Balaam, Balak and the 24,000, Part 4

This is a continuation of my review of the Lord’s patience with the 24,000 killed by Mosesc, Phineas and the judges or tribes of Israel after joining themselves to Baal of Peor. The old human (τὸν παλαιὸν ἄνθρωπον)—your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires1never learns very much from its experience with the Lord (Exodus 16:1-3 ESV).

They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

The old human wasn’t learning that The Lord is at hand.2 It was ruled by its own anxiety instead, unable and unwilling in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving [to] let [its] requests be made known to God.3 The truth seemed harsh when Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him,4 You are of your father the devil, and your will (θέλετε, a form of θέλω) is to do your father’s desires (ἐπιθυμίας, a form of ἐπιθυμία).5 But listen to the desires expressed by the words of the old human when the people’s actual desires were for meat and bread, and some sense of food security:

Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt…

Who but the devil wishes this for the nation in whom all the families of the earth [shall] be blessed?6 Now hear the devil’s hope for Israel:

…you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.

But the Lord had different plans (Exodus 16:4-15 ESV):

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not [Table]. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily” [Table]. So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, “At evening you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against the Lord. For what are we, that you grumble against us?” And Moses said, “When the Lord gives you in the evening meat to eat and in the morning bread to the full, because the Lord has heard your grumbling that you grumble against him—what are we? Your grumbling is not against us but against the Lord.”

Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, ‘Come near before the Lord, for he has heard your grumbling.’” And as soon as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. And the Lord said to Moses, “I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’”

In the evening quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning dew lay around the camp. And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground. When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat [Table].

As Jesus, the One new human, grew to maturity, He learned not only from his own experience with God his Father but, like a force multiplier, from the experience of others recorded in Scripture. As an adult He shared those insights, reasoning with the old human who gathered to hear Him (Matthew 6:25-33 ESV).

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? [Table] Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin [Table], yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all [Table]. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you [Table].

But Jesusknew all people [Table] and needed no one to bear witness about man (ἀνθρώπου, a form of ἄνθρωπος), for he himself knew what was in man (ἀνθρώπῳ, another form of ἄνθρωπος).7 He knew the old human would not be persuaded by his example of faith and his reasoning alone. “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you don’t understand these things?8 He chided Nicodemus (John 3:5-8 NET):

“I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born of water and spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God [Table]. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must all be born from above.’ The wind blows wherever it will, and you hear the sound it makes, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

This is Jesus’ key to understanding the Scriptures: to know what is in man as He knew what was in man, to recognize the old human (τὸν παλαιὸν ἄνθρωπον)—your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires9—in these Bible stories, and to perceive the need to be born from above, born of the Spirit, a new human (τὸν καινὸν ἄνθρωπον)—the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.10

Moses continued (Exodus 16:16-20 ESV):

This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an omer, according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.’” And the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less. But when they measured it with an omer, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat. And Moses said to them, “Let no one leave any of it over till the morning.” But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them [Table].

“Let no one leave any of it over till the morning.” It seems like a simple enough command to follow, but the old human (τὸν παλαιὸν ἄνθρωπον)—your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires11—has difficulty with simple commands. It opts more often than not for its own deceitful desires. Moses was angry, but notice the Lord’s patience with the old human: He made sure that what was left over bred worms and stank (e.g., it was [not] good for food). And He made sure in some way that defies human explanation that when they measured [what they had gathered] with an omer, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack, fulfilling his command for them irrespective of their own work gathering much or little.

Morning by morning they gathered it, each as much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted.

On the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers each. And when all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, he said to them, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over lay aside to be kept till the morning’” [Table]. So they laid it aside till the morning, as Moses commanded them, and it did not stink, and there were no worms in it [Table]. Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field [Table]. Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is a Sabbath, there will be none” [Table].

On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they found none [Table].12

Patiently the Lord taught the old human, proving his word at every step. But his patience wasn’t limitless (Exodus 16:28-31 ESV).

And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? [Table] See! The Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Remain each of you in his place; let no one go out of his place on the seventh day” [Table]. So the people rested on the seventh day [Table].

Now the house of Israel called its name manna. It was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.

We are meant to assume here that God spoke to Moses, who spoke to Aaron, who spoke to the people of Israel (Exodus 4:10-17). The Hebrew verb translated will you refuse is מֵאַנְתֶּם, a plural form of מָאֵן (mā’ēn). Though the translation will you refuse might lead me to expect an imperfect verb—describing “incomplete, ongoing, or potential” action—מֵאַנְתֶּם, a 2nd person form of מָאֵן (mā’ēn), is actually a perfect verb—describing “completed” action—translated refuse ye in the KJV. It is also a Piel stem: “an intensive or causative version of the” Qal stem מָאֵן (mā’ēn). So, the Lord asked a question and the people rested on the seventh day. Why?

If one is inclined to reply, “the fear of the Lord,” I think I’m inclined to agree, though not the kind of fear that prompts a “fight or flight response.” There is no threat, either explicit or implicit, in the Lord’s question: How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? So the people rested on the seventh day. The reasons were already apparent as were the facts—anything left over from the first five days of the week bred worms and stank while anything left over from the sixth day did not stink, and there were no worms in it—and yet some refused to keep the Lord’s commandments and laws: On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather.

The old human is notoriously unreasonable, even to its own harm. After all, the old human’s father, the devil—whose desires the old human wants to do—wants you dead. So again I ask, why did the old human hear the Lord’s question, fear the Lord in the sense of reverencing Him and obey his word?

The One new human taught (Matthew 7:7-11 ESV):

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? [Table] If you then, who are evil (πονηροὶ, a plural form of πονηρός), know how to give good (ἀγαθὰ, a plural form of ἀγαθός) gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things (ἀγαθὰ, a plural form of ἀγαθός) to those who ask him!

This seems to be the key in Exodus as well. Most of the adults the Lord addressed through Moses through Aaron with the question—How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws?—were currently, or had been, parents of young children. It is the way God created humankind to live on the earth, the desires He programmed into human hearts. Despite being the old human, parents know how to give good gifts to [their] children. They also know the frustration of children who refuse the good they intend to give them. So here, even the old human can know the heart of God because He made it so from the beginning. So the people [mostly parents] rested on the seventh day.

This is another example of the Lord’s patience with the old human, Israel and the 24,000. And here is a glimpse into what is required to get the old human to rest one day in seven if the Lord commands it. For while we were living in the flesh (e.g., controlled by the old human), our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death.13

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh (ἐν σαρκὶ in the dative case; e.g., “by means of the flesh”) cannot please God.14

Paul called my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh15 a cultivated olive tree as distinguished from Gentiles, a wild olive tree.16 I will call them the cultivated old human for the sake of clarity in what follows. As difficult as it was to get Israel to rest one day in seven at the Lord’s command, once that command was inculcated into the cultivated old human, pursued [as] a law that would lead to righteousness17 as if it were based on works,18 even that cultivated old human still found itself at odds with Jesus, the One new human, over this very Sabbath rest (Mark 2:23-3:6 ESV).

One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on19 the Sabbath?” And he said20 to them, “Have you never read what David21 did (1 Samuel 21:1-7), when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God, in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests22 to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?” And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath [Table]. So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”
Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man with the withered23 hand, “Come24 here.” And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good25 or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your26 hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.27 The Pharisees went out and immediately held28 counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him [Table].

No achievements of religious or worldly authority defend one from the dictates of the old human (τὸν παλαιὸν ἄνθρωπον)—your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires.29

The Pharisees were a prominent Jewish sect during the Second Temple period, known for their strict adherence to the Law of Moses and the oral traditions that they believed were equally authoritative. They were influential in the synagogues and among the common people, emphasizing purity, tithing, and Sabbath observance. The Pharisees believed in the resurrection of the dead, the existence of angels and spirits, and the coming of the Messiah.30
The Herodians were a political group associated with the Herodian dynasty, which ruled parts of Judea under Roman authority. Unlike the Pharisees, the Herodians were more aligned with the Roman government and the Herodian rulers, who were seen as collaborators with the occupying power. Their primary interest was maintaining the political status quo and the favor of Rome.31

The old human united these natural enemies in common cause against the Word of God come in human flesh, the One new human. What I have called the religious mind focuses primarily on the religious aspect of this phenomenon. The old human is a much better description (though I probably won’t change the name of this site at this late date).

Tables comparing Exodus 16:1; 16:2; 16:3; 16:6; 16:7; 16:8; 16:9; 16:10; 16:11; 16:12; 16:13; 16:14; 16:16; 16:17; 16:18; 16:19; 16:21; 16:22 and 16:31 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and comparing the Greek of Exodus 16:1; 16:2; 16:3; 16:6; 16:7; 16:8; 16:9; 16:10; 16:11; 16:12; 16:13; 16:14; 16:16; 16:17; 16:18; 16:19; 16:21; 16:22 and 16:31 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and tables comparing Mark 2:24-26 and 3:3-5 in the NET and KJV follow.

Exodus 16:1 (Tanakh)

Exodus 16:1 (KJV)

Exodus 16:1 (NET)

And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt. And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt. When they journeyed from Elim, the entire company of Israelites came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their exodus from the land of Egypt.

Exodus 16:1 (Septuagint BLB)

Exodus 16:1 (Septuagint Elpenor)

ἀπῆραν δὲ ἐξ Αιλιμ καὶ ἤλθοσαν πᾶσα συναγωγὴ υἱῶν Ισραηλ εἰς τὴν ἔρημον Σιν ὅ ἐστιν ἀνὰ μέσον Αιλιμ καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον Σινα τῇ δὲ πεντεκαιδεκάτῃ ἡμέρᾳ τῷ μηνὶ τῷ δευτέρῳ ἐξεληλυθότων αὐτῶν ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου ΑΠῌΡΑΝ δὲ ἐξ Αἰλεὶμ καὶ ἤλθοσαν πᾶσα συναγωγὴ υἱῶν ᾿Ισραὴλ εἰς τὴν ἔρημον Σίν, ὅ ἐστιν ἀνὰ μέσον Αἰλεὶμ καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον Σινά. τῇ δὲ πεντεκαιδεκάτῃ ἡμέρᾳ τῷ μηνὶ τῷ δευτέρῳ ἐξεληλυθότων αὐτῶν ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου

Exodus 16:1 (NETS)

Exodus 16:1 (English Elpenor)

And they set out from Ailim, and the entire congregation of the sons of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Ailim and between Sina. And on the fifteenth day, in the second month, after they had gone out from the land of Egypt, And they departed from Aelim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Aelim and Sina; and on the fifteenth day, in the second month after their departure from the land of Egypt,

Exodus 16:2 (Tanakh)

Exodus 16:2 (KJV)

Exodus 16:2 (NET)

And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron in the wilderness; And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness: The entire company of Israelites murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.

Exodus 16:2 (Septuagint BLB)

Exodus 16:2 (Septuagint Elpenor)

διεγόγγυζεν πᾶσα συναγωγὴ υἱῶν Ισραηλ ἐπὶ Μωυσῆν καὶ Ααρων διεγόγγυζε πᾶσα συναγωγὴ υἱῶν ᾿Ισραὴλ ἐπὶ Μωυσῆν καὶ ᾿Ααρών

Exodus 16:2 (NETS)

Exodus 16:2 (English Elpenor)

the entire congregation of the sons of Israel was complaining against Moyses and Aaron, all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron.

Exodus 16:3 (Tanakh)

Exodus 16:3 (KJV)

Exodus 16:3 (NET)

and the children of Israel said unto them: ‘Would that we had died by the hand of HaShem in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh-pots, when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.’ And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger. The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger!”

Exodus 16:3 (Septuagint BLB)

Exodus 16:3 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ εἶπαν πρὸς αὐτοὺς οἱ υἱοὶ Ισραηλ ὄφελον ἀπεθάνομεν πληγέντες ὑπὸ κυρίου ἐν γῇ Αἰγύπτῳ ὅταν ἐκαθίσαμεν ἐπὶ τῶν λεβήτων τῶν κρεῶν καὶ ἠσθίομεν ἄρτους εἰς πλησμονήν ὅτι ἐξηγάγετε ἡμᾶς εἰς τὴν ἔρημον ταύτην ἀποκτεῖναι πᾶσαν τὴν συναγωγὴν ταύτην ἐν λιμῷ καὶ εἶπαν πρὸς αὐτοὺς οἱ υἱοὶ ᾿Ισραήλ· ὄφελον ἀπεθάνομεν πληγέντες ὑπὸ Κυρίου ἐν γῇ Αἰγύπτῳ, ὅταν ἐκαθίσαμεν ἐπὶ τῶν λεβήτων τῶν κρεῶν καὶ ἠσθίομεν ἄρτους εἰς πλησμονήν· ὅτι ἐξήγαγε ἡμᾶς εἰς τὴν ἔρημον ταύτην ἀποκτεῖναι πᾶσαν τὴν συναγωγὴν ταύτην ἐν λιμῷ

Exodus 16:3 (NETS)

Exodus 16:3 (English Elpenor)

and the sons of Israel said to them, “If only we had died, struck by the Lord, in the land, Egypt, when we sat at the cauldrons of meat and were eating bread to the full, because you led us out into this wilderness to kill all this congregation by famine.” And the children of Israel said to them, Would we had died smitten by the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh-pots, and ate bread to satiety! for ye have brought us out into this wilderness, to slay all this congregation with hunger.

Exodus 16:6 (Tanakh)

Exodus 16:6 (KJV)

Exodus 16:6 (NET)

And Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of Israel: ‘At even, then ye shall know that HaShem hath brought you out from the land of Egypt; And Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of Israel, At even, then ye shall know that the LORD hath brought you out from the land of Egypt: Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening you will know that the Lord has brought you out of the land of Egypt,

Exodus 16:6 (Septuagint BLB)

Exodus 16:6 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ εἶπεν Μωυσῆς καὶ Ααρων πρὸς πᾶσαν συναγωγὴν υἱῶν Ισραηλ ἑσπέρας γνώσεσθε ὅτι κύριος ἐξήγαγεν ὑμᾶς ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου καὶ εἶπε Μωυσῆς καὶ ᾿Ααρὼν πρὸς πᾶσαν συναγωγὴν υἱῶν ᾿Ισραήλ· ἑσπέρας γνώσεσθε ὅτι Κύριος ἐξήγαγεν ὑμᾶς ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου

Exodus 16:6 (NETS)

Exodus 16:6 (English Elpenor)

Then Moyses and Aaron said to the entire congregation of the sons of Israel, “At evening you shall know that the Lord brought you out of the land of Egypt, And Moses and Aaron said to all the congregation of the children of Israel, At even ye shall know that the Lord has brought you out of the land of Egypt;

Exodus 16:7 (Tanakh)

Exodus 16:7 (KJV)

Exodus 16:7 (NET)

and in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of HaShem; for that He hath heard your murmurings against HaShem; and what are we, that ye murmur against us?’ And in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the LORD; for that he heareth your murmurings against the LORD: and what are we, that ye murmur against us? and in the morning you will see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your murmurings against the Lord. As for us, what are we, that you should murmur against us?”

Exodus 16:7 (Septuagint BLB)

Exodus 16:7 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ πρωὶ ὄψεσθε τὴν δόξαν κυρίου ἐν τῷ εἰσακοῦσαι τὸν γογγυσμὸν ὑμῶν ἐπὶ τῷ θεῷ ἡμεῖς δὲ τί ἐσμεν ὅτι διαγογγύζετε καθ᾽ ἡμῶν καὶ πρωΐ ὄψεσθε τὴν δόξαν Κυρίου ἐν τῷ εἰσακοῦσαι τὸν γογγυσμὸν ὑμῶν ἐπὶ τῷ Θεῷ· ἡμεῖς δὲ τί ἐσμεν ὅτι διαγογγύζετε καθ᾿ ἡμῶν

Exodus 16:7 (NETS)

Exodus 16:7 (English Elpenor)

and in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord, when he heard your complaining against God. But we, what are we that you complain against us?” and in the morning ye shall see the glory of the Lord, inasmuch as he hears your murmuring against God; and who are we, that ye continue to murmur against us?

Exodus 16:8 (Tanakh)

Exodus 16:8 (KJV)

Exodus 16:8 (NET)

And Moses said: ‘This shall be, when HaShem shall give you in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full; for that HaShem heareth your murmurings which ye murmur against Him; and what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against HaShem.’ And Moses said, This shall be, when the LORD shall give you in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full; for that the LORD heareth your murmurings which ye murmur against him: and what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against the LORD. Moses said, “You will know this when the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening and bread in the morning to satisfy you, because the Lord has heard your murmurings that you are murmuring against him. As for us, what are we? Your murmurings are not against us, but against the Lord.”

Exodus 16:8 (Septuagint BLB)

Exodus 16:8 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ εἶπεν Μωυσῆς ἐν τῷ διδόναι κύριον ὑμῖν ἑσπέρας κρέα φαγεῖν καὶ ἄρτους τὸ πρωὶ εἰς πλησμονὴν διὰ τὸ εἰσακοῦσαι κύριον τὸν γογγυσμὸν ὑμῶν ὃν ὑμεῖς διαγογγύζετε καθ᾽ ἡμῶν ἡμεῖς δὲ τί ἐσμεν οὐ γὰρ καθ᾽ ἡμῶν ὁ γογγυσμὸς ὑμῶν ἐστιν ἀλλ᾽ ἢ κατὰ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ εἶπε Μωυσῆς· ἐν τῷ διδόναι Κύριον ὑμῖν ἑσπέρας κρέα φαγεῖν καὶ ἄρτους τὸ πρωΐ εἰς πλησμονὴν διὰ τὸ εἰσακοῦσαι Κύριον τὸν γογγυσμὸν ὑμῶν, ὃν ὑμεῖς διαγογγύζετε καθ᾿ ἡμῶν· ἡμεῖς δὲ τί ἐσμεν; οὐ γὰρ καθ᾿ ἡμῶν ἐστιν ὁ γογγυσμὸς ὑμῶν· ἀλλ᾿ ἢ κατὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ

Exodus 16:8 (NETS)

Exodus 16:8 (English Elpenor)

And Moyses said, “When the Lord gives you meat in the evening to eat and bread in the morning to the full, because the Lord heard your complaining which you complain against us, then we, what are we? For not against us is your complaining, but rather against God.” And Moses said, [This shall be] when the Lord gives you in the evening flesh to eat, and bread in the morning to satiety, because the Lord has heard your murmuring, which ye murmur against us: and what are we? for your murmuring is not against us, but against God.

Exodus 16:9 (Tanakh)

Exodus 16:9 (KJV)

Exodus 16:9 (NET)

And Moses said unto Aaron: ‘Say unto all the congregation of the children of Israel: Come near before HaShem; for He hath heard your murmurings.’ And Moses spake unto Aaron, Say unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, Come near before the LORD: for he hath heard your murmurings. Then Moses said to Aaron, “Tell the whole community of the Israelites, ‘Come before the Lord, because he has heard your murmurings.’”

Exodus 16:9 (Septuagint BLB)

Exodus 16:9 (Septuagint Elpenor)

εἶπεν δὲ Μωυσῆς πρὸς Ααρων εἰπὸν πάσῃ συναγωγῇ υἱῶν Ισραηλ προσέλθατε ἐναντίον τοῦ θεοῦ εἰσακήκοεν γὰρ ὑμῶν τὸν γογγυσμόν εἶπε δὲ Μωυσῆς πρὸς ᾿Ααρών· εἰπὸν πάσῃ συναγωγῇ υἱῶν ᾿Ισραήλ· προσέλθετε ἐναντίον τοῦ Θεοῦ· εἰσακήκοε γὰρ τὸν γογγυσμὸν ὑμῶν

Exodus 16:9 (NETS)

Exodus 16:9 (English Elpenor)

And Moyses said to Aaron, “Say to the entire congregation of the sons of Israel: Draw near before God. For he heard your complaining.” And Moses said to Aaron, Say to all the congregation of the children of Israel, Come near before God; for he has heard your murmuring.

Exodus 16:10 (Tanakh)

Exodus 16:10 (KJV)

Exodus 16:10 (NET)

And it came to pass, as Aaron spoke unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of HaShem appeared in the cloud. And it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud. As Aaron spoke to the whole community of the Israelites and they looked toward the wilderness, there the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud,

Exodus 16:10 (Septuagint BLB)

Exodus 16:10 (Septuagint Elpenor)

ἡνίκα δὲ ἐλάλει Ααρων πάσῃ συναγωγῇ υἱῶν Ισραηλ καὶ ἐπεστράφησαν εἰς τὴν ἔρημον καὶ ἡ δόξα κυρίου ὤφθη ἐν νεφέλῃ ἡνίκα δὲ ἐλάλει ᾿Ααρὼν πάσῃ συναγωγῇ υἱῶν ᾿Ισραήλ, καὶ ἐπεστράφησαν εἰς τὴν ἔρημον, καὶ ἡ δόξα Κυρίου ὤφθη ἐν νεφέλῃ

Exodus 16:10 (NETS)

Exodus 16:10 (English Elpenor)

And when Aaron was speaking to the entire congregation of the sons of Israel, they also turned about towards the wilderness, and the glory of the Lord appeared in a cloud. And when Aaron spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and they turned toward the wilderness, then the glory of the Lord appeared in a cloud.

Exodus 16:11 (Tanakh)

Exodus 16:11 (KJV)

Exodus 16:11 (NET)

And HaShem spoke unto Moses, saying: And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, and the Lord spoke to Moses,

Exodus 16:11 (Septuagint BLB)

Exodus 16:11 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ ἐλάλησεν κύριος πρὸς Μωυσῆν λέγων καὶ ἐλάλησε Κύριος πρὸς Μωυσῆν λέγων

Exodus 16:11 (NETS)

Exodus 16:11 (English Elpenor)

And the Lord spoke to Moyses, saying, And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

Exodus 16:12 (Tanakh)

Exodus 16:12 (KJV)

Exodus 16:12 (NET)

‘I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel. Speak unto them, saying: At dusk ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am HaShem your G-d.’ I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying, At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God. “I have heard the murmurings of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘During the evening you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be satisfied with bread, so that you may know that I am the Lord your God.’”

Exodus 16:12 (Septuagint BLB)

Exodus 16:12 (Septuagint Elpenor)

εἰσακήκοα τὸν γογγυσμὸν τῶν υἱῶν Ισραηλ λάλησον πρὸς αὐτοὺς λέγων τὸ πρὸς ἑσπέραν ἔδεσθε κρέα καὶ τὸ πρωὶ πλησθήσεσθε ἄρτων καὶ γνώσεσθε ὅτι ἐγὼ κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὑμῶν εἰσακήκοα τὸν γογγυσμὸν τῶν υἱῶν ᾿Ισραήλ· λάλησον πρὸς αὐτοὺς λέγων· τὸ πρὸς ἑσπέραν ἔδεσθε κρέα καὶ τὸ πρωΐ πλησθήσεσθε ἄρτων· καὶ γνώσεσθε ὅτι ἐγὼ Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ὑμῶν

Exodus 16:12 (NETS)

Exodus 16:12 (English Elpenor)

“I have heard the complaining of the sons of Israel. Speak to them saying: Towards evening you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. And you shall know that I am the Lord, your God.” I have heard the murmuring of the children of Israel: speak to them, saying, Towards evening ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be satisfied with bread; and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God.

Exodus 16:13 (Tanakh)

Exodus 16:13 (KJV)

Exodus 16:13 (NET)

And it came to pass at even, that the quails came up, and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew round about the camp. And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host. In the evening the quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning a layer of dew was all around the camp.

Exodus 16:13 (Septuagint BLB)

Exodus 16:13 (Septuagint Elpenor)

ἐγένετο δὲ ἑσπέρα καὶ ἀνέβη ὀρτυγομήτρα καὶ ἐκάλυψεν τὴν παρεμβολήν τὸ πρωὶ ἐγένετο καταπαυομένης τῆς δρόσου κύκλῳ τῆς παρεμβολῆς ἐγένετο δὲ ἑσπέρα, καὶ ἀνέβη ὀρτυγομήτρα καὶ ἐκάλυψε τὴν παρεμβολήν· τὸ πρωΐ ἐγένετο καταπαυομένης τῆς δρόσου κύκλῳ τῆς παρεμβολῆς

Exodus 16:13 (NETS)

Exodus 16:13, 14a (English Elpenor)

So evening came and quail came up and covered the camp. Then morning came when the dew was lifting around the camp, And it was evening, and quails came up and covered the camp: (14) in the morning it came to pass as the dew ceased round about the camp,

Exodus 16:14 (Tanakh)

Exodus 16:14 (KJV)

Exodus 16:14 (NET)

And when the layer of dew was gone up, behold upon the face of the wilderness a fine, scale-like thing, fine as the hoar-frost on the ground. And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground. When the layer of dew had evaporated, there on the surface of the wilderness was a thin flaky substance, thin like frost on the earth.

Exodus 16:14 (Septuagint BLB)

Exodus 16:14 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐπὶ πρόσωπον τῆς ἐρήμου λεπτὸν ὡσεὶ κόριον λευκὸν ὡσεὶ πάγος ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐπὶ πρόσωπον τῆς ἐρήμου λεπτὸν ὡσεὶ κόριον λευκόν, ὡσεὶ πάγος ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς

Exodus 16:14 (NETS)

Exodus 16:14b (English Elpenor)

and look, upon the surface of the wilderness was something fine like coriander, white like frost on the ground. that, behold, on the face of the wilderness [was] a small thing like white coriander seed, as frost upon the earth.

Exodus 16:16 (Tanakh)

Exodus 16:16 (KJV)

Exodus 16:16 (NET)

This is the thing which HaShem hath commanded: Gather ye of it every man according to his eating; an omer a head, according to the number of your persons, shall ye take it, every man for them that are in his tent.’ This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents. “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Each person is to gather from it what he can eat, an omer per person according to the number of your people; each one will pick it up for whoever lives in his tent.’”

Exodus 16:16 (Septuagint BLB)

Exodus 16:16 (Septuagint Elpenor)

τοῦτο τὸ ῥῆμα ὃ συνέταξεν κύριος συναγάγετε ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ ἕκαστος εἰς τοὺς καθήκοντας γομορ κατὰ κεφαλὴν κατὰ ἀριθμὸν ψυχῶν ὑμῶν ἕκαστος σὺν τοῖς συσκηνίοις ὑμῶν συλλέξατε τοῦτο τὸ ῥῆμα ὃ συνέταξε Κύριος· συναγάγετε ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ ἕκαστος εἰς τοὺς καθήκοντας, γομὸρ κατὰ κεφαλὴν κατὰ ἀριθμὸν ψυχῶν ὑμῶν, ἕκαστος σὺν τοῖς συσκηνίοις ὑμῶν συλλέξατε

Exodus 16:16 (NETS)

Exodus 16:16b (English Elpenor)

This is the word that the Lord instructed, ‘Each person gather from it for those appropriate; a gomor per head, according to the number of your souls, each of you with your tent mates collect’.” This is that which the Lord has appointed: gather of it each man for his family, a homer for each person, according to the number of your souls, gather each of you with his fellow-lodgers.

Exodus 16:17 (Tanakh)

Exodus 16:17 (KJV)

Exodus 16:17 (NET)

And the children of Israel did so, and gathered some more, some less. And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less. The Israelites did so, and they gathered—some more, some less.

Exodus 16:17 (Septuagint BLB)

Exodus 16:17 (Septuagint Elpenor)

ἐποίησαν δὲ οὕτως οἱ υἱοὶ Ισραηλ καὶ συνέλεξαν ὁ τὸ πολὺ καὶ ὁ τὸ ἔλαττον ἐποίησαν δὲ οὕτως οἱ υἱοὶ ᾿Ισραὴλ καὶ συνέλεξαν ὁ τὸ πολὺ καὶ ὁ τὸ ἔλαττον

Exodus 16:17 (NETS)

Exodus 16:17 (English Elpenor)

And the sons of Israel did so, and they collected, the one much and the other less. And the children of Israel did so, and gathered some much and some less.

Exodus 16:18 (Tanakh)

Exodus 16:18 (KJV)

Exodus 16:18 (NET)

And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating. And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating. When they measured with an omer, the one who gathered much had nothing left over, and the one who gathered little lacked nothing; each one had gathered what he could eat.

Exodus 16:18 (Septuagint BLB)

Exodus 16:18 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ μετρήσαντες τῷ γομορ οὐκ ἐπλεόνασεν ὁ τὸ πολύ καὶ ὁ τὸ ἔλαττον οὐκ ἠλαττόνησεν ἕκαστος εἰς τοὺς καθήκοντας παρ᾽ ἑαυτῷ συνέλεξαν καὶ μετρήσαντες γομόρ, οὐκ ἐπλεόνασεν ὁ τὸ πολύ, καὶ ὁ τὸ ἔλαττον οὐκ ἠλαττόνησεν· ἕκαστος εἰς τοὺς καθήκοντας παρ᾿ ἑαυτῷ συνέλεξαν

Exodus 16:18 (NETS)

Exodus 16:18 (English Elpenor)

And they measured by the gomor. The one with much did not have excess, and the one with less did not have too little. Each person collected for those appropriate at his own home. And having measured the homer [full], he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that had gathered less had no lack; each gathered according to the need of those who belonged to him.

Exodus 16:19 (Tanakh)

Exodus 16:19 (KJV)

Exodus 16:19 (NET)

And Moses said unto them: ‘Let no man leave of it till the morning.’ And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning. Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it until morning.”

Exodus 16:19 (Septuagint BLB)

Exodus 16:19 (Septuagint Elpenor)

εἶπεν δὲ Μωυσῆς πρὸς αὐτούς μηδεὶς καταλιπέτω ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸ πρωί εἶπε δὲ Μωυσῆς πρὸς αὐτούς· μηδεὶς καταλειπέτω ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸ πρωΐ

Exodus 16:19 (NETS)

Exodus 16:19 (English Elpenor)

Then Moyses said to them, “Let no one leave any of it to the morning.” And Moses said to them, Let no man leave of it till the morning.

Exodus 16:21 (Tanakh)

Exodus 16:21 (KJV)

Exodus 16:21 (NET)

And they gathered it morning by morning, every man according to his eating; and as the sun waxed hot, it melted. And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted. So they gathered it each morning, each person according to what he could eat, and when the sun got hot, it would melt.

Exodus 16:21 (Septuagint BLB)

Exodus 16:21 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ συνέλεξαν αὐτὸ πρωὶ πρωί ἕκαστος τὸ καθῆκον αὐτῷ ἡνίκα δὲ διεθέρμαινεν ὁ ἥλιος ἐτήκετο καὶ συνέλεξαν αὐτὸ πρωΐ πρωΐ, ἕκαστος τὸ καθῆκον αὐτῷ· ἡνίκα δὲ διεθέρμαινεν ὁ ἥλιος, ἐτήκετο

Exodus 16:21 (NETS)

Exodus 16:21 (English Elpenor)

And they collected it morning by morning, each person that which was appropriate for him. But when the sun grew hot, it melted. And they gathered it every morning, each man what he needed, and when the sun waxed hot it melted.

Exodus 16:22 (Tanakh)

Exodus 16:22 (KJV)

Exodus 16:22 (NET)

And it came to pass that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one; and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. And on the sixth day they gathered twice as much food, two omers per person; and all the leaders of the community came and told Moses..

Exodus 16:22 (Septuagint BLB)

Exodus 16:22 (Septuagint Elpenor)

ἐγένετο δὲ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ ἕκτῃ συνέλεξαν τὰ δέοντα διπλᾶ δύο Γομορ τῷ ἑνί εἰσήλθοσαν δὲ πάντες οἱ ἄρχοντες τῆς συναγωγῆς καὶ ἀνήγγειλαν Μωυσεῖ ἐγένετο δὲ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ ἕκτῃ, συνέλεξαν τὰ δέοντα διπλᾶ, δύο γομὸρ τῷ ἑνί· εἰσήλθοσαν δὲ πάντες οἱ ἄρχοντες τῆς συναγωγῆς καὶ ἀνήγγειλαν Μωυσῇ

Exodus 16:22 (NETS)

Exodus 16:22 (English Elpenor)

But it happened on the sixth day, they collected double what was required, two gomors for one person. And all the leaders of the congregation went in and reported to Moyses. And it came to pass on the sixth day, they gathered double what was needed, two homers for one [man]; and all the chiefs of the synagogue went in and reported it to Moses.

Exodus 16:31 (Tanakh)

Exodus 16:31 (KJV)

Exodus 16:31 (NET)

And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna; and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey. And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey. The house of Israel called its name “manna.” It was like coriander seed and was white, and it tasted like wafers with honey.

Exodus 16:31 (Septuagint BLB)

Exodus 16:31 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ ἐπωνόμασαν οἱ υἱοὶ Ισραηλ τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Μαν ἦν δὲ ὡς σπέρμα κορίου λευκόν τὸ δὲ γεῦμα αὐτοῦ ὡς ἐγκρὶς ἐν μέλιτι καὶ ἐπωνόμασαν οἱ υἱοὶ ᾿Ισραὴλ τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ, μάν· ἦν δὲ ὡσεὶ σπέρμα κορίου λευκόν, τὸ δὲ γεῦμα αὐτοῦ ὡς ἐγκρὶς ἐν μέλιτι

Exodus 16:31 (NETS)

Exodus 16:31 (English Elpenor)

And the sons of Israel called its name Man. Now it was white like coriander seed, but its taste was like cake with honey. And the children of Israel called the name of it Man; and it was as white coriander seed, and the taste of it as a wafer with honey.

Mark 2:24-26 (NET)

Mark 2:24-26 (KJV)

So the Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is against the law on the Sabbath?” And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful?

Mark 2:24 (NET Parallel Greek)

Mark 2:24 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

Mark 2:24 (Byzantine Majority Text)

καὶ οἱ Φαρισαῖοι ἔλεγον αὐτῷ· ἴδε τί ποιοῦσιν τοῖς σάββασιν ὃ οὐκ ἔξεστιν και οι φαρισαιοι ελεγον αυτω ιδε τι ποιουσιν εν τοις σαββασιν ο ουκ εξεστιν και οι φαρισαιοι ελεγον αυτω ιδε τι ποιουσιν εν τοις σαββασιν ο ουκ εξεστιν
He said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry— And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him?

Mark 2:25 (NET Parallel Greek)

Mark 2:25 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

Mark 2:25 (Byzantine Majority Text)

καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς· οὐδέποτε ἀνέγνωτε τί ἐποίησεν Δαυὶδ ὅτε χρείαν ἔσχεν καὶ ἐπείνασεν αὐτὸς καὶ οἱ μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ και αυτος ελεγεν αυτοις ουδεποτε ανεγνωτε τι εποιησεν δαβιδ οτε χρειαν εσχεν και επεινασεν αυτος και οι μετ αυτου και αυτος ελεγεν αυτοις ουδεποτε ανεγνωτε τι εποιησεν δαυιδ οτε χρειαν εσχεν και επεινασεν αυτος και οι μετ αυτου
how he entered the house of God when Abiathar was high priest and ate the sacred bread, which is against the law for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to his companions?” How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him?

Mark 2:26 (NET Parallel Greek)

Mark 2:26 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

Mark 2:26 (Byzantine Majority Text)

|πῶς| εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὸν οἶκον τοῦ θεοῦ ἐπὶ Ἀβιαθὰρ ἀρχιερέως καὶ τοὺς ἄρτους τῆς προθέσεως ἔφαγεν, οὓς οὐκ ἔξεστιν φαγεῖν εἰ μὴ τοὺς ἱερεῖς, καὶ ἔδωκεν καὶ τοῖς σὺν αὐτῷ οὖσιν πως εισηλθεν εις τον οικον του θεου επι αβιαθαρ του αρχιερεως και τους αρτους της προθεσεως εφαγεν ους ουκ εξεστιν φαγειν ει μη τοις ιερευσιν και εδωκεν και τοις συν αυτω ουσιν πως εισηλθεν εις τον οικον του θεου επι αβιαθαρ αρχιερεως και τους αρτους της προθεσεως εφαγεν ους ουκ εξεστιν φαγειν ει μη τοις ιερευσιν και εδωκεν και τοις συν αυτω ουσιν

Mark 3:3-5 (NET)

Mark 3:3-5 (KJV)

So he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Stand up among all these people.” And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth.

Mark 3:3 (NET Parallel Greek)

Mark 3:3 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

Mark 3:3 (Byzantine Majority Text)

καὶ λέγει τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ τῷ τὴν |ξηρὰν| χεῖρα ἔχοντι · ἔγειρε εἰς τὸ μέσον και λεγει τω ανθρωπω τω εξηραμμενην εχοντι την χειρα εγειραι εις το μεσον και λεγει τω ανθρωπω τω εξηραμμενην εχοντι την χειρα εγειραι εις το μεσον
Then he said to them, “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath, or evil, to save a life or destroy it?” But they were silent. And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace.

Mark 3:4 (NET Parallel Greek)

Mark 3:4 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

Mark 3:4 (Byzantine Majority Text)

καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς· ἔξεστιν τοῖς σάββασιν |ἀγαθὸν ποιῆσαι| ἢ κακοποιῆσαι, ψυχὴν σῶσαι ἢ ἀποκτεῖναι; οἱ δὲ ἐσιώπων και λεγει αυτοις εξεστιν τοις σαββασιν αγαθοποιησαι η κακοποιησαι ψυχην σωσαι η αποκτειναι οι δε εσιωπων και λεγει αυτοις εξεστιν τοις σαββασιν αγαθοποιησαι η κακοποιησαι ψυχην σωσαι η αποκτειναι οι δε εσιωπων
After looking around at them in anger, grieved by the hardness of their hearts, he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.

Mark 3:5 (NET Parallel Greek)

Mark 3:5 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

Mark 3:5 (Byzantine Majority Text)

καὶ περιβλεψάμενος αὐτοὺς μετ᾿ ὀργῆς, συλλυπούμενος ἐπὶ τῇ πωρώσει τῆς καρδίας αὐτῶν λέγει τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ· ἔκτεινον τὴν χεῖρα . καὶ ἐξέτεινεν καὶ ἀπεκατεστάθη ἡ χεὶρ αὐτοῦ και περιβλεψαμενος αυτους μετ οργης συλλυπουμενος επι τη πωρωσει της καρδιας αυτων λεγει τω ανθρωπω εκτεινον την χειρα σου και εξετεινεν και αποκατεσταθη η χειρ αυτου υγιης ως η αλλη και περιβλεψαμενος αυτους μετ οργης συλλυπουμενος επι τη πωρωσει της καρδιας αυτων λεγει τω ανθρωπω εκτεινον την χειρα σου και εξετεινεν και αποκατεσταθη η χειρ αυτου υγιης ως η αλλη

1 Ephesians 4:22b (ESV)

2 Philippians 4:5b (ESV)

3 Philippians 4:6b (ESV)

4 John 8:31a (ESV)

5 John 8:44a (ESV) Table

7 John 2:24, 25 (ESV)

8 John 3:10 (NET) Table

9 Ephesians 4:22b (ESV)

10 Ephesians 4:24b (ESV)

11 Ephesians 4:22b (ESV)

12 Exodus 16:21-27 (ESV)

13 Romans 7:5 (ESV)

14 Romans 8:5-8 (ESV)

15 Romans 9:3b (ESV) Table

16 Romans 11:24 (ESV)

17 Romans 9:31 (ESV) Table

18 Romans 9:32 (ESV) Table

19 The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the preposition εν here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

20 The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had λέγει here, a 3rd person singular form of λέγω in the present tense, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αυτος ελεγεν in the imperfect tense.

23 The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had the adjective ξηρὰν here, an accusative form of ξηρός, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εξηραμμενην, a perfect participle of the verb ξηραίνω.

24 The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ἔγειρε here, a 2nd person imperative form of ἐγείρω in the present tense, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had an aorist infinitive εγειραι (e.g., “to stand”).

26 The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the genitive pronoun σου here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

27 The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ἀπεκατεστάθη here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had αποκατεσταθη. Both are listed as 3rd person singular forms of ἀποκαθίστημι in the aorist tense, indicative mood and passive voice. The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had υγιης ως η αλλη (KJV: whole as the other) at the end of this clause. The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

28 The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ἐδίδουν here, an imperfect form of δίδωμι, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εποιουν (KJV; took), an imperfect form of ποιέω.

29 Ephesians 4:22b (ESV)

The New Covenant, Part 3

In an article, “All of America Must Be a Hard Target to Prevent Mass Shootings,” James Pinkerton wrote:

Reacting to an earlier school shooting, former Los Angeles police officer J. Warner Wallace identified four driving causes: “an increase in social media use”; “an increased dependency on prescription medicine”; “an increase in single parent households”; and “a decrease in traditional Christian values,” including, we can add, the belief that bad people go to hell where they are tormented forever. It’s too bad that the idea of hell, just as the notion of evil, has been mostly banished by our secular culture.

This article was written in response to the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.

On May 24, 2022, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos fatally shot nineteen students and two teachers, and wounded seventeen other people, at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, United States.1

Mr. Ramos didn’t surrender to authorities but fought apparently to the death. If he had been raised with “‘traditional Christian values,’ including…the belief that bad people go to hell where they are tormented forever” would he have feared death more? Would he have feared death enough to dissuade him from shooting 39 people including his grandmother?2 Clearly, I don’t know the answer to those questions, but asking them helps me understand why some would prefer to deprive Mr. Ramos (and everyone else) of weapons that can kill so many so fast.

Fear of death didn’t dissuade Adam and Eve from eating the fruit God had forbidden. Granted, death may have been an abstract concept until Cain killed Abel. The law God gave to Israel added many fearful punishments including death (Exodus 21:12-22:20; Leviticus 7:20-27; 19:5-10; 20:1-9; 24:13-23; 26:14-38) for noncompliance. Israel didn’t keep the law in a way that satisfied God.

People may have been more or less satisfied with the law depending on whether they were victimized by lawbreakers or not. I know none of the children or adults killed or wounded in Uvalde at the Robb Elementary School. I’m more or less satisfied that the laws in Uvalde did what they could. At least, I’m not persuaded that any new laws would help significantly to prevent such killings.

Mr. Ramos seemed willing to die for his cause, whatever he perceived that cause to be.3

Ramos’s social media acquaintances said he openly abused animals such as cats and would livestream the abuse on Yubo.[111] Other social media acquaintances said that he would also livestream himself on Yubo threatening to kidnap and rape girls who used the app, as well as threatening to commit a school shooting.[109] “On May 14, Ramos sent a private Instagram message reading, ’10 more days’. A person responded, ‘Are you going to shoot up a school or something?’ He replied, ‘No, stop asking dumb questions. You’ll see.’

Neither the law nor the fear of death deterred him from his course. At least, no one has reported that he curled up in a fetal position and cried when surrounded by armed men. Perhaps, there were no witnesses by that point.

Paul wrote (Romans 8:3, 4 NET):

God achieved what the law could not do because it was weakened through the flesh. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and concerning sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the righteous requirement of the law may be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

This fulfillment of the righteous requirement of the lawin us, whowalk according to the Spirit got short shrift from me when avoiding hell was my hope of “salvation.” Jesus Christ died and rose from the dead to save each of us first and foremost from our sinful selves.

Paul continued (Romans 8:5 NET):

For those who live according to the flesh have their outlook shaped by the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit have their outlook shaped by the things of the Spirit.

What is born of the flesh is flesh, Jesus told Nicodemus, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must all be born from above.’4

Now the works of the flesh are obvious, Paul wrote, sexual immorality, impurity, depravity, idolatry, sorcery, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish rivalries, dissensions, factions, envying, murder, drunkenness, carousing, and similar things. I am warning you, as I had warned you before: Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God!5

For those who live according to the flesh have their outlook shaped by the things of the fleshFor the outlook of the flesh is deathbecause the outlook of the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to the law of God, nor is it able to do so. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.6

You people are from your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires,7 Jesus said to those Judeans who had believed him,8 arguably the best of the best at suppressing the sins of the flesh while still in the flesh. I already admitted I didn’t take Jesus seriously here until recently.

I recall when my mother tried to teach me about hell by putting my hand in a gas flame on the stove. She failed. She wasn’t strong enough, whether physically or emotionally, to overcome my resistance.

That sounds obscene without context, but frankly, I don’t remember the context. I probably said or did something that highly offended her. I did that often. She told me many times how often she was surprised by the sinfulness of her precious first born baby boy. This was long after I had said a sinner’s prayer to Jesus to escape hell.

Mom was consistent in her expectation that someone born of God should be different. I see that now. At the time she was up against a religious establishment that defended its religious traditions, and I had said the sinner’s prayer those traditions required. At that time I resented being called sinful. So I lived 65 years before I could or would acknowledge that I in my flesh was from [my] father the devil.

Jesus continued to describe my father and my unwitting relationship to him (John 8:44b-46a NET):

He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not uphold the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he lies, he speaks according to his own nature because he is a liar and the father of lies [Table]. But because I am telling you the truth, you do not believe me. Who among you can prove me guilty of any sin? [Table]

Jesus was not some egoist bolstering his own self-esteem by denigrating others. He is God, come to earth as a human being to, among other things, teach us what we did not understand, what we refused to understand, about ourselves (John 8:46b, 47 NET).

If I am telling you the truth, why don’t you believe me [Table]? The one who belongs to God listens and responds to God’s words. You don’t listen and respond because you don’t belong to God.

I hear this as a relative measure. For I know that nothing good lives in me, Paul wrote, that is, in my flesh. For I want to do the good, but I cannot do it.9 Even here, though, Paul recognized God’s law as the good (Romans 7:10b-12 NET):

So10 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. So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous, and good.

Now one of the experts in the law came and heard them [Pharisees and HerodiansSadducees (who say there is no resurrection)] debating (Mark 12:28-34a NET).

When he saw that Jesus answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is: ‘Listen, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength[Table]. The second is: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” The expert in the law said to him, “That is true, Teacher; you are right to say that he is one, and there is no one else besides him. And to love him with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your strength and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices” [Table]. When Jesus saw that he had answered thoughtfully, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”

Paul continued (Romans 7:13-17 NET):

Did that which is good, then, become11 death to me? Absolutely not! But sin, so that it would be shown to be sin, produced death in me through what is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful. For we know that the law is spiritual—but I am unspiritual (KJV: carnal), 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].

I wasn’t so clear. The good was what I wanted, irrespective of God’s law. My faith in this understanding of the good reached its zenith when I became an atheist, but it didn’t vanish overnight. God’s laws were added more or less reluctantly over time to my understanding of the good as what I wanted, but still may not have entirely supplanted it on a day-to-day basis.

While I might have seen some benefit to a law that inhibits you from messing around with my wife, if I wanted yours more than you did and she wanted me more than you, I was kind of fuzzy why you or God should interfere with the good we wanted. So, I “loved” and lusted after a friend’s wife for twenty years.

To Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength’ [Table] was a tall order when I thought of love as my feeling. It was all but impossible when I thought of the Gospel as an ultimatum: “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ or burn in hell for all eternity.” Socialized as a male American after Adolf Hitler’s death, during the reigns of Chairman Mao and Nikita Khrushchev anyone who made such an ultimatum was not one to be loved, but someone to be resisted to the death.

A better understanding of love (1 Corinthians 13) helped me to begin to love God. Even when I thought Paul’s description of love was rules for me to obey in my own strength, it gave me more practical things to do than trying to conjure a feeling of love. When I began to understand Paul’s description as God’s love, given freely to us as an aspect of the fruit of his Holy Spirit, everything began to change for the better. I began, in fact, to be born from above in practice.

For no good tree bears bad fruit, Jesus taught, nor again12 does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from brambles. The good person out of the good treasury of his13 heart produces good, and the evil person14 out of his evil treasury15 produces evil, for his mouth speaks from what fills16 his17 heart.18

I didn’t know Mr. Ramos. I know the fruit of the Spirit through the word of God and personal experience. Mr. Ramos was not led by God’s own love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control when he shot 39 people. You people are from your father the devil, Jesus warned, and you want to do what your father desires. He was a murderer from the beginning19

United States Congressmen take an oath of office:20

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.”

Members of the U.S. Congress have forsworn themselves to enact legislation to infringe “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms.”21 And the President of the United States, who made a similar oath,22 signed that legislation.23 Mr. Ramos’ acts of political terrorism have apparently succeeded where others have failed. Was this his conscious purpose and cause? I have no way of knowing.

Jesus warned us of a powerful liar and murderer who incites people to obey his will (John 8:44b, 44a NET):

He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not uphold the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he lies, he speaks according to his own nature because he is a liar and the father of lies.

You people are from your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires.

Do not be amazed that I said to you, Jesus said, ‘You must all be born from above.’24

As I wrote this essay the Supreme Court of the United States of America barely affirmed the rather obvious fact that no right of abortion is mentioned in the document that constitutes the federal government of the United States. What impact might this tepid affirmation have on those who want a right of abortion, who want to destroy their unborn children, who want me (among others) to consider them righteous if they do so? I don’t know.

Considering the question, however, helps to confirm for me the relative futility of political action vis-a-vis the privilege of sharing the good news that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost (πρῶτος).25 In other words, God in Christ has done all the heavy lifting to save sinners like you and me from our sinful selves. Know Him. [T]his is eternal life,26 Jesus prayed.

Look, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will complete a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.

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

For this is the covenant that I will establish with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds, and I will inscribe them on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be my people.

And there will be no need at all for each one to teach his countryman or each one to teach his brother saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ since they will all know me, from the least to the greatest.

For I will be merciful toward their evil deeds, and their sins I will remember no longer” [Table].27

Tables comparing Romans 7:13; Luke 6:43 and 6:45 in the NET and KJV follow.

Romans 7:13 (NET)

Romans 7:13 (KJV)

Did that which is good, then, become death to me? Absolutely not! But sin, so that it would be shown to be sin, produced death in me through what is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful. Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.

NET Parallel Greek

Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text

Τὸ οὖν ἀγαθὸν ἐμοὶ ἐγένετο θάνατος; μὴ γένοιτο· ἀλλὰ ἡ ἁμαρτία, ἵνα φανῇ ἁμαρτία, διὰ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ μοι κατεργαζομένη θάνατον, ἵνα γένηται καθ᾿ ὑπερβολὴν ἁμαρτωλὸς ἡ ἁμαρτία διὰ τῆς ἐντολῆς το ουν αγαθον εμοι γεγονεν θανατος μη γενοιτο αλλα η αμαρτια ινα φανη αμαρτια δια του αγαθου μοι κατεργαζομενη θανατον ινα γενηται καθ υπερβολην αμαρτωλος η αμαρτια δια της εντολης το ουν αγαθον εμοι γεγονεν θανατος μη γενοιτο αλλα η αμαρτια ινα φανη αμαρτια δια του αγαθου μοι κατεργαζομενη θανατον ινα γενηται καθ υπερβολην αμαρτωλος η αμαρτια δια της εντολης

Luke 6:43 (NET)

Luke 6:43 (KJV)

For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

NET Parallel Greek

Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text

Οὐ γάρ ἐστιν δένδρον καλὸν ποιοῦν καρπὸν σαπρόν, οὐδὲ πάλιν δένδρον σαπρὸν ποιοῦν καρπὸν καλόν ου γαρ εστιν δενδρον καλον ποιουν καρπον σαπρον ουδε δενδρον σαπρον ποιουν καρπον καλον ου γαρ εστιν δενδρον καλον ποιουν καρπον σαπρον ουδε δενδρον σαπρον ποιουν καρπον καλον

Luke 6:45 (NET)

Luke 6:45 (KJV)

The good person out of the good treasury of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasury produces evil, for his mouth speaks from what fills his heart. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

NET Parallel Greek

Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text

ὁ ἀγαθὸς ἄνθρωπος ἐκ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ θησαυροῦ τῆς καρδίας προφέρει τὸ ἀγαθόν, καὶ ὁ πονηρὸς ἐκ τοῦ πονηροῦ προφέρει τὸ πονηρόν· ἐκ γὰρ περισσεύματος καρδίας λαλεῖ τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ ο αγαθος ανθρωπος εκ του αγαθου θησαυρου της καρδιας αυτου προφερει το αγαθον και ο πονηρος ανθρωπος εκ του πονηρου θησαυρου της καρδιας αυτου προφερει το πονηρον εκ γαρ του περισσευματος της καρδιας λαλει το στομα αυτου ο αγαθος ανθρωπος εκ του αγαθου θησαυρου της καρδιας αυτου προφερει το αγαθον και ο πονηρος ανθρωπος εκ του πονηρου θησαυρου της καρδιας αυτου προφερει το πονηρον εκ γαρ του περισσευματος της καρδιας λαλει το στομα αυτου

2Robb Elementary School shooting,” Wikipedia: “Earlier in the day, he shot his grandmother in the forehead at home, severely wounding her.”

4 John 3:6, 7 (NET)

5 Galatians 5:19-21 (NET) Table

6 Romans 8:5-8 (NET)

7 John 8:44a (NET) Table

8 John 8:31a (NET)

9 Romans 7:18 (NET) Table

10 In the NET parallel Greek text and NA28 verse 10 begins with ἐγὼ δὲ ἀπέθανον (NET: and I died). These words conclude verse 9 in the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text.

15 The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had θησαυρου της καρδιας αυτου (KJV: treasure of his heart) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

16 The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the article του preceding what fills (KJV: abundance). The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

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

18 Luke 6:43-45 (NET)

19 John 8:44a (NET) Table

21 The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

24 John 3:7 (NET)

25 1 Timothy 1:15b (ESV)

26 John 17:3 (NET)

27 Hebrews 8:8b-12 (NET) [See Greek comparison tables]

Forgiven or Passed Over? Part 3

I bogged down in this study a couple of years ago.  I don’t remember whether I balked at how much work it would be or simply recognized the futility of studying ʽâbar alone.  I’ll start again comparing and contrasting ʽâbar with nâsâh.

The translators of the Septuagint chose twenty-two different Greek words for fifty-four occurrences of nâsâh (only fifty-three were actually translated) from Genesis 4:13 through Exodus 19:4 (see table below).  They worked very hard to refine and communicate their own understanding in Greek, which only served to obscure yehôvâh’s mind if I fail to recognize the one Hebrew word—nâsâh—behind all that refinement.

The most concrete meaning of nâsâh is to bear, to lift or carry.  Both lift and carry are evident in: And the people took (nâsâh, וישׁא; Septuagint: ἀνέλαβεν, a form of ἀναλαμβάνω) their dough before it was leavened, their kneading-troughs being bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders.[1]  But neither took nor ἀνέλαβεν fully convey the idea of lifting and carrying if I don’t already know nâsâh.

What was important to the translators was that the people took their dough with them before it was leavened.  Intended as a corrective, perhaps, even that added emphasis didn’t prevent religious minds from imbuing unleavened bread with spiritual significance beyond the haste of Israel’s exodus from Egypt (1 Corinthians 5:7, 8 NET):

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

The concrete meaning of nâsâh prevailed in the phrase lift up one’s eyes (Genesis 13:10, 14; 18:2; 22:4, 13; 24:63, 64; 31:10, 12; 33:1, 5; 37:25; 43:29; Exodus 14:10).  It was a bit more abstract in lift up one’s voice (Genesis 21:16; 27:38; 29:11) or lift up one’s feet (Genesis 29:1).  While I lifted up My hand[2] was translated concretely in the Tanakh, it was translated I swore in the NET and I did swear in the KJV.  I want to keep these variations in mind as I consider six occurrences translated forgive or forgiven.

The relatively contemporary translators of the Tanakh, the KJV and the NET all agreed that Cain was not spiritually aware enough to lament his iniquity: My punishment is greater than I can bear[3] (NET: too great to endure), he said in these translations.  The more ancient translators of the Septuagint translated ʽâvôn αἰτία and nâsâh ἀφεθῆναί (a form of ἀφίημι) which a relatively contemporary translator rendered My guilt is too great for me to be forgiven[4] in English.

Of the five occurrences of ʽâvôn in Genesis 4:13 through Exodus 20:5 (see table below) one was translated αἰτία, one ἀδικίαν (a form of ἀδικία), one ἀνομίαις (a form of ἀνομία) and two with forms of ἁμαρτία.  The most concrete meaning of forms of ἁμαρτία is found in its verb form ἁμαρτάνω, “to miss the mark.”  In the occurrence translated ἁμαρτίαι (Genesis 15:16) before Exodus 20, what mark was missed before the law was given?  I would not have known sin (ἁμαρτίαν, another form of ἁμαρτία), Paul wrote believers in Rome, except through the law.[5]  But sin (ἁμαρτία), seizing the opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of wrong desires.[6]

I’ve questioned the idea of ἁμαρτία seizing the opportunity through the commandment in the context of Cain’s murder of his brother Abel.  But if the NET translation of Genesis 4:7b (see comparison below) is more correct than that of the Septuagint (namely, that Cain would rule again over Abel if Cain offered the correct sacrifice), then yehôvâh’s words, you must subdue sin (chaṭṭâʼâh, חטאת; Septuagint: ἥμαρτες, a form of ἁμαρτάνω), would serve as the commandment ἁμαρτία seized, for before the law was given, sin (ἁμαρτία) was in the world, but there is no accounting for sin (ἁμαρτία) when there is no law.[7]

NETS NET
Be still; his recourse is to you, and you will rule over him. …sin is crouching at the door.  It desires to dominate you, but you must subdue it.

The translators of the Septuagint seemed to acknowledge a problem with ἁμαρτία prior to the law with the word ἀδικίαν: G-d hath found out the iniquity (ʽâvôn, עון; Septuagint: ἀδικίαν; NETS: injustice; NET: the sin) of thy servants[8]  The iniquity that concerned Joseph’s brothers wasn’t stealing his silver goblet (44:2).  They knew Benjamin hadn’t taken it but suspected (Genesis 43:18-23) that it had been placed there by the Egyptian’s (e.g., Joseph’s) servant to entrap them.  They had reasoned that yehôvâh was behind their difficulties with the Egyptian and that their iniquity was their injustice toward their younger brother Joseph (Genesis 42:21-23 Tanakh):

And they said one to another: ‘We are verily guilty (ʼâshêm, אשמים; Septuagint: ἐν ἁμαρτίᾳ) concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear (shâmaʽ, שמענו); therefore is this distress come upon us.’  And Reuben answered them, saying: ‘Spoke I not unto you, saying: Do not sin (châṭâʼ, תחטאו; Septuagint: ἀδικήσητε, a form of ἀδικέω) against the child; and ye would not hear (shâmaʽ, שמעתם)? therefore also, behold, his blood is required.’  And they knew not that Joseph understood (shâmaʽ, שמע) them; for the interpreter was between them.

They had not disobeyed a law: Thou shalt not sell thy brother into slavery.  But they had not dealt justly with their little brother, whether a tattletale, a braggart (Genesis 37:5-11) or a father’s favorite.  And I realize here that I am regarding iniquity (ʽâvôn) more like Jesus’ and Paul’s description of the flesh than like a sin, a missing of a mark.  What is born of the flesh (σαρκὸς, a form of σάρξ) is flesh (σάρξ), Jesus said, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.[9]  For when we were in the flesh (σαρκί, another form of σάρξ), Paul wrote believers in Rome, the sinful desires, aroused by the law, were active in the members of our body to bear fruit for death.[10]  Paul continued (Romans 8:5-8 NET):

For those who live according to the flesh (σάρκα, another form of σάρξ) have their outlook shaped by the things of the flesh (σαρκὸς, a form of σάρξ), but those who live according to the Spirit have their outlook shaped by the things of the Spirit.  For the outlook of the flesh (σαρκὸς, a form of σάρξ) is death, but the outlook of the Spirit is life and peace, because the outlook of the flesh (σαρκὸς, a form of σάρξ) is hostile to God, for it does not submit to the law of God, nor is it able to do so.  Those who are in the flesh (σαρκί, another form of σάρξ) cannot please (ἀρέσαι οὐ δύνανται) God.

The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great, yehôvâh told Abraham, and their sin (chaṭṭâʼâh, וחטאתם; Septuagint: ἁμαρτίαι, another form of ἁμαρτία) so blatant that I must go down and see if they are as wicked as the outcry suggests.  If not, I want to know.[11]  Will you sweep away the godly along with the wicked? Abraham asked.  What if there are fifty godly people in the city?  Will you really wipe it out and not spare (nâsâh, תשׁא) the place for the sake of the fifty godly people who are in it?[12]

In the Tanakh nâsâh was translated forgive rather than spare.  In the Septuagint it was translated ἀνήσεις (a form of ἀνίημι) which was translated go free in the NETS.  Abraham asked yehôvâh to bear the sin (chaṭṭâʼâh, וחטאתם) of the majority of the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah for the sake of fifty hypothetical godly (tsaddı̂yq, צדיקם; Septuagint: δίκαιοι, a form of δίκαιος; Tanakh, KJV, NETS: righteous) people who may or may not reside there, then forty-five, forty, thirty, twenty and ten.  And yehôvâh agreed to Abraham’s proposition: If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will forgive (nâsâh, ונשׁאתי; Septuagint: ἀφήσω, another form of ἀφίημι; NETS: I will forgive; KJV, NET: I will spare) all the place for their sake.[13]

I don’t mean to imply that forgive was a bad translation of nâsâh here.  I do intend to highlight the nature of this forgiveness as primarily forbearance on yehôvâh’s part, and to stress that it is only part, a very necessary part, of the forgiveness I hope for from Him.

Joseph’s brothers sought the same forbearance from Joseph after Jacob’s death: “What if Joseph bears a grudge and wants to repay us in full for all the harm we did to him?”[14]  So they sent word to Joseph, saying (Genesis 50:16, 17a NET):

“Your father gave these instructions before he died: ‘Tell Joseph this: Please forgive (nâsâh, שׁא; Septuagint: ἄφες, another form of ἀφίημι; Tanakh, KJV, NETS: forgive) the sin of your brothers and the wrong they did when they treated you so badly.’  Now please forgive (nâsâh, שׁא; Septuagint: δέξαι, a form of δέχομαι; Tanakh, KJV: forgive; NETS: accept) the sin of the servants of the God of your father.”

Though they asked for forbearance I think one could argue that they received so much more (Genesis 50:19-21 NET):

But Joseph answered them, “Don’t be afraid.  Am I in the place of God?  As for you, you meant to harm me, but God intended it for a good purpose, so he could preserve the lives of many people, as you can see this day.  So now, don’t be afraid.  I will provide for you and your little children.”  Then he consoled them and spoke kindly to them.

Pharoah asked for a similar forbearance: Then Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you!  So now, forgive (nâsâh, שׁא; Septuagint: προσδέξασθε, a form of προσδέχομαι; Tanakh, KJV: forgive; NETS: bear) my sin this time only, and pray to the Lord your God that he would only take this death away from me.”[15]

Moses extended his staff over the land of Egypt, and then the Lord brought an east wind on the land all that day and all night.  The morning came, and the east wind had brought up (nâsâh, נשׁא) the locusts![16]  The death (mâveth, המות) Pharaoh asked Moses to pray that yehôvâh would takeaway was those locusts: Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to the Lord, and the Lord turned a very strong west wind, and it picked up (nâsâh, וישׁא) the locusts and blew them into the Red Sea.  Not one locust remained in all the territory of Egypt.[17]

No matter what I think of Cain’s spiritual competence, The Lord (yehôvâh, יהוה) would speak to Moses face to face, the way a person speaks to a friend.[18]  Moses wrote the words we read in Genesis.  With the first occurrences of both ʽâvôn and nâsâh a son of Adam spoke words that may legitimately be translated, “my iniquity is greater than I can bear.”[19]  That sounds like something I can work with as I continue this study.

I found no occurrence of ʽâbar in this section (Genesis 1:1 – Exodus 20:5) that was, or should have been, translated forgive (see table below).

Form of nâsâh Reference KJV NET Septuagint
מנשׁא Genesis 4:13 …My punishment is greater than I can bear. My punishment is too great to endure! ἀφεθῆναί, a form of ἀφίημι
וישׁאו Genesis 7:17 …and the waters increased, and bare up the ark… As the waters increased, they lifted the ark… ἐπῆρεν, a form of ἐπαίρω
Genesis 37:25 and they lifted up their eyes and looked… …they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites… ἀναβλέψαντες, a form of ἀναβλέπω
Genesis 42:26 And they laded their asses with the corn… So they loaded their grain on their donkeys… ἐπιθέντες, a form of ἐπιτίθημι
Genesis 46:5 …and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father… …and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob… ἀνέλαβον, a form of ἀναλαμβάνω
Genesis 50:13 For his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him… His sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him… ἀνέλαβον, a form of ἀναλαμβάνω
Exodus 14:10 …the children of Israel lifted up their eyes… Not translated ἀναβλέψαντες, a form of ἀναβλέπω
נשׁא Genesis 13:6 And the land was not able to bear them… But the land could not support them… ἐχώρει, a form of χωρέω
Exodus 10:13 …the east wind brought the locusts. …the east wind had brought up the locusts! ἀνέλαβεν, another form of ἀναλαμβάνω
שׁא Genesis 13:14 Lift up now thine eyes… Not translated ἀναβλέψας, another form of ἀναβλέπω
Genesis 27:3 Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow… Therefore, take your weapons – your quiver and your bow… λαβὲ, a form of λαμβάνω
Genesis 31:12 Lift up now thine eyes, and see… Not translated ἀνάβλεψον, another form of ἀναβλέπω
Genesis 50:17 Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren… Please forgive the sin of your brothers… ἄφες, another form of ἀφίημι
Genesis 50:17 forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. Now please forgive the sin of the servants of the God of your father. δέξαι, a form of δέχομαι
Exodus 10:17 Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this once… So now, forgive my sin this time only… προσδέξασθε, a form of προσδέχομαι
שׁאי Genesis 21:18 Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand… Get up! Help the boy up and hold him by the hand… λαβὲ, a form of λαμβάνω
ישׁא Genesis 32:20 …peradventure he will accept of me. Perhaps he will accept me. προσδέξεται, another form of προσδέχομαι
Genesis 40:13 …within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thine head… Not translated μνησθήσεται, a form of μιμνήσκω
Genesis 40:19 …within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head… Not translated ἀφελεῖ, a form of ἀφαιρέω
וישׁא Genesis 13:10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain… Lot looked up and saw the whole region… ἐπάρας, a form of ἐπαίρω
Genesis 18:2 And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men… Abraham looked up and saw three men… ἀναβλέψας, another form of ἀναβλέπω
Genesis 22:4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes… Not translated ἀναβλέψας, another form of ἀναβλέπω
Genesis 22:13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram… Abraham looked up and saw behind him a ram… ἀναβλέψας, another form of ἀναβλέπω
Genesis 24:63 and he lifted up his eyes, and saw… Not translated ἀναβλέψας, another form of ἀναβλέπω
Genesis 27:38 And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept. Not translated ἀνεβόησεν, a form of ἀναβοάω
Genesis 29:1[20] Then Jacob went on his journey… So Jacob moved on… ἐξάρας, a form of ἐξαίρω
Genesis 29:11 and lifted up his voice, and wept. Not translated βοήσας, a form of βοάω
Genesis 31:17 Then Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his wives upon camels… So Jacob immediately put his children and his wives on the camels. ἔλαβεν, another form of λαμβάνω
Genesis 33:1 And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked… Jacob looked up and saw that Esau was… ἀναβλέψας, another form of ἀναβλέπω
Genesis 33:5 And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children… When Esau looked up and saw the women and the children… ἀναβλέψας, another form of ἀναβλέπω
Genesis 40:20 and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker… He “lifted up” the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief… ἐμνήσθη, another form of μιμνήσκω
Genesis 43:29 And he lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin… When Joseph looked up and saw his brother Benjamin… ἀναβλέψας, another form of ἀναβλέπω
Genesis 43:34 And he took and sent messes unto them from before him… He gave them portions of the food set before him… ἦραν, a form of αἴρω
Exodus 10:19 which took away the locusts, and cast them into the Red sea… and it picked up the locusts and blew them into the Red Sea. ἀνέλαβεν, a form of ἀναλαμβάνω
Exodus 12:34 And the people took their dough before it was leavened… So the people took their dough before the yeast was added… ἀνέλαβεν, a form of ἀναλαμβάνω
תשׁא Genesis 18:24 …and not spare the place for the fifty righteous… …and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty godly people… ἀνήσεις, a form of ἀνίημι
שׁאת Genesis 44:1 …with food, as much as they can carry …as much food as they can carry ἆραι, another form of αἴρω
ותשׁא Genesis 21:16 and lift up her voice, and wept. Not translated ἀναβοῆσαν, another form of ἀναβοάω
Genesis 24:64 And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac… Rebekah looked up and saw Isaac. ἀναβλέψασα, another form of ἀναβλέπω
Genesis 31:10 that I lifted up mine eyes, and saw in a dream… Not translated Not translated

εἶδον, a form of ὁράω

Genesis 39:7 …that his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph… …his master’s wife took notice of Joseph… ἐπέβαλεν, a form of ἐπιβάλλω
ונשׁאו Exodus 18:22 …and they shall bear the burden with thee. …and they will bear the burden with you. κουφιοῦσιν, a form of κουφίζω
ונשׁאתי Genesis 18:26 then I will spare all the place for their sakes. I will spare the whole place for their sake. ἀφήσω, another form of ἀφίημι
ונשׁאתני Genesis 47:30 and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their buryingplace… carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place. ἀρεῖς, another form of αἴρω
ונשׁאתם Genesis 45:19 and bring your father, and come. Bring your father and come. ἀναλαβόντες, another form of ἀναλαμβάνω
נשׁאת Genesis 45:23 …ten she asses laden with corn… …ten female donkeys loaded with grain… αἰρούσας, another form of αἴρω
נשׁאתי Genesis 19:21 I have accepted thee concerning this thing also… I will grant this request too and will not overthrow the town you mentioned. ἐθαύμασά, a form of θαυμάζω
Exodus 6:8[21] …the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham… I will bring you to the land I swore to give to Abraham… ἐξέτεινα τὴν χεῖρά μου[22]
נשׁאים Genesis 37:25 …with their camels bearing spicery… Their camels were carrying spices… ἔγεμον, a form of γέμω
Genesis 45:23 …ten asses laden with the good things… …ten donkeys loaded with the best products… αἴροντας, another form of αἴρω
לשׁאת Genesis 36:7 …and the land wherein they were strangers could not bear them… …the land where they had settled was not able to support them… φέρειν, a form of φέρω
Genesis 45:27 …the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him… …the wagons that Joseph had sent to transport him… ἀναλαβεῖν, another form of ἀναλαμβάνω
Genesis 46:5 …the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him. …the wagons that Pharaoh had sent along to transport him. ἀνέλαβον, another form of ἀναλαμβάνω
ואשׁא Exodus 19:4 and how I bare you on eagles’ wings… and how I lifted you on eagles’ wings… ἀνέλαβον, another form of ἀναλαμβάνω

 

Form of ʽâvôn Reference KJV NET Septuagint
עוני Genesis 4:13 My punishment is greater than I can bear. My punishment is too great to endure! αἰτία[23]
עון Genesis 15:16 …for the iniquity of the Amorites is not…[24] …for the sin of the Amorites has not yet… ἁμαρτίαι, a form of ἁμαρτία
Genesis 44:16 …found out the iniquity of thy servants… …God has exposed the sin of your servants! ἀδικίαν, a form of ἀδικία
Exodus 20:5 …visiting[25] the iniquity of the fathers upon the children… …responding to the transgression of fathers… ἁμαρτίας, a form of ἁμαρτία
בעון Genesis 19:15 …be consumed in the iniquity of the city. …will be destroyed when the city is judged! ἀνομίαις, a form of ἀνομία
Form of ʽâbar Reference KJV NET Septuagint
עבר Genesis 15:17 …a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. …a flaming torch passed between the animal parts. διῆλθον, a form of διέρχομαι
Genesis 23:16 current money with the merchant. according to the standard measurement at the time. δοκίμου, a form of δόκιμος
Genesis 32:31 And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him… The sun rose over him as he crossed over Penuel… παρῆλθεν, a form of παρέρχομαι
Genesis 33:3 And he passed over before them… But Jacob himself went on ahead of them… προῆλθεν, a form of προέρχομαι
Exodus 17:5 Go on before the people… Go over before the people… προπορεύου, a form of προπορεύομαι
יעבר Genesis 33:14 Let my Lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant: Let my lord go on ahead of his servant. προελθέτω, another form of προέρχομαι
Exodus 15:16 …till thy people pass over, O LORD… …until your people pass by, O Lord… παρέλθῃ, another form of παρέρχομαι
…till the people pass over, which thou hast purchased. …until the people whom you have bought pass by. παρέλθῃ, another form of παρέρχομαι
עברו Genesis 32:16 Pass over before me… Pass over before me… προπορεύεσθε, a form of προπορεύομαι
עברתי Genesis 32:10 …I passed over this Jordan… I crossed the Jordan… διέβην, a form of διαβαίνω
עברתם Genesis 18:5 …for therefore are ye come to your servant. …since you have passed by your servant’s home. ἐξεκλίνατε, a form of ἐκκλίνω
ועבר Exodus 12:23[26] For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians… For the Lord will pass through to strike Egypt… παρελεύσεται, another form of παρέρχομαι
ויעבר Genesis 8:1 and God made a wind to pass over the earth… God caused a wind to blow over the earth… Not translated

ἐπὶ

Genesis 12:6 And Abram passed through the land… Abram traveled through the land… διώδευσεν, a form of διοδεύω
Genesis 31:21 and passed over the river… He quickly crossed the Euphrates River… διέβη, another form of διαβαίνω
Genesis 32:22 and passed over the ford Jabbok. and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. διέβη, another form of διαβαίνω
Genesis 32:23 and sent over that he had. Not translated διεβίβασεν,[27] a form of διαβιβάζω[28]
Genesis 41:46 and went throughout all the land of Egypt. and was in charge of all the land of Egypt. διῆλθεν, another form of διέρχομαι
ויעברו Genesis 37:28 Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen… So when the Midianite merchants passed by παρεπορεύοντο, a form of παραπορεύομαι
Genesis 50:4 And when the days of his mourning were past When the days of mourning had passed παρῆλθον, another form of παρέρχομαι
ויעברם Genesis 32:23 and sent them over the brook… and sent them across the stream… διέβη, another form of διαβαίνω
ועברתי Exodus 12:12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt… I will pass through the land of Egypt… διελεύσομαι, another form of διέρχομαι
תעבר Genesis 18:3 pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: …do not pass by and leave your servant. παρέλθῃς, another form[29] of παρέρχομαι
Genesis 31:52 …thou shalt not pass over this heap… …you will not pass beyond this pile… διαβῇς, another form of διαβαίνω
ותעבר Genesis 32:21 So went the present over before him… So the gifts were sent on ahead of him… παρεπορεύοντο, a form of παραπορεύομαι
והעברת Exodus 13:12 That thou shalt set apart unto the LORD all that openeth the matrix… then you must give over to the Lord the first offspring… ἀφελεῖς, a form of ἀφαιρέω
העביר Genesis 47:21 he removed them to cities from one end… Not translated κατεδουλώσατο, a form of καταδουλόω
תעברו Genesis 18:5 …after that ye shall pass on: After that you may be on your way. παρελεύσεσθε, another form of παρέρχομαι
אעבר Genesis 30:32 I will pass through all thy flock to day… Let me walk among all your flocks today… παρελθάτω, another form of παρέρχομαι
Genesis 31:52 …I will not pass over this heap… …I will not pass beyond this pile… διαβῶ, another form of διαβαίνω

[1] Exodus 12:34 (Tanakh)

[2] Exodus 6:8 (Tanakh)

[3] Genesis 4:13 (Tanakh, KJV) Table

[4] Genesis 4:13 (NETS)

[5] Romans 7:7b (NET)

[6] Romans 7:8a (NET)

[7] Romans 5:13 (NET)

[8] Genesis 44:16b (Tanakh)

[9] John 3:6 (NET)

[10] Romans 7:5 (NET)

[11] Genesis 18:20, 21 (NET)

[12] Genesis 18:23, 24 (NET)

[13] Genesis 18:26 (Tanakh)

[14] Genesis 50:15b (NET)

[15] Exodus 10:16, 17 (NET)

[16] Exodus 10:13 (NET)

[17] Exodus 10:18, 19 (NET)

[18] Exodus 33:11a (NET)

[19] I’ve phrased this in a way that scarcely disguises my assumption, based on an argument I wouldn’t know how to defend, that Hebrew was not the original language Cain spoke with yehôvâh.

[20] “And Iakob, lifting up his feet…” Genesis 29:1 (NETS)

[21]I lifted up My hand” Tanakh

[22] I stretched out my hand  Exodus 6:8 (NETS)

[23] https://greekdoc.github.io/lexicon/ait.html#aitia

[24] Septuagint: ἀναπεπλήρωνται, a form of ἀναπληρόω

[25] Septuagint: ἀποδιδοὺς, a form of ἀποδίδωμι

[26] The Hebrew for Passover is pâsach (ופסח) rather than a form of ʽâbar but in Greek in the Septuagint both words are παρελεύσεται, another form of παρέρχομαι, though Exodus 12:12 was translated διελεύσομαι, another form of διέρχομαι.

[27] https://greekdoc.github.io/lexicon/diab.html#diabibazw

[28] http://en.bab.la/dictionary/greek-english/%CE%B4%CE%B9%CE%B1%CE%B2%CE%B9%CE%B2%CE%AC%CE%B6%CF%89

[29] http://studybible.info/LXX_WH/Genesis%2018:3