Tag Archives: ANE

What the Hell?

Some of you get it, but it seems there is enough confusion that I need to restate things for clarity. I use the English word “Hell.” If you have been paying attention, you’ll notice I use it in the vernacular … Continue reading

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People Who Want to Hear

My son drove me to the VA yesterday and accompanied me to the various appointments scheduled that day. As you might expect, a hospital like the OKC VA Medical Center is loaded with atypical people. These are not your average … Continue reading

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Psalm 99

While this is another coronation song, it’s not something you read and them meditate. You should jump up, shout and sing, run around in circles and do cartwheels. We poorly grasp the kind of genuine enthusiasm that saw people do … Continue reading

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Logical Odds and Ends

A couple of recent comments and some offline conversation seem to call for a fresh attempt to explain a couple of items. Ancient Near East (ANE) — We are not ANE. We harken back to that collection of civilizations because … Continue reading

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Bible History Note: Invasions

What we see in the Bible as historical narrative is hardly the only thing happening in those places at that time. There is a wealth of historical background that the writers assumed readers would know. They wrote for their own … Continue reading

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Psalm 97

This is a coronation hymn for Jehovah as sovereign God over all Creation. It sounds exactly like what you might hear when a parade makes a ceremonial march before the ruler from the gate of the capital to the doors … Continue reading

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The Urge to Torment

Sometimes it’s not enough to say it comes from Satan; in our culture that can serve to dismiss any number of horrible sins and leave us no way to uproot them from our own souls. The psychology of Christian Mysticism … Continue reading

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Answering Final: Otherworld

We come to the end of this series, and frankly some half of what I might have said in the first place shows up in the comments in reply to other comments. It occurs to me one point in particular … Continue reading

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Answering 08: Forget the Results

A primary emphasis in ancient Hebrew language was to narrate an experience in vivid fashion so that the listener(s) could experience it for themselves on some level. While there is an obvious intent to sway the listener by adding a … Continue reading

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Defacto ANE Family

The original first churches under the leadership of Jesus’ disciples were defacto Hebrew families. Consider the historical cultural context. The Hebrew people lived under ANE feudalism. Their immediate government was their family, and any higher political power was obliged to … Continue reading

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