Free Book for Logos 4 – Abridged Brown-Driver-Briggs

I was doing some searching for free books through Logos 4 Bible software. There are a few out there. The first one I want to point out is The Abridged Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew-English Lexicon of the Old Testament. There is no cost. You do have to checkout as if there was a cost and enter all your information but they won’t charge you for it as the price is $0.00. More to come.

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How to Use Greek and Hebrew Fonts When Blogging

Tyndale has a nice set of Unicode fonts that you can download with instructions at this link. This converts your keyboard into having Greek and Hebrew fonts. There is a little keyboard icon next to the microphone icon on that thin blue bar in windows. I keep mine to the left hand side and auto hide it. I find I can fit more open windows on it and still be able to read what they are all in less space if you drag it from the bottom of your windows desktop to the side. On that blue bar there are some icons you may have never paid much attention to (a keyboard, microphone, etc). Here is a picture of what I am talking about (again, your is probably horizontal on the bottom of your desktop – I like mine pulled to the side which makes it vertical

The little keyboard icon over the microphone is for keyboard options (including adding other languages). This is where the Tyndale fonts will be accessed from. I am including a second picture below to show you the language options and how to click on them once you have installed the tyndale fonts. Another way to use them (and much faster) is through a keyboard shortcut that toggles between English, Greek, and Hebrew. All you have to do is while you are typing hit Ctrl+Shift and you will toggle first from English to Greek and if you hit it again from Greek to Hebrew and again from Hebrew back to English. By doing this you can use Greek and Hebrew fonts even while blogging. So here goes:

John 1:1 – “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

John 1:1 – “εν αρχη ην ο λογος και ο λογος ην προς τον θεον και θεος ην ο λογος

Genesis 1:1 – “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

Genesis 1:1 – “ברַשִית ברַא אֶלֹהִים אֶת הַשָׁמִַים ואֶת הֶָָרֵז

I am still working on the accents and pointing but with some work it can be done. This can be a really helpful way of using Greek and Hebrew in blogging without having to transliterate it.

Here is the picture of the keyboard options:

Being a Bar or Bat Nabas

In ancient Hebrew culture children were of supreme importance. A child was considered one of the greatest blessings God could give. They were means of passing on one’s identity, heritage and lineage. They were tied to the covenant promises (Gen 15:5). They were connected with obedience to the law (Exodus 20:12). They were lauded as blessings of great significance in the psalms (127 &128).

When a son was born to a Hebrew family they would circumcise him on the eighth day and give him his name at that time. For daughters they would typically wait 30 days until they gave her a name. Names were of the utmost significance and were filled with meaning and vision casting for the child’s future. Even today we don’t meet many Jezebell’s of Judas’s because of the connotations that come with those names. Hollywood has certainly had a fun time with baby names but for the ancients a name was part of who you are.

In scripture we find people who were given a new name at critical moments of their lives (Abram, Jacob, Simon, and Saul). There is another man whose name was changed and one we don’t often associate with that. His name was Joseph and he was a Levite from Cyprus. We first read about him in Acts 4:36-37 as he was among the first to sacrificially give to the growing group of Jerusalem Christians. The apostles gave him a nickname. They called him Bar-nabas (son of – encouragement). It could be that this great act of generosity recorded in Acts 4 was the occasion that influenced the apostles to give him a nickname. Bar-nabas doesn’t show up again until Acts 9 in the story of another man who received a new name – Saul Paul (although some think his name may have actually been Saul Paul (See Dunn’s Galatians Commentary). After Saul’s conversion he came to Jerusalem (Acts 9:26) where the disciples were not very quick to warm up to this former persecutor of the church. Guess who stepped in? Joseph (a.k.a the Son of Encouragement) who became an advocate for Saul and brought him to the apostles and convinced them of the legitimacy of Saul’s conversion. Notice what happened when a man known for his gift of encouragement came into a controversial situation and gave his support to the unpopular Saul. Saul gained acceptance where he would have otherwise found none. Encouragers believe the unbelievable and get others to believe it too! When everyone else is being critical and negative encouragers see the possibilities. They see the potential. Joseph spoke up for Paul and the rest is history.

Did you know that in the list of gifts from God (teaching, prophesying, serving, and giving) that encouragement is listed? (Rom 12:4-8). Encouragement comes from God because God is a God of encouragement. That is part of his nature. When we get to heaven do you think he is going to meet us at the gate and be Mr. Gloomy Gus? I don’t think so. What is he going to say? “Well done…enter in.” That sounds pretty encouraging to me! Jesus was an encourager. We are to be Bar and Bat Nabases because that is being like our Father.

When I ran track at Harding I wasn’t the best runner in the world. I was a walk on and enjoyed the camaraderie. I was a little faster than one of our world class female runners so I often helped train her to help her get faster but I also decided my role was to be an encourager. When my race was done I would spend the rest of the time running to and fro yelling words of encouragement. I would run across the infield to one of our runners in a race and yell at them, “You can do it! Run faster! Go, go, go!” Then I would run to the other side of the field and wait on them to get there and yell at them some more encouraging words. I never won a race but I shared in a lot of victories. I won a medal but I had a place on the medal stand with our champions because I helped encourage them to the victory. Who do you know who is rooting you on in your race? Who is believing in you, hoping in you, counting on you, and wanting you to succeed? Even if you can’t think of anyone I assure you God is! God is the great encourager. He is cheering us on toward the goal.

This video is from the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 and is a race where Derek Redmond was running the 400 meter. He blew out his hamstring and then…well you will just have to watch.

God, our Father, does more than stand by and watch us struggle through this race called life. As the great encourager, he enters the race and helps carry us to the finish line. We couldn’t do it without him. What is more, he even put the uniform on himself, laced up his running shoes, and took up his cross shaped baton. He walked onto the track of life on earth as a baby in a manger. And he ran the race perfectly. He ran it better than anyone else has ever run it. He won the victory. Now we too run the race and we are being cheered on by the champion of the world and his message is clear, “Keep running, keep going, victory is yours, stay in this race! Go, go, go!”

What greater encourager could we have than to know that the maker of heaven and earth is calling us heavenward. He is encouraging us and pulling for us. So keep on running. Don’t give up the race. Take the relay baton from the champion, keep on running, and hand it off to someone else giving them a start in the greatest race that has ever been rung. In the stands are all those who have gone on before us encouraging us and cheering us on to victory.

What do KJV only and Samaritans Have in Common?

The Old Testament was actually written in two distinct types of writing/scripts – one older and one much newer. The Samaritans continued on the tradition of keeping the Torah written in the older text type even when other Jews transitioned to the newer. According to Wurthwein they viewed the newer text types as “a flagrant innovation” (p.6).

The KJV only crowd and the Samaritans both have the view that you aren’t really doing it right or reverently unless you are using the older forms. This was not even about versions. This was about which type of letters you use to write the exact same words. Imagine if people started arguing it was sin to read a Bible that was printed or generated by a computer because the originals were hand written and also that it couldn’t be written in cursive. That would be the kind of debate they were tied up in.

Here is another interesting tidbit from Wurthwein in talking about the newer script types,

“The Jews were aware, however, that this script was not their earliest. One Jewish tradition attributes its introduction to Ezra about 430 B.C. The later rabbis were embarrassed by the implication that it was a post-exilic innovation. Accordingly they told how the Torah was first given in the square script, but because of Israel’s sin the script had been changed, and then in Ezra’s time the original form was restored.” (p.4)

Isn’t it funny how even back then people were reverse engineering history to make their way the best and oldest? They retold history so their script would be the earliest and the the actual earlier script was due to sin. There is nothing new under the sun as some groups of Christians try to use that same trick today.

Improve Your Hebrew With Hebrew Boardgames

See this ebay online store for some Hebrew boardgames. What better way to improve your Hebrew?