Bible Works, Accordance, or Logos?: Lamenting the State of Bible Software

I have been a decade-long Bible Works user, and I am very thankful for and helped by it.  What I love about BW is the immediate results you get in a search, and the fact that I generally like its layout, options, etc.  But here are a few recent critiques I have of the software, in no particular order (yes, I am considering changing programs):

1. Peshitta texts not available, although they used to be in BW (I still have not resolved this issue, if it is a glitch).
2. Grammatical search function (for doing complicated searches, I mean) much less intuitive than Accordance's.
3. Not many searchable resources available in BW, far fewer for sure than with Logos.

Disclaimer, though, I have BW 7 and not the most recent version of 8. Version 8 has the added bonus of having access to more original texts, which I would find incredibly helpful for text critical work.

My lament is: Why can't we get all the good things from BW-Accordance-Logos in one software? That is, one reasonably-priced program that has:

• the number of resources available in Logos
• the intuitive grammatical search function in Accordance
• and the quick results in Bible Works

Old Testament Guide in French

Released last month at Excelsis (below).  Matthieu Richelle taught an Old Testament exegesis class that we took at Vaux-sur-Seine and did a phenomenal job.

Btw, I have found Matthieu's blog incredibly helpful (in French, of course).

Another of his books was released this past January, 2012, on archaeology, La Bible et l'archéologie. If you know French and work in exegesis, in the coming years, you will want to become familiar with Matthieu's work. Now, the problem is getting a hold of his books as I have not been able to locate them easily (they are not currently sold at amazon.com, for example).

Lincoln's 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation

October 3, 1863

By the President of the United States
A Proclamation

The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.

In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign states to invite and provoke their aggressions, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theater of military conflict; while that theater has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.

Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plow, the shuttle, or the ship; the ax has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege, and the battlefield, and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised, nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American people. I do, therefore, invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a Day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. And I recommend to them that, while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation, and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United Stated States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington, this third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-eighth.

Abraham Lincoln

Source

Ephesians 5:8 in Some Cameroonian Languages

Ephesians 5 :8
"For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light”

French:
Ephesiens 5: 8
“Vous étiez autrefois dans l’obscurité ; mais maintenant, par votre union avec le Seigneur, vous êtes dans la lumière. Par conséquent, conduisez–vous comme des êtres qui dépendent de la lumière,” BFC

“Autrefois vous étiez ténèbres, et maintenant vous êtes lumière dans le Seigneur. Marchez comme des enfants de lumière !” Version Louis Segond

Gohmala:
EFESO 5 : 8
"Po lə ba dzə̀ ba pa jʉ̌m; tə́ cwəlɔ pǒ ba ŋkhaʼ nə́ Cyəpɔ. Po vɔk paʼpǒ ŋkhaʼa."

Limbum:
Ŋwàʼɛfɛsòs 5: 8
"À m ba à nfèʼ mòʼwèe à ce cu à tʉ̀ʼnji, à kaʼ ba sèʼni na, wèe à ce cu ba à rraa njobèʼwèe yu bèe Tate Jisòs. Gèe nè ŋgèe àmbò bèe ce a ce cu à rraa."

Akɔ́ɔ̄sē:
Efɛsus 5:8
"Ngen eʼsó nyêmbɛ́ á ehíntɛ́n-tê, boŋ bɔɔb abɛ́ áde nyédíí ne Sáŋhwɛ́ɛ́ ábɛ́lé nyêdé á eʼnyínɛn bé ekíde tê. Né-ɔɔ́, abɛ́ ádɛ̄n ábɛ̂ ngáne abɛ́ á bad ábe bédé á eʼyínɛn bé ekíde."

Yamba:
Efesò 5 : 8
"Wéŋ ànə ye to yàwèŋ faꞌ sə̀ꞌ ŋgàa cu sənə mandzəm. Ŋgaꞌa nèꞌe wèŋ a bʉ̀ʉŋ və̀ mok bʉ̀ʉ Tà Jisòs fana ye də wèŋ cu mok mvweꞌ marɛŋ. Ye da wèeŋ cum mok ncu nə̀ aco nàꞌ niŋtsok fa bwìŋ də,wèeŋ ŋgàa marɛŋ anə."

Pidgin:
EPHESIAN 5 :8
"Wuna self bin fest bi insaid dak bot jos nau wuna don bi fo lait foseika wuna bi Massa yi pipul. So meik wuna bigin stei lek pipul weh dem dei fo lait."

OTTC Blog

Just discovered this blog devoted to Old Testament Textual Criticism. Though the blog is young, it looks promising, the blogger being a PhD student in the UK.

http://oldtestamenttextualcriticism.blogspot.com

A Parallel Problem of Semantic Shift: Asia

This is cited from Unseth's Semantic Shift on a Geographical Term and parallels the previous post.

A Parallel Problem: Asia and Asia

A parallel problem of semantic shift on geographic terms arises with the use of the Greek word Asia, ‘Asia.’ Very few English translations ever render this word by something other than simply “Asia,” Living Bible being noteworthy for translating it as “Turkey” in Acts 2:9 and Rev. 1:4, but reverting to the traditional “Asia” in other passages. The problem and its cause are obvious and non-controversial: the word “Asia,” transliterated from Greek into English, now is much, more broader than the area designated by the New Testament use of Asia, which referred to a much more limited area, much of what is not modern Turkey. A solution to this translation problem can be found in a similar way to what has been proposed above for Aithiops, seeking a modern equivalent to the ancient Greek geographical term. Different contexts would require slightly different solutions, such as “the province of Asia Minor,” “the Anatolian peninsula,” etc.

The "Ethiopian Eunuch" Was Not Ethiopian

This post summarizes and quotes an article by Peter Unseth called “Semantic Shift on a Geographical Term.”

Acts Background

In the familiar story about Philip the evangelist, he meets a eunuch in a chariot on the Gaza road, Acts 8:26-39. The man in the chariot is traditionally referred to as “the Ethiopian eunuch.” 

And he [Philip] rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian [Aithiops], a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians [Aithiopón], who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship (Acts 8:27)

Summary of the Position

Unseth’s article argues against the legitimacy of the word “Ethiopian” in this context, showing that there has been a semantic shift from the meaning of Aithiopia to the meaning of “Ethiopia” in English and other languages at the end of the 20th century.

To whom did the Greek words Aithiops and Aithiopón refer?

1. The very broad meaning, e.g. “black” or “African,” or
2. The narrower, specific definition of northern Sudan and Southern Egypt 

Two Evidences that the Eunuch was from Northern Sudan/Southern Egypt
1.  Herodutus’ Ethiopia. 

In the 5th century, he wrote, “Ethiopians inhabit the country immediately above [i.e. south of] Elephantine... you will arrive at a large city Meroë, this is said to be the capital of all Ethiopia” (book 2.29). The city of Meroë was located in what is now the northern part of Sudan, north of Khartoum, on the Nile between the 5th and 6th cataracts.

2.  Queen’s Title Candace was Meroitic. 

The eunuch’s queen is referred to as Kandakés, (traditionally transliterated as Candace in English), which is another link with Meroë. This is not a name, but “seems in fact to be a corruption of a Meroitic title (kdke) which was borne by all the royal consorts or queen-mothers of Kush” (Adams 1977:260). 

Problem of Semantic Shift

• “Ethiopia” in old English (more than 150 years ago) = “a person with black skin,” Oxford English Dictionary
• Starting in late 1800s, “Ethiopia” in English has been used in much more specific sense for particular state in northeastern Africa, now a republic.

Traditional Practice in Handling the Passage with “Ethiopia”

• Over 45 English translations all translated the word “Ethiopia” in this verse without a footnote or textual note to address the issue of the modern location problem
• One English translation (The Twentieth Century) translated as “Abyssinia”, which is nearly synonymous geographically, though it does not designate a political state.
• European languages unanimously translate as the state of Ethiopia
• One European translation exception (Polish) translated it as “black people”
• World’s languages translate with their equivalent of “Ethiopia” (e.g. Habesh, Arabic)
• About a dozen Ethiopian languages translate unanimously as modern “Ethiopia”
• 13 translations in Sudan translate as “Ethiopia” or Arabic-based equivalent
• Only 1 translation in Sudan (Mabaan language) referred to the word as “Sudan”
• UBS Handbook, Louw and Nida, Newman and Nida, traditional references for translators, all commend to translators to refer to this passage as modern “Ethiopia”
• Serious commentators (e.g. Thompson, Marshall, Neil, Munch, Williams, Lenski, et al.) unanimous that eunuch’s homeland was not Ethiopia but Sudan (#2 above)

Some Problems in Translating the Passage as “Ethiopia”

• It is a wrong, misleading term, an incorrect translation
• Many have assumed that the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, a church with ancient roots in Ethiopia, can trace her origin to the conversion of the eunuch and his subsequent evangelistic efforts upon his return to his homeland. 
• There is no reliable record of the eunuch planting a church anywhere, not even in his homeland in Meroë. “One may presume that the conversion of the eunuch of Candace remained an isolated fact, with no impact” (Vantini 1980, quoted in Crocker 1986:71 and Unseth:4)
• The Ethiopian church traces its origin to the 4th century AD, when Frumentius, a shipwrecked Syrian Christian was used by God to lead to the conversion of the Axumite king, Ezana
• This early delivery of the Gospel to an “Ethiopian” reaffirms the mistaken idea held by many Ethiopians that of all the peoples of the earth, God has a special relationship with not only the descendants of Israel, but also with the peoples of the state of Ethiopia
• There is a compounded error of misidentifying Candace with the Queen of Sheba, the Queen of Sheba being popularly believed in Ethiopia to have been from the present state of Ethiopia

Suggested Solutions for Acts 8:27

1. “Ethiopia”: 

Negative - Avoid translating as this, as the present state in the Horn of Africa

2. “Sudan”: 

Positives - geographically more accurate, 

Negatives - but less than ideal. The queen did not rule over much of Sudan, and Sudan’s borders have been and are pressure to be changed

3. “Nubia”: 

Positives - This ancient, broad, geographical label included the area of Candace’s reign and there is no current political state called “Nubia.” Would probably require an explanatory footnote, but would not confuse readers with the present state of Ethiopia

Negatives - In contemporary Sudan, however, Nubia refers to a specific area and to specific peoples within the borders of Sudan, so for languages in Sudan, extra testing would be required

4. Neutral term politically: 

Positives - For many non-African languages, it might be specific enough to say that the eunuch was from Africa (or northeast Africa) and that “Candace was queen of part of Africa.” For languages in Africa, this may be too broad, so a narrower geographic term might work, referring to the Upper (or Middle) Nile.

5. “Meroë”: 

Positives - Could state Candace was “queen of the people of Meroë,” then insert an explanatory footnote about the region

6. Combine “Meroë” and neutral politics: 

Positive - Possibly translate, “Meroë in northeast Africa”

Jonah: The Depths of Grace, Witmer's New Jonah Study

TBI grad and now pastor Dr. Stephen Witmer, has published a study on the book of Jonah with the Good Book Company.  I love this book already, and how he combines scholarly exegesis with practical application!

Description:

The story of Jonah and the whale is one of the most famous in the Bible: but its message is perhaps one of the most ignored. 

It’s a story about storms and sailors, rebellion, and rescue, preaching and protest. And it’s a story about one reluctant evangelist’s experience of speaking to people who knew nothing about God. So its message has great relevance today for God’s people, living in an increasingly non-Christian culture. 

Jonah’s story will encourage believers who find themselves ill-equipped to share God’s message with colleagues, friends and family: and it deeply challenges our priorities in life.
But most of all this is a story about God. The book of Jonah reveals to us the depths of God’s grace, both to “outsiders” and to “insiders”. It shows us God’s compassion for the lost and His patience with His wayward people. 

Use this guide to uncover the wonderful message of Jonah, and to come face to face with the greatest evangelist of all—the Lord our God Himself.

Table of Contents:

Introduction
Why Study Jonah?
Timeline
1. Running away - Jonah 1 v 1-3
2. Judgment and mercy - Jonah 1 v 4-16
3. Jonah's fishy faith - Jonah 1 v 17 - 2 v 10
4. Repent, relent, rage - Jonah 3 v 1 - 4 v 4
5. Lesson learned? - Jonah 4 v 5-11
6. Jonah and Jesus - Matthew 12 v 38 - 42
Leader's Guide

The Bible and Slavery: 2 Opposing African-American Takes

Douglass and Garnet were African-Americans contemporaries with completely different understandings of what the Bible leads believers to practice in regards to slavery, in this their 1849 New York City debate documented in Allen Dwight Callahan’s The Talking Book: African Americans and the Bible:

• "Douglass and Garnet were both African Americans. Both had escaped slavery from Maryland’s Eastern Shore. But their respective experiences of slavery, literacy, and religion—and so their respective experiences of the Bible—were profoundly different, and those differences crystallized in diametrically opposed views of the Bible's liberating power…. Garnet saw the liberating power of the Bible as self-evident. It was so for him: he assumed it would be so for slaves in the South who might manage to read or have read to them a contraband copy of the holy scriptures that he knew so well” (page 22).
• Callahan reminds us that "the abolitionists of the North and the planter class of the South read from the same Bible. Long before Lincoln, Douglass had learned that the Bible was the highest authority of American slavery and the strongest link in the chain of oppression and violence that warranted slavery as the sacred basis for the Christian culture of what would become the Confederacy” (23).
• "Bitter experience had taught Douglass and other slaves and former slaves that the master class of the United States bore a whip in one hand and a Bible in the other. It was this Bible that Garnet and his colleagues were now proposing to send to the South” (23).
• "Douglass anticipated that the Bibles sent to the South would become raw material for proslavery propaganda” since he "knew intimately what Garnet's limited experience with slavery could not teach: that the justice of the Bible was not self-evident. Douglass had begun to learn the Bible as a slave, and he knew that some people reading the Bible under the slave regime remained tone-deaf to its message of justice” (24).

One of my professors at Gordon-Conwell, Dr. Ciampa, discussed this book and this issue on a return trip from a Bible Translation Studies meeting in Italy.

He asked the important question: How can we work to make sure that it [the Bible] serves as a weapon of justice rather than an accessory to injustice?  Read Ciampa's article for his thoughts.

Caneday on Ecclesiastes, Adamic Sin, and Us

In college, I was helped in reading a paper on Ecclesiastes written by one of my professors, Dr. Caneday.  His conclusion:

What Paul asserts in a few words in Rom 8:19-21, Qoheleth investigates at length. Where Paul spoke generally, the Preacher descended to uncover the particulars. Though Paul had the privilege of knowing that Christ will restore all things and even now, in principle, had begun to do so (cf. 1 Cor 15:54-57), both he and Qoheleth share one biblical assessment of the character of this world and of life in it since the fall. It is cursed! It is disjointed! It is upside down! It is in bondage to decay! It is meaningless! It needs to be liberated!

What Qoheleth saw obscurely in the coming day of final retribution, the apostle Paul makes clear: 'creation itself will be liberated from the bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God' (Rom 8:21). It is for the final redemption of God's people that creation awaits, for then will it be set free from what is now twisted and lacking (Qoh 1:15).

Many good nuggets of truth wait for you if you are able to spend some time reading Dr. Caneday's article. 

Translating 'Vanity' in Ecclesiastes

Re-post from our recent newsletter...

Ecclesiastes 1:2-4 (ESV)

"Vanity [hebel] of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.

What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?

A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever."

Some Translation Options

How should one translate and understand the Hebrew word hebel?  This word is notoriously difficult to translate, made no easier in that over half of its occurrences in the Old Testament are in the poetry of Ecclesiastes (38 times).  Outside of Ecclesiastes, two texts are noteworthy: 1) While Isaiah 57:13 uses the word as "wisp/vapor" with perhaps an idea of "not permanent", 2) Psalm 39:5 speaks of life's time limit or "brevity, temporariness." And in Ecclesiastes, some translations (e.g. ESV) read a derived or figurative sense "vanity" of the more concrete sense "vapor."  To simplify the question, what is the emphasis of the word in Ecclesiastes? Quality (e.g. "empty, vanity"), quantity (e.g. "temporary"), or simply the concrete image (e.g. "vapor, puff")?     

A Translation Principle

We can say at least two things, the first being a translation principle. We understand a translator's role ideally to enable the reader to access the text in the reader's own language while yet preserving the level of ambiguity or complexity of the original. The theory is not always easy to put into practice!

Sense of Ecclesiastes 1:2

Now, regarding Ecclesiastes 1:2 specifically, the concrete sense of the word "vapor" does not easily work ("all things" are not associated with the wind, a vapor), but rather the verses that follow assume a more derived sense of the word.  So, I lean toward translating the word as a combination of both the quality ("empty") and quantity ("temporary") readings, demonstrated by verses 3 and 4ff respectively. In sum, the Hebrew word is rich and complex, making it imperative to preserve the profundity in translation.

Bribery, Part 2: Modern Bribery, America-style

When most think of the word 'bribery', thoughts automatically go to third-world countries such as some in Africa, where the paying of a bribe permits one to accomplish regular business.  However, in America, bribery exists, just in different forms. For example:

In the Chicago Tribune John Kass summarized the activity of ex-governor of Illinois, Republican George Ryan, who went to federal prison in 2007 to serve a six year sentence:

A federal jury convicted him on 18 corruption counts, including allowing the deadly licenses-for-bribes scheme to continue under him when he was Illinois secretary of state and cynically quashing an investigation into whether a truck driver paid a bribe for his license before being involved in the horrific, fiery explosion that claimed the lives of six of Scott and Janet’s children.

(HT: Justin Taylor)

See also post: To Bribe or Not to Bribe

To Bribe or Not to Bribe?

Thinking again about this notty (or naughty) issue. A fundamental point to make about bribery: bribery involves at least two parties, the briber and the victim.

Some biblical texts that seem pro-bribery

• A bribe is like a magic stone in the eyes of the one who gives it; wherever he turns he prospers  (Proverbs 17:8)
• A gift in secret averts anger, and a concealed bribe, strong wrath (Proverbs 21:14)

Some other texts seem contra bribery

• The wicked accepts a bribe in secret to pervert the ways of justice (Proverbs 17:23)
• Surely oppression drives the wise into madness, and a bribe corrupts the heart (Ecclesiastes 7:7)

So, does the Bible permit bribery?

• Falkiner argues an unequivocal no,
• but Koukl gives a nuanced yes

Position #1: Bribery is not permitted
Falkiner disagrees with the arguments of the pro-bribery position

• Don't force your culture on others
• Do it for the greater good
• Don't think of it as a bribe
• Bribery doesn't hurt anything
• The Bible is unclear on bribery
• Conclusion: "It should be obvious that bribery is not an option for a Christian."

Position #2: Bribery is permitted in certain cases
Koukl's nuanced conclusion

When you give a bribe to a police officer so that he can fix your ticket or not give you a ticket when you are guilty, that is a perversion of justice. Imagine a situation, though, where you're in a foreign country trying to get food to refugees and the military stops you. But you can proceed on your mission if you give them a bribe. It offers you an opportunity to accomplish good if you would just give a little gift. If you do that, would you be perverting justice? Now the answer of course is no, not in that situation. As a matter of fact one could argue that you are paying to get justice because there is no good reason for you to be delayed... It is tragic that you must pay to get justice and the person who demands money in order to give you justice is immoral. He's immoral at that point because justice is due you without you having to pay for it. But are you wrong in giving it? No. I don't think so. You are not perverting justice, you are getting what is your just due.

A Modest Assessment
It certainly seems that when the Bible normally talks about the immorality of bribery, it condemns the victim rather than considering the morality of the bribery (it's as if it is assumed that the briber was wicked, obviously?). Inasmuch as bribery participates in injustice, it is certainly condemned; but if someone does follow Koukl's 'better good argument' and 'perpetuation of justice argument' regarding the Proverbs texts, I would like to know how he handles a text like Ecclesiastes 7:7.  Also, I am wondering if we would ever encounter a situation where the giving of a bribe did not involve the perpetuation of injustice, especially as most situations are rarely so unambiguous.

Update
Another helpful text (among others) to consider, in the historical narrative of Acts 24:26-27: Felix attempted to get a bribe from Paul several times, Paul apparently repeatedly refused, and (most likely as consequence) Paul remained in prison for 2 more years.
(HT: G)

French Tongue Twister

The Pastor's sermon today was on Luke 19:1-10, when Jesus met with Zacchaeus.  Try saying this tongue-twister sentence from his sermon 10 times fast!

• Jésus s'invite chez Zachée. 

CBD for Francophonies

Excelsis.  That is, this group sells French, Christian literature.

Though I have yet to see CBD-type rolling discounts.

Holy Week Tools

Timeline Visualization by Stephen Smith at Bible Gateway:

And a Google map by Crossway of the major Holy Week sites in chronological order.

(HT: JT)

The Chief End of Man

At family devotions tonight, we read in our hymnbook this brief comment by Francis A. Schaeffer on the Westminster Catechism.

'The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.'

It would be scripturally false to leave out the second phrase - 'and to enjoy Him forever.' The men who formulated this showed great wisdom and insight in saying, 'and to enjoy Him forever.' 

Nevertheless, the first phase is the first phase: 'The chief end of man is to glorify God.' And in Christianity we have a non-determined God who did not need to create because there was love and communication within the Trinity, and yet having been created, we as men can glorify God. 

But we must feel the force of both sides of the issue. If we fail to emphasize that we can glorify God, we raise the whole question of whether men are significant at all. We begin to lose our humanity as soon as we begin to lose the emphasis that what we do makes a difference. We can glorify God, and both the Old and New Testament say that we can even make God sad. That is tremendous.

Une Méditation Sur Psaume 23:6 (en français)

Last week, I wrote my first translation note in French and thought I would share it with you below. How the French Bible is translated is incredibly important for our work in Africa, as the translators do typically reference the French translation in their work.

The one sentence cliff-notes-translation is this: the verb often translated 'mercy and grace will follow' in Psalm 23:6, I think is mistranslated; instead, like its normal usage in contexts of chasing and catching enemies, the verb should be more active as 'pursue.' I pick up on this issue from John Piper who has mentioned it from the pulpit several times.

Une Méditation Sur Psaume 23:6

Le sens du mot

Le verbe que je voudrais cibler dans le texte est "s'accompagneront"; parce que je ne pense pas que ce mot soit traduit correctement, ni en français ni en anglais, ma langue maternelle.  "S'accompagneront" est une traduction beaucoup moins forte que l'originale. Ce verbe est la traduction du mot Hébreu radaph qui veut plutôt dire "poursuivre" ou "chasser" comme dans la Genèse quand Abraham a poursuivi ses ennemis et les ennemis de Lot afin de les attraper et les attaquer. Il n'y a pas de manuscrit Hébreu qui est contraire à cette conclusion.

La Poésie Choquant

Ce verset dans la poésie du Psaume 23 est la seule fois où on voit quelque chose d'impersonnel faisant radaph, donc dans le Psaume 23, la grâce nous chasse.  Oui, ça c'est un peu bizarre et choquant, mais je pense que ce verset dit que Dieu - Dieu est symbolisé par les mots "le bonheur et la grâce" - que Dieu va nous poursuivre avec intensité. Il est le Grand, Tout-Puissant Chasseur qui va tout faire pour trouver et toujours sanctifier ses enfants, par sa grâce et son bonheur, avec la même niveau d'intensité quand il chasse ses ennemis.

Proposition: Poursuivre

Pourtant le français n'est pas ma langue maternelle, je vous propose qu'on traduise le verbe "poursuivre."

Ciampa on 1 Corinthians: Did You Know?

Ciampa and Rosner summarized 1 Corinthians:

1 Corinthians has much to say to the modern world. No book in the New Testament, even Paul’s letter to the Romans, does more to explain the grace of God, the lordship of Christ, and the work of the Holy Spirit. The contribution of the letter to the practical knowledge of God is immense. Not only is its ethics searching and rigorous, but its theology, especially of the cross, announces the end of the world as we know it. In addition to supplying concrete answers to many problems which have comparable manifestations today, on subjects as diverse as leadership, preaching, pluralism, sexuality, and worship, 1 Corinthians models how to approach the complexity of Christian living with the resources of the Old Testament and the example and teaching of Jesus. Above all, it shows the importance of asking, How does the gospel of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, which envelop the letter in chapters 1 and 15, teach us to live?

In Ciampa's article, he raises new issues in 1 Corinthians in a 'did you know' fashion.

Joseph: What Kind of Son Was He in Genesis 37:3?

Genesis 37:3 (ESV) reads:
Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age.

Problem: Too Narrow
The main problem I have with this translation is that it narrows the interpretation further than the original does and biases the reader into interpreting this passage to this: the reason Israel treasured Joseph so was that Joseph was born to Israel when Israel was old. Indeed, that is a possible interpretation. But if it is correct, why would not Benjamin (who was surely born by chapter 37) be privileged instead of Joseph?  Benjamin was an even younger son of Israel's. And upon Benjamin's advent, Israel's beloved wife Rachel died, so one would think Benjamin would have enjoyed pride of place.

Translate to Allow the Alternative Plausible Interpretations
The original reads and stands as a good translation by itself: 'because he [was] the son of old age,' that is, the word 'his' is absent in the original mss. The ESV Study Bible makes some helpful interpretation suggestions in a brief note. I lean towards their second option, as Israel seemed to keep Joseph close by to him, sent him on special missions, and mourned unconsolably upon Joseph's 'death'.  ESV, page 114:

the unusual Hebrew expression 'son of old age' (there is no explicit word for 'his' in the Hebrew text) may denote [1] someone who displays exceptional maturity while still young or [2] perhaps the son closest to Jacob in his old age. Jacob may have recognized Joseph's leadership potential early in life.