 Can anyone recommend a book that will help me to study the Bible from a historical perspective, rather than a religious perspective? What I want is something that explains how the Bible came to be what it is to day, including various translations, role of chuch politics. Also, I want to better understand what the various stories meant in the context of the time period in which they were written. |
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| YeshuaisLord.com | |||
 I am studying the spiritual realm, warfare, ect. Just wondering about this? |
June 29th, 2009SOME WISDOM
“When you get to your wit’s end,
you’ll find that God lives there.”
“It takes no more time to see the good side of life
than it takes to see the bad.”
Jimmy Buffett
June 28th, 2009THIS MOMENT
“This Moment”
by Sherry Messick
I may never see tomorrow; there’s no written guarantee.
And things that happened yesterday belong to history.
I cannot predict the future, I cannot change the past.
I have just the present moment, I must treat it as my last.
I must use this moment wisely for it soon will pass away,
and be lost to me forever as part of yesterday.
I must exercise compassion, help the fallen to their feet.
Be a friend unto the friendless, make an empty life complete.
The unkind things I do today may never be undone.
And friendships that I fail to win may nevermore be won.
I may not have another chance on bended knee to say,
And thank you with humble heart for being here today.
June 27th, 2009ELOHIM - ELOAH, THEOS
The Names of God used in the Bible act as a roadmap for learning about the character of God. Since the Bible is God’s Word to us, the names He chooses in scripture are meant to reveal His true nature to us.
The most common of the originally appellative names of God is Elohim , plural in form though commonly construed with a singular verb or adjective. This is, most probably, to be explained as the plural of majesty or excellence, expressing high dignity or greatness.
The Hebrew form Eloah (which looks as though it might be a singular form of Elohim) is comparatively rare, occurring only in poetry and late prose (in the Book of Job, 41 times) as a reference to God, but without referring to him as the “God of Israel”. In other references it is usually synonymous in meaning with Elohim (Ps. 50:22-23) or Yahweh (Ps.139:19,21) or Adonai (Ps. 114:7)
What is probably the same divine name is found in Arabic (Ilah as singular “a god”, as opposed to Allah meaning “The God” or “God”) and in Aramaic (Elaha).
This unusual singular form also appears in the exilic and postexilic periods and is used in six places for heathen deities (examples: 2 Chronicles 32:15; Neh. 9:17 and Daniel 11:37, 38;).
The normal Elohim form is also used in the plural a few times, either for gods or images (Exodus 9:1, 12:12, 20:3; and so forth) or for one god (Exodus 32:1; Genesis 31:30, 32; and elsewhere). In the great majority of cases both are used as names of the One God of Israel.
The root-meaning of the word Eloah, Elohim is unknown. The most probable theory is that it may be connected with the old Arabic verb “alih” (to be perplexed, afraid; to seek refuge because of fear).
Eloah, Elohim, would, therefore, be “He who is the object of fear or reverence,” or “He with whom one who is afraid takes refuge” (comp. the name “fear of Isaac” in Gen. 31:42, 53; see also Isa. 8:13; Ps. 76: 12).
Another theory is that it is derived from the Semitic root “uhl” meaning “to be strong”. Elohim then would mean “the all-powerful One”, based on the usage of the word “el” in certain verses to denote power or might (Genesis 31:29, Nehemiah 5:5).
The predominance of this name in the later writings, as compared with the more distinctively Hebrew national name Yhwh, may have been due to the broadening idea of God as the transcendent and universal Lord.
In many of the passages in which elohim [lower case] occurs in the Bible it refers to non-Israelite deities, as in Chemosh, the god of the Amorites (Jdg 11:24), or Ashtoreth (Ishtar), the goddess of Sidon (1Ki 11:5), or Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron (2Ki 1:2), but is used overwhelmingly (over 2300 times) in the OT to refer to Israel’s God, meaning “the true God”. In some instances the term refers to powerful men or judges, and even angels (Exodus 21:6, Psalms 8:5).
ELOHIM: God - a plural noun, meaning more than two and as we have already mentioned, it has the unusual characteristic of being commonly used with singular verb or adjective.
Elohim occurs more than 2,300 times in the OT and 32 times in Genesis 1 alone - God as Creator, Preserver, Transcendent, Mighty and Strong.
It is also found in Ecclesiastes, Daniel and Jonah where Elohim is used almost exclusively.
See also Gen. 17:7, 6:18, 9:15, 50:24; I Kings 8:23; Jer. 31:33; Isa. 40:1.
“ELOHIM” (or Elohay) is the first name for God found in the Bible.
In Genesis 1:1, we read, “In the beginning Elohim created the heaven and the earth.”
Right from the start, this plural form for the name of God is used to describe the One God, a mystery that is uncovered throughout the rest of the Bible.
Throughout scripture, Elohim is combined with other words to describe certain characteristics of God. Some examples:
Elohay Kedem - God of the Beginning: (Deuteronomy 33:27).
Elohay Mishpat - God Of Justice: (Isaiah 30:18).
Elohay Selichot - God Of Forgiveness: (Nehemiah 9:17).
Elohay Marom - God Of Heights: (Micah 6:6).
Elohay Mikarov - God Who Is Near: (Jeremiah 23:23).
Elohay Mauzi - God Of My Strength: (Psalm 43:2).
Elohay Tehilati - God Of My Praise: (Psalm 109:1).
Elohay Yishi - God Of My Salvation: (Psalm 18:47, 25:5).
Elohim Kedoshim - Holy God: (Leviticus 19:2, Joshua 24:19).
Elohim Chaiyim - Living God: (Jeremiah 10:10).
Elohay Elohim - God Of Gods: (Deuteronomy 10:17).
THEOS is the NT counterpart of Elohim (Mt 22:32 with Ex.3:6) It usually refers to the true God, but can refer to pagan deities (Ac 17:18 1 Co 8:5).
