Justice and Mercy Revisited, Part 6

This is a continuation of a consideration of “Matthew’s and the Holy Spirit’s word choices”1 in Matthew 12:18-21. Once more I’ll mine the rich vein of רָצָה (rāṣâ) encountered in another essay in its Qal perfect 3rd person feminine form רָצְתָה (ESV: delights):...

Nothing True, Part 2

Job’s lament took an intriguing turn. Masoretic Text Septuagint Job 3:11, 12 (Tanakh/KJV) Job 3:11, 12 (NET) Job 3:11, 12 (NETS) Job 3:11, 12 (English Elpenor) Why died I not from the womb? why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly? “Why did I not...

Atonement, Part 5

I’ll continue to consider yehôvâh’s (יהוה) instruction to Moses: They[1] are to eat those things by which atonement (kâphar, כפר; Septuagint: ἡγιάσθησαν, a form of ἁγιάζω) was made to consecrate and to set them apart, but no one else may eat them, for they are...

My Reasons and My Reason, Part 3

“I was really hoping that I could, um, move back in here for a while,” Linda probed her mother. “Here?” her mother asked. “Yeah.” “No, you know that’s not possible.” “Why not?” Linda asked. “How would it look for a married woman to move in with her parents apart...