To learn to read and to understand the words of Scripture
אַךְ־בָּשָׂ֕ר בְּנַפְשֹׁ֥ו דָמֹ֖ו לֹ֥א תֹאכֵֽלוּ׃ (Genesis 9:4) But flesh with its life, its blood, you shall not eat. This short but powerful prohibition in the covenant with Noah establishes one of the foundational food laws in the Bible: the ban on consuming blood. The grammar is deceptively compact. Through a careful interplay of emphatic particles,…
הִנֵּ֨ה יַד־יְהוָ֜ה הֹויָ֗ה בְּמִקְנְךָ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר בַּשָּׂדֶ֔ה בַּסּוּסִ֤ים בַּֽחֲמֹרִים֙ בַּגְּמַלִּ֔ים בַּבָּקָ֖ר וּבַצֹּ֑אן דֶּ֖בֶר כָּבֵ֥ד מְאֹֽד׃ (Exodus 9:3) Behold, the hand of YHWH is upon your livestock that are in the field, upon the horses, the donkeys, the camels, the cattle, and the sheep, a very severe plague. This verse belongs to the plague narrative against Pharaoh,…
כַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר צִוָּה֩ מֹשֶׁ֨ה עֶֽבֶד־יְהוָ֜ה אֶת־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל כַּכָּתוּב֙ בְּסֵ֨פֶר֙ תֹּורַ֣ת מֹשֶׁ֔ה מִזְבַּח֙ אֲבָנִ֣ים שְׁלֵמֹ֔ות אֲשֶׁ֛ר לֹֽא־הֵנִ֥יף עֲלֵיהֶ֖ן בַּרְזֶ֑ל וַיַּעֲל֨וּ עָלָ֤יו עֹלֹות֙ לַֽיהוָ֔ה וַֽיִּזְבְּח֖וּ שְׁלָמִֽים׃ (Joshua 8:31) As Moshe, the servant of YHWH, commanded the children of Yisraʾel, as it is written in the book of the Torah of Moshe: an altar of unhewn stones upon which…
וַיִּקַּ֤ח מֹשֶׁה֙ אֶת־הֶ֣חָזֶ֔ה וַיְנִיפֵ֥הוּ תְנוּפָ֖ה לִפְנֵ֣י יְהוָ֑ה מֵאֵ֣יל הַמִּלֻּאִ֗ים לְמֹשֶׁ֤ה הָיָה֙ לְמָנָ֔ה כַּאֲשֶׁ֛ר צִוָּ֥ה יְהוָ֖ה אֶת־מֹשֶֽׁה׃ (Leviticus 8:29) And Moses took the breast and waved it as a wave offering before YHWH; from the ram of ordination it was Moses’s portion, just as YHWH commanded Moses. The Language of Ordination Leviticus 8:29 belongs to the…
וַיַּקְרֵ֞ב אֶת־בְּנֵ֣י אַהֲרֹ֗ן וַיִּתֵּ֨ן מֹשֶׁ֤ה מִן־הַדָּם֙ עַל־תְּנ֤וּךְ אָזְנָם֙ הַיְמָנִ֔ית וְעַל־בֹּ֤הֶן יָדָם֙ הַיְמָנִ֔ית וְעַל־בֹּ֥הֶן רַגְלָ֖ם הַיְמָנִ֑ית וַיִּזְרֹ֨ק מֹשֶׁ֧ה אֶת־הַדָּ֛ם עַל־הַֽמִּזְבֵּ֖חַ סָבִֽיב׃ (Leviticus 8:24) And he brought near the sons of Aharon, and Moshe put some of the blood on the lobe of their right ear, and on the thumb of their right hand, and on the…
מַהֲלַךְ תְּלָתָא יוֹמִין נֵיזִיל בְּמַדְבְּרָא וּנְדַבַּח קֳדָם יְיָ אֱלָהָנָא כְּמָא דִּיֵימַר לָנָא: (Exodus 8:23 Targum Onkelos) A journey of three days let us go into the wilderness and let us offer sacrifices before YHWH our God, just as He said to us Voices from the Edge of the Wilderness This verse from Targum Onkelos on…
וַיֵּצְא֣וּ הָעָם֮ וַיָּבִיאוּ֒ וַיַּעֲשׂוּ֩ לָהֶ֨ם סֻכֹּ֜ות אִ֤ישׁ עַל־גַּגֹּו֙ וּבְחַצְרֹ֣תֵיהֶ֔ם וּבְחַצְרֹ֖ות בֵּ֣ית הָאֱלֹהִ֑ים וּבִרְחֹוב֙ שַׁ֣עַר הַמַּ֔יִם וּבִרְחֹ֖וב שַׁ֥עַר אֶפְרָֽיִם׃ (Nehemiah 8:16) And the people went out and brought and made for themselves booths, each on his roof and in their courtyards and in the courtyards of the house of God and in the square of the…
אֲֽנִי־֭חָכְמָה שָׁכַ֣נְתִּי עָרְמָ֑ה וְדַ֖עַת מְזִמֹּ֣ות אֶמְצָֽא׃ (Proverbs 8:12) I, wisdom, dwell with prudence; and knowledge of discretion I find. The Voice of Wisdom in the First Person This proverb is unique in that חָכְמָה (“Wisdom”) speaks in the first person, not as an abstract principle but as a living, self-aware entity. The line unfolds as…
וְזֶ֨בַח וְצַלְמֻנָּ֜ע בַּקַּרְקֹ֗ר וּמַחֲנֵיהֶ֤ם עִמָּם֙ כַּחֲמֵ֤שֶׁת עָשָׂר֙ אֶ֔לֶף כֹּ֚ל הַנֹּ֣ותָרִ֔ים מִכֹּ֖ל מַחֲנֵ֣ה בְנֵי־קֶ֑דֶם וְהַנֹּ֣פְלִ֔ים מֵאָ֨ה וְעֶשְׂרִ֥ים אֶ֛לֶף אִ֖ישׁ שֹׁ֥לֵֽף חָֽרֶב׃ (Judges 8:10) And Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their camp with them, about fifteen thousand, all who were left of all the camp of the sons of the east. The fallen were one…
כֻּלָּ֣ם נְ֭כֹחִים לַמֵּבִ֑ין וִֽ֝ישָׁרִ֗ים לְמֹ֣צְאֵי דָֽעַת׃ (Proverbs 8:9) All of them are straightforward to the one who understands, and upright to those who find knowledge. The Voice of Clarity In the personification of Wisdom in Proverbs 8, this verse affirms that her words are transparent to the discerning. Grammatically, the verse uses parallel nominal clauses…