV)	Isaiah 5:24 (NET)
Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.	Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.	Therefore, as flaming fire devours straw and dry grass disintegrates in the flames, so their root will rot, and their flower will blow away like dust. For they have rejected the law of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, they have spurned the commands of the Holy One of Israel.

Isaiah 5:24 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 5:24 (Septuagint Elpenor)
διὰ τοῦτο ὃν τρόπον καυθήσεται καλάμη ὑπὸ ἄνθρακος πυρὸς καὶ συγκαυθήσεται ὑπὸ φλογὸς ἀνειμένης ἡ ῥίζα αὐτῶν ὡς χνοῦς ἔσται καὶ τὸ ἄνθος αὐτῶν ὡς κονιορτὸς ἀναβήσεται οὐ γὰρ ἠθέλησαν τὸν νόμον κυρίου σαβαωθ ἀλλὰ τὸ λόγιον τοῦ ἁγίου Ισραηλ παρώξυναν	διὰ τοῦτο ὃν τρόπον καυθήσεται καλάμη ὑπὸ ἄνθρακος πυρὸς καὶ συγκαυθήσεται ὑπὸ φλογὸς ἀνειμένης, ἡ ῥίζα αὐτῶν ὡς χνοῦς ἔσται καὶ τὸ ἄνθος αὐτῶν ὡς κονιορτὸς ἀναβήσεται· οὐ γὰρ ἠθέλησαν τὸν νόμον Κυρίου σαβαώθ, ἀλλὰ τὸ λόγιον τοῦ ἁγίου ᾿Ισραὴλ παρώξυναν
Isaiah 5:24 (NETS)	Isaiah 5:24 (English Elpenor)
Therefore, as stubble will be burned by a coal of fire and burned up by a weakened flame, so their root will be like fine dust and their blossom go up like dust; for they did not want the law of the Lord Sabaoth but have provoked the oracle of the Holy One of Israel.	Therefore as stubble shall be burnt by a coal of fire, and shall be consumed by a violent flame, their root shall be as chaff, and their flower shall go up as dust: for they rejected the law of the Lord of hosts, and insulted the word of the Holy One of Israel.

Isaiah 5:25 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 5:25 (KJV)	Isaiah 5:25 (NET)
Therefore is the anger of the LORD kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them: and the hills did tremble, and their carcases were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.	Therefore is the anger of the LORD kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them: and the hills did tremble, and their carcases were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.	So the Lord is furious with his people; he lifts his hand and strikes them. The mountains shake, and corpses lie like manure in the middle of the streets. Despite all this, his anger does not subside, and his hand is ready to strike again.

Isaiah 5:25 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 5:25 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐθυμώθη ὀργῇ κύριος σαβαωθ ἐπὶ τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐπέβαλεν τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ ἐπ᾽ αὐτοὺς καὶ ἐπάταξεν αὐτούς καὶ παρωξύνθη τὰ ὄρη καὶ ἐγενήθη τὰ θνησιμαῖα αὐτῶν ὡς κοπρία ἐν μέσῳ ὁδοῦ καὶ ἐν πᾶσι τούτοις οὐκ ἀπεστράφη ὁ θυμός ἀλλ᾽ ἔτι ἡ χεὶρ ὑψηλή	καὶ ἐθυμώθη ὀργῇ Κύριος σαβαὼθ ἐπὶ τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐπέβαλε τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ ἐπ᾿ αὐτοὺς καὶ ἐπάταξεν αὐτούς, καὶ παρωξύνθη τὰ ὄρη, καὶ ἐγενήθη τὰ θνησιμαῖα αὐτῶν ὡς κοπρία ἐν μέσῳ ὁδοῦ. καὶ ἐν πᾶσι τούτοις οὐκ ἀπεστράφη ὁ θυμὸς αὐτοῦ, ἀλλὰ ἔτι χεὶρ ὑψηλή
Isaiah 5:25 (NETS)	Isaiah 5:25 (English Elpenor)
And the Lord Sabaoth was enraged with anger against his people, and he laid his hand on them and struck them; the mountains were provoked, and their carcasses became like dung in the middle of the road. In all these things his wrath has not turned away, but his hand is still high.	Therefore the Lord of hosts was greatly angered against his people, and he reached forth his hand upon them, and smote them: and the mountains were troubled, and their carcasses were as dung in the midst of the way: yet for all this his anger has not been turned away, but his hand is yet raised.

Isaiah 5:26 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 5:26 (KJV)	Isaiah 5:26 (NET)
And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly:	And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly:	He lifts a signal flag for a distant nation, he whistles for it to come from the far regions of the earth. Look, they come quickly and swiftly.

Isaiah 5:26 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 5:26 (Septuagint Elpenor)
τοιγαροῦν ἀρεῖ σύσσημον ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν τοῖς μακρὰν καὶ συριεῖ αὐτοῖς ἀπ᾽ ἄκρου τῆς γῆς καὶ ἰδοὺ ταχὺ κούφως ἔρχονται	τοιγαροῦν ἀρεῖ σύσσημον ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσι τοῖς μακρὰν καὶ συριεῖ αὐτοὺς ἀπ᾿ ἄκρου τῆς γῆς, καὶ ἰδοὺ ταχὺ κούφως ἔρχονται
Isaiah 5:26 (NETS)	Isaiah 5:26 (English Elpenor)
Therefore, he will raise a signal among the nations that are far away and whistle for them from the end of the earth. And behold, they are coming, quickly, swiftly!	Therefore shall he lift up a signal to the nations that are afar, and shall hiss for them from the end of the earth; and, behold, they are coming very quickly.

Zechariah 10:8 (Tanakh)	Zechariah 10:8 (KJV)	Zechariah 10:8 (NET)
I will hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them: and they shall increase as they have increased.	I will hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them: and they shall increase as they have increased.	I will signal for them and gather them, for I have already redeemed them; then they will become as numerous as they were before.

Zechariah 10:8 (Septuagint BLB)	Zechariah 10:8 (Septuagint Elpenor)
σημανῶ αὐτοῖς καὶ εἰσδέξομαι αὐτούς διότι λυτρώσομαι αὐτούς καὶ πληθυνθήσονται καθότι ἦσαν πολλοί	σημανῶ αὐτοῖς καὶ εἰσδέξομαι αὐτούς, διότι λυτρώσομαι αὐτούς, καὶ πληθυνθήσονται καθότι ἦσαν πολλοί
Zechariah 10:8 (NETS)	Zechariah 10:8 (English Elpenor)
I will signal for them and receive them, for I shall redeem them, and they will be as numerous as they were.	I will make a sign to them, and gather them in; for I will redeem them, and they shall be multiplied according to their number before.

Isaiah 5:27 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 5:27 (KJV)	Isaiah 5:27 (NET)
None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken:	None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken:	None tire or stumble, they don’t stop to nap or sleep. They don’t loosen their belts or unstrap their sandals to rest.

Isaiah 5:27 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 5:27 (Septuagint Elpenor)
οὐ πεινάσουσιν οὐδὲ κοπιάσουσιν οὐδὲ νυστάξουσιν οὐδὲ κοιμηθήσονται οὐδὲ λύσουσιν τὰς ζώνας αὐτῶν ἀπὸ τῆς ὀσφύος αὐτῶν οὐδὲ μὴ ῥαγῶσιν οἱ ἱμάντες τῶν ὑποδημάτων αὐτῶν	οὐ πεινάσουσιν οὐδὲ κοπιάσουσιν οὐδὲ νυστάξουσιν οὐδὲ κοιμηθήσονται, οὐδὲ λύσουσι τὰς ζώνας αὐτῶν ἀπὸ τῆς ὀσφύος αὐτῶν, οὐδὲ μὴ ραγῶσιν οἱ ἱμάντες τῶν ὑποδημάτων αὐτῶν
Isaiah 5:27 (NETS)	Isaiah 5:27 (English Elpenor)
They will not hunger nor grow wewary nor slumber nor sleep, nor will they loosen their girdles from their waist, nor will the thongs of their sandals be broken;	They shall not hunger nor be weary, neither shall they slumber nor sleep; neither shall they loose their girdles from their loins, neither shall their shoe-latchets be broken.

Isaiah 5:28 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 5:28 (KJV)	Isaiah 5:28 (NET)
Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses’ hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind:	Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses’ hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind:	Their arrows are sharpened, and all their bows are prepared. The hooves of their horses are hard as flint, and their chariot wheels are like a windstorm.

Isaiah 5:28 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 5:28 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ὧν τὰ βέλη ὀξεῖά ἐστιν καὶ τὰ τόξα αὐτῶν ἐντεταμένα οἱ πόδες τῶν ἵππων αὐτῶν ὡς στερεὰ πέτρα ἐλογίσθησαν οἱ τροχοὶ τῶν ἁρμάτων αὐτῶν ὡς καταιγίς	ὧν τὰ βέλη ὀξέα ἐστὶ καὶ τὰ τόξα αὐτῶν ἐντεταμένα, οἱ πόδες τῶν ἵππων αὐτῶν ὡς στερεὰ πέτρα ἐλογίσθησαν, οἱ τροχοὶ τῶν ἁρμάτων αὐτῶν ὡς καταιγίς
Isaiah 5:28 (NETS)	Isaiah 5:28 (English Elpenor)
their arrows are sharp, and their bows bent; their horses’ hoofs were reckoned as solid rock, the wheels of their chariots as a tempest.	Whose arrows are sharp, and their bows bent; their horses’ hoofs are counted as solid rock: their chariot-wheels are as a storm.

Isaiah 5:30 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 5:30 (KJV)	Isaiah 5:30 (NET)
And in that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of the sea: and if one look unto the land, behold darkness and sorrow, and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof.	And in that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of the sea: and if one look unto the land, behold darkness and sorrow, and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof.	At that time they will growl over their prey, it will sound like sea waves crashing against rocks. One will look out over the land and see the darkness of disaster, clouds will turn the light into darkness.

Isaiah 5:30 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 5:30 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ βοήσει δι᾽ αὐτοὺς ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ ὡς φωνὴ θαλάσσης κυμαινούσης καὶ ἐμβλέψονται εἰς τὴν γῆν καὶ ἰδοὺ σκότος σκληρὸν ἐν τῇ ἀπορίᾳ αὐτῶν	καὶ βοήσει δι᾿ αὐτοὺς τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ ὡς φωνὴ θαλάσσης κυμαινούσης· καὶ ἐμβλέψονται εἰς τὴν γῆν, καὶ ἰδοὺ σκότος σκληρὸν ἐν τῇ ἀπορίᾳ αὐτῶν
Isaiah 5:30 (NETS)	Isaiah 5:30 (English Elpenor)
And he will roar because of them on that day, like the sound of a surging sea. And they will look to the land, and behold, harsh darkness in their dismay.	And he shall roar on account of them in that day, as the sound of the swelling sea; and they shall look to the land, and, behold, [there shall be] thick darkness in their perplexity.

Ezekiel 19:7 (Tanakh)	Ezekiel 19:7 (KJV)	Ezekiel 19:7 (NET)
And he knew their desolate palaces, and he laid waste their cities; and the land was desolate, and the fulness thereof, by the noise of his roaring.	And he knew their desolate palaces, and he laid waste their cities; and the land was desolate, and the fulness thereof, by the noise of his roaring.	He broke down their strongholds and devastated their cities. The land and everything in it was frightened at the sound of his roaring.

Ezekiel 19:7 (Septuagint BLB)	Ezekiel 19:7 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐνέμετο τῷ θράσει αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰς πόλεις αὐτῶν ἐξηρήμωσεν καὶ ἠφάνισεν γῆν καὶ τὸ πλήρωμα αὐτῆς ἀπὸ φωνῆς ὠρύματος αὐτοῦ	καὶ ἐνέμετο τῷ θράσει αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰς πόλεις αὐτῶν ἐξηρήμωσε καὶ ἠφάνισε γῆν καὶ τὸ πλήρωμα αὐτῆς ἀπὸ φωνῆς ὠρυώματος αὐτοῦ
Ezekiel 19:7 (NETS)	Ezekiel 19:7 (English Elpenor)
And he would feed in his rashness and devastated their cities, and he annihilated the land and its fullness, with a voice of his roaring.	And he prowled in his boldness and laid waste their cities, and made the land desolate, and the fullness of it, by the voice of his roaring.

Ezekiel 19:8 (Tanakh)	Ezekiel 19:8 (KJV)	Ezekiel 19:8 (NET)
Then the nations set against him on every side from the provinces, and spread their net over him: he was taken in their pit.	Then the nations set against him on every side from the provinces, and spread their net over him: he was taken in their pit.	The nations—the surrounding regions—attacked him. They threw their net over him; he was caught in their pit.

Ezekiel 19:8 (Septuagint BLB)	Ezekiel 19:8 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἔδωκαν ἐπ᾽ αὐτὸν ἔθνη ἐκ χωρῶν κυκλόθεν καὶ ἐξεπέτασαν ἐπ᾽ αὐτὸν δίκτυα αὐτῶν ἐν διαφθορᾷ αὐτῶν συνελήμφθη	καὶ ἔδωκαν ἐπ’ αὐτὸν ἔθνη ἐκ χωρῶν κυκλόθεν καὶ ἐξεπέτασαν ἐπ’ αὐτὸν δίκτυα αὐτῶν, ἐν διαφθορᾷ αὐτῶν συνελήφθη
Ezekiel 19:8 (NETS)	Ezekiel 19:8 (English Elpenor)
And they gave nations against him from countries all around. And they spread their nets upon him, and he was caught in their destruction.	Then the nations set upon him from the countries round about, and they spread their nets upon him: he was taken in their pit.

Ezekiel 19:9 (Tanakh)	Ezekiel 19:9 (KJV)	Ezekiel 19:9 (NET)
And they put him in ward in chains, and brought him to the king of Babylon: they brought him into holds, that his voice should no more be heard upon the mountains of Israel.	And they put him in ward in chains, and brought him to the king of Babylon: they brought him into holds, that his voice should no more be heard upon the mountains of Israel.	They put him in a collar with hooks; they brought him to the king of Babylon; they brought him to prison so that his voice would not be heard any longer on the mountains of Israel.

Ezekiel 19:9 (Septuagint BLB)	Ezekiel 19:9 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἔθεντο αὐτὸν ἐν κημῷ καὶ ἐν γαλεάγρᾳ ἦλθεν πρὸς βασιλέα Βαβυλῶνος καὶ εἰσήγαγεν αὐτὸν εἰς φυλακήν ὅπως μὴ ἀκουσθῇ ἡ φωνὴ αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη τοῦ Ισραηλ	καὶ ἔθεντο αὐτὸν ἐν κημῷ καὶ ἐν γαλεάγρᾳ, ἦλθε πρὸς βασιλέα Βαβυλῶνος, καὶ εἰσήγαγεν αὐτὸν εἰς φυλακήν, ὅπως μὴ ἀκουσθῇ ἡ φωνὴ αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη τοῦ ᾿Ισραήλ
Ezekiel 19:9 (NETS)	Ezekiel 19:9 (English Elpenor)
And they put him in a muzzle and in a cage. He came to the king of Babylon, and he brought him into custody so that his voice might not be heard on the mountains of Israel.	And they put him in chains and in a cage, [and] he came to the king of Babylon; and he cast him into prison, that his voice should not be heard on the mountains of Israel.

Zechariah 11:3 (Tanakh)	Zechariah 11:3 (KJV)	Zechariah 11:3 (NET)
There is a voice of the howling of the shepherds; for their glory is spoiled: a voice of the roaring of young lions; for the pride of Jordan is spoiled.	There is a voice of the howling of the shepherds; for their glory is spoiled: a voice of the roaring of young lions; for the pride of Jordan is spoiled.	Listen to the howling of shepherds, because their magnificence has been destroyed. Listen to the roaring of young lions, because the thickets of the Jordan have been devastated.

Zechariah 11:3 (Septuagint BLB)	Zechariah 11:3 (Septuagint Elpenor)
φωνὴ θρηνούντων ποιμένων ὅτι τεταλαιπώρηκεν ἡ μεγαλωσύνη αὐτῶν φωνὴ ὠρυομένων λεόντων ὅτι τεταλαιπώρηκεν τὸ φρύαγμα τοῦ Ιορδάνου	φωνὴ θρηνούντων ποιμένων, ὅτι τεταλαιπώρηκεν ἡ μεγαλωσύνη αὐτῶν· φωνὴ ὠρυομένων λεόντων, ὅτι τεταλαιπώρηκε τὸ φρύαγμα τοῦ ᾿Ιορδάνου
Zechariah 11:3 (NETS)	Zechariah 11:3 (English Elpenor)
There is a sound of shepherds mourning, because their greatness has suffered misery! There is a sound of lions roaring, because the pride of the Jordan has suffered misery.	[There is] a voice of the shepherds mourning; for their greatness is brought low: a voice of roaring lions; for the pride of Jordan is brought down.

¹ Job 4:10 (Tanakh, KJV)

² Job 3:24 Table

³ Job 42:7 (NETS) Table

⁴ Isaiah 5:24b (Tanakh, KJV)

⁵ Isaiah 5:25b (English Elpenor)

⁶ Amos 1:1 and Zechariah 14:5 mention an earthquake (see Barnes’ Notes on the Bible) in the time of King Uzziah of Judah (2 Chronicles 26).

⁷ Isaiah 5:25c (NET)

⁸ Isaiah 5:26a

⁹ Job 4:10 (Tanakh, KJV)

¹⁰ Ezekiel 19:7 (English Elpenor)

Who Am I? Part 17

Posted on March 27, 2024 by admin

This is a continuation of my consideration of “5 Bible Passages That Caused Me to Lose My Faith” by Kristi Burke. Her first Bible passage was “Romans 9…the starting point of my deconstruction journey.”¹ Though she began with verse 16, I started at the beginning of the chapter to gain some context. In another essay I asked: “What gave anyone hope that believing in the Lord Jesus, even before one dies, might save one from KJV hell?” Here, I’ll begin to consider the three Scriptures that came to mind.

When Jesus was crucified: Two other criminals were also led away to be executed with him² (Luke 23:39-43 NET).

One of the criminals who was hanging there railed at him, saying, “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” [Table] But the other rebuked³ him, saying,⁴ “Don’t you fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we rightly so, for we are getting what we deserve for what we did, but this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus,⁵ remember me⁶ when you come in your kingdom.” And Jesus⁷ said to him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”

The Greek words translated in paradise were ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ (a form of παράδεισος). This phrase would be quite familiar as a reference to the garden (NET: orchard) in Eden to anyone reading the Septuagint. The only other occurrence of this phrase in the New Testament is found in Jesus’ (Revelation 1:12-20) letter to the church at Ephesus (Revelation 2:7 NET):

The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, I will permit him to eat from the tree of life that is in the paradise⁸ of God.’

The verb is was ἐστιν in the present tense. Paul wrote about a paradise located in the third heaven (2 Corinthians 12:2-4 NET):

I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago (whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows) was caught up to the third (τρίτου, a form of τρίτος) heaven (οὐρανοῦ, a form of οὐρανός). And I know that this man (whether in the body or apart from⁹ the body I do not know, God knows) was caught up into paradise (παράδεισον, another form of παράδεισος) and heard things too sacred (ἄρρητα, a form of ἄῤῥητος) to be put into words,¹⁰ things that a person is not permitted to speak.

More important, perhaps, than the phrase ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ was the phrase μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ ἔσῃ: you will be with me¹¹ (literally: “with me you will be”). This clause is preceded by the adverb σήμερον. So, does σήμερον modify λέγω (NET: I tell), which immediately precedes it, or ἔσῃ?

λέγω	ἔσῃ
I tell you the truth today: you will be with me in paradise.	I tell you the truth: with me you will be today in paradise.

The first sounds awkward in English, as if Jesus might not tell the truth yesterday or tomorrow. But I can understand it as (because of your request today) you will be with me in paradise sometime in the future. The verb ἔσῃ is in the future tense. Or, perhaps Jesus meant: “with me you will be (later) today.”

I surveyed every occurrence of σήμερον in the New Testament (see table below). A story Jesus told proved to be very enlightening:

“What do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’¹²

The Greek word order follows:

Matthew 11:28b (NET)	Matthew 11:28b (NET Parallel Greek)
go and work in the vineyard today	ὕπαγε σήμερον ἐργάζου ἐν τῷ ἀμπελῶνι

Here, two verbs were separated by σήμερον: ὕπαγε (a form of ὑπάγω) and ἐργάζου (a form of ἐργάζομαι). Clearly, the man wanted his Son to go today and to work today. I didn’t need to choose between these verbs. But both are in the present tense.

There was only one occurrence of σήμερον in Mark’s Gospel, but one of the verbs it modified is in the future tense:

Jesus said to [Peter], “I tell you the truth, today¹³—this very night¹⁴—before a rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.¹⁵

And again, the detail follows in a table:

Mark 14:30 (NET)	Mark 14:30 (NET Parallel Greek / NA²⁸/ Byzantine Majority Text)	Mark 14:30 (KJV)	Mark 14:30 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)
I tell you the truth, today	ἀμὴν λέγω σοι ὅτι σὺ σήμερον	Verily I say unto thee, That this day	αμην λεγω σοι οτι σημερον

By ignoring ὅτι and the word placement of σὺ, the NET translators developed an English translation that is identical to: I tell you the truth, today (ἀμήν σοι λέγω σήμερον) in Luke 23:43. The KJV translation—That this day—accounts for ὅτι. “Truly I tell you, that you today…” is a more literal translation of the NET parallel Greek.

Now that Jesus/Matthew have given me permission to understand that σήμερον can modify two verbs simultaneously, I’m untroubled by its proximity to λέγω (NET: I tell; KJV: I say). My attitude now is, “Of course, Jesus told Peter the truth today, not tomorrow or four weeks ago. Why burden him with such knowledge prematurely?” Nor do the three words interposed between λέγω and σήμερον dissuade me from understanding that the latter modifies the former.

Here is Matthew 11:28 again:

Matthew 11:28b (NET)	Matthew 11:28b (NET Parallel Greek)
go and work in the vineyard today	ὕπαγε σήμερον ἐργάζου ἐν τῷ ἀμπελῶνι

If the prepositional phrase ἐν τῷ ἀμπελῶνι (NET: in the vineyard) were interposed between σήμερον and ἐργάζου, I wouldn’t assume that Jesus meant, “Go today in the vineyard and work sometime in the future,” because ἐργάζου is in the present tense.

The Greek word ἀπαρνήσῃ, translated you will deny in Mark 14:30, is in the future tense. But here, Jesus/Mark have made it abundantly clear that the future predicted by ἀπαρνήσῃ is later than now yet still today.

Mark 14:30 (NET)	Mark 14:30 (NET Parallel Greek / NA²⁸)	Mark 14:30 (KJV)	Mark 14:30 (Stephanus Textus Receptus / Byzantine Majority Text)
this very night	ταύτῃ τῇ νυκτὶ	even in this night	εν τη νυκτι ταυτη
before a rooster crows twice	πρὶν ἢ δὶς ἀλέκτορα φωνῆσαι	before the cock crow twice	πριν η δις αλεκτορα φωνησαι
you will deny me three times	τρίς με ἀπαρνήσῃ	thou shalt deny me thrice	τρις απαρνηση με

The future tense doesn’t prohibit a verb from being modified by σήμερον. I found other verbs in other tenses as well.

Luke 4:21a (NET)	Luke 4:21a (NET Parallel Greek)
Today this scripture has been fulfilled	ὅτι σήμερον πεπλήρωται ἡ γραφὴ αὕτη

The verb πεπλήρωται (NET: has been fulfilled) is a form of πληρόω in the perfect tense.

Luke 5:26b (NET)	Luke 5:26b (NET Parallel Greek)
We have seen incredible things today	ὅτι εἴδομεν παράδοξα σήμερον

The verb εἴδομεν (NET: We have seen) is a form of εἴδω in the 2^nd aorist tense.

Luke 19:5b (NET)	Luke 19:5b (NET Parallel Greek)
Zacchaeus, come down quickly because I must stay at your house today	Ζακχαῖε σπεύσας κατάβηθι σήμερον γὰρ ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ σου δεῖ με μεῖναι

The verb κατάβηθι (NET: come down) is also in the 2^nd aorist tense, while δεῖ (NET: must) is in the present tense, and μεῖναι (NET: stay) is in the aorist tense.

I was persuaded that neither the placement of the adverb σήμερον nor the future tense of the verb ἔσῃ prohibited me from understanding Jesus’ words as a promise to the other criminal (Luke 23:43) that he would be with Jesus in paradise that very day. For good measure I surveyed the occurrences of ἀμὴν in Luke’s Gospel (see table below).

Only one of six occurrences in the phrase I tell you the truth (KJV: verily I say unto you) was followed by σήμερον. That confirms for me that Jesus and Luke were content to let the phrase stand alone. In other words, though σήμερον clearly modifies λέγω (NET: I tell; KJV: I say) in Luke 23:43, it’s reason for being there was ἔσῃ (NET: you will be; KJV: shalt thou be). If one believes in the Lord Jesus before one dies, today you will be with me in paradise,¹⁶ should give one hope to be saved even from KJV hell (ᾅδης).

I want to take some time here to look a little more into Jesus’ interaction with Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10 NET).

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through it. Now a man named Zacchaeus was there; he was a chief tax collector and was¹⁷ rich. He was trying to get a look at Jesus, but being a short man he could not see over the crowd. So he ran on ahead¹⁸ and climbed up into a sycamore tree¹⁹ to see him because²⁰ Jesus was going to pass that way. And when Jesus came to that place, he looked up²¹ and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly because I must stay at your house today.” So he came down quickly and welcomed Jesus joyfully. And when the people saw it, they all²² complained, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” But Zacchaeus stopped and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, half²³ of my possessions I now give to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone of anything, I am paying back four times as much!” Then Jesus said to him, “Today (σήμερον) salvation has come to this household because he too is a son of Abraham! For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Jesus described Himself as the Son of Man [who] came to seek and to save the lost (τὸ ἀπολωλός). This is a participle of the verb ἀπόλλυμι in the perfect tense. Luke also wrote (Luke 15:1-4 NET):

Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming to hear him. But the Pharisees²⁴ and the experts in the law were complaining, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

So Jesus told them this parable: “Which one of you, if he has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, would not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go look for the one that is lost until he finds it (τὸ ἀπολωλὸς ἕως εὕρῃ αὐτό)? [Table]

Who are the lost but those who have prepared [themselves] for destruction?²⁵ The Greek words translated for destruction were εἰς ἀπώλειαν, a form of ἀπώλεια, the noun form associated with the verb ἀπόλλυμι.

It’s almost impossible to consider the story of Zacchaeus, a rich man, without recalling Jesus’ words to his disciples (Matthew 19:23b-26 NET):

“I tell you the truth, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven! Again I say, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter into the kingdom of God.” The disciples were greatly astonished when they heard this and said, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and replied, “This is impossible for mere humans, but for God all things are possible” [Table].

I hear the story of Zacchaeus and the story of the criminal on the cross as examples of God’s power to do the impossible. Preparing for this essay I found an article by Melissa Henderson on Christianity.com, “Why Did Jesus Tell the Thief ‘Today You Will Be With Me in Paradise’?.” It struck me that, though Ms. Henderson and Ms. Burke each had her own perspective and agenda, both referenced Christianity, that particular brand of human abstraction called Christianity with which I am most familiar.

I’ve compared selected portions of their words in the following table.

Why Did Jesus Tell the Thief ‘Today You Will Be With Me in Paradise’?

Melissa Henderson

5 Bible Passages That Caused Me to Lose My Faith

Kristi Burke

As Christians, we know there is an opportunity to acknowledge our sins, repent from those sins, and ask God for forgiveness. The two thieves on the cross each took a different path. One man chose to mock and ridicule and not believe Jesus. The other man chose to believe and have faith. The Bible doesn’t describe how this man came to believe. Did he have an earlier experience with Jesus that wasn’t recorded? Did the man who asked Jesus to remember Him silently confess and ask God to come into his life? Those details aren’t shared…
The thief was ready to change his ways, even at the last moment…
The thief was saved through repentance, not through work. Salvation is a personal decision.

Up until the point that I read and studied and chewed on the words in Romans 9, I believed in a god who created all people, gave them free will and that he wanted all people to be saved but he couldn’t violate their free will to save them. And that it was the most loving thing he could do to give people freedom. And within that freedom they could either choose him and go to heaven or they could reject him and go to hell. And that would be entirely their choice.

Paul and Silas didn’t say, “Believe in a particular brand of human abstraction called Christianity and you will be saved…”²⁶ And Jesus was a bit more forthcoming on “how this man came to believe” than Ms. Henderson shared:

No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him…²⁷ It is written in the prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God [see table].’ Everyone who hears and learns from the Father comes to me.²⁸ And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.²⁹

I’ll pick this up in another essay. The tables mentioned above follow:

σήμερον
Reference	Greek	KJV	NET
Matthew 6:11	δὸς ἡμῖν σήμερον	Give us this day	Give us today
Matthew 6:30	σήμερον ὄντα	which to day is	which is here today
Matthew 11:23	ἔμεινεν ἂν μέχρι τῆς σήμερον	it would have remained until this day	it would have continued to this day
Matthew 16:3	σήμερον χειμών	[It will be] foul weather to day	[It will be] stormy today
Matthew 21:28	ὕπαγε σήμερον ἐργάζου	go work to day	go and work…today
Matthew 27:8	ἐκλήθη…ἕως τῆς σήμερον	was called…unto this day	has been called…to this day
Matthew 27:19	ἔπαθον σήμερον	I have suffered…this day	I have suffered…today
Matthew 28:15	διεφημίσθη…μέχρι τῆς σήμερον	is commonly reported…until this day	is told…to this day
Mark 14:30	ὅτι σὺ σήμερον…πρὶν ἢ δὶς ἀλέκτορα φωνῆσαι…ἀπαρνήσῃ	That this day…before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny	today…before a rooster crows twice, you will deny
Luke 2:11	ὅτι ἐτέχθη ὑμῖν σήμερον σωτὴρ	For unto you is born this day…a Saviour	Today your Savior is born
Luke 4:21	ὅτι σήμερον πεπλήρωται	This day is…fulfilled	Today…has been fulfilled
Luke 5:26	ὅτι εἴδομεν παράδοξα σήμερον	We have seen strange things to day	We have seen incredible things today
Luke 12:28	ὄντα σήμερον	which is to day	which is here today
Luke 13:32	ἰάσεις ἀποτελῶ σήμερον	I do cures to day	performing healings today
Luke 13:33	δεῖ με σήμερον…πορεύεσθαι	I must walk to day	I must go on my way today
Luke 19:5	κατάβηθι, σήμερον γὰρ ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ σου δεῖ με μεῖναι	come down; for to day I must abide at thy house	come down…because I must stay at your house today
Luke 19:9	ὅτι σήμερον σωτηρία…ἐγένετο	This day is salvation come	Today salvation has come
Luke 22:34	οὐ φωνήσει σήμερον ἀλέκτωρ	the cock shall not crow this day	the rooster will not crow today
Luke 23:43	ἀμήν σοι λέγω σήμερον μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ ἔσῃ	Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me	I tell you the truth, today you will be with me
Acts 4:9	εἰ ἡμεῖς σήμερον ἀνακρινόμεθα	If we this day be examined	if we are being examined today
Acts 13:33	υἱός μου εἶ σύ ἐγὼ σήμερον γεγέννηκα σε	Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.	You are my Son; today I have fathered you.
Acts 19:40	κινδυνεύομεν ἐγκαλεῖσθαι στάσεως περὶ τῆς σήμερον	we are in danger to be called in question for this day’s uproar	we are in danger of being charged with rioting today
Acts 20:26	μαρτύρομαι ὑμῖν ἐν τῇ σήμερον ἡμέρᾳ	I take you to record this day	I declare to you today
Acts 22:3	καθὼς πάντες ὑμεῖς ἐστε σήμερον	as ye all are this day	just as all of you are today
Acts 24:21	ἐγὼ κρίνομαι σήμερον ἐφ᾿ ὑμῶν	I am called in question by you this day	I am on trial before you today
Acts 26:2	ἐπὶ σοῦ μέλλων σήμερον ἀπολογεῖσθαι	I shall answer for myself this day before thee	about to make my defense before you today
Acts 26:29	πάντας τοὺς ἀκούοντας μου σήμερον	all that hear me this day	all those who are listening to me today
Acts 27:33	τεσσαρεσκαιδεκάτην σήμερον ἡμέραν προσδοκῶντες ἄσιτοι διατελεῖτε	This day is the fourteenth day that ye have tarried and continued fasting	Today is the fourteenth day you have been in suspense and have gone without food
Romans 11:8	ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς ὁ θεὸς…ἕως τῆς σήμερον ἡμέρας	God hath given them…unto this day	God gave them…to this very day
2 Corinthians 3:14	ἄχρι γὰρ τῆς σήμερον ἡμέρας…μένει	for until this day remaineth	For to this very day…remains
2 Corinthians 3:15	ἀλλ᾿ ἕως σήμερον…κάλυμμα ἐπὶ τὴν καρδίαν αὐτῶν κεῖται	But even unto this day…the vail is upon their heart	But until this very day…a veil lies over their minds
Hebrews 1:5	υἱός μου εἶ σύ ἐγὼ σήμερον γεγέννηκα σε	Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee	You are my son! Today I have fathered you
Hebrews 3:7	σήμερον ἐὰν τῆς φωνῆς αὐτοῦ ἀκούσητε	To day if ye will hear his voice	Oh, that today you would listen as he speaks
Hebrews 3:13	παρακαλεῖτε…ἄχρις οὗ τὸ σήμερον καλεῖται	exhort..while it is called To day	exhort…as long as it is called “Today”
Hebrews 3:15	σήμερον ἐὰν τῆς φωνῆς αὐτοῦ ἀκούσητε	To day if ye will hear his voice	Oh, that today you would listen as he speaks
Hebrews 4:7	πάλιν τινὰ ὁρίζει ἡμέραν, σήμερον	Again, he limiteth a certain day	again ordains a certain day, “Today”
Hebrews 4:7	σήμερον ἐὰν τῆς φωνῆς αὐτοῦ ἀκούσητε	To day if ye will hear his voice	Oh, that today you would listen as he speaks
Hebrews 5:5	υἱός μου εἶ σύ ἐγὼ σήμερον γεγέννηκα σε	Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee	You are my Son! Today I have fathered you
Hebrews 13:8 (no verb)	Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς ἐχθὲς καὶ σήμερον ὁ αὐτὸς	Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day	Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today
James 4:13	σήμερον ἢ αὔριον πορευσόμεθα	To day or to morrow we will go	Today or tomorrow we will go

ἀμὴν
Reference	Greek	KJV	NET
Luke 4:24	ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν	Verily I say unto you	I tell you the truth
Luke 12:37	ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν	verily I say unto you	I tell you the truth
Luke 18:17	ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν	Verily I say unto you	I tell you the truth
Luke 18:29	ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν	Verily I say unto you	I tell you the truth
Luke 21:32	ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν	Verily I say unto you	I tell you the truth
Luke 23:43	ἀμήν σοι λέγω σήμερον	Verily I say unto thee, To day	I tell you the truth, today

Tables comparing the Greek of Luke 23:40; 23:42, 43; Revelation 2:7; 2 Corinthians 12:3; Mark 14:30; Luke 19:5; 19:2; 19:4; 19:7, 8 and 15:2 in the NET and KJV follow.

Luke 23:40 (NET)	Luke 23:40 (KJV)
But the other rebuked him, saying, “Don’t you fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?	But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?

Luke 23:40 (NET Parallel Greek)	Luke 23:40 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Luke 23:40 (Byzantine Majority Text)
ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ὁ ἕτερος ἐπιτιμῶν αὐτῷ ἔφη· οὐδὲ φοβῇ σὺ τὸν θεόν, ὅτι ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ κρίματι εἶ	αποκριθεις δε ο ετερος επετιμα αυτω λεγων ουδε φοβη συ τον θεον οτι εν τω αυτω κριματι ει	αποκριθεις δε ο ετερος επετιμα αυτω λεγων ουδε φοβη συ τον θεον οτι εν τω αυτω κριματι ει

Luke 23:42, 43 (NET)	Luke 23:42, 43 (KJV)
Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingdom.”	And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.

Luke 23:42 (NET Parallel Greek)	Luke 23:42 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Luke 23:42 (Byzantine Majority Text)
καὶ ἔλεγεν· Ἰησοῦ, μνήσθητι μου ὅταν ἔλθῃς \|ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ\| σου	και ελεγεν τω ιησου μνησθητι μου κυριε οταν ελθης εν τη βασιλεια σου	και ελεγεν τω ιησου μνησθητι μου κυριε οταν ελθης εν τη βασιλεια σου

And Jesus said to him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”

And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.

Luke 23:43 (NET Parallel Greek)	Luke 23:43 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Luke 23:43 (Byzantine Majority Text)
καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· ἀμήν σοι λέγω, σήμερον μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ ἔσῃ ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ	και ειπεν αυτω ο ιησους αμην λεγω σοι σημερον μετ εμου εση εν τω παραδεισω	και ειπεν αυτω ο ιησους αμην λεγω σοι σημερον μετ εμου εση εν τω παραδεισω

Revelation 2:7 (NET)	Revelation 2:7 (KJV)
The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, I will permit him to eat from the tree of life that is in the paradise of God.’	He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

Revelation 2:7 (NET Parallel Greek)	Revelation 2:7 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Revelation 2:7 (Byzantine Majority Text)
Ὁ ἔχων οὖς ἀκουσάτω τί τὸ πνεῦμα λέγει ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις. Τῷ νικῶντι δώσω αὐτῷ φαγεῖν ἐκ τοῦ ξύλου τῆς ζωῆς, ὅ ἐστιν ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ τοῦ θεοῦ	ο εχων ους ακουσατω τι το πνευμα λεγει ταις εκκλησιαις τω νικωντι δωσω αυτω φαγειν εκ του ξυλου της ζωης ο εστιν εν μεσω του παραδεισου του θεου	ο εχων ους ακουσατω τι το πνευμα λεγει ταις εκκλησιαις τω νικωντι δωσω αυτω φαγειν εκ του ξυλου της ζωης ο εστιν εν μεσω του παραδεισου του θεου μου

2 Corinthians 12:3 (NET)	2 Corinthians 12:3 (KJV)
And I know that this man (whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, God knows)	And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;)

2 Corinthians 12:3 (NET Parallel Greek)	2 Corinthians 12:3 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	2 Corinthians 12:3 (Byzantine Majority Text)
καὶ οἶδα τὸν τοιοῦτον ἄνθρωπον (εἴτε ἐν σώματι εἴτε χωρὶς τοῦ σώματος \|οὐκ οἶδα\|, ὁ θεὸς οἶδεν)	και οιδα τον τοιουτον ανθρωπον ειτε εν σωματι ειτε εκτος του σωματος ουκ οιδα ο θεος οιδεν	και οιδα τον τοιουτον ανθρωπον ειτε εν σωματι ειτε εκτος του σωματος ουκ οιδα ο θεος οιδεν

Mark 14:30 (NET)	Mark 14:30 (KJV)
Jesus said to him, “I tell you the truth, today—this very night—before a rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.	And Jesus saith unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this day, even in this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice.

Mark 14:30 (NET Parallel Greek)	Mark 14:30 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Mark 14:30 (Byzantine Majority Text)
καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς· ἀμὴν λέγω σοι ὅτι σὺ σήμερον – ταύτῃ τῇ νυκτὶ – πρὶν ἢ δὶς ἀλέκτορα φωνῆσαι τρίς με ἀπαρνήσῃ	και λεγει αυτω ο ιησους αμην λεγω σοι οτι σημερον εν τη νυκτι ταυτη πριν η δις αλεκτορα φωνησαι τρις απαρνηση με	και λεγει αυτω ο ιησους αμην λεγω σοι οτι συ σημερον εν τη νυκτι ταυτη πριν η δις αλεκτορα φωνησαι τρις απαρνηση με

Luke 19:5 (NET)	Luke 19:5 (KJV)
And when Jesus came to that place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly because I must stay at your house today.”	And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house.

Luke 19:5 (NET Parallel Greek)	Luke 19:5 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Luke 19:5 (Byzantine Majority Text)
καὶ ὡς ἦλθεν ἐπὶ τὸν τόπον, ἀναβλέψας \|ὁ\| Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτόν· Ζακχαῖε, σπεύσας κατάβηθι, σήμερον γὰρ ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ σου δεῖ με μεῖναι	και ως ηλθεν επι τον τοπον αναβλεψας ο ιησους ειδεν αυτον και ειπεν προς αυτον ζακχαιε σπευσας καταβηθι σημερον γαρ εν τω οικω σου δει με μειναι	και ως ηλθεν επι τον τοπον αναβλεψας ο ιησους ειδεν αυτον και ειπεν προς αυτον ζακχαιε σπευσας καταβηθι σημερον γαρ εν τω οικω σου δει με μειναι

Luke 19:2 (NET)	Luke 19:2 (KJV)
Now a man named Zacchaeus was there; he was a chief tax collector and was rich.	And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich.

Luke 19:2 (NET Parallel Greek)	Luke 19:2 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Luke 19:2 (Byzantine Majority Text)
Καὶ ἰδοὺ ἀνὴρ ὀνόματι καλούμενος Ζακχαῖος, καὶ αὐτὸς ἦν ἀρχιτελώνης καὶ αὐτὸς πλούσιος	και ιδου ανηρ ονοματι καλουμενος ζακχαιος και αυτος ην αρχιτελωνης και ουτος ην πλουσιος	και ιδου ανηρ ονοματι καλουμενος ζακχαιος και αυτος ην αρχιτελωνης και ουτος ην πλουσιος

Luke 19:4 (NET)	Luke 19:4 (KJV)
So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him because Jesus was going to pass that way.	And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way.

Luke 19:4 (NET Parallel Greek)	Luke 19:4 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Luke 19:4 (Byzantine Majority Text)
καὶ προδραμὼν εἰς τὸ ἔμπροσθεν ἀνέβη ἐπὶ συκομορέαν ἵνα ἴδῃ αὐτὸν ὅτι ἐκείνης ἤμελλεν διέρχεσθαι	και προδραμων εμπροσθεν ανεβη επι συκομωραιαν ινα ιδη αυτον οτι δι εκεινης ημελλεν διερχεσθαι	και προδραμων εμπροσθεν ανεβη επι συκομωραιαν ινα ιδη αυτον οτι δι εκεινης εμελλεν διερχεσθαι

Luke 19:7, 8 (NET)	Luke 19:7, 8 (KJV)
And when the people saw it, they all complained, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”	And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.

Luke 19:7 (NET Parallel Greek)	Luke 19:7 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Luke 19:7 (Byzantine Majority Text)
καὶ ἰδόντες πάντες διεγόγγυζον λέγοντες ὅτι παρὰ ἁμαρτωλῷ ἀνδρὶ εἰσῆλθεν καταλῦσαι	και ιδοντες απαντες διεγογγυζον λεγοντες οτι παρα αμαρτωλω ανδρι εισηλθεν καταλυσαι	και ιδοντες παντες διεγογγυζον λεγοντες οτι παρα αμαρτωλω ανδρι εισηλθεν καταλυσαι

But Zacchaeus stopped and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, half of my possessions I now give to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone of anything, I am paying back four times as much!”

And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.

Luke 19:8 (NET Parallel Greek)	Luke 19:8 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Luke 19:8 (Byzantine Majority Text)
σταθεὶς δὲ Ζακχαῖος εἶπεν πρὸς τὸν κύριον· ἰδοὺ τὰ ἡμίσια μου τῶν ὑπαρχόντων, κύριε, \|τοῖς\| πτωχοῖς δίδωμι, καὶ εἴ τινός τι ἐσυκοφάντησα ἀποδίδωμι τετραπλοῦν	σταθεις δε ζακχαιος ειπεν προς τον κυριον ιδου τα ημιση των υπαρχοντων μου κυριε διδωμι τοις πτωχοις και ει τινος τι εσυκοφαντησα αποδιδωμι τετραπλουν	σταθεις δε ζακχαιος ειπεν προς τον κυριον ιδου τα ημιση των υπαρχοντων μου κυριε διδωμι τοις πτωχοις και ει τινος τι εσυκοφαντησα αποδιδωμι τετραπλουν

Luke 15:2 (NET)	Luke 15:2 (KJV)
But the Pharisees and the experts in the law were complaining, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”	And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.

Luke 15:2 (NET Parallel Greek)	Luke 15:2 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Luke 15:2 (Byzantine Majority Text)
καὶ διεγόγγυζον οἵ τε Φαρισαῖοι καὶ οἱ γραμματεῖς λέγοντες ὅτι οὗτος ἁμαρτωλοὺς προσδέχεται καὶ συνεσθίει αὐτοῖς	και διεγογγυζον οι φαρισαιοι και οι γραμματεις λεγοντες οτι ουτος αμαρτωλους προσδεχεται και συνεσθιει αυτοις	και διεγογγυζον οι φαρισαιοι και οι γραμματεις λεγοντες οτι ουτος αμαρτωλους προσδεχεται και συνεσθιει αυτοις

¹ “5 Bible Passages That Caused Me to Lose My Faith,” Kristi Burke

² Luke 23:32 (NET)

³ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἐπιτιμῶν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had επετιμα.

⁴ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἔφη here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had λεγων.

⁵ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the article τω (KJV: unto) preceding Jesus. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

⁶ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had κυριε (KJV: Lord) following remember me. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

⁷ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ο ιησους (KJV: Jesus) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

⁸ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had τῷ παραδείσῳ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had μεσω του παραδεισου (KJV: the midst of the paradise).

⁹ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had χωρὶς here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εκτος (KJV: out).

¹⁰ Or “things that cannot be put into words.” (NET note 3)

¹¹ Luke 23:43b (NET)

¹² Matthew 21:28 (NET) Table

¹³ The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had the personal pronoun σὺ preceding today. The Stephanus Textus Receptus did not.

¹⁴ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εν (KJV: even in) preceding this very night. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

¹⁵ Mark 14:30 (NET)

¹⁶ Luke 23:43b (NET)

¹⁷ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had αὐτὸς here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ουτος ην (KJV: he was).

¹⁸ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had εἰς τὸ ἔμπροσθεν (not translated in the NET) here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had simply εμπροσθεν (KJV: before).

¹⁹ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had συκομορέαν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had συκομωραιαν (KJV: a sycomore tree).

²⁰ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the preposition δι following because. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

²¹ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ειδεν αυτον (KJV: and saw him) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

²² The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had πάντες here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had απαντες.

²³ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἡμίσια here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ημιση.

²⁴ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had τε preceding Pharisees and καὶ preceding the experts in the law, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had only the latter.

²⁵ Romans 9:22b (NET)

²⁶ Acts 16:31a Table

²⁷ John 6:44a (NET) Table

²⁸ John 6:45 (NET) Table

²⁹ John 12:32 (NET)

Who Am I? Part 16

Posted on March 21, 2024 by admin

I’ll pick up where I left off (Romans 9:22-24 NET):

But what if God, willing (θέλων, a form of θέλω) to demonstrate (ἐνδείξασθαι, a form of ἐνδείκνυμι) his wrath (Romans 1:18-32) and to make known his power, has endured with much patience the objects of wrath prepared for destruction? And what if he is willing to make known the wealth of his glory on the objects of mercy that he has prepared beforehand for glory—even us, whom he has called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?

God’s demonstration of this contrast between the wealth of his glory on the objects of mercy and his wrath on those who prepared themselves for destruction offended Ms. Burke: “I was fed one version of god who was a loving father but I’m learning about this completely different god who intentionally creates people to go to hell.”² If I believed that the Lord’s wish…for all to come to repentance³ was subordinate to the wishes of every individual, I might be troubled by this, too. Apart from the Lord’s intervention—he has prepared beforehand (προητοίμασεν, a form of προετοιμάζω) for glory—we all share an innate propensity to prepare ourselves for destruction. But I believe that God has consigned all people to disobedience so that he may show mercy to them all⁴ and that Jesus will draw all to Himself.⁵

“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”⁶ the Philippian jailer asked Paul and Silas (Acts 16:31a NET Table):

They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved…”

I can read this verse as written now, believing that I am saved primarily from my own sinfulness. When I believed what I was taught (or imagined I was being taught) in church, I believed that I was saved primarily from hell. I was explicitly instructed to add “before you die” as a condition to faith:

Believe in the Lord Jesus [before you die] and you will be saved [from hell].

I surveyed the 10 occurrences of forms of ᾅδης in the New Testament (see table below). All were translated hell in the KJV. Obviously, to be saved from KJV hell, one must trust the Lord before one dies. And there was a time I thought KJV hell was synonymous with the lake of fire of the final judgment (Revelation 20:11-15 NET).

Then I saw a large white throne and the one who was seated on it; the earth and the heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne. Then books were opened, and another book was opened—the book of life. So the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to their deeds [Table]. The sea gave up the⁷ dead that were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the⁸ dead that were in them, and each one was judged according to his deeds. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death—the lake of fire [Table]. If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, that person was thrown into the lake of fire.

There were 66 occurrences of forms of שְׁאוֹל (šᵊ’ôl) in the Masoretic text (see table below); 31 of them were translated hell in the KJV. Most forms of שְׁאוֹל (šᵊ’ôl) in the Masoretic text were translated with forms of ᾅδης in the Septuagint. Most occurrences of forms of שְׁאוֹל (šᵊ’ôl) mirror death as we perceive it.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Ecclesiastes 9:10 (Tanakh/KJV)	Ecclesiastes 9:10 (NET)	Ecclesiastes 9:10 (NETS)	Ecclesiastes 9:10 (English Elpenor)
Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave (בִּשְׁא֕וֹל), whither thou goest.	Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, because there is neither work nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom in the grave (šᵊ’ôl, בשאול), the place where you will eventually go.	Whatever your hand finds to do, as is your might, do! For there is no work and reasoning and knowledge and wisdom in Hades (ἐν ᾅδῃ), where you are going.	Whatsoever thine hand shall find to do, do with all thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in Hades (ἐν ᾅδῃ) wither thou goest.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Isaiah 14:11 (Tanakh/KJV)	Isaiah 14:11 (NET)	Isaiah 14:11 (NETS)	Isaiah 14:11 (English Elpenor)
Thy pomp is brought down to the grave (שְׁא֛וֹל), and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.	Your splendor has been brought down to Sheol (šᵊ’ôl, שאול), as well as the sound of your stringed instruments. You lie on a bed of maggots, with a blanket of worms over you.’	But your glory has gone down to Hades (εἰς ᾅδου)—your abundant joy; they will spread decay beneath you, and a worm will be your covering.	Thy glory has come down to Hades (εἰς ᾅδου), and thy great mirth: under thee they shall spread corruption, and the worm shall be thy covering.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Isaiah 38:18 (Tanakh/KJV)	Isaiah 38:18 (NET)	Isaiah 38:18 (NETS)	Isaiah 38:18 (English Elpenor)
For the grave (שְׁא֛וֹל) cannot praise thee, death (מָ֣וֶת) can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit (ב֖וֹר) cannot hope for thy truth.	Indeed Sheol (šᵊ’ôl, שאול) does not give you thanks; death (māveṯ, מות) does not praise you. Those who descend into the Pit (bôr, בור) do not anticipate your faithfulness.	For those who are in Hades (ἐν ᾅδου) will not praise you, nor will the dead (οἱ ἀποθανόντες) bless you, nor will those who are in Hades (ἐν ᾅδου) hope for your mercy.	For they that are in the grave (ἐν ᾅδου) shall not praise thee, neither shall the dead (οἱ ἀποθανόντες) bless thee, neither shall they that are in Hades (ἐν ᾅδου) hope for thy mercy.

This very human understanding of death corresponds to the euphemism fallen asleep (κεκοίμηται, a form of κοιμάω) as Jesus used it (John 11:11b-15a NET):

“Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep (κεκοίμηται, a form of κοιμάω). But I am going there to awaken him.” Then the disciples replied,⁹ “Lord, if he has fallen asleep (κεκοίμηται, a form of κοιμάω), he will recover.” (Now Jesus had been talking about his death [θανάτου, a form of θάνατος], but they thought he had been talking about real sleep [τῆς κοιμήσεως τοῦ ὕπνου].)

Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died (ἀπέθανεν, a form of ἀποθνήσκω)…

Paul used κοιμηθησόμεθα (another form of κοιμάω) in a similar way (1 Corinthians 15:51, 52 NET):

Listen, I will tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep (κοιμηθησόμεθα), but we will all be changed [Table]—in a moment, in the blinking of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead (νεκροὶ, a form of νεκρός) will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

Now some Sadducees (who contend that there is no resurrection)¹⁰ asked Jesus a trick question about a woman and seven brothers: “In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman¹¹ be? For all seven had married her.”¹² First, Jesus corrected their misunderstanding of the coming age (Luke 20:34, 35 NET):

So Jesus¹³ said to them, “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage.¹⁴ But those who are regarded as worthy to share in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage.¹⁵

Then Jesus elaborated on the resurrection (Luke 20:36, 37 NET):

In fact, they can no¹⁶ longer die (ἀποθανεῖν, another form of ἀποθνήσκω) because they are equal to angels (ἰσάγγελοι, a form of ἰσάγγελος) and are sons of God,¹⁷ since they are sons of the resurrection. But even Moses revealed that the dead are raised in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob [Table].

Jesus went one step further to affirm something about God and those who have died as we perceive death (Luke 20:38 NET):

Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live before him.

The Greek word translated live was ζῶσιν, a form of ζάω in the present tense. Technically, ζῶσιν might also indicate the subjunctive mood, “for all may live before him,” but I found no English translation other¹⁸ than the indicative mood.

One occurrence (perhaps two) of שְׁאוֹל (šᵊ’ôl) in the Masoretic text conveys this idea of living (ζώντων) inhabitants.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Isaiah 14:9, 10 (Tanakh/KJV)	Isaiah 14:9, 10 (NET)	Isaiah 14:9, 10 (NETS)	Isaiah 14:9, 10 (English Elpenor)
Hell (שְׁא֗וֹל) from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.	Sheol (šᵊ’ôl, שאול) below is stirred up about you, ready to meet you when you arrive. It rouses the spirits of the dead for you, all the former leaders of the earth; it makes all the former kings of the nations rise from their thrones.	Hades (ὁ ᾅδης) beneath was embittered on meeting you; all the mighty who have ruled the earth rose up together against you—those who have roused from their thrones all the kings of the nations.	Hell (ὁ ᾅδης) from beneath is provoked to meet thee: all the great ones that have ruled over the earth have risen up together against thee, they that have raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.
All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?	All of them respond to you, saying: ‘You too have become weak like us! You have become just like us!	All will answer and say to you: “You too were taken even as we were, and you were counted among us!”	All shall answer and say to thee, Thou also hast been taken, even as we; and thou art numbered amongst us.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Ezekiel 32:21 (Tanakh/KJV)	Ezekiel 32:21 (NET)	Ezekiel 32:21 (NETS)	Ezekiel 32:21 (English Elpenor)
The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of hell (שְׁא֖וֹל) with them that help him: they are gone down, they lie uncircumcised, slain by the sword.	The bravest of the warriors will speak to him from the midst of Sheol (šᵊ’ôl, שאול) along with his allies, saying: ‘The uncircumcised have come down; they lie still, killed by the sword.’	And the giants in the depth of the hole (βόθρου) shall say to you, “You are greater than whom? Descend, and lie with the uncircumcised in the midst of those wounded by dagger.”	the giants also shall say to thee, Be thou in the depth of the pit (βόθρου): to whom art thou superior? yea, go down, and lie with the uncircumcised, in the midst of them [that are] slain with the sword.

Jesus described a rich man in Hades calling out to Abraham (Luke 16:23, 24 NET):

And in Hades (τῷ ᾅδῃ), as he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far off with Lazarus at his side [Table]. So he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue because I am in anguish in this fire.’

This survey helped me to understand why eternal life wasn’t about living forever when Jesus prayed: Now this is eternal life—that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent.¹⁹ More to the point in this essay, given that even Paul wrote of those who have fallen asleep in Christ,²⁰ waiting to rise in the resurrection at the last day,²¹ it focused my attention on the question: What gave anyone hope that believing in the Lord Jesus, even before one dies, might save one from KJV hell?

Three²² Scriptures come to mind. I’ll consider those in another essay. The tables mentioned above follow:

English Translations of Forms of ᾅδης
Reference	Greek	KJV	NET
Matthew 11:23	ᾅδου	to hell	to Hades
Matthew 16:18	ᾅδου	of hell	of Hades
Luke 10:15	ᾅδου	to hell	to Hades
Luke 16:23	ᾅδῃ	hell	Hades
Acts 2:27	ᾅδην	hell	Hades
Acts 2:31	ᾅδην	hell	Hades
Revelation 1:18	ᾅδου	of hell	of Hades
Revelation 6:8	ᾅδης	Hell	Hades
Revelation 20:13	ᾅδης	hell	Hades
Revelation 20:14	ᾅδης	hell	Hades

English Translations of Forms of שְׁאוֹל (šᵊ’ôl)
Reference	Hebrew	KJV	NET	Septuagint (BLB/Elpenor)
Genesis 37:35	שאלה	into the grave	to the grave	εἰς ᾅδου / εἰς ᾅδου
Genesis 42:38	שאולה	to the grave	to the grave	εἰς ᾅδου / εἰς ἅδου
Genesis 44:29	שאלה	to the grave	to the grave	εἰς ᾅδου / εἰς ᾅδου
Genesis 44:31	שאלה	to the grave	to the grave	εἰς ᾅδου / εἰς ᾅδου
Numbers 16:30	שאלה	into the pit	to the grave	εἰς ᾅδου / εἰς ᾅδου
Numbers 16:33	שאלה	into the pit	into the pit	εἰς ᾅδου / εἰς ᾅδου
Deuteronomy 32:22	שאול	hell	Sheol	ᾅδου / ᾅδου
1 Samuel (1 Kings) 2:6	שאול	to the grave	to the grave	εἰς ᾅδου / εἰς ᾅδου
2 Samuel (2 Kings) 22:6	שאול	of hell	of Sheol	θανάτου / θανάτου
1 Kings (3 Kings) 2:6	שאל	to the grave	death	εἰς ᾅδου / εἰς ᾅδου
1 Kings (3 Kings) 2:9	שאול	to the grave	death	εἰς ᾅδου / εἰς ᾅδου
Job 7:9	שאול	to the grave	to the grave	εἰς ᾅδην / εἰς ᾄδην
Job 11:8	משאול	than hell	than Sheol	τῶν ἐν ᾅδου / τῶν ἐν ᾃδου
Job 14:13	בשאול	in the grave	in Sheol	ἐν ᾅδῃ / ἐν ᾅδῃ
Job 17:13	שאול	the grave	the grave	ᾅδης / ᾅδης
Job 17:16	שאל	of the pit	of death	εἰς ᾅδην / εἰς ᾅδην
Job 21:13	שאול	to the grave	to the grave	ᾅδου / ᾅδου
Job 24:19	שאול	the grave	the grave	na / na
Job 26:6	שאול	Hell	The underworld	ὁ ᾅδης / ὁ ᾅδης
Psalm 6:5 (6:6)	בשאול	in the grave	In Sheol	ἐν δὲ τῷ ᾅδῃ / ἐν δὲ τῷ ῞ᾼδῃ
Psalm 9:17 (9:18)	לשאולה	into hell	sent to Sheol	εἰς τὸν ᾅδην / εἰς τὸν ᾅδην
Psalm 16:10 (15:10)	לשאול	in hell	to Sheol	εἰς ᾅδην / εἰς ᾅδην
Psalm 18:5 (17:6)	שאול	of hell	of Sheol	ᾅδου / ᾅδου
Psalm 30:3 (29:4)	שאול	the grave	Sheol	ᾅδου / ᾅδου
Psalm 31:17 (30:18)	לשאול	in the grave	to the grave	εἰς ᾅδου / εἰς ᾅδου
Psalm 49:14 (48:15)	לשאול	in the grave	to Sheol	ἐν ᾅδῃ / ἐν ᾅδῃ
Psalm 49:14 (48:15)	שאול	in the grave	Sheol	ἐν τῷ ᾅδῃ / ἐν τῷ ᾅδῃ
Psalm 49:15 (48:16)	שאול	of the grave	of Sheol	ᾅδου / ᾅδου
Psalm 55:15 (54:16)	שאול	into hell	into Sheol	εἰς ᾅδου / εἰς ᾅδου
Psalm 86:13 (85:13)	משאול	hell	of Sheol	ἐξ ᾅδου / ἐξ ᾅδου
Psalm 88:3 (87:4)	לשאול	unto the grave	Sheol	τῷ ᾅδῃ / τῷ ᾅδῃ
Psalm 89:48 (88:49)	שאול	of the grave	of Sheol	ᾅδου / ᾅδου
Psalm 116:3 (114:3)	שאול	of hell	of Sheol	ᾅδου / ᾅδου
Psalm 139:9 (138:8)	שאול	in hell	in Sheol	εἰς τὸν ᾅδην / εἰς τὸν ᾅδην
Psalm 141:7	שאול	grave’s	of Sheol	τὸν ᾅδην / τὸν ᾅδην
Proverbs 1:12	כשאול	as the grave	like Sheol	ὥσπερ ᾅδης / ὥσπερ ᾅδης
Proverbs 5:5	שאול	on hell	to the grave	εἰς τὸν ᾅδην / εἰς τὸν ᾅδην
Proverbs 7:27	שאול	to hell	to the grave	ᾅδου / ᾅδου
Proverbs 9:18	שאול	of hell	of the grave	ᾅδου / ᾅδου
Proverbs 15:11	שאול	Hell	Death	ᾅδης / ᾅδης
Proverbs 15:24	משאול	from hell	to Sheol	ἐκ τοῦ ᾅδου / ἐκ τοῦ ᾅδου
Proverbs 23:14	משאול	from hell	from death	ἐκ θανάτου / ἐκ θανάτου
Proverbs 27:20	שאול	Hell	Death	ᾅδης / ᾅδης
Proverbs 30:16	שאול	The grave	the grave	ᾅδης / na
Ecclesiastes 9:10	בשאול	in the grave	in the grave	ἐν ᾅδῃ / ἐν ᾅδῃ
Song of Songs 8:6	כשאול	as the grave	as Sheol	ὡς ᾅδης / ὡς ᾅδης
Isaiah 5:14	שאול	hell	Death	ὁ ᾅδης / ὁ ᾅδης
Isaiah 7:11	שאלה	ask it	as Sheol (Note 17)	na / na
Isaiah 14:9	שאול	Hell	Sheol	ὁ ᾅδης / ὁ ᾅδης
Isaiah 14:11	שאול	to the grave	to Sheol	εἰς ᾅδου / εἰς ᾅδου
Isaiah 14:15	שאול	hell	Sheol	ᾅδου / ᾅδην
Isaiah 28:15	שאול	hell	Sheol	τοῦ ᾅδου / τοῦ ᾅδου
Isaiah 28:18	שאול	hell	Sheol	τὸν ᾅδην / τὸν ᾅδην
Isaiah 38:10	שאול	of the grave	of Sheol	ᾅδου / ᾅδου
Isaiah 38:18	שאול	the grave	Sheol	οἱ ἐν ᾅδου / οἱ ἐν ᾅδου
Isaiah 57:9	שאול	hell	Sheol	ᾅδου / ᾅδου
Ezekiel 31:15	שאולה	to the grave	to Sheol	εἰς ᾅδου / εἰς ᾅδου
Ezekiel 31:16	שאולה	to hell	to Sheol	εἰς ᾅδου / εἰς ᾅδου
Ezekiel 31:17	שאולה	into hell	to Sheol	εἰς ᾅδου / εἰς ᾅδου
Ezekiel 32:21	שאול	of hell	of Sheol	βόθρου / βόθρου
Ezekiel 32:27	שאול	to hell	to Sheol	εἰς ᾅδου / εἰς ᾅδου
Hosea 13:14	שאול	of the grave	of Sheol	ᾅδου / ᾅδου
Hosea 13:14	שאול	O grave	O Sheol	ᾅδη / ᾅδη
Amos 9:2	בשאול	into hell	into the netherworld	εἰς ᾅδου / εἰς ᾅδου
Jonah 2:2 (2:3)	שאול	of hell	of Sheol	ᾅδου / ᾅδου
Habakkuk 2:5	כשאול	as hell	as Sheol’s	καθὼς ὁ ᾅδης / καθὼς ᾅδης

According to a note (87) in the NET Jesus quoted from Exodus 3:6 in Luke 20:37. A table comparing the Greek of his quotation to the Septuagint follows.

Luke 20:37b (NET Parallel Greek) Table	Exodus 3:6a (Septuagint BLB) Table	Exodus 3:6a (Septuagint Elpenor)
τὸν θεὸν Ἀβραὰμ καὶ θεὸν Ἰσαὰκ καὶ θεὸν Ἰακώβ	θεὸς Αβρααμ καὶ θεὸς Ισαακ καὶ θεὸς Ιακωβ	Θεὸς ῾Αβραὰμ καὶ Θεὸς ᾿Ισαὰκ καὶ Θεὸς ᾿Ιακώβ
Luke 20:37b (NET)	Exodus 3:6a (NETS)	Exodus 3:6a (English Elpenor)
the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob	God of Abraam and God of Isaak and God of Iakob	the God of Abraam, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob

Tables comparing Ecclesiastes 9:10; Isaiah 14:11; 38:18; 14:9; 14:10 and Ezekiel 32:21 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET; and tables comparing Ecclesiastes 9:10; Isaiah 14:11; 38:18; 14:9; 14:10 and Ezekiel 32:21 in the BLB and Elpenor versions of the Septuagint with the English translations from Hebrew and Greek, and tables comparing the Greek of Revelation 20:13; John 11:12; 11:15; Luke 20:33; 20:34, 35 and Luke 20:36 the NET and KJV follow.

Ecclesiastes 9:10 (Tanakh)	Ecclesiastes 9:10 (KJV)	Ecclesiastes 9:10 (NET)
Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.	Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.	Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, because there is neither work nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom in the grave, the place where you will eventually go.

Ecclesiastes 9:10 (Septuagint BLB)	Ecclesiastes 9:10 (Septuagint Elpenor)
πάντα ὅσα ἂν εὕρῃ ἡ χείρ σου τοῦ ποιῆσαι ὡς ἡ δύναμίς σου ποίησον ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ποίημα καὶ λογισμὸς καὶ γνῶσις καὶ σοφία ἐν ᾅδῃ ὅπου σὺ πορεύῃ ἐκεῖ	πάντα, ὅσα ἂν εὕρῃ ἡ χείρ σου τοῦ ποιῆσαι, ὡς ἡ δύναμίς σου ποίησον, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστι ποίημα καὶ λογισμὸς καὶ γνῶσις καὶ σοφία ἐν ᾅδῃ, ὅπου σὺ πορεύῃ ἐκεῖ
Ecclesiastes 9:10 (NETS)	Ecclesiastes 9:10 (English Elpenor)
Whatever your hand finds to do, as is your might, do! For there is no work and reasoning and knowledge and wisdom in Hades, where you are going.	Whatsoever thine hand shall find to do, do with all thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in Hades wither thou goest.

Isaiah 14:11 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 14:11 (KJV)	Isaiah 14:11 (NET)
Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.	Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.	Your splendor has been brought down to Sheol, as well as the sound of your stringed instruments. You lie on a bed of maggots, with a blanket of worms over you.’

Isaiah 14:11 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 14:11 (Septuagint Elpenor)
κατέβη δὲ εἰς ᾅδου ἡ δόξα σου ἡ πολλή σου εὐφροσύνη ὑποκάτω σου στρώσουσιν σῆψιν καὶ τὸ κατακάλυμμά σου σκώληξ	κατέβη εἰς ᾅδου ἡ δόξα σου, ἡ πολλὴ εὐφροσύνη σου· ὑποκάτω σου στρώσουσι σῆψιν, καὶ τὸ κατακάλυμμά σου σκώληξ
Isaiah 14:11 (NETS)	Isaiah 14:11 (English Elpenor)
But your glory has gone down to Hades—your abundant joy; they will spread decay beneath you, and a worm will be your covering.	Thy glory has come down to Hades, and thy great mirth: under thee they shall spread corruption, and the worm shall be thy covering.

Isaiah 38:18 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 38:18 (KJV)	Isaiah 38:18 (NET)
For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth.	For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth.	Indeed Sheol does not give you thanks; death does not praise you. Those who descend into the Pit do not anticipate your faithfulness.

Isaiah 38:18 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 38:18 (Septuagint Elpenor)
οὐ γὰρ οἱ ἐν ᾅδου αἰνέσουσίν σε οὐδὲ οἱ ἀποθανόντες εὐλογήσουσίν σε οὐδὲ ἐλπιοῦσιν οἱ ἐν ᾅδου τὴν ἐλεημοσύνην σου	οὐ γὰρ οἱ ἐν ᾅδου αἰνέσουσί σε, οὐδὲ οἱ ἀποθανόντες εὐλογήσουσί σε, οὐδὲ ἐλπιοῦσιν οἱ ἐν ᾅδου τὴν ἐλεημοσύνην σου
Isaiah 38:18 (NETS)	Isaiah 38:18 (English Elpenor)
For those who are in Hades will not praise you, nor will the dead bless you, nor will those who are in Hades hope for your mercy.	For they that are in the grave shall not praise thee, neither shall the dead bless thee, neither shall they that are in Hades hope for thy mercy.

Isaiah 14:9 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 14:9 (KJV)	Isaiah 14:9 (NET)
Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.	Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.	Sheol below is stirred up about you, ready to meet you when you arrive. It rouses the spirits of the dead for you, all the former leaders of the earth; it makes all the former kings of the nations rise from their thrones.

Isaiah 14:9 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 14:9 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ὁ ᾅδης κάτωθεν ἐπικράνθη συναντήσας σοι συνηγέρθησάν σοι πάντες οἱ γίγαντες οἱ ἄρξαντες τῆς γῆς οἱ ἐγείραντες ἐκ τῶν θρόνων αὐτῶν πάντας βασιλεῖς ἐθνῶν	ὁ ᾅδης κάτωθεν ἐπικράνθη συναντήσας σοι, συνηγέρθησάν σοι πάντες οἱ γίγαντες οἱ ἄρξαντες τῆς γῆς, οἱ ἐγείραντες ἐκ τῶν θρόνων αὐτῶν πάντας βασιλεῖς ἐθνῶν
Isaiah 14:9 (NETS)	Isaiah 14:9 (English Elpenor)
Hades beneath was embittered on meeting you; all the mighty who have ruled the earth rose up together against you—those who have roused from their thrones all the kings of the nations.	Hell from beneath is provoked to meet thee: all the great ones that have ruled over the earth have risen up together against thee, they that have raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.

Isaiah 14:10 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 14:10 (KJV)	Isaiah 14:10 (NET)
All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?	All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?	All of them respond to you, saying: ‘You too have become weak like us! You have become just like us!

Isaiah 14:10 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 14:10 (Septuagint Elpenor)
πάντες ἀποκριθήσονται καὶ ἐροῦσίν σοι καὶ σὺ ἑάλως ὥσπερ καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐν ἡμῖν δὲ κατελογίσθης	πάντες ἀποκριθήσονται καὶ ἐροῦσί σοι· καὶ σὺ ἑάλως, ὥσπερ καὶ ἡμεῖς, ἐν ἡμῖν δὲ κατελογίσθης
Isaiah 14:10 (NETS)	Isaiah 14:10 (English Elpenor)
All will answer and say to you: “You too were taken even as we were, and you were counted among us!”	All shall answer and say to thee, Thou also hast been taken, even as we; and thou art numbered amongst us.

Ezekiel 32:21 (Tanakh)	Ezekiel 32:21 (KJV)	Ezekiel 32:21 (NET)
The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of hell with them that help him: they are gone down, they lie uncircumcised, slain by the sword.	The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of hell with them that help him: they are gone down, they lie uncircumcised, slain by the sword.	The bravest of the warriors will speak to him from the midst of Sheol along with his allies, saying: ‘The uncircumcised have come down; they lie still, killed by the sword.’

Ezekiel 32:21 (Septuagint BLB)	Ezekiel 32:21 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐροῦσίν σοι οἱ γίγαντες ἐν βάθει βόθρου γίνου τίνος κρείττων εἶ κατάβηθι καὶ κοιμήθητι μετὰ ἀπεριτμήτων ἐν μέσῳ τραυματιῶν μαχαίρας	καὶ ἐροῦσί σοι οἱ γίγαντες· ἐν βάθει βόθρου γίνου, τίνος κρείττων εἶ; κατάβηθι καὶ κοιμήθητι μετὰ ἀπεριτμήτων ἐν μέσῳ τραυματιῶν μαχαίρας
Ezekiel 32:21 (NETS)	Ezekiel 32:21 (English Elpenor)
And the giants in the depth of the hole shall say to you, “You are greater than whom? Descend, and lie with the uncircumcised in the midst of those wounded by dagger.”	the giants also shall say to thee, Be thou in the depth of the pit: to whom art thou superior? yea, go down, and lie with the uncircumcised, in the midst of them [that are] slain with the sword.

Revelation 20:13 (NET)	Revelation 20:13 (KJV)
The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each one was judged according to his deeds.	And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

Revelation 20:13 (NET Parallel Greek)	Revelation 20:13 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Revelation 20:13 (Byzantine Majority Text)
καὶ ἔδωκεν ἡ θάλασσα τοὺς νεκροὺς τοὺς ἐν αὐτῇ καὶ ὁ θάνατος καὶ ὁ ᾅδης ἔδωκαν τοὺς νεκροὺς τοὺς ἐν αὐτοῖς, καὶ ἐκρίθησαν ἕκαστος κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτῶν	και εδωκεν η θαλασσα τους εν αυτη νεκρους και ο θανατος και ο αδης εδωκαν τους εν αυτοις νεκρους και εκριθησαν εκαστος κατα τα εργα αυτων	και εδωκεν η θαλασσα τους νεκρους τους εν αυτη και ο θανατος και ο αδης εδωκαν τους νεκρους τους εν αυτοις και εκριθησαν εκαστος κατα τα εργα αυτων

John 11:12 (NET)	John 11:12 (KJV)
Then the disciples replied, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.”	Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.

John 11:12 (NET Parallel Greek)	John 11:12 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	John 11:12 (Byzantine Majority Text)
εἶπαν οὖν οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτῷ· κύριε, εἰ κεκοίμηται σωθήσεται	ειπον ουν οι μαθηται αυτου κυριε ει κεκοιμηται σωθησεται	ειπον ουν οι μαθηται αυτου κυριε ει κεκοιμηται σωθησεται

John 11:15 (NET)	John 11:15 (KJV)
and I am glad for your sake that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”	And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.

John 11:15 (NET Parallel Greek)	John 11:15 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	John 11:15 (Byzantine Majority Text)
καὶ χαίρω δι᾿ ὑμᾶς ἵνα πιστεύσητε, ὅτι οὐκ ἤμην ἐκεῖ· ἀλλὰ ἄγωμεν πρὸς αὐτόν	και χαιρω δι υμας ινα πιστευσητε οτι ουκ ημην εκει αλλ αγωμεν προς αυτον	και χαιρω δι υμας ινα πιστευσητε οτι ουκ ημην εκει αλλα αγωμεν προς αυτον

Luke 20:33 (NET)	Luke 20:33 (KJV)
In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For all seven had married her.”	Therefore in the resurrection whose wife of them is she? for seven had her to wife.

Luke 20:33 (NET Parallel Greek)	Luke 20:33 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Luke 20:33 (Byzantine Majority Text)
ἡ γυνὴ οὖν ἐν τῇ ἀναστάσει τίνος αὐτῶν γίνεται γυνή; οἱ γὰρ ἑπτὰ ἔσχον αὐτὴν γυναῖκα	εν τη ουν αναστασει τινος αυτων γινεται γυνη οι γαρ επτα εσχον αυτην γυναικα	εν τη ουν αναστασει τινος αυτων γινεται γυνη οι γαρ επτα εσχον αυτην γυναικα

Luke 20:34, 35 (NET)	Luke 20:34, 35 (KJV)
So Jesus said to them, “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage.	And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage:

Luke 20:34 (NET Parallel Greek)	Luke 20:34 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Luke 20:34 (Byzantine Majority Text)
καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς· οἱ υἱοὶ τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου γαμοῦσιν καὶ γαμίσκονται	και αποκριθεις ειπεν αυτοις ο ιησους οι υιοι του αιωνος τουτου γαμουσιν και εκγαμισκονται	και αποκριθεις ειπεν αυτοις ο ιησους οι υιοι του αιωνος τουτου γαμουσιν και εκγαμισκονται

But those who are regarded as worthy to share in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage.

But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage:

Luke 20:35 (NET Parallel Greek)	Luke 20:35 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Luke 20:35 (Byzantine Majority Text)
οἱ δὲ καταξιωθέντες τοῦ αἰῶνος ἐκείνου τυχεῖν καὶ τῆς ἀναστάσεως τῆς ἐκ νεκρῶν οὔτε γαμοῦσιν οὔτε γαμίζονται	οι δε καταξιωθεντες του αιωνος εκεινου τυχειν και της αναστασεως της εκ νεκρων ουτε γαμουσιν ουτε εκγαμισκονται	οι δε καταξιωθεντες του αιωνος εκεινου τυχειν και της αναστασεως της εκ νεκρων ουτε γαμουσιν ουτε εκγαμιζονται

Luke 20:36 (NET)	Luke 20:36 (KJV)
In fact, they can no longer die because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, since they are sons of the resurrection.	Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.

Luke 20:36 (NET Parallel Greek)	Luke 20:36 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Luke 20:36 (Byzantine Majority Text)
οὐδὲ γὰρ ἀποθανεῖν ἔτι δύνανται, ἰσάγγελοι γάρ εἰσιν καὶ υἱοί εἰσιν θεοῦ τῆς ἀναστάσεως υἱοὶ ὄντες	ουτε γαρ αποθανειν ετι δυνανται ισαγγελοι γαρ εισιν και υιοι εισιν του θεου της αναστασεως υιοι οντες	ουτε γαρ αποθανειν ετι δυνανται ισαγγελοι γαρ εισιν και υιοι εισιν του θεου της αναστασεως υιοι οντες

Who Am I? Part 17

¹ “5 Bible Passages That Caused Me to Lose My Faith,” Kristi Burke

² Ibid.

³ 2 Peter 3:9b (NET) Table

⁴ Romans 11:32 (NET)

⁵ John 12:32

⁶ Acts 16:30b (NET)

⁷ The Net parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had the article τοὺς preceding dead. The Stephanus Textus Receptus did not.

⁸ The Net parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had the article τοὺς preceding dead. The Stephanus Textus Receptus did not.

⁹ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had εἶπαν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ειπον (KJV: said).

¹⁰ Luke 20:27a (NET)

¹¹ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἡ γυνὴ at the beginning of this clause. The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

¹² Luke 20:33 (NET)

¹³ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αποκριθεις (KJV: answering) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

¹⁴ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had γαμίσκονται here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εκγαμισκονται.

¹⁵ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had γαμίζονται here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had εκγαμισκονται and the Byzantine Majority Text had εκγαμιζονται.

¹⁶ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had οὐδὲ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ουτε (KJV: Neither).

¹⁷ The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the article του preceding of God. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

¹⁸ The Aramaic Bible in Plain English treats both ἔστιν and ζῶσιν as if they were not in the present tense, but both are still in the indicative mood: “But he was not the God of the dead, but of the living, for all of them were alive to him.”

According to Rev. Glenn David Bauscher in the introduction to his translation of the Aramaic New Testament: “Aramaic was the language of Jesus of Nazareth (‘Yeshua Netsari’ in Aramaic) and of his twelve disciples. The Peshitta New Testament is the only complete Aramaic New Testament known today which is held by a significant Christian denomination to be the original text written by the Apostles. The Church of The East has always held to this text as the original writing of the Apostles, preserved with word for word accuracy by its Scribes for nearly two thousand years with meticulous care and reverence.”

In an article titled “Be one of the few who has a copy of the Original New Testament!” Rev. Bauscher contends: “While the apostle Paul was carrying the gospel message to the West — ‘first to the Jew, then to the Gentile’ — Thomas was doing the same, except going in the opposite direction . . . to the East. The Church of the East became the largest Christian church of the middle ages, spreading the gospel message and building churches as far away as India and China, with 100 million members. The Muslim conquests and massacres of the 7th – 11th centuries, as well as the Mongol’s destruction of Christians and churches, left very few members of that great church remaining. This is history unknown to most in the West, but eastern Christians have not forgotten.”

¹⁹ John 17:3 (NET)

²⁰ 1 Corinthians 15:18a (NET)

²¹ John 11:24b (NET) Table

²² Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 5:8; John 11:26

The Gospel and the Religious Mind

An attempt to distinguish the mind of Christ from the ordinary religious mind.

Category Archives: Section Six