Christianity, Part 15

Posted on May 15, 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 begun to consider the second occurrence (1 Corinthians 14:5 ESV [Table]):

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.

Who Am I? Part 14

Posted on August 29, 2023 by admin

I came across a YouTube video recently: “5 Bible Passages That Caused Me to Lose My Faith” by Kristi Burke. It was short and to the point. Ms. Burke looked to be about my daughter’s age. My daughter won’t articulate her own deconstruction experience around me. She will only state her preference for the witchcraft/neopagan beliefs and community she espouses now. So, I clicked on the link.

It seems only fair to let Ms. Burke state her own purpose:

Hi, guys, welcome back to my channel, where we deconstruct all of the things we were taught not to question growing up in evangelical, fundamentalist, conservative christian churches.

We have similar backgrounds. But I can’t honestly say that I was “taught not to question.” Why didn’t I talk to anyone about what I was going through at the time?¹ I thought I already knew what they would say. Might I have been pleasantly surprised? I don’t know. I didn’t talk to anyone. But nothing is ever quite as simple as what I was taught “growing up in evangelical, fundamentalist, conservative christian churches.”

I had a home with parents and a brother and a sister. I went to school. I had friends (and enemies) at home, at school and at church. I played sports and had friends (and enemies) on various teams. And I knew more or less how to fit in in all of these different environments. The rub came sometime in what is now called my tween years, when I began to recognize that God didn’t create me to be a social chameleon, but one person made in his image in all of these different social environments.

I had a few years of experience by then (which felt like a lifetime at the time) of how adult advice didn’t often pan out when navigating all the different social environments they had placed me in. I “knew” I had to figure it out pretty much on my own. And about that time I also became more self-conscious of my own free will: “I want” (θέλω). What did I want in all of it?

Ms. Burke described her faith prior to encountering the “5 Bible Passages”:

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.

This was essentially my belief except that Ms. Burke made no mention of Jesus or sin: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,² Paul wrote Timothy. I have not come to call the righteous, Jesus said, but sinners to repentance.³ Granted, Ms. Burke’s purpose was not to present a true or even a credible gospel but to “deconstruct all of the things we were taught not to question growing up in evangelical, fundamentalist, conservative christian churches.”

I’m coming fresh from reviewing the story of Eve and the serpent. Her free will led to an attempt to be like God by following the serpent’s advice. Could her free will have led her to reject the serpent’s advice once she saw that the tree was good for food and that it was pleasing for the eyes to look at and it was beautiful to contemplate?⁴ I don’t think so. All of that desire seems to have determined what she wanted and therefore shaped her free will.

What did Jesus say about his own free will?

Matthew 26:39 (NET) Table	John 10:17, 18 (NET)
Going a little farther, [Jesus] threw himself down with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if possible, let this cup pass from me! Yet not what I will (θέλω), but what you will.”	This is why the Father loves me—because I lay down my life, so that I may take it back again. No one takes it away from me, but I lay it down of my own free will (ἐμαυτοῦ). I have the authority to lay it down, and I have the authority to take it back again. This commandment I received from my Father.”

While I have no particular quarrel with translating ἀπ᾿ ἐμαυτοῦ of my own free will, I appreciate the precision of Scripture in Greek. Jesus did not use the verb θέλω here. His own will, what He wanted, was not to die a torturous death. And his ἐμαυτοῦ (NET: my own free will) was an authority (ἐξουσίαν, a form of ἐξουσία) received (ἔλαβον, a form of λαμβάνω) by commandment (ἐντολὴν, a form of ἐντολή) from God his Father.

The writer of Hebrews described Jesus’ purpose in the world (Hebrews 10:4-7 NET):

For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. So when [Christ] came into the world, he said,

“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me.

Whole burnt offerings and sin-offerings you took no delight in.

Then I said, ‘Here I am: I have come—it is written of me in the scroll of the book—to do your will (θέλημα), O God.’”

The Greek word θέλημα is the noun form of the verb θέλω. Those who believe that salvation is a choice made by a sinner’s free will tend to make the Gospel something that they think might appeal to a sinner’s free will: going to heaven rather than to hell, heaven being a euphemism here for not-hell. The pitch relies on the implication that heaven is where one gets what one wants (i.e., one’s own free will).

Jesus taught us to pray (Matthew 5:10 NET):

…may your kingdom come, may your will (θέλημα σου) be done on earth as it is in heaven.

The implication here is that God’s will is done in heaven. How much would a sinner striving faithfully to pursue a sinner’s free will care for Jesus’ heaven? Jesus said to Nicodemus (John 3:3 NET):

I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God [Table].

The Greek word translated see was ἰδεῖν (a form of εἴδω). It was the same root word Nicodemus used when he said (John 3:2 NET):

Rabbi, we know (οἴδαμεν, another form of εἴδω) that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs that you do unless God is with him [Table].

In other words, Jesus didn’t threaten Nicodemus with eternal damnation, but commended his partial insight. It helps one to understand why He was so surprised that Nicodemus didn’t actually understand one of these earthly things (John 3:6, 7 NET).

What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must all be born from above.’

Not all free will (θέλω) is born of the flesh. Jesus said (John 15:7 NET):

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want (θέλητε, another form of θέλω), and it will be done for you [Table].

Here, I would assume that as you remain in Jesus and his words remain in you, whatever you want is born of the Spirit. The Greek words translated whatever were ὃ ἐὰν. So how did Jesus’ Gospel presentation differ (Matthew 11:28-30 NET)?

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke on you and learn from me because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls [Table]. For my yoke is easy to bear, and my load is not hard to carry.

It doesn’t really matter if people are weary (κοπιῶντες, a form of κοπιάω) and burdened (πεφορτισμένοι, a form of φορτίζω) by their lives lived in sin—foolish, disobedient, misled, enslaved to various passions and desires, spending [their] lives in evil and envy, hateful and hating one another⁵—or from their attempts to make themselves righteous by obeying rules. While the invitation is sincere, Jesus also said (John 6:44, 45 NET):

No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day [Table]. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who hears and learns from the Father comes to me [Table].

These are not as contradictory as they seem in English. The Greek word translated come in the phrase come to me was the adverb δεῦτε, and in the phrase no one can come to me it was the verb ἐλθεῖν (a form of ἔρχομαι). Anyone who believes that salvation is the result of a sinner’s free will is unlikely to believe that they will all be taught by God effectually, but Jesus also said (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 I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.

Disbelieving Him adversely impacts one’s knowledge of God, but doesn’t change his mind, no matter how many people refuse to take Him at his word: Let God be proven true, and every human being shown up as a liar,⁶ Paul wrote in response to his own rhetorical question: If some were unfaithful, their unfaithfulness will not nullify God’s faithfulness, will it?⁷

With that as background I’ll turn to Ms. Burke’s first Bible passage: “Romans 9, which was the starting point of my deconstruction journey,”⁸ she said. Though she began in verse 16, I’ll start at the beginning of the chapter to gain some context (Romans 9:1-6a NET):

I am telling the truth in Christ (I am not lying!), for my conscience assures me in the Holy Spirit—I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed—cut off from Christ—for the sake of my people, my fellow countrymen [Table], who are Israelites. To them belong the adoption as sons, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the temple worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from them, by human descent, came the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever! Amen.

It is not as though the word of God had failed.

Here was the perfect opportunity for Paul to explain how God “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.”⁹

Instead, Paul wrote (Romans 9:6b, 7 NET):

For not all those who are descended from Israel are truly Israel, nor are all the children Abraham’s true descendants; rather “through Isaac will your descendants be counted” [See Greek Table Comparison].

What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit, Jesus said. Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must all be born from above.’¹⁰ And Paul began here to explain the implications of that difference, contrasting the children of the flesh to the children of God or the children of promise (Romans 9:8-13 NET).

This means it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God; rather, the children of promise are counted as descendants. For this is what the promise declared: “About a year from now I will return and Sarah will have a son.” Not only that, but when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our ancestor Isaac—even before they were born or had done anything good or bad¹¹ (so that God’s purpose in election would stand, not by works but by his calling)—it was said¹² to her, “The older will serve the younger,” just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

Those who believe salvation is a choice of a sinner’s free will would be content it seems to let those for whom Paul had great sorrow and unceasing anguish in [his] heart¹³ hear Jesus say: Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels!¹⁴ It was, after all, their choice, wasn’t it?

There is no commandment of God granting any authority to sinners to come to Jesus of their own free will, according to Jesus: No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.¹⁵ The “most loving thing he could do” is not “to give people freedom”¹⁶ to destroy themselves forever. For who are the children of promise that God’s purpose in election would stand, according to Jesus? And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.¹⁷

According to a note (5) in the NET Hebrews 10:5b-7 was a quotation from Psalm 40:6-8. A table follows comparing the Greek of Hebrews 10:5b-7 to that of the Septuagint.

Hebrews 10:5b, 6 (NET Parallel Greek)	Psalm 40:6 (Septuagint BLB)	Psalm 39:7 (Septuagint Elpenor)
θυσίαν καὶ προσφορὰν οὐκ ἠθέλησας, σῶμα δὲ κατηρτίσω μοι ὁλοκαυτώματα καὶ περὶ ἁμαρτίας οὐκ εὐδόκησας	θυσίαν καὶ προσφορὰν οὐκ ἠθέλησας ὠτία δὲ κατηρτίσω μοι ὁλοκαύτωμα καὶ περὶ ἁμαρτίας οὐκ ᾔτησας	θυσίαν καὶ προσφορὰν οὐκ ἠθέλησας, σῶμα δὲ κατηρτίσω μοι· ὁλοκαυτώματα καὶ περὶ ἁμαρτίας οὐκ ἐζήτησας
Hebrews 10:5b, 6 (NET)	Psalm 39:7 (NETS)	Psalm 39:7 (English Elpenor)
Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me. Whole burnt offerings and sin-offerings you took no delight in.	Sacrifice and offering you did not want, but ears you fashioned for me. Whole burnt offering and one for sin you did not request.	Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not; but a body hast thou prepared me: whole-burnt-offering and [sacrifice] for sin thou didst not require.
Hebrews 10:7 (NET Parallel Greek)	Psalm 40:7, 8a (Septuagint BLB)	Psalm 39:8, 9a (Septuagint Elpenor)
τότε εἶπον· ἰδοὺ ἥκω, ἐν κεφαλίδι βιβλίου γέγραπται περὶ ἐμοῦ, τοῦ ποιῆσαι ὁ θεὸς τὸ θέλημα σου	τότε εἶπον ἰδοὺ ἥκω ἐν κεφαλίδι βιβλίου γέγραπται περὶ ἐμοῦ τοῦ ποιῆσαι τὸ θέλημά σου ὁ θεός μου ἐβουλήθην	τότε εἶπον· ἰδοὺ ἥκω, ἐν κεφαλίδι βιβλίου γέγραπται περὶ ἐμοῦ τοῦ ποιῆσαι τὸ θέλημά σου, ὁ Θεός μου, ἐβουλήθην
Hebrews 10:7 (NET)	Psalm 39:8, 9a (NETS)	Psalm 39:8, 9a (English Elpenor)
Then I said, ‘Here I am: I have come—it is written of me in the scroll of the book—to do your will, O God.’”	Then I said, “Look, I have come; in a scroll of a book it is written of me. To do your will, O my God, I desired —	Then I said, Behold, I come: in the volume of the book it is written concerning me, I desired to do thy will, O my God,

I’m becoming more convinced that the Holy Spirit corrected the false pen of the scribes through the writer of Hebrews.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Jeremiah 8:8 (Tanakh/KJV)	Jeremiah 8:8 (NET)	Jeremiah 8:8 (NETS)	Jeremiah 8:8 (English Elpenor)
How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of the LORD is with us? Lo, certainly in vain made he it; the pen (עֵ֖ט) of the scribes is in vain (שֶׁ֥קֶר).	How can you say, “We are wise! We have the law of the Lord”? The truth is, those who teach it have used their writings to make it say what it does not really mean [Note 24: The lying (šeqer, שקר) pen (ʿēṭ, עט) of the scribes has made (it) into a lie].	How will you say, “We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us?” A false pen (σχοῖνος ψευδὴς) has become of no use to scribes.	How will ye say, We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us? In vain have the scribes used a false pen (σχοῖνος ψευδὴς).

According to a note (21) in the NET Romans 9:9b was a quotation from Genesis 18:10 and 14. Two tables follow comparing the Greek of Paul’s quotation to that of the Septuagint.

Romans 9:9b (NET Parallel Greek)	Genesis 18:10b (Septuagint BLB) Table	Genesis 18:10b (Septuagint Elpenor)
κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον ἐλεύσομαι καὶ ἔσται τῇ Σάρρᾳ υἱός	κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον εἰς ὥρας καὶ ἕξει υἱὸν Σαρρα ἡ γυνή σου	κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον εἰς ὥρας, καὶ ἕξει υἱὸν Σάρρα ἡ γυνή σου
Romans 9:9b (NET)	Genesis 18:10b (NETS)	Genesis 18:10b (English Elpenor)
About a year from now I will return and Sarah will have a son.	I will come to you, when I return, during this season next year, and Sarra your wife shall have a son.	I will return and come to thee according to this period seasonably, and Sarrha thy wife shall have a son

Romans 9:9b (NET Parallel Greek)	Genesis 18:14b (Septuagint BLB) Table	Genesis 18:14b (Septuagint Elpenor)
κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον ἐλεύσομαι καὶ ἔσται τῇ Σάρρᾳ υἱός	εἰς τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον ἀναστρέψω πρὸς σὲ εἰς ὥρας καὶ ἔσται τῇ Σαρρα υἱός	εἰς τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον ἀναστρέψω πρὸς σὲ εἰς ὥρας· καὶ ἔσται τῇ Σάρρᾳ υἱός
Romans 9:9b (NET)	Genesis 18:14b (NETS)	Genesis 18:14b (English Elpenor)
About a year from now I will return and Sarah will have a son.	In this season I will come back to you next year, and Sarra shall have a son.	I will return and come to thee according to this period seasonably, and Sarrha thy wife shall have a son

According to a note (27) in the NET Romans 9:12b was a quotation from Genesis 25:23. A table follows comparing the Greek of Paul’s quotation to that of the Septuagint.

Romans 9:12b (NET Parallel Greek)	Genesis 25:23b (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 25:23b (Septuagint Elpenor)
ὁ μείζων δουλεύσει τῷ ἐλάσσονι	ὁ μείζων δουλεύσει τῷ ἐλάσσονι	ὁ μείζων δουλεύσει τῷ ἐλάσσονι
Romans 9:12b (NET)	Genesis 25:23b (NETS)	Genesis 25:23b (English Elpenor)
The older will serve the younger	the greater shall be subject to the lesser.	the elder shall serve the younger.

According to a note (28) in the NET Romans 9:13b was a quotation from Malachi 1:2, 3. A table follows comparing the Greek of Paul’s quotation to that of the Septuagint.

Romans 9:13b (NET Parallel Greek)	Malachi 1:2b, 3a (Septuagint BLB)	Malachi 1:2b, 3a (Septuagint Elpenor)
τὸν Ἰακὼβ ἠγάπησα, τὸν δὲ Ἠσαῦ ἐμίσησα	ἠγάπησα τὸν Ιακωβ τὸν δὲ Ησαυ ἐμίσησα	ἠγάπησα τόν ᾿Ιακώβ, τὸν δὲ ῾Ησαῦ ἐμίσησα
Romans 9:13b (NET)	Malachi 1:2b, 3a (NETS)	Malachi 1:2b, 3a (English Elpenor)
Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.	I loved Iakob, but I hated Esau	I loved Jacob, and hated Esau

Tables comparing Psalm 40:6; 40:7; 40:8; Jeremiah 8:8; Genesis 25:23; Malachi 1:2 and 1:3 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET; and tables comparing Psalm 40:6 (39:7); 40:7 (39:8); 40:8 (39:9); Jeremiah 8:8; Genesis 25:23; Malachi 1:2 and 1:3 in the BLB and Elpenor versions of the Septuagint with the English translations from Hebrew and Greek, and a table comparing the Greek of Romans 9:11, 12 the NET and KJV follow.

Psalm 40:6 (Tanakh)	Psalm 40:6 (KJV)	Psalm 40:6 (NET)
Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.	Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.	Receiving sacrifices and offerings are not your primary concern. You make that quite clear to me. You do not ask for burnt sacrifices and sin offerings.

Psalm 40:6 (Septuagint BLB)	Psalm 39:7 (Septuagint Elpenor)
θυσίαν καὶ προσφορὰν οὐκ ἠθέλησας ὠτία δὲ κατηρτίσω μοι ὁλοκαύτωμα καὶ περὶ ἁμαρτίας οὐκ ᾔτησας	θυσίαν καὶ προσφορὰν οὐκ ἠθέλησας, σῶμα δὲ κατηρτίσω μοι· ὁλοκαυτώματα καὶ περὶ ἁμαρτίας οὐκ ἐζήτησας
Psalm 39:7 (NETS)	Psalm 39:7 (English Elpenor)
Sacrifice and offering you did not want, but ears you fashioned for me. Whole burnt offering and one for sin you did not request.	Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not; but a body hast thou prepared me: whole-burnt-offering and [sacrifice] for sin thou didst not require.

Psalm 40:7 (Tanakh)	Psalm 40:7 (KJV)	Psalm 40:7 (NET)
Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me,	Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me,	Then I say, “Look, I come! What is written in the scroll pertains to me.

Psalm 40:7 (Septuagint BLB)	Psalm 39:8 (Septuagint Elpenor)
τότε εἶπον ἰδοὺ ἥκω ἐν κεφαλίδι βιβλίου γέγραπται περὶ ἐμοῦ	τότε εἶπον· ἰδοὺ ἥκω, ἐν κεφαλίδι βιβλίου γέγραπται περὶ ἐμοῦ
Psalm 39:8 (NETS)	Psalm 39:8 (English Elpenor)
Then I said, “Look, I have come; in a scroll of a book it is written of me.	Then I said, Behold, I come: in the volume of the book it is written concerning me,

Psalm 40:8 (Tanakh)	Psalm 40:8 (KJV)	Psalm 40:8 (NET)
I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.	I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.	I want to do what pleases you, my God. Your law dominates my thoughts.”

Psalm 40:8 (Septuagint BLB)	Psalm 39:9 (Septuagint Elpenor)
τοῦ ποιῆσαι τὸ θέλημά σου ὁ θεός μου ἐβουλήθην καὶ τὸν νόμον σου ἐν μέσῳ τῆς κοιλίας μου	τοῦ ποιῆσαι τὸ θέλημά σου, ὁ Θεός μου, ἐβουλήθην καὶ τὸν νόμον σου ἐν μέσῳ τῆς κοιλίας μου
Psalm 39:9 (NETS)	Psalm 39:9 (English Elpenor)
To do your will, O my God, I desired—and your law, within my belly.”	I desired to do thy will, O my God, and thy law in the midst of mine heart.

Jeremiah 8:8 (Tanakh)	Jeremiah 8:8 (KJV)	Jeremiah 8:8 (NET)
How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of the LORD is with us? Lo, certainly in vain made he it; the pen of the scribes is in vain.	How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of the LORD is with us? Lo, certainly in vain made he it; the pen of the scribes is in vain.	How can you say, “We are wise! We have the law of the Lord”? The truth is, those who teach it have used their writings to make it say what it does not really mean.

Jeremiah 8:8 (Septuagint BLB)	Jeremiah 8:8 (Septuagint Elpenor)
πῶς ἐρεῖτε ὅτι σοφοί ἐσμεν ἡμεῖς καὶ νόμος κυρίου ἐστὶν μεθ᾽ ἡμῶν εἰς μάτην ἐγενήθη σχοῖνος ψευδὴς γραμματεῦσιν	πῶς ἐρεῖτε· ὅτι σοφοί ἐσμεν ἡμεῖς, καὶ νόμος Κυρίου μεθ’ ἡμῶν ἐστιν; εἰς μάτην ἐγενήθη σχοῖνος ψευδὴς γραμματεῦσιν
Jeremiah 8:8 (NETS)	Jeremiah 8:8 (English Elpenor)
How will you say, “We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us?” A false pen has become of no use to scribes.	How will ye say, We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us? In vain have the scribes used a false pen.

Genesis 25:23 (Tanakh)	Genesis 25:23 (KJV)	Genesis 25:23 (NET)
And HaShem said unto her: Two nations are in thy womb, and two peoples shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.	And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.	and the Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples will be separated from within you. One people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.”

Genesis 25:23 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 25:23 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ εἶπεν κύριος αὐτῇ δύο ἔθνη ἐν τῇ γαστρί σού εἰσιν καὶ δύο λαοὶ ἐκ τῆς κοιλίας σου διασταλήσονται καὶ λαὸς λαοῦ ὑπερέξει καὶ ὁ μείζων δουλεύσει τῷ ἐλάσσονι	καὶ εἶπε Κύριος αὐτῇ· δύο ἔθνη ἐν γαστρί σου εἰσί, καὶ δύο λαοὶ ἐκ τῆς κοιλίας σου διασταλήσονται· καὶ λαὸς λαοῦ ὑπερέξει, καὶ ὁ μείζων δουλεύσει τῷ ἐλάσσονι
Genesis 25:23 (NETS)	Genesis 25:23 (English Elpenor)
and the Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from your uterus shall be divided, and a people shall excel over a people, and the greater shall be subject to the lesser.”	And the Lord said to her, There are two nations in thy womb, and two peoples shall be separated from thy belly, and one people shall excel the other, and the elder shall serve the younger.

Malachi 1:2 (Tanakh)

Malachi 1:2 (KJV)

Malachi 1:2 (NET)

I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob,

“I have shown love to you,” says the Lord, but you say, “How have you shown love to us?”

“Esau was Jacob’s brother,” the Lord explains, “yet I chose Jacob

Malachi 1:2 (Septuagint BLB)	Malachi 1:2 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἠγάπησα ὑμᾶς λέγει κύριος καὶ εἴπατε ἐν τίνι ἠγάπησας ἡμᾶς οὐκ ἀδελφὸς ἦν Ησαυ τοῦ Ιακωβ λέγει κύριος καὶ ἠγάπησα τὸν Ιακωβ	᾿Ηγάπησα ὑμᾶς, λέγει Κύριος. καὶ εἴπατε· ἐν τίνι ἠγάπησας ἡμᾶς; οὐκ ἀδελφὸς ἦν ῾Ησαῦ τοῦ ᾿Ιακώβ; λέγει Κύριος, καὶ ἠγάπησα τόν ᾿Ιακώβ
Malachi 1:2 (NETS)	Malachi 1:2 (English Elpenor)
I loved you, says the Lord. And you said, “How did you love us?” Was not Esau Iakob’s brother? says the Lord. And I loved Iakob,	I have loved you, saith the Lord. And ye said, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the Lord: yet I loved Jacob,

Malachi 1:3 (Tanakh)	Malachi 1:3 (KJV)	Malachi 1:3 (NET)
And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.	And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.	and rejected Esau. I turned Esau’s mountains into a deserted wasteland and gave his territory to the wild jackals.”

Malachi 1:3 (Septuagint BLB)	Malachi 1:3 (Septuagint Elpenor)
τὸν δὲ Ησαυ ἐμίσησα καὶ ἔταξα τὰ ὅρια αὐτοῦ εἰς ἀφανισμὸν καὶ τὴν κληρονομίαν αὐτοῦ εἰς δόματα ἐρήμου	τὸν δὲ ῾Ησαῦ ἐμίσησα καὶ ἔταξα τὰ ὅρια αὐτοῦ εἰς ἀφανισμὸν καὶ τὴν κληρονομίαν αὐτοῦ εἰς δώματα ἐρήμου
Malachi 1:3 (NETS)	Malachi 1:3 (English Elpenor)
but I hated Esau, and I made his mountains an annihilation and his heritage gifts of the wilderness.	and hated Esau and laid waste his borders, and made his heritage as dwellings of the wilderness?

Romans 9:11, 12 (NET)	Romans 9:11, 12 (KJV)
even before they were born or had done anything good or bad (so that God’s purpose in election would stand, not by works but by his calling)—	(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)

Romans 9:11, 12a (NET Parallel Greek)	Romans 9:11 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Romans 9:11 (Byzantine Majority Text)
μήπω γὰρ γεννηθέντων μηδὲ πραξάντων τι ἀγαθὸν ἢ φαῦλον (ἵνα ἡ κατ᾿ ἐκλογὴν πρόθεσις τοῦ θεοῦ μένῃ (12a) οὐκ ἐξ ἔργων ἀλλ᾿ ἐκ τοῦ καλοῦντος)	μηπω γαρ γεννηθεντων μηδε πραξαντων τι αγαθον η κακον ινα η κατ εκλογην του θεου προθεσις μενη ουκ εξ εργων αλλ εκ του καλουντος	μηπω γαρ γεννηθεντων μηδε πραξαντων τι αγαθον η κακον ινα η κατ εκλογην προθεσις του θεου μενη ουκ εξ εργων αλλ εκ του καλουντος

it was said to her, “The older will serve the younger,”

It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.

Romans 9:12b (NET Parallel Greek)	Romans 9:12 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Romans 9:12 (Byzantine Majority Text)
ἐρρέθη αὐτῇ ὅτι ὁ μείζων δουλεύσει τῷ ἐλάσσονι	ερρηθη αυτη οτι ο μειζων δουλευσει τω ελασσονι	ερρηθη αυτη οτι ο μειζων δουλευσει τω ελασσονι

Who Am I? Part 15

Back to Who Am I? Part 16

Back to Who Am I? Part 17

¹ Who Am I? Part 3; Torture, Part 4

² 1 Timothy 1:15b (NET)

³ Luke 5:32 (NET)

⁴ Genesis 3:6a (NETS) Table

⁵ Titus 3:3 (NET)

⁶ Romans 3:4b (NET) Table

⁷ Romans 3:3 (NET)

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

⁹ Ibid.

¹⁰ John 3:6, 7 (NET)

¹¹ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had φαῦλον here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had κακον (KJV: evil).

¹² The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἐρρέθη here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ερρηθη.

¹³ Romans 9:2 (NET)

¹⁴ Matthew 25:41b (NET)

¹⁵ John 6:44a (NET) Table

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

¹⁷ John 12:32 (NET)

The Lost Son of Perdition, Part 10

Posted on February 26, 2023 by admin

This is a continuation of my consideration of God’s love for Satan revealed in the book of Job: the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ, יהוה) allowed Satan to carry out his scientific experiment on Job, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and turns away from evil.¹ Satan had a hypothesis why Job feared God, and a test for that hypothesis. But when the experiment was over Job didn’t curse God to his face as Satan’s test had predicted (Job 1:20-22 NET).

Then Job got up and tore his robe. He shaved his head, and then he threw himself down with his face to the ground [Table]. He said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will return there. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. May the name of the Lord be blessed!” [Table] In all this Job did not sin, nor did he charge God with moral impropriety [Table].

This result effectively falsified Satan’s hypothesis.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Job 2:4, 5 (Tanakh/KJV)	Job 2:4, 5 (NET)	Job 2:4, 5 (NETS)	Job 2:4, 5 (English Elpenor)
And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life (נַפְשֽׁוֹ).	But Satan answered the Lord, “Skin for skin! Indeed, a man will give up all that he has to save his life (nep̄eš, נפשו).	Then the slanderer continued and said to the Lord, “Skin for skin; whatever a person has he will use to pay for his life (τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ).	And the devil answered and said to the Lord, Skin for skin, all that a man has will he give as a ransom for his life (τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ).
But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse (יְבָֽרְכֶֽךָּ) thee to thy face	But extend your hand and strike his bone and his flesh, and he will no doubt curse (bāraḵ, יברכך) you to your face!”	However, stretch out your hand, and touch his bones and his flesh; surely he will bless (εὐλογήσει) you to your face!”	Nay, but put forth thine hand, and touch his bones and his flesh: verily he will bless (εὐλογήσει) thee to [thy] face.

In other words, Satan rejected the conclusion that his hypothesis was false. He said he would have gotten the result he desired, if not for the Lord’s arbitrary condition placed on his test. The Lord had said to Satan (Job 1:12b NET [Table]):

All right then, everything he has is in your power. Only do not extend your hand against the man himself!

The Lord (יהוה) didn’t debate the merits of the scientific method with Satan:

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Job 2:6 (Tanakh/KJV)	Job 2:6 (NET)	Job 2:6 (NETS)	Job 2:6 (English Elpenor)
And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life (נַפְשׁ֖וֹ).	So the Lord said to Satan, “All right, he is in your power; only preserve his life (nep̄eš, נפשו).”	Then the Lord said to the slanderer, “Very well, I am handing him over to you; only spare his life (τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ).”	And the Lord said to the devil, Behold, I deliver him up to thee; only save his life (τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ).

The Lord’s love, kindness and patience toward Satan is, frankly, a bit perplexing to me here. Is it simply who He is because God is love?² Was He demonstrating his superiority? Was He leading Satan to repentance? Or was He goading Satan to store up wrath for [himself] in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed?³

I also admit to being confused about Satan’s hypothesis at this point: Is it for nothing that Job fears God? [Table] Have you not made a hedge around him⁴ [Table] to shield him from disease? It seems even less likely to me now that Satan was conducting a scientific experiment to ascertain why/how Job was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.⁵ I’m thinking that Satan just wanted Job to curse God.

I, on the other hand, am more interested in how Job was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil⁶ even when Satan by the Lord’s leave took everything from him. The Lord’s confidence to continue with Satan’s charade encourages me that I’m on the right track with the idea that Job believed the Lord, and the Lord credited it as righteousness to him.⁷ The Lord’s confidence to continue with Satan’s test didn’t come from his faith in Job, but from his faith in the life-transforming power of his own credited righteousness.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Job 2:7, 8 (Tanakh/KJV)	Job 2:7, 8 (NET)	Job 2:7, 8 (NETS)	Job 2:7, 8 (English Elpenor)
So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.	So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and he afflicted Job with a malignant ulcer from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.	So the slanderer went out from the Lord, and he struck Iob with a grievous festering sore from his feet to his head.	So the devil went out from the Lord, and smote Job with sore boils from [his] feet to [his] head.
And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes.	Job took a shard of broken pottery to scrape himself with while he was sitting among the ashes.	And he took a potsherd, so that he could scrape away the pus, and sat on the rubbish heap outside the city.	And he took a potsherd to scrape away the discharge, and sat upon a dung-heap outside the city.

Job’s wife seemed to have an uncanny grasp of the situation, even more so because her advice seems more in line with Satan’s reasoning than the Lord’s.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Job 2:9 (Tanakh/KJV)	Job 2:9 (NET)	Job 2:9 (NETS)	Job 2:9 (English Elpenor)
Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.	Then his wife said to him, “Are you still holding firmly to your integrity? Curse God, and die!”	Then after a long time had passed, his wife said to him, “How long will you persist and say, ‘Look, I will hang on a little longer, while I wait for the hope of my deliverance?’ For look, your legacy has vanished from the earth—sons and daughters, my womb’s birth pangs and labors, for whom I wearied myself with hardships in vain. And you? You sit in the refuse of worms as you spend the night in the open air. As for me, I am one that wanders about and a hired servant—from place to place and house to house, waiting for when the sun will set, so I can rest from the distresses and griefs that now beset me. Now say some word to the Lord and die!”	And when much time had passed, his wife said to him, How long wilt thou hold out, saying, 9α Behold, I wait yet a little while, expecting the hope of my deliverance? 9β for, behold, thy memorial is abolished from the earth, [even thy] sons and daughters, the pangs and pains of my womb which I bore in vain with sorrows; 9γ and thou thyself sittest down to spend the nights in the open air among the corruption of worms, 9δ and I am a wanderer and a servant from place to place and house to house, waiting for the setting of the sun, that I may rest from my labours and my pangs which now beset me: but say some word against the Lord, and die.

If I thought this was contemporary fiction I might go off on a feminist rant about misogyny and the patriarchy. Though I do think the literary form of Job is drama, I believe the story is true. But as drama, Job’s wife is the first everyman character one encounters. She reacts more like what Satan claimed to expect from his scientific experiment on Job, not because she is female but because she is human. I say “claimed” because Satan (Septuagint: ὁ διάβολος) is a liar.

I’m becoming more and more convinced that Satan already knew that Job was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil⁸ because Job believed the Lord, and the Lord credited it as righteousness to him.⁹ Satan already knew, even if he held onto some vague hope, that because of the power of the Lord’s credited righteousness there was nothing he could do to cause Job to curse God. Satan’s actual intent was to baffle us with misdirection, and to terrorize us with all he would do to us if we believed the Lord and the Lord credited it as righteousness to us.

Job’s wife sounds like Satan because everyman is from [their] father the devil, and [we] want to do what [our] father desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not uphold the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he lies, he speaks according to his own nature because he is a liar and the father of lies.¹⁰

That everyman is from [their] father the devil is a point for everyman to concede to Jesus, the shut door at the entrance to the kingdom of God, and the light that will highlight our inner devil all too clearly. God, be merciful to me, sinner that I am,¹¹ is the key to open the shut door that is Jesus, the light of the world.

Did the rabbis who translated the Septuagint add words to Job’s wife’s soliloquy to make her more sympathetic? Or did the editors of the Masoretic text delete them to make her more direct? I’m favoring the latter here because in the Masoretic text Job’s wife quotes the Lord almost verbatim even as she sounds more like Satan:

Job 2:3 (NET) The Lord	Job 2:9 (NET) Job’s Wife
he still (ʿôḏ, ועדנו) holds firmly (ḥāzaq, מחזיק) to his integrity (tummâ, בתמתו)	Are you still (ʿôḏ, עדך) holding firmly (ḥāzaq, מחזיק) to your integrity (tummâ, בתמתך)?

Here is a comparison of the Greek in the Septuagint for contrast:

Job 2:3 (Septuagint BLB) Table	Job 2:3 (Septuagint Elpenor)	Job 2:9 (Septuagint BLB)	Job 2:9 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἔτι δὲ ἔχεται ἀκακίας	ἔτι δὲ ἔχετε ἀκακίας	μέχρι τίνος καρτερήσεις λέγων	μέχρι τίνος καρτερήσεις λέγων
Job 2:3 (NETS)	Job 2:3 (English Elpenor)	Job 2:9 (NETS)	Job 2:9 (English Elpenor)
And he still maintains his innocence	and he yet cleaves to innocence	How long will you persist and say	How long wilt thou hold out, saying

Quoting the Lord verbatim is a clever synopsis that cuts immediately to the point. But the longer version of her speech seems more like a wife’s anguish watching her husband suffer, as well as her own anguish as long as he lives and she is not free to marry again. All this demonstrates perhaps is that the rabbis wrote better fiction. But I have faith that the story is true, and the Greek of the Septuagint seems much less like Job’s wife was privy to the Lord’s words verbatim.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Job 2:10 (Tanakh/KJV)	Job 2:10 (NET)	Job 2:10 (NETS)	Job 2:10 (English Elpenor)
But [Job] said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil (הָרָ֖ע)? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.	But he replied, “You’re talking like one of the godless women would do! Should we receive what is good from God, and not also receive what is evil (raʿ, הרע)?” In all this Job did not sin by what he said.	But Iob looked up and said to her, “You have spoken like one of the foolish women. If we received the good things from the Lord’s hand, shall we not bear the bad (τὰ κακὰ)?” In all these things that happened to him Iob did not sin at all with his lips before God.	But he looked on her, and said to her, Thou hast spoken like one of the foolish women. If we have received good things of the hand of the Lord, shall we not endure evil things (τὰ κακὰ)? In all these things that happened to him, Job sinned not at all with his lips before God.

In one sense, Job’s faith sounds naive. He accepts what has happened to him as evil from the hand of God (Septuagint: of the Lord, Κυρίου). He seems oblivious to Satan’s part in any of it. I wondered briefly whether Job thought of Satan as one of the gods. The rabbis who translated the Septuagint seem to have anticipated that question and answered it in the negative by translating האלהים (‘ĕlōhîm) Κυρίου here rather than θεοῦ. But Job’s theology was absolutely correct since Satan could do nothing without the Lord’s permission.

Job’s wife, especially in the Masoretic text, seems to believe that Job’s blamelessness is a personal achievement, a righteousness derived from law: Job still holds firmly to his integrity. But Job’s acceptance of both good and evil from the hand of the Lord sounds more to me like the fruit of a righteousness from God that is in fact based on Christ’s faithfulness¹² so many years before the Word became flesh and took up residence among us.¹³

The Lord boasts about Job: There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and turns away from evil.¹⁴ The Lord has every right to boast. Job’s righteousness is the Lord’s handiwork. Job does not boast: The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. May the name of the Lord be blessed!¹⁵ What do you have that you did not receive? Paul wrote the Corinthians. And if you received it, why do you boast as though you did not?¹⁶ He also wrote to the Romans: Indeed, he who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, freely give us all things?¹⁷

Satan doesn’t appear again in the book of Job except by proxy in his influence over natural born human beings. I want to continue to study the book of Job in another essay series, but here I’ll sum up a bit. This side excursion into the book of Job began for me with a question: Who did Jesus command, “What you are about to do, do quickly.”¹⁸

The narrative is quite clear that Jesus spoke to Judas Iscariot. But right before Jesus spoke those words, John also made it clear that Satan (ὁ σατανᾶς) had entered into Judas. In the book of Job Satan needed the Lord’s permission to do anything to Job. Was, What you are about to do, do quickly, Jesus’ permission? I lay down my life, so that I may take it back again, Jesus said. No one takes it away from me, but I lay it down of my own free will (ἐμαυτοῦ). I have the authority to lay it down, and I have the authority to take it back again. This commandment I received from my Father.¹⁹

“It’s difficult to say that He was speaking to both: ποίησον is singular. But was He speaking to Satan/Judas, a unitary singular, at that moment?”²⁰ Then Satan entered into him²¹ (τότε εἰσῆλθεν εἰς ἐκεῖνον ὁ σατανᾶς) seems to be something more than You people are from your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires.²² And now I wonder if that “ something more” exempts Judas somehow from all people Jesus will draw to Himself if or when He was crucified.²³

Tables comparing Job 2:4; 2:5; 2:6; 2:7; 2:8; 2:9 and 2:10 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and tables comparing the Greek of Job 2:4; 2:5; 2:6; 2:7; 2:8; 2:9 and 2:10 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor) follow.

Job 2:4 (Tanakh)	Job 2:4 (KJV)	Job 2:4 (NET)
And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.	And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.	But Satan answered the Lord, “Skin for skin! Indeed, a man will give up all that he has to save his life.

Job 2:4 (Septuagint BLB)	Job 2:4 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ὑπολαβὼν δὲ ὁ διάβολος εἶπεν τῷ κυρίῳ δέρμα ὑπὲρ δέρματος ὅσα ὑπάρχει ἀνθρώπῳ ὑπὲρ τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ ἐκτείσει	ὑπολαβὼν δὲ ὁ διάβολος εἶπε τῷ Κυρίῳ· δέρμα ὑπὲρ δέρματος· καὶ πάντα, ὅσα ὑπάρχει ἀνθρώπῳ, ὑπὲρ τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ ἐκτίσει
Job 2:4 (NETS)	Job 2:4 (English Elpenor)
Then the slanderer continued and said to the Lord, “Skin for skin; whatever a person has he will use to pay for his life.	And the devil answered and said to the Lord, Skin for skin, all that a man has will he give as a ransom for his life.

Job 2:5 (Tanakh)	Job 2:5 (KJV)	Job 2:5 (NET)
But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face	But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.	But extend your hand and strike his bone and his flesh, and he will no doubt curse you to your face!”

Job 2:5 (Septuagint BLB)	Job 2:5 (Septuagint Elpenor)
οὐ μὴν δὲ ἀλλὰ ἀποστείλας τὴν χεῗρά σου ἅψαι τῶν ὀστῶν αὐτοῦ καὶ τῶν σαρκῶν αὐτοῦ εἰ μὴν εἰς πρόσωπόν σε εὐλογήσει	οὐ μὴν δὲ ἀλλὰ ἀποστείλας τὴν χεῖρά σου ἅψαι τῶν ὀστῶν αὐτοῦ καὶ σαρκῶν αὐτοῦ· ἦ μὴν εἰς πρόσωπόν σε εὐλογήσει
Job 2:5 (NETS)	Job 2:5 (English Elpenor)
However, stretch out your hand, and touch his bones and his flesh; surely he will bless you to your face!”	Nay, but put forth thine hand, and touch his bones and his flesh: verily he will bless thee to [thy] face.

Job 2:6 (Tanakh)	Job 2:6 (KJV)	Job 2:6 (NET)
And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.	And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.	So the Lord said to Satan, “All right, he is in your power; only preserve his life.”

Job 2:6 (Septuagint BLB)	Job 2:6 (Septuagint Elpenor)
εἶπεν δὲ ὁ κύριος τῷ διαβόλῳ ἰδοὺ παραδίδωμί σοι αὐτόν μόνον τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ διαφύλαξον	εἶπε δὲ ὁ Κύριος τῷ διαβόλῳ· ἰδοὺ παραδίδωμί σοι αὐτόν, μόνον τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ διαφύλαξον
Job 2:6 (NETS)	Job 2:6 (English Elpenor)
Then the Lord said to the slanderer, “Very well, I am handing him over to you; only spare his life.”	And the Lord said to the devil, Behold, I deliver him up to thee; only save his life.

Job 2:7 (Tanakh)	Job 2:7 (KJV)	Job 2:7 (NET)
So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.	So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.	So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and he afflicted Job with a malignant ulcer from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

Job 2:7 (Septuagint BLB)	Job 2:7 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐξῆλθεν δὲ ὁ διάβολος ἀπὸ τοῦ κυρίου καὶ ἔπαισεν τὸν Ιωβ ἕλκει πονηρῷ ἀπὸ ποδῶν ἕως κεφαλῆς	᾿Εξῆλθε δὲ ὁ διάβολος ἀπὸ προσώπου Κυρίου καὶ ἔπαισε τὸν ᾿Ιὼβ ἕλκει πονηρῷ ἀπὸ ποδῶν ἕως κεφαλῆς
Job 2:7 (NETS)	Job 2:7 (English Elpenor)
So the slanderer went out from the Lord, and he struck Iob with a grievous festering sore from his feet to his head.	So the devil went out from the Lord, and smote Job with sore boils from [his] feet to [his] head.

Job 2:8 (Tanakh)	Job 2:8 (KJV)	Job 2:8 (NET)
And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes.	And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes.	Job took a shard of broken pottery to scrape himself with while he was sitting among the ashes.

Job 2:8 (Septuagint BLB)	Job 2:8 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἔλαβεν ὄστρακον ἵνα τὸν ἰχῶρα ξύῃ καὶ ἐκάθητο ἐπὶ τῆς κοπρίας ἔξω τῆς πόλεως	καὶ ἔλαβεν ὄστρακον, ἵνα τὸν ἰχῶρα ξύῃ, καὶ ἐκάθητο ἐπὶ τῆς κοπρίας ἔξω τῆς πόλεως
Job 2:8 (NETS)	Job 2:8 (English Elpenor)
And he took a potsherd, so that he could scrape away the pus, and sat on the rubbish heap outside the city.	And he took a potsherd to scrape away the discharge, and sat upon a dung-heap outside the city.

Job 2:9 (Tanakh)	Job 2:9 (KJV)	Job 2:9 (NET)
Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.	Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.	Then his wife said to him, “Are you still holding firmly to your integrity? Curse God, and die!”

Job 2:9 (Septuagint BLB)	Job 2:9 (Septuagint Elpenor)
χρόνου δὲ πολλοῦ προβεβηκότος εἶπεν αὐτῷ ἡ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ μέχρι τίνος καρτερήσεις λέγων	Χρόνου δὲ πολλοῦ προβεβηκότος εἶπεν αὐτῷ ἡ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ· μέχρι τίνος καρτερήσεις λέγων· 9α ἰδοὺ ἀναμένω χρόνον ἔτι μικρὸν προσδεχόμενος τὴν ἐλπίδα τῆς σωτηρίας μου; 9β ἰδοὺ γὰρ ἠφάνισταί σου τὸ μνημόσυνον ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς, υἱοὶ καὶ θυγατέρες, ἐμῆς κοιλίας ὠδῖνες καὶ πόνοι, οὓς εἰς τὸ κενὸν ἐκοπίασα μετὰ μόχθων· 9γ σύ τε αὐτὸς ἐν σαπρίᾳ σκωλήκων κάθησαι διανυκτερεύων αἴθριος, 9δ κἀγὼ πλανῆτις καὶ λάτρις, τόπον ἐκ τόπου περιερχομένη καὶ οἰκίαν ἐξ οἰκίας, προσδεχομένη τὸν ἥλιον πότε δύσεται, ἵνα ἀναπαύσωμαι τῶν μόχθων μου καὶ τῶν ὀδυνῶν, αἵ με νῦν συνέχουσιν· ἀλλὰ εἰπόν τι ῥῆμα πρὸς Κύριον καὶ τελεύτα
Job 2:9 (NETS)	Job 2:9 (English Elpenor)
Then after a long time had passed, his wife said to him, “How long will you persist and say, ‘Look, I will hang on a little longer, while I wait for the hope of my deliverance?’ For look, your legacy has vanished from the earth—sons and daughters, my womb’s birth pangs and labors, for whom I wearied myself with hardships in vain. And you? You sit in the refuse of worms as you spend the night in the open air. As for me, I am one that wanders about and a hired servant—from place to place and house to house, waiting for when the sun will set, so I can rest from the distresses and griefs that now beset me. Now say some word to the Lord and die!”	And when much time had passed, his wife said to him, How long wilt thou hold out, saying, 9α Behold, I wait yet a little while, expecting the hope of my deliverance? 9β for, behold, thy memorial is abolished from the earth, [even thy] sons and daughters, the pangs and pains of my womb which I bore in vain with sorrows; 9γ and thou thyself sittest down to spend the nights in the open air among the corruption of worms, 9δ and I am a wanderer and a servant from place to place and house to house, waiting for the setting of the sun, that I may rest from my labours and my pangs which now beset me: but say some word against the Lord, and die.

Job 2:10 (Tanakh)	Job 2:10 (KJV)	Job 2:10 (NET)
But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.	But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.	But he replied, “You’re talking like one of the godless women would do! Should we receive what is good from God, and not also receive what is evil?” In all this Job did not sin by what he said.

Job 2:10 (Septuagint BLB)	Job 2:10 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ὁ δὲ ἐμβλέψας εἶπεν αὐτῇ ὥσπερ μία τῶν ἀφρόνων γυναικῶν ἐλάλησας εἰ τὰ ἀγαθὰ ἐδεξάμεθα ἐκ χειρὸς κυρίου τὰ κακὰ οὐχ ὑποίσομεν ἐν πᾶσιν τούτοις τοῗς συμβεβηκόσιν αὐτῷ οὐδὲν ἥμαρτεν Ιωβ τοῗς χείλεσιν ἐναντίον τοῦ θεοῦ	ὁ δὲ ἐμβλέψας εἶπεν αὐτῇ· ἵνα τί ὥσπερ μία τῶν ἀφρόνων γυναικῶν ἐλάλησας οὕτως; εἰ τὰ ἀγαθὰ ἐδεξάμεθα ἐκ χειρὸς Κυρίου, τὰ κακὰ οὐχ ὑποίσομεν; ἐν πᾶσι τούτοις τοῖς συμβεβηκόσιν αὐτῷ οὐδὲν ἥμαρτεν ᾿Ιὼβ τοῖς χείλεσιν ἐναντίον τοῦ Θεοῦ
Job 2:10 (NETS)	Job 2:10 (English Elpenor)
But Iob looked up and said to her, “You have spoken like one of the foolish women. If we received the good things from the Lord’s hand, shall we not bear the bad?” In all these things that happened to him Iob did not sin at all with his lips before God.	But he looked on her, and said to her, Thou hast spoken like one of the foolish women. If we have received good things of the hand of the Lord, shall we not endure evil things? In all these things that happened to him, Job sinned not at all with his lips before God.

The Lost Son of Perdition, Part 11

Back to Nothing True, Part 2

¹ Job 1:8b (NET) Table

² 1 John 4:8 (NET)

³ Romans 2:5 (NET) Table

⁴ Job 1:9b, 10a (NET)

⁵ Job 1:1b (NET) Table

⁶ Ibid.

⁷ Genesis 15:6 (NET) Table

⁸ Job 1:1b (NET) Table

⁹ Genesis 15:6 (NET) Table

¹⁰ John 8:44 (NET) Table

¹¹ Luke 18:13 (NET) Table

¹² Philippians 3:9b (NET)

¹³ John 1:14a (NET)

¹⁴ Job 1:8b (NET) Table

¹⁵ Job 1:21b (NET) Table

¹⁶ 1 Corinthians 4:7b (NET)

¹⁷ Romans 8:32 (NET) Table

¹⁸ John 13:27b (NET)

¹⁹ John 10:17b, 18 (NET)

²⁰ The Lost Son of Perdition, Part 5

²¹ John 13:27a (NET)

²² John 8:44a (NET) Table

²³ John 12:32 (NET)

Psalm 22, Part 10

Posted on July 31, 2021 by admin

This is a continuing look into Psalm 22 as the music in Jesus’ heart as He endured the cross.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Psalm 22:17 (Tanakh/KJV)	Psalm 22:17 (NET)	Psalm 21:18 (NETS)	Psalm 21:18 (Elpenor English)
I may tell (אֲסַפֵּ֥ר) all my bones: they look and stare upon me.	I can count (sāp̄ar, אספר) all my bones; my enemies are gloating over me in triumph.	I counted (ἐξηρίθμησα) all my bones, but they took note and observed me;	They counted (ἐξηρίθμησαν) all my bones; and they observed and looked upon me.

In the Tanakh and KJV אֲסַפֵּ֥ר was translated I may tell. It was translated I can count in the NET. It can mean both. Consider the first occurrences of forms of סָפַר in the KJV translation (Genesis 15:5 KJV):

And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell (sāp̄ar, וספר) the stars, if thou be able to number (sāp̄ar, לספר) them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.

I’m not sure what the translators thought Abraham should tell the stars. Rashi’s commentary on Psalm 22:17 (22:18) read:

I tell about all my bones: The pain of my bones.

I could understand better if the Lord told Abraham to tell [about] the stars, especially their great number. But the KJV translation of Genesis 15:5 was unique among the Bible versions I use.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 15:5 (Tanakh) Table	Genesis 15:5 (NET)	Genesis 15:5 (NETS) Table	Genesis 15:5 (English Elpenor)
And He brought him forth abroad, and said: ‘Look now toward heaven, and count (וּסְפֹר֙) the stars, if thou be able to count (לִסְפֹּ֣ר) them’; and He said unto him: ‘So shall thy seed be.’	The Lord took him outside and said, “Gaze into the sky and count (sāp̄ar, וספר) the stars—if you are able to count (sāp̄ar, לספר) them!” Then he said to him, “So will your descendants be.”	Then he brought him outside and said to him, “Look up to the sky, and number (ἀρίθμησον) the stars, if you will be able to count (ἐξαριθμῆσαι) them.” And he said, “So shall your offspring be.”	And he brought him out and said to him, Look up now to heaven, and count (ἀρίθμησον) the stars, if thou shalt be able to number (ἐξαριθμῆσαι) them fully, and he said, Thus shall thy seed be.

The relationship between count, number and tell is perhaps easiest to understand when Abraham’s servant returned and recounted to Isaak all the matters (τὰ ῥήματα) that he had carried out.^[1]

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 24:66 (Tanakh/KJV)	Genesis 24:66 (NET)	Genesis 24:66 (NETS)	Genesis 24:66 (English Elpenor)
And the servant told (וַיְסַפֵּ֥ר) Isaac all the things that he had done.	The servant told (sāp̄ar, ויספר) Isaac everything that had happened.	And the servant recounted (διηγήσατο) to Isaak all the matters that he had carried out.	And the servant told (διηγήσατο) Isaac all that he had done.

Abraham had commanded this servant: 1) You must not acquire a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living.^[2] 2) You must go instead to my country 3) and to my relatives 4) to find a wife for my son Isaac.^[3] 5) Be careful never to take my son back there!^[4] In the NETS translation I can practically hear the servant recalling his master’s instructions (ῥήματα, a form of ῥῆμα; NETS: matters) one by one and recounting for Isaac all that he had done to fulfill them.

Exposure is the theme of Psalm 22:17 whether They counted (ἐξηρίθμησαν, a form of ἐξαριθμέω) all my bones (English Elpenor) or Jesus counted (ἐξηρίθμησα a form of ἐξαριθμέω) all [his own] bones (NETS), whether his bones look and stare upon him (Tanakh) or his enemies are gloating over [him] in triumph (NET). Rashi, too, understood “They look:” as “They rejoice at my misfortune” without specifying whether They were Jesus’ own bones mocking Him as they were stretched by hanging on a cross or the crowd standing around him.

None of the Gospel narratives cover these few moments of Jesus’ crucifixion in quite the cinematic detail of these two verses: For dogs have compassed me.^[5] I can hear this as action description in a screenplay:

Jesus lies naked on his back on the cross. A knot of Roman soldiers surround him like a pack of wild dogs devouring their prey.

The assembly of the wicked have inclosed me.^[6] Here we see the action from Jesus’ point-of-view.

Jesus sees the faces of his executioners as they fasten him to the cross: one is stoic, another perfunctory, one revels in the cruelty of his task as another winces at the pain of his victim.

They pierced my hands and my feet.^[7]

Jesus’ hand spasms as a nail pierces his flesh between his ulna and radius just below the wrist.

He groans as a nail pins both of his feet, one on top of the other, through his insteps flat to the cross.

I may tell all my bones.^[8]

As the soldiers raise the cross Jesus sees the bones of his arms as his body stretches, suspended by his nailed wrists.

They counted all my bones.^[9]

As Jesus’ body rises above the heads of the soldiers, bystanders see his ribs pressed against his flesh as if his chest is about to burst.

They look and stare upon me.^[10]

From his clawed hand to his radius, ulna and humerus wrenching his shoulders, from his rib cage to his pelvis twisting, the sagging flesh of his legs barely disguises his femur, tibia and fibula.

His bloodied toes arch back as he presses upward on the spike impaling his feet, seeking a moment’s relief from the ache of his arms and shoulders.

Jesus, staring down at the agony of his own body, lifts his eyes.

And they observed and looked upon me.^[11]

Every writhing and twisting, every twitch and flutter, every bodily function is displayed for all to see.

The next verse follows:

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Psalm 22:18 (Tanakh/KJV)	Psalm 22:18 (NET)	Psalm 21:19 (NETS)	Psalm 21:19 (English Elpenor)
They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.	They are dividing up my clothes among themselves; they are rolling dice for my garments.	they divided my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots.	They are dividing up my clothes among themselves; they are rolling dice for my garments.

Here Jesus, suspended on an upright cross, sees what happens beneath him. These shots were described fairly well in the Gospel narratives:

Matthew 27:35, 36 (NET)	Mark 15:24, 25 (NET)	Luke 23:34 (NET) Table	John 19:23, 24 (NET)
When they had crucified him,	Then they crucified^[12] him		Now when the soldiers crucified Jesus,
			they took his clothes
		But Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”
they divided his clothes	and^[13] divided^[14] his clothes,
			and made four shares, one for each soldier, and the tunic remained. (Now the tunic was seamless,^[15] woven from top to bottom as a single piece.) [Table] So the soldiers said^[16] to one another, “Let’s not tear it,
by throwing dice.^[17]	throwing dice for them,	Then they threw dice^[18]	but throw dice
		to divide his clothes.
	to decide what each would take.
			to see who will get it.” This took place to fulfill the scripture that says, “They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they threw dice.” So the soldiers did these things.
Then they sat down and kept guard over him there.
	It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him.

Crucifixion was designed that the body and soul of the victim cry out, “This is wrong!” The torture for most of us would be that there is nothing we could do to end it but die. Jesus always had another option (John 10:17, 18 NET).

This is why the Father loves me—because I lay down my life, so that I may take it back again. No one takes it away from me, but I lay it down of my own free will. I have the authority to lay it down, and I have the authority to take it back again. This commandment I received from my Father.”

The detail in this psalm must have been quite helpful to the One intent on fulfilling the Scriptures: everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled,^[19] Jesus reminded his disciples after his resurrection. For I am reasonably convinced that the last temptation of Christ had much more to do with enduring the cross than any fantasy of domestic bliss.

A table comparing the Greek of Matthew 27:35b in the Stephanus Textus Receptus and the Septuagint follows:

Matthew 27:35b (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Psalm 22:18 (Septuagint BLB)	Psalm 21:19 (Septuagint Elpenor)
διεμερισαντο τα ιματια μου εαυτοις και επι τον ιματισμον μου εβαλον κληρον	διεμερίσαντο τὰ ἱμάτιά μου ἑαυτοῗς καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν ἱματισμόν μου ἔβαλον κλῆρον	διεμερίσαντο τὰ ἱμάτιά μου ἑαυτοῖς καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν ἱματισμόν μου ἔβαλον κλῆρον
Matthew 27:35b (KJV)	Psalm 21:19 (NETS)	Psalm 21:19 (English Elpenor)
They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.	they divided my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots.	They parted my garments [among] themselves, and cast lots upon my raiment.

According to a note (63) in the NET Matthew alluded to Psalm 22:18 (21:19). A table comparing the Greek of Matthew’s allusion with that of the Septuagint follows.

Matthew 27:35b (NET Parallel Greek)	Psalm 22:18 (Septuagint BLB)	Psalm 21:19 (Septuagint Elpenor)
διεμερίσαντο τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ βάλλοντες κλῆρον	διεμερίσαντο τὰ ἱμάτιά μου ἑαυτοῗς καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν ἱματισμόν μου ἔβαλον κλῆρον	διεμερίσαντο τὰ ἱμάτιά μου ἑαυτοῖς καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν ἱματισμόν μου ἔβαλον κλῆρον
Matthew 27:35b (NET)	Psalm 21:19 (NETS)	Psalm 21:19 (English Elpenor)
they divided his clothes by throwing dice	they divided my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots.	They parted my garments [among] themselves, and cast lots upon my raiment.

According to a note (42) in the NET Mark alluded to Psalm 22:18 (21:19). A table comparing the Greek of Mark’s allusion with that of the Septuagint follows.

Mark 15:24b (NET Parallel Greek)	Psalm 22:18 (Septuagint BLB)	Psalm 21:19 (Septuagint Elpenor)
διαμερίζονται τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ, βάλλοντες κλῆρον	διεμερίσαντο τὰ ἱμάτιά μου ἑαυτοῗς καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν ἱματισμόν μου ἔβαλον κλῆρον	διεμερίσαντο τὰ ἱμάτιά μου ἑαυτοῖς καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν ἱματισμόν μου ἔβαλον κλῆρον
Mark 15:24b (NET)	Psalm 21:19 (NETS)	Psalm 21:19 (English Elpenor)
divided his clothes, throwing dice	they divided my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots.	They parted my garments [among] themselves, and cast lots upon my raiment.

According to a note (84) in the NET Luke alluded to Psalm 22:18 (21:19). A table comparing the Greek of Luke’s allusion with that of the Septuagint follows.

Luke 23:34b (NET Parallel Greek)	Psalm 22:18 (Septuagint BLB)	Psalm 21:19 (Septuagint Elpenor)
διαμεριζόμενοι δὲ τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ ἔβαλον \|κλήρους\|	διεμερίσαντο τὰ ἱμάτιά μου ἑαυτοῗς καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν ἱματισμόν μου ἔβαλον κλῆρον	διεμερίσαντο τὰ ἱμάτιά μου ἑαυτοῖς καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν ἱματισμόν μου ἔβαλον κλῆρον
Luke 23:34b (NET)	Psalm 21:19 (NETS)	Psalm 21:19 (English Elpenor)
Then they threw dice to divide his clothes.	they divided my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots.	They parted my garments [among] themselves, and cast lots upon my raiment.

According to a note (77) in the NET John quoted Psalm 22:18 (21:19). A table comparing the Greek of John’s quotation with that of the Septuagint follows.

John 19:24b (NET Parallel Greek)	Psalm 22:18 (Septuagint BLB)	Psalm 21:19 (Septuagint Elpenor)
διεμερίσαντο τὰ ἱμάτια μου ἑαυτοῖς καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν ἱματισμόν μου ἔβαλον κλῆρον	διεμερίσαντο τὰ ἱμάτιά μου ἑαυτοῗς καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν ἱματισμόν μου ἔβαλον κλῆρον	διεμερίσαντο τὰ ἱμάτιά μου ἑαυτοῖς καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν ἱματισμόν μου ἔβαλον κλῆρον
John 19:24b (NET)	Psalm 21:19 (NETS)	Psalm 21:19 (English Elpenor)
They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they threw dice.	they divided my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots.	They parted my garments [among] themselves, and cast lots upon my raiment.

Tables comparing Psalm 22:17; Genesis 24:66; 24:3; 24:4; 24:6 and Psalm 22:18 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and tables comparing the Greek of Psalm 22:17 (21:18); Genesis 24:66; 24:3; 24:4; 24:6 and Psalm 22:18 (21:19) in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and tables comparing Matthew 27:35; Mark 15:24 and John 19:24 in the NET and KJV follow.

Psalm 22:17 (Tanakh)	Psalm 22:17 (KJV)	Psalm 22:17 (NET)
I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.	I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.	I can count all my bones; my enemies are gloating over me in triumph.

Psalm 22:17 (Septuagint BLB)	Psalm 21:18 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐξηρίθμησα πάντα τὰ ὀστᾶ μου αὐτοὶ δὲ κατενόησαν καὶ ἐπεῗδόν με	ἐξηρίθμησαν πάντα τὰ ὀστᾶ μου, αὐτοὶ δὲ κατενόησαν καὶ ἐπεῖδόν με
Psalm 21:18 (NETS)	Psalm 21:18 (English Elpenor)
I counted all my bones, but they took note and observed me;	They counted all my bones; and they observed and looked upon me.

Genesis 24:66 (Tanakh)	Genesis 24:66 (KJV)	Genesis 24:66 (NET)
And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done.	And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done.	The servant told Isaac everything that had happened.

Genesis 24:66 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 24:66 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ διηγήσατο ὁ παῗς τῷ Ισαακ πάντα τὰ ῥήματα ἃ ἐποίησεν	καὶ διηγήσατο ὁ παῖς τῷ ᾿Ισαὰκ πάντα τὰ ρήματα, ἃ ἐποίησεν
Genesis 24:66 (NETS)	Genesis 24:66 (English Elpenor)
And the servant recounted to Isaak all the matters that he had carried out.	And the servant told Isaac all that he had done.

Genesis 24:3 (Tanakh)	Genesis 24:3 (KJV)	Genesis 24:3 (NET)
And I will make thee swear by HaShem, the G-d of heaven and the G-d of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife for my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell.	And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell:	so that I may make you solemnly promise by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth: You must not acquire a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living.

Genesis 24:3 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 24:3 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐξορκιῶ σε κύριον τὸν θεὸν τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ τὸν θεὸν τῆς γῆς ἵνα μὴ λάβῃς γυναῗκα τῷ υἱῷ μου Ισαακ ἀπὸ τῶν θυγατέρων τῶν Χαναναίων μεθ᾽ ὧν ἐγὼ οἰκῶ ἐν αὐτοῗς	καὶ ἐξορκιῶ σε Κύριον τὸν Θεὸν τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ τὸν Θεὸν τῆς γῆς, ἵνα μὴ λάβῃς γυναῖκα τῷ υἱῷ μου ᾿Ισαὰκ ἀπὸ τῶν θυγατέρων τῶν Χαναναίων, μεθ᾿ ὧν ἐγὼ οἰκῶ ἐν αὐτοῖς
Genesis 24:3 (NETS)	Genesis 24:3 (English Elpenor)
and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of the sky and the God of earth, so that you do not get a wife for my son Isaak from the daughters of the Chananites, whom I live among,	and I will adjure thee by the Lord the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou take not a wife for my son Isaac from the daughters of the Chananites, with whom I dwell, in the midst of them.

Genesis 24:4 (Tanakh)	Genesis 24:4 (KJV)	Genesis 24:4 (NET)
But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son, even for Isaac.’	But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.	You must go instead to my country and to my relatives to find a wife for my son Isaac.”

Genesis 24:4 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 24:4 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἀλλὰ εἰς τὴν γῆν μου οὗ ἐγενόμην πορεύσῃ καὶ εἰς τὴν φυλήν μου καὶ λήμψῃ γυναῗκα τῷ υἱῷ μου Ισαακ ἐκεῗθεν	ἀλλ᾿ ἢ εἰς τὴν γῆν μου, οὗ ἐγεννήθην, πορεύσῃ καὶ εἰς τὴν φυλήν μου καὶ λήψῃ γυναῖκα τῷ υἱῷ μου ᾿Ισαὰκ ἐκεῖθεν
Genesis 24:4 (NETS)	Genesis 24:4 (English Elpenor)
but you shall go to my country, where I was born, and to my tribe, and get a wife for my son Isaak from there.”	But thou shalt go instead to my country, where I was born, and to my tribe, and thou shalt take from thence a wife for my son Isaac.

Genesis 24:6 (Tanakh)	Genesis 24:6 (KJV)	Genesis 24:6 (NET)
And Abraham said unto him: ‘Beware thou that thou bring not my son back thither.	And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again.	“Be careful never to take my son back there!” Abraham told him.

Genesis 24:6 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 24:6 (Septuagint Elpenor)
εἶπεν δὲ πρὸς αὐτὸν Αβρααμ πρόσεχε σεαυτῷ μὴ ἀποστρέψῃς τὸν υἱόν μου ἐκεῗ	εἶπε δὲ πρὸς αὐτὸν ῾Αβραάμ· πρόσεχε σεαυτῷ, μὴ ἀποστρέψῃς τὸν υἱόν μου ἐκεῖ
Genesis 24:6 (NETS)	Genesis 24:6 (English Elpenor)
But Abraham said to him, “Take heed to yourself; do not bring my son back there.	And Abraam said to him, Take heed to thyself that thou carry not my son back thither.

Psalm 22:18 (Tanakh)	Psalm 22:18 (KJV)	Psalm 22:18 (NET)
They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.	They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.	They are dividing up my clothes among themselves; they are rolling dice for my garments.

Psalm 22:18 (Septuagint BLB)	Psalm 21:19 (Septuagint Elpenor)
διεμερίσαντο τὰ ἱμάτιά μου ἑαυτοῗς καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν ἱματισμόν μου ἔβαλον κλῆρον	διεμερίσαντο τὰ ἱμάτιά μου ἑαυτοῖς καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν ἱματισμόν μου ἔβαλον κλῆρον
Psalm 21:19 (NETS)	Psalm 21:19 (English Elpenor)
they divided my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots.	They parted my garments [among] themselves, and cast lots upon my raiment.

Matthew 27:35 (NET)	Matthew 27:35 (KJV)
When they had crucified him, they divided his clothes by throwing dice.	And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Σταυρώσαντες δὲ αὐτὸν διεμερίσαντο τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ βάλλοντες κλῆρον	σταυρωσαντες δε αυτον διεμερισαντο τα ιματια αυτου βαλλοντες κληρον ινα πληρωθη το ρηθεν υπο του προφητου διεμερισαντο τα ιματια μου εαυτοις και επι τον ιματισμον μου εβαλον κληρον	σταυρωσαντες δε αυτον διεμερισαντο τα ιματια αυτου βαλλοντες κληρον

Mark 15:24 (NET)	Mark 15:24 (KJV)
Then they crucified him and divided his clothes, throwing dice for them, to decide what each would take.	And when they had crucified him, they parted his garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Καὶ σταυροῦσιν αὐτὸν καὶ διαμερίζονται τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ, βάλλοντες κλῆρον ἐπ᾿ αὐτὰ τίς τί ἄρῃ	και σταυρωσαντες αυτον διεμεριζον τα ιματια αυτου βαλλοντες κληρον επ αυτα τις τι αρη	και σταυρωσαντες αυτον διαμεριζονται τα ιματια αυτου βαλλοντες κληρον επ αυτα τις τι αρη

John 19:24 (NET)	John 19:24 (KJV)
So the soldiers said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but throw dice to see who will get it.” This took place to fulfill the scripture that says, “They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they threw dice.” So the soldiers did these things.	They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
εἶπαν οὖν πρὸς ἀλλήλους· μὴ σχίσωμεν αὐτόν, ἀλλὰ λάχωμεν περὶ αὐτοῦ τίνος ἔσται· ἵνα ἡ γραφὴ πληρωθῇ [ἡ λέγουσα]· διεμερίσαντο τὰ ἱμάτια μου ἑαυτοῖς καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν ἱματισμόν μου ἔβαλον κλῆρον. Οἱ μὲν οὖν στρατιῶται ταῦτα ἐποίησαν.	ειπον ουν προς αλληλους μη σχισωμεν αυτον αλλα λαχωμεν περι αυτου τινος εσται ινα η γραφη πληρωθη η λεγουσα διεμερισαντο τα ιματια μου εαυτοις και επι τον ιματισμον μου εβαλον κληρον οι μεν ουν στρατιωται ταυτα εποιησαν	ειπον ουν προς αλληλους μη σχισωμεν αυτον αλλα λαχωμεν περι αυτου τινος εσται ινα η γραφη πληρωθη η λεγουσα διεμερισαντο τα ιματια μου εαυτοις και επι τον ιματισμον μου εβαλον κληρον οι μεν ουν στρατιωται ταυτα εποιησαν

Psalm 22, Part 11

Back to Forgiveness and My Religious Mind

^[1] Genesis 24:66 (NETS)

^[2] Genesis 24:3b (NET)

^[3] Genesis 24:4 (NET)

^[4] Genesis 24:6a (NET)

^[5] Psalm 22:16a (Tanakh) Table

^[6] Psalm 22:16b (Tanakh) Table

^[7] Psalm 22:16c (Tanakh) Table

^[8] Psalm 22:17a (Tanakh)

^[9] Psalm 21:18a (English Elpenor)

^[10] Psalm 22:17b (Tanakh)

^[11] Psalm 21:18b (English Elpenor)

^[12] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had σταυροῦσιν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had σταυρωσαντες (KJV: when they had crucified).

^[13] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had καὶ here. The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

^[14] The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had διαμερίζονται here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had διεμεριζον (KJV: they parted).

^[15] The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text had ἄραφος here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had αρραφος (KJV: without seam).

^[16] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had εἶπαν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ειπον (KJV: They said).

^[17] The Stephanus Textus Receptus had ινα πληρωθη το ρηθεν υπο του προφητου διεμερισαντο τα ιματια μου εαυτοις και επι τον ιματισμον μου εβαλον κληρον (KJV: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots) here. The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

^[18] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had κλήρους here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had κληρον (KJV: lots).

^[19] Luke 24:44b (NET) Table

Who Am I? Part 12

Posted on January 26, 2021 by admin

Jesus said, I always do those things that please him^[1] (literally: “I the pleasing things do always”).

“How?” I ask. I couldn’t even say, “I always lie.”

The Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works,^[2] Jesus replied.

But I say, Paul wrote, live by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh.^[3]

I’ve written that I became an atheist during my prodigal years. That is technically correct according to the definition that pops up in Google: “a person who disbelieves or lacks belief in the existence of God or gods.” I stopped believing in my god of punishment for a few years, and I certainly didn’t believe in the existence of any other gods. But I was by no means a practicing atheist.

To become a practicing atheist is at least as difficult as becoming a do-it-yourself-Christian. Atheists exist in a world where God the Father is making Jesus’ enemies a footstool for [his] feet;^[4] God the Holy Spirit is proving the world wrong concerning sin and righteousness and judgment;^[5] and God the Son promised to draw all…to myself.^[6] The practicing atheist must be ever-vigilant to withstand his relentless love while striving to make this world the place where the omnipresent God is not. The atheist philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche lamented, “I am afraid we are not rid of God because we still have faith in grammar.”^[7]

It’s probably more meaningful to say that my free will became relatively unfettered from God for a time. Since I didn’t study the Bible in English, much less in Greek, I didn’t know anything about ἀπ᾿ ἐμαυτοῦ. I didn’t see the connection between ἀπ᾿ ἐμαυτοῦ and θέλημα. I was clueless that the noun θέλημα related to the verb θέλω: “I want.” But with my own free will relatively unfettered from God I was about to get a crash course in I want.

The following Gospel harmony provides a glimpse into Jesus’ free will as I want:

Matthew 26:36-39a (NET)	Mark 14:32-35 (NET)	Luke 22:39-41 (NET)	John 18:1 (NET)
			When he had said these things (John 13:31-17:26),
Then Jesus went with them	Then they went	Then Jesus went out and made his way, as he customarily did, to the Mount of Olives, and the^[8] disciples followed him.	Jesus went out with his disciples
			across the^[9] Kidron Valley. There was an orchard there,
to a place called Gethsemane,^[10]	to a place called Gethsemane,^[11]
		When he came to the place,
			and he and his disciples went into it.
and he said to the disciples,	and Jesus said to his disciples,	he said to them,
“Sit here while I go over there and pray.”	“Sit here while I pray.”
		“Pray that you will not fall into temptation.”
He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and he became anguished and distressed. Then he^[12] said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, even to the point of death. Remain here and stay awake with me.”	He took Peter, James,^[13] and John^[14] with him,^[15] and became very troubled and distressed. He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, even to the point of death. Remain here and stay alert.”
Going a little farther, he threw himself down with his face to the ground and prayed,	Going a little farther, he threw^[16] himself to the ground and prayed	He went away from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and prayed,
	that if it were possible the hour would pass from him.

Jesus’ will here, what He wanted, was not to be tortured to death. My Father, if possible, let this cup pass^[17] from me!^[18] He prayed according to Matthew’s Gospel narrative. Abba, Father, all things are possible for you, Mark’s Gospel narrative clarified. Take this cup away from me.^[19] This is perfectly intelligible to me.

I want to live, not to die. If I must die, I want that death to be as easy as possible. Viewed this way Jesus’ expressed a fundamental aspect of the human will. But viewed in the context of his own life and words, I get a very different picture. He had already stated quite publicly (John 12:27, 28a NET):

“Now my soul is greatly distressed. And what should I say? ‘Father, deliver me from this hour’? No, but for this very reason I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.”

And then privately, alone in prayer with his Father, He did exactly that: He prayed that if it were possible the hour would pass from him.^[20] This is so pathetically human I can hear the pre-echo of Paul’s lament: Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?^[21] Jesus’ prayer was more nuanced, however, than I’ve made it seem. His free will was more constrained by the will of his Father.

Matthew 26:39b (NET)	Mark 14:36 (NET)	Luke 22:42 (NET)
	He said,
“My Father, if possible,	“Abba, Father, all things are possible for you.
		“Father, if you are willing,
let this cup pass from me! Yet not what I will, but what you will.”	Take this cup away from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”	take this cup away^[22] from me. Yet not my will but yours be done.”

Jesus’ will was subordinate to his Father’s will (letter C of the throne diagram). Father, if you are willing (εἰ βούλει), He prayed before his request in Luke’s Gospel narrative. Yet not my will (πλὴν μὴ τὸ θέλημα μου), followed his request, but yours be done (ἀλλὰ τὸ σὸν γινέσθω). Matthew’s and Mark’s Gospel narratives had the following after Jesus’ request:

Matthew 26:39c (NET)	Mark 14:36c (NET)
Yet not what I will, but what you will.	Yet not what I will, but what you will.
Matthew 26:39c (NET Parallel Greek)	Mark 14:36c (NET Parallel Greek)
πλὴν οὐχ ὡς ἐγὼ θέλω ἀλλ᾿ ὡς σύ	ἀλλ᾿ οὐ τί ἐγὼ θέλω ἀλλὰ τί σύ

Though I didn’t study the Bible, this story was unavoidable as Easter approached. I don’t recall it being presented as a Gospel harmony. We were Protestant. Visual aids were not generally used upstairs in gownup church. I do remember flipping back and forth between Gospel accounts during sermons. That’s how I knew they “needed” harmonizing.

As a boy I found it embarrassing, even a little disconcerting, how much Jesus feared death. I’m sure preachers tried to explain how it wasn’t a fear of death, but that just seemed like a cover for their own embarrassment over Jesus’ lack of machismo. Besides, Jesus was so perfect, it was all going to work out okay in the end—for Him. What follows always seemed like the point of the story to me.

Matthew 26:40, 41 (NET)	Mark 14:37, 38 (NET)
Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. He said to Peter,	Then he came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter,
	“Simon, are you sleeping?
“So, couldn’t you stay awake with me for one hour? Stay awake and pray that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”	Couldn’t you stay awake for one hour? Stay awake and pray that you will not fall^[23] into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

I thought I needed to be stronger than Peter and the other disciples, stronger even than Jesus perhaps:

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on”;^[24]

[Jesus] did not need anyone to testify about man, for he knew what was in man.^[25] For we do not have a high priest incapable of sympathizing with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way just as we are, yet without sin.^[26] But I missed completely that when Jesus said, The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak, He referred primarily to Himself. He wasn’t chiding his disciples so much as empathizing with them, as he continued to wrestle in prayer with the weakness of his own flesh.

Matthew 26:42 (NET)	Mark 14:39 (NET)	Luke 22:43 ,44 (NET)
He went away a second time and prayed,	He went away again and prayed the same thing.
		Then an angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And in his anguish he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
“My Father, if this cup^[27] cannot be taken away^[28] unless I drink it, your will must be done.”

An argument could be made that the angel from heaven didn’t appear until Jesus’ third prayer session. I placed this appearance in the second because I know what comes next. We are taken from a scene of Jesus in anguish praying more earnestly with sweat…like drops of blood to a scene where Jesus is terrifyingly calm. These scenes are separated not by decades, nor years, not months, nor weeks, not even days: It was only a matter of moments before Jesus asked Peter and the other disciples: How then would the scriptures that say it must happen this way be fulfilled?^[29]

Despite my attempt to add a few moments here the angel may not have appeared before Jesus prayed: My Father, if this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will must be done. The clause your will must be done (γενηθήτω τὸ θέλημα σου) struck me as I consider free will in general and Jesus’ free will in particular. The subject, your will, is τὸ θέλημα σου. The NET translators chose must be done for the verb γενηθήτω, a passive imperative form of γίνομαι. I laughed out loud at a passive imperative.

It was clear that must was intended to convey the imperative aspect and be done the passive aspect. But I couldn’t grasp whether the imperative aspect should hold sway (your will must be done by me), or the passive aspect (your will must be done to me). Gary Gagliardi’s insight on Christ’s Words — The Mysteries of Jesus’s Greek Revealed was helpful here:

The word translated as “be” means “to become,” that is, to enter into a new state. In Greek, especially as used by Jesus, it is the opposite of “being,” which is existence in the current state. It is in a form that doesn’t exist in English, the 3rd person command in the passive. In translation a 3rd person command is usually translated with a leading “let”, so “let your.”

Mr. Gagliardi’s translation, “let your desire come into being,” seemed like a perfect solution until I tried to make it more concrete with a simpler command: one in authority says, “I want you to wash the dishes.” “Let your desire come into being,” rings true if the one under authority says it on the way to washing the dishes. But if the one under authority simply stands there, or sits there, and says, “Let your desire come into being,” I have a fairly practical demonstration of James’ maxim (James 2:17 KJV):

Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

The translation alone for the Greek word ἑαυτήν (NET: itself) seems to strengthen the connection to a later statement: You see^[30] that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone (μόνον, a form of μόνος; KJV: only).^[31] Jesus presented this same issue to the chief priests and elders of the people as a question (Matthew 21:28-31a NET):

What do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today’ [Table]. The boy answered, ‘I will (θέλω) not.’ But later he had a change of heart and went. The father went to the other son and said the same thing. This boy answered, ‘I will, sir (ἐγώ, κύριε),’ but did not go. Which of the two did (ἐποίησεν, a form of ποιέω) his father’s will (θέλημα) [Table]?

The works are so integrated into the faith we would probably call it faithworks if we were physicists. But who does these faithworks? Do I do them as continuous acts of my own free will or do they come from God? I expressed my current bias clearly at the beginning of this essay: The Father that dwelleth in me, Jesus said, he doeth the works.^[32]

The scene of Jesus’ anguish in prayer continued:

Matthew 26:43-46 (NET)	Mark 14:40-42 (NET)	Luke 22:45, 46 (NET)
		When he got up from prayer,
He came again and found^[33] them sleeping;	When he came^[34] again he found them sleeping;	he came to the disciples and found them sleeping,
		exhausted from grief.
they could not keep their eyes open.	they could not keep their eyes open.^[35]
.	And they did not know what to tell him.
		So he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you will not fall into temptation!”
So leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same thing once more.^[36]
Then he came to the^[37] disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting?	He came a third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting?
	Enough of that!
Look, the hour is approaching, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let us go. Look! My betrayer is approaching!”	The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let us go. Look! My betrayer is approaching!”

And that abruptly we are in a new scene: Jesus is back, large and in charge, and terrifyingly calm. It is probably time to call terrifyingly calm what it actually is: the peace (εἰρήνη) of God that surpasses all understanding,^[38] an aspect of the fruit of the Spirit. Jesus, strengthened by an angel from heaven, prayed in anguish as the human response exemplified by his disciples was to sleep. Jesus exhibited the peace of God that surpasses all understanding when the human response exemplified by his disciples was fight (Matthew 26:51-54; Mark 14:47-49; Luke 22:49-52; John 18:10, 11) or flight (Matthew 26:56; Mark 14:50-52).

It becomes more and more impossible for me to believe that Jesus subordinated his will—“I want not to be tortured to death”—to his Father’s will by an act of his own free will, which was—“I want not to be tortured to death” at that moment. The apparent choices, willpower or the indwelling Spirit of God, are listed in a tabular form:

Willpower

The Indwelling Spirit of God

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on”;

The Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

But that’s Jesus. What about me? For it is God which worketh in you, Paul wrote to those who believe Jesus, both to will and to do of his good pleasure.^[39]

The Greek word translated worketh is ἐνεργῶν (a form of ἐνεργέω). The word translated to will is θέλειν (a form of θέλω). And the word translated to do is ἐνεργεῖν (another form of ἐνεργέω).

To conclude I’ll consider the passive imperative γενηθήτω again, not as a bad joke but as a source of real insight. I’m more confident that your will must be done by the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. But there is an aspect of your will must be done to me as well here:

Matthew 26:45b, 46 (NET)	Mark 14:41b, 42 (NET)
Look, the hour is approaching, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners…My betrayer is approaching!”	The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners…My betrayer is approaching!”

The Greek word translated betrayed is παραδίδοται (a form of παραδίδωμι). The same word was translated will be handed over when Jesus told his disciples, You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be handed over (παραδίδοται) to be crucified.^[40] It was translated is delivered in the KJV when Jesus taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered (παραδίδοται) into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third^[41] day.^[42]

Though the emphasis above may be on the betrayer (παραδιδούς, another form of παραδίδωμι) Judas Iscariot, Jesus was handed over and delivered by God the Father long before Judas was born: How then would the scriptures that say it must happen this way be fulfilled?^[43] For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten (μονογενῆ, a form of μονογενής) Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.^[44] Yet none of this was contrary to Jesus’ own free will (John 10:17, 18 NET).

This is why the Father loves me—because I lay down my life, so that I may take it back again. No one takes it away from me, but I lay it down of my own free will. ^[45] I have the authority to lay it down, and I have the authority to take it back again. This commandment I received from my Father.

This leads me to a third aspect: your will must be done through me. Whether this aspect is implicit in the passive imperative γενηθήτω or not, it is revealed in this story. These three aspects are difficult for me to hold in my mind simultaneously as one whole (not unlike the nine aspects of the fruit of the Spirit). Those who believe have God’s promise to guide us through this and every faithwork.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Isaiah 55:10, 11 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 55:10, 11 (NET)	Isaiah 55:10, 11 (NETS)	Isaiah 55:10, 11 (English Elpenor)
For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:	The rain and snow fall from the sky and do not return, but instead water the earth and make it produce and yield crops, and provide seed for the planter and food for those who must eat.	For as rain or snow comes down from heaven and will not return until it has soaked the earth and brought forth and blossomed and given seed to the sower and bread for food,	For as rain shall come down, or snow, from heaven, and shall not return until it have saturated the earth, and it bring forth, and bud, and give seed to the sower, and bread for food:
So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.	In the same way, the promise that I make does not return to me, having accomplished nothing. No, it is realized as I desire and is fulfilled as I intend.”	so shall my word be, whatever goes out from my mouth; it shall not return until whatever I have willed (ἠθέλησα) is fulfilled, and I will prosper your ways and my commandments.	so shall my word be, whatever shall proceed out of my mouth, it shall by no means turn back, until all the things which I willed (ἠθέλησα) shall have been accomplished; and I will make thy^[46] ways prosperous, and [will effect] my commands.

Tables comparing Isaiah 55:10 and 55:11 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and comparing Isaiah 55:10 and 55:11 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and tables comparing Matthew 26:36; 26:38, 39; Mark 14:32, 33; 14:35; Luke 22:39; John 18:1; Luke 22:42; Mark 14:38; Matthew 26:42; James 2:24; Matthew 26:43-45; Mark 14:40 and 9:31 in the NET and KJV follow.

Isaiah 55:10 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 55:10 (KJV)	Isaiah 55:10 (NET)
For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:	For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:	The rain and snow fall from the sky and do not return, but instead water the earth and make it produce and yield crops, and provide seed for the planter and food for those who must eat.

Isaiah 55:10 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 55:10 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ὡς γὰρ ἐὰν καταβῇ ὑετὸς ἢ χιὼν ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ οὐ μὴ ἀποστραφῇ ἕως ἂν μεθύσῃ τὴν γῆν καὶ ἐκτέκῃ καὶ ἐκβλαστήσῃ καὶ δῷ σπέρμα τῷ σπείροντι καὶ ἄρτον εἰς βρῶσιν	ὡς γὰρ ἂν καταβῇ ὁ ὑετὸς ἢ χιὼν ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ οὐ μὴ ἀποστραφῇ, ἕως ἂν μεθύσῃ τὴν γῆν, καὶ ἐκτέκῃ καὶ ἐκβλαστήσῃ καὶ δῷ σπέρμα τῷ σπείραντι καὶ ἄρτον εἰς βρῶσιν
Isaiah 55:10 (NETS)	Isaiah 55:10 (English Elpenor)
For as rain or snow comes down from heaven and will not return until it has soaked the earth and brought forth and blossomed and given seed to the sower and bread for food,	For as rain shall come down, or snow, from heaven, and shall not return until it have saturated the earth, and it bring forth, and bud, and give seed to the sower, and bread for food:

Isaiah 55:11 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 55:11 (KJV)	Isaiah 55:11 (NET)
So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.	So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.	In the same way, the promise that I make does not return to me, having accomplished nothing. No, it is realized as I desire and is fulfilled as I intend.”

Isaiah 55:11 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 55:11 (Septuagint Elpenor)
οὕτως ἔσται τὸ ῥῆμά μου ὃ ἐὰν ἐξέλθῃ ἐκ τοῦ στόματός μου οὐ μὴ ἀποστραφῇ ἕως ἂν συντελεσθῇ ὅσα ἠθέλησα καὶ εὐοδώσω τὰς ὁδούς σου καὶ τὰ ἐντάλματά μου	οὕτως ἔσται τὸ ῥῆμά μου, ὃ ἐὰν ἐξέλθῃ ἐκ τοῦ στόματός μου, οὐ μὴ ἀποστραφῇ, ἕως ἂν τελεσθῇ ὅσα ἂν ἠθέλησα καὶ εὐοδώσω τὰς ὁδούς μου καὶ τὰ ἐντάλματά μου
Isaiah 55:11 (NETS)	Isaiah 55:11 (English Elpenor)
so shall my word be, whatever goes out from my mouth; it shall not return until whatever I have willed is fulfilled, and I will prosper your ways and my commandments.	so shall my word be, whatever shall proceed out of my mouth, it shall by no means turn back, until all the things which I willed shall have been accomplished; and I will make thy ways prosperous, and [will effect] my commands.

Matthew 26:36 (NET)	Matthew 26:36 (KJV)
Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”	Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Τότε ἔρχεται μετ᾿ αὐτῶν ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἰς χωρίον λεγόμενον Γεθσημανὶ καὶ λέγει τοῖς μαθηταῖς· καθίσατε αὐτοῦ ἕως [οὗ] ἀπελθὼν ἐκεῖ προσεύξωμαι	τοτε ερχεται μετ αυτων ο ιησους εις χωριον λεγομενον γεθσημανη και λεγει τοις μαθηταις καθισατε αυτου εως ου απελθων προσευξωμαι εκει	τοτε ερχεται μετ αυτων ο ιησους εις χωριον λεγομενον γεθσημανη και λεγει τοις μαθηταις καθισατε αυτου εως ου απελθων προσευξωμαι εκει

Matthew 26:38, 39 (NET)	Matthew 26:38, 39 (KJV)
Then he said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, even to the point of death. Remain here and stay awake with me.”	Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
τότε λέγει αὐτοῖς· περίλυπος ἐστιν ἡ ψυχή μου ἕως θανάτου· μείνατε ὧδε καὶ γρηγορεῖτε μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ	τοτε λεγει αυτοις περιλυπος εστιν η ψυχη μου εως θανατου μεινατε ωδε και γρηγορειτε μετ εμου	τοτε λεγει αυτοις ο ιησους περιλυπος εστιν η ψυχη μου εως θανατου μεινατε ωδε και γρηγορειτε μετ εμου

Going a little farther, he threw himself down with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if possible, let this cup pass from me! Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ προελθὼν μικρὸν ἔπεσεν ἐπὶ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ προσευχόμενος καὶ λέγων· πάτερ μου, εἰ δυνατόν ἐστιν, παρελθάτω ἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο· πλὴν οὐχ ὡς ἐγὼ θέλω ἀλλ᾿ ὡς σύ	και προελθων μικρον επεσεν επι προσωπον αυτου προσευχομενος και λεγων πατερ μου ει δυνατον εστιν παρελθετω απ εμου το ποτηριον τουτο πλην ουχ ως εγω θελω αλλ ως συ	και προσελθων μικρον επεσεν επι προσωπον αυτου προσευχομενος και λεγων πατερ μου ει δυνατον εστιν παρελθετω απ εμου το ποτηριον τουτο πλην ουχ ως εγω θελω αλλ ως συ

Mark 14:32, 33 (NET)	Mark 14:32, 33 (KJV)
Then they went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.”	And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Καὶ ἔρχονται εἰς χωρίον οὗ τὸ ὄνομα Γεθσημανὶ καὶ λέγει τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ· καθίσατε ὧδε ἕως προσεύξωμαι	και ερχονται εις χωριον ου το ονομα γεθσημανη και λεγει τοις μαθηταις αυτου καθισατε ωδε εως προσευξωμαι	και ερχονται εις χωριον ου το ονομα γεθσημανη και λεγει τοις μαθηταις αυτου καθισατε ωδε εως προσευξωμαι

He took Peter, James, and John with him, and became very troubled and distressed.

And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy;

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ παραλαμβάνει τὸν Πέτρον καὶ [τὸν] Ἰάκωβον καὶ [τὸν] Ἰωάννην μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἤρξατο ἐκθαμβεῖσθαι καὶ ἀδημονεῖν	και παραλαμβανει τον πετρον και τον ιακωβον και ιωαννην μεθ εαυτου και ηρξατο εκθαμβεισθαι και αδημονειν	και παραλαμβανει τον πετρον και ιακωβον και ιωαννην μεθ εαυτου και ηρξατο εκθαμβεισθαι και αδημονειν

Mark 14:35 (NET)	Mark 14:35 (KJV)
Going a little farther, he threw himself to the ground and prayed that if it were possible the hour would pass from him.	And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ προελθὼν μικρὸν ἔπιπτεν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς καὶ προσηύχετο ἵνα εἰ δυνατόν ἐστιν παρέλθῃ ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ ἡ ὥρα	και προελθων μικρον επεσεν επι της γης και προσηυχετο ινα ει δυνατον εστιν παρελθη απ αυτου η ωρα	και προσελθων μικρον επεσεν επι της γης και προσηυχετο ινα ει δυνατον εστιν παρελθη απ αυτου η ωρα

Luke 22:39 (NET)	Luke 22:39 (KJV)
Then Jesus went out and made his way, as he customarily did, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him.	And he came out, and went, as he was wont, to the mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Καὶ ἐξελθὼν ἐπορεύθη κατὰ τὸ ἔθος εἰς τὸ ὄρος τῶν ἐλαιῶν, ἠκολούθησαν δὲ αὐτῷ \|καὶ\| οἱ μαθηταί	και εξελθων επορευθη κατα το εθος εις το ορος των ελαιων ηκολουθησαν δε αυτω και οι μαθηται αυτου	και εξελθων επορευθη κατα το εθος εις το ορος των ελαιων ηκολουθησαν δε αυτω και οι μαθηται αυτου

John 18:1 (NET)	John 18:1 (KJV)
When he had said these things, Jesus went out with his disciples across the Kidron Valley. There was an orchard there, and he and his disciples went into it.	When Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples over the brook Cedron, where was a garden, into the which he entered, and his disciples.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Ταῦτα εἰπὼν Ἰησοῦς ἐξῆλθεν σὺν τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ πέραν τοῦ χειμάρρου \|τοῦ\| Κεδρὼν ὅπου ἦν κῆπος, εἰς ὃν εἰσῆλθεν αὐτὸς καὶ οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ	ταυτα ειπων ο ιησους εξηλθεν συν τοις μαθηταις αυτου περαν του χειμαρρου των κεδρων οπου ην κηπος εις ον εισηλθεν αυτος και οι μαθηται αυτου	ταυτα ειπων ο ιησους εξηλθεν συν τοις μαθηταις αυτου περαν του χειμαρρου των κεδρων οπου ην κηπος εις ον εισηλθεν αυτος και οι μαθηται αυτου

Luke 22:42 (NET)	Luke 22:42 (KJV)
“Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me. Yet not my will but yours be done.”	Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
λέγων· πάτερ, εἰ βούλει παρένεγκε τοῦτο τὸ ποτήριον ἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ· πλὴν μὴ τὸ θέλημα μου ἀλλὰ τὸ σὸν γινέσθω	λεγων πατερ ει βουλει παρενεγκειν το ποτηριον τουτο απ εμου πλην μη το θελημα μου αλλα το σον γενεσθω	λεγων πατερ ει βουλει παρενεγκειν το ποτηριον τουτο απ εμου πλην μη το θελημα μου αλλα το σον γενεσθω

Mark 14:38 (NET)	Mark 14:38 (KJV)
Stay awake and pray that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”	Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
γρηγορεῖτε καὶ προσεύχεσθε, ἵνα μὴ ἔλθητε εἰς πειρασμόν· τὸ μὲν πνεῦμα πρόθυμον ἡ δὲ σὰρξ ἀσθενής	γρηγορειτε και προσευχεσθε ινα μη εισελθητε εις πειρασμον το μεν πνευμα προθυμον η δε σαρξ ασθενης	γρηγορειτε και προσευχεσθε ινα μη εισελθητε εις πειρασμον το μεν πνευμα προθυμον η δε σαρξ ασθενης

Matthew 26:42 (NET)	Matthew 26:42 (KJV)
He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if this cup cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will must be done.”	He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
πάλιν ἐκ δευτέρου ἀπελθὼν προσηύξατο \|λέγων\|· πάτερ μου, εἰ οὐ δύναται τοῦτο παρελθεῖν ἐὰν μὴ αὐτὸ πίω, γενηθήτω τὸ θέλημα σου	παλιν εκ δευτερου απελθων προσηυξατο λεγων πατερ μου ει ου δυναται τουτο το ποτηριον παρελθειν απ εμου εαν μη αυτο πιω γενηθητω το θελημα σου	παλιν εκ δευτερου απελθων προσηυξατο λεγων πατερ μου ει ου δυναται τουτο το ποτηριον παρελθειν απ εμου εαν μη αυτο πιω γενηθητω το θελημα σου

James 2:24 (NET)	James 2:24 (KJV)
You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.	Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ὁρᾶτε ὅτι ἐξ ἔργων δικαιοῦται ἄνθρωπος καὶ οὐκ ἐκ πίστεως μόνον	ορατε τοινυν οτι εξ εργων δικαιουται ανθρωπος και ουκ εκ πιστεως μονον	ορατε τοινυν οτι εξ εργων δικαιουται ανθρωπος και ουκ εκ πιστεως μονον

Matthew 26:43-45 (NET)	Matthew 26:43-45 (KJV)
He came again and found them sleeping; they could not keep their eyes open.	And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ ἐλθὼν πάλιν εὗρεν αὐτοὺς καθεύδοντας, ἦσαν γὰρ αὐτῶν οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ βεβαρημένοι	και ελθων ευρισκει αυτους παλιν καθευδοντας ησαν γαρ αυτων οι οφθαλμοι βεβαρημενοι	και ελθων ευρισκει αυτους παλιν καθευδοντας ησαν γαρ αυτων οι οφθαλμοι βεβαρημενοι

So leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same thing once more.

And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ ἀφεὶς αὐτοὺς πάλιν ἀπελθὼν προσηύξατο ἐκ τρίτου τὸν αὐτὸν λόγον εἰπὼν πάλιν	και αφεις αυτους απελθων παλιν προσηυξατο εκ τριτου τον αυτον λογον ειπων	και αφεις αυτους απελθων παλιν προσηυξατο εκ τριτου τον αυτον λογον ειπων

Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is approaching, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
τότε ἔρχεται πρὸς τοὺς μαθητὰς καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς· καθεύδετε [τὸ] λοιπὸν καὶ ἀναπαύεσθε· ἰδοὺ ἤγγικεν ἡ ὥρα καὶ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου παραδίδοται εἰς χεῖρας ἁμαρτωλῶν	τοτε ερχεται προς τους μαθητας αυτου και λεγει αυτοις καθευδετε το λοιπον και αναπαυεσθε ιδου ηγγικεν η ωρα και ο υιος του ανθρωπου παραδιδοται εις χειρας αμαρτωλων	τοτε ερχεται προς τους μαθητας αυτου και λεγει αυτοις καθευδετε το λοιπον και αναπαυεσθε ιδου ηγγικεν η ωρα και ο υιος του ανθρωπου παραδιδοται εις χειρας αμαρτωλων

Mark 14:40 (NET)	Mark 14:40 (KJV)
When he came again he found them sleeping; they could not keep their eyes open. And they did not know what to tell him.	And when he returned, he found them asleep again, (for their eyes were heavy,) neither wist they what to answer him.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ πάλιν ἐλθὼν εὗρεν αὐτοὺς καθεύδοντας, ἦσαν γὰρ αὐτῶν οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ καταβαρυνόμενοι, καὶ οὐκ ᾔδεισαν τί ἀποκριθῶσιν αὐτῷ	και υποστρεψας ευρεν αυτους παλιν καθευδοντας ησαν γαρ οι οφθαλμοι αυτων βεβαρημενοι και ουκ ηδεισαν τι αυτω αποκριθωσιν	και υποστρεψας ευρεν αυτους παλιν καθευδοντας ησαν γαρ οι οφθαλμοι αυτων βεβαρημενοι και ουκ ηδεισαν τι αυτω αποκριθωσιν

Mark 9:31 (NET)	Mark 9:31 (KJV)
for he was teaching his disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man will be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.”	For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἐδίδασκεν γὰρ τοὺς μαθητὰς αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔλεγεν \|αὐτοῖς\| ὅτι ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου παραδίδοται εἰς χεῖρας ἀνθρώπων, καὶ ἀποκτενοῦσιν αὐτόν, καὶ ἀποκτανθεὶς μετὰ τρεῖς ἡμέρας ἀναστήσεται	εδιδασκεν γαρ τους μαθητας αυτου και ελεγεν αυτοις οτι ο υιος του ανθρωπου παραδιδοται εις χειρας ανθρωπων και αποκτενουσιν αυτον και αποκτανθεις τη τριτη ημερα αναστησεται	εδιδασκεν γαρ τους μαθητας αυτου και ελεγεν αυτοις οτι ο υιος του ανθρωπου παραδιδοται εις χειρας ανθρωπων και αποκτενουσιν αυτον και αποκτανθεις τη τριτη ημερα αναστησεται

Who Am I? Part 13

Back to Psalm 22, Part 7

Back to Psalm 22, Part 8

Back to Romans, Part 17

Back to Romans, Part 18

Back to Adultery in the Prophets, Part 2

Back to The Lost Son of Perdition, Part 11

Back to Who Am I? Part 14

Back to αὐτοῦ and ἑαυτοῦ, Part 2

Back to Christ-Centered Preaching, Chapter 1

^[1] John 8:29b (NET)

^[2] John 14:10b (KJV)

^[3] Galatians 5:16 (NET)

^[4] Hebrews 1:13; Luke 20:43; Acts 2:35 (NET)

^[5] John 16:8 (NET)

^[6] John 12:32 (NET)

^[7] Quoted from “Nietzsche, Grammar & God,” by Timothy T.C. McGhee, on Timothy T. C. McGhee online.

^[8] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αυτου (KJV: his) here. The NET parallel Geek text and NA²⁸ did not.

^[9] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had the article τοῦ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had των.

^[10] In the NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ Gethsemane was spelled Γεθσημανὶ, and γεθσημανη in the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text.

^[11] In the NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ Gethsemane was spelled Γεθσημανὶ, and γεθσημανη in the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text.

^[12] The Byzantine Majority Text had ο ιησους here. The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Stephanus Textus Receptus did not.

^[13] The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Stephanus Textus Receptus had the article τὸν preceding James. The Byzantine Majority Text did not.

^[14] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had the article τὸν preceding John. The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

^[15] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had μεθ εαυτου.

^[16] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἔπιπτεν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had επεσεν (KJV: fell).

^[17] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had παρελθάτω here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had παρελθετω.

^[18] Matthew 26:39b (NET)

^[19] Mark 14:36a (NET)

^[20] Mark 14:35b (NET)

^[21] Romans 7:24 (NET)

^[22] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had παρένεγκε here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had παρενεγκειν (KJV: remove).

^[23] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἔλθητε here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εισελθητε (KJV: ye enter).

^[24] If, Rudyard Kipling. This poem was a favorite admonition of my Dad’s.

^[25] John 2:25 (NET)

^[26] Hebrews 4:15 (NET)

^[27] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had το ποτηριον here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

^[28] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had απ εμου (KJV: from me) following be taken away (KJV: pass away). The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

^[29] Matthew 26:54 (NET)

^[30] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had τοινυν (KJV: then) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

^[31] James 2:24 (NET)

^[32] John 14:10b (KJV)

^[33] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had εὗρεν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ευρισκει.

^[34] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἐλθὼν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had υποστρεψας (KJV: when he returned).

^[35] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had καταβαρυνόμενοι here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had βεβαρημενοι (KJV: heavy).

^[36] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had πάλιν here. The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

^[37] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αυτου (KJV: his) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

^[38] Philippians 4:7 (NET)

^[39] Philippians 2:13 (KJV) Table

^[40] Matthew 26:2 (NET)

^[41] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had τη τριτη here, where the NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had μετὰ τρεῖς (NET: after three).

^[42] Mark 9:31 (KJV)

^[43] Matthew 26:54 (NET)

^[44] John 3:16 (KJV) Table

^[45] Who Am I? Part 11

^[46] The Greek is μου here though the parallel English is thy.

Isaiah 53:10-12, Part 1

Posted on August 30, 2020 by admin

This study originated in another essay: “I plan to look at all the differences between the Masoretic text and the Septuagint here.” (My take on Isaiah 53:10a can be found there.) I decided to give Isaiah 53:10-12 its own thread when I felt rushed and unwilling to spend the time it deserved as an aside in another thread.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Isaiah 53:10b (Tanakh) Table	Isaiah 53:10b (NET)	Isaiah 53:10b (NETS)	Isaiah 53:10b (Elpenor English)
when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin,	once restitution is made,	If you offer for sin,	If ye can give an offering for sin,

A note (28) in the NET after the line—once restitution is made—reads:

The meaning of this line is uncertain. It reads literally, “if you/she makes, a reparation offering, his life.” The verb תָּשִׂים (tasim) could be second masculine singular, in which case it would have to be addressed to the servant or to God. However, the servant is only addressed once in this servant song (see 52:14a), and God either speaks or is spoken about in this servant song; he is never addressed. Furthermore, the idea of God himself making a reparation offering is odd. If the verb is taken as third feminine singular, then the feminine noun נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) at the end of the line is the likely subject. In this case one can take the suffixed form of the noun as equivalent to a pronoun and translate, “if he [literally, “his life”] makes a reparation offering.”

“Furthermore, the idea of God himself making a reparation offering is odd,” practically leapt off the page at me. Assuming the NET translators considered וַֽיהֹוָ֞ה (y^ehôvâh) here^[1] as the Father and taking Jesus literally—The Father and I are one^[2]—I ask, who but יְהֹוָה (y^ehôvâh) could make a meaningful “reparation offering”? For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.^[3] The writer of Hebrews explained (Hebrews 9:22-26 NET):

Indeed according to the law almost everything was purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. So it was necessary for the sketches of the things in heaven to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves required better sacrifices than these. For Christ^[4] did not enter a sanctuary made with hands—the representation of the true sanctuary—but into heaven itself, and he appears now in God’s presence for us [Table]. And he did not enter to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the sanctuary year after year with blood that is not his own, for then he would have had to suffer again and again since the foundation of the world. But now^[5] he has appeared once for all at the consummation of the ages to put away sin^[6] by his sacrifice [Table].

Who wrote the letter to the Hebrews? It seems important now to explain what I’m thinking since I can’t calculate how much affect that speculation has on my interpretation.

Matthew 22:34-40 (NET)	Mark 12:28-31 (NET)
	Now one of the experts in the law came and heard them debating.
Now when the Pharisees heard that [Jesus] had silenced the Sadducees, they assembled together.
	When he saw that Jesus answered them well,
And one of them, an expert in religious law, asked him a question to test him:^[7]	he asked him,
“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”	“Which commandment is the most important of all?”
Jesus said^[8] to him,	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, and with all your mind.’	Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength’ [Table].
This is the first and greatest commandment [Table].
The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’	The second is: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
All the law and the prophets depend on these two commandments” [Table].
	There is no other commandment greater than these” [Table].

If I had read Matthew’s account only I would have thought this unnamed Pharisee tried to entrap Jesus in his words. Mark pointed out that he saw that Jesus answered [the Sadducees] well. This insight makes me suspect that the unnamed Pharisee became known to Mark or Peter at some later time. At that particular moment he may have hoped his brother Pharisees perceived his question as a test (πειράζων, a form of πειράζω) but I wonder if, secretly, it was more like what John described: Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test (δοκιμάζετε, a form of δοκιμάζω) the spirits to determine if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.^[9]

Mark’s Gospel narrative continued (Mark 12:32-34a NET):

The expert in the law said to him, “That is true, Teacher; you are right to say that he is one, and there is no one else besides him. And to love him with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your strength and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices”^[10] [Table]. When Jesus saw that he had answered thoughtfully, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”

Jesus’ affirmation along with this unnamed Pharisee’s desire for a love [that] is the fulfillment of the law^[11] causes me to think he stood in the background among the other disciples as Jesus, after his resurrection, taught them what became the content of the letter to the Hebrews. Though I quoted Paul, I don’t think this unnamed Pharisee was Saul. The Pharisee who became the Apostle Paul was off doing his own thing, advancing in Judaism beyond many of [his] contemporaries in [his] nation, and was extremely zealous for the traditions of [his] ancestors.^[12]

I think the Eleven plus Matthias (Acts 1:15-26) struggled mentally to force Jesus’ death and resurrection into their hypothesis of a political revolutionary who would free Israel from Roman domination. Jesus’ teaching washed over them, virtually unheard and unheeded. It was too technical, too religious, perhaps even too “heretical” to fully sink in.

This is not to say that the unnamed Pharisee was untroubled by Jesus’ teaching. But I think that he was not a zealot in any sense of the word. He was more patient, more thoughtful, more attuned to these particular technicalities and more willing to entertain Jesus’ notions, though he, too, would need time and the indwelling Holy Spirit to fully embrace them.

Sometime prior to the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7:54-8:3) this unnamed Pharisee recalled Jesus’ teaching as a solution to signs of defection he witnessed among his brothers, and he wrote it down. I don’t know if he showed it to anyone or not. To the apostles in Jerusalem, seeing themselves primarily as a Jewish reform movement (Acts 21:18-24), it may have seemed too radical, like pouring fuel on a smoldering fire (Acts 21:26-31).

I imagine this unnamed Pharisee standing again in the background at the Jerusalem Council. He sensed a kindred spirit in Paul and handed him a copy, perhaps his only copy, of the manuscript of the letter to the Hebrews. John could have confirmed its contents as Jesus’ teaching if Paul had asked. I don’t know how Paul might have reacted.

He seemed content with the results of the Jerusalem Council initially: As [he and Timothy] went through the towns, they passed on the decrees that had been decided on by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the Gentile believers to obey.^[13]

After Paul journeyed through Athens and Corinth, however, perhaps during the affliction that happened to [him] in the province of Asia,^[14] I think Jesus’ teaching in the unnamed Pharisee’s writing known as Hebrews percolated, along with his recent experience and the Holy Spirit’s answers to the things that had troubled him (Romans 9-11), into that masterful Gospel commentary known today as Paul’s Letter to the Romans. That unnamed Pharisee’s account of Jesus’ teaching had a much better opportunity for widespread circulation in Paul’s traveling library of scrolls and parchments.

This is all conjecture on my part, more like a screenwriter or an actor developing a backstory. I share it here because I promised I would and because it may have some influence on my interpretation of Hebrews.

I searched all the occurrences of אָשָׁם֙ (ʼâshâm), translated offering for sin (Tanakh, KJV) and restitution (NET), and made the following table of those with identical consonants (no prefixes or suffixes) to see how the rabbis translated each of them in the Septuagint.

Reference	Hebrew – Chabad.org	Tanakh	NET	Septuagint BLB	Septuagint Elpenor
Isaiah 53:10	אָשָׁם֙	an offering for sin	restitution	περὶ ἁμαρτίας	περὶ ἁμαρτίας
Genesis 26:10	אָשָֽׁם	guiltiness	guilt	ἄγνοιαν, a form of ἄγνοια	ἄγνοιαν, a form of ἄγνοια
Leviticus 5:19	אָשָׁ֖ם	a guilt-offering	a guilt offering	n/a	n/a
Leviticus 7:5	אָשָׁ֖ם	a guilt-offering	a guilt offering	πλημμελείας, a form of πλημμέλεια	πλημμελείας, a form of πλημμέλεια
Leviticus 14:21	אָשָׁ֛ם	a guilt-offering	a guilt offering	ἐπλημμέλησεν, a form of πλημμελέω	ἐπλημμέλησεν, a form of πλημμελέω
Leviticus 19:21	אָשָֽׁם	a guilt-offering	a guilt-offering	πλημμελείας, a form of πλημμέλεια	πλημμελείας, a form of πλημμέλεια
1 Samuel (Kings) 6:3	אָשָׁ֑ם	a guilt-offering	a guilt offering	ἀποδιδόντες a form of ἀποδίδωμι	ἀποδιδόντες a form of ἀποδίδωμι
1 Samuel (Kings) 6:8	אָשָׁ֔ם	a guilt-offering	a guilt offering	ἀποδώσετε…τῆς βασάνου	ἀποδώσετε…τῆς βασάνου
1 Samuel (Kings) 6:17	אָשָׁ֖ם	a guilt-offering	a guilt offering	ἀπέδωκαν…τῆς βασάνου	ἀπέδωκαν…τῆς βασάνου
2 Kings 12:16 (4 Kings 12:17)	אָשָׁם֙	forfeit	reparation offerings	περὶ ἁμαρτίας	περὶ ἁμαρτίας
Proverbs 14:9	אָשָׁ֑ם	sin	reparation	ὀφειλήσουσιν καθαρισμόν	ὀφειλήσουσι καθαρισμόν
Jeremiah 51:5 (28:5)	אָשָׁ֔ם	sin	guilt	ἀδικίας, a form of ἀδικία	ἀδικίας, a form of ἀδικία

Only 2 Kings 12:16 (4 Kings 12:17) matched the vowel points with the occurrence in Isaiah 53:10. Both were translated περὶ ἁμαρτίας (for sin). A table of the homograph אָשַׁ֥ם (ʼâsham) yielded no additional vowel point matches.

Reference	Hebrew – Chabad.org	Tanakh	NET	Septuagint BLB	Septuagint Elpenor
Leviticus 5:19	אָשֹׁ֥ם	is certainly	was surely	ἐπλημμέλησεν	ἐπλημμέλησε
Leviticus 5:19	אָשַׁ֖ם	guilty	guilty	πλημμέλησιν	πλημμελείᾳ
Numbers 5:7	אָשַׁ֥ם	he hath been guilty	he wronged	ἐπλημμέλησεν	ἐπλημμέλησεν

The exercise persuaded me that אָשָׁם֙ (ʼâshâm) was the Hebrew word the rabbis intended to understand and translate in the Septuagint. Then I searched all occurrences of תָּשִׂ֚ים (suwm), translated thou shalt make (Tanakh, KJV) and is made (NET), and made the following table of those with identical consonants (no prefixes or suffixes).

Reference	Hebrew – Chabad.org	Tanakh	NET	Septuagint BLB	Septuagint Elpenor
Isaiah 53:10	תָּשִׂ֚ים	thou shalt make	is made	δῶτε, a (2^nd person plural) form of δίδωμι	δῶτε, a (2^nd person plural) form of δίδωμι
Genesis 6:16	תָּשִׂ֑ים	shalt thou set	Put	ποιήσεις, a (2^nd person singular) form of ποιέω	ποιήσεις, a (2^nd person singular) form of ποιέω
Genesis 44:2	תָּשִׂים֙	put	put	ἐμβάλατε, a (2^nd person plural) form of ἐμβάλλω	ἐμβάλετε, a (2^nd person plural) form of ἐμβάλλω
Exodus 21:1	תָּשִׂ֖ים	thou shalt set	you will set	παραθήσεις, a (2^nd person singular) form of παρατίθημι	παραθήσῃ, a (2^nd person singular) form of παρατίθημι
Deuteronomy 17:15	תָּשִׂ֤ים	thou shalt…set	you must select	καταστήσεις, a (2^nd person singular) form of καθίστημι	καταστήσεις, a (2^nd person singular) form of καθίστημι
Deuteronomy 17:15	תָּשִׂ֤ים	shalt thou set	you must appoint	καταστήσεις	καταστήσεις
Deuteronomy 22:8	תָשִׂ֤ים	thou bring	being	ποιήσεις	ποιήσεις
1 Samuel (Kings) 10:19	תָּשִֹ֣ים	set	Appoint	στήσεις, a (2^nd person singular) form of ἵστημι	καταστήσεις
1 Kings 20:34 (3 Kings 21:34)	תָּשִֹ֨ים	thou shalt make	You may set up	θήσεις, a (2^nd person singular) form of τίθημι	θήσεις, a (2^nd person singular) form of τίθημι
Job 7:12	תָשִׂ֖ים	thou settest	you must put	κατέταξας, a (2^nd person singular) form of κατατάσσω	κατέταξας, a (2^nd person singular) form of κατατάσσω
Job 38:33	תָּשִׂ֖ים	thou set	you set up	n/a	n/a
Isaiah 41:15	תָּשִֽׂים	and shalt make	you will make	θήσεις	θήσεις
Ezekiel 21:20 (21:25)	תָּשִׂ֔ים	Appoint	Mark out	n/a	n/a
Ezekiel 24:17	תָּשִׂ֣ים	and put on	and put	n/a	n/a

None of the other occurrences of תָּשִׂ֚ים (suwm) matched the vowel points exactly. All were translated into Greek as 2^nd person verbs, most were singular. The plural exceptions were Isaiah 53:10 [Table] and Genesis 44:2.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Genesis 44:2 (Tanakh)	Genesis 44:2 (NET)	Genesis 44:2 (NETS)	Genesis 44:2 (Elpenor English)
And put (תָּשִׂים֙) my goblet, the silver goblet, in the sack’s mouth of the youngest, and his corn money.’ And he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken.	Then put (suwm, תשׁים) my cup—the silver cup—in the mouth of the youngest one’s sack, along with the money for his grain.” He did as Joseph instructed.	and put (ἐμβάλατε) my silver cup into the bag of the younger one, with the price of his grain.” And it happened according to the word of Joseph, just as he said.	And put (ἐμβάλετε) my silver cup into the sack of the youngest, and the price of his corn. And it was done according to the word of Joseph, as he said.

I don’t see any reason for a plural verb here but its existence gives me pause to consider the similar occurrence in Isaiah 53:10 as the translators’ interpretive choice. Since “third [person] feminine singular” was another option cited in the NET note above I made a table of those occurrences as well.

Reference	Hebrew – Chabad.org	Tanakh	NET	Septuagint BLB	Septuagint Elpenor
Exodus 2:3	וַתָּ֤שֶׂם	put	put	ἐνέβαλεν, a (3^rd person singular) form of ἐμβάλλω	ἐνέβαλε, a (3^rd person singular) form of ἐμβάλλω
Exodus 2:3	וַתָּ֥שֶׂם	laid	set	ἔθηκεν, a (3^rd person singular) form of τίθημι	ἔθηκεν, a (3^rd person singular) form of τίθημι
1 Samuel (Kings) 25:18	וַתָּ֖שֶׂם	and laid	She loaded	ἔθετο, a (3^rd person singular) form of τίθημι	ἔθετο, a (3^rd person singular) form of τίθημι
2 Samuel (Kings) 13:19	וַתָּ֚שֶׂם	and she laid	She put	ἐπέθηκεν, a (3^rd person singular) form of ἐπιτίθημι	ἐπέθηκε, a (3^rd person singular) form of ἐπιτίθημι
2 Kings (4 Kings) 9:30	וַתָּ֨שֶׂם	and she painted	she put on	ἐστιμίσατο, a (3^rd person singular) form of στιμίζω	ἐστιμίσατο, a (3^rd person singular) form of στιμίζω
Esther 8:2	וַתָּ֧שֶׂם	And…set	And…designated	κατέστησεν, a (3^rd person singular) form of καθίστημι	κατέστησεν, a (3^rd person singular) form of καθίστημι
Job 13:27	וְתָ֘שֵׂ֚ם	Thou puttest	And you put	ἔθου, a (2^nd person singular) form of τίθημι	ἔθου, a (2^nd person singular) form of τίθημι

The final occurrence (Job 13:27), though its consonants were identical to the others, was clearly “second [person] masculine singular.” And none of these was an exact match for the occurrence in Isaiah 53:10. I noted one other form which was translated as forms of τίθημι in the Septuagint.

Reference	Hebrew – Chabad.org	Tanakh	NET	Septuagint BLB	Septuagint Elpenor
1 Samuel (Kings) 9:20	תָּ֧שֶׂם	set	be	θῇς, a (2^nd person singular) form of τίθημι	θῇς, a (2^nd person singular) form of τίθημι
Psalm 66:9 (65:9)	הַשָּׂ֣ם	Which holdeth	He preserves	θεμένου, a (singular participle) form of τίθημι	θεμένου, a (singular participle) form of τίθημι
Psalm 104:3 (103:3)	הַשָּֽׂם	who maketh	He makes	τιθεὶς, a (singular participle) form of τίθημι	τιθεὶς, a (singular participle) form of τίθημι
Psalm 147:14 (147:3)	הַשָּׂ֣ם	He maketh	He brings	τιθεὶς	τιθεὶς
Isaiah 63:11	הַשָּׂ֥ם	he that put	who placed	θεὶς, a (singular participle) form of τίθημι	θεὶς, a (singular participle) form of τίθημι

This exercise made me willing to consider that תָּשִׂ֚ים (suwm) might be original to Isaiah 53:10, the Hebrew word the rabbis intended to understand and translate in the Septuagint. Paul, in his greeting to believers in Galatia, had also used a (singular) form of δίδωμι (Galatians 1:3-5 NET):

Grace and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave (δόντος, another form of δίδωμι) himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age according to the will of our God and Father [Table], to whom be glory forever and ever! Amen.

Though I still need to consider נַפְשׁ֔וֹ (nephesh), translated his soul (Tannakh, KJV), I began to consider: if this—when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin—is the more legitimate understanding of this clause, how did God make his soul an offering for sin?

What follows is a fictional explanation from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, offered as the intellectual equivalent of an appetizer, to get the mind warmed up to the taste and smell of this issue:

“It means,” said Aslan, “that though the Witch knew the Deep Magic, there is a magic deeper still which she did not know. Her knowledge goes back only to the dawn of time. But if she could have looked a little further back, into the stillness and the darkness before Time dawned, she would have read there a different incantation. She would have known that when a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor’s stead, the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backward.”^[15]

The understanding that was part of my own socialization is perhaps best exemplified by an excerpt from “The Death of Christ,” a sermon delivered by Charles Haddon Spurgeon on January 24, 1858:

Understand, then, the sense in which Christ was made a sacrifice for sin. But here lies the glory of this matter. It was as a substitute for sin that he did actually and literally suffer punishment for the sin of all his elect. When I say this, I am not to be understood as using any figure whatever, but as saying actually what I mean. Man for his sin was condemned to eternal fire; when God took Christ to be the substitute, it is true, he did not send Christ into eternal fire, but he poured upon him grief so desperate, that it was a valid payment for even an eternity of fire. Man was condemned to live forever in hell. God did not send Christ forever into hell; but he put on Christ, punishment that was equivalent for that. Although he did not give Christ to drink the actual hells of believers, yet he gave him a quid pro quo—something that was equivalent thereunto. He took the cup of Christ’s agony, and he put in there, suffering, misery, and anguish such as only God can imagine or dream of, that was the exact equivalent for all the suffering, all the woe, and all the eternal tortures of every one that shall at last stand in heaven, bought with the blood of Christ.

Both of these explanations share a common theme: God made Christ “a sacrifice for sin” by conforming to something presumed to be innate to the created cosmos. In C.S. Lewis’ fiction He conformed to the “deeper magic” and in Charles Spurgeon’s sermon He conformed to some idea of judicial or commercial equivalence: “something that was equivalent” to “a valid payment for even an eternity of fire” since “Man was condemned to live forever in hell.”

I think God made Christ “a sacrifice for sin” by the truth, power and authority of his word.

God said, Let Christ be the offering for sin. And God made Christ the offering for sin, and it was so (John 3:16 NET Table):

For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

God said, Let Christ be the offering for sin. And it was so (John 11:49-53 NET):

Then one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said, “You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is more to your advantage to have one man die for the people than for the whole nation to perish.” (Now he did not say this on his own, but because he was high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the Jewish nation [Table], and not for the Jewish nation only, but to gather together into one the children of God who are scattered.) So from that day they planned together to kill him [Table].

God said, Let Christ be the offering for sin. And it was so. The Christ obeyed God his Father (John 10:17, 18 NET).

This is why the Father loves me—because I lay down my life, so that I may take it back again. No one takes it away from me, but I lay it down of my own free will. I have the authority to lay it down, and I have the authority to take it back again. This commandment I received from my Father.”

Tables comparing Genesis 44:2 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and comparing Genesis 44:2 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and a table comparing Matthew 22:35 in the NET and KJV follow.

Genesis 44:2 (Tanakh)	Genesis 44:2 (KJV)	Genesis 44:2 (NET)
And put my goblet, the silver goblet, in the sack’s mouth of the youngest, and his corn money.’ And he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken.	And put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack’s mouth of the youngest, and his corn money. And he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken.	Then put my cup—the silver cup—in the mouth of the youngest one’s sack, along with the money for his grain.” He did as Joseph instructed.

Genesis 44:2 (Septuagint BLB)	Genesis 44:2 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ τὸ κόνδυ μου τὸ ἀργυροῦν ἐμβάλατε εἰς τὸν μάρσιππον τοῦ νεωτέρου καὶ τὴν τιμὴν τοῦ σίτου αὐτοῦ ἐγενήθη δὲ κατὰ τὸ ῥῆμα Ιωσηφ καθὼς εἶπεν	καὶ τὸ κόνδυ μου τὸ ἀργυροῦν ἐμβάλετε εἰς τὸν μάρσιππον τοῦ νεωτέρου καὶ τὴν τιμὴν τοῦ σίτου αὐτοῦ. ἐγενήθη δὲ κατὰ τὸ ρῆμα ᾿Ιωσήφ, καθὼς εἶπε
Genesis 44:2 (NETS)	Genesis 44:2 (English Elpenor)
and put my silver cup into the bag of the younger one, with the price of his grain.” And it happened according to the word of Joseph, just as he said.	And put my silver cup into the sack of the youngest, and the price of his corn. And it was done according to the word of Joseph, as he said.

Matthew 22:35 (NET)	Matthew 22:35 (KJV)
And one of them, an expert in religious law, asked him a question to test him:	Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ ἐπηρώτησεν εἷς ἐξ αὐτῶν [νομικὸς] πειράζων αὐτόν	και επηρωτησεν εις εξ αυτων νομικος πειραζων αυτον και λεγων	και επηρωτησεν εις εξ αυτων νομικος πειραζων αυτον και λεγων

Isaiah 53:10-12, Part 2

Back to A Shadow of the Good Things, Part 7

Back to Christ-Centered Preaching, Chapter 4, Part 3

^[1] Isaiah 53:10a

^[2] John 10:30 (NET)

^[3] Hebrews 10:4 (NET)

^[4] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the article ο preceding Christ. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

^[5] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had νυνὶ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had νυν.

^[6] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had the article τῆς preceding sin. The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

^[7] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had και λεγων (KJV: and saying) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

^[8] The Stephanus Textus Receptus had ιησους ειπεν here. The Byzantine Majority Text had ιησους εφη. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had simply ἔφη.

^[9] 1 John 4:1 (NET)

^[10] The Stephanus Textus Receptus had the article των preceding sacrifices. The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

^[11] Romans 13:10b (NET)

^[12] Galatians 1:14 (NET)

^[13] Acts 16:4 (NET) Table

^[14] 2 Corinthians 1:8a (NET)

^[15] The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, Spark Notes

Psalm 22, Part 3

Posted on July 25, 2020 by admin

This is a continuing consideration of Psalm 22 as the music in Jesus’ heart as He endured the cross.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Psalm 22:11 (Tanakh)	Psalm 22:11 (NET)	Psalm 21:12 (NETS)	Psalm 21:12 (Elpenor English)
Be not far (תִּרְחַ֣ק) from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help.	Do not remain far away (rachaq, תרחק) from me, for trouble is near and I have no one to help me.	Do not keep away (ἀποστῇς) from me, because affliction is near, because there is no one to help.	Stand not aloof (ἀποστῇς) from me; for affliction is near; for there is no helper.

I was curious if I could determine whether remain in the NET translation of תִּרְחַ֣ק (rachaq) owed anything to the theory that God the Father had forsaken God the Son in some more secretive way than to the cross. Where Be not far from me sounds like a plea to stay close, Do not remain far away sounds to me like a plea to return from a distance. But of the seven occurrences of the exact form תרחק (rachaq) five where translated do…remain far away. The only occurrence that was not negated was translated Keep your distance.

Reference	NET Parallel Hebrew	NET	Septuagint BLB	Septuagint Elpenor
Psalm 22:11 (21:12)	תרחק	Do…remain far away	ἀποστῇς	ἀποστῇς
Psalm 22:19 (21:20)	תרחק	do…remain far away	μακρύνῃς	μακρύνῃς
Psalm 35:22 (34:22)	תרחק	do…remain far away	ἀποστῇς	ἀποστῇς
Psalm 38:21 (37:22)	תרחק	do…remain far away	ἀποστῇς	ἀποστῇς
Psalm 71:12 (70:12)	תרחק	do…remain far away	μακρύνῃς	μακρύνῃς
Exodus 23:7	תרחק	Keep your distance	ἀποστήσῃ	ἀποστήσῃ
Isaiah 46:13	תרחק	is…far away	n/a	n/a

The clause in question in the Masoretic text of Isaiah 46:13 [Table] is not corroborated by the Septuagint.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Isaiah 46:13 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 46:13 (NET)	Isaiah 46:13 (NETS)	Isaiah 46:13 (Elpenor English)
I bring near my righteousness; it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry: and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory.	I am bringing my deliverance near, it is not far away; I am bringing my salvation near, it does not wait. I will save Zion; I will adorn Israel with my splendor.	I brought near my righteousness, and I will not delay the salvation that comes from me; I have provided salvation in Sion to Israel for glorying.	I have brought near my righteousness, and I will not be slow with the salvation that is from me: I have given salvation in Sion to Israel for glory.

Until Jesus’ crucifixion the typical expectation for the end (τέλος) of my one dear Son; in him I take great delight^[1] was not that He would be executed as a criminal. I’m taking my concept of “typical expectation” from Jesus’ use of δοκεῖτε (a form of δοκέω; NET: you think) in answer to those who informed Him about the manner of death of some Galileans (Luke 13:1-5 NET):

Now there were some present on that occasion who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. He^[2] answered them, “Do you think (δοκεῖτε, a form of δοκέω) these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered these things?^[3] No, I tell you! But unless you repent, you will all perish as well!^[4] Or those eighteen^[5] who were killed when the tower in Siloam fell on them, do you think (δοκεῖτε, a form of δοκέω) they^[6] were worse offenders than all the^[7] others who live in^[8] Jerusalem? No, I tell you! But unless you repent you will all perish as well!”^[9]

The rulers in Jerusalem had done everything in their power to engineer Jesus’ crucifixion to discredit (Luke 19:29-40) Him with the people, as was prophesied by Isaiah:

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Isaiah 53:4b, 5 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 53:4b, 5 (NET)	Isaiah 53:4b, 5 (NETS)	Isaiah 53:4b, 5 (Elpenor English)
we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.	we thought he was being punished, attacked by God, and afflicted for something he had done.	we accounted him to be in trouble and calamity and ill-treatment.	we accounted him to be in trouble, and in suffering [by God]*, and in affliction.
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.	He was wounded because of our rebellious deeds, crushed because of our sins; he endured punishment that made us well; because of his wounds we have been healed.	But he was wounded because of our acts of lawlessness and has been weakened because of our sins; upon him was the discipline of our peace; by his bruise we were healed.	But he was wounded on account of our sins, and was bruised because of our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; [and] by his bruises we were healed.

After Jesus’ death, more to the point after his resurrection, his death became the foundational assumption of new (Romans 7:1-6) eternal life in the Spirit (Galatians 2:20, 21 NET):

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!

Job is the primary example of suffering for righteousness’ sake (1 Peter 3:13-17) in the Old Testament. If I accept Psalm 22 as Christ’s meditation enduring the cross, it is interesting to contrast Job’s attitude toward God with that of the Son of God toward his Father.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Job 13:21 (Tanakh)	Job 13:21 (NET)	Job 13:21 (NETS)	Job 13:21 (Elpenor English)
Withdraw thine hand far (הַרְחַ֑ק) from me: and let not thy dread make me afraid.	Remove your hand far (rachaq, הרחק) from me and stop making me afraid with your terror.	withdraw (ἀπέχου) your hand from me, and let fear of you not terrify me.	Withhold (ἀπέχου) [thine] hand from me: and let not thy fear terrify me.
Psalm 22:11 (Tanakh)	Psalm 22:11 (NET)	Psalm 21:12 (NETS)	Psalm 21:12 (Elpenor English)
Be not far (תִּרְחַ֣ק) from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help.	Do not remain far away (rachaq, תרחק) from me, for trouble is near and I have no one to help me.	Do not keep away (ἀποστῇς) from me, because affliction is near, because there is no one to help.	Stand not aloof (ἀποστῇς) from me; for affliction is near; for there is no helper.

This is why the Father loves me, Jesus said, because I lay down my life, so that I may take it back again. No one takes it away from me, but I lay it down of my own free will. I have the authority to lay it down, and I have the authority to take it back again. This commandment I received from my Father.^[10] He knew that it pleased the LORD to bruise him.^[11] Or did He?

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Isaiah 53:10-12 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 53:10-12 (NET)	Isaiah 53:10-12 (NETS)	Isaiah 53:10-12 (Elpenor English)
Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.	Though the Lord desired to crush him and make him ill, once restitution is made, he will see descendants and enjoy long life, and the Lord’s purpose will be accomplished through him.	And the Lord desires to cleanse him from his blow. If you offer for sin, you shall see a long-lived offspring. And the Lord wishes to take away	The Lord also is pleased to purge him from his stroke. If ye can give an offering for sin, your soul shall see a long-lived seed: (11a) the Lord also is pleased to take away from
He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.	Having suffered, he will reflect on his work, he will be satisfied when he understands what he has done. “My servant will acquit many, for he carried their sins.	from the pain of his soul, to show him light and fill him with understanding, to justify a righteous one who is well subject to many, and he himself shall bear their sins.	(11b) the travail of his soul, to shew him light, and to form [him] with understanding; to justify the just one who serves many well; and he shall bear their sins.
Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.	So I will assign him a portion with the multitudes, he will divide the spoils of victory with the powerful, because he willingly submitted to death and was numbered with the rebels, when he lifted up the sin of many and intervened on behalf of the rebels.”	Therefore he shall inherit many, and he shall divide the spoils of the strong, because his soul was given over to death, and he was reckoned among the lawless, and he bore the sins of many, and because of their sins he was given over.	Therefore he shall inherit many, and he shall divide the spoils of the mighty; because his soul was delivered to death: and he was numbered among the transgressors; and he bore the sins of many, and was delivered because of their iniquities.

I plan to look at all the differences between the Masoretic text and the Septuagint here. What caught my attention first, however, was how this prophecy fared so well at the hands of the Masoretes, whose “ultimate goal was to uphold the traditions of the Jewish people. The Masoretes had to decipher the authentic word of God and eliminate the dissimilarities.”^[12]

So I clicked the “Show” button on Rashi’s Commentary on The Complete Jewish Bible online at Chabad.org. The answer became apparent:

Rashi’s Commentary to verse 3 – Despised and rejected by men: was he. So is the custom of this prophet: he mentions all Israel as one man, e.g., (44:2), “Fear not, My servant Jacob” ; (44:1) “And now, hearken, Jacob, My servant.” Here too (52:13), “Behold My servant shall prosper,” he said concerning the house of Jacob. יַשְׂכִּיל is an expression of prosperity. Comp. (I Sam. 18:14) “And David was successful (מַשְׂכִּיל) in all his ways.”

Rashi’s Commentary to verse 4 – Indeed, he bore our illnesses: Heb. אָכֵן, an expression of ‘but’ in all places. But now we see that this came to him not because of his low state, but that he was chastised with pains so that all the nations be atoned for with Israel’s suffering. The illness that should rightfully have come upon us, he bore.

The massacre of Jews during the People’s Crusade of 1096 deeply affected Rashi (RAbbi SHlomo Yitzhaki). He “wrote several Selichot (penitential poems) mourning the slaughter and the destruction of the region’s great yeshivot.”^[13] “The Hebrew chronicles portray the Rhineland Jews [whether massacred by crusaders in 1096 directly or compelled to suicide] as martyrs who willingly sacrificed themselves in order to honour God and to preserve their own honour.”^[14]

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Isaiah 53:10a (Tanakh)	Isaiah 53:10a (NET)	Isaiah 53:10a (NETS)	Isaiah 53:10a (Elpenor English)
Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise (דַּכְּאוֹ֙) him; he hath put him to grief (הֶֽחֱלִ֔י):	Though the Lord desired to crush (daka’, דכאו) him and make him ill (chalah, החלי),	And the Lord desires to cleanse (καθαρίσαι) him from his blow (πληγῆς).	The Lord also is pleased to purge (καθαρίσαι) him from his stroke (πληγῆς).

I cross-referenced the occurrences of חָלָה (châlâh) in the Masoretic text with the occurrences of πληγῆς (a form of πληγή)] in the Septuagint, searching for some correlation. In the account of Ahab’s death (1 Kings 22:34-39) after being struck by an arrow the king said, I’m wounded (החליתי, another form of châlâh).^[15] King Ahab of the northern kingdom of Israel bled to death from that wound (makkah, המכה), translated πληγῆς in the Septuagint. It was enough to persuade me that the rabbis interpreted החלי (another form of châlâh) as a noun in Isaiah 53:10a.

A table of all the occurrences of καθαρίσαι (a form of καθαρίζω) and the Hebrew words it translated follows.

Reference	Septuagint BLB	Septuagint Elpenor	NET Parallel Hebrew	Chabad.org
Leviticus 13:7	καθαρίσαι	καθαρίσαι	tohorah, לטהרתו	לְטָֽהֳרָת֑וֹ
Leviticus 13:59	καθαρίσαι	καθαρίσαι	taher, לטהרו	לְטַֽהֲר֖וֹ
Leviticus 14:23	καθαρίσαι	καθαρίσαι	tohorah, לטהרתו	לְטָֽהֳרָת֖וֹ
Leviticus 16:30	καθαρίσαι	καθαρίσαι	taher, לטהר	לְטַהֵ֣ר
2 Chronicles 29:15	καθαρίσαι	καθαρίσαι	taher, לטהר	לְטַהֵ֖ר
2 Chronicles 34:3	καθαρίσαι	καθαρίσαι	taher, לטהר	לְטַהֵ֔ר
2 Chronicles 34:8	καθαρίσαι	καθαρίσαι	taher, לטהר	לְטַהֵ֥ר
Isaiah 53:10	καθαρίσαι	καθαρίσαι	daka’, דכאו	דַּכְּאוֹ֙
Ezekiel 39:14	καθαρίσαι	καθαρίσαι	taher, לטהרה	לְטַֽהֲרָ֑הּ

Isaiah 53:10 stands out as an outlier and causes me to wonder if the original Hebrew had more to do with the Day of Atonement.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Leviticus 16:30 (Tanakh)	Leviticus 16:30 (NET)	Leviticus 16:30 (NETS)	Leviticus 16:30 (Elpenor English)
For on this day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse (לְטַהֵ֣ר) you; from all your sins shall ye be clean before HaShem.	for on this day atonement is to be made for you to cleanse (taher, לטהר) you from all your sins; you must be clean before the Lord.	For on this day he shall make atonement for you, to cleanse (καθαρίσαι) you from all your sins before the Lord, and you shall be clean.	For in this day he shall make an atonement for you, to cleanse (καθαρίσαι) you from all your sins before the Lord, and ye shall be purged.

If so, I would consider The Lord also is pleased to purge him from his stroke an oblique reference to Jesus’ resurrection. On the other hand, I might consider that the rabbis understood דַּכְּאוֹ֙ (daka’; Tanakh: bruise; NET: crush) as something similar to what happened when young King Josiah began to purge Judah of idolatry.

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
2 Chronicles 34:3, 8 (Tanakh)	2 Chronicles 34:3, 8 (NET)	2 Supplements 34:3, 8 (NETS)	2 Chronicles 34:3, 8 (Elpenor English)
For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father: and in the twelfth year he began to purge (לְטַהֵ֔ר) Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images.	In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his ancestor David. In his twelfth year he began ridding (taher, לטהר) Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, Asherah poles, idols, and images.	And in the eighth year of his reign—and he was still a lad—he began to seek the Lord, God of Dauid his father. And in the twelfth year of his reign he began to purge (καθαρίσαι) Ioudas and Ierousalem of the high places and the groves and the smelted items.	And in the eighth year of his reign, and he [being] yet a youth, he began to seek the Lord God of his father David: and in the twelfth year of his reign he began to purge (καθαρίσαι) Juda and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the ornaments for the altars, and the molten images.
Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged (לְטַהֵ֥ר) the land, and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the LORD his God.	In the eighteenth year of his reign, he continued his policy of purifying (taher, לטהר) the land and the temple. He sent Shaphan son of Azaliah, Maaseiah the city official, and Joah son of Joahaz the secretary to repair the temple of the Lord his God.	And in the eighteenth year of his reign—in order to purge (καθαρίσαι) the land and the house—he sent out Saphan son of Eselias and Maasias ruler of the city and Iouach son of Ioachaz, his recorder, to repair the house of the Lord, his God.	And in the eighteenth year of his reign, after having cleansed (καθαρίσαι) the land, and the house, he sent Saphan the son of Ezelias, and Maasa prefect of the city, and Juach son of Joachaz his recorder, to repair the house of the Lord his God.

Rashi’s commentary reads:

And the Lord wished to crush him, He made him ill: The Holy One, blessed be He, wished to crush him and to cause him to repent; therefore, he made him ill.

I’m uncertain^[16] if the translators of the Septuagint understood this as a reference to “all Israel” or as a reference to the Messiah whose appearance was prophesied. The Masoretes, understanding him as “all Israel” and believing “he was chastised with pains so that all the nations be atoned for with Israel’s suffering,” may have preserved the original Hebrew here better than the Rabbis who translated the Septuagint.

None of this, however, justifies Christian crusaders^[17] (or anyone else for that matter) extorting, robbing or killing Jews (From Rhineland massacres, Background):

A relevant perspective on the extent of the era’s antisemitism was recorded 40 years afterward by Jewish historian Solomon bar Simson. He stated that Godfrey of Bouillon swore

to go on this journey only after avenging the blood of the crucified one by shedding Jewish blood and completely eradicating any trace of those bearing the name ‘Jew,’ thus assuaging his own burning wrath.^[8]

Emperor Henry IV (after being notified of the pledge by Kalonymus Ben Meshullam, the Jewish leader in Mainz) issued an order prohibiting such an action. Godfrey claimed he never really intended to kill Jews, but the community in Mainz and Cologne sent him a collected bribe of 500 silver marks.^[9]

…On top of the general Catholic suspicion of Jews at the time, when the thousands of French members of the People’s Crusade arrived at the Rhine, they had run out of provisions.^[12] To restock their supplies, they began to plunder Jewish food and property while attempting to force them to convert to Catholicism.^[12]

Not all crusaders who had run out of supplies resorted to murder; some, like Peter the Hermit, used extortion instead. While no sources claim he preached against the Jews, he carried a letter with him from the Jews of France to the community at Trier. The letter urged them to supply provisions to Peter and his men. The Solomon bar Simson Chronicle records that they were so terrified by Peter’s appearance at the gates that they readily agreed to supply his needs.^[9]

Still, I’m deeply affected that this periodic^[18] share in his sufferings^[19] coupled with the belief that such suffering atoned for all the nations may have contributed to the preservation of his word and thus the redemption of the nations: Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief.^[20]

Tables comparing Psalm 22:11; Isaiah 53:4; 53:5; Job 13:21; Isaiah 53:10; 53:11; 53:12; Leviticus 16:30; 2 Chronicles 34:3 and 34:8 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and tables comparing Psalm 22:11 (21:12); Isaiah 53:4; 53:5; Job 13:21; Isaiah 53:10; 53:11; 53:12; Leviticus 16:30; 2 Chronicles (Supplements) 34:3 and 34:8 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and a table comparing Luke 13:2-5 in the NET and KJV follow.

Psalm 22:11 (Tanakh)	Psalm 22:11 (KJV)	Psalm 22:11 (NET)
Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help.	Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help.	Do not remain far away from me, for trouble is near and I have no one to help me.

Psalm 22:11 (Septuagint BLB)	Psalm 21:12 (Septuagint Elpenor)
μὴ ἀποστῇς ἀπ᾽ ἐμοῦ ὅτι θλῗψις ἐγγύς ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ βοηθῶν	μὴ ἀποστῇς ἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ, ὅτι θλῖψις ἐγγύς, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ βοηθῶν
Psalm 21:12 (NETS)	Psalm 21:12 (English Elpenor)
Do not keep away from me, because affliction is near, because there is no one to help.	Stand not aloof from me; for affliction is near; for there is no helper.

Isaiah 53:4 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 53:4 (KJV)	Isaiah 53:4 (NET)
Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.	Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.	But he lifted up our illnesses, he carried our pain; even though we thought he was being punished, attacked by God, and afflicted for something he had done.

Isaiah 53:4 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 53:4 (Septuagint Elpenor)
οὗτος τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν φέρει καὶ περὶ ἡμῶν ὀδυνᾶται καὶ ἡμεῗς ἐλογισάμεθα αὐτὸν εἶναι ἐν πόνῳ καὶ ἐν πληγῇ καὶ ἐν κακώσει	οὗτος τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν φέρει καὶ περὶ ἡμῶν ὀδυνᾶται, καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐλογισάμεθα αὐτὸν εἶναι ἐν πόνῳ καὶ ἐν πληγῇ ὑπὸ Θεοῦ καὶ ἐν κακώσει
Isaiah 53:4 (NETS)	Isaiah 53:4 (English Elpenor)
This one bears our sins and suffers pain for us, and we accounted him to be in trouble and calamity and ill-treatment.	He bears our sins, and is pained for us: yet we accounted him to be in trouble, and in suffering [by God]*, and in affliction.

Isaiah 53:5 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 53:5 (KJV)	Isaiah 53:5 (NET)
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.	But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.	He was wounded because of our rebellious deeds, crushed because of our sins; he endured punishment that made us well; because of his wounds we have been healed.

Isaiah 53:5 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 53:5 (Septuagint Elpenor)
αὐτὸς δὲ ἐτραυματίσθη διὰ τὰς ἀνομίας ἡμῶν καὶ μεμαλάκισται διὰ τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν παιδεία εἰρήνης ἡμῶν ἐπ᾽ αὐτόν τῷ μώλωπι αὐτοῦ ἡμεῗς ἰάθημεν	αὐτὸς δὲ ἐτραυματίσθη διὰ τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν καὶ μεμαλάκισται διὰ τὰς ἀνομίας ἡμῶν· παιδεία εἰρήνης ἡμῶν ἐπ᾿ αὐτόν. τῷ μώλωπι αὐτοῦ ἡμεῖς ἰάθημεν
Isaiah 53:5 (NETS)	Isaiah 53:5 (English Elpenor)
But he was wounded because of our acts of lawlessness and has been weakened because of our sins; upon him was the discipline of our peace; by his bruise we were healed.	But he was wounded on account of our sins, and was bruised because of our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; [and] by his bruises we were healed.

Job 13:21 (Tanakh)	Job 13:21 (KJV)	Job 13:21 (NET)
Withdraw thine hand far from me: and let not thy dread make me afraid.	Withdraw thine hand far from me: and let not thy dread make me afraid.	Remove your hand far from me and stop making me afraid with your terror.

Job 13:21 (Septuagint BLB)	Job 13:21 (Septuagint Elpenor)
τὴν χεῗρα ἀπ᾽ ἐμοῦ ἀπέχου καὶ ὁ φόβος σου μή με καταπλησσέτω	τὴν χεῖρα ἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ ἀπέχου, καὶ ὁ φόβος σου μή με καταπλησσέτω
Job 13:21 (NETS)	Job 13:21 (English Elpenor)
withdraw your hand from me, and let fear of you not terrify me.	Withhold [thine] hand from me: and let not thy fear terrify me.

Isaiah 53:10 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 53:10 (KJV)	Isaiah 53:10 (NET)
Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.	Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.	Though the Lord desired to crush him and make him ill, once restitution is made, he will see descendants and enjoy long life, and the Lord’s purpose will be accomplished through him.

Isaiah 53:10 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 53:10 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ κύριος βούλεται καθαρίσαι αὐτὸν τῆς πληγῆς ἐὰν δῶτε περὶ ἁμαρτίας ἡ ψυχὴ ὑμῶν ὄψεται σπέρμα μακρόβιον καὶ βούλεται κύριος ἀφελεῗν	καὶ Κύριος βούλεται καθαρίσαι αὐτὸν ἀπὸ τῆς πληγῆς. ἐὰν δῶτε περὶ ἁμαρτίας, ἡ ψυχὴ ὑμῶν ὄψεται σπέρμα μακρόβιον· καὶ βούλεται Κύριος ἀφελεῖν
Isaiah 53:10 (NETS)	Isaiah 53:10, 11a (English Elpenor)
And the Lord desires to cleanse him from his blow. If you offer for sin, you shall see a long-lived offspring. And the Lord wishes to take away	The Lord also is pleased to purge him from his stroke. If ye can give an offering for sin, your soul shall see a long-lived seed: (11a) the Lord also is pleased to take away from

Isaiah 53:11 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 53:11 (KJV)	Isaiah 53:11 (NET)
He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.	He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.	Having suffered, he will reflect on his work, he will be satisfied when he understands what he has done. “My servant will acquit many, for he carried their sins.

Isaiah 53:11 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 53:11 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἀπὸ τοῦ πόνου τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ δεῗξαι αὐτῷ φῶς καὶ πλάσαι τῇ συνέσει δικαιῶσαι δίκαιον εὖ δουλεύοντα πολλοῗς καὶ τὰς ἁμαρτίας αὐτῶν αὐτὸς ἀνοίσει	ἀπὸ τοῦ πόνου τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ, δεῖξαι αὐτῷ φῶς καὶ πλάσαι τῇ συνέσει, δικαιῶσαι δίκαιον εὖ δουλεύοντα πολλοῖς, καὶ τὰς ἁμαρτίας αὐτῶν αὐτὸς ἀνοίσει
Isaiah 53:11 (NETS)	Isaiah 53:11b (English Elpenor)
from the pain of his soul, to show him light and fill him with understanding, to justify a righteous one who is well subject to many, and he himself shall bear their sins.	the travail of his soul, to shew him light, and to form [him] with understanding; to justify the just one who serves many well; and he shall bear their sins.

Isaiah 53:12 (Tanakh)	Isaiah 53:12 (KJV)	Isaiah 53:12 (NET)
Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.	Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.	So I will assign him a portion with the multitudes, he will divide the spoils of victory with the powerful, because he willingly submitted to death and was numbered with the rebels, when he lifted up the sin of many and intervened on behalf of the rebels.”

Isaiah 53:12 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 53:12 (Septuagint Elpenor)
διὰ τοῦτο αὐτὸς κληρονομήσει πολλοὺς καὶ τῶν ἰσχυρῶν μεριεῗ σκῦλα ἀνθ᾽ ὧν παρεδόθη εἰς θάνατον ἡ ψυχὴ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐν τοῗς ἀνόμοις ἐλογίσθη καὶ αὐτὸς ἁμαρτίας πολλῶν ἀνήνεγκεν καὶ διὰ τὰς ἁμαρτίας αὐτῶν παρεδόθη	διὰ τοῦτο αὐτὸς κληρονομήσει πολλοὺς καὶ τῶν ἰσχυρῶν μεριεῖ σκῦλα, ἀνθ᾿ ὧν παρεδόθη εἰς θάνατον ἡ ψυχὴ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἀνόμοις ἐλογίσθη· καὶ αὐτὸς ἁμαρτίας πολλῶν ἀνήνεγκε καὶ διὰ τὰς ἁμαρτίας αὐτῶν παρεδόθη
Isaiah 53:12 (NETS)	Isaiah 53:12 (English Elpenor)
Therefore he shall inherit many, and he shall divide the spoils of the strong, because his soul was given over to death, and he was reckoned among the lawless, and he bore the sins of many, and because of their sins he was given over.	Therefore he shall inherit many, and he shall divide the spoils of the mighty; because his soul was delivered to death: and he was numbered among the transgressors; and he bore the sins of many, and was delivered because of their iniquities.

Leviticus 16:30 (Tanakh)	Leviticus 16:30 (KJV)	Leviticus 16:30 (NET)
For on this day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins shall ye be clean before HaShem.	For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD.	for on this day atonement is to be made for you to cleanse you from all your sins; you must be clean before the Lord.

Leviticus 16:30 (Septuagint BLB)	Leviticus 16:30 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐν γὰρ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ταύτῃ ἐξιλάσεται περὶ ὑμῶν καθαρίσαι ὑμᾶς ἀπὸ πασῶν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ὑμῶν ἔναντι κυρίου καὶ καθαρισθήσεσθε	ἐν γὰρ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ταύτῃ ἐξιλάσεται περὶ ὑμῶν, καθαρίσαι ὑμᾶς ἀπὸ πασῶν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ὑμῶν ἔναντι Κυρίου, καὶ καθαρισθήσεσθε
Leviticus 16:30 (NETS)	Leviticus 16:30 (English Elpenor)
For on this day he shall make atonement for you, to cleanse you from all your sins before the Lord, and you shall be clean.	For in this day he shall make an atonement for you, to cleanse you from all your sins before the Lord, and ye shall be purged.

2 Chronicles 34:3 (Tanakh)	2 Chronicles 34:3 (KJV)	2 Chronicles 34:3 (NET)
For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father: and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images.	For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father: and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images.	In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his ancestor David. In his twelfth year he began ridding Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, Asherah poles, idols, and images.

2 Chronicles 34:3 (Septuagint BLB)	2 Chronicles 34:3 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐν τῷ ὀγδόῳ ἔτει τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ καὶ αὐτὸς ἔτι παιδάριον ἤρξατο τοῦ ζητῆσαι κύριον τὸν θεὸν Δαυιδ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐν τῷ δωδεκάτῳ ἔτει τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ ἤρξατο τοῦ καθαρίσαι τὸν Ιουδαν καὶ τὴν Ιερουσαλημ ἀπὸ τῶν ὑψηλῶν καὶ τῶν ἄλσεων καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν χωνευτῶν	καὶ ἐν τῷ ὀγδόῳ ἔτει τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ -καὶ αὐτὸς ἔτι παιδάριον- ἤρξατο τοῦ ζητῆσαι Κύριον τὸν Θεὸν Δαυὶδ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ. καὶ ἐν τῷ δωδεκάτῳ ἔτει τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ ἤρξατο τοῦ καθαρίσαι τὸν ᾿Ιούδαν καὶ τὴν ῾Ιερουσαλὴμ ἀπὸ τῶν ὑψηλῶν καὶ τῶν ἄλσεων καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν περιβωμίων καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν χωνευτῶν
2 Supplements 34:3 (NETS)	2 Chronicles 34:3 (English Elpenor)
And in the eighth year of his reign—and he was still a lad—he began to seek the Lord, God of Dauid his father. And in the twelfth year of his reign he began to purge Ioudas and Ierousalem of the high places and the groves and the smelted items.	And in the eighth year of his reign, and he [being] yet a youth, he began to seek the Lord God of his father David: and in the twelfth year of his reign he began to purge Juda and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the ornaments for the altars, and the molten images.

2 Chronicles 34:8 (Tanakh)	2 Chronicles 34:8 (KJV)	2 Chronicles 34:8 (NET)
Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land, and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the LORD his God.	Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land, and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the LORD his God.	In the eighteenth year of his reign, he continued his policy of purifying the land and the temple. He sent Shaphan son of Azaliah, Maaseiah the city official, and Joah son of Joahaz the secretary to repair the temple of the Lord his God.

2 Chronicles 34:8 (Septuagint BLB)	2 Chronicles 34:8 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐν τῷ ὀκτωκαιδεκάτῳ ἔτει τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ τοῦ καθαρίσαι τὴν γῆν καὶ τὸν οἶκον ἀπέστειλεν τὸν Σαφαν υἱὸν Εσελια καὶ τὸν Μαασιαν ἄρχοντα τῆς πόλεως καὶ τὸν Ιουαχ υἱὸν Ιωαχαζ τὸν ὑπομνηματογράφον αὐτοῦ κραταιῶσαι τὸν οἶκον κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ αὐτοῦ	Καὶ ἐν τῷ ἔτει τῷ ὀκτωκαιδεκάτῳ τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ τοῦ καθαρίσαι τὴν γῆν καὶ τὸν οἶκον ἀπέστειλε τὸν Σαφὰν υἱὸν ᾿Εσελία καὶ τὸν Μαασὰ ἄρχοντα τῆς πόλεως καὶ τὸν ᾿Ιουὰχ υἱὸν ᾿Ιωάχαζ τὸν ὑπομνηματογράφον αὐτοῦ κραταιῶσαι τὸν οἶκον Κυρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ αὐτοῦ
2 Supplements 34:8 (NETS)	2 Chronicles 34:8 (English Elpenor)
And in the eighteenth year of his reign—in order to purge the land and the house—he sent out Saphan son of Eselias and Maasias ruler of the city and Iouach son of Ioachaz, his recorder, to repair the house of the Lord, his God.	And in the eighteenth year of his reign, after having cleansed the land, and the house, he sent Saphan the son of Ezelias, and Maasa prefect of the city, and Juach son of Joachaz his recorder, to repair the house of the Lord his God.

Luke 13:2-5 (NET)	Luke 13:2-5 (KJV)
He answered them, “Do you think these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered these things?	And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things?

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· δοκεῖτε ὅτι οἱ Γαλιλαῖοι οὗτοι ἁμαρτωλοὶ παρὰ πάντας τοὺς Γαλιλαίους ἐγένοντο, ὅτι ταῦτα πεπόνθασιν	και αποκριθεις ο ιησους ειπεν αυτοις δοκειτε οτι οι γαλιλαιοι ουτοι αμαρτωλοι παρα παντας τους γαλιλαιους εγενοντο οτι τοιαυτα πεπονθασιν	και αποκριθεις ο ιησους ειπεν αυτοις δοκειτε οτι οι γαλιλαιοι ουτοι αμαρτωλοι παρα παντας τους γαλιλαιους εγενοντο οτι τοιαυτα πεπονθασιν

No, I tell you! But unless you repent, you will all perish as well!

I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
οὐχί, λέγω ὑμῖν, ἀλλ᾿ ἐὰν μὴ μετανοῆτε πάντες ὁμοίως ἀπολεῖσθε	ουχι λεγω υμιν αλλ εαν μη μετανοητε παντες ωσαυτως απολεισθε	ουχι λεγω υμιν αλλ εαν μη μετανοητε παντες ωσαυτως απολεισθε

Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower in Siloam fell on them, do you think they were worse offenders than all the others who live in Jerusalem?

Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἢ ἐκεῖνοι οἱ δεκαοκτὼ ἐφ᾿ οὓς ἔπεσεν ὁ πύργος ἐν τῷ Σιλωὰμ καὶ ἀπέκτεινεν αὐτούς, δοκεῖτε ὅτι αὐτοὶ ὀφειλέται ἐγένοντο παρὰ πάντας τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τοὺς κατοικοῦντας Ἰερουσαλήμ	η εκεινοι οι δεκα και οκτω εφ ους επεσεν ο πυργος εν τω σιλωαμ και απεκτεινεν αυτους δοκειτε οτι ουτοι οφειλεται εγενοντο παρα παντας ανθρωπους τους κατοικουντας εν ιερουσαλημ	η εκεινοι οι δεκα και οκτω εφ ους επεσεν ο πυργος εν τω σιλωαμ και απεκτεινεν αυτους δοκειτε οτι ουτοι οφειλεται εγενοντο παρα παντας ανθρωπους τους κατοικουντας εν ιερουσαλημ

No, I tell you! But unless you repent you will all perish as well!”

I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
οὐχί, λέγω ὑμῖν, ἀλλ᾿ ἐὰν μὴ \|μετανοῆτε\| πάντες ὡσαύτως ἀπολεῖσθε	ουχι λεγω υμιν αλλ εαν μη μετανοητε παντες ομοιως απολεισθε	ουχι λεγω υμιν αλλ εαν μη μετανοητε παντες ομοιως απολεισθε

Psalm 22, Part 4

Back to Forgiveness and My Religious Mind

Back to Isaiah 53:10-12, Part 1

Back to Isaiah 53:10-12, Part 2

Back to Isaiah 53:10-12, Part 3

Back to Isaiah 53:10-12, Part 4

Back to Isaiah 53:10-12, Part 5

Back to Isaiah 53:10-12, Part 6

Back to Isaiah 53:10-12, Part 7

Back to Isaiah 53:10-12, Part 8

Back to Isaiah 53:10-12, Part 9

Back to Psalm 22, Part 11

Back to Isaiah 53:10-12, Part 10

Back to Isaiah 53:10-12, Part 11

Back to Isaiah 53:10-12, Part 12

Back to Christianity, Part 5

Back to Christ-Centered Preaching, Chapter 5

^[1] Matthew 3:17b (NET)

^[2] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ο ιησους (KJV: Jesus) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

^[3] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ταῦτα here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had τοιαυτα (KJV: such things).

^[4] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ὁμοίως here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ωσαυτως (KJV: likewise).

^[5] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had δεκαοκτὼ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had δεκα και οκτω (literally: “ten and eight”).

^[6] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had αὐτοὶ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ουτοι.

^[7] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had τοὺς here. The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

^[8] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εν here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

^[9] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ωσαυτως here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ὁμοίως (KJV: likewise).

^[10] John 10:17, 18 (NET)

^[11] Isaiah 53:10a (Tanakh)

^[12] “Jewish Concepts: Masoretic Text,” Jewish Virtual Library: Anything you need to know from Anti-Semitism to Zionism

^[13] Rashi

^[14] Rhineland massacres

^[15] This was translated τέτρωμαι (a form of τιτρώσκω) in the Septuagint.

^[16] The Samaritan woman who spoke with Jesus knew that Messiah is coming, Herod asked the chief priests and experts in the law…where the Christ was to be born (Matthew 2:4 NET) but None of the rulers of this age understood [the wisdom of God, hidden in a mystery], Paul wrote believers in Corinth. If they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory (1 Corinthians 2:8 NET). How then would the scriptures that say it must happen this way be fulfilled? (Matthew 26:54 NET)

^[17] From Rhineland massacres, Background: Many crusaders had to go into debt in order to purchase weaponry and equipment for the expedition; as Western Catholicism strictly forbade usury, many crusaders inevitably found themselves indebted to Jewish moneylenders. Having armed themselves by assuming the debt, the crusaders rationalized the killing of Jews as an extension of their Catholic mission.^[6]

^[18] From Rhineland massacres, Background: There had not been so broad a movement against Jews by Catholics since the seventh century’s mass expulsions and forced conversions. While there had been a number of regional persecutions of Jews by Catholics, such as the one in Metz in 888, a plot against Jews in Limoges in 992, a wave of anti-Jewish persecution by Christian millenarian movements (which believed that Jesus was immediately to descend from Heaven) in the year 1000, and the threat of expulsion from Trier in 1066; these are all viewed “in the traditional terms of governmental outlawry rather than unbridled popular attacks.”^[7] Also many movements against Jews (such as forced conversions by King Robert the Pious of France, Richard II, Duke of Normandy, and Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor around 1007–1012) had been quashed either by Roman Catholicism’s papacy or its bishops.^[7]

^[19] Romans 8:17; Philippians 3:10, 11; 1 Peter 4:13

^[20] Isaiah 53:10a (Tanakh)

To Make Holy, Part 6

Posted on February 20, 2019 by admin

The next form of ἁγιάζω I want to consider is found in Jesus’ prayer to his Father: Set them apart (ἁγίασον, a form of ἁγιάζω) in the truth; your word is truth.^[1] But I’m making a slow pilgrimage through his prayer because I believe I can know his holiness here. Jesus prayed (John 17:7, 8 NET):

Now they understand that everything you have given me comes from you, because I have given them the words you have given me. They accepted them and really understand that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.

The Greek words translated understand were ἔγνωκαν and ἔγνωσαν respectively, forms of γινώσκω. None of the rulers of this age understood (ἔγνωκεν, another form of γινώσκω) [the wisdom of God], Paul wrote believers in Corinth. If they had known (ἔγνωσαν, a form of γινώσκω) it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.^[2]

Paul may have meant that—if they had understood—the demonic rulers (ἀρχόντων, a form of ἄρχων) or their human followers would not have crucified Jesus so that the scriptures that say it must happen this way^[3] would have failed,^[4] rather than that these rulers would have embraced Jesus as Lord (y^ehôvâh) and Christ (mâshı̂yach). Still I think there is much to be gained by contrasting the disciples understanding to its negation. Righteous Father, Jesus prayed, even if the world does not know (ἔγνω, another form of γινώσκω) you, I know (ἔγνων, another form of γινώσκω) you, and these men know (ἔγνωσαν, a form of γινώσκω) that you sent me.^[5]

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard [Jesus’] parables, they realized (ἔγνωσαν, a form of γινώσκω) that he was speaking about them.^[6] But they didn’t understand that the Father had sent Jesus. Now they wanted to arrest him (but they feared the crowd), because they realized (ἔγνωσαν, a form of γινώσκω) that he told this parable against them. So they left him and went away.^[7] Then the experts in the law and the chief priests wanted to arrest him that very hour, because they realized (ἔγνωσαν, a form of γινώσκω) he had told this parable against them. But they were afraid of the people.^[8]

John recorded the suspicion of some of the residents of Jerusalem, who in a sense forced their rulers’ hand to prove that they did not secretly regard Jesus as the Christ: Then some of the residents of Jerusalem began to say, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? Yet here he is, speaking publicly, and they are saying nothing to him. Do the ruling authorities really know (ἔγνωσαν, a form of γινώσκω) that this man is the Christ?^[9]

The following table contrasts those who did not understand that the Father sent Jesus and those who did:

John 8:25-27 (NET)	John 16:1-4a (NET)
So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus^[10] replied, “What I have told you from the beginning.	“I have told you all these things so that you will not fall away.
I have many things to say and to judge about you, but the Father who sent me is truthful, and the things I have heard from him I speak^[11] to the world.”	They will put you out of the synagogue, yet a time is coming when the one who kills you will think he is offering service to God.
(They did not understand [ἔγνωσαν, a form of γινώσκω] that he was telling them about his Father.)	They will do^[12] these things because they have not known (ἔγνωσαν, a form of γινώσκω) the Father or me.
	But I have told you these things so that when their^[13] time comes, you will remember that I told you about them.

Jesus explained why his disciples’ understanding differed from that of most in Israel: I have given them the words you have given me. Even this may become clearer with contrast (Matthew 13:10-17 NET Table):

Then the disciples came to [Jesus] and said,^[14] “Why do you speak to them in parables?” He replied, “You have been given the opportunity to know (γνῶναι, another form of γινώσκω) the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but they have not. For whoever has will be given more, and will have an abundance. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. For this reason I speak to them in parables: Although they see they do not see, and although they hear they do not hear nor do they understand (συνίουσιν, a form of συνίημι). And concerning them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:

‘You will listen carefully yet will never understand (συνῆτε, another form of συνίημι), you will look closely yet will never comprehend. For the heart of this people has become dull; they are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes, so that they would not see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand (συνῶσιν, another form of συνίημι) with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’

“But your eyes are blessed because they see, and your ears because they hear.^[15] For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see^[16] it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”

Jesus’ disciples were not only given the words Jesus’ Father gave to Him: They accepted them and really understand that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. The Greek word translated accepted was ἔλαβον (a form of λαμβάνω). John had described Jesus as follows (John 1:10-13 NET):

He was in the world, and the world was created by him, but the world did not recognize (ἔγνω, another form of γινώσκω) him. He came to what was his own, but his own people did not receive (παρέλαβον, a form of παραλαμβάνω) him. But to all who have received (ἔλαβον, a form of λαμβάνω) him – those who believe in his name – he has given the right to become God’s children – children not born by human parents or by human desire or a husband’s decision, but by God.

John also recorded Jesus’ description of his own death and resurrection (John 10:17, 18 NET):

This is why the Father loves me – because I lay down my life, so that I may take (λάβω, another form of λαμβάνω) it back again. No one takes it away from me, but I lay it down of my own free will. I have the authority to lay it down, and I have the authority to take (λαβεῖν, another form of λαμβάνω) it back again. This commandment I received (ἔλαβον, a form of λαμβάνω) from my Father.

Though accepted and received may sound passive^[17] in English, I think this translation is a matter of politeness. All three Greek forms of λαμβάνω above (λάβω, λαβεῖν and ἔλαβον) are active verbs: So they took (ἔλαβον, a form of λαμβάνω) branches of palm trees;^[18] they took (ἔλαβον, a form of λαμβάνω) his clothes and made four shares^[19] and they took (ἔλαβον, a form of λαμβάνω) Jesus’ body and wrapped it, with the aromatic spices.^[20] Jesus’ disciples took the words (ρήματα, a form of ῥῆμα) He gave them and kept (τετήρηκαν, a form of τηρέω) them: and they have kept thy word (λόγον, a form of λόγος).^[21] I feel justified equating the words (ρήματα) they took with the word (λόγον) they kept because Jesus also prayed: I have given them your word (λόγον, a form of λόγος).^[22]

I found two passive forms of λαμβάνω in the New Testament for contrast. The first is admittedly subtle (1 Timothy 4:1-5 NET):

Now the Spirit explicitly says that in the later times some will desert the faith and occupy themselves with deceiving spirits and demonic teachings, influenced by the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared. They will prohibit marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received^[23] (μετάλημψιν) with thanksgiving by those who believe and know^[24] the truth. For every creation of God is good and no food [literally, nothing] is to be rejected if it is received (λαμβανόμενον, another form of λαμβάνω) with thanksgiving. For it is sanctified by God’s word and by prayer.

The translations of the noun μετάλημψιν to be received and the passive verb λαμβανόμενον is received confused me some, not that I have a better translation of μετάλημψιν to offer. Perhaps the passiveness with which this food is received is clarified by Paul’s teaching to believers in Corinth (1 Corinthians 10:25-29a NET).

Eat anything that is sold in the marketplace without questions of conscience, for the earth and its abundance are the Lord’s. If^[25] an unbeliever invites you to dinner and you want to go, eat whatever is served without asking questions of conscience. But if someone says to you, “This is from a sacrifice,”^[26] do not eat, because of the one who told you and because of conscience –^[27] I do not mean yours but the other person’s.

The second example is more explicit, contrasting a passive form λαμβανόμενος directly with an active form λαμβάνει.

Hebrews 5:1 (NET)	Hebrews 5:4 (NET)
For every high priest is taken (λαμβανόμενος, another form of λαμβάνω) from among the people and appointed to represent them before God, to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.	And no one assumes (λαμβάνει, another form of λαμβάνω; KJV: taketh) this honor on his own initiative, but only when called^[28] to it by God, as in fact^[29] Aaron^[30] was.

Jesus’ disciples actively took the words He gave them as they were, words from the Father, and really understand, Jesus prayed, that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I admit I’ve wasted too much time wondering what esoteric words the Father knew and gave to Jesus and Jesus knew and gave to his disciples, blind to the fact that they are Jesus’ understanding, given by the Holy Spirit, while studying the Hebrew scriptures. These words are what Jesus learned as He increased in^[31] wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and with people.^[32] And his understanding of these words, are recorded in the Gospel narratives of the New Testament.

Tables comparing the Greek of Matthew 13:14b with Isaiah 6:9b, and Matthew 13:15 with Isaiah 6:10 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and tables of Luke 20:19; John 7:26; 8:25, 26; 16:3, 4; Matthew 13:10; 13:16, 17; John 12:13; 19:23; 19:40; 17:6; 1 Timothy 4:3; 1 Corinthians 10:27, 28; Hebrews 5:4 and Luke 2:52 comparing the NET and KJV follow.

Matthew 13:14b (NET Parallel Greek)	Isaiah 6:9b (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 6:9b (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἀκοῇ ἀκούσετε καὶ οὐ μὴ συνῆτε, καὶ βλέποντες βλέψετε καὶ οὐ μὴ ἴδητε	ἀκοῇ ἀκούσετε καὶ οὐ μὴ συνῆτε καὶ βλέποντες βλέψετε καὶ οὐ μὴ ἴδητε	ἀκοῇ ἀκούσετε καὶ οὐ μὴ συνῆτε καὶ βλέποντες βλέψετε καὶ οὐ μὴ ἴδητε
Matthew 13:14b (NET)	Esaias 6:9b (NETS)	Isaiah 6:9 (English Elpenor)
‘You will listen carefully yet will never understand, you will look closely yet will never comprehend.	‘You will listen by listening, but you will not understand, and looking you will look, but you will not perceive.’	Ye shall hear indeed, but ye shall not understand; and ye shall see indeed, but ye shall not perceive.

Matthew 13:15 (NET Parallel Greek)	Isaiah 6:10 (Septuagint BLB)	Isaiah 6:10 (Septuagint Elpenor)
ἐπαχύνθη γὰρ ἡ καρδία τοῦ λαοῦ τούτου, καὶ τοῖς ὠσὶν βαρέως ἤκουσαν καὶ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτῶν ἐκάμμυσαν, μήποτε ἴδωσιν τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς καὶ τοῖς ὠσὶν ἀκούσωσιν καὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ συνῶσιν καὶ ἐπιστρέψωσιν καὶ ἰάσομαι αὐτούς	ἐπαχύνθη γὰρ ἡ καρδία τοῦ λαοῦ τούτου καὶ τοῗς ὠσὶν αὐτῶν βαρέως ἤκουσαν καὶ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτῶν ἐκάμμυσαν μήποτε ἴδωσιν τοῗς ὀφθαλμοῗς καὶ τοῗς ὠσὶν ἀκούσωσιν καὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ συνῶσιν καὶ ἐπιστρέψωσιν καὶ ἰάσομαι αὐτούς	ἐπαχύνθη γὰρ ἡ καρδία τοῦ λαοῦ τούτου, καὶ τοῖς ὠσὶν αὐτῶν βαρέως ἤκουσαν καὶ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτῶν ἐκάμμυσαν μήποτε ἴδωσι τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς καὶ τοῖς ὠσὶν ἀκούσωσι καὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ συνῶσι, καὶ ἐπιστρέψωσι, καὶ ἰάσομαι αὐτούς
Matthew 13:15 (NET)	Esaias 6:10 (NETS)	Isaiah 6:10 (English Elpenor)
For the heart of this people has become dull; they are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes, so that they would not see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’	For this people’s heart has grown fat, and with their ears they have heard heavily, and they have shut their eyes so that they might not see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn—and I would heal them.”	For the heart of this people has become gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.

Luke 20:19 (NET)	Luke 20:19 (KJV)
Then the experts in the law and the chief priests wanted to arrest him that very hour, because they realized he had told this parable against them. But they were afraid of the people.	And the chief priests and the scribes the same hour sought to lay hands on him; and they feared the people: for they perceived that he had spoken this parable against them.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Καὶ ἐζήτησαν οἱ γραμματεῖς καὶ οἱ ἀρχιερεῖς ἐπιβαλεῖν ἐπ᾿ αὐτὸν τὰς χεῖρας ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ ὥρᾳ, καὶ ἐφοβήθησαν τὸν λαόν, ἔγνωσαν γὰρ ὅτι πρὸς αὐτοὺς εἶπεν τὴν παραβολὴν ταύτην	και εζητησαν οι αρχιερεις και οι γραμματεις επιβαλειν επ αυτον τας χειρας εν αυτη τη ωρα και εφοβηθησαν τον λαον εγνωσαν γαρ οτι προς αυτους την παραβολην ταυτην ειπεν	και εζητησαν οι αρχιερεις και οι γραμματεις επιβαλειν επ αυτον τας χειρας εν αυτη τη ωρα και εφοβηθησαν εγνωσαν γαρ οτι προς αυτους την παραβολην ταυτην ειπεν

John 7:26 (NET)	John 7:26 (KJV)
Yet here he is, speaking publicly, and they are saying nothing to him. Do the ruling authorities really know that this man is the Christ?	But, lo, he speaketh boldly, and they say nothing unto him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ?

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ ἴδε παρρησίᾳ λαλεῖ καὶ οὐδὲν αὐτῷ λέγουσιν. μήποτε ἀληθῶς ἔγνωσαν οἱ ἄρχοντες ὅτι οὗτος ἐστιν ὁ χριστός	και ιδε παρρησια λαλει και ουδεν αυτω λεγουσιν μηποτε αληθως εγνωσαν οι αρχοντες οτι ουτος εστιν αληθως ο χριστος	και ιδε παρρησια λαλει και ουδεν αυτω λεγουσιν μηποτε αληθως εγνωσαν οι αρχοντες οτι ουτος εστιν αληθως ο χριστος

John 8:25, 26 (NET)	John 8:25, 26 (KJV)
So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus replied, “What I have told you from the beginning.	Then said they unto him, Who art thou? And Jesus saith unto them, Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἔλεγον οὖν αὐτῷ· σὺ τίς εἶ; εἶπεν αὐτοῖς \|ὁ\| Ἰησοῦς· τὴν ἀρχὴν ὅ τι καὶ λαλῶ ὑμῖν	ελεγον ουν αυτω συ τις ει και ειπεν αυτοις ο ιησους την αρχην ο τι και λαλω υμιν	ελεγον ουν αυτω συ τις ει και ειπεν αυτοις ο ιησους την αρχην ο τι και λαλω υμιν

I have many things to say and to judge about you, but the Father who sent me is truthful, and the things I have heard from him I speak to the world.”

I have many things to say and to judge of you: but he that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
πολλὰ ἔχω περὶ ὑμῶν λαλεῖν καὶ κρίνειν, ἀλλ᾿ ὁ πέμψας με ἀληθής ἐστιν, καγὼ ἃ ἤκουσα παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ ταῦτα λαλῶ εἰς τὸν κόσμον	πολλα εχω περι υμων λαλειν και κρινειν αλλ ο πεμψας με αληθης εστιν καγω α ηκουσα παρ αυτου ταυτα λεγω εις τον κοσμον	πολλα εχω περι υμων λαλειν και κρινειν αλλ ο πεμψας με αληθης εστιν καγω α ηκουσα παρ αυτου ταυτα λεγω εις τον κοσμον

John 16:3, 4 (NET)	John 16:3, 4 (KJV)
They will do these things because they have not known the Father or me.	And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ ταῦτα ποιήσουσιν ὅτι οὐκ ἔγνωσαν τὸν πατέρα οὐδὲ ἐμέ	και ταυτα ποιησουσιν υμιν οτι ουκ εγνωσαν τον πατερα ουδε εμε	και ταυτα ποιησουσιν οτι ουκ εγνωσαν τον πατερα ουδε εμε

But I have told you these things so that when their time comes, you will remember that I told you about them.

“I did not tell you these things from the beginning because I was with you.

But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἀλλὰ ταῦτα λελάληκα ὑμῖν ἵνα ὅταν ἔλθῃ ἡ ὥρα αὐτῶν μνημονεύητε αὐτῶν ὅτι ἐγὼ εἶπον ὑμῖν. Ταῦτα δὲ ὑμῖν ἐξ ἀρχῆς οὐκ εἶπον, ὅτι μεθ᾿ ὑμῶν ἤμην	αλλα ταυτα λελαληκα υμιν ινα οταν ελθη η ωρα μνημονευητε αυτων οτι εγω ειπον υμιν ταυτα δε υμιν εξ αρχης ουκ ειπον οτι μεθ υμων ημην	αλλα ταυτα λελαληκα υμιν ινα οταν ελθη η ωρα μνημονευητε αυτων οτι εγω ειπον υμιν ταυτα δε υμιν εξ αρχης ουκ ειπον οτι μεθ υμων ημην

Matthew 13:10 (NET)	Matthew 13:10 (KJV)
Then the disciples came to him and said, “Why do you speak to them in parables?”	And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Καὶ προσελθόντες οἱ μαθηταὶ εἶπαν αὐτῷ· διὰ τί ἐν παραβολαῖς λαλεῖς αὐτοῖς	και προσελθοντες οι μαθηται ειπον αυτω δια τι εν παραβολαις λαλεις αυτοις	και προσελθοντες οι μαθηται ειπον αυτω δια τι εν παραβολαις λαλεις αυτοις

Matthew 13:16, 17 (NET)	Matthew 13:16, 17 (KJV)
“But your eyes are blessed because they see, and your ears because they hear.	But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ὑμῶν δὲ μακάριοι οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ ὅτι βλέπουσιν καὶ τὰ ὦτα \|ὑμῶν\| ὅτι ἀκούουσιν	υμων δε μακαριοι οι οφθαλμοι οτι βλεπουσιν και τα ωτα υμων οτι ακουει	υμων δε μακαριοι οι οφθαλμοι οτι βλεπουσιν και τα ωτα υμων οτι ακουει

For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”

For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἀμὴν γὰρ λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι πολλοὶ προφῆται καὶ δίκαιοι ἐπεθύμησαν ἰδεῖν ἃ βλέπετε καὶ οὐκ εἶδαν, καὶ ἀκοῦσαι ἃ ἀκούετε καὶ οὐκ ἤκουσαν	αμην γαρ λεγω υμιν οτι πολλοι προφηται και δικαιοι επεθυμησαν ιδειν α βλεπετε και ουκ ειδον και ακουσαι α ακουετε και ουκ ηκουσαν	αμην γαρ λεγω υμιν οτι πολλοι προφηται και δικαιοι επεθυμησαν ιδειν α βλεπετε και ουκ ειδον και ακουσαι α ακουετε και ουκ ηκουσαν

John 12:13 (NET)	John 12:13 (KJV)
So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him. They began to shout, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the king of Israel!”	Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἔλαβον τὰ βαΐα τῶν φοινίκων καὶ ἐξῆλθον εἰς ὑπάντησιν αὐτῷ καὶ ἐκραύγαζον ὡσαννά· εὐλογημένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι κυρίου, [καὶ] ὁ βασιλεὺς τοῦ Ἰσραήλ	ελαβον τα βαια των φοινικων και εξηλθον εις υπαντησιν αυτω και εκραζον ωσαννα ευλογημενος ο ερχομενος εν ονοματι κυριου ο βασιλευς του ισραηλ	ελαβον τα βαια των φοινικων και εξηλθον εις υπαντησιν αυτω και εκραζον ωσαννα ευλογημενος ο ερχομενος εν ονοματι κυριου βασιλευς του ισραηλ

John 19:23 (NET)	John 19:23 (KJV)
Now when the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and made four shares, one for each soldier, and the tunic remained. (Now the tunic was seamless, woven from top to bottom as a single piece.)	Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Οἱ οὖν στρατιῶται, ὅτε ἐσταύρωσαν τὸν Ἰησοῦν, ἔλαβον τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐποίησαν τέσσαρα μέρη, ἑκάστῳ στρατιώτῃ μέρος, καὶ τὸν χιτῶνα. (ἦν δὲ ὁ χιτὼν ἄραφος, ἐκ τῶν ἄνωθεν ὑφαντὸς δι᾿ ὅλου.)	οι ουν στρατιωται οτε εσταυρωσαν τον ιησουν ελαβον τα ιματια αυτου και εποιησαν τεσσαρα μερη εκαστω στρατιωτη μερος και τον χιτωνα ην δε ο χιτων αρραφος εκ των ανωθεν υφαντος δι ολου	οι ουν στρατιωται οτε εσταυρωσαν τον ιησουν ελαβον τα ιματια αυτου και εποιησαν τεσσαρα μερη εκαστω στρατιωτη μερος και τον χιτωνα ην δε ο χιτων αραφος εκ των ανωθεν υφαντος δι ολου

John 19:40 (NET)	John 19:40 (KJV)
Then they took Jesus’ body and wrapped it, with the aromatic spices, in strips of linen cloth according to Jewish burial customs.	Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἔλαβον οὖν τὸ σῶμα τοῦ Ἰησοῦ καὶ ἔδησαν αὐτὸ ὀθονίοις μετὰ τῶν ἀρωμάτων, καθὼς ἔθος ἐστὶν τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις ἐνταφιάζειν	ελαβον ουν το σωμα του ιησου και εδησαν αυτο οθονιοις μετα των αρωματων καθως εθος εστιν τοις ιουδαιοις ενταφιαζειν	ελαβον ουν το σωμα του ιησου και εδησαν αυτο εν οθονιοις μετα των αρωματων καθως εθος εστιν τοις ιουδαιοις ενταφιαζειν

John 17:6 (NET)	John 17:6 (KJV)
“I have revealed your name to the men you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you, and you gave them to me, and they have obeyed your word.	I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Ἐφανέρωσα σου τὸ ὄνομα τοῖς ἀνθρώποις οὓς ἔδωκας μοι ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου. σοὶ ἦσαν καμοὶ αὐτοὺς ἔδωκας καὶ τὸν λόγον σου τετήρηκαν	εφανερωσα σου το ονομα τοις ανθρωποις ους δεδωκας μοι εκ του κοσμου σοι ησαν και εμοι αυτους δεδωκας και τον λογον σου τετηρηκασιν	εφανερωσα σου το ονομα τοις ανθρωποις ους δεδωκας μοι εκ του κοσμου σοι ησαν και εμοι αυτους δεδωκας και τον λογον σου τετηρηκασιν

1 Timothy 4:3 (NET)	1 Timothy 4:3 (KJV)
They will prohibit marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.	Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
κωλυόντων γαμεῖν, ἀπέχεσθαι βρωμάτων, ἃ ὁ θεὸς ἔκτισεν εἰς μετάλημψιν μετὰ εὐχαριστίας τοῖς πιστοῖς καὶ ἐπεγνωκόσι τὴν ἀλήθειαν	κωλυοντων γαμειν απεχεσθαι βρωματων α ο θεος εκτισεν εις μεταληψιν μετα ευχαριστιας τοις πιστοις και επεγνωκοσιν την αληθειαν	κωλυοντων γαμειν απεχεσθαι βρωματων α ο θεος εκτισεν εις μεταληψιν μετα ευχαριστιας τοις πιστοις και επεγνωκοσιν την αληθειαν

1 Corinthians 10:27, 28 (NET)	1 Corinthians 10:27, 28 (KJV)
If an unbeliever invites you to dinner and you want to go, eat whatever is served without asking questions of conscience.	If any of them that believe not bid you to a feast, and ye be disposed to go; whatsoever is set before you, eat, asking no question for conscience sake.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
εἴ τις καλεῖ ὑμᾶς τῶν ἀπίστων καὶ θέλετε πορεύεσθαι, πᾶν τὸ παρατιθέμενον ὑμῖν ἐσθίετε μηδὲν ἀνακρίνοντες διὰ τὴν συνείδησιν	ει δε τις καλει υμας των απιστων και θελετε πορευεσθαι παν το παρατιθεμενον υμιν εσθιετε μηδεν ανακρινοντες δια την συνειδησιν	ει δε τις καλει υμας των απιστων και θελετε πορευεσθαι παν το παρατιθεμενον υμιν εσθιετε μηδεν ανακρινοντες δια την συνειδησιν

But if someone says to you, “This is from a sacrifice,” do not eat, because of the one who told you and because of conscience –

But if any man say unto you, This is offered in sacrifice unto idols, eat not for his sake that showed it, and for conscience sake: for the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof:

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ἐὰν δέ τις ὑμῖν εἴπῃ· τοῦτο ἱερόθυτον ἐστιν, μὴ ἐσθίετε δι᾿ ἐκεῖνον τὸν μηνύσαντα καὶ τὴν συνείδησιν	εαν δε τις υμιν ειπη τουτο ειδωλοθυτον εστιν μη εσθιετε δι εκεινον τον μηνυσαντα και την συνειδησιν του γαρ κυριου η γη και το πληρωμα αυτης	εαν δε τις υμιν ειπη τουτο ειδωλοθυτον εστιν μη εσθιετε δι εκεινον τον μηνυσαντα και την συνειδησιν του γαρ κυριου η γη και το πληρωμα αυτης

Hebrews 5:4 (NET)	Hebrews 5:4 (KJV)
And no one assumes this honor on his own initiative, but only when called to it by God, as in fact Aaron was.	And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ οὐχ ἑαυτῷ τις λαμβάνει τὴν τιμὴν ἀλλὰ καλούμενος ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ καθώσπερ καὶ Ἀαρών	και ουχ εαυτω τις λαμβανει την τιμην αλλα ο καλουμενος υπο του θεου καθαπερ και ο ααρων	και ουχ εαυτω τις λαμβανει την τιμην αλλα καλουμενος υπο του θεου καθαπερ και ααρων

Luke 2:52 (NET)	Luke 2:52 (KJV)
And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and with people.	And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
Καὶ Ἰησοῦς προέκοπτεν [ἐν τῇ] σοφίᾳ καὶ ἡλικίᾳ καὶ χάριτι παρὰ θεῷ καὶ ἀνθρώποις	και ιησους προεκοπτεν σοφια και ηλικια και χαριτι παρα θεω και ανθρωποις	και ιησους προεκοπτεν σοφια και ηλικια και χαριτι παρα θεω και ανθρωποις

To Make Holy, Part 7

Back to A Monotonous Cycle Revisited, Part 2

Back to A Monotonous Cycle Revisited, Part 3

Back to A Shadow of the Good Things, Part 3

Back to To Make Holy, Part 8

Back to Psalm 22, Part 10

Back to Christianity, Part 6

Back to The Day of the Lord, Part 8

Back to Christ-Centered Preaching, Chapter 1

^[1] John 17:17 (NET)

^[2] 1 Corinthians 2:8 (NET)

^[3] Matthew 26:54 (NET)

^[4] It occurs to me that this is another oblique reference to the partial hardening of Israel which played such an integral role in the fulfillment of the Scriptures.

^[5] John 17:25 (NET)

^[6] Matthew 21:45 (NET)

^[7] Mark 12:12 (NET)

^[8] Luke 20:19 (NET) The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Stephanus Textus Receptus had τὸν λαόν (KJV: the people) here. The Byzantine Majority Text did not.

^[9] John 7:25, 26 (NET) The Stephanus Text Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αληθως (KJV: very) preceding Christ. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

^[10] The Stephanus Text Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had και (KJV: And) at the beginning of this clause. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

^[11] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had λαλῶ here, where the Stephanus Text Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had λεγω.

^[12] The Stephanus Textus Receptus had υμιν following do (KJV: unto you). The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

^[13] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had αὐτῶν here. The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not (KJV: the).

^[14] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had εἶπαν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ειπον.

^[15] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἀκούουσιν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ακουει.

^[16] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had εἶδαν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ειδον.

^[17] The Greek lexicon online lists the English translations of passive forms of λαμβάνω as follows: “to assume (consequences for), to attain (distinction), to be given, to be subjected to, to receive, to receive into one’s care, to undergo, experience.”

^[18] John 12:13a (NET)

^[19] John 19:23b (NET)

^[20] John 19:40a (NET)

^[21] John 17:6b (KJV)

^[22] John 17:14a (NET)

^[23] The NET Parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had μετάλημψιν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had μεταληψιν.

^[24] The NET Parallel Greek text had ἐπεγνωκόσι here, where where the Stephanus Textus Receptus, Byzantine Majority Text and NA²⁸ had ἐπεγνωκόσιν.

^[25] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had δε (not translated in the KJV) near the beginning of this clause. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

^[26] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἱερόθυτον here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ειδωλοθυτον (KJV: sacrifice unto idols).

^[27] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had του γαρ κυριου η γη και το πληρωμα αυτης (KJV: for the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

^[28] The Stephanus Textus Receptus had the article ο preceding called. The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

^[29] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had καθώσπερ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had καθαπερ (KJV: as was).

^[30] The Stephanus Textus Receptus had the article ο preceding Aaron. The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

^[31] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had ἐν τῇ here. The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

^[32] Luke 2:52 (NET)

Father, Son and Holy Spirit – Part 1

Posted on December 13, 2018 by admin

I am more or less willing to be a polytheist. Trinitarianism gives me a headache. I’m not quite sure how anyone deduced monotheism from, HEAR, O ISRAEL: THE HaShem (y^ehôvâh, יהוה) OUR GOD (ʼĕlôhı̂ym, אלהינו), THE HaShem (y^ehôvâh, יהוה) IS ONE^[1] anyway. The Hebrew word אלהינו (ʼĕlôhı̂ym), as I understand it, is a plural noun treated as a singular (i.e., the Gods is).

If the oneness of the אלהינו (ʼĕlôhı̂ym) meant that they were not warring among themselves, constantly working at cross-purposes like the gods of the pagan myths, then trinitarianism would be an unnecessary complication. But the impact the quotation of Psalm 110:1 in Hebrews had on me as I read it this time compels me to consider something much closer to trinitarianism than polytheism: The LORD (y^ehôvâh, יהוה) said unto my Lord (ʼâdôn, לאדני), Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.^[2]

But when this priest^[3] had offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, the anonymous author of Hebrews wrote, he sat down at the right hand of God, where he is now waiting until his enemies are made a footstool for his feet.^[4] This made it obvious that the resurrected and ascended Jesus was signified by לאדני (ʼâdôn) in Psalm 110:1, not יהוה (y^ehôvâh). As a Bible-believing polytheist I would be forced to accept that Jesus is not יהוה (y^ehôvâh) according to this Psalm.

The insight that Jesus is יהוה (y^ehôvâh) come in human flesh has revolutionized my thinking about, not to mention my feeling for, יהוה (y^ehôvâh). I won’t give it up easily. If I can believe, for instance, that the him in Yet it pleased the LORD (y^ehôvâh, ויהוה) to bruise him^[5] was effectively Himself, it presages Jesus’ own words: I lay down my life, so that I may take it back again. No one takes it away from me, but I lay it down of my own free will.^[6] If, however, I must believe that him was someone else יהוה (y^ehôvâh) abused, an only begotten Son in fact, and He wants to treat me as a son…well, those are fighting words.

As I think of it now, for foolish Gentiles to see one like the Son of man [returning] with the clouds of heaven^[7] and then follow their desperate leaders in a short-lived insurrection will require a hardening much like the hardening that fortified religious minds in Jerusalem to seek the death of a man who healed the sick and raised the dead. So rather than be hardened by a simplistic polytheism I plan to endure the headache of something more like trinitarianism.

The first occurrence of ואדני (ʼâdôn) in Genesis was from the lips of Sarah: After I am worn out will I have pleasure, especially when my husband is old too?^[8] Husband (ʼâdôn, ואדני) was lord in the Tanakh and κύριός in the Septuagint. Peter made much of this single occurrence of ʼâdôn (1 Peter 3:5, 6 NET):

For in the same way the holy women who hoped in^[9] God^[10] long ago adorned themselves by being subject to their husbands, like Sarah who obeyed Abraham, calling him lord (κύριον, a form of κύριος). You become her children when you do what is good and have no fear in doing so.

Surely the relevant relationship in Sarah’s mind as she laughed, contemplated, probably doubted the possibility of having her first child in her old age was that of husband as the NET translators suggested. Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion: And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.^[11]

The Hebrew word translated LORD here was יהוה (y^ehôvâh), κύριος in Greek in the Septuagint. The Hebrew word translated for I am married was בעלתי (bâʽal). Like אדני (ʼâdôn) בעלתי (bâʽal) can mean master. This is what the rabbis keyed on when they chose κατακυριεύσω (a form of κατακυριεύω) to translate בעלתי (bâʽal) into Greek. But Jesus called them and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over (κατακυριεύουσιν, another form of κατακυριεύω) them, and those in high positions use their authority over them. It^[12] must not be this way among you!”^[13] In fact, the man who beat [some Jewish exorcists] into submission^[14] (κατακυριεύσας, another form of κατακυριεύω)…was possessed by [an] evil spirit,^[15] not the Spirit of God.

I think the translators of the Tanakh keyed on the relevant relationship the Holy Spirit intended, for later the same passage reads: Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD.^[16] Again, LORD was the translation of יהוה (y^ehôvâh), κύριος in the Septuagint. The word translated husband was מרעה (rêaʽ). It was translated συνόντα (a form of σύνειμι) by the rabbis in the Septuagint (Luke 9:18-22 NET).

Once when Jesus was praying by himself, and his disciples were nearby (συνῆσαν, another form of σύνειμι), he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” They answered,^[17] “John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others that one of the prophets of long ago has risen.” Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter^[18] answered, “The Christ of God.” But he forcefully commanded them not to tell^[19] this to anyone, saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and experts in the law, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”^[20]

The LORD was determined to do good (Jeremiah 3:16-18) to Israel but questioned how since they had treacherously departed from Him: But I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations? ^[21] Jesus explained His answer—and I said, Thou shalt call me, My father; and shalt not turn away from me^[22]—to Nicodemus (John 3:5-7 NET).

I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born of water and spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, “You must all be born from above.”

So, how is one born from above? Receive Jesus. Actually, him in to all who have received him referred back to the Word. I was among the slowest of the slow to realize that the Word was Jesus. Here is John’s description of Jesus as the Word of God (John 1:1-5, 10-13 NET):

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was fully God. The Word was with God in the beginning. All things were created by him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. In him was life, and the life was the light of mankind. And the light shines on in the darkness, but the darkness has not mastered it…

He was in the world, and the world was created by him, but the world did not recognize him. He came to what was his own, but his own people did not receive him. But to all who have received him – those who believe in his name – he has given the right to become God’s children – children not born by human parents or by human desire or a husband’s decision, but by God.

So, how does the right (John 8:40-45) to become God’s children, the fact that Thou shalt call [Him], My father ensure that thou shalt not turn away from him? Therefore, Peter concluded his first Gospel proclamation, let all the house of Israel know beyond a doubt that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ^[23] (Acts 2:37, 38 NET).

Now when they heard this, they were acutely distressed and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “What should we do, brothers?” Peter said to them, “Repent, and each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

We know that everyone fathered by God does not sin, John wrote those who had received Jesus, but God protects the one he has fathered, and the evil one cannot touch him. We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us insight to know him who is true, and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. This one is the true God and eternal life.^[24]

So then, brothers and sisters, Paul wrote to those in Rome who believed that God has made this Jesus whom [they] crucified both Lord and Christ, who had repented and been baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of [their] sins, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh (for if you live according to the flesh, you will die), but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery leading again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, “Abba, Father.”^[25]

This explains why the ark of the covenant of the Lord will no longer come to mind (Jeremiah 3:16-18 Tanakh):

And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more.

At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart. In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers.

Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:^[26]

Here again, husband was בעלתי (bâʽal) and LORD was יהוה (y^ehôvâh) in the Hebrew (Masoretic text), but the rabbis chose ἠμέλησα (a form of ἀμελέω) in the Septuagint. The author of Hebrews quoted it (Hebrews 8:9 NET):

It will not be like the covenant that I made with their fathers, on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not continue in my covenant and I had no regard (ἠμέλησα, a form of ἀμελέω) for them, says the Lord.

The NET parallel Greek text, Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text were identical here.

Hebrews 8:9 (NET Parallel Greek)	Hebrews 8:9 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Hebrews 8:9 (Byzantine Majority Text)
οὐ κατὰ τὴν διαθήκην, ἣν ἐποίησα τοῖς πατράσιν αὐτῶν ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ἐπιλαβομένου μου τῆς χειρὸς αὐτῶν ἐξαγαγεῖν αὐτοὺς ἐκ γῆς Ἀιγύπτου, ὅτι αὐτοὶ οὐκ ἐνέμειναν ἐν τῇ διαθήκῃ μου, καγὼ ἠμέλησα αὐτῶν, λέγει κύριος	ου κατα την διαθηκην ην εποιησα τοις πατρασιν αυτων εν ημερα επιλαβομενου μου της χειρος αυτων εξαγαγειν αυτους εκ γης αιγυπτου οτι αυτοι ουκ ενεμειναν εν τη διαθηκη μου καγω ημελησα αυτων λεγει κυριος	ου κατα την διαθηκην ην εποιησα τοις πατρασιν αυτων εν ημερα επιλαβομενου μου της χειρος αυτων εξαγαγειν αυτους εκ γης αιγυπτου οτι αυτοι ουκ ενεμειναν εν τη διαθηκη μου καγω ημελησα αυτων λεγει κυριος

There were three relatively insignificant differences compared to the BLB and Elpenor versions of the Septuagint.

Hebrews 8:9 (NET Parallel Greek)	Jeremiah 31:32 (Septuagint BLB)	Jeremiah 38:32 (Septuagint Elpenor)
οὐ κατὰ τὴν διαθήκην, ἣν ἐποίησα τοῖς πατράσιν αὐτῶν ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ἐπιλαβομένου μου τῆς χειρὸς αὐτῶν ἐξαγαγεῖν αὐτοὺς ἐκ γῆς Ἀιγύπτου, ὅτι αὐτοὶ οὐκ ἐνέμειναν ἐν τῇ διαθήκῃ μου, καγὼ ἠμέλησα αὐτῶν, λέγει κύριος	οὐ κατὰ τὴν διαθήκην ἣν διεθέμην τοῖς πατράσιν αὐτῶν ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ἐπιλαβομένου μου τῆς χειρὸς αὐτῶν ἐξαγαγεῖν αὐτοὺς ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου ὅτι αὐτοὶ οὐκ ἐνέμειναν ἐν τῇ διαθήκῃ μου καὶ ἐγὼ ἠμέλησα αὐτῶν φησὶν κύριος	οὐ κατὰ τὴν διαθήκην, ἣν διεθέμην τοῖς πατράσιν αὐτῶν ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ἐπιλαβομένου μου τῆς χειρὸς αὐτῶν ἐξαγαγεῖν αὐτοὺς ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου, ὅτι αὐτοὶ οὐκ ἐνέμειναν ἐν τῇ διαθήκῃ μου, καὶ ἐγὼ ἠμέλησα αὐτῶν, φησὶ Κύριος

If בעלתי (bâʽal) was not original in Jeremiah 31:32, it was found in Isaiah, though again it was translated κύριος (Lord) in the Septuagint (Isaiah 54:4-7 Tanakh):

Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more. For thy Maker is thine husband (bâʽal, בעליך); the LORD (y^ehôvâh, יהוה) of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called. For the LORD (y^ehôvâh, יהוה) hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God. For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.

Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her. And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt. And it shall be at that day, saith the LORD (y^ehôvâh, יהוה), that thou shalt call me Ishi; and shalt call me no more Baali (baʽălı̂y, בעלי). For I will take away the names of Baalim (baʽal, הבעלים) out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name.^[27]

Here the Hebrew word אישי (ʼı̂ysh) was transliterated as a proper name Ishi (also in the KJV). The rabbis translated it ἀνήρ in the Septuagint. And the man (ʼâdâm, האדם; Septuagint: Αδαμ) said: ‘This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man (ʼı̂ysh, מאיש; Septuagint: ἀνδρὸς, a form of ἀνήρ).’ Therefore shall a man (ʼı̂ysh, איש; Septuagint: ἄνθρωπος) leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh [Table].^[28] Most English Bibles that translate rather than transliterate Ishi render it my husband, including the New English Translation of the Septuagint.

Matthew (9:15), Mark (2:19, 20) and Luke (5:34, 35) all recounted Jesus reference to Himself as the bridegroom (νυμφίος). John (3:25-30) recalled that John the Baptist also called Jesus the bridegroom. The prophet Hosea continued quoting y^ehôvâh (Hosea 2:18-23 Tanakh):

And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely. And I will betroth (ʼâraś, וארשׁתיך; Septuagint: μνηστεύσομαί, a form of μνηστεύω) thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth (ʼâraś, וארשׁתיך; Septuagint: μνηστεύσομαί, a form of μνηστεύω) thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies. I will even betroth (ʼâraś, וארשׁתיך; Septuagint: μνηστεύσομαί, a form of μνηστεύω) thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the LORD (y^ehôvâh, יהוה).

And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith the LORD (y^ehôvâh, יהוה), I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth; And the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and they shall hear Jezreel. And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.

Tables comparing Hebrews 10:12; 1 Peter 3:5; Matthew 20:26; Acts 19:16 and Luke 9:19-22 in the NET and KJV follow.

Hebrews 10:12 (NET)	Hebrews 10:12 (KJV)
But when this priest had offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, he sat down at the right hand of God,	But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
οὗτος δὲ μίαν ὑπὲρ ἁμαρτιῶν προσενέγκας θυσίαν εἰς τὸ διηνεκὲς ἐκάθισεν ἐν δεξιᾷ τοῦ θεοῦ	αυτος δε μιαν υπερ αμαρτιων προσενεγκας θυσιαν εις το διηνεκες εκαθισεν εν δεξια του θεου	αυτος δε μιαν υπερ αμαρτιων προσενεγκας θυσιαν εις το διηνεκες εκαθισεν εν δεξια του θεου

1 Peter 3:5 (NET)	1 Peter 3:5 (KJV)
For in the same way the holy women who hoped in God long ago adorned themselves by being subject to their husbands,	For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands:

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
οὕτως γάρ ποτε καὶ αἱ ἅγιαι γυναῖκες αἱ ἐλπίζουσαι εἰς θεὸν ἐκόσμουν ἑαυτάς ὑποτασσόμεναι τοῖς ἰδίοις ἀνδράσιν	ουτως γαρ ποτε και αι αγιαι γυναικες αι ελπιζουσαι επι τον θεον εκοσμουν εαυτας υποτασσομεναι τοις ιδιοις ανδρασιν	ουτως γαρ ποτε και αι αγιαι γυναικες αι ελπιζουσαι επι θεον εκοσμουν εαυτας υποτασσομεναι τοις ιδιοις ανδρασιν

Matthew 20:26 (NET)	Matthew 20:26 (KJV)
It must not be this way among you! Instead whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant,	But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
οὐχ οὕτως \|ἔσται\| ἐν ὑμῖν, ἀλλ᾿ ὃς \|ἐὰν\| θέλῃ ἐν ὑμῖν μέγας γενέσθαι ἔσται ὑμῶν διάκονος	ουχ ουτως δε εσται εν υμιν αλλ ος εαν θελη εν υμιν μεγας γενεσθαι εστω υμων διακονος	ουχ ουτως δε εσται εν υμιν αλλ ος εαν θελη εν υμιν μεγας γενεσθαι εσται υμων διακονος

Acts 19:16 (NET)	Acts 19:16 (KJV)
Then the man who was possessed by the evil spirit jumped on them and beat them all into submission. He prevailed against them so that they fled from that house naked and wounded.	And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ ἐφαλόμενος ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐπ᾿ αὐτοὺς ἐν ᾧ ἦν τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ πονηρόν, κατακυριεύσας ἀμφοτέρων ἴσχυσεν κατ᾿ αὐτῶν ὥστε γυμνοὺς καὶ τετραυματισμένους ἐκφυγεῖν ἐκ τοῦ οἴκου ἐκείνου	και εφαλλομενος επ αυτους ο ανθρωπος εν ω ην το πνευμα το πονηρον και κατακυριευσας αυτων ισχυσεν κατ αυτων ωστε γυμνους και τετραυματισμενους εκφυγειν εκ του οικου εκεινου	και εφαλλομενος επ αυτους ο ανθρωπος εν ω ην το πνευμα το πονηρον και κατακυριευσαν αυτων ισχυσεν κατ αυτων ωστε γυμνους και τετραυματισμενους εκφυγειν εκ του οικου εκεινου

Luke 9:19-22 (NET)	Luke 9:19-22 (KJV)
They answered, “John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others that one of the prophets of long ago has risen.”	They answering said, John the Baptist; but some say, Elias; and others say, that one of the old prophets is risen again.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
οἱ δὲ ἀποκριθέντες εἶπαν Ἰωάννην τὸν βαπτιστήν, ἄλλοι δὲ Ἠλίαν, ἄλλοι δὲ ὅτι προφήτης τις τῶν ἀρχαίων ἀνέστη	οι δε αποκριθεντες ειπον ιωαννην τον βαπτιστην αλλοι δε ηλιαν αλλοι δε οτι προφητης τις των αρχαιων ανεστη	οι δε αποκριθεντες ειπον ιωαννην τον βαπτιστην αλλοι δε ηλιαν αλλοι δε οτι προφητης τις των αρχαιων ανεστη

Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”

He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Peter answering said, The Christ of God.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
εἶπεν δὲ αὐτοῖς· ὑμεῖς δὲ τίνα με λέγετε εἶναι; Πέτρος δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν· τὸν χριστὸν τοῦ θεοῦ	ειπεν δε αυτοις υμεις δε τινα με λεγετε ειναι αποκριθεις δε ο πετρος ειπεν τον χριστον του θεου	ειπεν δε αυτοις υμεις δε τινα με λεγετε ειναι αποκριθεις δε ο πετρος ειπεν τον χριστον του θεου

But he forcefully commanded them not to tell this to anyone,

And he straitly charged them, and commanded them to tell no man that thing;

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
ὁ δὲ ἐπιτιμήσας αὐτοῖς παρήγγειλεν μηδενὶ λέγειν τοῦτο	ο δε επιτιμησας αυτοις παρηγγειλεν μηδενι ειπειν τουτο	ο δε επιτιμησας αυτοις παρηγγειλεν μηδενι ειπειν τουτο

saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and experts in the law, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”

Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.

NET Parallel Greek	Stephanus Textus Receptus	Byzantine Majority Text
εἰπων ὅτι δεῖ τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου πολλὰ παθεῖν καὶ ἀποδοκιμασθῆναι ἀπὸ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων καὶ ἀρχιερέων καὶ γραμματέων καὶ ἀποκτανθῆναι καὶ τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ ἐγερθῆναι	ειπων οτι δει τον υιον του ανθρωπου πολλα παθειν και αποδοκιμασθηναι απο των πρεσβυτερων και αρχιερεων και γραμματεων και αποκτανθηναι και τη τριτη ημερα εγερθηναι	ειπων οτι δει τον υιον του ανθρωπου πολλα παθειν και αποδοκιμασθηναι απο των πρεσβυτερων και αρχιερεων και γραμματεων και αποκτανθηναι και τη τριτη ημερα αναστηναι

Father, Son and Holy Spirit – Part 2

Back to Isaiah 53:10-12, Part 2

^[1] Deuteronomy 6:4 (Tanakh)

^[2] Psalm 110:1 (Tanakh)

^[3] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had οὗτος here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αυτος (KJV: this man).

^[4] Hebrews 10:12, 13 (NET)

^[5] Isaiah 53:10a (Tanakh)

^[6] John 10:17b, 18a (NET)

^[7] Daniel 7:13b (Tanakh) The Greek word translated returning in Revelation 1:7 (NET) was ἔρχεται, while the Hebrew word translated came in Daniel 7:13 (Tanakh) was translated ἐρχόμενος in the Septuagint. Both are forms of ἔρχομαι. ἐρχόμενος: Matthew 3:11; 11:2-6; 21:6-11; 23:37-39.

^[8] Genesis 18:12 (NET)

^[9] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had εἰς here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had επι.

^[10] The Stephanus Textus Receptus had the article τον preceding God. The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

^[11] Jeremiah 3:14, 15 (Tanakh)

^[12] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had δε (KJV: But). The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

^[13] Matthew 20:25, 26a (NET)

^[14] The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Stephanus Textus Receptus had κατακυριεύσας here, where the Byzantine Majority Text had κατακυριευσαν.

^[15] Acts 19:16 (NET)

^[16] Jeremiah 3:20 (Tanakh)

^[17] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had εἶπαν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ειπον (KJV: said).

^[18] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the article ο preceding Peter. The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ did not.

^[19] The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had λέγειν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ειπειν.

^[20] The NET parallel Greek text, NA²⁸ and Stephanus Textus Receptus had ἐγερθῆναι here, where the Byzantine Majority Text had αναστηναι.

^[21] Jeremiah 3:19a (Tanakh)

^[22] Jeremiah 3:19b (Tanakh)

^[23] Acts 2:36 (NET)

^[24] 1 John 5:18-20 (NET) Table1, Table2

^[25] Romans 8:12-15 (NET)

^[26] Jeremiah 31:31, 32 (Tanakh)

^[27] Hosea 2:14-17 (Tanakh) Table1 Table2 Table3

^[28] Genesis 2:23, 24 (Tanakh)

Who Am I? Part 7

Posted on August 23, 2017 by admin

In another essay I presented his Jewish and Roman trials as a kind of ultimate tempting of the flesh of Adam and an ultimate proving of the Holy Spirit which descended…in bodily form like a dove^[1] upon Jesus the Christ or Messiah. I characterized those trials as a time “when sinners, Jerusalem, the whole world, perhaps even the created cosmos were in extreme danger of falling into the hands of an angry God.” I want to continue with his crucifixion.

Nail me to a cross and I’m stuck there but Jesus said (John 10:17, 18 NET):

This is why the Father loves me – because I lay down my life, so that I may take it back again. No one takes it away from me, but I lay it down of my own free will.^[2] I have the authority to lay it down, and I have the authority to take it back again. This commandment I received from my Father.

It says to me that at any moment throughout his ordeal of ultimate humiliation Jesus, y^ehôvâh in the flesh of Adam,^[3] could have decided that enough was enough, sat down at the right hand of his Father in heaven and been none the worse for wear—personally.

As they led him away, Luke recorded in his Gospel narrative, they seized Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country. They placed the cross on his back and made him carry it behind Jesus.^[4] Matthew and Mark recorded the same incident. I might have assumed that He was too holy to carry his own cross except that John recalled Jesus carrying his own cross (John 19:16, 17 NET). Apparently the One who said, If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me,^[5] was too weak to carry his all the way to his crucifixion.

Two other (ἕτεροι, a form of ἕτερος) criminals (κακοῦργοι, a form of κακοῦργος) were also led away to be executed with him.^[6] Isaiah had prophesied, he was numbered with the transgressors,^[7] though he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.^[8] But with the words ἕτεροι κακοῦργοι δύο Luke captured (See: ἕτεροι; Luke 11:15, 16) the social reality of Jesus as one of three criminals condemned to death by the duly authorized governor of Judea. His punishment was neither cruel nor unusual under the prevailing standards of their socially constructed reality.

A great number of the people followed him (Luke 23:27-31 NET):

…among them women who were mourning and wailing for him. But Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For this is certain: The days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, the wombs that never bore children, and the breasts that never nursed!’ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’ For if such things are done when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

They came to a place called Golgotha (which means “Place of the Skull”) and offered Jesus wine mixed with gall to drink. But after tasting it, he would not drink it.^[9] There they crucified him along with two others, one on each side, with Jesus in the middle.^[10] But Jesus said, “Father, forgive (ἄφες, a form of ἀφίημι) them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”^[11]

Jesus, naked^[12] on the cross, looked down as the soldiers who crucified Him took his clothes and made four shares, one for each soldier, and the tunic remained. (Now the tunic was seamless, woven from top to bottom as a single piece.) So the soldiers said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but throw dice to see who will get it.” This took place to fulfill the scripture that says, “They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they threw dice.” So the soldiers did these things.^[13] David (1 Samuel 16:1 – 1 Kings 2:11) had prophesied, they look and stare upon me. They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.^[14]

Then they sat down and kept guard over him there.^[15] It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him.^[16] That would be the second morning since the night of his arrest with little or no sleep for Jesus. The people also stood there watching, but the rulers ridiculed him, saying, “He saved others. Let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, his chosen one!” The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, and saying, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself!”^[17]

Pilate also had a notice written and fastened to the cross, which read: “Jesus the Nazarene, the king of the Jews.”^[18] Thus many of the Jewish residents of Jerusalem read this notice, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the notice was written in Aramaic (Ἑβραϊστί; literally, in Hebrew; NET note 67), Latin, and Greek. Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The king of the Jews,’ but rather, ‘This man said, I am king of the Jews.’” Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”^[19]

Those who passed by defamed him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! You who can destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself and come down from the cross!” In the same way even the chief priests – together with the experts in the law – were mocking him among themselves: “He saved others, but he cannot save himself! Let the Christ, the king of Israel, come down from the cross now, that we may see and believe!”^[20] He trusts in God – let God, if he wants to, deliver him now because he said, ‘I am God’s Son’!” The robbers who were crucified with him also spoke abusively to him.^[21] One of the criminals who was hanging there railed at him, saying, “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”^[22]

This is the point in the story where I wished Jesus would come down from the cross as more than twelve legions of angels came screaming out of the sky to the tune of Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries to kill everyone who mocked Him. Actually it is the ideal of the Sicarii—walking up to an “enemy” (anyone who disagrees with my “truth”) plunging a long knife into him several times and melting away again into the crowd—that appeals to the sin in my flesh more than the straight-up warfare of the Zealots. Cowardice prevented me from ever actualizing the murderous intentions of my heart. And until the moment that sentence formed in my mind I hadn’t thanked God for that fear. All this may help explain why years of imitating the Pharisees felt like a step toward godliness to me.

But the other [criminal] rebuked him [the former criminal], saying, “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, remember me when you come in your kingdom.” And Jesus said to him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise”^[23] as a door of hope opened (Hosea 2:14-17 Tanakh).

Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her. And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt (Table). And it shall be at that day, saith the LORD (y^ehôvâh, יהוה), that thou shalt call me Ishi (ʼı̂ysh, אישי); and shalt call me no more Baali (baʽălı̂y, בעלי Table). For I will take away the names of Baalim (baʽal, הבעלים) out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name (Table).

As confessions go, And we rightly so, for we are getting what we deserve for what we did is nothing compared to Achan’s confession (Joshua 7:19-25 Tanakh)

And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me (Table).

And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done (Table): When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it (Table).

So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent; and, behold, it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it.

And they took them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua, and unto all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the LORD.

And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of Achor (Table).

And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the LORD shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones (Table).

I wonder now whether Achan and his sons and his daughters, after suffering the punishment of criminals, face an implacable Judge or a merciful Savior, not because of the merits of Achan’s confession but because of the merits of that Savior: But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous, forgiving us our sins and cleansing us from all unrighteousness.^[24]

Now standing beside Jesus’ cross were his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. So when Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing there, he said to his mother, “Woman, look, here is your son!” He then said to his disciple, “Look, here is your mother!” From that very time the disciple took her into his own home.^[25]

Now from noon until three, darkness came over all the land. At about three o’clock Jesus shouted with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?”^[26] that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”^[27] After six hours on the cross Jesus lamented his loneliness even as He affirmed his confidence in the Scripture, written for his comfort (Psalm 22:6-18) for the very moment He prayed it (Psalm 22:1, 23, 24 Tanakh):

My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?…Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel. For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard.

When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, “This man is calling for Elijah.” Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge, filled it with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink. But the rest said, “Leave him alone! Let’s see if Elijah will come to save him.”^[28] After this Jesus, realizing that by this time everything was completed, said (in order to fulfill the scripture [Psalm 22:15]), “I am thirsty!” A jar full of sour wine was there, so they put a sponge soaked in sour wine on a branch of hyssop and lifted it to his mouth. When he had received the sour wine, Jesus said, “It is completed!”^[29] David had already spoken for Jesus’ failing breath (Psalm 22:25-31 Tanakh):

My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him. The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever. All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. For the kingdom is the LORD’s: and he is the governor among the nations. All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own soul. A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation. They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.

The temple curtain was torn in two. Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And after he said this he breathed his last.^[30] The earth shook and the rocks were split apart. And tombs were opened, and the bodies of many saints who had died were raised. (They came out of the tombs after his resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.)^[31]

Now when the centurion, who stood in front of him, saw how he died, he said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!”^[32] And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts.^[33]

Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me? Jesus asked. The words that I say to you, I do not speak on my own initiative, but the Father residing in me performs his miraculous deeds.^[34] And in the letter to the Hebrews we are encouraged: Think of him who endured such opposition against himself by sinners, so that you may not grow weary in your souls and give up.^[35] I tell you the solemn truth, Jesus promised, the person who believes in me will perform the miraculous deeds that I am doing, and will perform greater deeds than these, because I am going to the Father.^[36] For, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.^[37]

The Gospel harmony I made to write this essay follows.

The Crucifixion
Matthew	Mark	Luke	John
			So they took Jesus, and carrying his own cross… John 19:16b, 17a
As they were going out, they found a man from Cyrene named Simon, whom they forced to carry his cross. Matthew 27:32	The soldiers forced a passerby to carry his cross, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country… Mark 15:21a	As they led him away, they seized Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country. They placed the cross on his back and made him carry it behind Jesus. Luke 23:26
	(he was the father of Alexander and Rufus). Mark 15:21b
		A great number of the people followed him, among them women who were mourning and wailing for him. But Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For this is certain: The days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, the wombs that never bore children, and the breasts that never nursed!’ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’ For if such things are done when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?” Luke 23:27-31
		Two other criminals were also led away to be executed with him. Luke 23:32
They came to a place called Golgotha (which means “Place of the Skull”)… Matthew 27:33	They brought Jesus to a place called Golgotha (which is translated, “Place of the Skull”). Mark 15:22	So when they came to the place that is called “The Skull” … Luke 23:33a	…he went out to the place called “The Place of the Skull” (called in Aramaic Golgotha). John 19:17b
…and offered Jesus wine mixed with gall to drink. But after tasting it, he would not drink it. Matthew 27:34	They offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. Mark 15:23
When they had crucified him… Matthew 27:35a	Then they crucified him… Mark 15:24a	…they crucified him there… Luke 23:33b	There they crucified him… John 19:18a
		…along with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. Luke 23:33c	…along with two others, one on each side, with Jesus in the middle. John 19:18b
		[But Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”] Luke 23:34a
…they divided his clothes by throwing dice. Matthew 27:35b	…and divided his clothes, throwing dice for them, to decide what each would take. Mark 15:24b	Then they threw dice to divide his clothes. Luke 23:34b
Then they sat down and kept guard over him there. Matthew 27:36
	It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. Mark 15:25
		The people also stood there watching, but the rulers ridiculed him, saying, “He saved others. Let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, his chosen one!” The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, and saying, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself!” Luke 23:35-37
Above his head they put the charge against him, which read: “This is Jesus, the king of the Jews.” Matthew 27:37	The inscription of the charge against him read, “The king of the Jews.” Mark 15:26	There was also an inscription over him, “This is the king of the Jews.” Luke 23:38	Pilate also had a notice written and fastened to the cross, which read: “Jesus the Nazarene, the king of the Jews.” John 19:19
			Thus many of the Jewish residents of Jerusalem read this notice, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the notice was written in Aramaic, Latin, and Greek. Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The king of the Jews,’ but rather, ‘This man said, I am king of the Jews.’” Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.” John 19:20-22
			Now when the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and made four shares, one for each soldier, and the tunic remained. (Now the tunic was seamless, woven from top to bottom as a single piece.) So the soldiers said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but throw dice to see who will get it.” This took place to fulfill the scripture that says, “They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they threw dice.” So the soldiers did these things. John 19:23, 24
Then two outlaws were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by defamed him, shaking their heads and saying, “You who can destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are God’s Son, come down from the cross!” In the same way even the chief priests – together with the experts in the law and elders – were mocking him: “He saved others, but he cannot save himself! He is the king of Israel! If he comes down now from the cross, we will believe in him! Matthew 27:38-42	And they crucified two outlaws with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by defamed him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! You who can destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself and come down from the cross!” In the same way even the chief priests – together with the experts in the law – were mocking him among themselves: “He saved others, but he cannot save himself! Let the Christ, the king of Israel, come down from the cross now, that we may see and believe!” Mark 15:27-32a
He trusts in God – let God, if he wants to, deliver him now because he said, ‘I am God’s Son’!” Matthew 27:43
The robbers who were crucified with him also spoke abusively to him. Matthew 27:44	Those who were crucified with him also spoke abusively to him. Mark 15:32b
		One of the criminals who was hanging there railed at him, saying, “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “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, remember me when you come in your kingdom.” And Jesus said to him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:39-43
			Now standing beside Jesus’ cross were his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. So when Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing there, he said to his mother, “Woman, look, here is your son!” He then said to his disciple, “Look, here is your mother!” From that very time the disciple took her into his own home. John 19:25-27
Now from noon until three, darkness came over all the land. Matthew 27:45	Now when it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. Mark 15:33	It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, because the sun’s light failed. Luke 23:44, 45a
At about three o’clock Jesus shouted with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, “This man is calling for Elijah.” Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge, filled it with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink. But the rest said, “Leave him alone! Let’s see if Elijah will come to save him.” Matthew 27:46-49	Around three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” When some of the bystanders heard it they said, “Listen, he is calling for Elijah!” Then someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Leave him alone! Let’s see if Elijah will come to take him down!” Mark 15:34-36
			After this Jesus, realizing that by this time everything was completed, said (in order to fulfill the scripture), “I am thirsty!” A jar full of sour wine was there, so they put a sponge soaked in sour wine on a branch of hyssop and lifted it to his mouth. When he had received the sour wine, Jesus said, “It is completed!” John 19:28-30a
Then Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and gave up his spirit. Just then the temple curtain was torn in two, from top to bottom. Matthew 27:50, 51a	But Jesus cried out with a loud voice and breathed his last. And the temple curtain was torn in two, from top to bottom. Mark 15:37, 38	The temple curtain was torn in two. Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And after he said this he breathed his last. Luke 23:45, 46	Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19:30b
The earth shook and the rocks were split apart. And tombs were opened, and the bodies of many saints who had died were raised. (They came out of the tombs after his resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.) Matthew 27:51b-53
Now when the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and what took place, they were extremely terrified and said, “Truly this one was God’s Son!” Matthew 27:54	Now when the centurion, who stood in front of him, saw how he died, he said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!” Mark 15:39	Now when the centurion saw what had happened, he praised God and said, “Certainly this man was innocent!” Luke 23:47
		And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts. Luke 23:48
Many women who had followed Jesus from Galilee and given him support were also there, watching from a distance. Matthew 27:55	There were also women, watching from a distance. Mark 15:40a	And all those who knew Jesus stood at a distance, and the women who had followed him from Galilee saw these things. Luke 23:49
Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee. Matthew 27:56	Among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. When he was in Galilee, they had followed him and given him support. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were there too. Mark 15:40b, 41

Who Am I? Part 8

Back to Atonement, Part 1

Back to Romans, Part 90

Back to Atonement, Part 7

Back to Who Am I? Part 14

^[1] Luke 3:22a (NET)

^[2] The words free will were added by the translators to the Greek word ἐμαυτοῦ translated my own.

^[3] Romans, Part 55; My Reasons and My Reason, Part 5; Romans, Part 38; Fear – Genesis, Part 6; Who Am I? Part 2

^[4] Luke 23:26 (NET)

^[5] Matthew 16:24 (NET)

^[6] Luke 23:32 (NET)

^[7] Isaiah 53:12b (Tanakh)

^[8] Isaiah 53:9b (Tanakh)

^[9] Matthew 27:33, 34 (NET) David Mathis offers the following explanation in his blog post “The Wine Jesus Drank” on desiringGod.

^[10] John 19:18 (NET)

^[11] Luke 23:34a (NET) Table

^[12] Stephen Ray, “Was Jesus Crucified Naked?,” Defender’s of the Catholic Faith

^[13] John 19:23, 24 (NET)

^[14] Psalm 22:17b, 18 (Tanakh)

^[15] Matthew 27:36 (NET)

^[16] Mark 15:25 (NET)

^[17] Luke 23:35-37 (NET)

^[18] Though it differs slightly from the synoptic Gospels I’m going with John’s account because he, the disciple whom [Jesus] loved, was actually there (John 19:25-27) near enough to read it.

^[19] John 19:19-22 (NET)

^[20] Mark 15:29-32a (NET)

^[21] Matthew 27:43, 44 (NET)

^[22] Luke 23:39 (NET)

^[23] Luke 23:40-43 (NET)

^[24] 1 John 1:9 (NET)

^[25] John 19:25-27 (NET)

^[26] I had thought and written that this was Aramaic. E. A. Knapp in his article “Did the Messiah Speak Aramaic or Hebrew? (part 2)” on Torah Class online disputes that.

^[27] Matthew 27:45, 46 (NET) Table

^[28] Matthew 27:47-49 (NET)

^[29] John 19:28-30a (NET)

^[30] Luke 23:45b, 46 (NET)

^[31] Matthew 27:51b-53 (NET)

^[32] Mark 15:39 (NET)

^[33] Luke 23:48 (NET)

^[34] John 14:10 (NET)

^[35] Hebrews 12:3 (NET)

^[36] John 14:12 (NET)

^[37] Galatians 5:22, 23a (NET)

The Gospel and the Religious Mind

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

Tag Archives: John 10:17-18