Category: Aramaic
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A New Chapter (Daniel 8)
We’ve made it to chapter 8 in Daniel, but I must warn you – things do not get better any time soon. This chapter recounts a second terrifying vision that Daniel had, a vision very similar to the first vision he had in the endless chapter 7. Not only are the visions similar, the text…
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The Heart of Daniel
A nerdy friend once suggested I get a tattoo (wait, would this disqualify him from being nerdy?) that says “I heart Daniel,” and, from the trenches of commentary writing, I have to say Daniel is the man who gets most of my time these days. Though, let’s be clear: I’m not writing a commentary about…
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Legal Ease?
I spent the better part of December sequestered in a Seattle jury box while two feisty lawyers gave me and my fellow captives their best show. When they finally finished, we spent two more days locked in a deliberation room trying to figure out both what we had just witnessed and what had actually happened…
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Taking and Making Opportunity
Daniel 6 is the last of the narrative (i.e., story) chapters in the book before we move into the apocalyptic/prophetic half of the book (chs. 7–12). It’s also part of the block of Aramaic text we’ve talked about before, and in this Aramaic chiasm, the story of Daniel in the lions’ den in chapter 6…
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Happy Left-Handers Day! We’re in good company!
Apparently, I missed a holiday yesterday: International Left-Handers Day! Somehow – I can’t imagine how – this important day was not on my calendar. I certainly would have figured out the, er, left way to celebrate. As it is, I’ll have to settle for reposting something that was wildly popular earlier this summer – and…
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The Worst Penmanship Lesson Ever, Part 2
Elementary school teachers learn how to read the indecipherable. It just goes with the territory. By Christmas time, they can fairly accurately sort and grade a batch of papers even if half the class forgot to put their names on the papers. (Though in my class, you didn’t win any prizes if I had to…
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God Just Might Be a Lefty
People have asked me on occasion why I like Hebrew (the language of the Old Testament) better than Greek (the language of the New Testament). There’s a variety of ways to answer this question, but today’s answer is that Hebrew is friendly to lefties. If you’ve had the misfortune of hearing me drone on about…
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A Howling Good Time
Belshazzar may not have finished swallowing his first sip of wine from God’s goblets when a disembodied hand appeared, writing on the palace wall. The narrator bothers to tell us that the hand was opposite the lampstand. Maybe he wants to explain why the king could see it (though that seems unnecessary) or, more likely,…
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Say It with a Song
So what’s this important something Nebuchadnezzar had to say? The suspense has probably been causing you pain for a week. Let me put you out of your misery. The great and mighty king of Babylon is bubbly. He’s tickled to tell his story. The stuffy wording of most translations zaps the life right out of…
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“Dear Everyone, I’m pretty great, but…”
I still send letters, honest to goodness letters, through the mail. (I’d say I still write letters, but that’s not true. I type them.) When I tell people this, they look at me funny. (I try to avoid telling them at the same time that I don’t carry a cell phone.) Sometimes I consider it…
Three Rubies Press 