Luke 12:6-7

Funeral Exegesis.

6 οὐχὶ πέντε στρουθία πωλοῦνται ἀσσαρίων δύο; καὶ ἓν ἐξ αὐτῶν οὐκ ἔστιν ἐπιλελησμένον ἐνώπιον τοῦ θεοῦ. 7 ἀλλὰ καὶ αἱ τρίχες τῆς κεϕαλῆς ὑμῶν πᾶσαι ἠρίθμηνται. μὴ ϕοβεῖσθε· πολλῶν στρουθίων διαϕέρετε.

6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. 7 Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

στρουθία is the plural of στρουθίον, a diminutive for "sparrow," so not just "sparrows," but "little sparrows" are the idea here (the birds were sold as food). An ἀσσαρίων was a Roman copper coin worth 1/16 of a denarius. The NIV Study Bible's comparison of Roman coins here is extremely helpful in a sermon or Bible Class. To just quote it:

"Three words used for Roman coins are denarius (Mt 18:28), assarion (Mt 10:29) and kodrantes (Mt 5:26), very loosely related to each other as are a 50-cent piece, nickel and penny. The coins here [Lk 12:6] are assaria, so the transaction would be something like five birds for two nickels."

The construction ἔστιν ἐπιλελησμένον is a perfect passive participle (ἐπιλανθάνoμαι) combined with a copulative ἔστιν; this is periphrasis because “forgotten” here is impersonal: “Periphrasis of impersonal verbs by means of the adjectival participle is not only general in Hellenistic, but is found already in Attic […Acts 19:36; 1 Clem. 34:2; etc.]” (BDF 353).

In verse 7 we have what BAGD calls the ascensive ἀλλὰ καὶ (ἀλλά 3), indicating elliptically that the preceding is regarded as a settled matter, and what follows is not only something new (hence the adversative ἀλλά) but also far more important. The passive ἠρίθμηνται is from ἀριθμένω (English cognate do arithmetic; count, number).

The imperative μὴ ϕοβεῖσθε is light-hearted (like the illustration of the plank in one’s eye) but for some, very serious indeed. Jesus uses hyperbole (“you are worth more than many sparrows”) to underscore the true length and breadth and depth of God’s love for us (Eph. 3:18).

Sermon outline for a World War II Veteran on this text:

     "Not One is Forgotten by God"
          1. War on earth.
          2. Blessings on earth.
          3. Spiritual war and peace
          4. Blessings forever.

John 1:15

Devotion exegesis

15 Ἰωάννης μαρτυρεῖ περὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ κέκραγεν λέγων, Οὗτος ἦν ὃν εἶπον, Ὁ ὀπίσω μου ἐρχόμενος ἔμπροσθέν μου γέγονεν, ὅτι πρῶτός μου ἦν.

15 John testifies about him. He cries out, saying, "This was the one of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.'"

This kind of a riddle is called a mashal. It seems to have either a double meaning or a hidden meaning. You could call it a riddle or an enigma. Typically, a mashal's meaning eludes its hearers the first time they come into contact with it. Although John the Baptist uses a mashal, and the Apostles are not opposed to using them in the Epistles of the New Testament, Jesus himself preferred another more illustrative and expansive saying: the parable.

In this mashal, it might be easy for us to see the meaning, since we've been led by John the author up to this point.

Ὁ ὀπίσω μου ἐρχόμενος He who comes after me (that is, after John the Baptist) is Jesus, and this makes complete and perfect sense when we remember that John was Jesus' forerunner, just as Malachi had foretold (Malachi 4:5-6).

ἔμπροσθέν μου γέγονεν,...has surpassed me, From our perspective, this would almost be giving it away: Who else could surpass one of God's prophets but God himself? However, in the culture of the first century AD, the prophets' glory and respect for them grows the further back in time we go. In other words, Malachi was greater than John because Malachi lived 400 years before John. And Isaiah was greater than Malachi because he lived about 400 years before Malachi. And David was greater than Isaiah because he lived about 400 years before Isaiah. And Moses was greater than David because he lived about 400 years before David. And Abraham was greater than Moses because he lived about 400 years before Moses. Don't get caught up in my ball-park "400 year" tallies--the point is that the longer ago the man lived, the greater he would be considered to be. And yet, John says, the one who was coming after him had surpassed him.

ὅτι πρῶτός μου ἦν. because he was before me. The "before" here is πρῶτός, "before" in the sense of chronology. If John had meant that Jesus was "before" him meaning "standing right in front of," he would have said πρός rather than πρῶτός. Jesus is before all of us in time, because he is our Maker. He is God.

John used this enigma to carry out his task as the messenger of God, the prophet who foretold Jesus, and yet without saying anything that would in any way limit or constrain Jesus. John's task was to point to Jesus, not to tell Jesus what to do. In view of the Apostles' confused ideas of who and what Jesus was even at the end of his ministry ("Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom of Israel?" Acts 1:6), and in view of John's own confusion (Matthew 11:2-3), it was better that he just carried out his task faithfully. he pointed to Jesus.

Our witness to Jesus begins there, pointing him out. This is our Savior, who came to take away our sins. And in him, we have freedom from death and hell and from the devil himself. And so we ask God to help us in our other freedom: The freedom to resist temptation; to say no to sin, through Jesus. His blood bought us, and we look to him for our strength and for healing.

Isaiah 42:11

יִשְׂאוּ מִדְבָּר וְעָרָיו חֲצֵרִים תֵּשֵׁב קֵדָר יָרֹנּוּ יֹשְׁבֵי סֶלַע מֵרֹאשׁ הָרִים יִצְוָחוּ׃

11 Let the desert and its cities lift up [their voices], the outposts where Kedar lives; let those who live in Sela sing for joy, from the top of the mountains let them shout.

יִשְׂאוּ מִדְבָּר וְעָרָיו Let the desert and its cities lift up [their voices], יִשְׂאוּ is a qal jussive from נָשָׂא "lift up." The form is identical to the imperfect in this case (see below for the Mp note). The jussive is plural because of the inclusion of "its cities" (עָרָיו). In the desert, an עִיר is a trading post as well as a defended fortress, and lines of them dot the roads from Sheba to Africa to India. The Arabs already were travelling to India and perhaps beyond at this point overland. The definition of מִדְבָּר "wilderness, desert" is the part of the countryside where crops can't grow.

חֲצֵרִים תֵּשֵׁב קֵדָר the outposts where Kedar lives; A חָצֶר was any enclosure, from a cow yard with a fence to a little fort or outpost. It was also a word used for the courtyard of a large house or palace, especially one containing its own well. This is the root of the word Hazor (Joshua 12:19). Here the imperfect תֵּשֵׁב is the usual form for a pe-waw verb (its the usual paradigm, cf. Weingreen p. 268-269) but it's behaving like the feminine participle יֺשֶׁ֫בֶת (cp. the masculine participle יֹשְׁבֵי in the parallel phrase below). The name קֵדָר Kedar is a region, but here it stands for its ("her") inhabitants (GK §122i).

יָרֹנּוּ יֹשְׁבֵי סֶלַע let those who live in Sela sing for joy, יֹשְׁבֵי is a qal attributive participle. יָרֹנּוּ is the qal jussive of רָנַן, "give a ringing cry, shout for joy," a word perhaps most well-known for its appearance in the folk song Hava Nagila. סֶלַע is any crag or cliff, but here it might be a reference to the famous desert fortress Petra in Edom, southeast of the Dead Sea.

מֵרֹאשׁ הָרִים יִצְוָחוּ from the top of the mountains let them shout. יִצְוָחוּ is another qal jussive, from צָוַה "cry aloud, shout."

In verse 10, the islands and the sailors were called on; now the Arabs and Bedouin nomads are called on.

Mp notes:
1. יִשְׂאוּ occurs twenty times (כ֗): Ex 20:43; Lev 22:9; Num 1:50; 18:23; Josh 6:4; 6:6; Job 6:2; 21:12; 40:20; Psa 72:3; 93:3; Isa 24:14; 30:6; 38:21; 41:11; Jer 49:29; Ezek 34:29; 39:10; Hos 4:8; Mic 4:3.
2. מֵרֹאשׁ occurs 14 times. See comments on 40:21.
3. The form יִצְוָחוּ occurs only once.

Isaiah 42:10

David had said: "Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy" (Psalm 33:3). Now Isaiah picks up on the same thought. Psalms 93-110 are examples of "a new song," but their tone is different. There, even nature praises God (Psalms 96-98), but the tone here is not festive at all.

שִׁירוּ לַיהוָה שִׁיר חָדָשׁ תְּהִלָּתוֹ מִקְצֵה הָאָרֶץ יוֹרְדֵי הַיָּם וּמְלֹאוֹ אִיִּים וְיֹשְׁבֵיהֶם׃

10 Sing to the LORD a new song, (sing) his praise from the ends of the earth. You who go down to the sea, and all that fill it, you islands, and those who dwell in them.

שִׁירוּ לַיהוָה שִׁיר חָדָשׁ Sing to the LORD a new song, שִׁירוּ qal imperative, both noun and verb are identical forms: שִׁיר "sing / song." What does "new" (חָדָשׁ) mean? A change of condition, new for each generation, the Lord's "new mercy" (Lam. 3:23), and the new attitude of the Lord toward the Gentiles. Most of Isaiah's songs are "new" in that they are prophetic.

תְּהִלָּתוֹ מִקְצֵה הָאָרֶץ (sing) his praise from the ends of the earth. Once again we have the Psalm word, תְּהִלָּתוֹ. The קָצֶה is the extreme part or edge of something, including the fringe of a garment or a curtain; the fringe.

יוֹרְדֵי הַיָּם You who go down to the sea, יוֹרְדֵי qal participle, attributive and construct with הַיָּם "the sea." The Jews generally become sailors themselves; they tended to hire Phoenicians. An example of this is in Jonah, when his ship bound for Tarshish is not manned by any Jews, but foreigners who "each prayed to his own god" (Jonah 1:5). It is also evident from the questioned with which they pepper him, "What do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?" (Jonah 1:8).

וּמְלֹאוֹ and all that fill it, This is a qal infinitive construct used as a noun, "its fillers; inhabitants."

אִיִּים וְיֹשְׁבֵיהֶם you islands, and those who dwell in them. As we have seen, אִיִּים "islands" described all of the people far away, either on coastlands or islands. They are Gentiles.

The new song is sung because of the new condition God has given to us. Because of his forgiveness, we are made new every day. Jeremiah said, “Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23). And the song is new because of the new people--including the Gentiles--who are hearing the gospel and singing praises to God.

Here a new people sings praise to God, as well. Those "who go down to the sea" were not normally the people of Israel, but the Phoenician sailors they hired and sometimes worked for.

The Phoenicians lived next door to Israel, in cities like Tyre and Sidon, and they spread out all over the Mediterranean Sea. They had colonies all along the northern coastline of Africa, most famously just across from Italy's boot at a place called Carthage. When the Romans fought the Phoenicians in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, just after the time of Malachi and the close of the Old Testament, they called them Punic wars because of the Latin pronunciation of Phoenician (related to the word phoenix, not to the word punish as is sometimes thought). The Phoenician colonies along the coastlines and throughout the Mediterranean islands are hinted at in this passage: "the sea, and all that is in it, you islands, and all who live in them."

As the "new song" begins, new people like the Phoenicians are singing along. God's mercy extends over all the earth. His forgiveness covers over every one of our sins, and as we carry his message of forgiveness to the world, new voices are added all the time. Every generation and every nation adds new voices to this song, and the rooms of heaven are filled with every believer, known and loved by God from before the creation of the world.

And that goes for you, too.

Revelation 2:12-17 (Pergamum)

Sermon Exegesis for October 17th, 2010.
St. Paul's Lutheran Church, New Ulm, MN


REVELATION 2:12

12 Καὶ τῷ ἀγγέλῳ τῆς ἐν Περγάμῳ ἐκκλησίας γράψον· Τάδε λέγει ὁ ἔχων τὴν ῥομϕαίαν τὴν δίστομον τὴν ὀξεῖαν·

12 "And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: The One who has the sharp two-edged sword says this:

Pergamum (Περγάμῳ) means "citadel" or "fortress" (perg and burg are somewhat related). It was located in a valley on the river Caicus about 20 miles from the west coast of Asia Minor. It had once been the capital city of Mysia, and was the chief city of the Roman province of Asia Propria. One of its rulers, King Eumenes II, vastly expanded the city's library until Pergamum's collection (more than 20,000 hand-copied volumes!) was second only to the great library of Alexandria. It was in Pergamum that the science of making a kind of paper out of the skins of sheep and goats was vastly improved. Their famous pergamena has come down to us in the word "parchment."

The second century physician, anatomist, author and atheist Galen (born in Pergamum in 113 AD about 35 years after John wrote Revelation) was influenced by the city's great temple of Aesclepius (god of healing). A live snake was kept in the temple and was perhaps believed to be an incarnation of the god himself (the medical symbol called a caduceus is a serpent coiled around a staff).

The "sharp two-edged sword" is the word of God, which is shown coming from the mouth of Jesus in Revelation 1:16. Strictly speaking, a ῥομϕαίαν was a long sword, not the short stabbing gladius of the Romans.


REVELATION 2:13

13 Οἶδα ποῦ κατοικεῖς, ὅπου ὁ θρόνος τοῦ Σατανᾶ, καὶ κρατεῖς τὸ ὄνομά μου, καὶ οὐκ ἠρνήσω τὴν πίστιν μου καὶ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ᾽Αντιπᾶς ὁ μάρτυς μου ὁ πιστός μου, ὃς ἀπεκτάνθη παρ' ὑμῖν, ὅπου ὁ Σατανᾶς κατοικεῖ.

13 'I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is; and you hold fast My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.

ὁ θρόνος τοῦ Σατανᾶ "Satan's throne" could refer to something specific in Pergamum, like a cult or a shrine, but there is no hint in the Bible, in archaeology or in history to tell us what it might be. But we also know that the goal of Satan is to win souls away from Jesus -- and anything that does that is a throne for Satan. Jesus commends the people of this city because they have stayed firm in their faith despite the temptations of the shrines, the bars, the magazine racks; despite surfing the local TV channels (or whatever passed for entertainment in the first century), and despite the example of their friends and neighbors. This was similar to the belief of the Nicolaitans, who turn up here again. These sins were especially sexual, but there were undoubtedly other temptations as well.

Antipas (᾽Αντιπᾶς) had been martyred -- killed for his faith. This had probably only just happened. The Greek indicates that this actually happened, but doesn't really indicate when. In the last century, more Christians have died for their faith than in all previous centuries combined. Although it's true that many more people are in the world today, the truth is that persecution and martyrdom still thrive in a world that hates and despises its Creator. But Jesus says: stay firm! Trust in Jesus.

The verse ends with a chilling reminder from Jesus that there in Pergamum among those very people is ὅπου ὁ Σατανᾶς κατοικεῖ "where Satan dwells." Not that Satan had a house there and didn't terrorize any other location at that time, but we had certainly set up shop there, as evidenced by the martyrdom of Antipas.

REVELATION 2:14

14 ἀλλ' ἔχω κατὰ σοῦ ὀλίγα, ὅτι ἔχεις ἐκεῖ κρατοῦντας τὴν διδαχὴν Βαλαάμ, ὃς ἐδίδασκεν τῷ Βαλὰκ βαλεῖν σκάνδαλον ἐνώπιον τῶν υἱῶν ᾽Ισραήλ, ϕαγεῖν εἰδωλόθυτα καὶ πορνεῦσαι·

14 'But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality.

Balaam was the false prophet that dominated the last few chapters of the book of Numbers. When he was unable to curse Israel (he was paid to try) he suggested that they could be led astray by the idolatry of the Moabites. Perhaps there were people in Pergamum who wanted to mix their religion with the faiths of other people. You can almost hear the familiar nonsense: "We all believe in the same God," "God loves all of us," or "We just interpret things differently, that's all." And lately, "It's important that we should be tolerant of other life-style choices, because that's the loving thing to do," even if it directly violates Scripture itself.


REVELATION 2:15

15 οὕτως ἔχεις καὶ σὺ κρατοῦντας τὴν διδαχὴν Νικολαϊτῶν ὁμοίως.

15 'So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.

We spoke about the Nicaloaitans with the letter to the Ephesians earlier in this chapter. They were compromising their faith with the pagans in their city. The two errors, toleration and compromise, solidify false doctrine like a cement wall that creates a self-imposed prison around Christians.


REVELATION 2:16

16 μετανόησον οὖν· εἰ δὲ μή, ἔρχομαί σοι ταχύ, καὶ πολεμήσω μετ' αὐτῶν ἐν τῇ ῥομϕαίᾳ τοῦ στόματός μου.

16 'Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth.

Here the ἔρχομαί "coming" of Jesus is shown to be something that is on the one hand distant (the Last Day) but on the other hand imminent, about to happen at any moment for any one of us. That coming could be experienced as an entire city as well, if God were to call down his judgment in the form of a war or an attack of some kind. God has often used pagans and unbelievers to be the instruments of his call to repentance; when God's people fail to listen to the call, worse punishments arrive. Plagues of frogs and fleas can quickly become plagues of hail and death. The exile of my neighbor to Assyria can become my own kidnapping and deportation to Babylon.

An important question here is, Who is "them" (μετ' αὐτῶν) in the second half of the verse? "Them" are the ones who have embraced the ecumenism of the Balaamites and the toleration and compromise of the Nicolaitans. The Lord himself will fight against them with his holy word.


REVELATION 2:17

17 ὁ ἔχων οὖς ἀκουσάτω τί τὸ πνεῦμα λέγει ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις. τῷ νικῶντι δώσω αὐτῷ τοῦ μάννα τοῦ κεκρυμμένου, καὶ δώσω αὐτῷ ψῆϕον λευκὴν καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν ψῆϕον ὄνομα καινὸν γεγραμμένον ὃ οὐδεὶς οἶδεν εἰ μὴ ὁ λαμβάνων.

17 'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.'

The τοῦ μάννα τοῦ κεκρυμμένου "hidden manna" and the ψῆϕον λευκὴν "white stone" need to be explained. Manna was the bread that kept Israel alive in the wilderness even during Balaam's time, and here it seems to be a symbol for God preserving his people to eternal life. The white stone, Greek ψῆϕον, was also the Greek word for "vote." When the democratic Greeks needed to vote in a trial, they dropped white or black stones into a container -- white meant "acquitted," black meant "guilty." Jesus was telling the Christians of Pergamum that they will receive his "acquitted" vote -- and there is only one person who votes. That's Jesus himself. Not only did Jesus die to pay for our sins, but he is also our judge. He will not forget us or forsake us.

We are at peace with God.

Hebrew Review: Nifal Perfect

3 m sg             נִקְטַל

3 f sg           נִקְטְלָה

2 m sg         נִקְטַ֡לְתָּ

2 f sg          נִקְטַלְתְּ

1 sg          נִקְטַ֫לְתִּי


3 pl              נִקְטְלוּ

2 m pl      נִקְטַלְתֶּם

2 f pl         נִקְטַלְתֶּן

1 pl             נִקְטַ֜לְנוּ

Isaiah 42:9

הָרִאשֹׁנוֹת הִנֵּה־בָאוּ וַחֲדָשׁוֹת אֲנִי מַגִּיד בְּטֶרֶם תִּצְמַחְנָה אַשְׁמִיע אֶתְכֶם׃

9 The former things: Behold! They came true! And I am declaring new things; before they spring into being, I make them known to you.

הָרִאשֹׁנוֹת הִנֵּה־בָאוּ The former things: Behold! They came true! In 41:22, הָרִאשֹׁנוֹת refers to something like "the recent future." Here it contrasts things that have not yet taken place, and it means things that were once foretold and then happened just as they had been prophesied. The Old Testament is riddled with these fulfilled prophecies. The building of the nation from Abraham and Sarah's son is one of the greatest examples. הָרִאשֹׁנוֹת occurs six times, five of them in this book. See notes on Isaiah 41:22.

וַחֲדָשׁוֹת אֲנִי מַגִּיד בְּטֶרֶם תִּצְמַחְנָה And I am declaring new things; before they spring into being, The adjective חָדָשׁ means "new," in the sense of something that was not there before. The first accent for is וַֽחֲדָשׁוֹת֙ is gaya or metheg. It's only real function is to caution the reader to slow down a little bit and not slur over the waw-patah. מַגִּיד is a hifil participle from נָגַד "be known, be conspicuous." Notice that attributive participial the phrase אֲנִי מַגִּיד is connected with munah, coming very close to a periphrastic construction: "I am the one who is declaring." תִּצְמַחְנָה qal imperfect from צָמַח "spring up."

אַשְׁמִיע אֶתְכֶם I make them known to you. אַשְׁמִיע is a hifil imperfect from שָׁמַע "hear," and "make heard, make known" in the hifil, often taking on a meaning of "make a proclamation," and is even used as a musical term. Most manuscripts add the furtive patach אַשְׁמִיעַ although L has אַשְׁמִיע, this is certainly one of the minor flaws of L.

The proclamation of the good news of forgiveness is the "new thing" that God declares to us all. And in joy we proclaim the same message to the world.

Isaiah 42:8

אֲנִי יְהוָה הוּא שְׁמִי וּכְבוֹדִי לְאַחֵר לֹא־אֶתֵּן וּתְהִלָּתִי לַפְּסִילִים׃

8 I am the LORD, that is my name. I will not give my glory to another, I will not give my praise to idols.

אֲנִי יְהוָה הוּא שְׁמִי I am the LORD, that is my name. In this simple sentence, God reminds Israel that although they had changed a lot, he is changeless. The Lord remains the Lord forever.

וּכְבוֹדִי לְאַחֵר לֹא־אֶתֵּן I will not give my glory to another, God has every right to be selfish and jealous about his glory, but in truth he could never give it to anyone else. He can glorify and sanctify his people, but his glory remains his own, for all time. But how can we leave this spoken as it is and also allow Jesus to say what he says in John 17:22, "I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one"? "Glory" here is paired with "praise" in the parallel colon. But we should also note the context of John 17:22:

What is the glory God the Father gave to his Son? It wasn't something he was given before the Creation, because Jesus isn't lacking anything at all in his divine nature (there would have been nothing to give). And since Jesus gave the same glory to "them" (all believers -- the subject of the third part of high High Priestly prayer), then it was something given while Jesus had taken on his human nature; in fact, it was instantly given to Jesus from the moment of his conception, since he was immediately recognized as the Lord even then (Luke 1:43-44). And we should point out that this is not the glory of a certain office (a job, a career, or calling), nor of the ability to perform miracles or speak in parables, since not all believers have these gifts. If we recall John 17:1-2, we will see that the glory given to this human man and which is passed on to us is the "authority to give eternal life." Christ did this with his own blood, and we do it with the message of Christ's blood. Luther seems about to propose an alternative but only says that this glory is Christ. "All the ungodly, too, shout about the glory of God but meanwhile arrogate this divine work to themselves, as Paul says to the Galatians, "that they may glory in your flesh" (Gal. 6:13).

וּתְהִלָּתִי לַפְּסִילִים I will not give my praise to idols. תְהִלָּתִי "my praise" is also found in the title of the Psalms, tehillim." The Mp note that וּתְהִלָּתִי occurs just twice calls our attention to Isaiah 48:9. A פָּסִיל is an idol, especially of wood or stone as opposed to the cast metal idols like the נֶסֶךְ of 41:29. Another Mp note says that לַפְּסִילִים occurs four times written plene (Judges 3:19; 3:26; Isaiah 42:8 and 2 Chron. 33:22).

Isaiah 42:7

לִפְקֹחַ עֵינַיִם עִוְרוֹת לְהוֹצִיא מִמַּסְגֵּר אַסִּיר מִבֵּית כֶּלֶא יֹשְׁבֵי חֹשֶׁךְ׃

7 To open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from the prison, and those who sit in darkness from the prison house.

לִפְקֹחַ עֵינַיִם עִוְרוֹת To open the eyes of the blind, לִפְקֹחַ is a qal infinitive construct, another complement of וְאֶתֶּנְךָ לִבְרִית עָם "I have given you as a covenant of the people." Not that עֵינַיִם is typically found in the dual, "eyes." The adjective עִוְרוֹת (the form is hapax) is usually found as a substantive, "the blind." The Mp note says that עֵינַיִם occurs 28 times (see below).

What kind of blindness is this? Young (III, 121) is insistent that this is neither physical nor spiritual blindness. Pieper (188-189) uses the term "spiritual blindness" and does not elaborate. Young's explanation is that this must be the blindness that results from sin, and I would maintain that this is exactly what Pieper means by "spiritual blindness," which is the direct result of sin in mankind. Luther says the same thing, speaking of the results of spiritual blindness: "Thus here, too, all lights apart from Christ are darkness, as is free will. Afterwards there is also captivity."

לְהוֹצִיא מִמַּסְגֵּר אַסִּיר to bring out prisoners from the locks, The hifil infinitive construct לְהוֹצִיא (from יָצָא, "come, go out") is another complementary infinitive. The singular מַסְגֵּר is to be taken as a collective here. It means "locksmith" with an echo of the "smith, blacksmith" idea familiar from references to idols throughout Isaiah. Prisoners are bound by the work of locksmiths, and to go to "the locks" or "the lockup" is still a phrase we use. In the pual, the verb סגר means "be closed up, be shut up (in a dungeon)." The Mp note says that it occurs twice (cf. Psalm 142:8). אַסִּיר usually refers to prisoners taken in battle.

מִבֵּית כֶּלֶא יֹשְׁבֵי חֹשֶׁךְ and those who sit in darkness from the house of confinement. כֶּלֶא "restraint, confinement" is used as the genitive for "house." יֹשְׁבֵי is an attributive qal participle, "those who sit, dwell." We need to look as חֹשֶׁךְ "darkness" in the context of אוֹר "light" in the previous verse. To be brought out of darkness into God's light, is to be brought out of the complete darkness of sin, death and the devil.

God looks at our faith and he even praises it, but he is the one who gave it to us. His words are like the words of the husband in Solomon's song, “How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful! Your eyes are doves” (Song of Solomon 1:15). He praises the thing she has least control over; as God praises us for the thing that he gave us.

Jesus gives this gift to the world, a "light for the Gentiles," to bring healing to people who were outside of Israel, but who have been brought into God's family through the same saving act of Jesus on the cross.

Mp: עֵינַיִם twenty-eight times: Gen 20:16; 38:14; 49:12; Lev 26:16; Num 24:4; 24:16; Dt 28:65; 1 Sam 16:12; Job 22:29; 29:15; Ps 19:9; 101:5; 115:5; 135:16; Prov 6:17; 15:30; 21:4; 23:29; Eccl 6:9; Isaiah 3:16; 42:7; 59:10; Jer 5:21; Ezek 1:18; 10:12; 12:2; Hab. 1:13; Zech 3:9.

Isaiah 42:6

אֲנִי יְהוָה קְרָאתִיךָ בְצֶדֶק וְאַחְזֵק בְּיָדֶךָ וְאֶצָּרְךָ וְאֶתֶּנְךָ לִבְרִית עָם לְאוֹר גּוֹיִם׃

6 I am the LORD, I called you in righteousness and I will take you by the hand. I have kept you and I have given you as a covenant of the people to be a light for the Gentiles.

אֲנִי יְהוָה קְרָאתִיךָ בְצֶדֶק וְאַחְזֵק בְּיָדֶךָ I am the LORD, I called you in righteousness and I will take you by the hand. The qal perfect קְרָאתִיךָ "called" is followed by the waw imperfect (not waw-consecutive) וְאַחְזֵק, "will take." Here the servant becomes the instrument of the Lord for the purpose of salvation. This is why he was called, taken up, kept and given: to save mankind from our sins. The בְ in בְצֶדֶק behaves just like the Greek ἐν here; the LXX agrees with its ἐν δικαιoσύνῃ; this is the dative of the sphere. God called his servant within the sphere of righteousness. It was in righteousness and only in righteousness, unadulterated by anything unrighteous at all. בְּיָדֶךָ "by the hand" (by your hand) tells us that the Lord will give his servant help, support and protection at all times, throughout all of his service.

Although the versions (Syriac, Targum, Vulgate) take וְאַחְזֵק as a waw-consecutive (וָאַחְזֵק), the Mp note "a hapax form" appears to guard the reading of the text as we have it, although no other form with these consonants ever occurs. The MT text here may also be supported by the following waw-imperfects which follow.

וְאֶצָּרְךָ וְאֶתֶּנְךָ לִבְרִית עָם I have kept you and I have given you as a covenant of the people, וְאֶצָּרְךָ qal waw-imperfect נָצַר "watch, guard, keep" (a synonym of שָׁמַר). The next verb וְאֶתֶּנְךָ is also a qal waw-imperfect (נָתַן). The "covenant" (בְרִית) is the servant himself; he will bring the people into the blessings of God the Father and give them salvation through himself, through his own person and work. This is what he already said he would do for the islands in verse 4. בְרִית is in a construct position even though not accented with munah; the familiar merka-tipha pairing groups the words together. The covenant of the people is not a covenant made up of people, but a covenant in place for the benefit of this people. But who is "this" people? The parallel phrase says it clearly:

לְאוֹר גּוֹיִם to be a light for the Gentiles. Rarely is עָם "people" used for anyone outside Israel, but here the גּוֹיִם "Gentiles" are included, and so we are not talking about physical Israel, not Israel the nation, but the spiritual Israel, made up of Israelites and גּוֹיִם alike who are believers: these are the true עָם of God. The Gospel is " the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile" (Romans 1:16).

An outstanding exegesis and application of this passage occurs in Acts 13 when Paul and Barnabas were confronted by the congregation in the synagogue of Pisidian Antioch. Paul said, "We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. For this is what the Lord has commanded us: 'I have made you (σε, the same singular as in the pronominal suffix of וְאֶתֶּנְךָ) a light for the Gentiles (εἰς φῶς ἐθνῶν is לְאוֹר גּוֹיִם), that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth."

Some minor textual notes include the Mp note for וְאֶצָּרְךָ (occurs twice, cf. Isaiah 49:8) and the long note for עָם: "This word occurs 17 times, all accented with or connected directly to zaqef, atnach, sof pasuq and accents like them (i.e., the "king" accents, also including segolta, tipha and shalshelet). The reason for the reference to the accents is that they generally pull the form into pause, causing the vowel to become qames. The seventeen listed in Mm 2120 are Num 23:9 (pashta), 23:24 (pashta), Deut. 4:33 (telisa parvum before pashta); Judges 9:36 (munah before zaqef); 9:37 (pashta before zaqef); 2 Kings 13:7 (rebi); 15:10 (tipha); Isaiah 42:6 (tipha); Ezekiel 33:31 (garshayim); Joel 2:16 (garshayim); Psalm 18:44 (merka before dehi); 62:9 (rebi); 72:4 (rebi); Job 34:20 (munah before atnach); Prov 14:28 (merka before atnach); Esther 3:8 (rebi) and 1 Chron 17:21 (rebi). Finally, לְאוֹר occurs 13 times (the note is about the shewa): Job 3:9; 30:26; Isaiah 5:20; 42:6; 49:6; 51:4; 60:19 (twice); 60:20; Jer 13:16; 31:35 (twice) and Habakkuk 3:11.

Hebrew Review: Qal Imperfect

3 m sg    יִקְטֹל

3 f sg    תִּקְטֹל

2 m sg  תִּקְטֹל

2 f sg   תִּקְטְלִי

1 sg       אֶקְטֹל



3 m pl        יִקְטְלוּ

3 f pl     תִּקְטֹ֜לְנָה

2 m pl       תִּקְטְלוּ

2 f pl     תִּקְטֹ֜לְנָה

1 pl             נִקְטֹל

Isaiah 42:5

כֹּה־אָמַר הָאֵל יְהוָה בּוֹרֵא הַשָּׁמַיִם וְנוֹטֵיהֶם רֹקַע הָאָרֶץ וְצֶאֱצָאֶיהָ נֹתֵן נְשָׁמָה לָעָם עָלֶיהָ וְרוּחַ לַהֹלְכִים בָּהּ׃

5 This is what God the LORD says, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who hammered out the earth and what comes out of it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it.

כֹּה־אָמַר הָאֵל יְהוָה This is what God the LORD says, The article with God's name sets "The God" in contrast with the previous references to idols; the article also governs the attributive participles that follow.

The accented text for "God the LORD" is הָאֵ֣ל ׀ יְהוָ֗ה, and the Mp note observes that this combined name and title of the Lord occurs just twice with paseq (the line dividing the two words). Here the paseq is preceded by munah, which lessens the division of the words and is technically called legarmeh. In the other place (Psalm 85:9) the paseq is preceded by galgal ( הָאֵ֪ל ׀) and is not a legarmeh. It might have been useful if the Mp not had also pointed out that these are the only to occurrences of this form of "God the LORD" in the Bible (הָאֱלֹהִים יְהוָה occurs as a conjoined phrase twice: 1 Chron. 13:6 with paseq and darga, and 2 Chron 30:19 with paseq and merka).

בּוֹרֵא הַשָּׁמַיִם וְנוֹטֵיהֶם who created the heavens and stretched them out, The qal participle בּוֹרֵא takes us back to בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא "In the beginning (God) created..." in Genesis 1:1. וְנוֹטֵיהֶם is another qal participle from נָטָה, "stretch, bend." This is a picture of God pulling the seemingly infinite space of the heavens into the ideal frame for our world and all the other things he would place there three days later.

רֹקַע הָאָרֶץ וְצֶאֱצָאֶיהָ who hammered out the earth and what comes out of it, רֹקַע is another qal participle, still governed by the initial article with "God." רָקַע means to beat out thin, stamp the foot, or spread out as a smith taps out copper or gold into thin sheets with a light hammer. Young suggests that the form is construct, and this corresponds to Holladay's entry on the verb. The English "earth-hammerer" would be an awkward kenning and unnecessarily Wagnerian, so "the one who hammered out the earth" is clear enough. This is a picture of God forming out the surface of the earth, and Isaiah's mind now is probably on the third day of creation when the dry ground appears. The smith's sheet of hammered metal is bumpy as he first begins to work, resembling the rocky hills and valleys of the Shephelah and the other terrain of Judah. צֶאֱצָאֶיהָ is a noun resembling the formation of a pe'al'al verb from the root יצא "come out." Here is a picture of what comes out of the ground; Young (III, 117) envisions the lush carpet of green grass that springs up and covers Palestine's otherwise bare hills during the winter rains.

נֹתֵן נְשָׁמָה לָעָם עָלֶיהָ וְרוּחַ לַהֹלְכִים בָּהּ who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it. נְשָׁמָה is a rare word for "breath," but it occurs in both halves of Isaiah (2:22) and finds itself scattered throughout each section of the Old Testament. It's more or less a synonym for רוּחַ in the second part of the clause.

Isaiah 42:4

לֹא יִכְהֶה וְלֹא יָרוּץ עַד־יָשִׂים בָּאָרֶץ מִשְׁפָּט וּלְתוֹרָתוֹ אִיִּים יְיַחֵלוּ׃

4 He will not fail, he will not be crushed until he has established justice in the land. And the islands wait for his Lord.

לֹא יִכְהֶה וְלֹא יָרוּץ He will not fail, he will not be crushed, יִכְהֶה is the verbal form of כֵהָה "fail, grow dim." In the same way, יָרוּץ is the qal imperfect of רָצַץ "crush." The variant reading of the LXX θραυσθρήσεται (future passive ind, 3rd sg from θραύω "oppress," cf. Luke 4:18) is more an interpretation rather than a reading of the Hebrew text. The things that the Lord will not do to the weak and the very things that describe the weak are things that the Lord will neither do nor be.

עַד־יָשִׂים בָּאָרֶץ מִשְׁפָּט until he has established justice in the land. יָשִׂים is the qal imperfect of שִׂים. Here עַד means "up to the point of." It doesn't imply that the Savior will be able to fail after his task is complete (as the English "until" could imply), but that failure is not a possibility, right through to the completion of his task.

וּלְתוֹרָתוֹ אִיִּים יְיַחֵלוּ And the islands wait for his law. יְיַחֵלוּ is the piel imperfect (note the shewa under the prefixed yod) from יָחַל, "hope, wait expectantly." In what sense is this hopeful wait? It can be both retrospective (the Gentiles also put their hope in him) or prospective (anticipating the salvation of the Gentiles). In Isaiah אִיִּים "islands" is an important term, calling our attention out beyond the shoreline of Canaan to the farthest reaches of the earth. All of the Gentiles are also the object of God's loving concern, and the gospel must reach out to them, too.

Verse 4 concludes the quote from the Lord's courtroom that was begun in 41:25 (note the פ paragraph marker). Jesus brought justice and peace into the world through his own body; through his own suffering and death. The people trust in him because he has put faith in their hearts: “I have not departed from your laws, for you yourself have taught me” (Psalm 119:102)

Isaiah 42:3

קָנֶה רָצוּץ לֹא יִשְׁבּוֹר וּפִשְׁתָּה כֵהָה לֹא יְכַבֶּנָּה לֶאֱמֶת יוֹצִיא מִשְׁפָּט׃

3 A bruised reed he will not break, and the failing wick shall he will not put out. He will bring justice in the truth.

קָנֶה רָצוּץ לֹא יִשְׁבּוֹר A bruised reed he will not break, A קָנֶה can be a stalk of grain or a reed growing out of the water of a river. רָצוּץ is the qal passive participle of רָצַץ, "crush." יִשְׁבּוֹר is the imperfect of שָׁבַר, "break," referring to anything from a bolder to a bone to a blade of grass. Forms of שָׁבַר occurs three times written plene (fully, with the holem-waw) but just once in this form. The others are Hosea 2:20 (אֶשְׁבּוֹר) and Jeremiah 28:12 (שְׁבוֹר).

וּפִשְׁתָּה כֵהָה לֹא יְכַבֶּנָּה and the failing wick he will not put out. פִשְׁתָּה means "flax," and it's no stretch from there to "wick." כֵהָה referring to a wick means "faint, dim," and is even less of a flame than "smoldering." This is a wick so dim that all that remains is a little orange glow that you can't see in daylight -- the lamp looks dead to anyone who isn't looking very carefully. Such a dim and fading flax is what the Lord will not יְכַבֶּנָּה, "put out," piel imperfect כָּבָה.

לֶאֱמֶת יוֹצִיא מִשְׁפָּט He will bring justice in the truth. We might translate לֶאֱמֶת "faithfully." Literally its "in truth" or "to the truth." יוֹצִיא is the hifil imperfect of יָצָה, "bring."

A bruised reed or a bent blade of grass would be easy to break, but Christ did not come into the world to do what would be easy. He came to do what no one else could do. He came to mend what was unmendable and fix what was beyond repair.

So how much faith inside of me is enough to be saved? Any amount of faith in Jesus is saving faith. A wick that is smoldering doesn't give off very much light -- but he will not snuff it out. What counts is not how much faith we have, but who our faith is in. So how much faith is in me? What counts is that the faith is there at all. The faith within us is a gift from God. It's the gift that brings us to eternal life.

Isaiah 42:2

לֹא יִצְעַק וְלֹא יִשָּׂא וְלֹא־יַשְׁמִיעַ בַּחוּץ קוֹלוֹ׃

2 He will not shout, he will not raise [his voice], or make his voice heard in the streets.

לֹא יִצְעַק He will not shout, יִצְעַק is a qal imperfect from צָעַק, "cry out, shout." This presents a paradox: a proclaimer who won't shout; Isaiah will explain this as we go along. The Mp note says that there are 34 verses beginning with לֹא in which וְלֹא and then another וְלֹא follow later in the verse. Since the list (Mm 771) includes several Isaiah passages, I will include it at at the end of the comments on this verse.

וְלֹא יִשָּׂא וְלֹא־יַשְׁמִיעַ בַּחוּץ קוֹלוֹ he will not raise [his voice], or make his voice heard in the streets. The parallel thought to "he will not shout" is "he will not raise," with no object to the qal imperfect יִשָּׂא. The subject is provided at the end of the verse. Paul Raabe (quoting O'Connor) describes this as "leftward gapping." In two parallel cola, the subject of the first colon is absent (gapped), and brought forward from the second colon. Raabe (Obadiah p. 132) shows this to be the case with "nest" in Obadiah 4 and other passages (cf. Habakkuk 3:2). The phrase וְלֹא יִשָּׂא occurs twice (2 Sam 14:14; Isa. 42:2). The form יִשָּׂא (qal imperfect) occurs 37 times (see Mm list 289, below).

יַשְׁמִיעַ is a hifil imperfect from שָׁמַע, "hear." The causative hifil stem makes this "cause to be heard." A חוּץ is both "the outside" and "the street." When Ham saw his father's nakedness, he went out into the חוּץ "outside (the tent) to tell his brothers, but here the idea of "street" seems appropriate.

The Chosen One has authority and power, but will not force his message. We will see in verse 3 that he will not bruise or break what it weak. He is not only gentle, he comes to build up. He comes to seek and to save; primarily to heal mankind of our sins. Notice that even as he condemned the Pharisees, he was patient with his disciples. Contrast this with Cyrus, who was not a conqueror, but a savior for God's people, and even with John the Baptist, a good old fashioned fire and brimstone preacher.

[Mm 771: Ex. 23:24; Lev. 19:11; 25:11; Nu. 23:19; Dt. 1:42; 4:31; 26:14; 29:22; Josh 6:10; 1 Sa 12:4; 13:8; 13:9; 13:16; 18:12; Isaiah 1:6; 23:4; 42:2; 49:10; 53:2; Jer 13:14; 14:14; 19:5; 20:9; 21:7; 25:33; 44:10; Ezek 8:18; 24:14; 31:14; Zeph 3:13; Ps 22:25; 131:1; Job 3:26 and 15:29]

[Mm 289: Gen 32:21; 40:13; 40:19; Ex 20:7; 23:21; Lev 19:8; 20:17; Num 6:26; 9:13; 11:12; Dt 1:31; 5:11; 10:17; 28:49; 28:50; 33:3; 24:19; 2 Sam 14:14; Job 7:13; Psa 24:5; Prov 6:35; Eccl 5:14; Isa 2:4; 3:7; 8:4; 10:24; 40:11; 42:2; 57:13; Lam 3:27; Ezek 12:12; 18:20 (twice); Mic 2:4; Hab 1:3; Hag 2:12; Zech 6:13]

Isaiah 42:1

In chapter 41, someone was "stirred up" from the north to help Israel. Who is he? The Lord now reveals him to be עַבְדִּי, "my servant," and בְּחִירִי, "my chosen one."

הֵן עַבְדִּי אֶתְמָךְ־בּוֹ בְּחִירִי רָצְתָה נַפְשִׁי נָתַתִּי רוּחִי עָלָיו מִשְׁפָּט לַגּוֹיִם יוֹצִיא׃

1 See: my servant. I uphold him, my chosen one; my soul delights in him. I have put my spirit on him. He will bring judgment to the nations.

הֵן עַבְדִּי אֶתְמָךְ־בּוֹ See: my servant. I uphold him, אֶתְמָךְ is a qal imperfect from תָּמַךְ, "grasp, support" (אֶתְמָך is a hapax form). A "servant" (עגד) isn't necessarily a slave. It can be a king, if the king is subservient to a greater king. עגד can even be used of a vassal nation. Here the servant is the specially chosen soul who delights the very soul of God.

בְּחִירִי רָצְתָה נַפְשִׁי my chosen one; my soul delights in him. בְּחִירִי is an adjective (בָּחִיר) "chosen, elected." רָצְתָה is a qal perfect from רָצָה, "be pleased, delight" (רָצְתָה occurs twice: 2 Chron 36:21; Isaiah 42:1). It is feminine because נֶפֶשׁ is feminine. נֶפֶשׁ is applied to God the Father. נֶפֶשׁ almost always refers to animate life: even animals have a נֶפֶשׁ, although they do not possess a רוּחַ. Here, נֶפֶשׁ is simply a more emotional way of involving God the Father in the generation of God the Son.

נָתַתִּי רוּחִי עָלָיו I have put my spirit on him. נָתַן "give" doesn't need to be twisted into any other meaning; "put" (NIV) doesn't really distort the meaning but I'm not certain it helps clarify the giving of the spirit to the Son of God. This "giving" didn't take place only at his baptism as perhaps a Docetist might say, but in eternity, as the Son of God was and is eternally begotten of the Father. Of course, God the Father did indeed "give" נָתַן all power and authority to Jesus at various times; the Son is the Son without any measure, without any limits (John 3:34). We also see God the Son, Jesus Christ, receiving the Spirit of God and filled with the Spirit of God at various times. Luke 4:1, "full of the Spirit," Luke 4:14, "in the power of the Spirit." Luke 10:21, "full of joy through the Holy Spirit." The giving of the Spirit shows God's approval on his Son.

מִשְׁפָּט לַגּוֹיִם יוֹצִיא He will bring judgment to the nations. מִשְׁפָּט is the authority to judge, the content of that judgment, and the verdict of that judgment. The Son of God, the Chosen One, will bring (יוֹצִיא, hifil imperfect) that judgment on the world.

The עֶבֶד "servant" of God begins with the Israel of the Old Testament, chosen, often unfaithful, often rebellious, and as often chastised by the Lord. It is more directly the other Israel, the remnant Israel, the faithful Israel brought back by God out of the captivity (and so prefigured by Isaiah). It is also Cyrus, the great foreign King of Persia who made the return of the remnant happen according to the word of the Lord. It is also the individual servant of God, the "one man Israel," the Christ of God who stands in place of the true remnant Israel. He is the one the book will point to more and more directly as the one, the Chosen One (the בָּחִיר) who came into the world to save the world; and even to save the גּוֹיִם, the nations.

Hebrew Review: Qal Perfect

STUDENT REVIEW #1 - QAL PERFECT

I have used an accent (geresh, above the radical) where necessary

3 m sg.      קָטַל 

3 f sg.      קָטְלָה

2 m sg.    קָטַ֜לְתָּ

2 f. sg      קָטַלְתְּ

1 sg.       קָטַ֜לְתִּי

3rd pl.       קָטְלוּ

2 m pl.    קְטַלְתֶּם

2 f pl.      קְטַלְתֶּן

1 pl.         קָטַ֜לְנוּ


Print this page, and write the forms again to refresh your memory:


3 m sg            ק ט ל

3 f sg.             ק ט ל

2 m sg.            ק ט ל

2 f. sg.             ק ט ל

1 sg.                ק ט ל



3rd pl.              ק ט ל

2 m pl.             ק ט ל

2 f pl.              ק ט ל

1 pl.                 ק ט ל

Isaiah 41:29

הֵן כֻּלָּם אָוֶן אֶפֶס מַעֲשֵׂיהֶם רוּחַ וָתֹהוּ נִסְכֵּיהֶם׃

29 See, they are all false. Their works are nothing. Their images are wind and chaos.

הֵן כֻּלָּם אָוֶן See, they are all false. Here אָוֶן is "falseness, futility" (TWOT), one of the more basic meanings of the noun, which we see far more often in the sense of "sin, iniquity." The Qumran scroll (4QIsª) takes the word as אֵין "nothing," as do the Targum and the Syriac. This also would match the parallel word אֶפֶס. Another point of confusion here is that the accents merka and tipha draw אָוֶן and אֶפֶס together as a phrase, which is not at all the way our translations take them, breaking them apart into parallel phrases. However, the text can stand as we have it and be understood correctly.

אֶפֶס מַעֲשֵׂיהֶם Their works are nothing. אֶפֶס is the end of everything, non-existence; nothing.

רוּחַ וָתֹהוּ נִסְכֵּיהֶם Their images are wind and chaos. Once again the prophet turns to the word וָתֹהוּ which he likes to use. The noun נִסְכֵּיהֶם (plural of נֶסֶךְ) can mean either a libation (drink offering) or the thing the offering is poured out to: an idol. In fact, the idea of "pouring" probably indicates that the idol itself was poured into a mold: a molten idol. The form וָתֹהוּ occurs only in Isaiah 40:17 and 41:29.

This verse ends with an open petuah (פ) paragraph mark

Isaiah 41:28

וְאֵרֶא וְאֵין אִישׁ וּמֵאֵלֶּה וְאֵין יוֹעֵץ וְאֶשְׁאָלֵם וְיָשִׁיבוּ דָבָר׃

28 But when I look there is no one, not one among them who is a counselor. And when I ask them, could they give an answer?

וְאֵרֶא וְאֵין אִישׁ But when I look there is no one, The qal imperfect (וְאֵרֶא from רָאָה, "to see") is probably potential (GK §107r) but verges on the contingent idea of a conditional (a cohortative use of the imperfect, GK §108e). אִישׁ emphasizes the idea of "no one" as "no man at all."

An Mp note points out that וְאֵין followed later in the verse by another וְאֵין occurs 13 times. The count is correct, but the list (Mp 2004) isn't too informative. Another Mp note says that the phrase וְאֵין אִישׁ occurs seven times (Gen. 39:11; Judges 19:15, 18; 1 Sam 9:2; Isa 41:28; 50:2; 57:1).

וּמֵאֵלֶּה וְאֵין יוֹעֵץ not one among them who is a counselor. The partitive מִן in וּמֵאֵלֶּה shows that none "within" them is a יוֹעֵץ, qal participle from יָעַץ "advise, counsel." יוֹעֵץ was the title given to Ahithophel, David's traitorous friend and Old Testament type for Judas Iscariot (cp. Psalm 41:9; John 17:12).

An Mp note tells us that וּמֵאֵלֶּה occurs just three times (Gen. 9:19; 10:32 and Isaiah 41:28).

וְאֶשְׁאָלֵם וְיָשִׁיבוּ דָבָר And when I ask them, could they give an answer? The form וְאֶשְׁאָלֵם is a qal imperfect (שָׁעַל) first person singular "I ask" with a 3rd plural suffix, "them." The hapax marginal note concerns the form, not the commonplace verb. וְיָשִׁיבוּ is a hifil imperfect of שׁוּב. The qal means "turn back," the hifil "return, give back." The form וְיָשִׁיבוּ is counted as one of two times this form is written plene, along with Lam. 1:19, and the Mp note tells us that the form occurs once written defectively without the yod (Deuteronomy 1:22).

Revelation 2:1-7 (Ephesus)

Sermon Exegesis for October 3rd, 2010

The seven letters that begin John's revelation follow a specific pattern called a chiasm, in which the first and last items correspond, the second and second-to-last, and so on, toward the center:

Ephesus - complete extinction warned
   Smyrna - Be faithful (no condemnation at all)
      Pergamum - Repent! (mixture of good and evil)
         Thyatira - (longest letter) You tolerate Jezebel
      Sardis - Repent! (mixture of good and evil)
   Philadelphia - Endure patiently (no condemnation at all)
Laodicea - complete extinction warned

Although some have thought that these seven letters follow the history of the whole Christian Church, we need to remember that these were written to seven actual churches in John's time. But what each one of these churches was going through is also typical of what most congregations still struggle with. The first of the seven letters was to John's own church, Ephesus. This was a place where Paul had spend whole years of his ministry (54-56 AD).

REVELATION 2:1

2 Τῷ ἀγγέλῳ τῆς ἐν ᾽Εϕέσῳ ἐκκλησίας γράψον· Τάδε λέγει ὁ κρατῶν τοὺς ἑπτὰ ἀστέρας ἐν τῇ δεξιᾷ αὐτοῦ, ὁ περιπατῶν ἐν μέσῳ τῶν ἑπτὰ λυχνιῶν τῶν χρυσῶν·

2 "To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: The one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this:

Τῷ ἀγγέλῳ τῆς ἐν ᾽Εϕέσῳ ἐκκλησίας γράψον· To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: Here ἄγγελoς has the broadest of its meanings, a messenger. The ἄγγελoς of the Ephesian church was its own messenger of the gospel, its pastor. John himself had been the ἄγγελoς of this very church, but now exiled in Patmos, he is permitted to write first to his own congregation in his absence. Ἔϕεσoς was a place where Paul had spend whole years of his ministry (54-56 AD). Paul wrote one of his great New Testament Epistles to the Ephesians. He placed Timothy there as pastor, and after about 70 AD, John began preaching there. It was a rich center of trade forming a triangle with Corinth and Thessalonica, and it was famous for its shrine to Diana ("Artemis of the Ephesians," Acts 19:28).

Τάδε λέγει ὁ κρατῶν τοὺς ἑπτὰ ἀστέρας ἐν τῇ δεξιᾷ αὐτοῦ, The one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, Τάδε is a demonstrative pronoun, "this one," more obvious than an article of previous reference. The "one" is the one "like a son of man" described in chapter 1, the risen Lord Jesus Christ. κρατῶν is an attributive participle from κρατέω, "hold." The reference to the Lord's δεξιᾷ "right hand" shows where he has placed his authority. Here it is not the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of the Father, but the Son of God with seven stars in his own right hand, giving his authority to his churches.

ὁ περιπατῶν ἐν μέσῳ τῶν ἑπτὰ λυχνιῶν τῶν χρυσῶν· the one who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this: περιπατῶν is another attributive participle, "the one who walks." The τῶν ἑπτὰ λυχνιῶν τῶν χρυσῶν "seven golden lampstands" are the churches; Jesus is with them, just as he promised (Matthew 28).

REVELATION 2:2

2 Οἶδα τὰ ἔργα σου καὶ τὸν κόπον καὶ τὴν ὑπομονήν σου, καὶ ὅτι οὐ δύνῃ βαστάσαι κακούς, καὶ ἐπείρασας τοὺς λέγοντας ἑαυτοὺς ἀποστόλους καὶ οὐκ εἰσίν, καὶ εὗρες αὐτοὺς ψευδεῖς·

2 'I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false;

Οἶδα τὰ ἔργα σου 'I know your deeds. To oἶδα a thing (perfect indicative) is different than to γινώσκω "experience" it. oἶδα is knowing and understanding a thing that has been reported. We don't need to read too much into this term; the Lord knows, and that is enough. The first term in the triad is τὰ ἔργα "your deeds." This is a neutral term, and could be negative in the extreme. But here it is positive in conjunction with the other two. Your "deeds" are simply the things that you have done.

καὶ τὸν κόπον καὶ τὴν ὑπομονήν σου, and your toil and perseverance, κόπος is work that wears you out, very hard work; "toil" is as good a one-word term as any. ὑπομονή is patience that lasts; perseverance, or "patient endurance" (Becker).

καὶ ὅτι οὐ δύνῃ βαστάσαι κακούς, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, The aorist infinitive βαστάσαι is a complementary infinitive with the verb of "being able," δύναμαι.

καὶ ἐπείρασας τοὺς λέγοντας ἑαυτοὺς ἀποστόλους καὶ οὐκ εἰσίν, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, ἐπείρασας is the aorist of πειράζω, "to put to the test." They have tested "apostle-claimers" but, Paul says who "aren't" (οὐκ εἰσίν). The testing would take the form of checking their claims and preaching against the Scriptures (Acts 17:11) and by questioning them (Daniel 1:20).

καὶ εὗρες αὐτοὺς ψευδεῖς· and you found them to be false; A ψευδής is a liar. So the "apostle-claimers" were not pretending once or twice, but constantly, and they were constantly found them to be false. John had urged his Ephesian congregation to do this earlier: "Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world." (1 John 4:1).

REVELATION 2:3

3 καὶ ὑπομονὴν ἔχεις, καὶ ἐβάστασας διὰ τὸ ὄνομά μου, καὶ οὐ κεκοπίακες.

3 and you have perseverance and have endured for my name's sake, and have not grown weary.
καὶ ὑπομονὴν ἔχεις, καὶ ἐβάστασας διὰ τὸ ὄνομά μου, and you have perseverance and have endured for My name's sake, ἐβάστασας is the aorist of βαστάζω, "to carry" or in this case, "endure." διά with the accusative is "on account of." What Christians endure for the sake of Christ gives glory to him no matter how bad it gets for us. And in Ephesus, this has been done for the sake of his ὄνομά, his "name." The name of God tells us everything about him. The name of Jesus tells us that the Lord has Saved us.

καὶ οὐ κεκοπίακες. and have not grown weary. κεκοπίακες is the perfect of κοπιάω, "be weary." The perfect states a thing in the past with results that continue on to this moment and beyond. Our strength for this comes only from the Lord.

Jesus begins with a reminder that he himself holds the church and walks there. Jesus is present where we are gathered in his name. He commends them (he is pleased with them) because they do not tolerate wickedness -- they preach the law and apply it also to themselves. John himself had written about this in his own letters (1 John 1:5 - 2:2). They know their Bible and they test the spirits of those who preach. This is also something John had written about (1 John 2:18-27; 4:1-6; and all of 2 John and 3 John). Also, the encouragement to persevere has a familiar ring (1 John 2:15-17, 28-29).

REVELATION 2:4

4 ἀλλὰ ἔχω κατὰ σοῦ ὅτι τὴν ἀγάπην σου τὴν πρώτην ἀϕῆκες.

4 'But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.

ἀλλὰ ἔχω κατὰ σοῦ 'But I have this against you, ἀλλά is a strong disjunctive, "However." There is a problem here that God has seen in Ephesus. κατά with the genitive (σοῦ) has the sense of "against." Note that σοῦ is singular. The sin is not rampant among individuals, but one shared by the congregation as a whole.

ὅτι τὴν ἀγάπην σου τὴν πρώτην ἀϕῆκες that you have left your first love. ἀϕῆκες is the aorist of ἀϕίημι (ἵημι verbs take 2nd aorist forms in -κα; Crosby-Shaeffer p. 320). It means to neglect or forsake (it can even means to divorce, 1 Cor. 7:11). The first love forsaken is like those in Jesus' parable: "Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away" (Mark 4:16-17).

What was the "first love" that they had forsaken? It was doing God's will -- living a life of thanks to God. The Ephesians knew and ran with the law, but they had begun to forget the gospel. That meant that their outward obedience was in grave danger of being either just a show, or equally as bad, a feeling that by obeying the law of God, you can work your way into heaven. But it's only through the forgiveness of Jesus that makes heaven our home.

REVELATION 2:5

5 μνημόνευε οὖν πόθεν πέπτωκας, καὶ μετανόησον καὶ τὰ πρῶτα ἔργα ποίησον· εἰ δὲ μή, ἔρχομαί σοι καὶ κινήσω τὴν λυχνίαν σου ἐκ τοῦ τόπου αὐτῆς, ἐὰν μὴ μετανοήσῃς.

5 'Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place-- unless you repent.

μνημόνευε οὖν πόθεν πέπτωκας, 'Therefore remember from where you have fallen, μνημόνευε is the present imperative of μνημoνεύω, "remember, keep in mind." The adverb πόθεν "from where" doesn't occur much outside the Gospels in the NT, but it's quite a common LXX word and has a few showings in the Fathers (especially Ignatius). πέπτωκας is the perfect of πίπτω "fall." Once again, the perfect tense carries results into the present moment: the Ephesians are still down from where they once were.

καὶ μετανόησον καὶ τὰ πρῶτα ἔργα ποίησον· and repent and do the deeds you did at first; μετανoέω (aor imv) is to "change the mind / heart." To do a "180" in our terms. To stop going along the course you're on and to turn back to the Lord. Repentance here has fruits: to ποίησον "do" the things that showed that you were on the old course in the first place. The sanctified fruits of repentance, our good deeds, are not necessary for our salvation, but they necessarily follow our salvation. We do them because we want to do them. And like a runner enjoying the burning sensation on his legs and belly because he knows it's making him stronger, we know that when we suffer a bit, even just deep inside, as we do things for the Lord, that we are being made stronger for his service.

εἰ δὲ μή, ἔρχομαί σοι καὶ κινήσω τὴν λυχνίαν σου ἐκ τοῦ τόπου αὐτῆς, or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place-- We translate εἰ δὲ μή with "or else," but a literal "but if not" would be absolutely right and understood. ἔρχομαι "I am coming" is present tense to describe present activity. Once again the singular σοι reminds the Ephesians that they are being addressed as a unified group. κινήσω is the future of κινέω, "remove," a frightening word from the lips of the Lord. The λυχνία "lampstand" is the light of the Lord burning in our midst. What will there be if the Lord removes his light from us? The genitive phrase ἐκ τοῦ τόπου αὐτῆς "from its place" reminds us that the lamp belongs here among us -- this is the plan of God, it is not an accident. This is "its place."

ἐὰν μὴ μετανοήσῃς. unless you repent. ἐὰν μὴ with a subjunctive expresses the protasis of a future more vivid conditional. The apodosis sits earlier in the sentence, with Jesus' hand extended out toward the lamp in its place.

REVELATION 2:6

6 ἀλλὰ τοῦτο ἔχεις, ὅτι μισεῖς τὰ ἔργα τῶν Νικολαϊτῶν, ἃ κἀγὼ μισῶ.

6 'Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

ἀλλὰ τοῦτο ἔχεις, 'Yet this you do have, Now ἀλλά has something good to say. After being called to repentance for divorcing themselves from their love, the Lord points out one thing that they have.

ὅτι μισεῖς τὰ ἔργα τῶν Νικολαϊτῶν, ἃ κἀγὼ μισῶ. that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. μισέω "hate" is a contract verb, so the 1st singular differs from the dictionary form by contracting (μισῶ, "I hate"); the 2nd singular is mroe familiar, μισεῖς "you hate." The Nicolaitans are not identified outside of Scripture. The church fathers Irenaeus and Clement of Alexandria identify them as taking their name from Nicholas of Antioch, the convert to Judaism from Antioch (Acts 6:5), but we can't say that this is correct (see Jay Raaskin's translation of Stromata III, 4.25-26, available online). To summarize what we do know, the Nicolaitans were a group that thought that being forgiven meant that we can run off and commit any sin "because we're already forgiven!" They showed this especially in compromising with the pagans in their cities. They would hold what today are called Ecumenical services, where people who don't believe the same thing get together and attempt to worship together. Although John spoke more about -- and against -- Ecumenism in his short letters of 3 John and especially 2 John, it comes up in more than one of these seven letters in Revelation.

A caution shouldn't be necessary but I wouldn't want to omit it. Neither the Ephesians nor the Lord himself hated the Nicolaitans; they hated τὰ ἔργα "their deeds." Love always prompts us to say and do the things we say and do, even when that love must take on the form of discipline or even division.


REVELATION 2:7

7 ὁ ἔχων οὖς ἀκουσάτω τί τὸ πνεῦμα λέγει ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις. τῷ νικῶντι δώσω αὐτῷ ϕαγεῖν ἐκ τοῦ ξύλου τῆς ζωῆς, ὅ ἐστιν ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ τοῦ θεοῦ.

7 'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.'

ὁ ἔχων οὖς ἀκουσάτω 'He who has an ear, let him hear. This is the strongest exhortation to listen and take to heart what has been said. The present participle ὁ ἔχων points to every one of us, and even a deaf man would sit up and take note of such a powerful statement, seeing it written there before him. We should notice the aorist imperative ἀκουσάτω (ἀκούω, "hear"). An aorist imperative can "express the coming about of an action which contrasts with prior conduct," BDF §337(1). It is as if the Lord is saying, "If you having been listening up to now, then open your ears because this is the last chance you're going to get!"

τί τὸ πνεῦμα λέγει ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις. what the Spirit says to the churches. Not "What I say and the Spirit agrees," but τὸ πνεῦμα λέγει "what the Spirit says." No matter that Christ himself is doing the speaking. The word of the πνεῦμα is distinct and separate. This is another person of the Trinity at work, speaking through John's pen to the churches and to the Church.

τῷ νικῶντι δώσω αὐτῷ ϕαγεῖν ἐκ τοῦ ξύλου τῆς ζωῆς, To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life. Is there some wordplay between the indirect object νικῶντι "victor" and the Νικολαϊτῶν mentioned in verse 6? Perhaps, but νικῶντι occurs again and again throughout the letters, with or without references to the Nicolaitans. ϕαγεῖν is a supplementary infinitive with the future δώσω "I will give." The ability, availability, proximity, and blessing of the τοῦ ξύλου τῆς ζωῆς "tree of life" is a picture of the blessings of heaven. The tree of life will return later in Revelation as a certain image of the eternal life we will enjoy there.

ὅ ἐστιν ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ τοῦ θεοῦ which is in the Paradise of God.' To make us sure to understand that eating from τοῦ ξύλου τῆς ζωῆς is a reference to heaven, the Lord finishes the letter by telling us, "and that's the Garden of God, by the way." Paradise (παράδεισoς) is a loanword, occurring also in Hebrew (פַּרְדֵּס, Song of Solomon 4:13). It means "park" or "garden." It occurs in Xenophon, but it seems to be a word from Sanskrit more than from Zend or Persian.

Listen up, Jesus says: Through Jesus, we have forgiveness. Through Jesus, we have direct access to God. Live in that forgiveness, turn away from sin, and be pure in your life. That's only possible by continuing to read God's word and put it into practice every single day. The tree of life -- eternal life with God in heaven -- is ours through Jesus, who has already forgiven our sins.
==================================


SERMON THOUGHTS: "A Letter for Ephesus, a Letter for Us: REPENT"


( Thoughts about all the letters )


- Deeds, not tolerate wicked, not tolerate false apostles
- Hardships
- FORSAKEN your love!
- - - Remember the height; REPENT.
- But, you hate the Nicolaitans. Me too.
- Hear! Tree of life = paradise of God.

Isaiah 41:27

A Seder mark sets this verse apart as the beginning of a new lectionary reading (41:27-44:5).

רִאשׁוֹן לְצִיּוֹן הִנֵּה הִנָּם וְלִירוּשָׁלִַם מְבַשֵּׂר אֶתֵּן׃

27 The first one for Zion: "Look! Look at them!" And to Jerusalem-- I will give a messenger of good news.

רִאשׁוֹן לְצִיּוֹן The first one for Zion: This is a nominal sentence without a subject. Isaiah intentionally postpones the subject (in the final word of the verse) to pique our interest and be deliberately suspenseful. Who is this? Who was first? רִאשׁוֹן "First" often means first in a sequence, but can simply stand for the first of something without any reference to what follows, as in 2 Sam. 21:9, "they were put to death during the first days of the harvest." The לְ is a לְ of advantage. The Mp note for רִאשׁוֹן says that it occurs eight times (see comments on 41:4).

הִנֵּה הִנָּם "Look! Look at them!" Although this verse, and perhaps especially this phrase poses difficulties for the interpreter (Leupold calls this verse elliptical), if we step onto Mount Zion and imagine what kind of "good news" would be given, then an obvious scene unfolds. The captivity is soon to come; it will continue for seventy years. The ruins of Zion, "the haunts where jackals once lay" (Isaiah 35:7), are suddenly called to by the true God: "Look! Look at them! There they are!" Over the crest of Zion the remnant comes, singing the Psalms of Ascents and managing the final yards of their long journey with a sudden spring in their step. The sheer joy and poetry of הִנֵּה הִנָּם is too clear to be mistaken for anything else.

וְלִירוּשָׁלִַם And to Jerusalem-- Here the לְ could be one of advantage or simply the indirect object of a verb of speaking. Jerusalem, parallel to Zion, will be given the same good news.

מְבַשֵּׂר אֶתֵּן a messenger of good news I will give. מְבַשֵּׂר is a piel participle from בָּשַׂר "to bear tidings, to bring (good) news" as we saw in 40:9, "You who bring good tidings to Zion." Isaiah finally reveals the speaker of the verse with אֶתֵּן, the first person qal imperfect from נָתַן, "to give." The speaker is not Isaiah himself, but God, whom Isaiah is quoting. God is the only true God, and although idols and scraps of lumber cannot predict anything at all, God himself provides the event, the message and the messenger.

1 Chronicles 1:2

קֵינָן מַהֲלַלְאֵל יָרֶד׃

2 Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared.

קֵינָן "Kenan" is a name related to Cain; both names can mean “smith” or craftsman; sometimes the name is thought to indicate “settlement” or “civilization.”

מַהֲלַלְאֵל Mahalalel’s name means “Praise of God;” it’s the first name in the Bible to contain a reference to God (the -el suffix). It isn't hard to recognize the “praise” element in his name, which sounds very similar to the word hallelujah.

יָרֶד The name Jared means “descend” or “descent.” By the time he was born, Adam was over 500 years old. Seth was over 300.

While Adam's descendants were settling down and praising God, Cain's line (unmentioned in Chronicles) was also at work. About the time Jared was born, Cain's line produced it's own Lamech (Genesis 4:18-24), a man filled with venom and hatred, whose terrible “sword song” pits in the face of God and rejects God's will toward marriage (he has married more than one woman). Lamech promises to take justice into his own hands and be eleven times more vengeful that God.

   Adah and Zillah, listen to me;
      wives of Lamech, hear my words.
   I have killed a man for wounding me,
      a young man for injuring me.
   If Cain is avenged seven times,
      then Lamech seventy-seven times.

The three men in our text carried God's promise of a Savior from sin—the promise of the protevangel in Genesis 3:15—from one generation to the next. Their families put their trust in God, and waited for the time when one man would provide the one sacrifice for all mankind's sin.

That sacrifice would wait until the advent of Jesus Christ. But in the mean time, Jared was about to become the father of a man who would call the world to repentance, and remind the world that there is more to God's creation than this one world, this one universe, and this one brief lifetime.

1 Chronicles 1:1

The book of Chronicles is a look back at the history of the people of Judah. It was written after the people returned from their captivity in Babylon. The closing words of the book are the proclamation from Cyrus king of Persia: “The LORD, the God of Heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Anyone of his people among you—may the LORD his God be with him, and let him go up” (2 Chronicles 36:23).

Although Cyrus allowed other captive peoples to return home, the significance for the Jews was that they were once again restored to the Promised Land, and there they wold await the coming of the Savior, promised from the very earliest times. The first promise of the Messiah, sometimes called the protevangel or “First Gospel,” was given as God was expelling Adam and Eve from Eden and speaking this curse to the devil: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” (Genesis 3:15)

אָדָם שֵׁת אֱנוֹשׁ׃

1 Adam, Seth, Enosh

Before he brings us to his present moment, our author takes us back to the time of Adam with the simplest possible words: Adam, Seth, Enosh. After Adam and Eve's firstborn son Cain killed his younger brother Abel, God gave them many more children. After many years, they had a certain son that they named Seth. שֵׁת “Seth” is not the Hebrew spelling of the Egyptian god Set (Sutekh); rather, it means either “granted” or “substitute.” He was born when Adam was 130 years old (Gen. 5:3).

When Seth’s son Enosh (אֱנוֹשׁ) was born (Adam was by now 235; Seth was a mature 105, Genesis 5:6), men “began to call on the name of the LORD” (Genesis 4:26b). This meant that men began to go out of their way to preach and share the gospel. After 235 years, the world was becoming filled with people. With more than 9 generations born and raised, the thousands of people in Seth’s family line were beginning to encounter the thousands of people in Cain’s family line, and the need to share the message of forgiveness was more and more obvious as they saw so many who, as Paul says, “live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame.” (Philippians 3:18-19).

After Enosh died, 1,140 years after God formed Adam from the red clay of Eden, there was an emptiness in the world. Sin and death were the things common to all mankind. But by this time, Enoch, the great-great grandson of Enoch, was already taken up into heaven—the promise of life after death, a heaven even more beautiful and blessed than the Eden they were forbidden from re-entering, was there in the promise of the protevangel and the story of Enoch.

A savior from sin—everything in Chronicles points us back to this; to him. The Savior is the descendant of these men: Christ traces his human lineage back through them: Adam, Seth, Enosh. And we find our forgiveness and our eternal salvation in Christ.