So I'm a sick boy this week. I took some time between sneezing and naps to read my Bible, and had a moment I'd like to share with my faithful readers. All two of you.
I was chewing on Hebrews 12:26-27...
At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens." The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.
The author of Hebrews says in vs. 27 that 'The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken...' Um, no they don't.
From where I stand, the words 'once more' indicate 'again', or 'one more time', another. Once more does not equal removal.
Time to search it out. Off to my greek lexicon, to find out why 'once again' indicates the removing of what can be shaken.
The short version of that is that there are two greek words that translate as 'once more' - and the one used here is transliterated 'hapax'.
It seems that hapax is a counting word - like once, twice, three times a lady, or once upon a time. It indicates a single instance. Once more indicates the removal of what can be shaken, because hapax is a word that refers to a single instance. Once more, meaning one last time, not yet another.
The OTHER greek word translated as 'once more' is interesting...I had to look to see which of these two was used in 12:26. It helped me to figure out what I was looking at to investigate both words.
Where hapax gets used most in the New Testament indicating singular things, ( beaten with rods, payment for sins, etc ) this other word is used to indicate cyclical, repetitive things.
Where hapax is a counting word, a singular word, translating most often as 'once', this other word seems to come up translated as 'again' most often.
Our word of the day is 'PALIN'. Strong's number 3825.
Now, I've been the least excitable person I can think of lately, regarding politics and the recent election. I voted my conscience on the abortion issue, and because Sarah Palin is someone who believes the same things I do about God. I tried to vote for righteousness, despite the outcome.
Lots of us are wondering what happened, and whether we did anything wrong as a church, did we miss God...Dutch Sheets' site addresses those questions, I think. In the end, we made a wrong choice as a nation...and we'll all have to live with that.
Still, wondering what the heck went wrong is a natural reaction. I'd been wondering how we as believers would address the fact that we'd put God's stamp of approval on the loser of the election. It's different when you put God's name on the losing horse, you know?
So with that in the back of my mind, as I'm reading greek words trying to research Hebrews 12:26, my eyes nearly popped out of my head as I'm reading her name on my screen. It's not the first time the Lord has ambushed me with one thing when I was studying another. Sometimes he sneaks up on me.
So Palin means 'again'. Maybe there's more down the line for her. Or for us. Anyway, on a less grand scale, I was encouraged just to know God is aware of what I'm thinking about, and that he bothered to include it in exactly the right place for me to see today, when I was thinking about it.
Thanks for reading.
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