A Shadow of the Good Things, Part 8

Posted on December 16, 2023 by admin

The Lord gave Moses detailed instructions about the day of atonement:

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Leviticus 16:2, 3 (Tanakh)	Leviticus 16:2, 3 (NET)	Leviticus 16:2, 3 (NETS)	Leviticus 16:2, 3 (English Elpenor)
and HaShem (יְהֹוָ֜ה) said unto Moses: ‘Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the veil, before the ark-cover which is upon the ark; that he die not; for I appear in the cloud upon the ark-cover.	and the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ, יהוה) said to Moses: “Tell Aaron your brother that he must not enter at any time into the Holy Place inside the special curtain in front of the atonement lid that is on the ark so that he may not die, for I will appear in the cloud over the atonement lid.	And the Lord (κύριος) said to Moyses: Speak to Aaron your brother, and let him not enter at any time into the sanctuary inside the veil facing the propitiatory that is on the ark of witness, and he will not die, for I will be seen in the cloud upon the propitiatory.	And the Lord (Κύριος) said to Moses, Speak to Aaron thy brother, and let him not come in at all times into the holy place within the veil before the propitiatory, which is upon the ark of the testimony, and he shall not die; for I will appear in a cloud on the propitiatory.
Herewith shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin-offering, and a ram for a burnt-offering.	“In this way Aaron is to enter into the sanctuary—with a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.	Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a calf from the cattle for sin and a ram for a whole burnt offering.	Thus shall Aaron enter into the holy place; with a calf of the herd for a sin-offering, and [having] a ram for a whole-burnt-offering.

The writer of Hebrews explained (Hebrews 9:6b-10 NET):

…the priests enter continually into the outer tent as they perform their duties [Table]. But only the high priest enters once a year into the inner tent, and not without blood that he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance. The Holy Spirit is making clear that the way into the Holy Place had not yet appeared as long as the old tabernacle was standing. This was a symbol for the time then present, when gifts and sacrifices were offered that could not perfect the conscience of the worshiper. They served only for matters of food and drink and various ritual washings; they are external regulations¹ imposed until the new order came.

The Lord described how Aaron should dress:

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Leviticus 16:4 (Tanakh)	Leviticus 16:4 (NET)	Leviticus 16:4 (NETS)	Leviticus 16:4 (English Elpenor)
He shall put on the holy linen tunic, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with the linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired; they are the holy garments; and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and put them on.	He must put on a holy linen tunic, linen leggings are to cover his body, and he is to wrap himself with a linen sash and wrap his head with a linen turban. They are holy garments, so he must bathe his body in water and put them on.	And he shall put on (ἐνδύσεται) the consecrated linen tunic, and linen drawers shall be on his flesh, and he shall gird himself with a linen girdle and wrap around a linen turban; they are holy vestments. And he shall bathe his entire body in water and then put them on (ἐνδύσεται αὐτά).	And he shall put on the (ἐνδύσεται) consecrated linen tunic, and he shall have on his flesh the linen drawers, and shall gird himself with a linen girdle, and shall put on the linen cap, they are holy garments; and he shall bathe all his body in water, and shall put them on (ἐνδύσεται αὐτά).

Peter wrote of the eight souls…delivered through water,² from the flood (1 Peter 3:21, 22 NET):

And this prefigured baptism, which now saves you—not the washing off of physical dirt but the pledge of a good conscience to God—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ [Table], who went into heaven and is at the right hand of God with angels and authorities and powers subject to him.

And Paul wrote (Ephesians 4:22-24 NET)

You were taught with reference to your former way of life to lay aside the old man who is being corrupted in accordance with deceitful desires, to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and to put on (ἐνδύσασθαι, another form of ἐνδύω) the new man who has been created in God’s image—in righteousness and holiness that comes from truth.

The Lord commanded further concerning the day of atonement:

Masoretic Text		Septuagint
Leviticus 16:5-10 (Tanakh)	Leviticus 16:5-10 (NET)	Leviticus 16:5-10 (NETS)	Leviticus 16:5-10 (English Elpenor)
And [Aaron] shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two he-goats for a sin-offering, and one ram for a burnt-offering.	He must also take two male goats from the congregation of the Israelites for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering.	And he shall take from the congregation of the sons of Israel two billy goats for sin and one ram for a whole burnt offering.	And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin-offering, and one lamb for a whole-burnt-offering.
And Aaron shall present the bullock of the sin-offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself, and for his house.	Then Aaron is to present the sin-offering bull which is for himself and is to make atonement on behalf of himself and his household.	And Aaron shall offer the bull calf for sin, which is his own, and shall make atonement for himself and for his house.	And Aaron shall bring the calf for his own sin-offering, and shall make atonement for himself and for his house.
And he shall take the two goats, and set them before HaShem at the door of the tent of meeting.	Next he must take the two goats and stand them before the Lord at the entrance of the Meeting Tent,	And he shall take the two goats and set them before the Lord at the door of the tent of witness,	And he shall take the two goats, and place them before the Lord by the door of the tabernacle of witness.
And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats: one lot for HaShem (לַֽיהֹוָ֔ה), and the other lot for Azazel (לַֽעֲזָאזֵֽל).	and Aaron is to cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ, ליהוה) and one lot for Azazel (ʿăzā’zēl, לעזאזל).	And Aaron shall place lots on the two goats, one lot for the Lord (τῷ κυρίῳ) and one lot for the one to be sent off (τῷ ἀποπομπαίῳ).	and Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats, one lot for the Lord (τῷ Κυρίῳ), and the other for the scape-goat (τῷ ἀποπομπαίῳ).
And Aaron shall present the goat upon which the lot fell for HaShem, and offer him for a sin-offering.	Aaron must then present the goat which has been designated by lot for the Lord, and he is to make it a sin offering,	And Aaron shall present the goat which the lot fell on for the Lord and offer for sin,	And Aaron shall bring forward the goat on which the lot for the Lord fell, and shall offer him for a sin-offering.
But the goat, on which the lot fell for Azazel (לַֽעֲזָאזֵ֔ל), shall be set alive before HaShem, to make atonement over him, to send him away for Azazel (לַֽעֲזָאזֵ֖ל) into the wilderness.	but the goat which has been designated by lot for Azazel (ʿăzā’zēl, לעזאזל) is to be stood alive before the Lord to make atonement on it by sending it away into the desert to Azazel (ʿăzā’zēl, לעזאזל).	and the goat which the lot fell on of the one to be sent off (τοῦ ἀποπομπαίου) he shall set it alive before the Lord to make atonement over it, to send it away into the place for sending away (τὴν ἀποπομπήν)—he shall let it go into the wilderness.	and the goat upon which the lot of the scape-goat (τοῦ ἀποπομπαίου) came, he shall present alive before the Lord, to make atonement upon him, so as to send him away as a scape-goat (τὴν ἀποπομπήν), and he shall send him into the wilderness.

The writer of Hebrews continued (Hebrews 9:11, 12 NET):

But now Christ has come as the high priest of the good things to come. He passed through the greater and more perfect tent not made with hands, that is, not of this creation [Table], and he entered once for all into the Most Holy Place not by the blood of goats and calves but by his own blood, and so he himself secured eternal redemption.

I’m thinking more deeply about the theme of this thread:

Hebrews 10:1a (NET)	Colossians 2:17 (NET) Table
For the law possesses a shadow of the good things to come but not the reality itself…	…these are only the shadow of the things to come, but the reality is Christ!
Hebrews 10:1a (NET Parallel Greek)	Colossians 2:17 (NET Parallel Greek)
Σκιὰν γὰρ ἔχων ὁ νόμος τῶν μελλόντων ἀγαθῶν, οὐκ αὐτὴν τὴν εἰκόνα τῶν πραγμάτων	ἅ ἐστιν σκιὰ τῶν μελλόντων, τὸ δὲ σῶμα τοῦ Χριστοῦ

The writer of Hebrews declared that the law possesses (ἔχων, a participle of ἔχω) a shadow (Σκιὰν, a form of σκιά ). Paul wrote that food or drink…the matter of a feast, new moon, or Sabbath days³ (i.e., those things described in the law) are (ἐστιν)…the shadow (σκιὰ). Two different phrases were translated reality itself (Hebrews) or reality (Colossians) in the NET. The author of Hebrews wrote τὴν εἰκόνα τῶν πραγμάτων (literally: “the image of the things”), while Paul wrote τὸ…σῶμα, (literally: “the body”).

I won’t quarrel with the NET translation except to say that it doesn’t imply that the shadow is unreal. A shadow is very real and prompts one to look up or turn around and look in another direction for what has cast it. I’m particularly exercised here to look for what cast the shadow of the scape-goat or the goat…to send…away for Azazel. The Scriptures listed in “6 Bible Verses about Scapegoat,” on Knowing Jesus online indicate to me that τὸ…σῶμα τοῦ Χριστοῦ was understood literally as “the body of Christ.” There is another way to understand this phrase, especially in this particular context.

One may assume that the verb of being ἐστιν from the first clause is implied in the second: τὸ…σῶμα (ἐστιν) τοῦ Χριστοῦ, “the body [is] of Christ” or “[is] of the Christ.” Consider the following translation (Colossians 2:17 ESV):

These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.

This, coupled with the plural τῶν πραγμάτων in Hebrews, gives me both the license and the inclination to seek that particular aspect of Christ’s atonement⁴ that casts this particular shadow. What comes to mind as I consider the scape-goat,⁵ the one to be sent off,⁶ is Paul’s continuing explanation of one’s death to sin through faith in Christ (Romans 7:14-20 NET).

For we know that the law is spiritual—but I am unspiritual, sold into slavery to sin [Table]. For I don’t understand what I am doing. For I do not do what I want—instead, I do what I hate. But if I do what I don’t want, I agree that the law is good. But now it is no longer me doing it, but sin that lives in me [Table]. For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For I want to do the good, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but I do the very evil I do not want! Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer me doing it but sin that lives in me [Table].

This deserves a more in-depth look: For we know that the law is spiritual—but I (ἐγὼ) am unspiritual, sold into slavery to sin.⁷ In another essay I wrote:

It is difficult to hear Paul call himself unspiritual, sold into slavery to sin. After all, what does that mean for someone like me? But Paul was describing himself as a man deceived^[9] and seized by a fit of coveting, sin [old man], seizing the opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of wrong desires.^[10] In the beginning this old man (sin personified) was perceived by Paul as I (ἐγὼ), I am unspiritual, sold into slavery to sin.

The Benson Commentary ⁸ reads:

But I am carnal — That is, man, considered in himself, as in a state of nature, and destitute of the regenerating grace of God, is carnal.

Meyer’s NT Commentary ⁹ reads:

ἐγὼ δέ] but I, i.e. according to the ἰδίωσις pervading the entire section: the man, not yet regenerate by the Holy Spirit, in his relation to the Mosaic law given to him…

I think we were all mistaken. Consider the I Paul described:

For I don’t understand what I am doing.¹⁰

Here, I don’t understand was οὐ γινώσκω, the I being understood from the 1^st person verb. And, what I am doing was ὃ…κατεργάζομαι. Again, the I is understood from the 1^st person verb. Paul continued:

For I do not do what I want—instead, I do what I hate.¹¹

Literally: “For not what I want (οὐ γὰρ ὃ θέλω) this I do” (τοῦτο πράσσω). And, according to a note (22) in the NET, “but (ἀλλ᾿) what (ὃ) I hate (μισῶ), this (τοῦτο) I do (ποιῶ).” Here, too, I was understood from the 1^st person verbs.

Paul made his desire, his will, quite explicit:

For I want to do the good, but I cannot do it.¹²

Literally according to a note (24) in the NET: “For to wish (τὸ γὰρ θέλειν) is present (παράκειται) in/with me (μοι), but not to do it” (τὸ δὲ κατεργάζεσθαι τὸ καλὸν οὔ). Here, μοι, translated “in/with me,” is a form of ἐγώ in the dative case, hearkening back to that I Paul described as unspiritual, sold into slavery to sin. It is readily distinguished from ἐμοί (another form of ἐγώ in the dative case) which precedes it:

For I know that nothing good lives in me (ἐμοί), that is, in my (μου) flesh.¹³

I’ll follow Paul’s word order more closely here. Though awkward in English it conveys his meaning quite clearly: For I know (Οἶδα γὰρ) that nothing (ὅτι οὐκ)…lives in me (οἰκεῖ ἐν ἐμοί), that is (τοῦτ᾿ ἔστιν), in my flesh (ἐν τῇ σαρκί μου), good (ἀγαθόν). And so, with these particular occurrences of dative forms of ἐγώ (ἐμοί and μου) he referred to his flesh only: that old man who is being corrupted in accordance with deceitful desires.¹⁴ But his qualification of these particular occurrences also serves to highlight those occurrences he did not qualify in a similar way.

And once more for good measure:

For I do not do the good I want, but I do the very evil I do not want!¹⁵

Here, For I do not do the good I want was οὐ γὰρ ὃ θέλω ποιῶ ἀγαθόν in Greek. And, but I do the very evil I do not want was ἀλλὰ ὃ οὐ θέλω κακὸν τοῦτο πράσσω. Here again, I was understood from the 1^st person verbs.

The good (ἀγαθόν, a form of ἀγαθός) was not something Paul imagined for Himself, for he had already written (Romans 7:12 NET):

So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous, and good (ἀγαθή, another form of ἀγαθός).

The I Paul described had a new desire (Romans 3:10-18), a new will, to do the will of God revealed in the law. He was not “in a state of nature, and destitute of the regenerating grace of God.” He did not describe his plight as one “not yet regenerate by the Holy Spirit, in his relation to the Mosaic law given to him.” Rather, he described an I who was born from above, born of water and spirit, born of the flesh and born of the Spirit. I want to do the good, he wrote, but I cannot do it.¹⁶

I’ll pick this up in another essay.

Tables comparing Leviticus 16:2; 16:3; 16:4; 16:5; 16:6; 16:7; 16:8; 16:9 and 16:10 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and tables comparing the Greek of Leviticus 16:2; 16:3; 16:4; 16:5; 16:6; 16:7; 16:8; 16:9 and 16:10 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and a table comparing Hebrews 9:10 in the NET and KJV follow.

Leviticus 16:2 (Tanakh)	Leviticus 16:2 (KJV)	Leviticus 16:2 (NET)
and HaShem said unto Moses: ‘Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the veil, before the ark-cover which is upon the ark; that he die not; for I appear in the cloud upon the ark-cover.	And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat.	and the Lord said to Moses: “Tell Aaron your brother that he must not enter at any time into the Holy Place inside the special curtain in front of the atonement lid that is on the ark so that he may not die, for I will appear in the cloud over the atonement lid.

Leviticus 16:2 (Septuagint BLB)	Leviticus 16:2 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ εἶπεν κύριος πρὸς Μωυσῆν λάλησον πρὸς Ααρων τὸν ἀδελφόν σου καὶ μὴ εἰσπορευέσθω πᾶσαν ὥραν εἰς τὸ ἅγιον ἐσώτερον τοῦ καταπετάσματος εἰς πρόσωπον τοῦ ἱλαστηρίου ὅ ἐστιν ἐπὶ τῆς κιβωτοῦ τοῦ μαρτυρίου καὶ οὐκ ἀποθανεῖται ἐν γὰρ νεφέλῃ ὀφθήσομαι ἐπὶ τοῦ ἱλαστηρίου	καὶ εἶπε Κύριος πρὸς Μωυσῆν· λάλησον πρὸς ᾿Ααρὼν τὸν ἀδελφόν σου, καὶ μὴ εἰσπορευέσθω πᾶσαν ὥραν εἰς τὸ ἅγιον ἐσώτερον τοῦ καταπετάσματος εἰς πρόσωπον τοῦ ἱλαστηρίου, ὅ ἐστιν ἐπὶ τῆς κιβωτοῦ τοῦ μαρτυρίου, καὶ οὐκ ἀποθανεῖται· ἐν γὰρ νεφέλῃ ὀφθήσομαι ἐπὶ τοῦ ἱλαστηρίου
Leviticus 16:2 (NETS)	Leviticus 16:2 (English Elpenor)
And the Lord said to Moyses: Speak to Aaron your brother, and let him not enter at any time into the sanctuary inside the veil facing the propitiatory that is on the ark of witness, and he will not die, for I will be seen in the cloud upon the propitiatory.	And the Lord said to Moses, Speak to Aaron thy brother, and let him not come in at all times into the holy place within the veil before the propitiatory, which is upon the ark of the testimony, and he shall not die; for I will appear in a cloud on the propitiatory.

Leviticus 16:3 (Tanakh)	Leviticus 16:3 (KJV)	Leviticus 16:3 (NET)
Herewith shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin-offering, and a ram for a burnt-offering.	Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering.	“In this way Aaron is to enter into the sanctuary—with a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.

Leviticus 16:3 (Septuagint BLB)	Leviticus 16:3 (Septuagint Elpenor)
οὕτως εἰσελεύσεται Ααρων εἰς τὸ ἅγιον ἐν μόσχῳ ἐκ βοῶν περὶ ἁμαρτίας καὶ κριὸν εἰς ὁλοκαύτωμα	οὕτως εἰσελεύσεται ᾿Ααρὼν εἰς τὸ ἅγιον· ἐν μόσχῳ ἐκ βοῶν περὶ ἁμαρτίας, καὶ κριὸν εἰς ὁλοκαύτωμα
Leviticus 16:3 (NETS)	Leviticus 16:3 (English Elpenor)
Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a calf from the cattle for sin and a ram for a whole burnt offering.	Thus shall Aaron enter into the holy place; with a calf of the herd for a sin-offering, and [having] a ram for a whole-burnt-offering.

Leviticus 16:4 (Tanakh)	Leviticus 16:4 (KJV)	Leviticus 16:4 (NET)
He shall put on the holy linen tunic, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with the linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired; they are the holy garments; and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and put them on.	He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired: these are holy garments; therefore shall he wash his flesh in water, and so put them on.	He must put on a holy linen tunic, linen leggings are to cover his body, and he is to wrap himself with a linen sash and wrap his head with a linen turban. They are holy garments, so he must bathe his body in water and put them on.

Leviticus 16:4 (Septuagint BLB)	Leviticus 16:4 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ χιτῶνα λινοῦν ἡγιασμένον ἐνδύσεται καὶ περισκελὲς λινοῦν ἔσται ἐπὶ τοῦ χρωτὸς αὐτοῦ καὶ ζώνῃ λινῇ ζώσεται καὶ κίδαριν λινῆν περιθήσεται ἱμάτια ἅγιά ἐστιν καὶ λούσεται ὕδατι πᾶν τὸ σῶμα αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐνδύσεται αὐτά	καὶ χιτῶνα λινοῦν ἡγιασμένον ἐνδύσεται, καὶ περισκελὲς λινοῦν ἔσται ἐπὶ τοῦ χρωτὸς αὐτοῦ, καὶ ζώνῃ λινῇ ζώσεται καὶ κίδαριν λινῆν περιθήσεται, ἱμάτια ἅγιά ἐστι, καὶ λούσεται ὕδατι πᾶν τὸ σῶμα αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐνδύσεται αὐτά
Leviticus 16:4 (NETS)	Leviticus 16:4 (English Elpenor)
And he shall put on the consecrated linen tunic, and linen drawers shall be on his flesh, and he shall gird himself with a linen girdle and wrap around a linen turban; they are holy vestments. And he shall bathe his entire body in water and then put them on.	And he shall put on the consecrated linen tunic, and he shall have on his flesh the linen drawers, and shall gird himself with a linen girdle, and shall put on the linen cap, they are holy garments; and he shall bathe all his body in water, and shall put them on.

Leviticus 16:5 (Tanakh)	Leviticus 16:5 (KJV)	Leviticus 16:5 (NET)
And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two he-goats for a sin-offering, and one ram for a burnt-offering.	And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.	He must also take two male goats from the congregation of the Israelites for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering.

Leviticus 16:5 (Septuagint BLB)	Leviticus 16:5 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ παρὰ τῆς συναγωγῆς τῶν υἱῶν Ισραηλ λήμψεται δύο χιμάρους ἐξ αἰγῶν περὶ ἁμαρτίας καὶ κριὸν ἕνα εἰς ὁλοκαύτωμα	καὶ παρὰ τῆς συναγωγῆς τῶν υἱῶν ᾿Ισραὴλ λήψεται δύο χιμάρους ἐξ αἰγῶν περὶ ἁμαρτίας καὶ κριὸν ἕνα εἰς ὁλοκαύτωμα
Leviticus 16:5 (NETS)	Leviticus 16:5 (English Elpenor)
And he shall take from the congregation of the sons of Israel two billy goats for sin and one ram for a whole burnt offering.	And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin-offering, and one lamb for a whole-burnt-offering.

Leviticus 16:6 (Tanakh)	Leviticus 16:6 (KJV)	Leviticus 16:6 (NET)
And Aaron shall present the bullock of the sin-offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself, and for his house.	And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself, and for his house.	Then Aaron is to present the sin-offering bull which is for himself and is to make atonement on behalf of himself and his household.

Leviticus 16:6 (Septuagint BLB)	Leviticus 16:6 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ προσάξει Ααρων τὸν μόσχον τὸν περὶ τῆς ἁμαρτίας αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐξιλάσεται περὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ τοῦ οἴκου αὐτοῦ	καὶ προσάξει ᾿Ααρὼν τὸν μόσχον τὸν περὶ τῆς ἁμαρτίας αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐξιλάσεται περὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ τοῦ οἴκου αὐτοῦ
Leviticus 16:6 (NETS)	Leviticus 16:6 (English Elpenor)
And Aaron shall offer the bull calf for sin, which is his own, and shall make atonement for himself and for his house.	And Aaron shall bring the calf for his own sin-offering, and shall make atonement for himself and for his house.

Leviticus 16:7 (Tanakh)	Leviticus 16:7 (KJV)	Leviticus 16:7 (NET)
And he shall take the two goats, and set them before HaShem at the door of the tent of meeting.	And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.	Next he must take the two goats and stand them before the Lord at the entrance of the Meeting Tent,

Leviticus 16:7 (Septuagint BLB)	Leviticus 16:7 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ λήμψεται τοὺς δύο χιμάρους καὶ στήσει αὐτοὺς ἔναντι κυρίου παρὰ τὴν θύραν τῆς σκηνῆς τοῦ μαρτυρίου	καὶ λήψεται τοὺς δύο χιμάρους καὶ στήσει αὐτοὺς ἔναντι Κυρίου παρὰ τὴν θύραν τῆς σκηνῆς τοῦ μαρτυρίου
Leviticus 16:7 (NETS)	Leviticus 16:7 (English Elpenor)
And he shall take the two goats and set them before the Lord at the door of the tent of witness,	And he shall take the two goats, and place them before the Lord by the door of the tabernacle of witness.

Leviticus 16:8 (Tanakh)	Leviticus 16:8 (KJV)	Leviticus 16:8 (NET)
And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats: one lot for HaShem, and the other lot for Azazel.	And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat.	and Aaron is to cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the Lord and one lot for Azazel.

Leviticus 16:8 (Septuagint BLB)	Leviticus 16:8 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ ἐπιθήσει Ααρων ἐπὶ τοὺς δύο χιμάρους κλῆρον ἕνα τῷ κυρίῳ καὶ κλῆρον ἕνα τῷ ἀποπομπαίῳ	καὶ ἐπιθήσει ᾿Ααρὼν ἐπὶ τοὺς δύο χιμάρους κλήρους, κλῆρον ἕνα τῷ Κυρίῳ καὶ κλῆρον ἕνα τῷ ἀποπομπαίῳ
Leviticus 16:8 (NETS)	Leviticus 16:8 (English Elpenor)
And Aaron shall place lots on the two goats, one lot for the Lord and one lot for the one to be sent off.	and Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats, one lot for the Lord, and the other for the scape-goat.

Leviticus 16:9 (Tanakh)	Leviticus 16:9 (KJV)	Leviticus 16:9 (NET)
And Aaron shall present the goat upon which the lot fell for HaShem, and offer him for a sin-offering.	And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD’S lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering.	Aaron must then present the goat which has been designated by lot for the Lord, and he is to make it a sin offering,

Leviticus 16:9 (Septuagint BLB)	Leviticus 16:9 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ προσάξει Ααρων τὸν χίμαρον ἐφ᾽ ὃν ἐπῆλθεν ἐπ᾽ αὐτὸν ὁ κλῆρος τῷ κυρίῳ καὶ προσοίσει περὶ ἁμαρτίας	καὶ προσάξει ᾿Ααρὼν τὸν χίμαρον, ἐφ᾿ ὃν ἐπῆλθεν ἐπ᾿ αὐτὸν ὁ κλῆρος τῷ Κυρίῳ, καὶ προσοίσει περὶ ἁμαρτίας
Leviticus 16:9 (NETS)	Leviticus 16:9 (English Elpenor)
And Aaron shall present the goat which the lot fell on for the Lord and offer for sin,	And Aaron shall bring forward the goat on which the lot for the Lord fell, and shall offer him for a sin-offering.

Leviticus 16:10 (Tanakh)	Leviticus 16:10 (KJV)	Leviticus 16:10 (NET)
But the goat, on which the lot fell for Azazel, shall be set alive before HaShem, to make atonement over him, to send him away for Azazel into the wilderness.	But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.	but the goat which has been designated by lot for Azazel is to be stood alive before the Lord to make atonement on it by sending it away into the desert to Azazel.

Leviticus 16:10 (Septuagint BLB)	Leviticus 16:10 (Septuagint Elpenor)
καὶ τὸν χίμαρον ἐφ᾽ ὃν ἐπῆλθεν ἐπ᾽ αὐτὸν ὁ κλῆρος τοῦ ἀποπομπαίου στήσει αὐτὸν ζῶντα ἔναντι κυρίου τοῦ ἐξιλάσασθαι ἐπ᾽ αὐτοῦ ὥστε ἀποστεῖλαι αὐτὸν εἰς τὴν ἀποπομπήν ἀφήσει αὐτὸν εἰς τὴν ἔρημον	καὶ τὸν χίμαρον, ἐφ᾿ ὃν ἐπῆλθεν ἐπ᾿ αὐτὸν ὁ κλῆρος τοῦ ἀποπομπαίου, στήσει αὐτὸν ζῶντα ἔναντι Κυρίου, τοῦ ἐξιλάσασθαι ἐπ᾿ αὐτοῦ, ὥστε ἀποστεῖλαι αὐτὸν εἰς τὴν ἀποπομπήν, καὶ ἀφήσει αὐτὸν εἰς τὴν ἔρημον
Leviticus 16:10 (NETS)	Leviticus 16:10 (English Elpenor)
and the goat which the lot fell on of the one to be sent off he shall set it alive before the Lord to make atonement over it, to send it away into the place for sending away—he shall let it go into the wilderness.	and the goat upon which the lot of the scape-goat came, he shall present alive before the Lord, to make atonement upon him, so as to send him away as a scape-goat, and he shall send him into the wilderness.

Hebrews 9:10 (NET)	Hebrews 9:10 (KJV)
They served only for matters of food and drink and various ritual washings; they are external regulations imposed until the new order came.	Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.

Hebrews 9:10 (NET Parallel Greek)	Hebrews 9:10 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Hebrews 9:10 (Byzantine Majority Text)
μόνον ἐπὶ βρώμασιν καὶ πόμασιν καὶ διαφόροις βαπτισμοῖς, δικαιώματα σαρκὸς μέχρι καιροῦ διορθώσεως ἐπικείμενα	μονον επι βρωμασιν και πομασιν και διαφοροις βαπτισμοις και δικαιωμασιν σαρκος μεχρι καιρου διορθωσεως επικειμενα	μονον επι βρωμασιν και πομασιν και διαφοροις βαπτισμοις και δικαιωμασιν σαρκος μεχρι καιρου διορθωσεως επικειμενα

A Shadow of the Good Things, Part 9

Back to A Shadow of the Good Things, Part 10

¹ The NET parallel Greek text and NA²⁸ had δικαιώματα here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had και δικαιωμασιν (KJV: and…ordinances).

² 1 Peter 3:20b (NET) Table

³ Colossians 2:16b (NET) Table

⁴ I’m using the phrase “Christ’s atonement” very deliberately here in the context of a body or substance casting a shadow called the day of atonement. But I don’t intend to dispute anything contained in the transcript of John Piper’s interview, “Why Does ‘Atonement’ Disappear in the New Testament?,” on desiringGod online. I, too, am intrigued by this.

⁵ Leviticus 16:10 (English Elpenor)

⁶ Leviticus 16:10 (NETS)

⁷ Romans 7:14 (NET) Table

⁸ “Joseph Benson (1749-1821) was an English Methodist preacher and biblical scholar who is best known for his extensive work as a commentator on the Bible…Benson’s most significant work was his six-volume commentary on the entire Bible, which he began publishing in 1811. This comprehensive work represented the culmination of his many years of study and reflection on the Scriptures, and it remains a valuable resource for biblical scholars and lay readers alike.” From “Benson’s Commentary of the Old and New Testaments,” on StudyLight.org online.

⁹ “Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer, a German Protestant with a gift for languages, published the first commentary in this collection in 1832 at the age of thirty-two…For over forty years Meyer balanced working on new additions to the commentary collection while also updating those already published with multiple, serious revisions. Before passing the baton to a few of his trusted peers to finish the NT, Meyer had completed sixteen volumes.” From Overview on LOGOS online.

¹⁰ Romans 7:15a (NET)

¹¹ Romans 7:15b (NET)

¹² Romans 7:18b (NET) Table

¹³ Romans 7:18a (NET) Table

¹⁴ Ephesians 4:22b (NET)

¹⁵ Romans 7:19 (NET) Table

¹⁶ Romans 7:18b (NET) Table

Who Am I? Part 4

Posted on December 29, 2016 by admin

I spend a large portion of my Christmas holiday with three post-Christian women I’ll call Grandmother, Mother and Daughter because of their relationship to one another. I call them post-Christian because they were all professing Christians at one time. Grandmother still calls herself a Christian. She means a non-Buddhist, non-Hindu, non-Jew, non-Muslim who believes in Jesus. Her ex-husband was a Baptist Sunday school teacher who abused her, and Mother as a child. Daughter is the most non-Christian, vocally pagan of the three with Mother falling somewhere between. Their transformation began with a desire for a more feminine God. I regret now not taking Mother’s question more seriously. I didn’t understand at the time that this desire would lead through Mother Earth to a Mother Goddess and on to full-fledged paganism.

I pointed out that y^ehôvâh (יהוה) created male and female: God (ʼĕlôhı̂ym, אלהים) created humankind in his own image, in the image of God (ʼĕlôhı̂ym, אלהים) he created them, male and female he created them.^[1] I talked about the meaning of El Shaddai (ʼêl, אל; shadday, שדי) and a few other references to God as feminine. But I emphasized that the general understanding of God as masculine was due primarily to the fact that we are all feminine in relation to the operation of his grace through Jesus Christ.

I am accepted among them as the kindly, odd, somewhat benighted, old man who studies the Bible in his spare time, so ordinary conversation—what’ve you been up to?—offers many opportunities. A recent conversation with Grandmother and Daughter turned naturally to Jesus’ dying thoughts on the cross. I read Psalm 22 aloud. Daughter was visibly, tearfully moved and vocally overwhelmed that David could write such exact knowledge so many centuries before Jesus was born.

I spoke of God having mercy on whoever he chooses to have mercy and hardening whoever he chooses to harden. I said I had been considering how, and told them the story of two prophets, Nathan and John the Baptist. When Pharisees and Sadduccees, religious leaders, came to be baptized for repentance (Matthew 3:11, 12; Mark 1:4-8; Luke 3:15-17) John said, You offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?^[2] And he challenged them to put their works religion to the test: Therefore produce fruit that proves your repentance…^[3]

What I didn’t say but will record here for my own memory’s sake, whether these particular Pharisees and Sadduccees were directly responsible or not, John’s words were not secret and would have tended to harden the resolve of the religious elite to kill Jesus: the Lord (y^ehôvâh, ויהוה) desired to crush him (e.g., Jesus). On the other hand y^ehôvâh desired David’s repentance and sent Nathan to that effect.

He was sent after King David had committed adultery with Bathsheba and then had her husband killed to cover it up. Nathan told David a story (2 Samuel 12:1-6) about a rich man who had entertained a traveler with a meal. The rich man hadn’t served up any of his own sheep or cattle, but the one ewe lamb he took from a poor man. Then David became very angry at this man.^[4] You are that man!^[5] Nathan said to him.

“Did he kill him?” Daughter asked. I was actually surprised that she had forgotten the story.

No, I answered, I have sinned against the Lord!^[6] David said and then he wrote the 51^st Psalm. I got to read Psalm 51 aloud to them. When I finished Grandmother responded to a look on Daughter’s face at the line—Look, I was guilty of sin from birth, a sinner the moment my mother conceived me.^[7]

“I don’t believe that either,” Grandmother said.

This is a point to concede by the way. If it offends or hurts your feelings, welcome to the human race. Being guilty of sin from birth, a sinner the moment my mother conceived me is equivalent to being born of the flesh of Adam (Romans 5:12-21; 1 Corinthians 15:42-58). You do not want a relentless God who will pursue you with goodness and mercy all the days of your life to spend that time convincing you the hard way that you are a sinner instead (John 16:7-11).

Goodness and mercy, by the way is the NKJV translation of Psalm 23:6a. In the NET it was translated goodness and faithfulness (chêsêd , וחסד).

chêsêd	Hebrew	KJV	NET	Tanakh	Septuagint
Psalm 23:6a	וחסד	mercy	faithfulness	mercy	ἔλεός^[8]

Daughter informed me that my religion has a lot of guilt in it as she praised me for my adherence to it, and insisted that we, she and her pagan friends, desperately need a canon (i.e., of written scripture).

On Yule I learned that Mother had been taking drugs. I wasn’t personally that aware of the winter solstice. Daughter and Mother wished one another happy Yule in the car as I drove them to rehab. It’s probably the only reason I knew anything at all.

I hadn’t known the night before that Mother had informed Daughter she was abusing drugs. Daughter called me the next morning when Mother hesitated to actually commit herself to rehab. In the car on the way Daughter was jubilant and excited that Mother was doing the right thing. Yes, rehab is better than sitting home alone shooting dope, but I was much more somber and subdued.

At her home I had sat with her, held her and listened to her enough to convince myself that Mother had no interest in repentance. Daughter was right. My presence alone persuaded Mother to shower, dress and leave with us for the rehab facility. But in the car I felt like I was delivering her up for more hardening. In my admittedly limited experience I know no one who has returned to faith in Christ from the higher power mysticism of a twelve-step program. I watched sadly the full realization of incarceration creep across her face as she was taken from us. No matter what I say or how much I protest, Mother and Daughter believe I live a life of rules, while they are free.

I gave them My statutes, y^ehôvâh explained in the philosopher’s dream chapter of Ezekiel the prophet, and informed them of My ordinances, by which, if a man observes them, he will live.^[9] I call it the philosopher’s dream chapter because y^ehôvâh explained so much of his own understanding of Israel’s history there. Then the twelve-year-old Jesus had this chapter at his disposal to renew and refresh his now human mind.

The Hebrew word translated My statutes was chûqqâh (חקותי). It was translated προστάγματά in the Septuagint. The Hebrew word translated My ordinances was mishpâṭ (משפטי), and δικαιώματά, a form of δικαίωμα, in the Septuagint. This was translated the righteous requirements in: Therefore if the uncircumcised man obeys the righteous requirements (δικαιώματα, a form of δικαίωμα) of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision?^[10]

In the same chapter y^ehôvâh explained: I also gave them statutes that were not good and ordinances by which they could not live.^[11] Here the Hebrew word translated statutes was chôq (חקים); chûqqâh is the feminine of chôq according to Strong’s Concordance. It was still translated προστάγματα in the Septuagint. And again, the word translated ordinances was mishpâṭ (ומשפטים) in Hebrew and δικαιώματα in the Septuagint. I don’t think these are different statutes or different ordinances.

The commandment…was intended to bring life.^[12] The law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous, and good.^[13] But if a law had been given that was able to give life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law.^[14] God achieved what the law could not do because it was weakened through the flesh.^[15] For sin, seizing the opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it I died.^[16] For we know that the law is spiritual – but I am unspiritual, sold into slavery to sin. For I don’t understand what I am doing. For I do not do what I want – instead, I do what I hate.^[17]

Also I gave them My Sabbaths, y^ehôvâh said in the philosopher’s dream chapter, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord (y^ehôvâh, יהוה) who sanctifies them.^[18]

In practice many professing faith in Jesus do not believe that y^ehôvâh/Jesus sanctifies^[19] them. We trust Him for justification only, primarily forgiveness. We believe our sanctification is a measure of our own good works, obedience accomplished in our own strength for our own glory. We do not believe that here and now a Sabbath rest remains for the people of God. For the one who enters God’s rest has also rested from his works, just as God did from his own works.^[20] 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.^[21] Thus we must make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by following the same pattern of disobedience^[22] (ἀπειθείας, a form of ἀπείθεια; literally, disbelief) Do we then nullify the law through faith? Absolutely not! Instead we uphold the law.^[23]

I want to consider the movie The Host as a Holy Spirit metaphor for one who does not yet experience Him. There are many spoilers here and as a metaphor the film is fatally flawed. But in the hope of communicating some small portion of the Ineffable, here goes.

“The earth is at peace,” a resistance leader named Jebediah (William Hurt) narrates the beginning of the film. “There is no hunger. There is no violence. The environment is healed. Honesty, courtesy and kindness are practiced by all. Our world has never been more perfect. Only it is no longer our world. We’ve been invaded by an alien race. They occupy the bodies of almost all human beings on the planet. The few humans who have survived are on the run.”

Then we are introduced to Melanie (Saoirse Ronan) fleeing her enemies: honesty, courtesy and kindness. Following her earthly father’s example, she attempts suicide but lives, despite her best efforts, only to be possessed by Wanderer (also Saoirse Ronan). Melanie’s old human survives to fight Wanderer for control of their body.

The Seeker (Diane Kruger) interviews Wanderer to glean Melanie’s memories for knowledge of other old humans in the resistance underground. When she decides that Melanie’s old human is too strong for Wanderer, she plans to put Wanderer in a more compliant host, search Melanie’s memories herself and then let Melanie die the death she wanted. But Wanderer has begun to love Melanie. They flee The Seeker together.

Melanie tricks Wanderer into the desert and leads her to Uncle Jebediah and the underground resistance. Uncle Jeb uses all of his authority as a leader to keep others in the resistance from killing the obviously possessed Melanie/Wanderer. Even Melanie’s lover Jared (Max Irons) has no sympathy for her at first. In a get-to-know-you walk-and-talk Uncle Jeb shortens Wanderer’s name to Wanda.

Melanie begins to love Wanda as she witnesses Wanda’s concern for the people Melanie loves, even some she hates or is indifferent toward. The metaphor breaks down, of course. The holy spirits, called souls in the film, are many and varied, and some or not as holy as Wanda. The Seeker ironically becomes almost human in her fears that she personally is losing control to her host Lacey (also Diane Kruger) and that the holy spirits may ultimately lose their possession of the humans. In the end The Host becomes Satan’s wet dream as The Seeker’s fears become flesh: holy spirits collaborate with the resistance to rid humans of the holy spirits.

Mother is on the verge of bankruptcy. I helped her in a similar position nearly twenty years ago. She called me before I left for Christmas. I offered to help again. She accepted. As I drove the hundred miles or so to my own mother’s house the evening after Mother committed herself to rehab I understood why we hadn’t met to review her finances yet. I recalled the things I’ve said and done with Grandmother, Mother and Daughter, fretted over some things I hadn’t said or done and heard Darth Vader echoing in my head, saying, “Now his failure is complete.”

As far as I know I am the believer of record in their lives. I will give an account of this stewardship before Jesus. As the enormity of my failure to live a life that commends others to Jesus inundated me in crushing waves, the image of my mother scrubbing the basement floor on her hands and knees popped into my mind. Of all the things she had said or done, of all the things I might have complained that she hadn’t said or done, this simple image stuck with me.

I had overdosed on some hallucinogen. I had thrown up all night long on her basement floor. My mother cleaning up after me became a living metaphor of my life. I had returned to drugs because a simple taste a few days earlier brought back the feeling I had lost since my early days of trusting Jesus again. I made many more bad decisions along the way. But my mother never gave up on me.

As I drove through the dark hills thinking perhaps I had been spared from helping Mother again financially, the admonition of my penny-pinching father came to mind:

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
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 words weren’t his but Rudyard Kipling’s.^[24] A man like me would be a fool to attempt Kipling’s vision of manhood apart from the Holy Spirit. But the image of my mother’s loving persistence and my father’s words of counsel gave me some hope that I was there, the right person at the right place and time. And that image and those words carried me through that dark night until the continuous infusion of the Holy Spirit’s love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and control took over again the next morning.

Who Am I? Part 5

Back to Romans, Part 85

Back to Fear – Deuteronomy, Part 5

Back to Fear – Deuteronomy, Part 11

Back to Atonement, Part 5

Back to Who Am I? Part 12

Back to Matthew 8:23-34

^[1] Genesis 1:27 (NET)

^[2] Matthew 3:7 (NET)

^[3] Matthew 3:8 (NET)

^[4] 2 Samuel 12:5a (NET) Table

^[5] 2 Samuel 12:7a (NET) Table

^[6] 2 Samuel 12:13a (NET) Table

^[7] Psalm 51:5 (NET) Table

^[8] In the Septuagint both chêsêd (וחסד) and ṭôb (טוב) were translated by the one Greek word ἔλεός.

^[9] Ezekiel 20:11 (NASB)

^[10] Romans 2:26 (NET) Table

^[11] Ezekiel 20:25 (NASB)

^[12] Romans 7:10 (NET)

^[13] Romans 7:12 (NET)

^[14] Galatians 3:21b (NET)

^[15] Romans 8:3a (NET)

^[16] Romans 7:11 (NET)

^[17] Romans 7:14, 15 (NET)

^[18] Ezekiel 20:12 (NASB)

^[19] When I struggled the most with this concept my Pastor was from the Christian and Missionary Alliance. Today, as I scanned their webpage titled “Sanctification,” nothing jumps out at me as problematic except my own spiritual tic. My flesh and my religious mind hear obedience in step 3 “to A Spirit-Filled Life”—“We maintain a continuous relationship with Jesus through obedience to His Word”—as a trigger word, calling me back to a DIY works religion. But now I just translate obedience back into Greek, ὑπακοή, attentive hearkening, and the trigger obey disappears. I remain (μείνατε, a form of μένω) in Jesus through faith instead (which is the actual word used in John 15:1-11 the Scriptural source of step 3).

[Addendum 1/26/2017] I’m not so sure Paul would agree that 1 Corinthians 3:1-4 “clearly teaches that there are two kinds of Christians.”

^[20] Hebrews 4:9, 10 (NET)

^[21] Galatians 2:20 (NET)

^[22] Hebrews 4:11 (NET)

^[23] Romans 3:31 (NET)

^[24] If, by Rudyard Kipling

Romans, Part 84

Posted on December 14, 2016 by admin

For I tell you, Paul continued writing to believers in Rome, that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of God’s truth to confirm the promises made to the fathers, and thus the Gentiles glorify God for his mercy.^[1] These are two seemingly independent clauses joined by the conjunction δὲ, “but, moreover, and.” Any of these would be easier to understand than and thus, indicating that the second clause is logically dependent upon the first. But rather than reject it I’m inclined to slow down and consider it very carefully.

The translators acknowledge the difficulty in a footnote (6): “There are two major syntactical alternatives which are both awkward: (1) One could make ‘glorify’ dependent on ‘Christ has become a minister’ and coordinate with ‘to confirm’ and the result would be rendered ‘Christ has become a minister of circumcision to confirm the promises…and so that the Gentiles might glorify God.’ (2) One could make ‘glorify’ dependent on ‘I tell you’ and coordinate with ‘Christ has become a minister’ and the result would be rendered ‘I tell you that Christ has become a minister of circumcision…and that the Gentiles glorify God.’ The second rendering is preferred.”

I began with a survey of the promises made to the fathers (πατέρων, a form of πατήρ):

…the promises made to the fathers… (τὰς ἐπαγγελίας τῶν πατέρων)
Abram	Genesis 12:1-3, 7; 13:14-17; 15:1-7, 18-20; 17:1-8 ^[2]
Abraham	Genesis 17:18-21; 18:10-14, 17-19, 26-32; 21:12-13; 22:15-18
Isaac	Genesis 26:2-5, 24
Jacob/Israel	Genesis 28:13-15; 31:3; 35:9-12; 46:2-4

Some of the promises were personal and came to pass in the father’s own lifetime. But look, the word of the Lord came to [Abram]: “[Eliezer of Damascus] will not be your heir, but instead a son who comes from your own body will be your heir.”^[3] Is anything impossible for the Lord? He said to Abraham. I will return to you when the season comes round again and Sarah will have a son.^[4] The Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your relatives. I will be with you.”^[5] The promises made to all three concerned the land, their descendants and a singular descendant.

The Lord’s angel called to Abraham a second time from heaven and said, “‘I solemnly swear by my own name,’ decrees the Lord, ‘that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will indeed bless you, and I will greatly multiply your descendants (zeraʽ, זרעך; Septuagint: σπέρμα, singular) so that they will be as countless as the stars in the sky or the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants (zeraʽ, זרעך; Septuagint: σπέρμα, singular) will take possession (yârash, וירש; Septuagint: κληρονομήσει, a form of κληρονομέω, 3^rd person singular) of the strongholds of their enemies. Because you have obeyed me, all the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using the name of your descendants (zeraʽ, בזרעך; Septuagint: σπέρματί, singular).’”^[6]

“This word,” [zeraʽ, זרעך] C. John Collins wrote, “in the singular can refer to offspring, either in a collective sense or as a specific descendant (much as the English word ‘offspring’).”^[7] I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore, is an example of the singular in a “collective sense.” [Desmond] “Alexander argues,” Mr Collins continued, “that the second and third instances of ‘offspring’ are used for a specific offspring.”^[8] Given that, and without any academic credentials to defend, I wonder about some of the other promises. The Lord (y^ehôvâh, יהוה) appeared to Isaac and said (Genesis 26:2-5 NET):

“Do not go down to Egypt; settle down in the land that I will point out to you. Stay in this land. Then I will be with you and will bless you, for I will give all these lands to you and to your descendants (zeraʽ, ולזרעך; Septuagint: σπέρματί, singular), and I will fulfill the solemn promise I made to your father Abraham. I will multiply your descendants (zeraʽ, זרעך; Septuagint: σπέρμα, singular) so they will be as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them (zeraʽ, לזרעך; Septuagint: σπέρματί, singular) all these lands. All the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using the name of your descendants (zeraʽ, בזרעך; Septuagint: σπέρματί, singular). All this will come to pass because Abraham obeyed me and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”

Did y^ehôvâh promise that, All the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using the name of [Isaac, Esau and Jacob]…because Abraham obeyed Him? The Tanakh is considerably more circumspect in translation: and by thy seed shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves; because that Abraham hearkened to My voice, and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws. To Jacob y^ehôvâh said (Genesis 28:13-15 NET):

“I am the Lord (y^ehôvâh, יהוה), the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of your father Isaac. I will give you and your descendants (zeraʽ, ולזרעך; Septuagint: σπέρματί, singular) the ground you are lying on. Your descendants (zeraʽ, זרעך; Septuagint: σπέρμα, singular) will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west, east, north, and south. All the families of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using your name and that of your descendants (zeraʽ, ובזרעך; Septuagint: σπέρματί, singular). I am with you! I will protect you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you!”

Did y^ehôvâh promise that, All the families of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using the name Israel? Again, the Tanakh is more circumspect in translation: And in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Why would Gentiles translate the Scripture this way? Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his descendant, Paul wrote believers in Galatia. Scripture does not say, “and to the descendants,” referring to many, but “and to your descendant,” referring to one, who is Christ.^[9]

Why would contemporary Gentiles, the primary beneficiaries of these particular promises, change y^ehôvâh’s promises? and [Jesus Christ] shall possess the gate of his enemies; and in [Jesus Christ] shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because [Abraham] hast hearkened to [His] voice.^[10] And, by [Jesus Christ] shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves; because that Abraham hearkened to [His] voice, and kept [His] charge, [His] commandments, [His] statutes, and [His] laws.^[11] And in [Israel] and in [Jesus Christ] shall all the families of the earth be blessed.^[12]

And since I’ve gone down this rabbit hole I might as well complete the set: all the families of the earth will bless one another by your name^[13] [i.e., Abram], where the Tanakh reads: in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed. It seems absurd to continue to defend one word thus. But I didn’t start down this path trusting the translators of the NET. What I called an inclination is a leading I have learned to trust following Jesus through the Scripture. Still, I doubt this is what Paul had in mind.

“Look, your house is left to you desolate!” Jesus had said to the circumcised. “For I tell you, you will not see me from now until you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’”^[14] “Look, your house is forsaken! And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’”^[15] It would be difficult for one who did not believe that Jesus is y^ehôvâh to understand how He has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of God’s truth to confirm the promises made to Abram/Abraham, Isaac and Jacob/Israel.

The Lord (y^ehôvâh, יהוה) appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants (zeraʽ, לזרעך; Septuagint: σπέρματί, singular) I will give this land.”^[16] Isolated as this promise is I’m inclined to hear לזרעך as both, “in a collective sense” and “as a specific descendant.” The idea that y^ehôvâh promised to give this land to y^ehôvâh come to earth in human flesh as Jesus the Messiah is admittedly unintelligible. But the idea that y^ehôvâh promised Abram that one of his descendents, to whom the land was given, is y^ehôvâh come to earth in human flesh as Jesus the Messiah is powerful indeed. Jesus is ever worthy, ever producing the fruit of the kingdom of God. At a moment when the rest of the descendants of Israel were about to lose the vineyard as they would lose the kingdom of God Jesus has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of God’s truth to confirm the promises made to Abram/Abraham, Isaac and Jacob/Israel.

After Lot had departed, the Lord said to Abram, “Look from the place where you stand to the north, south, east, and west [Table]. I will give all the land that you see to you and your descendants (zeraʽ, ולזרעך; Septuagint: σπέρματί, singular) forever [Table]. And I will make your descendants (zeraʽ, זרעך; Septuagint: σπέρμα, singular) like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone is able to count the dust of the earth, then your descendants (zeraʽ, זרעך; Septuagint: σπέρμα, singular) also can be counted [Table]. Get up and walk throughout the land, for I will give it to you” [Table].^[17] That day the Lord made a covenant with Abram: “To your descendants (zeraʽ, לזרעך; Septuagint: σπέρματί, singular) I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates River [Table]– the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, [Table] Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites,[Table] Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites [Table].”^[18] And finally (Genesis 17:8 NET):

I will give the whole land of Canaan – the land where you are now residing – to you and your descendants (zeraʽ, ולזרעך; Septuagint: σπέρματί, singular) after you as a permanent possession. I will be their (Septuagint: αὐτοῖς, plural) God.”

“So how did it come about,” Manfred Davidmann asked rhetorically, “that the Jewish people were expelled twice from the country God promised them with their grip on the country weakening at the present time? Without a shadow of a doubt the Jewish people lost the country in the past because they did not fulfil their part of the bargain, because they broke the terms of the Covenant…In the language of religion, the land of Israel does not belong to anyone other than God. Those who live in it may use and benefit from the land but only as long as they follow God’s laws.”^[19]

Mr. Davidmann might have taught my Sunday school class. The “Torah states a scientific law, the Social Cause-and-effect Relationship {1}, which is that the consequences of keeping or not keeping the Torah laws are inescapable, that what happens to one is in the end the inevitable result of one’s own behaviour…this is a scientific law which was defined and stated using the language of religion to get the message across to listeners in such a way that they could understand at least the effects of this ’cause-and-effect relationship’.” He may have raised a few eyebrows with the adjective scientific but all in all I think my elders would have gone along with him. I have a few comments about Mr. Davidmann’s abbreviated version of the law:

The essential social provisions of Torah law are clear and to the point. This is what the Torah lays down as a matter of law {1}:

The community has to provide (‘lend’) money to those who need it, free of interest.

All such loans, if outstanding, are to be cancelled every seventh year.

The country’s wealth, and this applies particularly to productive capital such as land, belongs equally to all and needs to be shared out.

Inhabitants are also entitled to have a sabbatical year every seventh year. During this sabbatical year they are entitled to be freed from work at the expense of the community.

Every person is entitled as a matter of right to social security. This means that people are entitled to be supported by the community not only when they fall on hard times but also to maintain their independence as independent breadwinners for their families. For example, the community has to provide backup funds to those who need them and they have to be provided as and when required.

To prevent people being exploited through their need these funds have to be provided without charging interest and such ‘loans’ are cancelled every seventh year if the borrower has been unable to repay them.

It is the inhabitants who keep the social laws, who keep Torah law, who are entitled to these rights.

As for item #4 there is a qualitative and substantive difference between farmers trusting y^ehôvâh enough to let their lands go fallow one year in seven and an angry mob demanding their “rights” to a year’s vacation at “community” expense. Aside from that federal, state and municipal governments in the United States of America provide most of these welfare benefits in spirit if not to the letter of the law. But none of this is sufficient to fulfill the law. It was the so-called moral law ignored by Mr. Davidmann that prescribed the death penalty for so many offenses, for the letter kills quite literally.

So here I am, one of the believing Gentiles [who] glorify God for his mercy (ἐλέους, a form of ἔλεος). And this, because the righteousness of God which fulfills the law does not depend on human desire or exertion, but on God who shows mercy (ἐλεῶντος, a form of ἐλεέω).^[20] No one can come to me, Jesus said, unless the Father who sent me draws him.^[21] So then, God has mercy (ἐλεεῖ, another form of ἐλεέω) on whom he chooses to have mercy, and he hardens whom he chooses to harden.^[22] And what if he is willing to make known the wealth of his glory on the objects of mercy (ἐλέους, a form of ἔλεος) that he has prepared beforehand for glory – even us, whom he has called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?^[23]

By that mercy I have been called to faith in Jesus Christ, forgiven of my sins, born from above, filled continuously with the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control of his Holy Spirit. This only I want to learn from you, Paul wrote teetering believers in Galatia: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? Have you suffered so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?^[24] It would be treasonous for me to turn back now and pretend that I might fulfill the law by obeying it, whether in part or in total.

So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous, and good.^[25] Through the law comes the knowledge of sin. But now apart from the law the righteousness of God (which is attested by the law and the prophets) has been disclosed – namely, the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe.^[26] 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!^[27]

I’ll return to this in another essay.

Romans, Part 85

^[1] Romans 15:8, 9a (NET)

^[2] This is an interesting article I stumbled across searching for confirmation that σπέρμα, σπέρματί and σπέρματός are singular. http://www.lionelwindsor.net/2010/03/16/the-singular-seed-of-galatians-316/

^[3] Genesis 15:4 (NET) Table

^[4] Genesis 18:14 (NET)

^[5] Genesis 31:3 (NET)

^[6] Genesis 22:15-18 (NET)

^[7] C. John Collins, “GALATIANS 3:16: WHAT KIND OF EXEGETE WAS PAUL?” Tyndale Bulletin 54.1 (2003), p. 84

^[8] Ibid., p. 85

^[9] Galatians 3:16 (NET)

^[10] Genesis 22:17b, 18 (Tanakh)

^[11] Genesis 26:4b, 5 (Tanakh)

^[12] Genesis 28:14b (Tanakh)

^[13] Genesis 12:3b (NET) Table

^[14] Matthew 23:38, 39 (NET)

^[15] Luke 13:35 (NET)

^[16] Genesis 12:7a (NET) Table

^[17] Genesis 13:14-17 (NET)

^[18] Genesis 15:18-21 (NET)

^[19] http://www.solhaam.org/articles/land.html

^[20] Romans 9:16 (NET) Table

^[21] John 6:44a (NET)

^[22] Romans 9:18 (NET)

^[23] Romans 9:23, 24 (NET)

^[24] Galatians 3:2-4 (NKJV)

^[25] Romans 7:12 (NET)

^[26] Romans 3:20b-22 (NET)

^[27] Galatians 2:20, 21 (NET)

Paul’s Religious Mind Revisited, Part 3

Posted on October 7, 2016 by admin

The movie Spotlight is named after a team of investigative journalists at the Boston Globe. They pierce a smokescreen of secrecy—fueled by police, prosecutors, defense attorneys, businessmen, civil servants, their own bosses and colleagues, even their own subconscious desires to protect the reputation of the Catholic Church—to shine a spotlight on priests’ abuse of children, both sexual and spiritual, in articles published in 2002. There are spoilers here. Though the film is based on actual events and people, I’m writing about characters in a movie, including the Catholic Church.

The scope of investigative journalist Mike Rezendes’ (Mark Ruffalo) research is broadened by phone conversations with Richard Sipe (Richard Jenkins – voice only), a psychiatrist and former priest, who treated pedophile priests during the last half of the 1960’s. I quote one of their conversations, more personal than professional.

“Richard, do you still go to mass?” Mike asks.

“No. No, I haven’t been to church for some time now. But I still consider myself a Catholic.”

“How does that work?”

“Well, the church is an institution, Mike, made of men. It’s passing. My faith is in the eternal. I try to separate the two.”

“Sounds tricky.”

“It is,” Richard agrees.

Cardinal Law (Len Cariou) presides over a shell game in the Boston Archdiocese, moving pedophile priests from parish to parish. A super at the end of Spotlight reads, “In December 2002, Cardinal Law resigned from the Boston Archdiocese. He was reassigned to the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, one of the highest ranking Roman Catholic churches in the world.”

The producers expect us to feel a certain way about that fact. I want to use it to distinguish church—a not-for-profit business—from what I’ll call ἐκκλησία, those called by God through Jesus Christ to be led by his Holy Spirit. Cardinal Law was promoted by the church. He was a company man defending it from scandal. Richard says: “the secretary-canonist for the papal nuncio…co-authored a report warning pedophile priests were a billion-dollar liability” sixteen years earlier than the present in the film. But this faithfulness to the church doesn’t work out so well for the ἐκκλησία, especially the little ones Jesus mentioned (Matthew 18:6, Mark 9:42, Luke 17:1, 2).

Spotlight editor Walter “Robby” Robinson (Michael Keaton) threatens attorney Eric Macleish (Billy Crudup)—who profited settling child abuse cases against the Church privately—for information and confirmation: “We’ve got two stories here. We’ve got a story about degenerate clergy, and we’ve got a story about a bunch of lawyers turning child abuse into a cottage industry. Now, which story do you want us to write?” Later however Robby admits regretfully:

“We had all the pieces. Why didn’t we get it sooner?…Macleish sent us a letter on 20 priests, years ago…We buried the story in Metro. No folo.”

“That was you,” Robby’s boss Ben Bradlee, Jr. (John Slattery) says. “You were Metro.”

“Yeah. That was me. I’d just taken over. I don’t remember it at all. But yeah…”

Paul was concerned with both, the church and the ἐκκλησία, without distinguishing between the two.

church

ἐκκλησία

When any of you has a legal dispute with another, does he dare go to court before the unrighteous rather than before the saints?….So if you have ordinary lawsuits, do you appoint as judges those who have no standing in the church? I say this to your shame! Is there no one among you wise enough to settle disputes between fellow Christians? Instead, does a Christian sue a Christian, and do this before unbelievers?

1 Corinthians 6:1, 4-6 (NET)

The fact that you have lawsuits among yourselves demonstrates that you have already been defeated. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? But you yourselves wrong and cheat, and you do this to your brothers and sisters!

1 Corinthians 6:7, 8 (NET)

His most beautiful words to the ἐκκλησία and to the church are his words on love. In his letter to the Corinthians love was presented as one way, albeit, a way that is beyond comparison,^[1] a more excellent way (KJV), a still more excellent way (ESV), a way of life that is best of all (NLV), the most excellent way (NIV), the same way Jesus preached in the sermon on the mount (Matthew 5:13-48 NET). In his letter to the Romans Paul presented love as the only way (Romans 13:8-10 NET):

Owe no one anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not covet,” (and if there is any other commandment) are summed up in this, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Cleary, the love of natural humans will not fulfill the law. We must all be born from above^[2] through faith in Jesus Christ, dependent instead on the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe,^[3] the love that is an aspect of the fruit of his Holy Spirit. I’ll continue contrasting Paul’s regime in 1 Corinthians 5 to Jesus’ regime in Revelation 2:18-29.

Paul’s Regime

Jesus’ Regime

Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast (ζύμη) affects the whole batch of dough?

1 Corinthians 5:6 (NET)

But to the rest of you in Thyatira, all who do not hold to this teaching (who have not learned the so-called “deep secrets of Satan”), to you I say: I do not put any additional burden on you. However, hold on to what you have until I come.

Revelation 2:24, 25 (NET)

Clean out the old yeast (ζύμην, another form of ζύμη) so that you may be a new batch of dough – you are, in fact, without yeast (ἄζυμοι, a form of ἄζυμος). For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. So then, let us celebrate the festival, not with the old yeast (ζύμῃ, another form of ζύμη), the yeast (ζύμῃ, another form of ζύμη) of vice and evil, but with the bread without yeast (ἀζύμοις, another form of ἄζυμος), the bread of sincerity and truth.

1 Corinthians 5:7, 8 (NET)

Not good your boasting (or, glorying, KJV, NKJV), Paul wrote. The Greek word translated good is καλὸν (a form of καλός). This is the beautiful good of Jesus’ works. What follows is a quote from an article by George Long in William Smith’s “A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities,” defining incestum in Roman law:

If a man married a woman whom it was forbidden for him to marry by positive morality (moribus), he was said to commit incestum (Dig. 23 tit. 2 s39). Such a marriage was in fact no marriage, for the necessary connubium between the parties was wanting. Accordingly, incestum is the sexual connection of a male and a female, whether under the form of marriage or not, if such persons cannot marry by reason of consanguinity.

There was no connubium between persons related by blood in the direct line, as parents and children. If such persons contracted a marriage it was Nefariae et Incestae nuptiae. There was no connubium between persons who stood in the relation of parent and child by adoption, not even after the adopted child was emancipated.

With this in mind I would say it was the most likely meaning of the kind of immorality that is not permitted even among the Gentiles.^[4] A man cohabiting with his father’s wife, was against the law, Roman law as well as y^ehôvâh’s law. In other words, it was a circumstance not unlike those in the movie Spotlight. Would anyone consider the conspiratorial cover-up revealed in Spotlight a beautiful good?

Of course, now I need to consider whether turn this man over to Satan (σατανᾷ, a form of Σατανᾶς; adversary) was simply an instruction to turn him over to Roman authorities in the city of Corinth. But I reject that notion just as quickly. Roman authorities had no interest in the blasphemy of Hymenaeus and Alexander. I find no guilt in him,^[5] Pilate said of Jesus, while the Jewish authorities had Him dead to rights for blasphemy (Matthew 26:25, Mark 14:63, Luke 22:71 NET) if He is not y^ehôvâh, the Son of God the Father.

Don’t you know that a little yeast (ζύμη) affects the whole batch of dough?^[6] Paul continued. Yes, that is exactly how Jesus expected his teaching to work in and through those who are called according to his purpose:^[7] He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast (ζύμῃ) that a woman took and mixed with three measures of flour until all the dough had risen.”^[8] To be fair Paul wasn’t writing about Jesus’ teaching. He wrote about the yeast (ζύμῃ, another form of ζύμη) of vice and evil. He’d already been-there-done-that as far as Jesus’ teaching was concerned. In 1 Corinthians he was scrambling to put the toothpaste^[9] back in the tube.

I need to pause to spell out what I’m actually thinking. That is the main purpose of these essays, after all, to remind me what I was thinking as I did a particular word study. As I worked on this one I stumbled across a website by Sherry Shriner. She uses many of the Scriptures I use to assert that “The Apostle Paul Was A Deceiver! He was Satan In The Flesh! An Antichrist!”^[10] I’m not asserting that at all, only that Paul is a human being, born from above, led by the Holy Spirit, struggling at times with the sinfulness of his own flesh or with overcoming his own religion, which he characterized as my own righteousness derived from the law.^[11]

More to the point here in 1 Corinthians 5 I think he struggled with 1) the repercussions of changing^[12] his manner of teaching—When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come with superior eloquence or wisdom as I proclaimed the testimony of God. For I decided to be concerned about nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified^[13]—and, 2) his allegiance to James’ abbreviated version of the law (Acts 15:19, 20 NET) from the Jerusalem Council—As [Paul, Silas 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.^[14] I think what the NET translators called a Corinthian slogan—All things are lawful for me^[15]—was the logical consequence of this teaching. I also think the Corinthians may have been the most sinful people (1 Corinthians 6:9-11 NET) to be called to that time—but called they were (Acts 18:9-11 NET):

The Lord said to Paul by a vision in the night, “Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent, because I am with you, and no one will assault you to harm you, because I have many people in this city” [Table]. So he stayed there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

According to Kyle Harper: “Prostitution [πορνεία; sex with “slaves, prostitutes, and concubines”] was considered a social necessity, an alternative to the violation of respectable women [μοιχεία], in the Roman Empire no less than in classical Greece.” But “πορνεία was not a common term before Judaism and Christianity infused it with new meaning.”^[16] “Πορνεία in the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs functions,” Mr. Harper continued, “as a catchall vice for any sexual transgression….Reuben was guilty of πορνεία for sleeping with Bilhah, Rachel’s maid, because his father had been in the same bed….”^[17] The thought that Paul derived his understanding of πορνεία from a book of fiction sent me to bed for a time.

When I got back to work I realized that the language of popular fiction^[18] might well reflect the common word usage of a people and a time. I realized we are not told whether the man who had his father’s wife was a Jew or proselyte who might be familiar with a usage of πορνεία that would include incestum, or a pagan more familiar with πορνεία as sex with slaves, prostitutes or concubines. I don’t know whether Paul assumed his hearers understood the breadth of πορνεία that may have been common in Second Temple Judaism or taught it explicitly in Corinth. I know Paul wrote a sin list in his letter to the Galatians (5:19-21a NET):

NET

Parallel Greek

Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, depravity, idolatry, sorcery, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish rivalries, dissensions, factions, envying, murder, drunkenness, carousing, and similar things.

φανερὰ δέ ἐστιν τὰ ἔργα τῆς σαρκός, ἅτινα ἐστιν πορνεία, ἀκαθαρσία, ἀσέλγεια, εἰδωλολατρία, φαρμακεία, ἔχθραι, ἔρις, ζῆλος, θυμοί, ἐριθεῖαι, διχοστασίαι, αἱρέσεις, φθόνοι, |φόνοι,| μέθαι, κῶμοι καὶ τὰ ὅμοια τούτοις

In the Textus Receptus this list begins with μοιχεία (adultery). But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, Jesus said, and these things defile a person. For out of the heart come evil ideas, murder, adultery, sexual immorality (πορνεῖαι, another form of πορνεία), theft, false testimony, slander.^[19] And, For from within, out of the human heart, come evil ideas, sexual immorality (πορνεῖαι, another form of πορνεία), theft, murder, adultery, greed, evil, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, pride, and folly.^[20]

Jesus’ Sin Lists in Greek
Matthew 5:19	Mark 7:21, 22
διαλογισμοὶ πονηροί, φόνοι, μοιχεῖαι, πορνεῖαι, κλοπαί, ψευδομαρτυρίαι, βλασφημίαι	διαλογισμοὶ οἱ κακοὶ ἐκπορεύονται, πορνεῖαι, κλοπαί, φόνοι, μοιχεῖαι, πλεονεξίαι, πονηρίαι, δόλος, ἀσέλγεια, ὀφθαλμὸς πονηρός, βλασφημία, ὑπερηφανία, ἀφροσύνη

These sin lists alter the landscape considerably. It is not possible for the words πορνείας^[21] (another form of πορνεία) or πορνείαν^[22] (another form of πορνεία) from James’ abbreviated version of the law to stand for every defilement that comes from the human heart, every work of the flesh. Frankly, I think all of this happened in space and time to push Paul, the human author of so much of the New Testament commentary on the Gospel, to abandon his allegiance to this decision of the Jerusalem Council and to hear better words and gain a better understanding. And I think these events are recorded in Scripture so that we would see how much better these words and this understanding actually are (Romans 7:7, 12; 3:19-24, 31 NET):

What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Absolutely not! Certainly, I would not have known sin except through the law. For indeed I would not have known what it means to desire something belonging to someone else if the law had not said, “Do not covet.”

So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous, and good.

Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For no one is declared righteous before him by the works of the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin. But now apart from the law the righteousness of God (which is attested by the law and the prophets) has been disclosed – namely, the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

Do we then nullify the law through faith? Absolutely not! Instead we uphold the law.

Confronted with a Corinthian man who had his father’s wife, Paul turned to Satan for help. Confronted with pedophile priests, the Catholic Church turned to psychologists and psychiatrists.^[23] Spotlight, perhaps it is unnecessary to say, is not a movie about the amazing power of psychologists and psychiatrists to take away the sin of pedophile priests.

On the next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away (αἴρων, a form of αἴρω) the sin of the world!”^[24]

For far too long I believed that meant forgiveness only. I didn’t believe that, Everyone who has been fathered by God does not practice sin, because God’s seed resides in him, and thus he is not able to sin, because he has been fathered by God.^[25] I didn’t believe that all who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God.^[26] I thought it was all up to me: my faith, my obedience, my love, my joy, my peace, my patience, my kindness, my goodness, my faithfulness, my gentleness, and my self-control.

Paul’s Religious Mind Revisited, Part 4

Back to Sexual Immorality Revisited, Part 2

Back to Sowing to the Flesh, Part 2

Back to Christianity, Part 15

^[1] 1 Corinthians 12:31b (NET)

^[2] John 3:7b (NET)

^[3] Romans 3:22 (NET)

^[4] 1 Corinthians 5:1b (NET) Table

^[5] John 19:6b (ESV)

^[6] 1 Corinthians 5:6b (NET)

^[7] Romans 8:28b (NET)

^[8] Matthew 13:33 (NET)

^[9] Romans, Part 66; Romans, Part 68

^[10] http://www.justgivemethetruth.com/paul_was_a_deceiver.htm

^[11] Philippians 3:9 (NET)

^[12] Paul in Corinth; Romans, Part 2; Paul in Athens

^[13] 1 Corinthians 2:1, 2 (NET) Table

^[14] Acts 16:4 (NET) Table

^[15] 1 Corinthians 6:12a (NET)

^[16] Kyle Harper: “Porneia—The Making of a Christian Sexual Norm;” Journal of Biblical Literature 131, no. 2 (2012); p. 369; “For all the importance of prostitution in Greek and Roman societies, πορνεία was not a common word. Πορνεία occurs in only four classical authors (by contrast, the word occurs nearly four hundred times in Jewish and Christian literature before 200 c.e., and over eighteen hundred times between 200 and 600 c.e.).” (I cannot link to this article directly, but was able to download it at academia.edu.)

^[17] ibid, p. 372

^[18] What lover of the Old Testament Scriptures wouldn’t want to hear the patriarchs confess their sexual sins according to the law y^ehôvâh delivered at Sinai so many years after the patriarchs themselves died?

^[19] Matthew 15:18, 19 (NET)

^[20] Mark 7:21, 22 (NET)

^[21] Acts 15:20, 29 (NET)

^[22] Acts 21:25 (NET)

^[23] http://www.themediareport.com/2015/11/30/cardinal-law-spotlight-movie/ (I am not the “Dan” who commented on this article, by the way. I just discovered this site researching the current essay.)

^[24] John 1:29 (NET)

^[25] 1 John 3:9 (NET)

^[26] Romans 8:14 (NET)

Romans, Part 37

Posted on January 26, 2013 by admin

Brothers and sisters, Paul continued, my heart’s desire (εὐδοκία)^[1] and prayer to God on behalf of my fellow Israelites is for their salvation.^[2] This sounds to me like the justice Paul nagged the Lord about, something he would always pray and not lose heart^[3] over. But the Greek word translated desire leads rather inexorably to Jesus’ strange prayer of praise and the revelation of his Father’s gracious will: I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and revealed (ἀπεκάλυψας, a form of ἀποκαλύπτω)^[4] them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your gracious will (εὐδοκία).^[5] I recognize the pattern:

MERCY

WRATH

So then, God has mercy on whom he chooses to have mercy…

Romans 9:18 (NET)

…and he hardens whom he chooses to harden.

Romans 9:18 (NET)

[God] is willing to make known the wealth of his glory on the objects of mercy that he has prepared beforehand for glory

Romans 9:23 (NET)

God, willing to demonstrate his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience the objects of wrath prepared for destruction

Romans 9:22 (NET)

[Those] who did not pursue righteousness obtained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith

Romans 9:30 (NET)

[Those] even though pursuing a law of righteousness did not attain it….Because they pursued it not by faith but (as if it were possible) by works

Romans 9:31, 32 (NET)

[The] Lord of heaven and earth…[has] revealed [these things] to little children [KJV, babes]

Matthew 11:25 (NET)

[The] Lord of heaven and earth…[has] hidden these things from the wise and intelligent

Matthew 11:25 (NET)

So Jesus praised his Father, the Lord of heaven and earth, because his followers were neither wise nor intelligent, but like little children. And little children might be overstating the case. The Greek word νηπίοις^[6] is a compound of νη (not) and ἔπος^[7] (a word), not speaking, an infant. But with that I begin to understand. The wise and intelligent believe they know how, and expect, to do it for themselves. Infants trust and expect someone who loves them to provide for them and, in fact, do it for them.

For I can testify that they are zealous for God, Paul continued, but their zeal is not in line with the truth (ἐπίγνωσιν, a form of ἐπίγνωσις).^[8] The word translated truth here was translated knowledge in, For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, have not ceased praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge (ἐπίγνωσιν) of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding…^[9] This truth or knowledge is the noun form of the verb ἐπιγινώσκω.^[10] All things have been handed over to me by my Father, Jesus continued. No one knows (ἐπιγινώσκει, a form of ἐπιγινώσκω) the Son except the Father, and no one knows (ἐπιγινώσκει, a form of ἐπιγινώσκω) the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son decides (βούληται, a form of βούλομαι)^[11] to reveal (ἀποκαλύψαι, another form of ἀποκαλύπτω) him.^[12]

For ignoring (ἀγνοοῦντες, a form of ἀγνοέω;^[13] literally being ignorant of, not knowing, misunderstanding) the righteousness that comes from God, Paul continued, and seeking instead to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.^[14] Even after saying that no one knows his Father except those to whom the Son decides to reveal him, Jesus offered to teach the wise and intelligent, the hardened objects of wrath prepared for destruction, saying: Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened (πεφορτισμένοι, a form of φορτίζω),^[15] 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.^[16]

I’m reminded of an old hymn^[17] that begins, “Would you be free from the burden of sin?” But I think in this case Jesus was addressing those who were weary and burdened pursuing a law of righteousness, seeking instead to establish their own righteousness. They didn’t tend to think of themselves as having a burden of sin. That was for others who didn’t work as hard as they did pursuing a law of righteousness. For my yoke is easy to bear, and my load (φορτίον)^[18] is not hard to carry,^[19] Jesus concluded, relative to the load they were already carrying.

They tie up heavy loads (φορτία, a form of φορτίον), hard to carry, He said of the experts in the law and the Pharisees,^[20] and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing even to lift a finger to move (κινῆσαι, a form of κινέω) [or, remove]^[21]) them.^[22] Woe to you experts in religious law, Jesus said. You load (φορτίζετε, another form of φορτίζω) people down with burdens (phortion, φορτίον; specifically φορτία) difficult to bear, yet you yourselves refuse to touch the burdens (φορτίοις, another form of φορτίον) with even one of your fingers!”^[23]

For Christ is the end (τέλος)^[24] of the law, with the result that there is righteousness for everyone who believes,^[25] Paul concluded. I certainly don’t believe that it is necessary to interpret the word τέλος as a termination here, putting Paul into direct conflict with the Lord Jesus: I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth pass away not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter will pass from the law until everything takes place.^[26] To interpret τέλος in the sense of aim or purpose of the law is much more in keeping with Paul’s own understanding that 1) the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous, and good;^[27] 2) he himself would not have known sin except through the law;^[28] 3) though no one is declared righteous before [God] by the works of the law, the law has an ongoing usefulness in that through the law comes the knowledge of sin;^[29] and 4) we do not nullify the law through faith; Instead we uphold the law.^[30]

Romans, Part 38

Back to Romans, Part 39

Back to Fear – Exodus, Part 1

Back to Son of God – John, Part 4

Back to Romans, Part 46

Back to Saving Demons, Part 2

^[2] Romans 10:1 (NET) Table

^[3] Luke 18:1 (NET)

^[5] Matthew 11:25, 26 (NET)

^[8] Romans 10:2 (NET)

^[9] Colossians 1:9 (NET)

^[12] Matthew 11:27 (NET)

^[14] Romans 10:3 (NET)

^[16] Matthew 11:28, 29 (NET)

^[17] “There Is Power in the Blood,” by Lewis E. Jones, 1899 http://library.timelesstruths.org/music/There_Is_Power_in_the_Blood/

^[19] Matthew 11:30 (NET)

^[20] Matthew 23:2 (NET)

^[21] Therefore, remember from what high state you have fallen and repent! Do the deeds you did at the first; if not, I will come to you and remove (κινήσω, another form of κινέω) your lampstand from its place – that is, if you do not repent. (Revelation 2:5 NET)

^[22] Matthew 23:4 (NET)

^[23] Luke 11:46 (NET)

^[25] Romans 10:4 (NET)

^[26] Matthew 5:18 (NET)

^[27] Romans 7:12 (NET)

^[28] Romans 7:7 (NET)

^[29] Romans 3:20 (NET)

^[30] Romans 3:31 (NET)

Romans, Part 28

Posted on October 18, 2012 by admin

Did that which is good, then, become death (θάνατος) to me?¹ Paul continued. It is a reasonable question considering that the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous, and good,² and that Paul found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life brought death (θάνατον, a form of θάνατος)!³ Absolutely not! Paul continued. But sin, so that it would be shown to be sin, produced death (θάνατον, a form of θάνατος) in me through what is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful.⁴

Again, I think sin personified here is Paul’s way of referring to the old man crucified with Christ. But finally I have come to the place where Paul, by expressing the inner confusion of this house divided, one born of the flesh and of the Spirit, actually clarified the situation.

For we know that the law is spiritual – but I (ἐγὼ) am unspiritual (σάρκινος), sold into slavery to sin.⁵ It is difficult to hear Paul call himself unspiritual, sold into slavery to sin. After all, what does that mean for someone like me? But Paul was describing himself as a man deceived and seized by a fit of coveting, sin [old man], seizing the opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of wrong desires.⁶ In the beginning this old man (sin personified) was perceived by Paul as I (ἐγὼ), I am unspiritual, sold into slavery to sin. [Addendum 4/27/2024: Now I suspect this was the wishful thinking of my religious mind.]

For I don’t understand (γινώσκω) what I am doing. For I do not do what I want (θέλω)– instead, I do what I hate. But if I do what I don’t want (θέλω), I agree that the law is good.⁷ If Paul had not been a house divided, born only of the flesh of Adam, there would have been none of this confusion. And I think the resolution goes something like this: For I [new man or woman] don’t understand what I [old man] am doing. For I [old man] do not do what I [new man or woman] want – instead, I [old man] do what I [new man or woman] hate. But if I [old man] do what I [new man or woman] don’t want, I [new man or woman] agree that the law is good.

Here is the first recognition, if you will, of the new I wanting, desiring, willing, something different than the old I. With that, and beyond that, came the recognition of a possible new identity. But now it is no longer me [new man or woman] doing it, but sin [old man] that lives in me.⁸ And just in case I missed it, Paul went on to elaborate this distinction.

For I [new man or woman] know (Οἶδα, a form of εἴδω; i.e., know by seeing) that nothing good lives in me [old man], that is, in my flesh (σαρκί, a form of σάρξ). For I [new man or woman] want (θέλειν, a form of θέλω) to do the good, but I [new man or woman] cannot do it. For I [old man] do not do the good I [new man or woman] want (θέλω), but I [old man] do the very evil I [new man or woman] do not want (θέλω)! Now if I [old man] do what I [new man or woman] do not want (θέλω), it is no longer me [new man or woman] doing it but sin [old man] that lives in me.⁹

And so the law is the measure by which to distinguish one I from the other, the old from the new. The law excites the old I to rebellion and sin, while it is the earnest hope, desire and plea of the new I, though the power to fulfill that desire may seem overwhelmingly lacking.

So, I [new man or woman] find the law that when I [new man or woman] want (θέλοντι, another form of θέλω) to do good, evil [old man] is present with me [new man or woman]. For I [new man or woman] delight in the law of God in my [new man or woman] inner being. But I [new man or woman] see a different law in my [new man or woman] members waging war against the law of my [new man or woman] mind and making me [old man] captive to the law of sin that is in my [new man or woman] members [Table]. Wretched man that I [old man] am! Who will rescue me [new man or woman] from this body (σώματος, a form of σῶμα) of death (θανάτου, another form of θάνατος) [old man]?¹⁰

I admit that some of my designations in the preceding passage of the “new man or woman” may be arguable. I believe, however, that through faith I, the new man or woman, lay claim to more and more of my mind and my members. And I think that is the insight behind Paul’s gratitude, Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!¹¹ as he self-identified as the new man, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh (σαρκὶ, a form of σάρξ) I serve the law of sin.¹²

The NET translators acknowledged that they added the second “I serve” for “clarity” (note 28). But this is not like verse 17, in my flesh (ἐν τῇ σαρκί μου, literally “in this flesh of mine”). It is simply “but this flesh” (τῇ δὲ σαρκὶ). I think Paul’s point is better served by the NKJV translation, So then, with the mind I myself (αὐτὸς ἐγὼ) serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin,¹³ where the double emphasis of I myself is clearly distinguished from the flesh.

Romans, Part 29

Back to Everyone Fathered by God Does Not Sin

You Must Be Gentle, Part 1

Back to Romans, Part 26

Back to Romans, Part 27

Back to Young, Virginal or Single

Back to Romans, Part 31

Back to Introduction

Back to The Life

Back to Romans, Part 32

Back to Romans, Part 35

Back to Romans, Part 38

Back to Antichrist, Part 1

Back to Antichrist, Part 2

Back to Saving Demons, Part 1

Back to Romans, Part 46

Back to Torture, Part 2

Back to Paul’s Religious Mind Revisited, Part 4

Back to A Shadow of the Good Things, Part 8

¹ Romans 7:13a (NET) Table

² Romans 7:12 (NET)

³ Romans 7:10 (NET)

⁴ Romans 7:13b (NET) Table

⁵ Romans 7:14 (NET) Table

⁶ Romans 7:8 (NET)

⁷ Romans 7:15, 16 (NET)

⁸ Romans 7:17 (NET) Table

⁹ Romans 7:18-20 (NET) Table

¹⁰ Romans 7:21-24 (NET)

¹¹ Romans 7:25a (NET) Table

¹² Romans 7:25b (NET) Table

¹³ Romans 7:25b (NKJV) Table

Romans, Part 27

Posted on October 17, 2012 by admin

Or do you not know, brothers and sisters, Paul continued, (for I am speaking to those who know the law [νόμον, a form of νόμος]), that the law (νόμος) is lord over a person as long as he lives?¹ Thus Paul introduced another value of the death of those who were baptized into Christ Jesus’ death.² Then he used a metaphor to describe the life of those who have been buried with him through baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so [they] too may live a new life³ (Romans 7:2-4 NET).

For a married woman is bound by law (νόμῳ, another form of νόμος) to her husband as long as he lives, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law (νόμου, another form of νόμος) of the marriage. So then, if she is joined to another man while her husband is alive, she will be called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law (νόμου, another form of νόμος), and if she is joined to another man, she is not an adulteress. So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law (νόμῳ, another form of νόμος) through the body of Christ, so that you could be joined to another, to the one who was raised from the dead, to bear fruit (καρποφορήσωμεν, a form of καρποφορέω to God.

I have unpacked this metaphor elsewhere and won’t do it again. In the context of this metaphor then the new man born of the Spirit is a new woman bringing forth righteousness, the fruit of the Spirit, as a wife bears her husband’s children. There is a time lag between conception, coming to term and giving birth. But that time lag is no excuse, and certainly not a valid reason, for avoiding intimate relations with the Lord Jesus. On the contrary, the time one spends waiting and hoping for righteousness to come forth is best spent trusting Him, believing things like, For when we were in the flesh, the sinful (παθήματα, a form of πάθημα) desires (ἁμαρτιῶν, a form of ἁμαρτία), aroused by the law (νόμου, another form of νόμος), were active in the members of our body to bear fruit (καρποφορῆσαι, another form of καρποφορέω) for death. But now we have been released from the law (νόμου, another form of νόμος), because we have died to what controlled us, so that we may serve in the new life of the Spirit and not under the old written code.⁴

What shall we say then? Paul continued. Is the law (νόμος) sin?⁵ Paul had a bad reputation over his comments about the law. When he journeyed back to Jerusalem even the elders of the church said to him (Acts 21:20b-24 NET):

You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all ardent observers of the law (νόμου, another form of νόμος). They have been informed about you – that you teach all the Jews now living among the Gentiles to abandon Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs. What then should we do? They will no doubt hear that you have come [Table]. So do what we tell you: We have four men who have taken a vow; take them and purify yourself along with them and pay their expenses, so that they may have their heads shaved.⁶ Then everyone will know⁷ there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself live in conformity with the law (νόμον, a form of νόμος).

Paul, who wrote my heart’s desire and prayer to God on behalf of my fellow Israelites is for their salvation,⁸ complied with their request. But it didn’t work. Jews from the province of Asia who had seen [Paul] in the temple area stirred up the whole crowd and seized him, shouting, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people, our law (νόμου, another form of νόμος), and this sanctuary!”⁹ The mob would have killed Paul if not for the intervention of the Roman commander of a cohort, his centurions and soldiers. Paul asked permission to speak to the crowd (Acts 22:1-21 NET):

“Brothers and fathers, listen to my defense that I now make to you” [Table]. (When they heard that he was addressing them in Aramaic [Ἑβραΐδι, a form of Ἑβραΐς], they became even quieter.) Then Paul said, “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated with strictness under Gamaliel according to the law (νόμου, another form of νόμος) of our ancestors, and was zealous for God just as all of you are today [Table]. I persecuted this Way even to the point of death, tying up both men and women and putting them in prison, as both the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me. From them I also received letters to the brothers in Damascus, and I was on my way to make arrests there and bring the prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished. As I was en route and near Damascus, about noon a very bright light from heaven suddenly flashed around me. Then I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ [Table] I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ He said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’ Those who were with me saw the light, but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me [Table]. So I asked, ‘What should I do, Lord?’ The Lord said to me, ‘Get up and go to Damascus; there you will be told about everything that you have been designated to do.’ Since I could not see because of the brilliance of that light, I came to Damascus led by the hand of those who were with me. A man named Ananias, a devout man according to the law (νόμον, a form of νόμος), well spoken of by all the Jews who live there [Table], came to me and stood beside me and said to me, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight!’ And at that very moment I looked up and saw him. Then he said, ‘The God of our ancestors has already chosen you to know his will (θέλημα), to see the Righteous One, and to hear a command from his mouth, because you will be his witness to all people of what you have seen and heard. And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized, and have your sins washed away, calling on his¹⁰ name.’ When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance and saw the Lord saying to me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me’ [Table] I replied, ‘Lord, they themselves know that I imprisoned and beat those in the various synagogues who believed in you. And when the blood of your witness Stephen was shed,¹¹ I myself was standing nearby, approving,¹² and guarding the cloaks of those who were killing him.’ Then he said to me, ‘Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”

The crowd was listening to him until he said this. Then they raised their voices and shouted, “Away with this man from the earth! For he should not be allowed¹³ to live!”¹⁴

Despite all this calumny, Paul found no fault with the law except that it was weakened through the flesh.¹⁵ If we all were born only of the Spirit, and heard God say, You shall not commit adultery,¹⁶ we would all say, “Thank you, Lord, that’s what I didn’t want to do anyway!” In answer to the question then, Is the law (νόμος) sin? Paul said, Absolutely not! Certainly, I would not have known sin except through the law (νόμου, another form of νόμος).¹⁷

I might feel in myself that it is wrong for you to commit adultery with my wife. But I may not feel that it is wrong for me to commit adultery with your wife apart from the law. After all, I have good reasons. Your wife wants me and loves me, and I her. And she is beautiful, far more beautiful than you can possibly deserve. Look at you. Look at the way you treat her. Would she have any interest in me at all if you deserved her and treated her right? I’m doing you a favor, Pal. Face it! She’s just more woman than you can handle.

For indeed I would not have known what it means to desire something belonging to someone else, Paul continued, if the law (νόμος) had not said, “Do not covet.”¹⁸ There is a darker side to the flesh born of Adam that hears of God’s law, You shall not commit adultery, and denies that there is a god to say such things, or if there is He doesn’t know his place or He wouldn’t dare say such things, or even more directly, “Oh, yeah! Watch this!” But sin, Paul wrote, seizing the opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of wrong desires.¹⁹ I have a fairly good idea of at least some of the things Paul coveted (1 Corinthians 9:4-7; 2 Corinthians 12:11, 15 NET).

Do we not have the right to financial support? Do we not have the right to the company of a believing wife, like the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas? Or do only Barnabas and I lack the right not²⁰ to work? Who ever serves in the army at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat its fruit?²¹ Who tends a flock and does not consume its milk?

I have become a fool. You yourselves forced me to do it, for I should have been commended by you. For I lack nothing in comparison to those “super-apostles,” even though I am nothing [Table]...Now I will most gladly spend and be spent for your lives! If²² I love you more, am I to be loved less?²³

For apart from the law (νόμου, another form of νόμος), sin is dead,²⁴ Paul continued. Then he expounded on that theme from his own experience. And I was once alive apart from the law (νόμου, another form of νόμος), but with the coming of the commandment sin became alive and I died. So I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life brought death! For sin, seizing the opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it I died.²⁵ And again, I think this personification of sin is a reference to the old man that was crucified with Christ.²⁶ This all becomes clearer a bit later in Romans 7.

So then, the law (νόμος) is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous, and good,²⁷ Paul concluded.

Addendum: April 23, 2024
Tables comparing Acts 21:24; 22:16; 22:20; 22:22; 1 Corinthians 9:6, 7 and 2 Corinthians 12:15 in the KJV and NET follow.

Acts 21:24 (NET)	Acts 21:24 (KJV)
take them and purify yourself along with them and pay their expenses, so that they may have their heads shaved. Then everyone will know there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself live in conformity with the law.	Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law.

Acts 21:24 (NET Parallel Greek)	Acts 21:24 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Acts 21:24 (Byzantine Majority Text)
τούτους παραλαβὼν ἁγνίσθητι σὺν αὐτοῖς καὶ δαπάνησον ἐπ᾿ αὐτοῖς ἵνα ξυρήσονται τὴν κεφαλήν, καὶ γνώσονται πάντες ὅτι ὧν κατήχηνται περὶ σοῦ οὐδέν ἐστιν ἀλλὰ στοιχεῖς καὶ αὐτὸς φυλάσσων τὸν νόμον	τουτους παραλαβων αγνισθητι συν αυτοις και δαπανησον επ αυτοις ινα ξυρησωνται την κεφαλην και γνωσιν παντες οτι ων κατηχηνται περι σου ουδεν εστιν αλλα στοιχεις και αυτος τον νομον φυλασσων	τουτους παραλαβων αγνισθητι συν αυτοις και δαπανησον επ αυτοις ινα ξυρησωνται την κεφαλην και γνωσιν παντες οτι ων κατηχηνται περι σου ουδεν εστιν αλλα στοιχεις και αυτος τον νομον φυλασσων

Acts 22:16 (NET)	Acts 22:16 (KJV)
And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized, and have your sins washed away, calling on his name.’	And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.

Acts 22:16 (NET Parallel Greek)	Acts 22:16 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Acts 22:16 (Byzantine Majority Text)
καὶ νῦν τί μέλλεις; ἀναστὰς βάπτισαι καὶ ἀπόλουσαι τὰς ἁμαρτίας σου ἐπικαλεσάμενος τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ	και νυν τι μελλεις αναστας βαπτισαι και απολουσαι τας αμαρτιας σου επικαλεσαμενος το ονομα του κυριου	και νυν τι μελλεις αναστας βαπτισαι και απολουσαι τας αμαρτιας σου επικαλεσαμενος το ονομα του κυριου

Acts 22:20 (NET)	Acts 22:20 (KJV)
And when the blood of your witness Stephen was shed, I myself was standing nearby, approving, and guarding the cloaks of those who were killing him.’	And when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him.

Acts 22:20 (NET Parallel Greek)	Acts 22:20 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Acts 22:20 (Byzantine Majority Text)
καὶ ὅτε ἐξεχύννετο τὸ αἷμα Στεφάνου τοῦ μάρτυρος σου, καὶ αὐτὸς ἤμην ἐφεστὼς καὶ συνευδοκῶν καὶ φυλάσσων τὰ ἱμάτια τῶν ἀναιρούντων αὐτόν	και οτε εξεχειτο το αιμα στεφανου του μαρτυρος σου και αυτος ημην εφεστως και συνευδοκων τη αναιρεσει αυτου και φυλασσων τα ιματια των αναιρουντων αυτον	και οτε εξεχειτο το αιμα στεφανου του μαρτυρος σου και αυτος ημην εφεστως και συνευδοκων τη αναιρεσει αυτου και φυλασσων τα ιματια των αναιρουντων αυτον

Acts 22:22 (NET)	Acts 22:22 (KJV)
The crowd was listening to him until he said this. Then they raised their voices and shouted, “Away with this man from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live!”	And they gave him audience unto this word, and then lifted up their voices, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live.

Acts 22:22 (NET Parallel Greek)	Acts 22:22 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	Acts 22:22 (Byzantine Majority Text)
῎Ηκουον δὲ αὐτοῦ ἄχρι τούτου τοῦ λόγου καὶ ἐπῆραν τὴν φωνὴν αὐτῶν λέγοντες· αἶρε ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς τὸν τοιοῦτον, οὐ γὰρ καθῆκεν αὐτὸν ζῆν	ηκουον δε αυτου αχρι τουτου του λογου και επηραν την φωνην αυτων λεγοντες αιρε απο της γης τον τοιουτον ου γαρ καθηκον αυτον ζην	ηκουον δε αυτου αχρι τουτου του λογου και επηραν την φωνην αυτων λεγοντες αιρε απο της γης τον τοιουτον ου γαρ καθηκεν αυτον ζην

1 Corinthians 9:6, 7 (NET)	1 Corinthians 9:6, 7 (KJV)
Or do only Barnabas and I lack the right not to work?	Or I only and Barnabas, have not we power to forbear working?

1 Corinthians 9:6 (NET Parallel Greek)	1 Corinthians 9:6 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	1 Corinthians 9:6 (Byzantine Majority Text)
ἢ μόνος ἐγὼ καὶ Βαρναβᾶς οὐκ ἔχομεν ἐξουσίαν μὴ ἐργάζεσθαι	η μονος εγω και βαρναβας ουκ εχομεν εξουσιαν του μη εργαζεσθαι	η μονος εγω και βαρναβας ουκ εχομεν εξουσιαν του μη εργαζεσθαι

Who ever serves in the army at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat its fruit? Who tends a flock and does not consume its milk?

Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock?

1 Corinthians 9:7 (NET Parallel Greek)	1 Corinthians 9:7 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	1 Corinthians 9:7 (Byzantine Majority Text)
Τίς στρατεύεται ἰδίοις ὀψωνίοις ποτέ; τίς φυτεύει ἀμπελῶνα καὶ τὸν καρπὸν αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἐσθίει; \|ἢ\| τίς ποιμαίνει ποίμνην καὶ ἐκ τοῦ γάλακτος τῆς ποίμνης οὐκ ἐσθίει	τις στρατευεται ιδιοις οψωνιοις ποτε τις φυτευει αμπελωνα και εκ του καρπου αυτου ουκ εσθιει η τις ποιμαινει ποιμνην και εκ του γαλακτος της ποιμνης ουκ εσθιει	τις στρατευεται ιδιοις οψωνιοις ποτε τις φυτευει αμπελωνα και εκ του καρπου αυτου ουκ εσθιει η τις ποιμαινει ποιμνην και εκ του γαλακτος της ποιμνης ουκ εσθιει

2 Corinthians 12:15 (NET)	2 Corinthians 12:15 (KJV)
Now I will most gladly spend and be spent for your lives! If I love you more, am I to be loved less?	And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved.

2 Corinthians 12:15 (NET Parallel Greek)	2 Corinthians 12:15 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)	2 Corinthians 12:15 (Byzantine Majority Text)
ἐγὼ δὲ ἥδιστα δαπανήσω καὶ ἐκδαπανηθήσομαι ὑπὲρ τῶν ψυχῶν ὑμῶν. εἰ περισσοτέρως ὑμᾶς \|ἀγαπῶ[ν]\|, ἧσσον ἀγαπῶμαι	εγω δε ηδιστα δαπανησω και εκδαπανηθησομαι υπερ των ψυχων υμων ει και περισσοτερως υμας αγαπων ηττον αγαπωμαι	εγω δε ηδιστα δαπανησω και εκδαπανηθησομαι υπερ των ψυχων υμων ει και περισσοτερως υμας αγαπων ηττον αγαπωμαι