"Curse God and Die"

Yahweh allowed the adversary, Satan, to afflict Job with severe boils or
skin
inflammation from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. It was so
severe
that Job "took a piece of pottery to scrape himself, and he sat in the
ashes."
(Job 2:7-8) Job's suffering was great!

In response to Job's suffering, his wife said, "Do you still

maintain your
integrity? Curse God and die." (Job 2:9) The Hebrew word translated "curse" or
"renounce" (ASV) is barak used in the Old Testament in the sense of
"bless."
"Bless" and "curse/renounce" are opposite in meaning, so why is it translated
"bless"
in the KJV, ASV, RSV, NIV, NRSV, and the ESV?

First, it is obvious that Job's wife was not "literally" saying "Bless God and
die."
Job's response to her clearly indicates this. He said, "You speak as one of the
foolish
women speaks. What? Shall we receive good from the hand of God, and shall we
not receive evil?" (Job 2:10) The word "foolish" translates nabal. It is the
strongest
Hebrew word for folly. It means more than merely the lack of discretion or wisdom.
It also means contemptible or impious. His wife's advice is utter foolishness! Her
suggestion was morally and religiously irresponsible!

Second, based on Job's response to her, and the fact that his response was
deemed
appropriate by Yahweh, shows that she was not using barak in the sense of
bless.
After Job rebuked his wife, the text says, "In all this Job did not sin with his
lips."
(Job 2:10, ASV)

Job's wife uses barak euphemistically, therefore, it means to "curse or

renounce"
in this context. It is important to think through the text, and to always pay
careful
attention to the context in order to determine how words are used. Merely looking
in a Hebrew or Greek lexicon and assigning a definition to a word does not always
lead to accurate interpretation. Most words have a range of meaning. The best
lexicons define words on the basis of how the words are used in the ancient
literature.
Glossing is not necessarily defining.

R. Daly
Copyright 2015
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Friday, January 31, 2014

"Euthus" in Mark
The adverb Euthus means "immediately, at once." It is translated "straightway"
in many of the older versions. It occurs 42 undisputed times in Mark's record of
the
life of Jesus the Messiah. There is a textual variant in Mark 7:35. Most
manuscripts
omit eutheos in 7:35, but due to Mark's fondness of the adverb it is highly
probable
that it is original, and if it is the count becomes 43 occurrences of euthus. It is
also
found in p45 ( a 3rd century manuscript ), codex
Alexandrinus
(a 5th century manuscript), and codex Washingtonianus (a 5th century manuscript).
The New Revised Standard Version translates euthus in Mark 7:35).

The frequency of euthus in Mark's account is apparently designed to "energize"

or add "verve" to the narrative. The following examples are notable: (1) When
Jesus is immersed by John he immediately comes up out of the water. (1:10)
(2) Immediately the Spirit drives Jesus out into the wilderness.
(1:12)
(3) Jesus calls Simon and Andrew to become fishers of
people,
"and immediately they left their nets and followed
him." (1:18)
(4) A leper begs Jesus to make him clean. Jesus touched him, and said " 'I will,
be clean,' and immediately the leprosy left him."
(1:40-43)
(5) Jesus said to the man who was paralyzed, " 'Get up, take up your mat and
go home.' And he got up, and immediately took
up his
mat and walked out in full view of them all."
(2:11-12)
(6) When Jesus entered the region of the Gerasenes
and
got out of the boat, "immediately a man with an
impure
spirit came from the tombs to meet him."
(5:1-2)

Euthus in used inferentially by Mark in a few contexts to indicate

an
immediately following event in a sequence; something that comes next. (1:21)
It can mean right after that, then, so then. (1:23, 30)

Mark's account of the life and times of Jesus the Messiah is exciting,
vivid,
and keeps the readers on a fast track. Euthus is one of the key words employed
by the Holy Spirit through Mark to accomplish this literary feat.

R. Daly
Copyright, 2014

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Sunday, January 5, 2014

Diakatelenchomai
In the book of Acts Luke introduces "a certain Jew named Apollos."
(Acts 18:24) The way that he "bursts" onto the scene virtually sets the stage for
something spectacular. He was endowed with terrific qualities that would
distinguish him from other men who were not apostles. He was an "erudite"
man (logios), (18:24) "mighty in the scriptures" (18:24) i.e. competent or
well-versed (dunatos on en tais graphais). He was speaking with
"burning enthusiasm" (18:25) (zeon to pneumati). He was "teaching
accurately the things concerning Jesus" (18:25) (edidasken akribos ta peri
tou Iesou), but he was "acquainted only with the immersion of John "
(18:25) (epistamenos monon ta baptisma Ioannou ). Aquila and
Priscilla taught him the way of God more accurately, and he became an
unstoppable force in the defense of the gospel.

Luke tells us that after he was taught the way of God more accurately,
the disciples encouraged him to go to Achaia. When he arrived he "greatly
helped those who had believed through the grace." (18:27) But how did he help
the believers in Achaia? Luke answers the question. "For he was diakatelencheto
the Jews in public, showing through the scriptures that Jesus is the Messiah."
(18:28) What does diakatelencheto (grammatical form) of diakatelenchomai
(lexical-dictionary form) tell us about the work of Apollos in Achaia?

The word only appears once in the New Testament. A less intense form
dielencho is found in classical Greek, particularly in Plato, Aristotle, Lucianus.
The meaning in classical Greek was to refute or expose. Dielencho appears
in the Septuagint in Job 9:33; Isaiah 1:18 and Micah 6:2. In those texts it means
to discuss, to argue a case.

The preposition dia-(katelenchomai) serves to intensify the word. Luke

paints a picture of Apollos' work that is memorable and encouraging. Apollos
thoroughly refuted his Jewish opponents. He overwhelmed them in argument.
He demolished their arguments. He completely refuted the Jews in public
debate. He used a mighty spiritual jackhammer to crush pebbles! Luke tells us
what the jackhammer was: he "showed from the scriptures that Jesus is the
Messiah." Nothing works better, lasts longer, or is more formidable than the
word of the living God! (Jeremiah 23:29; Hebrews 4:12)

R. Daly

Copyright 2013

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Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon Of The New Testament
Joseph Henry Thayer, born 1828 and died 1901, was professor of New
Testament criticism and interpretation at Harvard Divinity School from 1884-1901.
His main interest was in the Greek language of the New Testament. His most widely
known work was A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. He was a
member of the revision committee, and appointed Secretary of the New Testament
committee that issued the American Standard Version in 1901. A person, therefore,
should not be amazed to discover that the vocabulary of the ASV, generally concurs
with the definitions assigned to the words in the Wescott-Hort Greek
New
Testament.

What is commonly known as Thayer's Lexicon is not Thayer's lexicon.

It is Grimm's Wilke's Clovis Novi Testamenti. Thayer translated, revised, and
enlarged the work. Grimm's work was completed in 1879. Thayer acknowledges in
the preface of the lexicon that "Both Professor Grimm and the publisher courteously
gave me permission to make such changes in his work as might in my judgment the
better adapt it to the needs of English speaking students." (Preface, page 6) So,
it
should be kept in mind that by referring to this work as Thayer's Lexicon, it is
his
role in translating, revising, and enlarging Grimm's lexicon that is
primarily
in view.

Even though Thayer's Lexicon is dated, it is still a valuable resource if it

is used
with discretion, and if the user distinguishes Thayer's definitions from his
comments.
There are instances when the definitions he assigns to words are unsubstantiated.

For example, on page 94 the first definition given to the word baptizo
by
the lexicon in the classic period of the language is, "prop. to dip repeatedly..."
No
literature is cited to support this definition, and the reason is the evidence does
not
exist. In classic Greek when a ship sank it was immersed. (Polybius
1,51,6;
8,8,4) Did the ship sink repeatedly? On page 555 the word prototokos is defined
as "firstborn." Then he says "Christ is called prototokos pases ktiseos...who came
into being through God prior to the entire universe of created things..." This
comment
reflects his Unitarian theology.

On page 618 of the lexicon teleios is correctly defined as "brought to its

end,
finished; wanting nothing necessary to completeness; perfect...to teleion,
substantively, that which is perfect...the perfect state of all things, to be
ushered in
by the return of Christ from heaven, 1 Cor. xiii. 10." The latter reflects a misuse
of the
context of 1 Cor. 13:10. To teleion refers to the state preceding the second coming
of the Messiah. It refers to the completion of God's revelation through those men
who
were God's agents in revealing his written will.

Thayer's Lexicon retains its usefulness, but it like all other religious
works of
human origin must be used with caution. Study the definitions, evaluate the
comments.
Use such works like you eat fish; eat the meat and throw the bones away. It is wise
not to make the older pre-papyri lexicons your first court of appeal. A lot has
been
learned about koine Greek grammar and lexicography since the 18th and 19th
centuries. If you are going to use the older lexicons, use them in conjunction with
the
more modern scholarly lexicons.

R. Daly

Copyright 2014

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Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Gleukos: "Sweet Wine"
According to Luke, on the day of Pentecost when the Jews heard the apostles
speaking in the various dialects of the Jews from every nation under
heaven
(Acts 2:5), they mocked them saying, "They are filled with sweet
wine."
(Acts 2:13)

The phrase "sweet wine" translates gleukos. The question is, was gleukos only
used for unfermented wine, or can it also indicate fermented wine? If it
is
correct that gleukos is only unfermented wine, it is strange that they
used
an idiom for drunkenness, "They are filled with gleukos." (Acts 2:13) So, it
seems that gleukos could have some degree of fermenting properties, at least in
this context. It was sweet immature wine, or partially fermented wine that had not
reached full strength. The context makes this clear. Otherwise how could they have
judged the apostles as acting like men who were intoxicated? Unless of course, one
can become intoxicated on unfermented grape juice. The NIV-2011 translates the
idiom in this way, "They have had too much wine." The Exegetical Dictionary Of
The New Testament, volume 1, page 251, interprets the phrase "full of sweet
wine" in this way; "incompletely fermented new wine." In view of the context I
believe
this is correct.
 If anyone is disposed to argue by saying, "Filled with sweet wine does not
mean
drunkenness," then look at Peter's response, "For these are not drunk as you
suppose; seeing it is the third hour of the day." (verse 15)

The apostles were filled with something; they were "filled by the Holy
Spirit."
(Acts 2:4)

R. Daly
Copyright 2013
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Friday, December 13, 2013

Categorizing Biblical Languages' Grammars
Biblical languages' grammars, like biblical languages' lexicons
are
indispensable research tools for correctly interpreting the word of
truth.
(cf. 2 Timothy 2:15) Accurately teaching the truth is one of the most important
responsibilities of the biblical exegete. Therefore, the student of the text
should
use the best available resources that assist with an indepth analysis of the text.

As noted in a previous post titled Categorizing Biblical Languages'

Lexicons, sacred scripture was originally written in three languages. The Old
Testament was primarily written in Hebrew with relatively small portions in
Aramaic, and the New Testament was written in Greek.

The grammars of biblical Hebrew and Aramaic fall into three general
categories and they are elementary, intermediate, and advanced. The elementary
Hebrew grammars introduce the student to the alphabet and vowels, and they
delineate some of the basic "rules" of the language. A person must be extremely
careful not to build doctrinal theories on the "rules" listed in the
elementary
grammars because there are notable exceptions to some of their "rules."

Examples of elementary Hebrew and Aramaic grammars are: A Practical

Grammar For Classical Hebrew by J. Weingreen; Biblical Hebrew A Text
and Workbook by Bonnie Pedrotti Kittel, Vicki Hoffer, and Rebecca Abts
Wright; A Modern Hebrew Grammar For Classical Hebrew by Duane A.
Garrett; Basics of Biblical Aramaic by Miles V. Van Pelt; and An Introduction
To Aramaic, Second Edition, by Frederick E. Greenspahn. Examples of
Intermediate Hebrew grammars are: Linguistics And Biblical Hebrew edited
by Walter R. Bodine; A Biblical Hebrew Reference Grammar by Christo
H. J. van der Merwe, Jackie A. Naude and Jan H. Kroeze; and Introduction
To Biblical Hebrew Syntax by Bruce Waltke and Michael Patrick O'Connor.
An example of an Advanced Hebrew grammar is: Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar,
Second English Edition, edited and enlarged by E. Kautzsch and A. E. Cowley

The grammars of biblical Greek are also categorized as elementary,

intermediate,
and advanced. Th elementary Greek grammars introduce the student to the
alphabet, vowels, and some of the basic "rules" of the language. The student must
be be careful not to build a doctrinal system on the basic "rules" found in
elementary
grammars because there are exceptions to the rules that are not explained in these
grammars. They are introductory and sometimes misguided in their approach to
the language.

Examples of elementary Greek grammars are: Beginner's Grammar of the

Greek New Testament by William Davis; An Introduction To The Study
Of New testament Greek by J. H. Moulton; Essentials Of New Testament
Greek by Ray Summers; New Testament Greek, and A Beginning and
Intermediate Grammar by James Allen Hewett. Hewett's grammar is probably
the most practical of those I have listed. Examples of intermediate Greek grammars
are: A Manual Grammar Of The Greek New Testament by H. E. Dana and
Julius R. Mantey; Basics Of Biblical Greek by William D. Mounce; and
Handbook To The Grammar Of The Greek Testament by Samuel G. Green.
Examples of advanced grammars of New Testament Greek are: A Treatise On
The Grammar Of New Testament Greek by G. B. Winer; Greek Grammar
Beyond The Basics by Daniel B. Wallace; A Grammar Of The Greek New
Testament In The Light Of Historical Research by A. T. Robertson; A
Grammar Of The New Testament And Other Early Christian Literature,
by F. Blass and A. Debrunner, translated and edited by Robert Funk; and
Grammar Of New Testament Greek, 4 vols., by James Moulton and Nigel
Turner. Though it is not strictly a grammar of New Testament Greek, Greek
Grammar by Hebert Weir Smyth, revised by Gordon M. Messing must be
mentioned because of its detail and it contains information that is relevant to the
study of New Testament Greek. It is an important reference grammar of ancient
Greek.

Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek grammars are generally well researched,

but they like lexicons were written by human beings and must be used with caution.
The "rules" they postulate are sometimes formulated by theological prejudices
instead of being substantiated by the facts. The truth-seeker will follow the road
where the facts lead because he doesn't have to hope for light at the end of the
tunnel. There is light in the path all along the way!

R. Daly

Copyright 2013

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Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Paradise
The word paradise occurs 3 times in most English translations of the
New Testament. (Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 12:4; Revelation 2:7) Paradeisos
is a Persian (Iranian) loanword. The Old Persian word pairidaeza originally
meant "enclosure," then "park" or "garden." It occurs in Biblical Hebrew as
pardes. (Nehemiah 2:8; Song of Solomon 4:13, and Ecclesiastes 2:5) In
Jewish Aramaic the word is pardes(a) meaning "garden." In the Septuagint
(LXX) paradeisos denotes God's garden. (Genesis 2:8-10,16) In the New
Covenant the word paradeisos is used to describe the realm of the blessed.
The word appeared in French as paradis, and eventually into English
as paradise.

Each of the three occurrences of the word paradeisos in the New

Testament sheds important light about paradise, its nature, and inhabitants.
Let us briefly examine the contexts and resultantly overflow with exuberance
as we anticipate life beyond the grave.

Luke 23:43. This passage is set in the context of Jesus' conversation

with the repentant criminal while they hang on their crosses. Two criminals
were crucified with Jesus. One of them railed at the Lord," 'but the other
rebuked him saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same
sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the
due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.' And he said,
'Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom.' And he said to him,
'Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in
Paradise.' "
(Luke 23:39-43; ESV) Interestingly, the Greek phrase is en to paradeiso
("in the paradise"). This is likely the par excellence use of the article. This
paradise is incomparable. It is the ultimate "paradise" unlike any other place
of happiness, pleasure, and blessedness. That very day the man would be
"with Jesus" in the Paradise. He would enjoy fellowship with Jesus! While the
criminal was crucified on the cross, he crucified his old self and took up his
cross to follow Jesus from death to life eternal! The suffering the criminal
would endure on his cross would pale in comparison to what awaited him
immediately after death!

2 Corinthians 12:3. In this context, Paul writes about "visions and

revelations of the Lord." (v. 1) Then he speaks of himself as a "man in Christ
who fourteen years ago was caught up into the third heaven...caught up into
the paradise." The phrase "third heaven" (tritou ouranou) refers to the very
home of God. The highest of the heavens. "The paradise" (ton paradeison)
is used to identify the "third heaven" as a place of blessedness and release
from earthly struggles. (cf. 2 Corinthians 11:23-27) Paul needed the
encouragement that resulted from this transcendent experience. He also
learned two great lessons: (1) A "thorn in the flesh" can be used as a positive
inducement to humility. (2) Divine grace is sufficient to give power to endure
weaknesses. Paul said, "For when I am weak, then am I strong."
(2 Corinthians 12:10)

Revelation 2:7. The congregation of Christ in Ephesus was told, " 'To
the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the
paradise of God.' " The tree of life was in the garden of Eden. (Genesis 2:8-9)
Yahweh planted the garden in Eden. (Genesis 2:8) The tree of life is in the
paradise of God (to paradeiso tou theou). This is God's "garden" and the
most important "tree" (source of life) ever known is there. Those who conquer
are granted permission to eat from the tree of life. They have conquered sin
through Jesus the Messiah . The "paradise of God" in this context is the
place for conquerors and the place of life. It is the place where the righteous
will experience full communion with God, the author of life, the giver
of blessedness, and the guarantor of immortality. It is in God himself that
these things become reality. (cf. Isaiah 51:3) The congregation had
abandoned the love it had at first. She had fallen and needed to undergo a
radical change. By doing so her fellowship with God would be restored.
Then she would be at home with God and have a place in his courts to rest!

R. Daly
Copyright 2013
Posted by R. Daly at 11:10 PM No comments:
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