In Exodus 20, verse 16, the Hebrew word for “testimony” is Ayd (Ayin-Dalet) meaning “witness.” The witness can be either the person providing the testimony, or the testimony (spoken word) itself. There is one other meaning of the word. Ayd can also be evidence. In Hebrew, there are no clear lines of distinction between the…
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Lo-Ta’aneh V’ray’acha Eyd Shaqer. Exodus 20:16 Do not bear false witness against your neighbor. The Hebrew word Anah means to “answer.” Could Anah be where we get the English word “answer?” After all they start with the same letter sounds, but I doubt it. Ta’aneh is (second person singular, future tense) “you will answer,” but…
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Before our discussion (I know this is not really a discussion) on the Eighth Commandment, I want to add a thought I meant to include last time, but didn’t. What is our response to breaking a commandment? Step one is always repentance. Like everything else under the sun, there is fake and there is real.…
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In Hebrew, Commandments 6, 7, 8 and 9 are all in Exodus 20 verse 12, while in the Christian Bible (and even some Jewish Bibles translated into English) they are each in their own verse (from verses 13 through 16). It’s not a really big deal, just a point of information in the hope of…
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Before I write about the sixth commandment, I want to offer some observations. It seems that the 10 Commandments are a compilation or recapitulation of what has already been stated elsewhere in the Scriptures concerning the wisdom of God. Some of these commandments do appear to be stated for the first time in Exodus 20,…
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Ephesians 6:1-3 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother” (which is the first commandment with a promise), so that it may be well with you, and you may live long on the earth. Well, it seems that the 5th commandment “survived the cut.” The New Testament…
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God commands that everyone honor their parents. I can’t get past the word “honor” (and I won’t today). In Hebrew it is Kabed (Kaf-Bet-Dalet). More on this after I give you the Hebrew (in transliteration) and English of the fifth commandment. The entire commandment is in one verse. Exodus 20:12(11)* Kabed Et-Avicha, V’Et-Imecha – L’ma’an,…
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I prayed long and hard about this piece today. After much prayer, (and as you can see from the above subject line) I decided to write one last piece on the Fourth Commandment, to both remember and keep the Shabbat holy. The Hebrew word Kadosh is translated as ‘holy’. But we have a hard time…
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