The Lost Son of Perdition, Part 3

Then [Jesus] dipped the piece of bread in the dish and gave it to Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son [Table].  And after Judas took the piece of bread, Satan entered into him.  Jesus said to him, “What you are about to do, do quickly.”[1]

Jesus’ instruction sounds so strange.  Alexander MacLaren wrote of his words, “I hear in them, first, the voice of despairing love abandoning the conflict.”[2]

If I have rightly construed the meaning of the incident, this is the plain meaning of it. And you will observe that the Revised Version, more accurately and closely rendering the words of our text, begins with a ‘Therefore.’ ‘Therefore said Jesus unto him,’ because the die was cast; because the will of Judas had conclusively welcomed Satan, and conclusively rejected Christ; therefore, knowing that remonstrance was vain, knowing that the deed was, in effect, done, Jesus Christ, that Incarnate Charity which ‘believeth all things, and hopeth all things,’ abandoned the man to himself, and said, ‘There, then, if thou wilt thou must. I have done all I can; my last arrow is shot, and it has missed the target. That then doest, do quickly.’

I, too, want more emotional conflict in this scene.  But John’s Gospel narrative continued (John 13:28, 29 NET):

Now none of those present at the table understood why Jesus said this to Judas.  Some thought that because Judas had the money box, Jesus was telling him to buy whatever they needed for the feast, or to give something to the poor.

Nothing of the high drama Mr. MacLaren and I crave was evident to others present at the time.  In fact, John, who was privy (John 13:23-26) to this exchange, didn’t write any drama into the scene, certainly not that Jesus had lost a contest of wills to Judas Iscariot or Satan and was abandoning the field.  On the contrary, the Greek word translated do in the phrase do quickly was ποίησον, an imperative form of ποιέω.  In John’s Gospel narrative Jesus commanded Judas Iscariot, What you are about to do, do quickly, and Judas (and Satan apparently) obeyed Him (John 13:30a NET):

Judas took the piece of bread and went out immediately.[3]

Did Jesus just absolve Judas Iscariot of his betrayal?  Mr. MacLaren’s description of Jesus as the “Incarnate Charity” caught my ear.  Should he have paid more heed to the fact that Charity never faileth (NET: ends)?[4]

David’s son Absalom hated his half brother Amnon ever since Amnon had raped Absalom’s sister (2 Samuel 13:1-22).  Two years laterAbsalom instructed his servants, “Look!  When Amnon is drunk and I say to you, ‘Strike Amnon down,’ kill him then and there.  Don’t fear!  Is it not I who have given you these instructions?  Be strong and courageous!”  So Absalom’s servants did to Amnon exactly what Absalom had instructed.[5]  It is taken for granted here that Absalom killed Amnon rather than the unnamed servants who carried out his command.

When David got the clever idea to kill Uriah the Hittite by commanding Joab to station him at the front in the thick of the battle and then withdraw from him so he will be cut down and killed,[6] יהוה (Yehovah) sent Nathan the Prophet to David (2 Samuel 12:1a), not to Joab who had carried out the command.  Nathan said to David (2 Samuel 12:9 NET [Table]):

Why have you shown contempt for the Lord’s (Yehovah, יהוה) decrees by doing evil in my sight?  You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and you have taken his wife to be your own wife!  You have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.

Jesus was intent on fulfilling the Scriptures.  It shouldn’t surprise me that He would take ultimate responsibility for Judas’ betrayal.  I think the tendency to judge Judas before the time, to condemn him prematurely to an eternity in the lake of fire, makes it more difficult to see or believe Jesus’ intervention here.

So I’ll begin the longer task of studying the Greek words, starting with ἀπώλετο (a form of ἀπόλλυμι, ἀπόλλω, ἀπολλύω), translated lost in Jesus’ prayer:  Not one of them was lost except the one destined for destruction, so that the scripture could be fulfilled.[7]

The first two occurrences of ἀπώλετο in the Septuagint are found in the book of Job.  I had planned to skip them because this book is tricky.  For the most part the advice Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar gave Job seemed alright to my religious mind.  Yehovah disagreed.

Masoretic Text

Septuagint
Job 42:7b (Tanakh) Job 42:7b (NET) Job 42:7b (NETS)

Job 42:7b (Elpenor English)

the LORD (יְהֹוָה֜) said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath. he (Yehovah, יהוה) said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My anger is stirred up against you and your two friends, because you have not spoken about me what is right, as my servant Job has. the Lord said to Eliphaz the Thaimanite, “You have sinned, and your two friends, for you have spoken nothing true in my presence, as has my attendant Iob. the Lord said to Eliphaz the Thaemanite, Thou hast sinned, and thy two friends: for ye have not said anything true before me, as my servant Job [has].

In one day Job heard that his five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred female donkeys had been stolen.  The servants who attended them were killed (Job 1:13-15).  His seven thousand sheep and their attendants were burned up in a lightning strike (Job 1:16).  His three thousand camels were stolen and their attendants were also killed (Job 1:17).  His seven sons and three daughters, eating and drinking together in one house, died when a windstorm brought the house down on them (Job 1:18, 19).  Later Job was afflicted with oozing sores (Job 2:7, 8).

Eliphaz, one of the three who came to comfort Job (Job 2:11-13), after seven days and seven nights of sitting silently with him, spoke in answer to Job’s longing for death (Job 3).

Masoretic Text

Septuagint
Job 4:7 (Tanakh) Job 4:7 (NET) Job 4:7 (NETS)

Job 4:7 (Elpenor English)

Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished (אָבָ֑ד), being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off (נִכְחָֽדוּ)? Call to mind now: Who, being innocent, ever perished (ʼâbad, אבד)?  And where were upright people ever destroyed (kâchad, נכחדו)? “Think now, who, being pure, perished (ἀπώλετο), or when did the true perish (ἀπώλοντο) root and all? Remember then who has perished (ἀπώλετο), being pure? or when were the true-hearted utterly destroyed (ἀπώλοντο)?

His words seem fairly typical of the way the religious mind rationalizes the misfortune of others.  To say them out loud to Job’s face is less typical but not unheard of.  Though the first half of Job 4:12 is missing from the Masoretic text, the Septuagint puts a fine point on the thrust of Eliphaz’s discourse: But if there had been any truth in thy words, none of these evils would have befallen thee.[8]  The reader of the book of Job knows, however, that all of these evils fell upon Job precisely because he was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.[9]

Job was not dead.  He was not burning in a lake of fire for all eternity.  He had lost his family, his servants, his possessions, his health and his desire to live.  The Hebrew word translated perished was אָבָ֑ד (ʼâbad).

The definition from Strong’s Concordance reads: “to wander away, i.e. lose oneself; by implication to perish (causative, destroy).”  The Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon reads: “to be lost, to lose oneself, to wander…especially used of a lost and wandering sheep…”  This helps considerably.

This word describes the one who wanders away from God, not away from the flock necessarily.  A herd mentality is portrayed as a negative example in Scripture.  The Bible is a collection of stories about clans and entire nations that wandered away from God interspersed with stories of individuals who pursued Him and followed where He led.  The first occurrence of אָבַד (ʼâbad) follows here.

Masoretic Text

Septuagint
Exodus 10:7 (Tanakh) Exodus 10:7 (NET) Exodus 10:7 (NETS)

Exodus 10:7 (Elpenor English)

And Pharaoh’s servants said unto him: ‘How long shall this man be a snare unto us? let the men go, that they may serve HaShem their G-d, knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed (אָֽבְדָ֖ה)?’ Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long will this man be a menace to us?  Release the people so that they may serve the Lord their God.  Do you not know that Egypt is destroyed (ʼâbad, אבדה)?” Then the attendants of Pharao say to him, “For how long will this be a stumbling-block for us?  Send away the people so that they may serve the Lord their God.  Or do you wish to know that Egypt lies in ruins (ἀπόλωλεν)?” And the servants of Pharao say to him, How long shall this be a snare to us? send away the men, that they may serve their God; wilt thou know that Egypt is destroyed (ἀπόλωλεν)?

Again, though אָֽבְדָ֖ה (ʼâbad) was translated is destroyed the narrative clearly explained what the Egyptians had lost.  They lost readily accessible fresh water and fish for seven days when the waters were turned to blood (Exodus 7:14-25).  They lost their comfort and peace to an invasion of frogs for a time (Exodus 8:1-15), then to gnats (Exodus 8:16-19) and finally to swarms of flies (Exodus 8:20-32).  They lost livestock, horses, donkeys, camels, herds and flocks to disease (Exodus 9:1-7), people’s health and comfort to boils (Exodus 9:8-12) and then some lost people, livestock, barley and flax to hail damage (Exodus 9:18-32).  Others saved their people and livestock.

This distinction among the Egyptians was stated explicitly (Exodus 9:20, 21 NET):

Those of Pharaoh’s servants who feared the Lord’s message hurried to bring their servants and livestock into the houses, but those who did not take the Lord’s message seriously left their servants and their cattle in the field.

Though it seems a bit odd to think of Egyptians as having wandered away from יהוה (Yehovah), He has an entirely different perspective than my history teachers had.

Masoretic Text

Septuagint
Exodus 9:14-16 (Tanakh) [Tableb] Exodus 9:14-16 (NET) Exodus 9:14-16 (NETS)

Exodus 9:14-16 (Elpenor English)

For I will this time send all My plagues upon thy person, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like Me in all the earth. For this time I will send all my plagues on your very self and on your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth. For at the present time I am sending out all my encounters into the heart of you and your attendants and your people so that you may know that there is no other like me in all the land. For this time I will send all my plagues on your very self and on your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth.
Surely now I had put forth My hand, and smitten thee and thy people with pestilence, and thou hadst been cut off (וַתִּכָּחֵ֖ד) from the earth. For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with plague, and you would have been destroyed (kachad, ותכחד) from the earth. For if now I sent my hand, I would strike you and your people with death, and you would be destroyed (ἐκτριβήσῃ) from the land. For now I will stretch forth my hand and smite thee and kill thy people, and thou shalt be consumed (ἐκτριβήσῃ) from off the earth.
But in very deed for this cause have I made thee to stand, to show thee My power, and that My name may be declared throughout all the earth. But for this purpose I have caused you to stand: to show you my strength, and so that my name may be declared in all the earth. And for this reason you have been spared in order that I might display in you my power and in order that my name might be proclaimed in all the land. And for this purpose hast thou been preserved, that I might display in thee my strength, and that my name might be published in all the earth.

Here the possibility of a more complete destruction was וַתִּכָּחֵ֖ד (kachad) in Hebrew and the rabbis chose ἐκτριβήσῃ (a form of ἐκτρίβω) in the Septuagint.  In the table above נִכְחָֽדוּ (kachad) occurred in Eliphaz’s second rhetorical question: or where were the righteous cut off?  Here the rabbis chose ὁλόρριζοι ἀπώλοντο.  Though ἀπώλοντο is another form of ἀπόλλυμι, ἀπόλλω, ἀπολλύω, it is telling to me that they felt the need to add ὁλόρριζοι (a form ὁλόρριζος; NETS: “root and all”) to match the intensity of נִכְחָֽדוּ (kachad).

The second occurrence of ἀπώλετο in the Septuagint is found in Job’s lament.  Actually, I can’t tell if Job was lamenting his loss of social status, confessing (if not repenting of) his treatment of those he considered of lower social or moral status, or justifying himself.  A skillful actor would have a field day with the emotional depth of this monologue.  It bears mentioning that this is a glimpse into the mores of wealthy men, not the families of Job’s dead servants, for instance, lamenting their loss.

Masoretic Text

Septuagint
Job 30:1-3 (Tanakh) Job 30:1-3 (NET) Job 30:1-3 (NETS)

Job 30:1-3 (Elpenor English)

But now they that are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to have set with the dogs of my flock. “But now they mock me, those who are younger than I, whose fathers I disdained too much to put with my sheep dogs. “But now they have laughed me to scorn; now the least of them reprove me in turn—[whose fathers I used to disdain] whom I did not deem worthy of my shepherd dogs! But now the youngest have laughed me to scorn, now they reprove me in [their] turn, whose fathers I set at nought; whom I did not deem worthy [to be with] my shepherd dogs.
Yea, whereto might the strength of their hands profit me, in whom old age was perished (אָ֣בַד)? Moreover, the strength of their hands—what use was it to me?  Those whose strength had perished (ʼâbad, אבד), indeed, the strength of their hands—what is it to me?  Completion perished (ἀπώλετο) upon them. Yea, why had I the strength of their hands? for them the full term [of life] was lost (ἀπώλετο).
For want and famine they were solitary; fleeing into the wilderness in former time desolate and waste. gaunt with want and hunger, they would roam the parched land, by night a desolate waste. In want and hunger, he was childless, those who yesterday were fleeing in an arid place, dismay and misery, [One is] childless in want and famine, [such as] they that fled but lately the distress and misery of drought.

Here, the fathers Job disdained are said to have lost old age, the strength to complete the full term of life from want and hunger.

Tables comparing 2 Samuel 13:28; 13:29; 11:15; Job 42:7; 4:7; 4:12; 1:1; Exodus 10:7; 9:20; 9:21; 9:14; 9:15; 9:16; Job 30:1; 30:2 and 30:3 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and 2 Samuel (Reigns, Kings) 13:28; 13:29; 11:15; Job 42:7; 4:7; 4:12; 1:1; Exodus 10:7; 9:20; 9:21; 9:14; 9:15; 9:16; Job 30:1; 30:2 and 30:3 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor) follow.  A table comparing John 13:30 in the NET and KJV follows those.

2 Samuel 13:28 (Tanakh)

2 Samuel 13:28 (KJV)

2 Samuel 13:28 (NET)

And Absalom commanded his servants, saying: ‘Mark ye now, when Amnon’s heart is merry with wine; and when I say unto you: Smite Amnon, then kill him, fear not; have not I commanded you? be courageous, and be valiant.’ Now Absalom had commanded his servants, saying, Mark ye now when Amnon’s heart is merry with wine, and when I say unto you, Smite Amnon; then kill him, fear not: have not I commanded you? be courageous, and be valiant. Absalom instructed his servants, “Look! When Amnon is drunk and I say to you, ‘Strike Amnon down,’ kill him then and there.  Don’t fear!  Is it not I who have given you these instructions?  Be strong and courageous!”

2 Samuel 13:28 (Septuagint BLB)

2 Kings 13:28 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ ἐνετείλατο Αβεσσαλωμ τοῗς παιδαρίοις αὐτοῦ λέγων ἴδετε ὡς ἂν ἀγαθυνθῇ ἡ καρδία Αμνων ἐν τῷ οἴνῳ καὶ εἴπω πρὸς ὑμᾶς πατάξατε τὸν Αμνων καὶ θανατώσατε αὐτόν μὴ φοβηθῆτε ὅτι οὐχὶ ἐγώ εἰμι ἐντέλλομαι ὑμῗν ἀνδρίζεσθε καὶ γίνεσθε εἰς υἱοὺς δυνάμεως καὶ ἐνετείλατο ᾿Αβεσσαλὼμ τοῖς παιδαρίοις αὐτοῦ λέγων· ἴδετε ὡς ἂν ἀγαθυνθῇ ἡ καρδία ᾿Αμνὼν ἐν τῷ οἴνῳ καὶ εἴπω πρὸς ὑμᾶς· πατάξατε τὸν ᾿Αμνών, καὶ θανατώσατε αὐτόν· μὴ φοβηθῆτε, ὅτι οὐχὶ ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ἐντελλόμενος ὑμῖν; ἀνδρίζεσθε καὶ γίνεσθε εἰς υἱοὺς δυνάμεως

2 Reigns 13:28 (NETS)

2 Kings 13:28 (English Elpenor)

And Abessalom commanded his lads, saying, “Watch, when the heart of Amnon is made good with wine, and I say to you, ‘Strike Amnon, and put him to death.’  Don’t be afraid, for I am—I am commanding you, am I not?  Act like men and be sons of power.” And Abessalom charged his servants, saying, Mark when the heart of Amnon shall be merry with wine, and I shall say to you, Smite Amnon, and slay him: fear not; for is it not I that command you?  Be courageous, and be valiant.

2 Samuel 13:29 (Tanakh)

2 Samuel 13:29 (KJV)

2 Samuel 13:29 (NET)

And the servants of Absalom did unto Amnon as Absalom had commanded.  Then all the king’s sons arose, and every man got him up upon his mule, and fled. And the servants of Absalom did unto Amnon as Absalom had commanded.  Then all the king’s sons arose, and every man gat him up upon his mule, and fled. So Absalom’s servants did to Amnon exactly what Absalom had instructed.  Then all the king’s sons got up; each one rode away on his mule and fled.

2 Samuel 13:29 (Septuagint BLB)

2 Kings 13:29 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ ἐποίησαν τὰ παιδάρια Αβεσσαλωμ τῷ Αμνων καθὰ ἐνετείλατο αὐτοῗς Αβεσσαλωμ καὶ ἀνέστησαν πάντες οἱ υἱοὶ τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ ἐπεκάθισαν ἀνὴρ ἐπὶ τὴν ἡμίονον αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔφυγαν καί ἐποίησαν τὰ παιδάρια ᾿Αβεσσαλὼμ τῷ ᾿Αμνὼν καθὰ ἐνετείλατο αὐτοῖς ᾿Αβεσσαλώμ. καὶ ἀνέστησαν πάντες οἱ υἱοὶ τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ ἐπεκάθισαν ἀνὴρ ἐπὶ τὴν ἡμίονον αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔφυγαν

2 Reigns 13:29 (NETS)

2 Kings 13:29 (English Elpenor)

And the lads of Abessalom did to Amnon just as Abessalom had commanded them.   And all the sons of the king rose, and they sat, a man upon his mule, and fled. And the servants of Abessalom did to Amnon as Abessalom commanded them: and all the sons of the king rose up, and they mounted every man his mule, and fled.

2 Samuel 11:15 (Tanakh)

2 Samuel 11:15 (KJV)

2 Samuel 11:15 (NET)

And he wrote in the letter, saying: ‘Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die.’ And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die. In the letter he wrote: “Station Uriah at the front in the thick of the battle and then withdraw from him so he will be cut down and killed.”

2 Samuel 11:15 (Septuagint BLB)

2 Kings 11:15 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ ἔγραψεν ἐν τῷ βιβλίῳ λέγων εἰσάγαγε τὸν Ουριαν ἐξ ἐναντίας τοῦ πολέμου τοῦ κραταιοῦ καὶ ἀποστραφήσεσθε ἀπὸ ὄπισθεν αὐτοῦ καὶ πληγήσεται καὶ ἀποθανεῗται καὶ ἔγραψεν ἐν βιβλίῳ λέγων· εἰσάγαγε τὸν Οὐρίαν ἐξ ἐναντίας τοῦ πολέμου τοῦ κραταιοῦ, καὶ ἀποστραφήσεσθε ἀπὸ ὄπισθεν αὐτοῦ, καὶ πληγήσεται ἀπὸ ὄπισθεν αὐτοῦ, καὶ πληγήσεται καὶ ἀποθανεῖται

2 Reigns 11:15 (NETS)

2 Kings 11:15 (English Elpenor)

And he wrote in the document, saying, “Lead Ourias opposite the hardest fighting, and you shall draw back from behind him, and he will be struck and will die.” And he wrote in the letter, saying, Station Urias in front of the severe [part] of the fight, and retreat from behind him, so shall he be wounded and die.

Job 42:7 (Tanakh)

Job 42:7 (KJV)

Job 42:7 (NET)

And it was so, that after the LORD had spoken these words unto Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath. And it was so, that after the LORD had spoken these words unto Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath. After the Lord had spoken these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My anger is stirred up against you and your two friends, because you have not spoken about me what is right, as my servant Job has.

Job 42:7 (Septuagint BLB)

Job 42:7 (Septuagint Elpenor)

ἐγένετο δὲ μετὰ τὸ λαλῆσαι τὸν κύριον πάντα τὰ ῥήματα ταῦτα τῷ Ιωβ εἶπεν ὁ κύριος Ελιφας τῷ Θαιμανίτῃ ἥμαρτες σὺ καὶ οἱ δύο φίλοι σου οὐ γὰρ ἐλαλήσατε ἐνώπιόν μου ἀληθὲς οὐδὲν ὥσπερ ὁ θεράπων μου Ιωβ ἐγένετο δὲ μετὰ τὸ λαλῆσαι τὸν Κύριον πάντα τὰ ρήματα ταῦτα τῷ ᾿Ιώβ, εἶπεν ὁ Κύριος ᾿Ελιφὰζ τῷ Θαιμανίτῃ· ἥμαρτες σὺ καὶ οἱ δύο φίλοι σου· οὐ γὰρ ἐλαλήσατε ἐνώπιόν μου ἀληθὲς οὐδὲν ὥσπερ ὁ θεράπων μου ᾿Ιώβ

Job 42:7 (NETS)

Job 42:7 (English Elpenor)

Now it happened after the Lord spoke all these words to Iob, that the Lord said to Eliphaz the Thaimanite, “You have sinned, and your two friends, for you have spoken nothing true in my presence, as has my attendant Iob. And it came to pass after the Lord had spoken all these words to Job, [that] the Lord said to Eliphaz the Thaemanite, Thou hast sinned, and thy two friends: for ye have not said anything true before me, as my servant Job [has].

Job 4:7 (Tanakh)

Job 4:7 (KJV)

Job 4:7 (NET)

Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off? Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off? Call to mind now: Who, being innocent, ever perished?  And where were upright people ever destroyed?

Job 4:7 (Septuagint BLB)

Job 4:7 (Septuagint Elpenor)

μνήσθητι οὖν τίς καθαρὸς ὢν ἀπώλετο ἢ πότε ἀληθινοὶ ὁλόρριζοι ἀπώλοντο μνήσθητι οὖν, τίς καθαρὸς ὢν ἀπώλετο ἢ πότε ἀληθινοὶ ὁλόρριζοι ἀπώλοντο

Job 4:7 (NETS)

Job 4:7 (English Elpenor)

“Think now, who, being pure, perished, or when did the true perish root and all? Remember then who has perished, being pure? or when were the true-hearted utterly destroyed?

Job 4:12 (Tanakh)

Job 4:12 (KJV)

Job 4:12 (NET)

Now a thing was secretly brought to me, and mine ear received a little thereof. Now a thing was secretly brought to me, and mine ear received a little thereof. “Now a word was stealthily brought to me, and my ear caught a whisper of it.

Job 4:12 (Septuagint BLB)

Job 4:12 (Septuagint Elpenor)

εἰ δέ τι ῥῆμα ἀληθινὸν ἐγεγόνει ἐν λόγοις σου οὐθὲν ἄν σοι τούτων κακὸν ἀπήντησεν πότερον οὐ δέξεταί μου τὸ οὖς ἐξαίσια παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ εἰ δέ τι ρῆμα ἀληθινὸν ἐγεγόνει ἐν λόγοις σου, οὐθὲν ἄν σοι τούτων κακὸν ἀπήντησε. πότερον οὐ δέξεταί μου τὸ οὖς ἐξαίσια παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ

Job 4:12 (NETS)

Job 4:12 (English Elpenor)

But if there had been anything truthful in your words, nothing bad in them would have met you.  “Will my ear not receive remarkable things from him? But if there had been any truth in thy words, none of these evils would have befallen thee.  Shall not mine ear receive excellent [revelations] from him?

Job 1:1 (Tanakh)

Job 1:1 (KJV)

Job 1:1 (NET)

There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil. There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil. There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job.  And that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil

Job 1:1 (Septuagint BLB)

Job 1:1 (Septuagint Elpenor)

ἄνθρωπός τις ἦν ἐν χώρᾳ τῇ Αυσίτιδι ᾧ ὄνομα Ιωβ καὶ ἦν ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐκεῗνος ἀληθινός ἄμεμπτος δίκαιος θεοσεβής ἀπεχόμενος ἀπὸ παντὸς πονηροῦ πράγματος ΑΝΘΡΩΠΟΣ τις ἦν ἐν χώρᾳ τῇ Αὐσίτιδι, ᾧ ὄνομα ᾿Ιώβ, καὶ ἦν ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐκεῖνος ἀληθινός, ἄμεμπτος, δίκαιος, θεοσεβής, ἀπεχόμενος ἀπὸ παντὸς πονηροῦ πράγματος

Job 1:1 (NETS)

Job 1:1 (English Elpenor)

There was a certain man in the land of Ausitis, whose name was Iob, and that man was genuine, blameless, righteous, religious, staying away from every evil thing. There was a certain man in the land of Ausis, whose name [was] Job; and that man was true, blameless, righteous, [and] godly, abstaining from everything evil.

Exodus 10:7 (Tanakh)

Exodus 10:7 (KJV)

Exodus 10:7 (NET)

And Pharaoh’s servants said unto him: ‘How long shall this man be a snare unto us? let the men go, that they may serve HaShem their G-d, knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed?’ And Pharaoh’s servants said unto him, How long shall this man be a snare unto us? let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God: knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed? Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long will this man be a menace to us?  Release the people so that they may serve the Lord their God.  Do you not know that Egypt is destroyed?”

Exodus 10:7 (Septuagint BLB)

Exodus 10:7 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ λέγουσιν οἱ θεράποντες Φαραω πρὸς αὐτόν ἕως τίνος ἔσται τοῦτο ἡμῗν σκῶλον ἐξαπόστειλον τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ὅπως λατρεύσωσιν τῷ θεῷ αὐτῶν ἢ εἰδέναι βούλει ὅτι ἀπόλωλεν Αἴγυπτος καὶ λέγουσιν οἱ θεράποντες Φαραὼ πρὸς αὐτόν· ἕως τίνος ἔσται τοῦτο ἡμῖν σκῶλον; ἐξαπόστειλον τοὺς ἀνθρώπους, ὅπως λατρεύσωσι τῷ Θεῷ αὐτῶν· ἢ εἰδέναι βούλῃ ὅτι ἀπόλωλεν Αἴγυπτος

Exodus 10:7 (NETS)

Exodus 10:7 (English Elpenor)

Then the attendants of Pharao say to him, “For how long will this be a stumbling-block for us?  Send away the people so that they may serve the Lord their God.  Or do you wish to know that Egypt lies in ruins?” And the servants of Pharao say to him, How long shall this be a snare to us? send away the men, that they may serve their God; wilt thou know that Egypt is destroyed?

Exodus 9:20 (Tanakh)

Exodus 9:20 (KJV)

Exodus 9:20 (NET)

He that feared the word of HaShem among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses; He that feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses: Those of Pharaoh’s servants who feared the Lord’s message hurried to bring their servants and livestock into the houses,

Exodus 9:20 (Septuagint BLB)

Exodus 9:20 (Septuagint Elpenor)

ὁ φοβούμενος τὸ ῥῆμα κυρίου τῶν θεραπόντων Φαραω συνήγαγεν τὰ κτήνη αὐτοῦ εἰς τοὺς οἴκους ὁ φοβούμενος τὸ ρῆμα Κυρίου τῶν θεραπόντων Φαραὼ συνήγαγε τὰ κτήνη αὐτοῦ εἰς τοὺς οἴκους

Exodus 9:20 (NETS)

Exodus 9:20 (English Elpenor)

The one among Pharao’s attendants who feared the word of the Lord gathered his animals into dwellings. He of the servants of Pharao that feared the word of the Lord, gathered his cattle into the houses.

Exodus 9:21 (Tanakh)

Exodus 9:21 (KJV)

Exodus 9:21 (NET)

and he that regarded not the word of HaShem left his servants and his cattle in the field. And he that regarded not the word of the LORD left his servants and his cattle in the field. but those who did not take the Lord’s message seriously left their servants and their cattle in the field.

Exodus 9:21 (Septuagint BLB)

Exodus 9:21 (Septuagint Elpenor)

ὃς δὲ μὴ προσέσχεν τῇ διανοίᾳ εἰς τὸ ῥῆμα κυρίου ἀφῆκεν τὰ κτήνη ἐν τοῗς πεδίοις ὃς δὲ μὴ προσέσχε τῇ διανοίᾳ εἰς τὸ ρῆμα Κυρίου, ἀφῆκε τὰ κτήνη ἐν τοῖς πεδίοις

Exodus 9:21 (NETS)

Exodus 9:21 (English Elpenor)

But whoever did not pay attention with his mind to the word of the Lord left the animals on the plain. And he that did not attend in his mind to the word of the Lord, left the cattle in the fields.

Exodus 9:14 (Tanakh)

Exodus 9:14 (KJV)

Exodus 9:14 (NET)

For I will this time send all My plagues upon thy person, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like Me in all the earth. For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth. For this time I will send all my plagues on your very self and on your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth.

Exodus 9:14 (Septuagint BLB)

Exodus 9:14 (Septuagint Elpenor)

ἐν τῷ γὰρ νῦν καιρῷ ἐγὼ ἐξαποστέλλω πάντα τὰ συναντήματά μου εἰς τὴν καρδίαν σου καὶ τῶν θεραπόντων σου καὶ τοῦ λαοῦ σου ἵν᾽ εἰδῇς ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ὡς ἐγὼ ἄλλος ἐν πάσῃ τῇ γῇ ἐν τῷ γὰρ νῦν καιρῷ ἐγὼ ἐξαποστέλλω πάντα τὰ συναντήματά μου εἰς τὴν καρδίαν σου καὶ τῶν θεραπόντων σου καὶ τοῦ λαοῦ σου, ἵνα εἰδῇς ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ὡς ἐγὼ ἄλλος ἐν πάσῃ τῇ γῇ

Exodus 9:14 (NETS)

Exodus 9:14 (English Elpenor)

For at the present time I am sending out all my encounters into the heart of you and your attendants and your people so that you may know that there is no other like me in all the land. For at this present time do I send forth all my plagues into thine heart, and the heart of thy servants and of thy people; that thou mayest know that there is not another such as I in all the earth.

Exodus 9:15 (Tanakh)

Exodus 9:15 (KJV)

Exodus 9:15 (NET)

Surely now I had put forth My hand, and smitten thee and thy people with pestilence, and thou hadst been cut off from the earth. For now I will stretch out my hand, that I may smite thee and thy people with pestilence; and thou shalt be cut off from the earth. For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with plague, and you would have been destroyed from the earth.

Exodus 9:15 (Septuagint BLB)

Exodus 9:15 (Septuagint Elpenor)

νῦν γὰρ ἀποστείλας τὴν χεῗρα πατάξω σε καὶ τὸν λαόν σου θανάτῳ καὶ ἐκτριβήσῃ ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς νῦν γὰρ ἀποστείλας τὴν χεῖρα πατάξω σε, καὶ τὸν λαόν σου θανατώσω, καὶ ἐκτριβήσῃ ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς

Exodus 9:15 (NETS)

Exodus 9:15 (English Elpenor)

For if now I sent my hand, I would strike you and your people with death, and you would be destroyed from the land. For now I will stretch forth my hand and smite thee and kill thy people, and thou shalt be consumed from off the earth.

Exodus 9:16 (Tanakh)

Exodus 9:16 (KJV)

Exodus 9:16 (NET)

But in very deed for this cause have I made thee to stand, to show thee My power, and that My name may be declared throughout all the earth. And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth. But for this purpose I have caused you to stand: to show you my strength, and so that my name may be declared in all the earth.

Exodus 9:16 (Septuagint BLB)

Exodus 9:16 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ ἕνεκεν τούτου διετηρήθης ἵνα ἐνδείξωμαι ἐν σοὶ τὴν ἰσχύν μου καὶ ὅπως διαγγελῇ τὸ ὄνομά μου ἐν πάσῃ τῇ γῇ καὶ ἕνεκεν τούτου διετηρήθης, ἵνα ἐνδείξωμαι ἐν σοὶ τὴν ἰσχύν μου, καὶ ὅπως διαγγελῇ τὸ ὄνομά μου ἐν πάσῃ τῇ γῇ

Exodus 9:16 (NETS)

Exodus 9:16 (English Elpenor)

And for this reason you have been spared in order that I might display in you my power and in order that my name might be proclaimed in all the land. And for this purpose hast thou been preserved, that I might display in thee my strength, and that my name might be published in all the earth.

Job 30:1 (Tanakh)

Job 30:1 (KJV)

Job 30:1 (NET)

But now they that are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to have set with the dogs of my flock. But now they that are younger than I have me in derision, whose fathers I would have disdained to have set with the dogs of my flock. “But now they mock me, those who are younger than I, whose fathers I disdained too much to put with my sheep dogs.

Job 30:1 (Septuagint BLB)

Job 30:1 (Septuagint Elpenor)

νυνὶ δὲ κατεγέλασάν μου ἐλάχιστοι νῦν νουθετοῦσίν με ἐν μέρει ὧν ἐξουδένουν πατέρας αὐτῶν οὓς οὐχ ἡγησάμην εἶναι ἀξίους κυνῶν τῶν ἐμῶν νομάδων ΝΥΝΙ δὲ κατεγέλασάν μου ἐλάχιστοι, νῦν νουθετοῦσί με ἐν μέρει ὧν ἐξουδένουν τοὺς πατέρας αὐτῶν, οὓς οὐχ ἡγησάμην ἀξίους κυνῶν τῶν ἐμῶν νομάδων

Job 30:1 (NETS)

Job 30:1 (English Elpenor)

“But now they have laughed me to scorn; now the least of them reprove me in turn—[whose fathers I used to disdain] whom I did not deem worthy of my shepherd dogs! But now the youngest have laughed me to scorn, now they reprove me in [their] turn, whose fathers I set at nought; whom I did not deem worthy [to be with] my shepherd dogs.

Job 30:2 (Tanakh)

Job 30:2 (KJV)

Job 30:2 (NET)

Yea, whereto might the strength of their hands profit me, in whom old age was perished? Yea, whereto might the strength of their hands profit me, in whom old age was perished? Moreover, the strength of their hands—what use was it to me? Those whose strength had perished,

Job 30:2 (Septuagint BLB)

Job 30:2 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καί γε ἰσχὺς χειρῶν αὐτῶν ἵνα τί μοι ἐπ᾽ αὐτοὺς ἀπώλετο συντέλεια καί γε ἰσχὺς χειρῶν αὐτῶν ἱνατί μοι; ἐπ᾿ αὐτοὺς ἀπώλετο συντέλεια

Job 30:2 (NETS)

Job 30:2 (English Elpenor)

indeed, the strength of their hands—what is it to me?  Completion perished upon them. Yea, why had I the strength of their hands? for them the full term [of life] was lost.

Job 30:3 (Tanakh)

Job 30:3 (KJV)

Job 30:3 (NET)

For want and famine they were solitary; fleeing into the wilderness in former time desolate and waste. For want and famine they were solitary; fleeing into the wilderness in former time desolate and waste. gaunt with want and hunger, they would roam the parched land, by night a desolate waste.

Job 30:3 (Septuagint BLB)

Job 30:3 (Septuagint Elpenor)

ἐν ἐνδείᾳ καὶ λιμῷ ἄγονος οἱ φεύγοντες ἄνυδρον ἐχθὲς συνοχὴν καὶ ταλαιπωρίαν ἐν ἐνδείᾳ καὶ λιμῷ ἄγονος· οἱ φεύγοντες ἄνυδρον ἐχθὲς συνοχὴν καὶ ταλαιπωρίαν,

Job 30:3 (NETS)

Job 30:3 (English Elpenor)

In want and hunger, he was childless, those who yesterday were fleeing in an arid place, dismay and misery, [One is] childless in want and famine, [such as] they that fled but lately the distress and misery of drought.

John 13:30 (NET)

John 13:30 (KJV)

Judas took the piece of bread and went out immediately. (Now it was night.) He then having received the sop went immediately out: and it was night.

NET Parallel Greek

Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text

λαβὼν οὖν τὸ ψωμίον ἐκεῖνος ἐξῆλθεν εὐθύς. (ἦν δὲ νύξ.) λαβων ουν το ψωμιον εκεινος ευθεως εξηλθεν ην δε νυξ λαβων ουν το ψωμιον εκεινος ευθεως εξηλθεν ην δε νυξ

Atonement, Part 1

I plan to begin a slow pilgrimage through kâphar, which will at a minimum include surveying kôpher and kippûr.  The first occurrences of kâphar and kôpher according to Strong’s Concordance are found in, Make rooms in the ark, and cover (kâphar, וכפרת; Septuagint: ἀσφαλτώσεις, a form of ἀσφαλτόω) it with pitch (kôpher, בכפר: Septuagint: ἀσφάλτῳ, a form of ἄσφαλτος) inside and out.[1]  But I’m going to set that aside.

The note (48) in the NET reads:

The Hebrew term כָּפָר (kafar, “to cover, to smear” [= to caulk]) appears here in the Qal stem with its primary, nonmetaphorical meaning. The Piel form כִּפֶּר (kipper), which has the metaphorical meaning “to atone, to expiate, to pacify,” is used in Levitical texts (see HALOT 493-94 s.v. כפר). Some authorities regard the form in v. 14 as a homonym of the much more common Levitical term (see BDB 498 s.v. כָּפָר).

I think homonym was used here as I have used homograph:[2] “a word of the same written form as another but of different meaning and usually origin, whether pronounced the same way or not, as bear ‘to carry; support’ and bear ‘animal’ or lead ‘to conduct’ and lead ‘metal;’ a homograph.”[3]  A table showing the translations of the occurrences of kôpher from Genesis 6:14 – Numbers 35:32 in the KJV, NET and the Septuagint follows:

Form of kôpher

Reference KJV NET

Septuagint

כפר Exodus 21:30 If there be laid on him a sum of money… If a ransom is set for him… λύτρα, a form of λύτρον
Exodus 30:12 …then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul… …then each man is to pay a ransom for his life…
Numbers 35:31 …ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, which is guilty of death: …you must not accept a ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death…
Numbers 35:32 …ye shall take no satisfaction for him that is fled to the city of his refuge… …you must not accept a ransom for anyone who has fled to a town of refuge…
בכפר Genesis 6:14 …and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. …and cover it with pitch inside and out. ἀσφάλτῳ, a form of ἄσφαλτος

Clearly kôpher (כפר) in Exodus 21:30; 30:12; Numbers 35:31 and 32 is a homograph for kâphar (כפר) in Exodus 29:33 (NET): They are to eat those things by which atonement (kâphar, כפר) was made to consecrate and to set them apart, but no one else may eat them, for they are holy.  I am more than content to assume that the homographs translated, and cover it with pitch, have next to nothing to do with atonement.  John wrote (1 John 1:5-7 NET):

Now this is the gospel message we have heard from him and announce to you: God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all.  If we say we have fellowship with him and yet keep on walking in the darkness, we are lying and not practicing the truth.  But if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

I can appreciate that something like asphalt smeared inside and outside of a wooden vessel that preserved people through a judgment of water bears a vague similarity to atonement that will preserve people through a judgment of fire (2 Peter 3:5-7).  But and cover it with pitch sounds more like Achan burying a nice robe from Babylon, two hundred silver pieces, and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels[4] in the ground right in the middle of [his] tent.[5]  It sounds like David calling Uriah home from the front and saying, “Go down to your home and relax.”[6]  When Uriah’s loyalty to his comrades-in-arms proved such that he was useless in David’s attempt to cover his sin with pitch, the king sent him back to the front carrying a letter to his commanding officer that read: “Station Uriah in the thick of the battle and then withdraw from him so he will be cut down and killed (nâkâh).”[7]

In both circumstances yehôvâh brought these pitch-covered-sins to light (Joshua 7:10-26; 2 Samuel 12:1-14).  Thinking atonement was a covering of pitch for sin probably had a lot to do with my conclusion that the Gospel was more a mind trick God played on Himself than something of value for me.

Achan and his family were stoned and burned for theft.  David’s sins of adultery and murder[8] were forgiven or passed over.  I can’t pass by here without at least considering this moral calculus in some way beyond the obvious, that David was a king and Achan’s only claim to fame was the spectacle of his execution.

All the silver and gold, as well as bronze and iron items, belong to the Lord (yehôvâh, ליהוה), Joshua commanded.  They must go into the Lord’s (yehôvâh, יהוה) treasury.[9]  If I hear this with an unbelieving heart it’s easy to see why Friedrich Nietzsche considered Judaism (and not only Judaism) a religion concocted by weak, power-hungry priests.

The ‘law’, the ‘will of God’, the ‘holy book’, ‘inspiration’ – All these are just words for the conditions under which priests come to power and maintain their power, – these concepts can be found at the bottom of all priestly organizations, all structures of priestly or philosophical-priestly control. The ‘holy lie’ – this is common to Confucius, the law book of Manu, Mohammed, and the Christian church: and it is not absent from Plato either. ‘The truth is there ‘: wherever you hear this, it means that the priest is lying.

Friedrich Nietzsche, The Anti-Christ (1888), 55.

An article, “The Hebrew Bible in Nietzsche’s philosophy of religion,” by Jaco Gericke offers an interesting overview on this subject.  My affection for Nietzsche comes from long hours spent with him and Jesus.  Nietzsche, of course, is dead and had no opportunity for rebuttal.  It’s difficult to say how much that difference alone encouraged and maintained my faith in Jesus.  Still I hesitate either to censor Nietzsche’s writings or to promote them as a test of spiritual manhood.  Consider Jaco Gericke.

In “Confessions of a Died-Again Christian,” an interview hosted by Robert M. Price online, Professor Gericke gave his testimony, a born-again Christian who became first a “died-again” Christian then an atheist while studying to become a missionary.  After I listened to it I spent the rest of the day pouting.  That’s what I do now rather than throwing a hissy fit or trying to muscle on in my own strength.

“Either one of these men,” I prayed, “could have been better at this than I am.”

Professor Gericke never described the Bible as the product of lying priests (or preachers, as the case may be).  He described “the system”:

The system has everything covered.  So whatever your problem is, there’s an answer for that somewhere out there…
And you recognize how religion, how the system has controlled you and told you stories about the way things work, and you see the system for what it is…
You also understand how the system, with apologetics, has everything covered.  So to get out is really as close to a miracle as you can get.

He went to the university originally “to become a missionary to share the joy I found [after a conversion experience] with other people.”  Over time that desire was replaced by another, to be “academically respectable.”  Eventually he read Beyond Fundamentalism by James Barr.  “It focuses so much on the Bible and the text,” he described the experience of reading Barr, “that in the end what happens is that your Christian ethics destroys your Christian dogma because you just follow the truth and you do introspection.”  Mr. Price concurred: “The all important personal relationship with Jesus, the sole point of the Bible according to most of these guys [e.g., top notch evangelical…scholars], never occurs in the Bible.”

True enough, the words personal relationship with Jesus do not occur in the Bible.  The hope and promise of the new covenant reads (Jeremiah 31:34 NET Table):

“People will no longer need to teach their neighbors and relatives to know me.  For all of them, from the least important to the most important, will know me,” says the Lord (yehôvâh, יהוה).  “For I will forgive their sin and will no longer call to mind the wrong they have done.”

Judas (not Iscariot) said to [Jesus] (John14:22-24 NASB):

“Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us and not to the world?”  Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep (τηρήσει, a form of τηρέω) My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.  He who does not love Me does not keep (τηρεῖ, another form of τηρέω) My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.”

Professor Gericke’s testimony wasn’t a tale of following Yahweh/Jesus through the scriptures to know Him and his Father.  Rather, it was a proxy war he conducted in his own mind between his favorite fundamentalist apologists and the writings of Julius Wellhausen, David Strauss, biblical criticism, the philosophy of religion and the history of Yahweh, along with James Barr.  His fundamentalist champions didn’t measure up, so the “truth” set him free (John 8:31, 32 NET).

Then Jesus said to those Judeans who had believed him, “If you continue to follow my teaching, you are really my disciples and you will know the truth (ἀλήθειαν, a form of ἀλήθεια), and the truth (ἀλήθεια) will set you free.”

Even if Jesus alluded to a stoic maxim (as Mr. Price asserted) truth was not an abstract concept to Him, certainly not the writings of Julius Wellhausen, David Strauss, biblical criticism, the philosophy of religion and the history of Yahweh, along with James Barr.  Set them apart in the truth (ἀληθείᾳ, another form of ἀλήθεια), He prayed to his Father, your word is truth (ἀλήθεια).[10]  By word (λόγος) Jesus may have alluded to Himself—I am the way, and the truth (ἀληθείας, another form of ἀλήθεια), and the life[11]—but He was born a human baby and socialized into all of the rabbinic lore of his time.  He grew to become the person I know and love by preferring a collection of writings remarkably similar to the Old Testament I read today, which He called τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ (Matthew 15:6; Mark 7:13; Luke 8:21; Luke 11:28) or ὁ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ (Luke 8:11; John 10:35).  Both were translated the word of God.

After his resurrection He said to his disciples (Luke 24:44-49 NET):

“These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled” [Table]. Then he opened their minds so they could understand the scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it stands written that the Christ would suffer and would rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.  You are witnesses of these things.  And look, I am sending you what my Father promised.  But stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high” [Table].

His devotion to the truth of those writings was so fierce it terrified Peter and the other disciples (Matthew 26:52-56 NET):

Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back in its place!  For all who take hold of the sword will die by the sword [Table].  Or do you think that I cannot call on my Father, and that he would send me more than twelve legions of angels right now?  How then would the scriptures that say it must happen this way be fulfilled?”  At that moment Jesus said to the crowd, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me like you would an outlaw?  Day after day I sat teaching in the temple courts, yet you did not arrest me.  But this has happened so that the scriptures of the prophets would be fulfilled.”  Then all the disciples left him and fled.

Unqualified or not I will get up each morning, take whatever faithfulness I am given and follow Jesus through the scriptures.  I desire to do this to know Him and his Father.  He has given me a hunger and thirst for his righteousness.  And I need to do this lest the sin in my flesh overtake me.  Who would have thought of my sinfulness, my utter inability to do righteousness apart from the fruit of the Spirit, as my advantage over Jaco Gericke or Robert Price? I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance,[12] Jesus answered the Pharisees and their experts in the law.

Admittedly, it takes some faith to find any coherent knowledge of God in his seemingly disparate judgments of Achan and David, but I think they are consistent with Jesus’ command: Do not judge so that you will not be judged.  For by the standard you judge you will be judged, and the measure you use will be the measure you receive.[13]

Achan was part of the army that had judged/condemned Jericho: They annihilated with the sword everything that breathed in the city, including men and women, young and old, as well as cattle, sheep, and donkeys.[14]  David sent out Joab with his officers and the entire Israelite army.  They defeated the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah.  But David stayed behind in Jerusalem.[15]  Both were judged accordingly.

“This is what the Lord (yehôvâh, יהוה) says,” Nathan said to David, “‘I am about to bring disaster on you from inside your own household!  Right before your eyes I will take your wives and hand them over to your companion.  He will have sexual relations with your wives in broad daylight!  Although you have acted in secret, I will do this thing before all Israel, and in broad daylight.’”[16]

Despite Nathan’s warning David was merciful to his sons Amnon (2 Samuel 13:1-21) and Absalom (2 Samuel 14:21-33), though that mercy was perhaps the most immediate cause[17] of the prophecy’s fulfillment.  Absalom parlayed Amnon’s death (2 Samuel 13:23-37) into a credible political argument that he was the law and order choice for king (2 Samuel 15:1-6).  I have thought at times that David—the chief law enforcement official in Israel—if he had been strict with his sons, if he had at least left Absalom in self-imposed exile, may have avoided the consequence of Nathan’s prophecy.  But Jesus said in a parable (Matthew 18:32-35 NET):

“Then his lord called the first slave and said to him, ‘Evil slave!  I forgave (ἀφῆκα, a form of ἀφίημι) you all that debt because you begged me!  Should you not have shown mercy to your fellow slave, just as I showed it to you?’  And in anger his lord turned him over to the prison guards to torture him until he repaid all he owed.  So also my heavenly Father will do to you, if each of you does not forgive (ἀφῆτε, another form of ἀφίημι) your brother from your heart.”

Paul quoted David from the Septuagint: Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered[18]  The original word in Hebrew was not kâphar or kôpher from Genesis 6:14, and cover it with pitch.  David chose kâsâh (כסוי): The waters completely inundated the earth so that even all the high mountains under the entire sky were covered (kâsâh).[19]  Two forms of kâsâh occur in this Psalm (32:1-6 Tanakh):

Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered (kâsâh, כסוי) [Table].  Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile [Table].  When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long.  For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer.  Selah.

I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid (kâsâh, כסיתי).  I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.  Selah.

For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him.

Therefore you are without excuse, Paul wrote believers in Rome, whoever you are, when you judge someone else (Romans 2:1-8 NET):

For on whatever grounds you judge another, you condemn yourself, because you who judge practice the same things.  Now we know that God’s judgment is in accordance with truth (ἀλήθειαν, a form of ἀλήθεια) against those who practice such things.  And do you think, whoever you are, when you judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself, that you will escape God’s judgment?  Or do you have contempt for the wealth of his kindness, forbearance, and patience, and yet do not know that God’s kindness leads you to repentance?  But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourselves in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed!  He will reward each one according to his works: eternal life to those who by perseverance in good works seek glory and honor and immortality, but wrath and anger to those who live in selfish ambition and do not obey (ἀπειθοῦσι, a form of ἀπειθέω) the truth (ἀληθείᾳ, another form of ἀλήθεια) but follow unrighteousness.

Near the end of the interview with Jaco Gericke, Robert Price described what he called “Practicing the Absence of God”:

What you use to say was the leading of the Holy Spirit, this internal voice—“Oh, don’t you want to come back? Aren’t you really just trying to escape the implications of the truth?”—you have to eventually regard that as you once did temptations to sin, because intellectually that’s what’s going on.  That’s what it is.  You have to say, “No, I’m sorry, I know better than that.  I’m not going to listen to that.  I’m going to go ahead and make a new start.”

Once you have Nietzsche in your head it’s easy to argue that Jesus’ command, Do not judge, was given, not because He is Yahweh come in human flesh but, because He was as desperate for the scriptures to be true as I am, and so, reasoned and argued in a similar manner.  He was ignorant of, or confused about, the esoteric knowledge that Jaco Gericke and Robert Price possess.  Of course, if Jesus was ignorant or confused, please grant me his ignorance and confusion.  For once you have Nietzsche in your head, it’s just as easy to see that Nietzsche raised unbelief to a high art and faithfully followed that art as its reductio ad absurdum.

A table comparing Romans 4:7 and Psalm 32:1 in the Septuagint follows.

 

Romans 4:7 (NET)

Parallel Greek Psalm 32:1 (Septuagint)

Psalm 31:1 (NETS)

Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered… μακάριοι ὧν ἀφέθησαν αἱ ἀνομίαι καὶ ὧν ἐπεκαλύφθησαν αἱ ἁμαρτίαι μακάριοι ὧν ἀφέθησαν αἱ ἀνομίαι καὶ ὧν ἐπεκαλύφθησαν αἱ ἁμαρτίαι Happy are those whose lawless behavior was forgiven and whose sins were covered over.

[1] Genesis 6:14b (NET)

[2] Condemnation or Judgment? – Part 14; Forgiven or Passed Over? Part 4

[3] homonym

[4] Joshua 7:21a (NET) Table

[5] Joshua 7:21b (NET) Table

[6] 2 Samuel 11:8a (NET)

[7] 2 Samuel 11:15 (NET), ונכה

[8] It is not the same Hebrew word as Exodus 20:13, but Nathan said, You have killed (hârag, הרגת) him with the sword of the Ammonites (2 Samuel 12:9b NET).  But if a man willfully attacks his neighbor to kill (hârag, להרגו) him cunningly, yehôvâh said, you will take him even from my altar that he may die (Exodus 21:14 NET).

[9] Joshua 6:19 (NET)

[10] John 17:17 (NET)

[11] John 14:6 (NET)

[12] Luke 5:32 (NET)

[13] Matthew 7:1, 2 (NET) Table

[14] Joshua 6:21 (NET)

[15] 2 Samuel 11:1 (NET)

[16] 2 Samuel 12:11, 12 (NET) Table1 Table2

[17] I have written some on this topic: David’s Forgiveness, Part 5; David’s Forgiveness, Part 6; David’s Forgiveness, Part 7; David’s Forgiveness, Part 8; David’s Forgiveness, Part 9; David’s Forgiveness, Part 10 ; David’s Forgiveness, Part 11; David’s Forgiveness, Part 12; David’s Forgiveness, Part 13

[18] Romans 4:7 (NET)

[19] Genesis 7:19 (NET), ויכסו