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Showing 1226 to 1250 of 4963 results

1226. Personal Injuries

Exodus 21:12-36

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... child. Since a fine was considered an adequate compensation for the death of a child (v. 22), they argue that a premature child’s death could not have been considered murder, which always required death as a penalty (Num. 35:31). But the question remains, how could the death of an unborn child not be considered a serious injury requiring a greater penalty, at the very least, to the child’s mother? (see Sarna, “Exodus,” p. 461). The LXX clarifies the more reliable original meaning of injury to the ...

1227. The Ark

Exodus 25:10-22

Understanding Series

James K. Bruckner

... the four gold rings, the dimensions of the poles that fit into them, and the four feet (or “corners”) to the artisans. The poles were also made of acacia wood and overlaid with ordinary gold. They were perpetually to remain in the rings of this ark. In this way the Lord’s meeting place would remain as mobile as the people (Num. 9:22). The Testimony (i.e., the tablets of stone with the commandments) would be a reminder of the covenant God made with the people at Sinai. Its words reminded them that the ...

1228. Northern Kings Defeated

Joshua 11:1-23

Understanding Series

J. Gordon Harris

... 23 A summary report on the campaign for possessing the land begins with the statement that Joshua took this entire land (11:16) and ends with the result: Then the land had rest from war (11:23). As is the case with Joshua 9–11, the point of view remains that of the narrator. The point of the report is that the tribal forces have possessed the land as the Lord had instructed Moses. God has given the land as an inheritance, and as a result the land could enjoy a period of time without warfare. The narrator ...

1229. Division of the Land East of the Jordan

Joshua 13:8-33

Understanding Series

J. Gordon Harris

... states that the tribe of Levi needs no physical inheritance. This passage does not teach that religious leaders should take a vow of poverty or own no property. Rather, it says the presence of the Lord equals any physical inheritance. That remains a wonderful promise for today’s spiritual leaders. It parallels Jesus’ promise of sending the Holy Spirit, the Counselor (John 14:26), who quiets the fears of believers and guarantees Jesus’ presence with followers (Matt. 28:19–20). The presence of ...

1230. Allotment for Simeon

Joshua 19:1-9

Understanding Series

J. Gordon Harris

... . 19:17–23 The towns given to Issachar are located in the valleys and basalt heights of eastern Lower Galilee. They are located near major international highways that run close to southern and western tribal borders. Major cities such as Beth Shan and Anaharath remain under control of non-Israelites until the period of David and Solomon. 19:24–31 The tribe of Asher land is located in the northwestern corner of Israel. South and east of the tribe are Manasseh, Zebulun, and Naphtali, and on the north is ...

1231. Joshua's Farewell to the Leaders

Joshua 23:1-16

Understanding Series

J. Gordon Harris

... your God who fought for you. Remember how I have allotted as an inheritance for your tribes all the land of the nations that remain—the nations I conquered—between the Jordan and the Great Sea in the west. They do not need to fear challenges of the future ... Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to the left. He tells them to not associate with these nations that remain among you; and to not invoke the names of their gods or swear by them, not to serve them or bow down to them (23:6 ...

1232. Deborah

Judges 4:1-24

Understanding Series

Cheryl A. Brown

... like an afterthought, adds the important information that the hand of the Israelites grew continuously stronger against Jabin . . . until they destroyed him. The miraculous victory was the beginning of a process that took some time to complete. Note also that even to the end, the accent remains on the hand. We have seen the hands of Jabin (v. 2), the hands of Barak (v. 7), the hand of a woman (v. 9, Hb.), the hand of Jael (v. 21), and now the hand of the Israelites. And—even though it is not explicitly ...

1233. Jephthah

Jud 10:6–11:40

Understanding Series

Cheryl A. Brown

... could equally be translated as “whoever” or “whatever.” And lest we assume that a “whatever” would probably not come out of a house, we must remember that ancient Israelite houses were constructed to house livestock as well as people. So the question remains open. From a logical standpoint, for Jephthah to have vowed to sacrifice an animal would not have been anything special, certainly not in view of the magnitude of the crisis. So he must have intended a human sacrifice. It was not unheard of ...

1234. Naomi and Ruth

Ruth 1:1-22

Understanding Series

Michael S. Moore

... , is difficult to overemphasize. One could even argue that in many ways it is the book’s primary conflict. Like other patriarchal stories, everything that follows is a reaction to it, directly or indirectly. Jacob’s competition with Esau, for example, remains muted and embryonic until Isaac dies (Gen. 27:1–39). The concern underlying Joseph’s revelation to his brothers is summed up in a single question, “My father . . . is he still alive?” (Gen. 45:3, my translation). Patriarchal death is also ...

1235. Ruth and Boaz on the Threshing Floor

Ruth 3:1-18

Understanding Series

Michael S. Moore

... as a messenger to inform Naomi that her empty-handed days are over (req?m, v. 17; see the identical term in 1:21). Naomi’s response to Boaz’s action is to tell Ruth to wait . . . until you find out what happens. For the man will not rest [lit. “remain inactive,” sh?qat; not the same root for “rest” in 1:9 and 3:1] until the matter is settled today. Additional Notes 3:1 Mother-in-law: On khamot (“mother-in-law”), see the article on khomah in TDOT 4:267 and BDB 327. On mukhamin (“defender ...

1236. David Numbers the Fighting Men

1 Chronicles 21:1-22:1

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... the source text in 2 Sam. 24:17) shows that David takes responsibility for the wrongdoing of the census. He therefore asks, O LORD my God, let your hand fall upon me and my family (“my house”), but do not let this plague remain on your people. He realizes that this incident has implications for Yahweh’s eternal promise to “his house.” Without any direct response from Yahweh, 21:18 relieves the tension by indicating that the impending destruction has been withdrawn. Instead of destroying the city ...

1237. Ezra's Prayer about Intermarriage

Ezra 9:1-15

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

... to Ezra had two parts. While we have seen the first part carried out in chapter 8, the second part remained to be done. In 9:1–10:44, we shall read how the Judean community, complying with Artaxerxes’ decree in ... the extra mile for them. 9:10–15 Ezra poignantly returns in the second half of the prayer to the direct petitioning of the opening. The prayer remains horizontal in spirit, as indicated by the use of questions—especially the first one, which is a call for a response and a change of heart. Ezra ...

1238. The Agreement of the People

Neh 9:38–10:39

Understanding Series

Leslie C. Allen

... . Of the forty-four lay leaders in vv. 14–27, the first eighteen in vv. 14–19a have a very close affinity with early immigrants in 7:8–24 (= Ezra 2:3–19) and so, again, must function as family names if they are to be taken literally. Of the remaining twenty-six names, at least eight appear randomly in the list of builders in ch. 3. Three or four are also found in 8:4, while three or four towns listed in ch. 7 reappear here as personal names. Myers’ lists in Ezra, Nehemiah, pp. 234–41, are useful ...

1239. Mordecai Persuades Esther to Help

Esther 4:1-17

Understanding Series

Timothy S. Laniak

... , Persia, p. 360). There is evidence that the king’s chiliarch (see note on 3:1) was in charge of the guests whom the king would see. If this is the position that Haman held, Esther was in a precarious position indeed. 4:14 If you remain silent at this time: There are some parallels between Esther, a Jewess in the Persian court, and Moses, a Jew in the Egyptian court. Both enjoyed the privileges of nobility without being born into them. Both gave up the comforts of their unusual positions when they ...

1240. Moral Benefits of Wisdom

Proverbs 2:1-22

Understanding Series

Roland E. Murphy

... the adulteress,” v. 16). The final strophe describes the fate of the “righteous” and “wicked.” 2:1–4 The repetition of my son is for emphasis. Although the youth is to seek out wisdom (it is hidden treasure, like silver) and expend every effort to find it, wisdom remains paradoxically a divine gift (2:6). At times there is a kind of commingling of the voice of the teacher and the call of wisdom (e.g., 3:13–18 and 8:10–11, 32–35). 2:5–8 The most important result of the pursuit of wisdom ...

1241. More Proverbs of Solomon

Proverbs 26:1-28

Understanding Series

Roland E. Murphy

... use any excuse, however impossible, to avoid doing anything (cf. 22:13). For a detailed treatment of verses 13–16, see Van Leeuwen, Context, pp. 107–10. 26:14 An implicit comparison between a door that turns, but goes nowhere, and the turning of a sluggard—while remaining in bed! 26:15 Such a person is even too lazy to eat (cf. 19:24). 26:16 The height of folly is indicated by this comparison of the sluggard to seven (i.e., an indefinite number) wise people. With the laziness goes self-deception (cf ...

1242. More Proverbs of Solomon

Proverbs 27:1-27

Understanding Series

Roland E. Murphy

... does the testing. Here one’s praise does the testing (hapax legomenon), that is, the praise that one receives. Public reputation is a barometer of one’s worthiness. 27:22 The fool is simply incorrigible. This notion is exemplified by the metaphor of grinding to bits; folly remains as it was. It is remarkable that the possibility of the conversion of a fool is never really envisioned. Wisdom speaks to the simple or naive (1:22; 8:5; 9:4), for whom there seems to be some hope, but not to fools. 27:23–27 ...

1243. A Time for Everything

Ecclesiastes 3:1-22

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Huwiler

... reads it in connection with the prose reflection. One can still “be happy and do good” (3:12), and even understand the ability to “eat and drink, and find satisfaction” in one’s work as a “gift of God” (3:13). Yet the lack of understanding remains heavy “burden” (3:10). It is not coincidental that the letdown occurs when the role of God is made explicit. It is God who has “set eternity in the hearts of men” but withheld the ability to “fathom what God has done from beginning to end ...

1244. The Valley of Slaughter

Jeremiah 7:30--8:3

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... , serve, follow, consult and worship them during their lives, so God will let them continue to be in their presence (they will be exposed to the sun) in death. Their bones will be placed in the presence of the sun, moon, and stars, but the result will be that their remains will deteriorate (be like refuse, i.e., manure). 8:3 Life is associated with Yahweh; death with other gods. Not only did the dead and buried (vv. 1–2) prefer death to life, but so do the people who still ...

1245. A Message About Babylon

Jeremiah 50:1--51:64

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... to battle. 50:39 There is some question whether the word translated owl (benot yaʿanah) is an eagle-owl (G. R. Driver, “Birds in the Old Testament,” Palestine Exploration Quarterly 87 [1955], pp. 1–13, also NIV) or an ostrich (NRSV). The point of the verse remains the same in either case. These are birds that dwell in ruins and desolate places. The creature is considered unclean in Leviticus 11:16. For similar use of the word in contexts of judgment, see Isaiah 13:21; 34:13; Micah 1:8. 51:1 Leb Kamai ...

1246. The Fall of Jerusalem

Jeremiah 52:1-30, Jeremiah 52:31-34

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... low they are. As verse 30 informs us, these numbers add up to 4,600 people. But we must remember that these people would be the leadership of Judah, and so their forced departure would be particularly difficult for the native population that remained behind. And many did remain behind, as we learn from Jeremiah 40–41. It is also possible that this number refers only to adult males. At least that is the way many understand the discrepancy between the number given for the 597 exiles here in Jeremiah (832 ...

1247. How Deserted Lies the City

Lamentations 1:1-22

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... neglecting the temple, but in being presumptuous about its significance. They felt that since the temple was in Jerusalem nothing would happen to that city. How wrong they were. God abandoned the temple (Ezek. 9–11) and then used the Babylonians to rob its remaining treasures and destroy it. To do so, soldiers from Babylon and their vassal states (those you had forbidden to enter your assembly) had to enter the holy precincts. Such an act in and of itself would be considered sacrilege. Psalm 74 presents a ...

1248. Warnings and Exhortations for Jerusalem and Judah

Zephaniah 2:4-7, Zephaniah 2:8-11, Zephaniah 2:12, Zephaniah 2:13-15

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... of Judah,” actually in fulfillment of what was destined by Joshua (Josh. 15). We know from chapter 1 that Judah is on its way to devastation and decimation; it is the final insult for the Philistines that it will be the pathetic remains of Judah that have to abandon their own devastated land and take over the Philistines’ territory to pasture their few pathetic sheep. In the evening these homeless shepherds will become squatters in the mansions of Ashkelon. Yahweh their God will have attended to ...

1249. The Flying Scroll

Zechariah 5:1-4

Understanding Series

Pamela J. Scalise

... punish the guilty for the benefit of the community as a whole. Thieves and perjurers, together with idolaters, adulterers, and murderers, must be excluded from standing in the Lord’s house and saying, “We are safe” (Jer. 7:9–11). It [the curse] will remain in his house and destroy it, both its timbers and its stones. The specific judgment on houses may indicate that real estate had been stolen. Deuteronomy 19:19 specifies this punishment for lying witnesses—do to them what they had planned to do ...

1250. Justice and Mercy, Not Fasting

Zechariah 7:1-14

Understanding Series

Pamela J. Scalise

... end had not arrived. God’s plans have not reached their final fulfillment, but God’s work has not ceased. Fulfillment is going on, but consummation is awaited. The other aspect of God’s work—calling out a holy people who live justly, rightly, and compassionately—remains constant (1:3–4; 7:9–10; 8:16–17). 7:1 A final date formula marks the beginning of the third section of the book—the fourth year of King Darius . . . on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Kislev. Twenty-three ...

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