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A Sabbath Day's Journey

By: Rev. Paul Landgraf
What is a Sabbath day's journey? First of all, it is a Jewish expression. We measure distances in meters or yards. The Jews had a certain distance that they could walk on Saturday before it would be considered work. So their synagogues that they went to on Saturday could not be very far away. The word appears only in Acts 1:12 and indicates a distance of about three-quarters of a mile.

With that in mind, I think it is important to remember the origins of Christianity. Just because we have an Old Testament, it does not mean that we call it the 'Outdated Testament'. Much of the Old Testament has a literary structure that we are not aware of because of our modern emphasis on chapter and verse divisions. Within many of these blogs, I try to get the reader to see a bigger picture, a larger perspective that often includes the Old Testament and the environment that was present when the New Testament was seeing the Light of the day.

Second, a Sabbath day's journey is intentionally short. These 'journeys' with a text, almost always one of the three readings for that Sunday, are deliberately brief discussions. This blog was never designed to be a comprehensive look at any text. Sometimes a specific word is studied in detail. But, as a whole, a blog entry, by itself, is meant to be quite brief.

Finally, since the term 'Sabbath day's journey' appears in Acts, it is meant to appeal to a wide variety of people. This blog is meant for those who cannot come on Sunday mornings. And it is also for those who do come on Sunday mornings but would also like a further study of the text. It is also for those who live somewhere else in the world (besides Drake and Freedom, Missouri, USA) and would simply like a further study of the text. It was meant to get these different groups of people to start thinking about the biblical texts. Part of the reason for this blog is that I am not able to have a bible class on Sunday mornings with either congregation, and so, to have a blog like this seemed like a good idea. I hope it is helpful for you, in whatever situation you may be.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. And thank you for taking the time to read this!

April 10th, 2021

4/10/2021

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You probably know that the season of Easter continues after Easter Sunday, and perhaps you also already know that, during the Easter season, the first of the three readings for each Sunday comes from the book of Acts instead of the Old Testament. This will continue until the Day of Pentecost, when the second reading, instead of coming from the Epistles, will come from the second chapter of Acts.

The Old Testament is certainly an important part of the Bible, but the book of Acts is also important. The title of this blog, ‘A Sabbath Day’s Journey’, meaning a short ‘journey’ with a few words of scripture, is a phrase that comes from the book of Acts. And that description, in a way, connects both testaments together.

The decision for the early church to start writing the New Testament was certainly a significant one. They just experienced the One who, as promised, would crush the serpent’s head [Genesis 3:15]. This was also the One who would follow the messenger, John the Baptist, the ‘way-preparer’ [Malachi 3:1]. The entire Old Testament, basically from beginning to end, spoke of this Jesus, this Savior. How could they NOT write something down?

Imagine, though, if one chapter in Acts would have the following description:

And the remaining apostles all got together and decided that Matthew should write one account about Jesus, that Mark—with the help of Peter—should write another, etc.

I think that, with such a text, there would be too much of a focus on both the apostles and the writers. And the texts would end up becoming history lessons.

There is, instead, a lot of focus on action in Acts. That point should be clearly made, despite how obvious that may be from the title. But, along with that, there is a correspondingly small focus on writing. And the combination of both those things, working together, may help the reader or listener to focus ultimately on Jesus.

The book of Acts, actually called the Acts of the Apostles, may also be thought of the Acts of the risen and ascended Lord among his people. To be more specific, the final words of the book describe this happening in Rome through the mouth of Saint Paul: He was…

proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness unhindered [Acts 28:31].

The way in which the Acts of the Apostles has a small focus on writing may be an interesting aspect upon which to contemplate. In today’s society, communication by actions is seen as more important than communication by words. It may be helpful to see the great value in words once again, and, in this case, the value of written words. You may have a lot of thoughts in your brain, but when there’s a thought that you are willing to take the time and write it down, that action makes that thought quite important. And although there are a few written words in front of you, they are important, and all words are very important. They were very important, literally, from day one.

The book of Acts starts out with an interesting focus, not on writing, but definitely on Jesus. Here is a somewhat-literal translation:
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The first word I made concerning all things, O Theophilus, which the Jesus began both to do and to teach, until which the day having given orders to the apostles, whom he chose, through Holy Spirit, he was taken up…[Acts 1:1-2].

The Gospel according to Luke, according to the above statement, is only a word that describes what Jesus BEGAN to do. This is similar to the Gospel according to Mark with its description at the start of the ‘beginning of the gospel’. This two-fold emphasis on Jesus and the beginning of his work may be the reason that there are so many emphases on various actions and so few on writing within Acts.

Here is a very brief overview of written things in Acts (but perhaps you would like to study this more on your own):

There, of course, is an obvious emphasis on the writings of the Old Testament. This is seen almost immediately in Acts 1[:16] with a fulfillment of something in the Old Testament. In 1:20, Peter says that something is WRITTEN in the Psalms. (A lot of the other quotations from the Old Testament are described in SPOKEN terms. See Acts 2:16, 25, 31, 34; 3:18, 22; 4:25, etc.) Again, with the speech of Stephen to the Sanhedrin, there is talk about what was written in the prophets, specifically Amos [Acts 7:42], and Saint Paul makes the same point in his word of exhortation, the first of his quotations, this time also from the Psalms [Acts 13:33]. The next time a written Old Testament passage is given is during the Jerusalem Council, and James is quoting from the prophets, again from Amos [Acts 15:15].
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Another obvious emphasis is when letters are included within the text of this book. This happens twice within this book. The second time this happens is at Acts 23:25, and it is interesting that, right before the letter, there is this phrase: ‘…writing a letter, having this pattern….’ I would suggest you not trust the content of THAT letter! The first time is the most famous time, at the Jerusalem Council, and there is no indication there this is a pattern or type [see Acts 15:23]. At the Jerusalem Council is where they are dealing with the gospel, and that is a most-important topic.
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April 4th, 2021

4/4/2021

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You probably already knew that this Sunday is a very special Sunday, Easter Sunday. This is the Sunday when we ESPECIALLY celebrate the resurrection of our Lord. And the Old Testament text is somewhat appropriate, although its location within the entire book may make it unfamiliar.

The Old Testament text for Easter Day for this year is from Isaiah 25[:6-9]. The latter chapters (40-66) are about twice as popular for an Old Testament text, but there are some wonderful gospel messages in the first several chapters of the book as well.

This particular text talks about death being swallowed up forever. The specific text is found in verses 7 and 8, and the following is a somewhat-literal translation:

And he will destroy, on this mountain, faces of the shroud, the one covering over all the peoples and the sheet, the one covering over all the nations; he will swallow the death into perpetuity….

The Greek translation of this book was probably made that first century before Jesus’ birth, and having to wait for such a long time for some good news may have made the translator not so optimistic regarding this eternal swallowing of death. One could read the Greek translation of that final Hebrew phrase in this way: ‘The death has prevailed and swallowed up.’

Is death devouring or being devoured? Admittedly, there is conflicting evidence based on what we see in our own lives and in what we see in some of these beautiful gospel texts of scripture.

A wonderful promise that is a bit easier to see has to do with God’s promises regarding mountains. Another picture that is put forward before the mention of death is that of being on a mountain, and this is a frequent picture within the Old Testament. Whether dealing with Israel or another nation, with a mountain comes power. Those who stand on it in battle have a distinct advantage when fighting those who are lower.

Although in this text our attention is turned toward Jerusalem and Mount Zion, other nations would certainly understand this illustration. In fact, the context of this text brings up many other nations. Chapters 13-23 are full of judgments against the nations, and some of them are worse than others. And some of them are also ‘closer to home’ than others.

Here are their basic groupings according to chapter—they are included to give you an idea of those who were being condemned, and there are frequent references to height within these chapters (hill, mount, high places, to ‘go up’, etc.; and please note that a VALLEY is condemned when it comes to the people of Israel near the end of this section):

13-14   Babylon and Assyria
14        Philistia
15-16   Moab
17        Damascus (Aram) and Israel
18        Cush
19-20   Egypt and Cush (and Assyria)
21        Babylon
21        Dumah (Edom)
21        Arabia
22        Valley of Vision (Jerusalem)
23        Tyre

After these chapters comes another interesting section, and it is also the place from where our text comes. It is a concluding section, a mixture of condemnations and blessings, and it is in a song-like structure. The tone of the words starts out with a lot of condemnation as the LORD promises to destroy the earth, but eventually there is also some good news that some will definitely be saved. And the use of the word mount or mountain within this section is interesting.

The entire concluding section for chapters 13-23 is from chapters 24 through 27. There is one mention of a mount in chapter 24, at the last verse, and then somewhat nearby, in chapter 25, at verses 6, 7, and 10. And then there is only one other mention at the very end of this section, at the last few words of chapter 27. 

The last mention may be a help to point out a significant, middle part of the previous section, since the original text did not have the divisions of chapter and verse. And it certainly would be appropriate to remind the readers/listeners about these important mountains in the middle of an important section. And this is especially true when a person thinks that God, ‘the One above’, has been silent.
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March 27th, 2021

3/27/2021

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This Sunday is Palm Sunday, and it is also called the Sunday of the Passion, and this year the perspective is from the Gospel according to Mark. Although there is no mention within this gospel account of the Old Testament text from Zechariah [9:9-12] with the importance of Israel’s king coming on a donkey/colt, the way Jesus gets that animal is certainly significant, and the people in Jerusalem are certainly making a big deal when Jesus enters that way (Mark 11:1-10).


Perhaps within this event there is a reference back to the only Old Testament reference given by the writer of this gospel account, only in the third verse of the entire account: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord….’ And perhaps that is why this is only the ‘beginning’ of the gospel (Mark 1:1).


There was also a much more recent event that is causing some people to make a big deal of it. Within the Dead Sea Scrolls, there was a significant find, two verses of Zechariah 8[:16-17]. These verses are just a few verses ahead of the text for this Sunday from Zechariah 9. Here is a link to an article about this that appeared on the Christianity Today website:


www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2021/march-web-only/new-dead-sea-scrolls-discovery-bible-translation-israel.html


One of the interesting things that is noted in this article is the way that the special name for God is written. The author states that the name is in older lettering and in letters, instead of the normal way from left to right, these letters are written in the Hebrew way, from right to left. This is obviously a very special way to write a very special name. And it is sort of the opposite of the historical present, in saying that something is happening, in a sense, right now. Sometimes things that happened a long time ago are also extremely important. And sometimes this fact is being overlooked in today’s modern society.


Another recent publication that is more academic (but still very helpful) is the book, The Formation and Significance of the Christian Biblical Canon: A Study in Text, Ritual and Interpretation. It was written by Tomas Bokedal [T & T Clark, Bloomsbury Press, 2014], and he happens to be a Lutheran who lives in the UK. He devotes an entire chapter to the idea of ‘nomina sacra’, the fact that some very special words were abbreviated in the early New Testament manuscripts in some special ways. In that chapter (‘The nomina sacra: Highlighting the Sacred Figures of the Text’) he includes a chart (pages 89-90) that groups the special words into four different levels of frequency:


1. The primary group (99%-100% nomina sacra forms in the singular): God, Christ, Jesus, Lord


2. The secondary group (89%-95% nomina sacra forms) Cross, Spirit,


3. The tertiary group (23%-62% nomina sacra forms) Crucify, Father, Human being, Jerusalem, Son, Israel, Spiritual


4. The quaternary group (0%-5% nomina sacra forms) Heaven, Mother, David, Saviour (sic).
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How interesting that the words relating to the cross are so frequent. Also mentioned within the same chapter is that a two-letter abbreviation for Jesus, along with a Greek letter that looks like the cross has a numerical value of 318, and this number was important for some early Christians. (For more detail, see pages 106-7.) With that in mind, having the Sunday of the Passion does not seem at all inappropriate.
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March 20th, 2021

3/20/2021

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This Sunday is the last Sunday in Lent before Palm Sunday, the Sunday of the Passion. And this year it is the first Sunday in Lent when the Old Testament text is not from the first five books. The text is still an important one, since it is from the prophet Jeremiah [31:31-34]. And the book of Jeremiah is a good reminder that the message of salvation is more important than a lesson from history.

In other words, it is a good thing to remember that the oracles of Jeremiah are not in chronological order. The Concordia Self-Study Bible even makes a point of this in its introduction to the book—see page 1120 for more detail. This Sunday’s text from Jeremiah is an important part of the so-called ‘Book of Comfort’, and this is placed near the middle of the entire book. This importance of a middle point is especially seen later in time with the Gospel according to Matthew. It may also be seen earlier in time with the first five books of the Old Testament.

To be more specific, there seems to be a significant midpoint and an endpoint within some of these important books. The structure of a book is, by all means, a very multi-faceted thing, but there are certain similarities among these books, and a certain message may be given from their texts, but one may also be gleaned from these structures. After sin came into the universe, God still seems like he wants to get involved with his people in some different and truly significant ways. And can you believe that he sometimes even wants to be in the middle of things? So, it might be helpful to have a somewhat broader view of some of these books, rather than simply have a closer look at a small text within these books.

Within the book of Genesis, when the family of Jacob was getting bigger, Rachel his wife was still unable to have a child, and so she pleads with her husband, and he responds, in Genesis 30:2, with the words ‘Am I in the place of God?’ This is echoed by Joseph near the very end of the book when his brothers come to him, regretting what they had done, in Genesis 50:19 (although you may wish to note that the Greek translation at this point is significantly different).

Within the book of Exodus, the glory of the LORD is mentioned for the first time in Exodus when the children of Israel start to receive the manna from heaven in chapter 16. But they see the glory in a very significant way the second time in chapter 24, near the middle of the book, when the glory ‘settles’ or ‘dwells’ on Mount Sinai. At that time, the glory looks like a ‘consuming fire’ [Exodus 24:16-17]. And at the very end of the book, the cloud and the glory of the LORD fill the ‘tabernacle’—the ‘settling’ or ‘dwelling’ place. Then the fire of the LORD is there at night and the cloud of the LORD is there during the day, to lead the children of Israel in their travels [Exodus 40:34-38]. That the LORD settles and dwells with his people is certainly significant.

Within the book of Leviticus, there are two very negative events, the deaths of Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu [chapter 10], and the one (whose name is never mentioned) who ‘blasphemes the Name [chapter 24]’. These two events are more at one-quarter and three-quarter points within this book, but in their special placement they bring the reader/listener into a closer relationship with God who is responsible for all things. This closer relationship may be seen in the descriptions of how and when the LORD says something. This is especially seen in the middle of the book with that very special Day of Atonement, and this chapter starts with this somewhat-literal description: ‘And Yahweh said to Moses after the death of two of the sons of Aaron when they approached the face of Yahweh, and they died [16:1].’ A special phrase of Yahweh speaking is also seen near the end of the book with this unique description: ‘And Yahweh spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai [25:1].’ Although Yahweh speaks many times to Moses within this book, this is the only time that description is given in that way. Through the events of this book, the reader/listener in a way joins Moses on Mount Sinai.

The book of Numbers is often divided geographically, by the location of the children of Israel as they make their way to the Promised Land. But a somewhat-better way to see the events of the text may be to see the connections between what happens in the middle and near the end, in somewhat the same way as the tabernacle is laid out with the place for offering—where something is sacrificed—and then that special place where the LORD would meet with the priest, and this is a way in which the previous books have been somewhat laid out as well. One of the problems is that, in the book of Leviticus, there were only two negative events, but in Numbers there are lots more!

In Numbers 14:22 the LORD numbers TEN times that the children of Israel tested him, but it seems like this list goes back even to the book of Exodus [the Concordia Self-Study Bible also has a note about this]. After the children of Israel make the significant move of leaving Sinai in Numbers 10, there seem to be several (perhaps seven?) ‘test-like’ events which approach the middle of the book:

11:1-3 the people complaining/fire

11:4-35 the ‘rabble’ [literally ‘the gathered ones’] wailing/elders/quail & plague

12 Miriam and Aaron talk against Moses/leprosy

13-14 the people rebel after Canaan is explored

15:1-31 Offerings for sin

            15:32-36 Sabbath-breaker put to death

            15:37-41 Tassels on garments to remember the commands

16:1-35 Korah’s rebellion with the Levites

16:36-50 The rebellion after the rebellion and the making of the censers

17 The budding of Aaron’s staff

These last three tests seem to be connected to the priests. And after the budding of Aaron’s staff, there is talk about the priests and their duties and how they are supported.

The above events could probably be organized in a variety of ways, but a significant test seems to be the one in the center, the fourth one of the seven, with the punishment being to wander in the desert for forty years. And it would make sense that other important things which should be mentioned come up after this significant event.

It does not seem, though, like those three indented things that follow should fit together. How can offerings, a sabbath-breaker, and tassels be connected? In Leviticus, two bad events brought people closer to the LORD. In the same way, in the tabernacle, it was often the death of an animal that brought people closer. (And, in the New Testament, it was the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross that brings us closer.) Offerings have something being sacrificed, the sabbath-breaker dies, and I also think that the tassels fit in well here because of their visual similarity to the flame of a fire at a sacrifice.
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Offerings are also mentioned again, in the first part of chapter 28, near to the end of the book, and this includes offerings for the Sabbath. These two special placements of offerings may point out that special theme that something bad leads to something good. And our Lenten theme for this year has supported that: ‘It’s a Matter of Death and Life'.
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March 14th, 2021

3/14/2021

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​This Sunday we continue in the Pentateuch for the Old Testament reading. ‘Pentateuch’ is a Greek word for the first five books of the Old Testament. And this Sunday we are in the book of Numbers [21:4-9], and this is also a title that comes from the Greek translation of the Old Testament. The actual title in Greek is ‘arithmoi’, a word that sounds a lot like ‘arithmetic’. Does that make the book seem even more interesting? Some people avoid math like the plague.

And speaking of plagues, it is good to remember that numbers are important in the Old Testament. In the Hebrew language, the connection between numbers and letters is extremely close. Their letters were also numbers. In the book of Exodus, there were ten plagues against the Egyptians while the Israelites were slaves. In the book of Numbers [14:22], the LORD speaks of ten tests that were part of the difficult times that the Israelites went through when they were making their way to the Promised Land. A possible list of those ten tests is given in the notes of the Concordia Self-Study Bible, and that list goes from Exodus 14 to Numbers 14 and does not include the text for this Sunday. But the note also indicates that the number ‘ten’ could simply mean ‘many times’ [Published in 1986 by Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, Missouri; page 210].

In the introductory section on the theological teaching in the book of Numbers, the Concordia Self-Study Bible has some great things to say about the account of Balaam in chapters 22-24. It is called ‘one of the most remarkable sections of the Bible [Concordia Self-Study Bible, page 185].’

One thing in terms of numbers that is sometimes misunderstood regarding the retelling of the Balaam event is that his FINAL prophecy is seen as the one ultimately predicting the Savior. It is actually the middle of seven prophecies, the fourth one. And the first four are simply longer than the last three. Seven is an important number, combining the things of God—the number three points to the three persons of the Trinity—with the things of man—the number four points to the four ‘corners’ of the world.

And speaking of four corners, although the earth is round, four corners may be seen in the important constellations that appear overhead at regular intervals in the year. I should point out at the beginning that this is NOT a discussion of astrology, where a person is said to predict what will happen because of the positions of the stars or planets. A better understanding of this is that it is one aspect of THEOLOGY, where IN THE BIBLE, at the creation account, the stars are said to rule [Genesis 1:16-18]. And the LORD’s throne in both the Old Testament and the New [Ezekiel 1 and Revelation 4] is said to have four living creatures, and these creatures may be connected to some of the constellations. The living creature of a man could be connected to Aquarius (the water carrier), a lion is obviously connected to Leo, and an ox, to Taurus. And the eagle may be shaped in a similar way to Scorpio, and these four constellations are at regular intervals in the year.

People have been always interested in the future. More important than many future events are a few of the most critical events in the past. And these four living creatures testify to the LORD’s glory that has been manifested on the earth at certain, important times. One helpful Bible verse to keep things in perspective is a small portion of the start of the Epistle to the Hebrews: ‘…but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son [1:2].’ And I do not think it is a coincidence that his Son has spoken to us in four gospel accounts.

The different ways Jesus worked in these four accounts may also be seen in the ways the angel of the LORD showed up in the Old Testament. In the account of Balaam, the angel of the LORD is definitely ready for battle. [See Numbers 22:22; the Hebrew word used to describe that angel’s task is actually our source for the name ‘Satan’.]

That battle-perspective is also given in the Gospel according to Mark. There are no stories of Jesus as a baby or even a young boy. At the beginning of this account, he stands ready for battle. And that is definitely a good thing, because he really does win in the end. You have his word [see Mark 16:7].
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March 6th, 2021

3/6/2021

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This time the Old Testament reading for the Third Sunday in Lent is arguably one of the most familiar texts within the entire Old Testament, the text of the Ten Commandments. There are actually two times that these Ten Commandments appear, and this also testifies to their importance. The first time is in Exodus 20:1-17 (the text for this Sunday), and the second time is in Deuteronomy 5(:6-21). This second time was spoken about forty years later, and Moses is going over what had happened previously.

Much could be said about any or all of these commandments. One of the first significant and interesting differences between these two texts is in the commandment concerning the Sabbath day. Here are somewhat-literal translations from both books:

Exodus 20:8     Remember the day of the Sabbath to sanctify it.

Deuteronomy 5:12      Guard the day of the Sabbath to sanctify it, as he commanded you, Yahweh your God.

One might think that the word ‘remember’ should be used forty years later and not ‘guard’. But you might remember that the word ‘remember’ is a very special word, one that is often used at important, turning-point places within the book of Genesis. It is used to describe an action of God rather than a person’s. (See Genesis 8:1, 19:29, and 30:22).

When God remembers a person, that makes all the difference. Near the beginning of the book of Exodus (2:23f), the text says that God heard the groaning of the children of Israel while they were enslaved, and he remembered his covenant with them. And then Moses shows up. Since sin pushed Adam and Eve away from the presence of the LORD, it is wonderful that he still remembers his people, people who deserve to be forgotten! Our remembering in this commandment, therefore, comes from his remembering.

The word ‘guard’ in the Deuteronomy text shows the seriousness of such a command. The word in the Greek translation of this text is very close to the word ‘phalanx’, a type of Greek soldier. Guards are important because the thing that they are guarding is usually important. As our Lenten preaching series this year points out, what God did as Jesus and what he continues to do among us is most certainly ‘a matter of death and life’.

It should probably also be said that Martin Luther, in his German translation of the Small Catechism, also has some significant changes to this command, as well as to others. Each command begins with the words ‘Du solt….’, and, although a good translation of these words is ‘You should….’, a better translation may be ‘You are to….’ It shows the seriousness of the situation.

Also in this commandment, the word ‘Feiertag’ is given instead of ‘Sabbath’. This is a word meaning ‘holiday’, and it speaks to the present time. The woodcuts that accompanied the Small Catechism depict some of the ancient biblical texts, but the people have clothing that they would have had in Luther’s day. That also points to the present time. The woodcut that appears below is the one connected to the Third Commandment. This appears in the following work: A Facsimilie of Luther’s Small Catechism: Wittenberg, 1531; published by Concordia Publishing House; St. Louis, Missouri, 1979; page 20f. I hope you enjoy it.

Picture
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February 28th, 2021

2/28/2021

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This week, with the Second Sunday in Lent, the Old Testament reading is quite close to the reading of the previous week. Last week’s reading was from Genesis 22; this one is slightly before that, from Genesis 17[:1-7, 15-16]. Both texts are about Abraham.

When the verse immediately after this text is included [verse 17], there are some interesting similarities and contrasts. In both verse 3 and verse 17, the text says that he fell on his face. I would imagine that he also stood up somewhere in between—since he falls down twice—although the text does not point that out. One contrast between these two verses is that, in verse 3, the text says that Abram fell on his face. In verse 17, the text says that Abraham fell on his face. His name was changed in the verses in between [see verse 5]. Another contrast is that, in verse 3, God spoke to Abram. In verse 17, the text says that Abraham ‘said in his heart.’

Once again, the Greek translation of the text brought out something that I had passed over in the past. The Greek translation says that Abraham said in his ‘thought’.

This text is a good reminder of the wide range that this Hebrew word ‘heart’ really has. In Holladay’s ‘concise’ lexicon, the definition of this word that is usually translated as ‘heart’ could be called lengthy. Here are some of the main parts of the different sections to this definition:

heart

physical organ

seat of vitality

inner self, seat of feelings & impulses

mind, character, disposition, inclination, loyalty, concern

determination, courage, (high) morale

intention, purpose

mind, attention, consideration, understanding

mind & mood in its totality, the self

conscience

(metaphorically) interior, middle

organizing power of the life/person [William L. Holladay, A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1971; pages 171-2.]

The word obviously covers a wide range of things related to the human body. Since we are in the first book of the Bible, it might be an even better idea to see how this word is used before this text.

It only appears four times before this. The first time the word ‘heart’ appears in the Old Testament is at the start of the Flood story. And it is interesting that the first time it appears, it points to the evil of man. The second time it appears, it points to the hurt of the LORD—because of the evil of man. Here are somewhat-literal translations of the Hebrew, and they are quite similar in the Greek.

Genesis 6:5      And Yahweh saw that great was the evil of the man on the earth, and all the shaping of the thoughts of his heart were only evil all the day.

Genesis 6:6      And Yahweh was sorry that he made man on the earth, and he was hurt to his heart.

The next time the word ‘heart’ appears, it is at the end of the Flood story. The word appears twice within this verse, Genesis 8:21, and it starts out by being very similar to Abraham’s saying something in his heart—although this is the LORD doing it this time.

And Yahweh smelled the smell of the pleasant, and Yahweh said in his heart, ‘I will not add to curse again the ground for the sake of the man, that, shaping of the heart of the man is evil from his youth, and I will not add again to destroy all living things as I did.

Here is a Greek translation of that verse, also somewhat literally. Notice that it also uses the word ‘thought’ instead of ‘heart’ both times.

And Lord the God smelled a smell of sweetness. And Lord the God said, having thought, I will not still continue to curse the earth, because of the works of the men; because the thought of the man is carefully bent upon the evil from his youth; therefore, I will not continue to strike all living flesh, as I did.

There is a big difference between the heart and the mind, as any doctor would point out. It is interesting that, after a focus on the evil of the man, the focus was on the hurt of the LORD. It is easy to continue to focus either on the heart or the mind, especially if one of those things has something wrong with it. The LORD would have us focus on something even more important.
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February 20th, 2021

2/20/2021

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This year, with almost every Sunday in Lent, the Old Testament reading is from the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament. These five books were considered to be the first books translated into Greek, sometime in the third century B.C.

The reason I mention that is because sometimes the Greek brings a new perspective to the English translation. And the Greek was helpful for me with the Old Testament text for this First Sunday in Lent, from Genesis 22:1-18. This is the account of Abraham ALMOST sacrificing his son, Isaac.

Perhaps before this I was being influenced by the contemporary Jewish song, ‘Jehovah Jirah, my Provider….’ Most of the translations I have seen focus on the Lord PROVIDING for Abraham. But that verb, ‘to provide’, never shows up in the original language of the text—or even its Greek translation. The basic verb that appears in the text is ‘to see’.

To see is a very concrete way of choosing or selecting. Ultimately, seeing something (or someone) can lead to providing for something (or someone!). Sometimes for you to see something is important, and I would think you would agree that for someone who is important to see YOU is extremely important! In a very concrete way, the action of seeing leads to some meaningful and wonderful things. [For more details, you may wish to see Holladay, A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans Publishing, 1988; page 328.]

Here is a somewhat-literal translation of the Hebrew and the Greek of two, somewhat obscure (and difficult) verses of the text; these translations use a concrete way of providing or selecting, using the verb ‘to see’:

Genesis 22:8

And Abraham said, “God will see to it for him, the lamb for an offering-up, my son.” And they walked, two of them, together.

Then Abraam said, “The God will see to it for himself, a sheep for the whole flesh-offering, son.” And going, both, at the same time….

Genesis 22:14

And Abraham called a name of that place, Yahweh Yireh (Yahweh will see), which it will be said, the day, ‘On the mountain, Yahweh, it will be seen.

And Abraam called [or ‘began to call’] the name of that place, ‘The Lord has seen,’ that they might say today, ‘In the mount, Lord, it was seen.’

This text does not seem to talk about the Lord being seen, although some translations can give that emphasis. Perhaps that is a good reason for using the word provide.

Like some other texts, this one has, as its main figure, the ‘angel of the Lord’. That type of angel appears in other places, not only in Genesis and the Old Testament, but it has also been seen several times in the New Testament.

The word ‘angel’ means messenger. And what I find very interesting about this text in Genesis 22 is that this angel calls to Abraham from heaven (see verses 11, 15). My question is: If this angel is a messenger, why does he not COME DOWN to deliver the message?

This happens one other place in the book of Genesis, in a very similar account (see Genesis 21). This time though, this messenger is called ‘the angel of God’ (verse 17). Hagar and Ishmael, Abraham’s other son, were sent away, and the text says that God heard the boy crying, and ‘the angel of God calls to Hagar from heaven….’ But why does he not show up as well?

Just perhaps those two events were not THAT important. It all worked out, both times in Genesis, for the angel to call from the heavens. With Abraham, the LORD certainly blesses him, and that can be done from a distance. With Hagar, the text even says that ‘God was with the boy, Ishmael (see Genesis 21:20a). God’s presence is so much better than the presence of an angel for just a few minutes.

Things all worked out in the rest of the Old Testament, so that the line of Abraham continued. And it does seem like it also worked out well in the New Testament.

The main messenger in the New Testament who was also God’s Son came down to deliver a very important message. He did not stay in heaven. He did not call down from the heavens. He went ALL the way down, and then, after a little while, he was lifted ALL the way up on an instrument of torture.

Special words about that very special messenger began to spread after that. Acts 5 relates the account of ALL the apostles being jailed, and an angel of the Lord shows up during the night to get them out. He not only leads them out, but he gives them instructions regarding what to do. And the word continues to spread … even today.
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February 13th, 2021

2/13/2021

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This year there are two options for the Old Testament reading for the Sunday of the Transfiguration, and those two readings connect with the two Old Testament figures who appear with Jesus, that of Elijah [2 Kings 2:1-12] and Moses [Exodus 34:29-35]. Both people are obviously significant within the Old Testament, but only in the Gospel according to Mark are the two initially described in this way: 'Elijah with Moses’ [verse 4]. In the two other (very similar) accounts, they are described as ‘Moses and Elijah’ [Matthew 17:3; Luke 9:30]. It may seem like a small difference, but little things may be important when the focus is ultimately the supposed ‘Son of God [Mark 1:1]’.
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What perspective of Jesus in the Gospel according to Mark would put Elijah ahead of Moses? Elijah is usually compared to John the Baptist, and Elisha with Jesus; there are even some similarities with their names.

Jesus, in the Gospel according to Mark, has been compared to the living creature of the lion. The more actions that Jesus does within this account, and the distance that he puts between himself and his disciples, those two characteristics help to show Jesus as that lion figure. And perhaps it could be said of Elijah that he had some characteristics of a similar animal. This quote from the Concordia Self-Study Bible may be helpful:

Elijah’s rugged figure became a model of the ideal prophet in Israel. Jesus fulfilled 40 days and nights of desert fasting as Elijah had done; many believed he was a reincarnated Elijah (1 Ki 19:8; Mt 4:2; 16:14) [St. Louis, Missouri; Concordia Publishing House, 1986; page 512].

The typical text that is used for this Sunday [2 Kings 2:1-12] has Elijah handing over the work to Elisha. It seems like a pretty nice text. But there were lots of events that happened before and after that show how difficult it was for the prophets of the LORD in that situation. It may be good to review some of those events sometime.

There are also some significant differences between the Hebrew Old Testament of this historical section of the Bible and the intertestamental translation of those four historical books into Greek. What is interesting, first of all, is that some of those differences with the Greek have been seen in the Hebrew manuscripts found at Qumran. More work needs to be done in this area.

Another interesting point regarding this Greek translation is that the historic present is EXTREMELY frequent here. (That is when, instead of saying ‘he said this’, the text says, ‘he says this’.) To be more specific though, it is frequent within only SOME parts of the text.

Some have thought that this is just a matter of having two different translators, one earlier (who used the historic present) and one later (who did not). Another option would be two different literary themes within the book.

There are many times in Jesus’ ministry when the text in a particular gospel account has a lot of historic presents, but when he institutes the Lord’s Supper and when Jesus is on the cross, those are times that are basically without historic presents. (The only exception to this is Jesus’ speaking to John and his mother, so that he would take care of her after his death; see John 19:26-27.) These are very serious times, and the focus is on what is happening at that ONE time in ‘his story’.

Another literary possibility would be that sections of the historical text, those without the historical presents, the more serious and focused sections, those at approximate points of one-third and two-thirds, those two sections may imitate a layout of the tabernacle, that there is a place for sacrifice and then a place for the ‘Holy of Holies’. This serious progression through the text leads us on to a much better story, that of the Lord’s chosen people eventually returning from the Exile and coming back to the Promised Land. The point of all this is so that there can be the Promised ONE.

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February 6th, 2021

2/6/2021

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The Old Testament reading for the fifth Sunday after the Epiphany of our Lord goes back to Isaiah, chapter 40[:21-31]. The first eleven verses of this chapter was the Old Testament text a few weeks ago, for the second Sunday in Advent. This chapter is important enough to go back to hear from it again.

The fortieth chapter of Isaiah is the start of some very good news. And it comes quite clearly. That may be especially easy to see in the Greek translation of this chapter. Here is a somewhat-literal translation of the Greek of the first two verses and the ninth through the eleventh verses:

‘Comfort, comfort my people,’ says the God. ‘Priests, speak into the heart of Jerusalem; comfort her, because her lowliness has been fulfilled; her sin has been forgiven, because she has received from the hand of the Lord double, her sins.’

Upon a high mountain, go up, the evangelizing one of Zion. Raise with strength your voice, the evangelizing one of Jerusalem. Raise it up, fear not. Say to the cities of Judah, ‘Behold, your God! Behold, Lord! Lord comes with power, and the arm with lordship. Behold, his wage is with him, and the work is before him. Like a shepherd, he will tend his flock, and in his arm he will gather lambs, and those having in womb [i.e., pregnant] he will comfort.

Things that are repeated are important. Right at the beginning, there is the repetition of the word ‘comfort’. That is also in the Hebrew text. But the entire sentence in Hebrew is this: “’Comfort, comfort my people,’ says your God.” The Greek translation leaves out the word ‘your’. It is interesting that, with this word left out, a greater emphasis is given to the word ‘my’. And that seems like a good emphasis to have.

There is a famous Italian saying, ‘Traduttore, traditore.’ It basically means that a translator is a traitor. And that basically means that any translation cannot give everything that is in the original text. Something must be left aside, and that decision of what to leave aside is left in the hands of the translator. If something is left out of the translation, the translator is to be blamed.  

It seems that this translator of Isaiah wanted to emphasize the good news. This is also seen in the use of the word ‘evangelizing’. We often think of the word of someone who is evangelizing as someone who is described after the New Testament started, but an evangelizing one in the Old Testament is a messenger who had a very important message, usually authorized by the king. The basic word in the Hebrew is the word for ‘flesh’ and emphasizes the importance of a person bringing the message. But we see in the Greek word ‘evangelizing’ the importance of it being GOOD news.

There are basically two opposite emphases within the verses of the text. There is the reminder that God, like a king, has power, and there is also the reminder of God’s love—more specifically, his comfort. In the above Greek translation, the word ‘comfort’ appears four times, but it is only in the Hebrew twice, the first two words of the text. In the second half of the first verse, the word ‘comfort’ is used instead of the word ‘proclaim’. At the very end of the eleventh verse, the word ‘comfort’ is also used, but this time it appears instead of the word ‘guide’ or ‘lead’. A similar word is used in Isaiah 7:19 and is usually translated as ‘watering places’ [See the work by William L. Holladay, A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1971; page 230]. There are some wonderful and comforting pictures within these words, whatever language they are.

With these slight changes within the Greek translation, some people have thought that the original Hebrew text that the Greek translators had was not the same one as the text that we have today. But there is another option. Traduttore, traditore. The translator may have betrayed the language in favor of the good news. 
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