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Abram Kielsmeier-Jones comments on Transitions

Abram Kielsmeier-Jones — Tue, 14 Oct 2025 04:11:54 +0000

Ready for another post! :)

Lastpsalms comments on "Sin is a demon crouching at the door" (Gen 4:7, REB)

Lastpsalms — Thu, 15 May 2025 16:20:46 +0000

I'm wondering if the personification of sin as a demon has anything to do with Leviticus 17:7 "So they shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices to goat demons..." and the practice of the "scapegoat". It makes me wonder if it's NOT just symbolic, but the actual dealing with sin as a tangible (actually living) thing-demons...

Theo Anderson comments on The Revised English Bible (Top Ten Bible Versions #6)

Theo Anderson — Fri, 29 Mar 2024 19:00:21 +0000

The REB with Apocrypha is available as an add-on in the Olive Tree Bible App, which is available for Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad and Android. Personally, I prefer the NEB although the archaic Thee/Thou is sometimes jarring, especially in John 17. NEB in 2 Samue saysl: "Tell it not in Gath". REB: "Don't tell it in Gath". NEB is simply more elegant and moving, at least in my judgement. In Matthew chapter 8 they both avoid the misleading, "Lord, I am not worthy...". The Centurion would not be confessing the divinity of Jesus, so the word "Lord" should not be used since everywhere in the Bible it refers to God. What he said would be more accurately translated as "Honorable Sir". Also, "pais" is not "servant".

Francis comments on The Revised English Bible (Top Ten Bible Versions #6)

Francis — Fri, 01 Dec 2023 17:42:07 +0000

Thank you!
I must agree with the British review of the REB - compared to the NEB, it is bland, like rum pudding with the rum removed.
God speaks to the people through His Word - whatever the translation, Jesus, the Word of God, is able to pierce through the fog and provide Grace and Peace and clarity.

Tim comments on Skeletons in the Family Closet, Part Five: Prison Before Dishonor

Tim — Mon, 23 Oct 2023 20:55:23 +0000

Rick, this is the first I've heard of your family's story. I read the whole thing. It was a fascinating read. Thanks for sharing.

Jay Sandifer comments on Biblical Word for the Day: Shigionoth (שִׁגְיֹנוֹת)

Jay Sandifer — Sat, 30 Sep 2023 16:17:11 +0000

I rediscovered this word in my recent study of Habbakuk. Thanks for taking the time to post. I first experienced the word around 2003 while ministering in music at a Steve Solom meeting.

celia storey comments on Skeletons in the Family Closet, Part Four: Confronting the Abhorrent Truth

celia storey — Mon, 18 Sep 2023 23:16:11 +0000

Thanks the call today, Rick! I hope you get more information about this wonderful family history.

Celia

celia storey comments on Skeletons in the Family Closet, Part Four: Confronting the Abhorrent Truth

celia storey — Mon, 18 Sep 2023 23:01:58 +0000

From my research in the archives of Arkansas newspapers, it appears that Yeager was unjustly convicted. Elizabeth Mansfield came forward a few years into his 21-year term to confess that her dying father made her promise to lie. She confessed to her mother and others that Yeager had never touched her.
The Arkansas Gazette campaigned for his release and pardon. He was a more than model prisoner. According to the accounts written by Joe Wirges in the Gazette, Yeager went to prison rather than confess to a crime he didn't commit. He was offered a one-year sentence on a plea deal and turned it down.
But Yeager became a political football in a time of heightened furor over crime and punishment. In December 1926, he was pardoned by Gov. Terral. Fully pardoned.
I'm very curious to know what happened to him after his release.
— Celia Storey
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
cstorey@adgnewsroom.com

Christina comments on "Sin is a demon crouching at the door" (Gen 4:7, REB)

Christina — Tue, 25 Jul 2023 01:48:58 +0000

So a while back maybe 2 years now this happened to me. I was in my living room and a crouching demon looking thing with a long tongue came crawling from the ceiling. It kept flicking its tounge and crouched down next to me on the couch. I stood up and cursed it, then threw a pillow at it. I'll never forget this and in old lore I have read about crouching demon of death. My sister died shortly after. What was this evil thing? It haunts me and maybe me being aggressive made it come for my sister.

Sandra Plate comments on Was Esther Mordecai’s (Adopted) Daughter or His Wife?

Sandra Plate — Sun, 26 Feb 2023 21:06:04 +0000

Very interesting article. Thank you for writing this. Some of the comments here are also interesting--but in a different way.
Although I was once a single parent and therefore have empathy for that position, I just have to say that reading an ancient Eastern book with contemporary lenses and applying modern western cultural sensitivities, as seen in one particular comment here, is not profitable for understanding the book's purpose and in fact, only serves for eisegesis.
Whether or not Mordecai was training Esther to be a spouse (which would have not been scandalous) or not, we must remember that these young women that were taken for King Xerxes contest were not necessarily given willingly and any parents that objected would not have had power to prevent the abductions. It's a plausible theory that Mordecai's risky proximity to the harem may indicate a particularly unusual relationship he may have had with Esther--especially since no other parents were also pacing around yet hundreds of girls were taken for this contest. Hundreds of girls that, after this "sex lottery," would have been sent to the harem and treated more or less as widows for the rest of their lives, as they could not go back to their families, marry, or have a normal life after being with the king. I'm sure those parents loved their girls, yet the text doesn't mention any others pacing. Marriage isn't made "into a god" by our culture or this ancient culture: it was and is simply the natural, God-decreed way of human flourishing and replication. Singleness is not sinful, but it is not elevated in scripture.
Lastly, nowhere does it mention Mordecai's spiritual views-- if he was especially "God-fearing," one would assume that he would have returned to Jerusalem with the other exiles. It's almost that it wasn't just Esther, but also Mordecai's entire existence in Persia was also for a "time such as this." HIs motivation in adopting Esther and his reason for hating Haman isn't clearly given--only that as a Benjaminite, he would have hated an Agagite, and vice versa.
But back to the article, which was though-provoking: knowing a small amount of Hebrew, I am not convinced that the rabbinical commentaries have justification for interpreting לְבַֽת as "house" rather than "daughter"-- here or in 2Sa12:3 (which would make that verse rather disgusting!) Also, although the words "taken" and "taught" have identical consonants, the very next verse uses the same root consonants for Esther being taken to the palace. I'd lean towards the book's author utilizing the repetition to illustrate Esther's lack of autonomy. While I can't say that it isn't possible that Esther was being taught to be a wife, I don't think it's probable. The LXX is good for analyzing Hebrew words rendered into Greek in order to shed light on the NT, but I don't know if I would weigh it heavier than the Masoretes helpful pointing considering their commitment to accuracy.
But this is a very interesting proposal!