Tag Archives: John 17:11

To Make Holy, Part 7

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The next form of ἁγιάζω I want to consider is found in Jesus’ prayer to his Father: Set them apart (ἁγίασον, a form of ἁγιάζω) in the truth; your word is truth.[1]  But I’m making a slow pilgrimage through his prayer because I believe I can know his holiness here.  Jesus prayed (John 17:9 NET):

I am praying on behalf of them.  I am not praying on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those you have given me, because they belong to you.

Translating ἐρωτῶ pray (KJV) at a time when I pray thee was a more natural way to make a request sounds different to my ear than I am praying today.  But now I ask (ἐρωτῶ, a form of ἐρωτάω) you, lady (not as if I were writing[2] a new commandment to you, but the one we have had from the beginning), that we love one another.[3]  Yes,[4] I say (ἐρωτῶ, a form of ἐρωτάω) also to you, true companion, help them.  They have struggled together in the gospel ministry along with me and Clement and my other coworkers, whose names are in the book of life.[5]  So the rich man said, ‘Then I beg (ἐρωτῶ, a form of ἐρωτάω) you, father—send Lazarus to my father’s house.[6]

Jesus’ request was made on behalf of those you have given me, those who understood and had actively received the words He gave them.  They were further designated here as belonging to the Father.  No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, Jesus had said, and I will raise him up at the last day.[7]

Growing up it seemed natural for me to assume that these people (τοῖς ἀνθρώποις) were given to Jesus because God knew they would believe that He had sent Him, they would accept the words He gave to them and really understand that Jesus came from the Father.  And we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose, because those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.[8]

Now it seems just as natural to assume that they believed that God had sent Jesus, accepted the words He gave to them and really understood that He came from the Father because God predestined them to be conformed to the image of his Son.  And those he predestined, he also called; and those he called, he also justified; and those he justified, he also glorified.[9]  This new assumption became natural as I heard Paul’s answer to his own rhetorical question: You will say to me then, “Why[10] does he still find fault?  For who has ever resisted his will (βουλήματι, a form of βούλημα)?”[11]

At first, I was so certain that Paul would (or should) mount a spirited defense of human desire and exertion, human faith and human obedience predicated on human willpower (θέλοντος, a form of θέλω), that I misunderstood his answer (Romans 9:20, 21 NET):

But who indeed are you—a mere human being—to talk back to God?  Does what is molded say to the molder, “Why have you made me like this?”  Has the potter no right to make from the same lump of clay one vessel for special use and another for ordinary use?

Pastor J.D. Farag told a story about a woman who approached him at a conference:

She thanked me for the ABC’s of salvation.  She said, “I led my friend to Christ using the ABC’s of salvation.” 

And by the way, it’s not the only way.  It’s just a simple way.  If I can do it, you can do it.  It’s a simple way to share how to be saved. 

So she shares with me how that she was able to lead this friend to Christ.  And then after she got saved she went to church with her on a Sunday.  The very next day her husband murdered her and then killed himself. 

She’s with the Lord.  Maybe I’m just saying I’m never going to stop sharing the gospel and the ABC’s of salvation, because you just don’t know.

Though we called the “ABC’s of salvation” the “four spiritual laws,”[12] this story reminded me of my understanding growing up in church.  The woman’s faith in Christ made her a vessel for special use (KJV: vessel unto honour).  Her husband sealed his own fate as a vessel for ordinary use (KJV: unto dishonour) by murdering his wife and then killing himself.  (Had he lived he, too, may have repented and believed the four spiritual laws or the ABC’s of salvation.)  But behind these human desires and exertions[13] was another: the first woman’s decision to share the ABC’s of salvation with her friend and the nagging regret that she didn’t do so with her friend’s husband.  Though Pastor Farag didn’t go there, I remember fearing that one would answer for this failure and this lost soul at the judgment seat of Christ: Woe[14] to me if I do not preach the gospel![15]

With these beliefs Paul’s description of God as a potter with the right (ἐξουσίαν, a form of ἐξουσία) to make from the same lump of clay one vessel for special use and another for ordinary use seemed mostly irrelevant, if not altogether cruel or evil.  Paul continued (Romans 9:22-24 NET):

But what if God, willing to demonstrate his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience the objects of wrath prepared for destruction?[16]  And what if he is willing to make known the wealth of his glory on the objects of mercy that he has prepared beforehand for glory—even us, whom he has called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?

Before I could appreciate the consistency of Paul’s answer I needed to be persuaded that salvation was wholly a work of God—Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever[17]—not of human effort so that no one can boast.[18]  To perceive the wisdom of the Holy Spirit’s answer to Paul’s rhetorical question I needed much more persuasion that the righteousness revealed in the gospel, the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ,[19] was a gift to be received, not a curse to endure as I mourned the lost “joys” and past “glories” of sin, or chafed at those around me who still “enjoyed” their sins.

Let’s face it, I needed a radical renewing of my mind before I could appreciate how God’s right to make from the same lump of clay one vessel (σκεῦος) for special use and another for ordinary use (ἀτιμίαν, a form of ἀτιμία) is the rationale for a salvation that begins with the temporary housing of an entirely new creation within sinful condemned flesh (2 Corinthians 5:17; 4:7; 1 Corinthians 15:42b-44a).

So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; what is old has passed away—look, what is new has come![20]

But we have this treasure in clay jars (σκεύεσιν, another form of σκεῦος), so that the extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.

What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor (ἀτιμίᾳ), it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.

It bears mentioning that though the NET translators seemed to distinguish between a vessel for special use, objects of wrath or mercy and clay jars, all are forms of σκεῦος.

Reference NET KJV Greek
Romans 9:21 one vessel for special use one vessel unto honour σκεῦος
Romans 9:22 objects of wrath vessels of wrath σκεύη, a form of σκεῦος
Romans 9:23 objects of mercy vessels of mercy σκεύη, a form of σκεῦος
2 Corinthians 4:7 clay jars earthen vessels σκεύεσιν, another form of σκεῦος

Everything I have belongs to you, and everything you have belongs to me, Jesus’ prayer continued, and I have been glorified by them.[21]  The KJV reads: And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified (δεδόξασμαι, a form of δοξάζω) in them.[22]  I’m reasonably convinced that the translators of the KJV assumed that Jesus referred still to the men you gave[23] me out of the world.[24]  Before I studied σκεῦος I was less sure that was the NET translators’ assumption.  The addition of the word thing (Everything) reminded me of a song we sang when I was young:

He owns the cattle on a thousand hills,

The wealth in every mine;

He owns the rivers and the rocks and rills,

The sun and stars that shine.

Wonderful riches, more than tongue can tell –

He is my Father so they’re mine as well;

He owns the cattle on a thousand hills –

I know that He will care for me.

Now I can see that this listing of wealth was intended as a demonstration of God’s ability to care for me.  I didn’t understand it that way then.  As a child of the King I thought I was supposed to believe that He would express his care for me as a share of that wealth.  I can’t say how often I actually believed that versus how often I thought it was just wishful thinking.  It did set the tone, what I thought I should believe, if and when I tried to be a “true” believer.  He worshiped and served the creation rather than the Creator[25] may be a fair characterization of my religious youth.

Paul amplified how Jesus could be glorified by or in those who “really understand that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me”[26] (2 Corinthians 3:1b-3 NET):

We[27] don’t need letters of recommendation to you or from you as some other people do, do we?[28]  You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone, revealing that you are a letter of Christ, delivered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on stone tablets but on tablets of human hearts.

Paul contrasted the glory of the ministry of the law to that of the ministry of the Spirit (διακονία τοῦ πνεύματος), describing the former as the ministry that produced death (διακονία τοῦ θανάτου; KJV: ministration of death) or the ministry that produced condemnation (διακονίᾳ τῆς κατακρίσεως; KJV: ministration of condemnation), and the latter as the ministry that produces righteousness (διακονία τῆς δικαιοσύνης; KJV: ministration of righteousness):

But if the ministry that produced death—carved in letters on stone tablets—came with glory (δόξῃ, a form of δόξα), so that the Israelites could not keep their eyes fixed on the face of Moses[29] because of the glory (δόξαν, another form of δόξα) of his face (a glory which was made ineffective), how much more glorious (δόξῃ, a form of δόξα) will the ministry of the Spirit be?  For if there was glory (δόξα) in the[30] ministry that produced condemnation, how much more does the ministry that produces righteousness excel in[31] glory (δόξῃ, a form of δόξα)!  For indeed, what had been glorious (δεδοξασμένον, another form of δοξάζω) now has no[32] glory (δεδόξασται, another form of δοξάζω) because of[33] the tremendously greater glory (δόξης, another form of δόξα) of what replaced it.  For if what was made ineffective came with glory (δόξης, another form of δόξα), how much more has what remains come in glory (δόξῃ, a form of δόξα)![34]

I am no longer in the world, Jesus continued, but they[35] are in the world, and I am coming to you.  Holy Father, keep them safe in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one.[36]  The KJV reads: keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me.  These appear to be the extremes of translating the same Greek text in the former verse to keep consistent with the differences in the next verse:

John 17:12 (NET)

John 17:12 (KJV)
When I was with them I kept them safe and[37] watched over them in your name that[38] you have given me.  Not one of them was lost except the one destined for destruction, so that the scripture could be fulfilled. While I was with them in the world,[39] I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.

The singular pronoun ᾧ (NET: that) was rendered that you have given me and was assumed to refer to your name, where the plural pronoun ους (KJV: those) was translated those that thou gavest me and was assumed to refer to the people God gave to Jesus.  I’ll begin to consider the lost son of perdition in another essay.  The point here as far as I’m concerned was that Jesus asked his Father to give the Holy Spirit to those who accepted Jesus’ words (John 17:13 NET):

But now I am coming to you, and I am saying these things in the world, so they may experience my joy completed in themselves.

Jesus’ joy was χαρὰν (a form of χαρά) in Greek.  But the fruit of the Spirit is…joy (χαρὰ).[40]  The oneness He asked for those who believed that God had sent Jesus, accepted the words He gave to them and really understood that He came from the Father because God predestined them to be conformed to the image of his Son, comes through this same indwelling Holy Spirit, as each is led to acknowledge (Galatians 2:20, 21 NET):

I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.  So the life I now live in the body, I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.  I do not set aside God’s grace, because if righteousness could come through the law, then Christ died for nothing!

A note (39) in the NET indicated that Romans 9:20b was a quote from Isaiah 29:16 and 45:9.  Tables comparing the English translations from the Masoretic text and Septuagint follow:

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Isaiah 29:16 (Tanakh) Isaiah 29:16 (NET) Isaiah 29:16 (NETS)

Isaiah 29:16 (Elpenor English)
Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter’s clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding? Your thinking is perverse!  Should the potter be regarded as clay?  Should the thing made say about its maker, “He didn’t make me”?  Or should the pottery say about the potter, “He doesn’t understand”? Shall you not be regarded as the potter’s clay?  Shall the thing formed say to the one who formed it, “You did not form me,” or the thing made to the one who made it, “You made me with no understanding”? Shall ye not be counted as clay of the potter? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Thou didst not form me? or the work to the maker, Thou hast not made me wisely?

Masoretic Text

 Septuagint
Isaiah 45:9 (Tanakh) Isaiah 45:9 (NET) Isaiah 45:9 (NETS)

Isaiah 45:9 (Elpenor English)
Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker!  Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth.  Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands? One who argues with his Creator is in grave danger, one who is like a mere shard among the other shards on the ground!  The clay should not say to the potter, “What in the world are you doing?  Your work lacks skill!” What better thing have I formed like potter’s clay?  Shall the plowman plow the earth?  Shall the clay say to the potter, “What are you doing, since you are not working, nor do you have hands”? What excellent thing have I prepared as clay of the potter? Will the ploughman plough the earth all say? shall the clay say to the potter, What art thou doing that thou dost not work, nor hast hands? shall the thing formed answer him that formed it?

I compared the Greek of Romans 9:20b to Isaiah 29:16b below:

Romans 9:20b (NET Parallel Greek)

 Isaiah 29:16b (Septuagint BLB)

Isaiah 29:16b (Septuagint Elpenor)
μὴ ἐρεῖ τὸ πλάσμα τῷ πλάσαντι· τί με ἐποίησας οὕτως μὴ ἐρεῗ τὸ πλάσμα τῷ πλάσαντι οὐ σύ με ἔπλασας ἢ τὸ ποίημα τῷ ποιήσαντι οὐ συνετῶς με ἐποίησας μὴ ἐρεῖ τὸ πλάσμα τῷ πλάσαντι αὐτό· οὐ σύ με ἔπλασας; ἢ τὸ ποίημα τῷ ποιήσαντι· οὐ συνετῶς με ἐποίησας

Romans 9:20b (NET)

 Isaiah 29:16b (NETS)

Isaiah 29:16b (English Elpenor)
Does what is molded say to the molder, “Why have you made me like this?” Shall the thing formed say to the one who formed it, “You did not form me,” or the thing made to the one who made it, “You made me with no understanding”? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Thou didst not form me? or the work to the maker, Thou hast not made me wisely?

Tables comparing Isaiah 29:16 and 45:9 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and tables comparing the Greek of Isaiah 29:16 and 45:9 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and tables of 2 John 1:5; Philippians 4:3; Romans 9:19; 1 Corinthians 9:16; 2 Corinthians 5:17; 3:1; 3:7; 3:9, 10 and John 17:11, 12 comparing the NET and KJV follow.

Isaiah 29:16 (Tanakh)

 Isaiah 29:16 (KJV)

Isaiah 29:16 (NET)
Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter’s clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding? Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter’s clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding? Your thinking is perverse!  Should the potter be regarded as clay?  Should the thing made say about its maker, “He didn’t make me”?  Or should the pottery say about the potter, “He doesn’t understand”?

Isaiah 29:16 (Septuagint BLB)

Isaiah 29:16 (Septuagint Elpenor)
οὐχ ὡς ὁ πηλὸς τοῦ κεραμέως λογισθήσεσθε μὴ ἐρεῗ τὸ πλάσμα τῷ πλάσαντι οὐ σύ με ἔπλασας ἢ τὸ ποίημα τῷ ποιήσαντι οὐ συνετῶς με ἐποίησας οὐχ ὡς ὁ πηλὸς τοῦ κεραμέως λογισθήσεσθε; μὴ ἐρεῖ τὸ πλάσμα τῷ πλάσαντι αὐτό· οὐ σύ με ἔπλασας; ἢ τὸ ποίημα τῷ ποιήσαντι· οὐ συνετῶς με ἐποίησας

Isaiah 29:16 (NETS)

Isaiah 29:16 (English Elpenor)
Shall you not be regarded as the potter’s clay?  Shall the thing formed say to the one who formed it, “You did not form me,” or the thing made to the one who made it, “You made me with no understanding”? Shall ye not be counted as clay of the potter? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Thou didst not form me? or the work to the maker, Thou hast not made me wisely?

Isaiah 45:9 (Tanakh)

 Isaiah 45:9 (KJV)

Isaiah 45:9 (NET)
Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker!  Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth.  Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands? Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker!  Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth.  Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands? One who argues with his Creator is in grave danger, one who is like a mere shard among the other shards on the ground!  The clay should not say to the potter, “What in the world are you doing?  Your work lacks skill!”

Isaiah 45:9 (Septuagint BLB)

Isaiah 45:9, 10a (Septuagint Elpenor)
ποῗον βέλτιον κατεσκεύασα ὡς πηλὸν κεραμέως μὴ ὁ ἀροτριῶν ἀροτριάσει τὴν γῆν ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν μὴ ἐρεῗ ὁ πηλὸς τῷ κεραμεῗ τί ποιεῗς ὅτι οὐκ ἐργάζῃ οὐδὲ ἔχεις χεῗρας Ποῖον βέλτιον κατεσκεύασα ὡς πηλὸν κεραμέως; μὴ ὁ ἀροτριῶν ἀροτριάσει τὴν γῆν ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν; μὴ ἐρεῖ ὁ πηλὸς τῷ κεραμεῖ· τί ποιεῖς, ὅτι οὐκ ἐργάζῃ οὐδὲ ἔχεις χεῖρας μὴ ἀποκριθήσεται τὸ πλάσμα πρὸς τὸν πλάσαντα αὐτό

Isaiah 45:9 (NETS)

Isaiah 45:9 (English Elpenor)
What better thing have I formed like potter’s clay?  Shall the plowman plow the earth?  Shall the clay say to the potter, “What are you doing, since you are not working, nor do you have hands”? What excellent thing have I prepared as clay of the potter? Will the ploughman plough the earth all say? shall the clay say to the potter, What art thou doing that thou dost not work, nor hast hands? shall the thing formed answer him that formed it?

2 John 1:5 (NET)

2 John 1:5 (KJV)
But now I ask you, lady (not as if I were writing a new commandment to you, but the one we have had from the beginning), that we love one another. And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ νῦν ἐρωτῶ σε, κυρία (οὐχ ὡς ἐντολὴν |καινὴν| γράφων σοι  ἀλλὰ ἣν εἴχομεν ἀπ᾿ ἀρχῆς), ἵνα ἀγαπῶμεν ἀλλήλους και νυν ερωτω σε κυρια ουχ ως εντολην γραφω σοι καινην αλλα ην ειχομεν απ αρχης ινα αγαπωμεν αλληλους και νυν ερωτω σε κυρια ουχ ως εντολην γραφων σοι καινην αλλα ην ειχομεν απ αρχης ινα αγαπωμεν αλληλους

Philippians 4:3 (NET)

Philippians 4:3 (KJV)
Yes, I say also to you, true companion, help them.  They have struggled together in the gospel ministry along with me and Clement and my other coworkers, whose names are in the book of life. And I entreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
ναὶ ἐρωτῶ καὶ σέ, γνήσιε σύζυγε, συλλαμβάνου αὐταῖς, αἵτινες ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ συνήθλησαν μοι μετὰ καὶ Κλήμεντος καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν συνεργῶν μου, ὧν τὰ ὀνόματα ἐν βίβλῳ ζωῆς. και ερωτω και σε συζυγε γνησιε συλλαμβανου αυταις αιτινες εν τω ευαγγελιω συνηθλησαν μοι μετα και κλημεντος και των λοιπων συνεργων μου ων τα ονοματα εν βιβλω ζωης ναι ερωτω και σε συζυγε γνησιε συλλαμβανου αυταις αιτινες εν τω ευαγγελιω συνηθλησαν μοι μετα και κλημεντος και των λοιπων συνεργων μου ων τα ονοματα εν βιβλω ζωης

Romans 9:19 (NET)

Romans 9:19 (KJV)
You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault?  For who has ever resisted his will?” Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault?  For who hath resisted his will?

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
Ἐρεῖς μοι οὖν τί [οὖν] ἔτι μέμφεται; τῷ γὰρ βουλήματι αὐτοῦ τίς ἀνθέστηκεν ερεις ουν μοι τι ετι μεμφεται τω γαρ βουληματι αυτου τις ανθεστηκεν ερεις ουν μοι τι ετι μεμφεται τω γαρ βουληματι αυτου τις ανθεστηκεν

1 Corinthians 9:16 (NET)

1 Corinthians 9:16 (KJV)
For if I preach the gospel, I have no reason for boasting, because I am compelled to do this.  Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
ἐὰν γὰρ εὐαγγελίζωμαι, οὐκ ἔστιν μοι καύχημα· ἀνάγκη γάρ μοι ἐπίκειται· οὐαὶ γάρ μοί ἐστιν ἐὰν μὴ εὐαγγελίσωμαι εαν γαρ ευαγγελιζωμαι ουκ εστιν μοι καυχημα αναγκη γαρ μοι επικειται ουαι δε μοι εστιν εαν μη ευαγγελιζωμαι εαν γαρ ευαγγελιζωμαι ουκ εστιν μοι καυχημα αναγκη γαρ μοι επικειται ουαι δε μοι εστιν εαν μη ευαγγελιζωμαι

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NET)

2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV)
So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; what is old has passed away—look, what is new has come! Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
ὥστε εἴ τις ἐν Χριστῷ, καινὴ κτίσις· τὰ ἀρχαῖα παρῆλθεν, ἰδοὺ γέγονεν καινά ωστε ει τις εν χριστω καινη κτισις τα αρχαια παρηλθεν ιδου γεγονεν καινα τα παντα ωστε ει τις εν χριστω καινη κτισις τα αρχαια παρηλθεν ιδου γεγονεν καινα τα παντα

2 Corinthians 3:1 (NET)

2 Corinthians 3:1 (KJV)
Are we beginning to commend ourselves again?  We don’t need letters of recommendation to you or from you as some other people do, do we? Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you?

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
Ἀρχόμεθα πάλιν ἑαυτοὺς συνιστάνειν; ἢ μὴ χρῄζομεν ὥς τινες συστατικῶν ἐπιστολῶν πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἢ ἐξ ὑμῶν αρχομεθα παλιν εαυτους συνιστανειν ει μη χρηζομεν ως τινες συστατικων επιστολων προς υμας η εξ υμων συστατικων αρχομεθα παλιν εαυτους συνιστανειν ει μη χρηζομεν ως τινες συστατικων επιστολων προς υμας η εξ υμων συστατικων

2 Corinthians 3:7 (NET)

2 Corinthians 3:7 (KJV)
But if the ministry that produced death—carved in letters on stone tablets—came with glory, so that the Israelites could not keep their eyes fixed on the face of Moses because of the glory of his face (a glory which was made ineffective), But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away:

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
Εἰ δὲ ἡ διακονία τοῦ θανάτου ἐν γράμμασιν ἐντετυπωμένη λίθοις ἐγενήθη ἐν δόξῃ, ὥστε μὴ δύνασθαι ἀτενίσαι τοὺς υἱοὺς Ἰσραὴλ εἰς τὸ πρόσωπον Μωϋσέως διὰ τὴν δόξαν τοῦ προσώπου αὐτοῦ τὴν καταργουμένην ει δε η διακονια του θανατου εν γραμμασιν εντετυπωμενη εν λιθοις εγενηθη εν δοξη ωστε μη δυνασθαι ατενισαι τους υιους ισραηλ εις το προσωπον μωσεως δια την δοξαν του προσωπου αυτου την καταργουμενην ει δε η διακονια του θανατου εν γραμμασιν εντετυπωμενη εν λιθοις εγενηθη εν δοξη ωστε μη δυνασθαι ατενισαι τους υιους ισραηλ εις το προσωπον μωυσεως δια την δοξαν του προσωπου αυτου την καταργουμενην

2 Corinthians 3:9, 10 (NET)

2 Corinthians 3:9, 10 (KJV)
For if there was glory in the ministry that produced condemnation, how much more does the ministry that produces righteousness excel in glory! For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
εἰ γὰρ |τῇ| διακονίᾳ τῆς κατακρίσεως δόξα, πολλῷ μᾶλλον περισσεύει ἡ διακονία τῆς δικαιοσύνης δόξῃ ει γαρ η διακονια της κατακρισεως δοξα πολλω μαλλον περισσευει η διακονια της δικαιοσυνης εν δοξη ει γαρ η διακονια της κατακρισεως δοξα πολλω μαλλον περισσευει η διακονια της δικαιοσυνης εν δοξη
For indeed, what had been glorious now has no glory because of the tremendously greater glory of what replaced it. For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ γὰρ οὐ δεδόξασται τὸ δεδοξασμένον ἐν τούτῳ τῷ μέρει εἵνεκεν τῆς ὑπερβαλλούσης δόξης και γαρ ουδε δεδοξασται το δεδοξασμενον εν τουτω τω μερει ενεκεν της υπερβαλλουσης δοξης και γαρ ου δεδοξασται το δεδοξασμενον εν τουτω τω μερει ενεκεν της υπερβαλλουσης δοξης

John 17:11, 12 (NET)

John 17:11, 12 (KJV)
I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you.  Holy Father, keep them safe in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee.  Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
καὶ οὐκέτι εἰμὶ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ, καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ εἰσίν, καγὼ πρὸς σὲ ἔρχομαι. πάτερ ἅγιε, τήρησον αὐτοὺς ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι σου ᾧ δέδωκας μοι, ἵνα ὦσιν ἓν καθὼς ἡμεῖς και ουκ ετι ειμι εν τω κοσμω και ουτοι εν τω κοσμω εισιν και εγω προς σε ερχομαι πατερ αγιε τηρησον αυτους εν τω ονοματι σου ους δεδωκας μοι ινα ωσιν εν καθως ημεις και ουκετι ειμι εν τω κοσμω και ουτοι εν τω κοσμω εισιν και εγω προς σε ερχομαι πατερ αγιε τηρησον αυτους εν τω ονοματι σου ω δεδωκας μοι ινα ωσιν εν καθως ημεις
When I was with them I kept them safe and watched over them in your name that you have given me.  Not one of them was lost except the one destined for destruction, so that the scripture could be fulfilled. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.

NET Parallel Greek

 Stephanus Textus Receptus

Byzantine Majority Text
ὅτε ἤμην μετ᾿ αὐτῶν ἐγὼ ἐτήρουν αὐτοὺς ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι σου ᾧ δέδωκας μοι, καὶ ἐφύλαξα, καὶ οὐδεὶς ἐξ αὐτῶν ἀπώλετο εἰ μὴ ὁ υἱὸς τῆς ἀπωλείας, ἵνα ἡ γραφὴ πληρωθῇ οτε ημην μετ αυτων εν τω κοσμω εγω ετηρουν αυτους εν τω ονοματι σου ους δεδωκας μοι εφυλαξα και ουδεις εξ αυτων απωλετο ει μη ο υιος της απωλειας ινα η γραφη πληρωθη οτε ημην μετ αυτων εν τω κοσμω εγω ετηρουν αυτους εν τω ονοματι σου ους δεδωκας μοι εφυλαξα και ουδεις εξ αυτων απωλετο ει μη ο υιος της απωλειας ινα η γραφη πληρωθη

[1] John 17:17 (NET)

[2] The NET parallel Greek text, NA28 and Byzantine Majority Text had γράφων here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had γραφω (KJV: wrote).

[3] 2 John 1:5 (NET)

[4] The NET parallel Greek text, NA28 and Byzantine Majority Text had ναὶ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had και (KJV: And).

[5] Philippians 4:3 (NET)

[6] Luke 16:27 (NET)

[7] John 6:44 (NET)

[8] Romans 8:28, 29 (NET)

[9] Romans 8:30 (NET)

[10] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had οὖν (not translated in the NET) following Why.  The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

[11] Romans 9:19 (NET)

[12] “In 1952, [Bill Bright] wrote The Four Spiritual Laws, an evangelistic Christian tract.  In the booklet he outlines his view of the essentials of the Christian faith concerning salvation. It is summarized as four spiritual laws or principles that govern what he sees as human beings’ relationship with God.  The booklet ends with a prayer of repentance.”

[13] I think the fact that this woman attended church once before she died gave Pastor Farag the confidence to assume that she had truly Admitted she was a sinner, really Believed that Jesus is Lord and fully intended to Call (ἐπικαλέσηται, a form of ἐπικαλέω) upon Him; and so he said, “She’s with the Lord.”

So then, it does not depend on human desire (θέλοντος, a form of θέλω) or exertion (τρέχοντος, a form of τρέχω), but on God who shows mercy (Romans 9:16 NET).  [W]e must get rid of every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and run (τρέχωμεν, another form of τρέχω) with endurance the race set out for us, keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:1b, 2a NET).  [F]or the one bringing forth in you both the desire (θέλειν, another form of θέλω) and the effort (ἐνεργεῖν, a form of ἐνεργέω)—for the sake of his good pleasure—is God (Philippians 2:13 NET).

[14] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had γάρ (not translated in the NET) here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had δε (KJV: yea)

[15] 1 Corinthins 9:16b (NET)

[16] NET note 44: Or possibly “objects of wrath that have fit themselves for destruction.” The form of the participle could be taken either as a passive or middle (reflexive). ExSyn 417-18 argues strongly for the passive sense (which is followed in the translation), stating that “the middle view has little to commend it.” First, καταρτίζω (katartizō) is nowhere else used in the NT as a direct or reflexive middle (a usage which, in any event, is quite rare in the NT). Second, the lexical force of this verb, coupled with the perfect tense, suggests something of a “done deal” (against some commentaries that see these vessels as ready for destruction yet still able to avert disaster). Third, the potter-clay motif seems to have one point: The potter prepares the clay.

[17] Matthew 6:13b (NASB) Table

[18] Ephesians 2:9b (NET)

[19] Romans 3:22a (NET) Table

[20] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had τα παντα (KJV: all things) here.  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

[21] John 17:10 (NET)

[22] John 17:10 (KJV)

[23] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ἔδωκας here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had δεδωκας (KJV: gavest).

[24] John 17:6a (NET) Table

[25] Romans 1:25 (NET)

[26] John 17:8b (NET)

[27] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ἢ (not translated in the NET) here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ει (KJV: or).

[28] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had συστατικων (KJV: commendation) repeated here.  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

[29] In the NET parallel Greek text and NA28 Moses was spelled Μωϋσέως, and μωσεως in the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text.

[30] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had τῇ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had η.

[31] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εν here.  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

[32] The NET parallel Greek text, NA28 and Byzantine Majority Text had οὐ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus had ουδε.

[33] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had εἵνεκεν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ενεκεν (KJV: by reason of).

[34] 2 Corinthians 3:7-11 (NET)

[35] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had αὐτοὶ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ουτοι (KJV: these).

[36] John 17:11 (NET)

[37] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had καὶ here.  The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text did not.

[38] The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had the singular pronoun ᾧ here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had the plural ους (KJV: those).

[39] The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had εν τω κοσμω (KJV: in the world) here.  The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

[40] Galatians 5:22a (NET) Table

Romans, Part 85

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I’ve considered, For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of God’s truth to confirm the promises made to the fathers.[1]  Jesus was the only living descendant of Abraham worthy of the promised land and the kingdom of God at the moment both were taken (70 A.D.) from Abraham’s other descendants through Isaac.  As I write this they have regained partial control of the land and have been wresting more bit by bit from the descendants of Abram through Ishmael.

Manfred Davidmann wrote “that the Jewish people were expelled twice from the country God promised them with their grip on the country weakening at the present time.”  His prescription was that the Israelis should fashion a welfare state more or less like the federal government of the United States of America.  I will suggest that recognizing Jesus the Messiah as yehôvâh their God will better serve both purposes, holding the promised land and regaining the kingdom of God.

Not all the children [are] Abraham’s true descendants, Paul wrote believers in Rome, rather “through Isaac will your descendants be counted.”  This means it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God; rather, the children of promise are counted as descendants.  For this is what the promise declared: “About a year from now I will return and Sarah will have a son.”[2]  That alone may be reason enough for present day Israelis to defeat the present day descendants of Ishmael militarily.  But a lack of military prowess was probably not the reason the descendants of Isaac lost the land, and certainly not the reason they lost the kingdom of God.  It was always their failure to placate yehôvâh with sacrifices and offerings (Isaiah 66:1-3 Tanakh):

Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?  For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.

He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog’s neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine’s blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol.

Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations.

Not only that, Paul continued his letter to Roman believers, but when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our ancestor Isaac – even before they were born or had done anything good or bad (so that God’s purpose in election would stand, not by works but by his calling) – it was said to her, “The older will serve the younger,” just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”[3]  God’s purpose in election is where I can see how the Gentiles glorify God for his mercy[4] is logically dependent on Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of God’s truth to confirm the promises made to the fathers.  Paul also wrote believers in Rome (Romans 11:5-8 NET):

So in the same way [e.g., as in the time of Elijah] at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.  And if it is by grace, it is no longer by works, otherwise grace would no longer be grace.  What then?  Israel failed to obtain what it was diligently seeking, but the elect obtained it.  The rest were hardened, as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, to this very day.”

I take this to mean that apart from nearly eight centuries of yehôvâh’s hardening Jesus is born among a people who receive Him as Messiah and as yehôvâh their God, and that’s all she wrote: For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?[5]  We Gentiles who are alive today and believe in Jesus would never have been born of the flesh, not to mention redeemed by his grace (Romans 11:25-36 NET).

For I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: A partial hardening has happened to Israel until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.  And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come out of Zion; he will remove ungodliness from Jacob.  And this is my covenant with them, when I take away their sins.”

In regard to the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but in regard to election they are dearly loved for the sake of the fathers.  For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.  Just as you were formerly disobedient to God, but have now received mercy due to their disobedience, so they too have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy.  For God has consigned all people to disobedience so that he may show mercy to them all.

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are his judgments and how fathomless his ways!  For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?  Or who has first given to God, that God needs to repay him?

For from him and through him and to him are all things.  To him be glory forever!  Amen.

And thus the Gentiles glorify God for his mercy.  As it is written, “Because of this I will confess you among the Gentiles, and I will sing praises to your name.”[6]

Romans 15:9b (NET)

 Parallel Greek

Septuagint Psalm 18:49
Because of this I will confess you among the Gentiles, and I will sing praises to your name. διὰ τοῦτο ἐξομολογήσομαι σοι ἐν ἔθνεσιν καὶ τῷ ὀνόματι σου ψαλῶ διὰ τοῦτο ἐξομολογήσομαί σοι ἐν ἔθνεσιν κύριε καὶ τῷ ὀνόματί σου ψαλῶ

I notice that as Paul put these words in the resurrected Jesus’ mouth he quoted the Septuagint verbatim except he removed the word κύριε (a form of κύριος), Lord, yehôvâh in Hebrew.  By doing likewise I can hear these words as Paul heard them spoken by Messiah to God his Father the morning of his resurrection (Psalm 18:46-50 NET):

The Lord (yehôvâh, יהוה) is alive!  My protector is praiseworthy!  The God (ʼĕlôahh, אלוהי) who delivers me is exalted as king!  The one true God (ʼêl, האל) completely vindicates me; he makes nations submit to me.  He delivers me from my enemies; you snatch me away from those who attack me; you rescue me from violent men.  So I will give you thanks before the nations…I will sing praises to you!  He gives his chosen king magnificent victories; he is faithful to his chosen ruler, to David[7] and his descendants (zeraʽ, ולזרעו; singular) forever.

The Hebrew word translated The one true God above was translated High God in Genesis.  Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of the Most High God[8] (ʼêl, לאל).  He blessed Abram, saying (Genesis 14:19, 20 NET):

“Blessed be Abram by the Most High God (ʼêl, לאל), Creator of heaven and earth.  Worthy of praise is the Most High God (ʼêl, אל), who delivered your enemies into your hand.”  Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything.

To Abram yehôvâh (יהוה) was the Most High God (ʼêl, אל), Creator of heaven and earth.[9]  The pattern is similar in Genesis 1 and 2: In the beginning God (ʼĕlôhı̂ym, אלהים) created the heavens and the earth.[10]  This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created – when the Lord (yehôvâh, יהוה) God (ʼĕlôhı̂ym, אלהים) made the earth and heavens.[11]  There is no sense of contradiction or correction in either instance.  I described yehôvâh as “one [Addendum (April 26, 2023): Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Part 7] of the ʼĕlôhı̂ym” because I don’t fully grasp the oneness of the ʼĕlôhı̂ym.

The Hebrew word ʼĕlôhı̂ym is “a plural form” which “refers to the one true God” with a “singular verb…as here.”[12]  Linguistically that would be a oneness of action implying a oneness of purpose, significantly different from the warring gods of the Gentiles, created by Gentiles in their own image.  I don’t have any reason to dispute that God is a oneness in essence, I just don’t know what I mean when I say it.  I know Trinitarians get really angry when I don’t say it.  Holy Father, Jesus prayed, keep [those you have given me] safe in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one.[13]  Am I looking forward to a oneness of action and purpose or a oneness in essence?  So I wondered if ʼêl and ʼĕlôahh might be ones of the ʼĕlôhı̂ym as well as yehôvâh.  But as far as Abram was concerned yehôvâh is ʼêl.

Moses prophesied (Deuteronomy 32:15-18 NET):

But Jeshurun[14] became fat and kicked, you got fat, thick, and stuffed!  Then he deserted the God (ʼĕlôahh, אלוה) who made him, and treated the Rock who saved him with contempt.  They made him jealous with other gods (zûr, בזרים), they enraged him with abhorrent idols [Table].  They sacrificed to demons, not God (ʼĕlôahh, אלה), to gods (ʼĕlôhı̂ym, אלהים) they had not known; to new gods who had recently come along, gods your ancestors had not known about [Table].  You have forgotten the Rock who fathered you, and put out of mind the God (ʼêl, אל) who gave you birth.

But David wrote: Indeed, who is God (ʼĕlôahh, אלוה) besides the Lord (yehôvâh, יהוה)?  Who is a protector besides our God (ʼĕlôhı̂ym, אלהינו)?  The one true God (ʼêl, האל) gives me strength.[15]  Much as I would like to see ʼêl, yehôvâh, and ʼĕlôahh as the three persons of a triune ʼĕlôhı̂ym, unless David was writing some I-am-he-as-you-are-he-as-you-are-me[16] mysticism, I think I must accept ʼêl and ʼĕlôahh as generic terms for god.

And again it says, Paul continued, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.”[17]

Romans 15:10b (NET) Parallel Greek

Septuagint Deuteronomy 32:43b
Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people. εὐφράνθητε, ἔθνη, μετὰ τοῦ λαοῦ αὐτοῦ εὐφράνθητε ἔθνη μετὰ τοῦ λαοῦ αὐτοῦ

It comes at the end of Moses’ prophecy about Israel’s defection (Deuteronomy 32:36-39a Septuagint).

For the Lord (yehôvâh, יהוה) will judge his people and be comforted over his slaves.  For he saw them paralyzed, both failed under attack and enfeebled.  And the Lord said: Where are their gods (ʼĕlôhı̂ym, אלהימו), they in whom they trusted, the fat of whose sacrifices you were eating and were drinking the wine of their libations?  See, see that I am, and there is no god (ʼĕlôhı̂ym, אלהים) except me.

Each of us re-enacts this scenario to some degree, trusting in ourselves, the pagan gods or something other than yehôvâh/Jesus until our strength is gone.  I chose a translation of the Septuagint here because I learned something from the ancient rabbis I might have missed otherwise: He is comforted (Hebrew: nâcham, יתנחם; Greek: παρακληθήσεται, a form of παρακαλέω) by our helpless plight.  We do not return to an angry, vengeful God who seeks to return us evil for our evil, but One who is comforted.  And we are his slaves (Hebrew: ʽebed, עבדיו; Greek: δούλοις, a form δοῦλος) not because we have behaved obediently—we have been unbelieving and disobedient in this scenario—but because He has redeemed us with his blood (Isaiah 53:3-12 NET).

He was despised and rejected by people, one who experienced pain and was acquainted with illness; people hid their faces from him; he was despised, and we considered him insignificant.  But he lifted up our illnesses, he carried our pain; even though we thought he was being punished, attacked by God, and afflicted for something he had done.  He was wounded because of our rebellious deeds, crushed because of our sins; he endured punishment that made us well; because of his wounds we have been healed.

All of us had wandered off like sheep; each of us had strayed off on his own path, but the Lord (yehôvâh, ויהוה) caused the sin of all of us to attack him.  He (e.g., yehôvâh) was treated harshly and afflicted, but he did not even open his mouth.  Like a lamb led to the slaughtering block, like a sheep silent before her shearers, he did not even open his mouth.  He was led away after an unjust trial – but who even cared?

Indeed, he was cut off from the land of the living; because of the rebellion of his own people he was wounded.  They intended to bury him with criminals, but he ended up in a rich man’s tomb, because he had committed no violent deeds, nor had he spoken deceitfully.

Though the Lord (yehôvâh, ויהוה) desired to crush him and make him ill, once restitution is made, he will see descendants and enjoy long life, and the Lord’s (yehôvâh, יהוה) purpose will be accomplished through him.  Having suffered, he will reflect on his work, he will be satisfied when he understands what he has done.  “My servant will acquit many, for he carried their sins.  So I will assign him a portion with the multitudes, he will divide the spoils of victory with the powerful, because he willingly submitted to death and was numbered with the rebels, when he lifted up the sin of many and intervened on behalf of the rebels.”

Though He is comforted over his slaves (those redeemed by his blood), yehôvâh’s enemies incur his wrath (Deuteronomy 32:41b-43 Septuagint):

I will repay my enemies with a sentence, and those who hate me I will repay.  I will make my arrows drunk with blood—and my dagger shall devour flesh—with the blood of the wounded and of captives, from the head of the commanders of the enemies.

Be glad, O skies, with him, and let all the divine sons do obeisance to him.  Be glad, O nations, with his people, and let all the angels of God prevail for him.  For he will avenge the blood of his sons and take revenge and repay the enemies with a sentence, and he will repay those who hate, and the Lord shall cleanse the land of his people [NET: make atonement for his land and people].  

And again, Paul continued, “Praise the Lord all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise him.”[18]

Romans 15:11 (NET)

 Parallel Greek

Septuagint Psalm 117:1
Praise the Lord all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise him. αἰνεῖτε, πάντα τὰ ἔθνη, τὸν κύριον καὶ ἐπαινεσάτωσαν αὐτὸν πάντες οἱ λαοί αλληλουια αἰνεῖτε τὸν κύριον πάντα τὰ ἔθνη ἐπαινέσατε[19] αὐτόν πάντες οἱ λαοί

In context [Psalm 116(117) Septuagint]:

Hallelouia.  Praise the Lord (yehôvâh, יהוה), all you nations!  Commend him, all you peoples, because his mercy became strong toward us, and the truth of the Lord (yehôvâh, יהוה) endures forever.

And again Isaiah says, Paul continued, “The root of Jesse will come, and the one who rises to rule over the Gentiles, in him will the Gentiles hope.”[20]

Romans 15:12 (NET)

 Parallel Greek

Septuagint Isaiah 11:10a
The root of Jesse will come, and the one who rises to rule over the Gentiles, in him will the Gentiles hope. ἔσται ἡ ρίζα τοῦ Ἰεσσαὶ καὶ ὁ ἀνιστάμενος ἄρχειν ἐθνῶν, ἐπ᾿ αὐτῷ ἔθνη ἐλπιοῦσιν ἔσται ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ (a form of ἐκεῖνος) ἡ ῥίζα τοῦ Ιεσσαι καὶ ὁ ἀνιστάμενος ἄρχειν ἐθνῶν ἐπ᾽ αὐτῷ ἔθνη ἐλπιοῦσιν

In context (Isaiah 11:10-13 Septuagint):

And it shall be on that day [ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ; e.g., when asps will not hurt or be able to destroy anyone on my holy mountain, vv. 8, 9] the root of Iessai [e.g., Jessie], even the one who stands up to rule nations; nations shall hope in him, and his rest shall be honor.  And it shall be on that day that the Lord (ʼădônây, אדני) will further display his hand to show zeal for the remnant that is left of the people, whatever is left from the Assyrians, and from Egypt and Babylonia and Ethiopia and from the Ailamites and from where the sun rises and out of Arabia.  And he will raise a signal for the nations and will gather the lost ones of Israel and gather the dispersed of Ioudas (e.g., Judah, the southern kingdom) from the four points of the earth.  And the jealousy of Ephraim (e.g., the northern kingdom of divided Israel) shall be taken away, and the enemies of Ioudas shall perish; Ephraim shall not be jealous of Ioudas, and Ioudas shall not afflict Ephraim.

Now may the God of hope, Paul continued, fill you with all joy (χαρᾶς, a form of χαρά) and peace (εἰρήνης, a form of εἰρήνη) as you believe in him, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.[21]  And, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy (χαρὰ, another form of χαρά), peace (εἰρήνη), patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  Against such things there is no law.[22]

[1] Romans 15:8 (NET)

[2] Romans 9:7-9 (NET)

[3] Romans 9:10-12 (NET)

[4] Romans 15:9a (NET)

[5] Romans 11:15 (NET)

[6] Romans 15:9 (NET)

[7] 2 Samuel 7:12-16 (NET)

[8] Genesis 14:18 (NET)

[9] Genesis 14:22 (NET)

[10] Genesis 1:1 (NET)

[11] Genesis 2:4 (NET)

[12] NET note 2

[13] John 17:11b (NET)

[14] NET note 32: “Jeshurun is a term of affection derived from the Hebrew verb יָשַׁר (yashar, ‘be upright’).  Here it speaks of Israel ‘in an ideal situation, with its “uprightness” due more to God’s help than his own efforts’ (M. Mulder, TDOT 6:475).”

[15] Psalm 18:31, 32a (NET)

[16] http://www.metrolyrics.com/i-am-the-walrus-lyrics-beatles.html

[17] Romans 15:10 (NET)

[18] Romans 15:11 (NET)

[19] http://biblehub.com/text/romans/15-11.htm

[20] Romans 15:12 (NET)

[21] Romans 15:13 (NET)

[22] Galatians 5:22, 23 (NET)

Cult Prostitutes

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In another essay[1] I wrote, “This form of religious worship [idolatrous worship (including its drunken sexual practices)] was still practiced openly in Corinth.”  But I failed to footnote it.  Though the idea was new to my conservative upbringing,[2] I thought I was dealing with a reputable Bible encyclopedia and that this statement was common knowledge to those in the know.  I was beginning to suspect that limiting the practice to Corinth and Athens was possibly, or probably, underestimating the scope of the things they [the sons of disobedience (ἀπειθείας, a form of ἀπείθεια[3]] do in secret, things that are shameful even to mention.[4]  Paul encouraged the believers in Ephesus not to participate in these unfruitful deeds of darkness, but rather expose (ἐλέγχετε, a form of ἐλέγχω) them,[5] regardless how shameful they were to mention.  But all things being exposed (ἐλεγχόμενα, another form of ἐλέγχω) by the light are made evident (φανεροῦται, a form of φανερόω).[6]

Now I can’t find the encyclopedia I was referencing online.  All my Google search finds is an argument between various factions whether or not such practices continued into the Roman period.  Part of the argument is technical, whether the men and women who practiced this form of worship should be called prostitutes.  In “Sacred Prostitutes” Johanna H. Stuckey[7] wrote:[8]

“Tragically,” says one contemporary scholar, “scholarship suffered from scholars being unable to imagine any cultic role for women in antiquity that did not involve sexual intercourse” (Gruber 1986:138). However, recent scholars are fast setting the record straight. Even if ancient priestesses were involved in ritual sex, even if they received offerings for their temples, they were not prostitutes but devotees worshipping their deity.

Kimberly Suzann Latta in an essay, “Rough Day with Margaret leads to Ephesus and the Myth of Temple Prostitution and the Anxiety of Some Really Scary Christian Men (and Women),”[9] began with this technical argument but quickly expanded its context: “Wide-spread, bald rumors about temple prostitution at Ephesus (for which there is no evidence!) on [a] Christian talk-show are another totally obvious example of the rewriting–Pierre Bourdieu calls [it] ‘dehistoricization’–of history by men in order to make women look bad.  Worse yet, it’s another example of the way that group that got control of the early Christian movement demonized members of different religious groups by denouncing them as debauched indulgers of carnal sex for money. You’ve heard this before:

They were so evil then, and we are so evil now, brothers and sisters.  We have to remember that we are sinners, that we were born in sin and dwell in sin except that Christ our Lord save us and cleanse us.  And once we humbly admit to our Lord and Master that we are humbly sorry for the sorry state of our souls, and begging for His help to correct ourselves, and overcome our weaknesses, then, and only then, and only with much continual scrutiny and soul-searching, and constant vigilance, we may be, MAYBE, saved.

This is the Protestant mindset.  I know it intimately.  I was born into it and I love it although I have spent my entire life trying to unwind myself from it.”

Ms. Latta’s final conclusion was, “We are not evil.  If there is a God, and if that God is good, and that God created us, then we must also be good, like everything that would come from an all-good God.  You could say that what has happened is not the fault of God–if you believed in one, and I don’t–but rather the fault of the human beings who invented these stories, these paradigms for understanding the world, and who have gotten trapped, like the limed thrush, in their own shit.”

In other words, no knowledge of God may be found in the Bible, only human “paradigms for understanding the world.”  Below I’ve contrasted Ms. Latta’s paradigm to those of Paul, David, Isaiah and Jesus.

Kimberly Suzann Latta Paul the Apostle of Jesus Christ David the man after God’s own heart
We are not evil. There is no one righteous, not even one, there is no one who understands, there is no one who seeks God.  All have turned away, together they have become worthless; there is no one who shows kindness, not even one.

Romans 3:10-12 (NET)

 Fools say to themselves, “There is no God.”  They sin and commit evil deeds; none of them does what is right.  The Lord looks down from heaven at the human race, to see if there is anyone who is wise and seeks God.  Everyone rejects God; they are all morally corrupt.  None of them does what is right, not even one!

Psalm 14:1-3 (NET)
If there is a God… Their throats are open graves, they deceive with their tongues, the poison of asps is under their lips.

Romans 3:13 (NET)

 For they do not speak the truth, their stomachs are like the place of destruction, their throats like an open grave, their tongues like a steep slope leading into it [Table].  Condemn them, O God!  May their own schemes be their downfall!  Drive them away because of their many acts of insurrection, for they have rebelled against you.

Psalm 5:9, 10 (NET)[10]
…and if that God is good… Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.

Romans 3:14 (NET)

 The wicked man is so arrogant he always thinks,“God won’t hold me accountable; he doesn’t care.”  He is secure at all times.  He has no regard for your commands; he disdains all his enemies.  He says to himself, “I will never be upended, because I experience no calamity.”  His mouth is full of curses and deceptive, harmful words; his tongue injures and destroys [Table].

Psalm 10:4-7 (NET)
Kimberly Suzann Latta Paul the Apostle of Jesus Christ Isaiah the prophet
…and that God created us… (if you believed in one, and I don’t) Their feet are swift to shed blood, ruin and misery are in their paths, and the way of peace they have not known.

Romans 3:15-17 (NET)

 Look, the Lord’s hand is not too weak to deliver you; his ear is not too deaf to hear you.  But your sinful acts have alienated you from your God; your sins have caused him to reject you and not listen to your prayers.  For your hands are stained with blood and your fingers with sin; your lips speak lies, your tongue utters malicious words.  No one is concerned about justice; no one sets forth his case truthfully.  They depend on false words and tell lies; they conceive of oppression and give birth to sin.  They hatch the eggs of a poisonous snake and spin a spider’s web.  Whoever eats their eggs will die, a poisonous snake is hatched.  Their webs cannot be used for clothing; they cannot cover themselves with what they make.  Their deeds are sinful; they commit violent crimes.  They are eager to do evil, quick to shed innocent blood.  Their thoughts are sinful; they crush and destroy [Table].  They are unfamiliar with peace; their deeds are unjust. They use deceitful methods, and whoever deals with them is unfamiliar with peace [Table].

Isaiah 59:1-8 (NET)
Kimberly Suzann Latta Paul the Apostle of Jesus Christ David the man after God’s own heart
…then we must also be good… There is no fear of God before their eyes.

Romans 3:18 (NET)

 An evil man is rebellious to the core; he does not fear God [Table], for he is too proud to recognize and give up his sin.  The words he speaks are sinful and deceitful; he does not care about doing what is wise and right.  He plans ways to sin while he lies in bed; he is committed to a sinful lifestyle; he does not reject what is evil.

Psalm 36:1-4 (NET)
Kimberly Suzann Latta Someone seeking eternal life Jesus, the Christ (Messiah), the Son of God
…like everything that would come from an all-good God. Now as Jesus was starting out on his way, someone ran up to him, fell on his knees, and said, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Mark 10:17 (NET)

 Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good?  No one is good except God alone.”

Mark 10:18 (NET)

To bolster her argument Ms. Latta quoted “S. M. Baugh, associate professor of New Testament at Westminster Theological Seminary” (who was quoting Karel van der Toorn in the Anchor Bible Dictionary):

…the current view [of cult prostitution] rests on unwarranted assumptions, doubtful anthropological premises, and very little evidence.[11]

In Cult Prostitution In New Testament Ephesus: A Reappraisal Mr. Baugh began technically enough: “cult prostitution…can be defined narrowly as union with a prostitute (whether with a female or a male makes no difference) for exchange of money or goods, which was sanctioned by the wardens of a deity whether in temple precincts or elsewhere as a sacred act of worship….More generally, cult prostitution could simply refer to acts of prostitution where the money or goods received went to a temple and to its administrators. In this latter case, the prostitutes would be slaves owned by the temple.”

He was careful at first to limit his discussion to this technical definition:

Let it be underlined that we are not here discussing erotic symbolism or even possible sexual acts connected to mystery religions or fertility cults. “There is no doubt,” says Walter Burkert, “that sexuality was prominent in mysteries.” Burkert goes on to explain, however, that the rituals were probably only symbolic rather than actual sexual acts. And either way, this is not cult prostitution in either of the two senses defined above.

But after presenting his “more humble goal,” source evidence for one goddess in one city, he concluded more expansively: “Despite the received opinion to the contrary, I do not believe that cult prostitution was practiced in Greek (and Roman) regions of the NT era…. A priestess of Artemis compares better with a Rose Bowl queen or with Miss Teen America than with a cult prostitute. Indeed, there are some hints in the literature (e.g. Xenophon of Ephesus) that the girl-priestesses may have been chosen because they best resembled the chaste maiden-goddess.”

I will suggest that the most likely place to find the documentary evidence Mr. Baugh requires would have been in the books of magic burned in Ephesus (Acts 19:18-20 NET):

Many of those who had believed came forward, confessing and making their deeds known.  Large numbers of those who had practiced magic collected their books and burned them up in the presence of everyone.  When the value of the books was added up, it was found to total fifty thousand silver coins.  In this way the word of the Lord continued to grow in power and to prevail.

I don’t think I’m on shaky historical ground to suggest that when the Spirit of God did not move people to burn their own books of magic others stepped in to do it for them.  But Mr. Baugh made the point of his argument crystal clear in his final paragraph:

Hopefully Ephesian cult prostitutes will soon disappear from our literature and from our pulpits, for these chimera exist only in the minds of people today, not in the past. This is particularly desirable, since the issue has moved beyond the realm of purely historical accuracy into that of ecclesiastical controversies over women’s ordination; indeed, the false notion of Ephesian cult prostitutes is a central prop for a radical reinterpretation of 1 Tim 2:9–15…

Mr. Baugh dismissed the idea that cult prostitutes practiced in Greek and Roman regions of the New Testament era in opposition to those who used that idea to promote women’s ordination.  And now as I search the internet the primary supporters of “received opinion,” “widely held that cult prostitution in connection with fertility rites was commonly practiced throughout the NT world,”[12] are antinomians[13] or homosexuals.[14]  This is why I don’t like arguments.  I’m not interested in circling the wagons with the conservative straight men any more than I am interested in assaulting them with antinomians, gays and women.  I have this naïve belief that Jesus intends for us who believe to be one as He and his Father are one (John 17:11 NET):

I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you.  Holy Father, keep them safe in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one.

I’m assuming this is not yet that oneness.  But I don’t know any way to proceed apart from the path the Holy Spirit leads me.  Perhaps I am an oversexed sinner[15] who sees sex in everything I read, and create chimera in my mind.  But I’ll continue as if these chimera have some actual existence in the past as recorded in the Bible, possibly even in the New Testament era, while I am mindful of the possibility that I might just be a sinner attempting to justify myself with chimera.

Back to What is Sexual Immorality?

[1] What is Sexual Immorality?

[2] Antichrist, Part 5

[3] Ephesians 5:6 (NET)

[4] Ephesians 5:12 (NET)

[5] Ephesians 5:11 (NET)

[6] Ephesians 5:13 (NET)

[7] http://www.matrifocus.com/Bios/bio-johanna.htm

[8] http://www.matrifocus.com/SAM05/spotlight.htm

[9] http://lefthandofeminism.wordpress.com/category/ephesustemple-prostitution/

[10] See also Psalm 140

[11] http://lefthandofeminism.wordpress.com/category/ephesustemple-prostitution/

[12] http://www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/article_ephesus_baugh.html

[13] http://www.libchrist.com/bible/fornication.html Though I was familiar with “The Sacred Fire, the story of sex in religion” by B.Z. Goldberg since college, I hadn’t thought of it in terms of the New Testament until challenged by this website.

[14] http://www.gaychristian101.com/Shrine-Prostitutes.html

[15] Antichrist, Part 5