isaiah

theology July 13, 2017

Is DEATH Singular or Plural in Isaiah 53:9 and What is it’s Meaning?

Isaiah 53:9 says, “וַיִּתֵּ֤ן אֶת־רְשָׁעִים֙ קִבְרֹ֔ו וְאֶת־עָשִׁ֖יר בְּמֹתָ֑יו עַ֚ל לֹא־חָמָ֣ס עָשָׂ֔ה וְלֹ֥א מִרְמָ֖ה בְּפִֽיו׃(Westminster Leningrad Codex)

“Violence not Because in his death the rich and with his engrave the wicked with And he made in his mouth (was any) deceit neither he had done.”(Interlinear)

I am not a Hebrew Scholar, but my understanding, as well as the common translations say that בְּמֹתָ֑יו is singular, yet the BDB lists the יו as being plural.
If my assumption is correct, then why was בְּמֹתָ֑יו(death) translated Singular, and what would this passage mean if it were understood in the plural?

bible February 28, 2017

What scripture is Paul referring to in Ephesians 5:14?

In Ephesians we find that light (religious truth) is described as very powerful as it is able to make dead things living just by shining on them.

But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,
“Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”

(Ephesians 5:13-14, ESV)

However, this is no direct quote of any biblical passage, so I imagine Paul simply puts it in his own words to apply it to the context. But what is ‘it’; what scripture is he paraphrasing here which fully suits the context? Why is it an appropriate verse to quote in this context?

bible December 21, 2016

What is the stump of Jesse?

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

Isiah 11:1 (NIV)

Question 1:
What does this “stump” refer to?

Question 2:
I think it is referring to that the trunk of the Me…

bible December 13, 2016

"Government shall be upon His shoulder" Isaiah 9:6

Isaiah 9:6:

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Pea…

bible December 4, 2016

To what extent was the LORD “sought” and “found” in Isaiah 65:1?

Isaiah 65:1a

נִדְרַ֙שְׁתִּי֙ לְל֣וֹא שָׁאָ֔לוּ
I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me;

נִמְצֵ֖אתִי לְלֹ֣א בִקְשֻׁ֑נִי
I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. (ESV)

The ESV (also NRSV, NET, NASB; contrast NIV, HCSB) take these two verbs – “ready to be sought … ready to be found” – as tolerative nifals, I gather.

Joüon-Muraoka (a Hebrew grammar) says of the tolerative nifal נדרש:

generally with a notion of effective action….to allow oneself to be asked, and that effectively, hence practically = to answer (speaking of God)

Walkte & O’Connor (another Hebrew grammar) follow this idea, offering the translation:

I answered (< allowed myself to be sought by) those who did not ask (for me);
I revealed myself to (< allowed myself to be found by) those who did not seek me.

This “efficacy” nuance is different from the “ready to…” translation of the ESV etc.

How should we decide in what way to understand the nifal here? Is this verse intended to convey something already accomplished (revealed, answered) or merely offerred?


1. The other uses of the potentially “tolerative” nifal דרש (with subject = Yahweh) are in Ezekiel; mostly these could also be taken either way.


2. The LXX seems to carry a similar sense of “effective”: Εμφανὴς ἐγενόμην τοῖς ἐμὲ μὴ ζητοῦσιν, εὑρέθην τοῖς ἐμὲ μὴ ἐπερωτῶσιν· = I became visible to those who did not seek me; I was found by those who did not inquire after me. This may have more to do with reading them as passives (“was found” + reconciliation of “did not ask” with “was sought” –> “became visible”) rather than a reflection of the translator having read Jouon, but you never know.