Category: biblical interpretation
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Franz Julius Delitzsch: 19th Century German Evangelical Theologian and Hebraist
As my studies in Biblical Hebrew progressed from language study, involving grammar, syntax, and linguistic ‘rules of the road’ peculiar to the language, to applying this knowledge practically, I began to study the Psalms exegetically. During the initial stages of studying the Scriptures in Hebrew, in my search for detailed explanatory exegesis of the text,…
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Psalm 14: “The Fool Has Said In His Heart, ‘There Is No God’.”
1למנצח לדוד For the director of music for David > Disclaimer: I rarely consult commentaries. Only when my translation doesn’t make sense or I just can’t begin to understand the meaning of a verse despite its being correctly translated do I refer to one, that of Delitzsch, whose commentaries are based on his analysis of…
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The Hebrew Radical ‘Sook’ (שך/סך) as It Relates to the Birth of Yeshua (ישוע)
Another Christmas has come and gone. The decorations that adorned our house – the creche in the foyer; stuffed cloth gingerbread men keeping strategically placed Santa Clauses company; colored lights strung along the two sides of the staircase that meet the guests arriving for a progressive dinner-and-carols singalong; similarly-strung lights on the hutch in the…
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Psalm XI: For the Leader of Music, A Psalm of David – Assurance of Yahwah’s Love in Times of Trouble
This study of Psalm XI is based on my translation reflecting the Psalm’s syntax and punctuation. Franz Delitzsch’s commentary on the Psalms has been used as a reference. ביהוה |חסיתי איך תאמרו לנפשי נודיו הרכמ וצפור In Yahwah | I have trusted how will you (pl.) say to my soul flee* your (pl.) mountain bird[s…
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Book Review: God Was Not In The Fire – The Search For A Spiritual Judaism by Daniel Gordis
I began studying Biblical Hebrew seriously when the COVID-19 Pandemic forced a hiatus from the daily requirements of work and other mandatory activities. This enabled me to devote more time to other pursuits, one of which was the desire to gain a level of proficiency in biblical Hebrew, the primary language in which the Old…
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אבן העזר ואבן’ם לזכרון The Stone of Help and Stones of Remembrance: Bringing to Mind Yahwah’s Help and Goodness
Putting the Hebrew words first in the title is meant to illustrate how these two well-known phrases appear in the Hebrew text of the Old Testament. As many of you who read this post will know, Hebrew writing goes from right to left, which means that אבן העזר is the Hebrew phrase translated as ‘stone…
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When is ‘Dog’ not ‘Dog’?
In 2 Samuel, chapters 7 & 9, there are two Hebrew words that appear to be from the same root with the meaning ‘dog’ (כלב/keleb). In the second passage, Mephibosheth, upon being showered with King David’s mercy, asks, “What is your servant, that you have turned [your attention] to the dead dog that I am?”…
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“You have opened My ears” or “A body You have prepared for Me”: An Examination of Psalm 40:5-7 (LXX)/6-8 (Hebrew)
Psalm 40:6 ~ 6 In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted, but you have given me an open ear.[a]Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required.7 Then I said, “Behold, I have come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me:8 I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.” Hebrews…