*Joshua 15:8 / *Josh. 15:8 -
(Re: Valley of *Hinnom / *Gehenna)
"Hinnom" is the name of the person after whose son the "valley of the son of Hinnom", on the south side of Jerusalem, was named (Joshua 15:8). At the destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon in 586 BC, in the time of the prophet Jeremiah, this valley became representative of God's awful judgment, as it was where masses of dead bodies were cast unburied to rot out in the open for all to see (Jeremiah 7:32-34). Decades later, after the Jews returned (in 538 BC) from their Babylonian captivity, the valley became a garbage dump, where fires were set to try to burn up the garbage, so that smoke continually rose up from the valley.
These two images of a valley filled with rotting corpses by the judgment of God (cf. Isaiah 66:24), and fires with smoke continually rising (cf. Revelation 14:11) came together in the minds of the Jews to where the valley of Hinnom came to represent the future, eternal hell itself. This is why the name "Gehenna" (or "Ge-Hinnom"), "geenna" in the original Greek, is used in the Bible to refer to the future, eternal hell (Mark 9:45-46). "Geenna" (G1067, pronounced gheh'-en-nah) is derived from the Hebrew words for "valley" (gay: H1516, pronounced gah'-ee) and "Hinnom" (H2011, pronounced hin-nome').
(See also Matthew 25:41 below)
--
*Joshua 17:18 / *Josh. 17:18 -
The original Hebrew word (towtsa'ah: H8444) translated as "outgoings" means "borders" (1 Chronicles 5:16).
--
*Joshua 18:6 / *Josh. 18:6 -
(Lots / H1486)
See Ezekiel 24:6 below.
--
*Joshua 18:14 / *Josh. 18:14 -
The original Hebrew words (pe'ah: H6285; and yam: H3220) translated as "corner of the sea" can mean "border of the west" or "direction of the west", as the Mediterranean Sea is the western border of the land of Israel.
--
*Joshua 19:49 / *Josh. 19:49 -
The original Hebrew word (gebuwlah: H1367) translated as "coasts" can mean "borders" (Psalms 74:17).
--
*Joshua 21:43 / *Josh. 21:43 -
This, like 1 Kings 8:56, does not require that the promise of the land of Canaan is only typological in the past, instead of it being literal and valid not only in the past but also in our present and future. For the promise is that the literal Canaan will be "an everlasting possession" (Genesis 17:8).
(See also the "Land" section of Acts 1:6 below)
--
*Joshua 24:15 / *Josh. 24:15 -
(Re: *Free will)
What is meant by free will is that God lets people choose what they are going to do (Joshua 24:15, Deuteronomy 30:19, Isaiah 1:19-20; 1 Chronicles 28:9; 1 Peter 5:2, Philemon 1:14, Genesis 24:8).
(See also section 3 of Mark 13:32 below)
~
(Re: Doesn't free will not exist, because we cannot do anything that we want?)
Free will does not mean that we can choose to do anything at all. For example, someone who is 5-feet-2-inches tall cannot choose to become an NBA player, just as someone who was born in India cannot choose to become the U.S. President (due to restrictions in the U.S. Constitution that the President must be U.S.-born). So someone's biology and history can constrict his choices in life.
But his will is still free in the sense that no one can make him do anything that he does not want to do, or make him not do anything that he does want to do and is able to do based on his biology and history.
The point of free will is that God had no interest in making humans like robots who could do nothing but what He had programmed them to do, whether they liked it or not. Instead, God created real human children who have the ability to choose to do or not do the right thing, and the ability to choose to do or not do the wrong thing.
If people did not have this ability, then God could not logically reward people for choosing to do the right thing (Matthew 25:21), or punish them for choosing to do the wrong thing (2 Corinthians 5:10-11) or choosing not to do the right thing (Luke 12:47, Matthew 25:26-30).
~
(Re: Doesn't free will not exist because of predestination, just as, for example "a" in the equation a + 3 = 5 has no choice regarding its value?)
With regard to free will and predestination, in the analogous equation a + 3 = 5, "a" would represent our free-willed actions, "3" would represent the biological and historical limitation on those actions, and "= 5" would represent God's predestination of all our free-willed actions as well as the biological and historical limitation on those actions; "a" is restricted to only one value (2) by "=5" and "3".
But then how can "a" represent free will? Only within a context greater than one equation. In algebra, "a" is called a "variable" because in itself it can represent any number. It can represent different numbers in different equations. For example:
a + 1 = 2
a + 3 = 5
a + 6 = 9
Out of all of the possible equations in which "a" could be involved, for us to choose just one equation to represent this universe does not mean that "a" ceases to be a variable. In the same way, out of all of the possible universes (sequences of events) in which our free will would be involved, for God to choose to create just one universe (one sequence of events) does not mean that our free will ceases to be free.
It would be like a teacher who writes on his chalkboard a sequence of "a's" like this:
a
a
a
Then he turns to a student and says "choose a number". The student says "1", and the teacher writes "1. --" before the first "a". Then the teacher says again, "choose a number", and the student says "uh, 2", and the teacher writes "2. --" before the second "a". Then the teacher says again, "choose a number", and the student laughs and says "okay, uh, 3", and the teacher writes "3. --" before the third "a", so that the chalkboard reads:
1. -- a
2. -- a
3. -- a
Then the teacher adds his own figures to the board, so that it reads:
1. -- a + 1 = 2
2. -- a + 3 = 5
3. -- a + 6 = 9
Then he steps back and says: "Okay, now I will pick the equation which pleases me best". And he erases the top and bottom equations so that the chalkboard reads only:
2. -- a + 3 = 5
Now the value of "a" is restricted to only one value by the teacher; it is the only value of "a" which he has permitted to exist on the board. And yet that value of "a" is still the free-willed choice of the student. He cannot claim that the teacher forced him to choose that value for "a".
It is the same way with our free-willed actions. Even though they are all predetermined by God, they are all still chosen solely by our own free will. God never forces us to choose them.
(See section 3 of Mark 13:32 below)
~
(Re: Doesn't free will not exist, because of the endless chain of cause and effect?)
That would only be the case if materialism were true: that is, if nothing existed in the universe but matter and energy and mechanical operations upon them, so that the universe would be nothing but a gigantic clockwork built and set in motion by God (or nature), in which we would be nothing but automatons, mere cogs in the clockwork.
But God was not interested in building human cogs, but creating actual children with free will. Materialism is not true, because God has given each of us a spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23), the movements of which are not determined by any mechanical forces, but by our own free will, just as the movements of God's own Spirit are not determined by any mechanical forces, but by His own free will. Indeed, our spirits come from God's own Spirit (Genesis 2:7); we are made in His image (Genesis 1:27).
(See the "Consciousness" section of 1 Thessalonians 5:23 below)
--
*Judges 5:20 / *Judg. 5:20 -
(The stars in their courses fought)
This could be poetic hyperbole, like how we could say: "everything was against him". Or, the "stars" in Judges 5:20 could refer to some particular entities which actually did fight against Sisera. Of course, they could not have been literal stars, for literal stars could not have come within a million miles of Sisera without burning him and the entire planet to a crisp. But the "stars" which fought against Sisera could have been angels. For stars can represent "angels" (Revelation 1:20).
Also, in Judges 5:20 the original Hebrew word (mecillah: H4546) translated as the "courses" of the angels can mean the "staircases" of the angels, how they come and go between heaven and earth. Compare the "ladder" which Jacob saw the angels ascending and descending on in Genesis 28:12. There the original Hebrew word (cullam: H5551) translated as "ladder", although different from the Hebrew word translated as "courses" in Judges 5:20, can also mean "staircase". These spiritual "staircases" or "ladders" could stretch upward from the earth into the third heaven spiritual realm so that angels can more-easily descend and ascend (John 1:51) between the earth and the literal city of New Jerusalem in the third heaven (Hebrews 12:22).
Compare William Blake's wonderful watercolor depiction of Jacob's vision, which Blake pictures as an angelic, spiral staircase.
Also, compare the scientific idea of lowering carbon cables from satellites in geosynchronous orbit down to the surface of the earth, so that the cables can then serve as the basis for "elevators" for other satellites, and human spaceships, to ascend into space at an exceedingly cheaper cost than thrust rockets today. (It is surprising that Elon is not working already to make something like this feasible, if only to "elevate" small satellites into space. He could start a new company called "Elevate", or "Space Elevator", to work on the project.)
(See also 2 Corinthians 12:2 below)
--
*Judges 8:33 / *Judg. 8:33 -
"Baal-berith" (H1170) is made up of two words (H1168, H1285) which mean "Lord (Baal) of the covenant (berith)", or "Lord of the confederacy".
--
*Judges 11:31-40 / *Judg. 11:31 -
(Re: Human sacrifice)
See Genesis 22:2 above.
--
*Judges 13:24 / *Judg. 13:24 -
"Samson" (H8123) means "sunlight".
--
*Judges 15:17 / *Judg. 15:17 -
"Ramath-lehi" (H7437) is made up of two words (H7413, H3895) which mean: "Jawbone (lehi) Hill (ramath)".
--
*Judges 15:19 / *Judg. 15:19 -
The original Hebrew word (lechiy: H3895) translated as "in the jaw" can mean "in (the place called) Lehi (Jaw)", just as later in the verse it says that the spring of water is still "in Lehi".
~
"En-hakkore" (H5875) is made up of two words (H5869, H7121) which mean: "Caller (hakkore) Fountain (en)".
--
*Judges 16:30 / *Judg. 16:30 -
This and Numbers 23:10 do not require that the "soul" (as understood in the Greek New Testament: e.g. Revelation 6:9-11) dies when the body dies. For Judges 16:30 and Numbers 23:10 can simply be quotations of people who were mistaken; just as, for example John 7:12b and Matthew 27:63a are quotations of people who were mistaken.
(See Matthew 10:28 below)
--
*Ruth 1:16c -
See the "Tribes" section of Romans 11:17 below.
--
*Ruth 1:20 -
"Naomi" (H5281) and "Mara" (H4755) mean "pleasant" and "bitter".
--
*Ruth 2:17 -
(Ephah)
See Exodus 16:36 above.
--
*1 Samuel 1:20 / *1 Sam. 1:20 -
"Samuel" (H8050) is made up of two words (H8085, H0410) which mean "Heard (samu) by God (El)".
--
*1 Samuel 5:9 / *1 Sam. 5:9 -
The original Hebrew word (`ophel: H6076) translated as "emerods" means "tumors" or "swellings".
The Hebrew word (sathar: H8368) translated as "in their secret parts" means "to break out" or "erupt".
--
*1 Samuel 6:11 / *1 Sam. 6:11 -
The original Hebrew word (techor: H2914) translated as "emerods" means "burning boils", especially in the anus. Compare hemorrhoids.
--
*1 Samuel 8:12 / *1 Sam. 8:12 -
The original Hebrew words (charash: H2790; and chariysh: H2758) translated as "ear his ground" mean "plow (his fields) in the time of plowing".
--
*1 Samuel 9:4-5 / *1 Sam. 9:4 / *1 Sam. 9:5 -
Shalisha was a district in the territory of the tribe of Ephraim, which was just north of the territory of Benjamin, Saul's tribe.
Shalim was a district in the (southern) territory of the tribe of Dan, which was just west and south of the territory of Ephraim.
The territory of the tribe of Benjamin was just east of the (southern) territory of Dan, and just north of Jerusalem.
Zuph was a district in Benjamin.
So in looking for the donkeys, Saul made a wide, counter-clockwise circle through the territory of two neighboring tribes, before returning to his home territory.
--
*1 Samuel 9:22 / *1 Sam. 9:22 -
The original Hebrew word (lishkah: H3957) translated as "parlour" means "room".
--
*1 Samuel 9:26 / *1 Sam. 9:26 -
The original Hebrew words (`alah: H5927; and shachar: H7837) translated as "spring of the day" mean "the break of dawn".
--
*1 Samuel 11:8 / *1 Sam. 11:8 -
Bezek was a city near the Jordan valley, across from the city of Jabesh Gilead.
--
*1 Samuel 12:11 / *1 Sam. 12:11 -
Here "Bedan" is "Barak" in some Septuagint (ancient Greek translation) manuscripts, and in ancient Syriac-translation manuscripts. The Hebrew name "Bedan" (H0917) is formed by three Hebrew consonants transliterated as "BDN", while the Hebrew name "Barak" (H1301), which in this verse would be referring to the man in Judges 4:6, is formed by three Hebrew consonants transliterated as "BRQ". The Hebrew letter transliterated as "R" (reysh), especially when handwritten, can look a lot like the Hebrew letter transliterated as "D" (daleth). But the Hebrew letter transliterated as "Q" (qowph), does not look like the Hebrew letter transliterated as "N" (nuwn), in the form that it takes at the end of a word, unless the right half of the letter qowph is smudged away. But if it had been smudged away in an ancient Hebrew manuscript of 1 Samuel 12:11, a copyist of that manuscript could have mistakenly read the Hebrew name "Barak" as the Hebrew name "Bedan", which is an actual name (1 Chronicles 7:17). But it does not fit in the list of judges in 1 Samuel 12:11, unless the book of Judges left out that there was a judge named "Bedan".
Another possibility is that "Bedan" (BDN) is a contracted form of the name of the judge "Abdon" (ABDWN: H5658) in Judges 12:13.
--
*1 Samuel 13:20 / *1 Sam. 13:20 -
The original Hebrew word (macharesheth: H4282) translated as "share" means "hoe", or "plow".
The Hebrew word ('eth: H0855) translated as "coulter" means "plow blade".
The Hebrew word (machareshah: H4281) translated as "mattock" here means "pickax".
--
*1 Samuel 14 / *1 Sam. 14 -
Before Jonathan attacked, he made sure to lay a fleece, as it were: God would signal to go ahead and attack by causing the Philistines to tell Jonathan to come up (1 Samuel 14:10). Jonathan knew that without God's miraculous help, he did not stand a chance, but with God's miraculous help, it did not matter that it was only him and his young assistant against the Philistine garrison (1 Samuel 14:6).
God gave Jonathan initial success by his own hand (1 Samuel 14:14), and then wrought a miraculous earthquake, and confusion, among the Philistines, so that they started to kill each other (1 Samuel 14:15-16,20b). Then, all of the quisling Israelites who were among the Philistines turned on them (1 Samuel 14:21). Then, all of the Israelites who before that time had been hiding in fear of the Philistines, attacked them (1 Samuel 14:22).
So it was Jonathan's bravery, submitted to God's will, which started a whole chain of miraculous and natural events which resulted in the defeat of the Philistines.
And God got the credit for that victory (1 Samuel 14:23). But it took the courage of a young prince to serve as the spark with which God kindled His fire against the Philistines.
As Christians, we can apply Jonathan's brave example to our spiritual battles (Ephesians 6:12-18). For we are never to wage any physical battles (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).
(See Matthew 5:39 below)
--
*1 Samuel 15:2-23 / *1 Sam. 15:2 -
See Deuteronomy 25:17 above.
--
*1 Samuel 15:3 / *1 Sam. 15:3 -
(Re: Old Testament *genocide)
Regarding 1 Samuel 15:3, even babies are sinful (Psalms 58:3, Psalms 51:5, Romans 3:10), because of original sin (Romans 5:19a). Also, as the Creator of all babies, God has the right to decide what to do with them, even before they are born (Romans 9:11-24). And in Deuteronomy 5:17, "kill" meant murder (Matthew 19:18), not capital punishment (Deuteronomy 17:5-7, Romans 13:4).
Also, 1 Samuel 15:3 could be employed by the future Antichrist to utterly revile YHWH as being an evil god (cf. Revelation 13:6, Daniel 11:36). And the Antichrist could do this while still claiming to be a Christian, and while still claiming to hold Jesus in high regard.
(See Revelation 13:4 below, and Genesis 6:17 above)
Also, see Matthew 5:39 below, which shows that Christians are never to harm anyone, even in self-defense. And see Romans 13:4 below, which shows that Christians should not even vote for any man-enacted capital punishment.
--
*1 Samuel 15:35 / *1 Sam. 15:35 -
(Re: God "repenting")
Here the original Hebrew does not mean that God had done something wrong. For He cannot do anything wrong (Psalms 145:17). Instead, it means that He "sighed" (nacham: H5162) over something, in the sense of feeling grief over something (Genesis 6:6).
(See Genesis 6:6 above)
--
*1 Samuel 16:7 / *1 Sam. 16:7 -
This does not mean that God looks for goodness, or a desire for God, in unsaved people. For they have no goodness, or desire for God (Romans 3:10-12).
(See paragraphs 2-3 of Romans 9:11 below)
--
*1 Samuel 17:4 / *1 Sam. 17:4 -
A cubit was about 18 inches, or 45 centimeters.
A span was about 9 inches, or 23 centimeters.
So Goliath's height being "six cubits and a span" means that he was about 9 feet, 9 inches tall, or about 3 meters tall.
--
*1 Samuel 17:5-7 / *1 Sam. 17:5 / *1 Sam. 17:7 -
A shekel weighed about 252 grains troy (Webster's). Both a grain troy and a grain avoirdupois are 0.0648 grams metric (See Webster's "Weight" table). So 252 grains troy would be the same as 252 grains avoirdupois. An ounce avoirdupois is 437.5 grains. So 252 grains, or one shekel, would be 0.576 ounces.
So Goliath's coat of armor being "5,000 shekels" means that it was 5,000 x 0.576 ounces, or 2,880 ounces; divided by 16 would be 180 pounds, or 82 kilograms.
And Goliath's spearhead being "600 shekels" means that it was 600 x 0.576 ounces, or 345.6 ounces; divided by 16 would be about 22 pounds, or about 10 kilograms.
--
*1 Samuel 17:17 / *1 Sam. 17:17 -
(Ephah)
See Exodus 16:36 above.
~
The original Hebrew word (qaliy: H7039) translated as "parched corn" means "roasted grain".
Indeed, throughout the Bible, "corn" means "grain", as opposed to what we today call "corn" (maize). For the latter was not brought into the Eastern Hemisphere until the fifteenth century AD, when the Western Hemisphere was discovered and the corn there was seen as a great food source.
And every part of the Bible was written long before the fifteenth century AD, and only by people living in the Eastern Hemisphere.
--
*1 Samuel 23:28 / *1 Sam. 23:28 -
"Sela-hammahlekoth" (H5555) is made up of two words (H5553, H4256) which mean "Division (hammahlekoth) Rock (sela)". That is, the mountain was between David and Saul as they moved along opposite sides of it (1 Samuel 23:26).
--
*1 Samuel 24:22 / *1 Sam. 24:22 -
It seems strange that David and his men would go back into hiding right after he and Saul had a reconciliation (1 Samuel 24:16-22). But they knew that Saul was mentally unstable, and so his attitude toward David could change back to homicidal at any time (1 Samuel 18:10-11).
--
*1 Samuel 26:5 / *1 Sam. 26:5 -
The original Hebrew word (ma`gal: H4570) translated as "trench" can mean "rampart". That is, Saul slept in his camp with a defensive mound around it. The ancient Roman armies (a thousand years later) similarly built small ramparts around themselves, even if they were camping in a field location for just one night.
--
*1 Samuel 26:12 / *1 Sam. 26:12 -
The original Hebrew word (tsappachath: H6835) translated as "cruse" means "saucer".
--
*1 Samuel 28:3 / *1 Sam. 28:3 -
The original Hebrew word ('owb: H0178) translated as "those that had familiar spirits" literally means "bottles" (Job 32:19) in the sense of wineskins. Those who "had" familiar spirits meant that they had familiar spirits, demons, living inside them. They were "bottles" for the demons. And so the demons could be cast out of them (Acts 16:18); and should be, even still today, even when the demons might be giving out some true information (Acts 16:16-18). For they can also give out awful, false information (John 8:44c).
(See also Acts 16:18 below)
-
Next entry / Prior / Table of Contents
Nov 15, 2018
(Re: Valley of *Hinnom / *Gehenna)
"Hinnom" is the name of the person after whose son the "valley of the son of Hinnom", on the south side of Jerusalem, was named (Joshua 15:8). At the destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon in 586 BC, in the time of the prophet Jeremiah, this valley became representative of God's awful judgment, as it was where masses of dead bodies were cast unburied to rot out in the open for all to see (Jeremiah 7:32-34). Decades later, after the Jews returned (in 538 BC) from their Babylonian captivity, the valley became a garbage dump, where fires were set to try to burn up the garbage, so that smoke continually rose up from the valley.
These two images of a valley filled with rotting corpses by the judgment of God (cf. Isaiah 66:24), and fires with smoke continually rising (cf. Revelation 14:11) came together in the minds of the Jews to where the valley of Hinnom came to represent the future, eternal hell itself. This is why the name "Gehenna" (or "Ge-Hinnom"), "geenna" in the original Greek, is used in the Bible to refer to the future, eternal hell (Mark 9:45-46). "Geenna" (G1067, pronounced gheh'-en-nah) is derived from the Hebrew words for "valley" (gay: H1516, pronounced gah'-ee) and "Hinnom" (H2011, pronounced hin-nome').
(See also Matthew 25:41 below)
--
*Joshua 17:18 / *Josh. 17:18 -
The original Hebrew word (towtsa'ah: H8444) translated as "outgoings" means "borders" (1 Chronicles 5:16).
--
*Joshua 18:6 / *Josh. 18:6 -
(Lots / H1486)
See Ezekiel 24:6 below.
--
*Joshua 18:14 / *Josh. 18:14 -
The original Hebrew words (pe'ah: H6285; and yam: H3220) translated as "corner of the sea" can mean "border of the west" or "direction of the west", as the Mediterranean Sea is the western border of the land of Israel.
--
*Joshua 19:49 / *Josh. 19:49 -
The original Hebrew word (gebuwlah: H1367) translated as "coasts" can mean "borders" (Psalms 74:17).
--
*Joshua 21:43 / *Josh. 21:43 -
This, like 1 Kings 8:56, does not require that the promise of the land of Canaan is only typological in the past, instead of it being literal and valid not only in the past but also in our present and future. For the promise is that the literal Canaan will be "an everlasting possession" (Genesis 17:8).
(See also the "Land" section of Acts 1:6 below)
--
*Joshua 24:15 / *Josh. 24:15 -
(Re: *Free will)
What is meant by free will is that God lets people choose what they are going to do (Joshua 24:15, Deuteronomy 30:19, Isaiah 1:19-20; 1 Chronicles 28:9; 1 Peter 5:2, Philemon 1:14, Genesis 24:8).
(See also section 3 of Mark 13:32 below)
~
(Re: Doesn't free will not exist, because we cannot do anything that we want?)
Free will does not mean that we can choose to do anything at all. For example, someone who is 5-feet-2-inches tall cannot choose to become an NBA player, just as someone who was born in India cannot choose to become the U.S. President (due to restrictions in the U.S. Constitution that the President must be U.S.-born). So someone's biology and history can constrict his choices in life.
But his will is still free in the sense that no one can make him do anything that he does not want to do, or make him not do anything that he does want to do and is able to do based on his biology and history.
The point of free will is that God had no interest in making humans like robots who could do nothing but what He had programmed them to do, whether they liked it or not. Instead, God created real human children who have the ability to choose to do or not do the right thing, and the ability to choose to do or not do the wrong thing.
If people did not have this ability, then God could not logically reward people for choosing to do the right thing (Matthew 25:21), or punish them for choosing to do the wrong thing (2 Corinthians 5:10-11) or choosing not to do the right thing (Luke 12:47, Matthew 25:26-30).
~
(Re: Doesn't free will not exist because of predestination, just as, for example "a" in the equation a + 3 = 5 has no choice regarding its value?)
With regard to free will and predestination, in the analogous equation a + 3 = 5, "a" would represent our free-willed actions, "3" would represent the biological and historical limitation on those actions, and "= 5" would represent God's predestination of all our free-willed actions as well as the biological and historical limitation on those actions; "a" is restricted to only one value (2) by "=5" and "3".
But then how can "a" represent free will? Only within a context greater than one equation. In algebra, "a" is called a "variable" because in itself it can represent any number. It can represent different numbers in different equations. For example:
a + 1 = 2
a + 3 = 5
a + 6 = 9
Out of all of the possible equations in which "a" could be involved, for us to choose just one equation to represent this universe does not mean that "a" ceases to be a variable. In the same way, out of all of the possible universes (sequences of events) in which our free will would be involved, for God to choose to create just one universe (one sequence of events) does not mean that our free will ceases to be free.
It would be like a teacher who writes on his chalkboard a sequence of "a's" like this:
a
a
a
Then he turns to a student and says "choose a number". The student says "1", and the teacher writes "1. --" before the first "a". Then the teacher says again, "choose a number", and the student says "uh, 2", and the teacher writes "2. --" before the second "a". Then the teacher says again, "choose a number", and the student laughs and says "okay, uh, 3", and the teacher writes "3. --" before the third "a", so that the chalkboard reads:
1. -- a
2. -- a
3. -- a
Then the teacher adds his own figures to the board, so that it reads:
1. -- a + 1 = 2
2. -- a + 3 = 5
3. -- a + 6 = 9
Then he steps back and says: "Okay, now I will pick the equation which pleases me best". And he erases the top and bottom equations so that the chalkboard reads only:
2. -- a + 3 = 5
Now the value of "a" is restricted to only one value by the teacher; it is the only value of "a" which he has permitted to exist on the board. And yet that value of "a" is still the free-willed choice of the student. He cannot claim that the teacher forced him to choose that value for "a".
It is the same way with our free-willed actions. Even though they are all predetermined by God, they are all still chosen solely by our own free will. God never forces us to choose them.
(See section 3 of Mark 13:32 below)
~
(Re: Doesn't free will not exist, because of the endless chain of cause and effect?)
That would only be the case if materialism were true: that is, if nothing existed in the universe but matter and energy and mechanical operations upon them, so that the universe would be nothing but a gigantic clockwork built and set in motion by God (or nature), in which we would be nothing but automatons, mere cogs in the clockwork.
But God was not interested in building human cogs, but creating actual children with free will. Materialism is not true, because God has given each of us a spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23), the movements of which are not determined by any mechanical forces, but by our own free will, just as the movements of God's own Spirit are not determined by any mechanical forces, but by His own free will. Indeed, our spirits come from God's own Spirit (Genesis 2:7); we are made in His image (Genesis 1:27).
(See the "Consciousness" section of 1 Thessalonians 5:23 below)
--
*Judges 5:20 / *Judg. 5:20 -
(The stars in their courses fought)
This could be poetic hyperbole, like how we could say: "everything was against him". Or, the "stars" in Judges 5:20 could refer to some particular entities which actually did fight against Sisera. Of course, they could not have been literal stars, for literal stars could not have come within a million miles of Sisera without burning him and the entire planet to a crisp. But the "stars" which fought against Sisera could have been angels. For stars can represent "angels" (Revelation 1:20).
Also, in Judges 5:20 the original Hebrew word (mecillah: H4546) translated as the "courses" of the angels can mean the "staircases" of the angels, how they come and go between heaven and earth. Compare the "ladder" which Jacob saw the angels ascending and descending on in Genesis 28:12. There the original Hebrew word (cullam: H5551) translated as "ladder", although different from the Hebrew word translated as "courses" in Judges 5:20, can also mean "staircase". These spiritual "staircases" or "ladders" could stretch upward from the earth into the third heaven spiritual realm so that angels can more-easily descend and ascend (John 1:51) between the earth and the literal city of New Jerusalem in the third heaven (Hebrews 12:22).
Compare William Blake's wonderful watercolor depiction of Jacob's vision, which Blake pictures as an angelic, spiral staircase.
Also, compare the scientific idea of lowering carbon cables from satellites in geosynchronous orbit down to the surface of the earth, so that the cables can then serve as the basis for "elevators" for other satellites, and human spaceships, to ascend into space at an exceedingly cheaper cost than thrust rockets today. (It is surprising that Elon is not working already to make something like this feasible, if only to "elevate" small satellites into space. He could start a new company called "Elevate", or "Space Elevator", to work on the project.)
(See also 2 Corinthians 12:2 below)
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*Judges 8:33 / *Judg. 8:33 -
"Baal-berith" (H1170) is made up of two words (H1168, H1285) which mean "Lord (Baal) of the covenant (berith)", or "Lord of the confederacy".
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*Judges 11:31-40 / *Judg. 11:31 -
(Re: Human sacrifice)
See Genesis 22:2 above.
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*Judges 13:24 / *Judg. 13:24 -
"Samson" (H8123) means "sunlight".
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*Judges 15:17 / *Judg. 15:17 -
"Ramath-lehi" (H7437) is made up of two words (H7413, H3895) which mean: "Jawbone (lehi) Hill (ramath)".
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*Judges 15:19 / *Judg. 15:19 -
The original Hebrew word (lechiy: H3895) translated as "in the jaw" can mean "in (the place called) Lehi (Jaw)", just as later in the verse it says that the spring of water is still "in Lehi".
~
"En-hakkore" (H5875) is made up of two words (H5869, H7121) which mean: "Caller (hakkore) Fountain (en)".
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*Judges 16:30 / *Judg. 16:30 -
This and Numbers 23:10 do not require that the "soul" (as understood in the Greek New Testament: e.g. Revelation 6:9-11) dies when the body dies. For Judges 16:30 and Numbers 23:10 can simply be quotations of people who were mistaken; just as, for example John 7:12b and Matthew 27:63a are quotations of people who were mistaken.
(See Matthew 10:28 below)
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*Ruth 1:16c -
See the "Tribes" section of Romans 11:17 below.
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*Ruth 1:20 -
"Naomi" (H5281) and "Mara" (H4755) mean "pleasant" and "bitter".
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*Ruth 2:17 -
(Ephah)
See Exodus 16:36 above.
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*1 Samuel 1:20 / *1 Sam. 1:20 -
"Samuel" (H8050) is made up of two words (H8085, H0410) which mean "Heard (samu) by God (El)".
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*1 Samuel 5:9 / *1 Sam. 5:9 -
The original Hebrew word (`ophel: H6076) translated as "emerods" means "tumors" or "swellings".
The Hebrew word (sathar: H8368) translated as "in their secret parts" means "to break out" or "erupt".
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*1 Samuel 6:11 / *1 Sam. 6:11 -
The original Hebrew word (techor: H2914) translated as "emerods" means "burning boils", especially in the anus. Compare hemorrhoids.
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*1 Samuel 8:12 / *1 Sam. 8:12 -
The original Hebrew words (charash: H2790; and chariysh: H2758) translated as "ear his ground" mean "plow (his fields) in the time of plowing".
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*1 Samuel 9:4-5 / *1 Sam. 9:4 / *1 Sam. 9:5 -
Shalisha was a district in the territory of the tribe of Ephraim, which was just north of the territory of Benjamin, Saul's tribe.
Shalim was a district in the (southern) territory of the tribe of Dan, which was just west and south of the territory of Ephraim.
The territory of the tribe of Benjamin was just east of the (southern) territory of Dan, and just north of Jerusalem.
Zuph was a district in Benjamin.
So in looking for the donkeys, Saul made a wide, counter-clockwise circle through the territory of two neighboring tribes, before returning to his home territory.
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*1 Samuel 9:22 / *1 Sam. 9:22 -
The original Hebrew word (lishkah: H3957) translated as "parlour" means "room".
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*1 Samuel 9:26 / *1 Sam. 9:26 -
The original Hebrew words (`alah: H5927; and shachar: H7837) translated as "spring of the day" mean "the break of dawn".
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*1 Samuel 11:8 / *1 Sam. 11:8 -
Bezek was a city near the Jordan valley, across from the city of Jabesh Gilead.
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*1 Samuel 12:11 / *1 Sam. 12:11 -
Here "Bedan" is "Barak" in some Septuagint (ancient Greek translation) manuscripts, and in ancient Syriac-translation manuscripts. The Hebrew name "Bedan" (H0917) is formed by three Hebrew consonants transliterated as "BDN", while the Hebrew name "Barak" (H1301), which in this verse would be referring to the man in Judges 4:6, is formed by three Hebrew consonants transliterated as "BRQ". The Hebrew letter transliterated as "R" (reysh), especially when handwritten, can look a lot like the Hebrew letter transliterated as "D" (daleth). But the Hebrew letter transliterated as "Q" (qowph), does not look like the Hebrew letter transliterated as "N" (nuwn), in the form that it takes at the end of a word, unless the right half of the letter qowph is smudged away. But if it had been smudged away in an ancient Hebrew manuscript of 1 Samuel 12:11, a copyist of that manuscript could have mistakenly read the Hebrew name "Barak" as the Hebrew name "Bedan", which is an actual name (1 Chronicles 7:17). But it does not fit in the list of judges in 1 Samuel 12:11, unless the book of Judges left out that there was a judge named "Bedan".
Another possibility is that "Bedan" (BDN) is a contracted form of the name of the judge "Abdon" (ABDWN: H5658) in Judges 12:13.
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*1 Samuel 13:20 / *1 Sam. 13:20 -
The original Hebrew word (macharesheth: H4282) translated as "share" means "hoe", or "plow".
The Hebrew word ('eth: H0855) translated as "coulter" means "plow blade".
The Hebrew word (machareshah: H4281) translated as "mattock" here means "pickax".
--
*1 Samuel 14 / *1 Sam. 14 -
Before Jonathan attacked, he made sure to lay a fleece, as it were: God would signal to go ahead and attack by causing the Philistines to tell Jonathan to come up (1 Samuel 14:10). Jonathan knew that without God's miraculous help, he did not stand a chance, but with God's miraculous help, it did not matter that it was only him and his young assistant against the Philistine garrison (1 Samuel 14:6).
God gave Jonathan initial success by his own hand (1 Samuel 14:14), and then wrought a miraculous earthquake, and confusion, among the Philistines, so that they started to kill each other (1 Samuel 14:15-16,20b). Then, all of the quisling Israelites who were among the Philistines turned on them (1 Samuel 14:21). Then, all of the Israelites who before that time had been hiding in fear of the Philistines, attacked them (1 Samuel 14:22).
So it was Jonathan's bravery, submitted to God's will, which started a whole chain of miraculous and natural events which resulted in the defeat of the Philistines.
And God got the credit for that victory (1 Samuel 14:23). But it took the courage of a young prince to serve as the spark with which God kindled His fire against the Philistines.
As Christians, we can apply Jonathan's brave example to our spiritual battles (Ephesians 6:12-18). For we are never to wage any physical battles (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).
(See Matthew 5:39 below)
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*1 Samuel 15:2-23 / *1 Sam. 15:2 -
See Deuteronomy 25:17 above.
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*1 Samuel 15:3 / *1 Sam. 15:3 -
(Re: Old Testament *genocide)
Regarding 1 Samuel 15:3, even babies are sinful (Psalms 58:3, Psalms 51:5, Romans 3:10), because of original sin (Romans 5:19a). Also, as the Creator of all babies, God has the right to decide what to do with them, even before they are born (Romans 9:11-24). And in Deuteronomy 5:17, "kill" meant murder (Matthew 19:18), not capital punishment (Deuteronomy 17:5-7, Romans 13:4).
Also, 1 Samuel 15:3 could be employed by the future Antichrist to utterly revile YHWH as being an evil god (cf. Revelation 13:6, Daniel 11:36). And the Antichrist could do this while still claiming to be a Christian, and while still claiming to hold Jesus in high regard.
(See Revelation 13:4 below, and Genesis 6:17 above)
Also, see Matthew 5:39 below, which shows that Christians are never to harm anyone, even in self-defense. And see Romans 13:4 below, which shows that Christians should not even vote for any man-enacted capital punishment.
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*1 Samuel 15:35 / *1 Sam. 15:35 -
(Re: God "repenting")
Here the original Hebrew does not mean that God had done something wrong. For He cannot do anything wrong (Psalms 145:17). Instead, it means that He "sighed" (nacham: H5162) over something, in the sense of feeling grief over something (Genesis 6:6).
(See Genesis 6:6 above)
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*1 Samuel 16:7 / *1 Sam. 16:7 -
This does not mean that God looks for goodness, or a desire for God, in unsaved people. For they have no goodness, or desire for God (Romans 3:10-12).
(See paragraphs 2-3 of Romans 9:11 below)
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*1 Samuel 17:4 / *1 Sam. 17:4 -
A cubit was about 18 inches, or 45 centimeters.
A span was about 9 inches, or 23 centimeters.
So Goliath's height being "six cubits and a span" means that he was about 9 feet, 9 inches tall, or about 3 meters tall.
--
*1 Samuel 17:5-7 / *1 Sam. 17:5 / *1 Sam. 17:7 -
A shekel weighed about 252 grains troy (Webster's). Both a grain troy and a grain avoirdupois are 0.0648 grams metric (See Webster's "Weight" table). So 252 grains troy would be the same as 252 grains avoirdupois. An ounce avoirdupois is 437.5 grains. So 252 grains, or one shekel, would be 0.576 ounces.
So Goliath's coat of armor being "5,000 shekels" means that it was 5,000 x 0.576 ounces, or 2,880 ounces; divided by 16 would be 180 pounds, or 82 kilograms.
And Goliath's spearhead being "600 shekels" means that it was 600 x 0.576 ounces, or 345.6 ounces; divided by 16 would be about 22 pounds, or about 10 kilograms.
--
*1 Samuel 17:17 / *1 Sam. 17:17 -
(Ephah)
See Exodus 16:36 above.
~
The original Hebrew word (qaliy: H7039) translated as "parched corn" means "roasted grain".
Indeed, throughout the Bible, "corn" means "grain", as opposed to what we today call "corn" (maize). For the latter was not brought into the Eastern Hemisphere until the fifteenth century AD, when the Western Hemisphere was discovered and the corn there was seen as a great food source.
And every part of the Bible was written long before the fifteenth century AD, and only by people living in the Eastern Hemisphere.
--
*1 Samuel 23:28 / *1 Sam. 23:28 -
"Sela-hammahlekoth" (H5555) is made up of two words (H5553, H4256) which mean "Division (hammahlekoth) Rock (sela)". That is, the mountain was between David and Saul as they moved along opposite sides of it (1 Samuel 23:26).
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*1 Samuel 24:22 / *1 Sam. 24:22 -
It seems strange that David and his men would go back into hiding right after he and Saul had a reconciliation (1 Samuel 24:16-22). But they knew that Saul was mentally unstable, and so his attitude toward David could change back to homicidal at any time (1 Samuel 18:10-11).
--
*1 Samuel 26:5 / *1 Sam. 26:5 -
The original Hebrew word (ma`gal: H4570) translated as "trench" can mean "rampart". That is, Saul slept in his camp with a defensive mound around it. The ancient Roman armies (a thousand years later) similarly built small ramparts around themselves, even if they were camping in a field location for just one night.
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*1 Samuel 26:12 / *1 Sam. 26:12 -
The original Hebrew word (tsappachath: H6835) translated as "cruse" means "saucer".
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*1 Samuel 28:3 / *1 Sam. 28:3 -
The original Hebrew word ('owb: H0178) translated as "those that had familiar spirits" literally means "bottles" (Job 32:19) in the sense of wineskins. Those who "had" familiar spirits meant that they had familiar spirits, demons, living inside them. They were "bottles" for the demons. And so the demons could be cast out of them (Acts 16:18); and should be, even still today, even when the demons might be giving out some true information (Acts 16:16-18). For they can also give out awful, false information (John 8:44c).
(See also Acts 16:18 below)
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Nov 15, 2018
