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Meat Common Misconceptions and Mistranslation Issues

The idea that his right hand was crippled makes a lot of sense in the case of Ehud, as you have outlined. Interestingly the Geneva bible translated this as "a man lame of his right hande".

However, the idea that the tribe of Benjamin would have 700 men who all coincidentally happened to have crippled right hands so had all trained as left-handed slingers stretches credibility. Maybe it was a possibility that everyone who happened to get a right-hand injury were all trained as slingers, and such injuries were common in that tribe for some reason? It's a long shot.

So I looked at the LXX and (out of pure curiosity, not to find an authoritative answer) the Vulgate (well, English translations of both). The LXX and Vulgate both state that Ehud was ambidextrous - "used the left hand as well as the right". And with regard to the slingers, the LXX just says they were left-handed, but the Vulgate states that they were ambidextrous. Ambidextrous slingers make enormous sense militarily. Imagine training to use the sword well with the right hand and the sling well with the left - such a man would be a formidable warrior, while being very lightly equipped and fast on his feet.

I don't know what the answer is here - any of these options makes a lot of practical sense for different reasons. But the idea that Ehud was a cripple is very compelling.
Lol we may never know for sure till we get there (actually, make that a "probably won't" rather than a "may never")! It is actually quite interesting that we have three different sides of interpretation as opposed to just two on this particular phrase, and the vulgate using "ambidextrous" may shed some light as to why the Catholics held their weird anti-lefty thing for so long.

As for there being 700 cripples, I agree that it doesn't really make contextual sense apart from that they used slings and no other weapon is mentioned for these particular guys. Likewise, any reason as to why there would be 700 crippled warriors is not stated. We could speculate, it could've been some birth defect common in the tribe of Benjamin, maybe some localized areas started to cut off hands as a legal punishment, perhaps one of Israel's oppressors tried to curb rebellion by crippling the men's fighting hands, but any reason we could come up with would be pure speculation and not something we should teach as anything but.

However, in the potential case of having a bunch of one-handed cripples, I don't think it is entirely unreasonable that they would all learn how to use slings. Really, once one guy started doing that, I could see the rest following suit. It would be a way to still be useful as a warrior even with such disability. Likewise, if they could indeed hit a hair's breadth, they could even hunt birds with some degree of reliability, so you could still have some good use outside of battle too. Either way though, whether ambidextrous or one-handedness, it's at least making the best use of the talents and tools that you've got!

Although I will definitely agree wholeheartedly ----- an ambidextrous swordsman slinger would be absolutely terrifying to face in battle!
 
Sorry for the delay; I'm sick as a dog.

It would be just as easy to ask you, @FollowingHim, @Luke S, etc., "Why are you or anyone else assuming אַפָּ֑יִם (appayim) means nose or face? Because, if you do, you're entirely missing the connotation or nuance of the predominant instances when it's translated as nose or face, because (a) where 'face,' it is consistently an accurate translation of doubled-over, which can in modern times be translated as face to the ground; or (b) where 'nose,' it is always a matter of long-of-nose or more literally double-nosed. Both are because the root understanding is doubling, which is why so many -- especially the less tortured, non-polluted, non-mainstream-religious-biased-message-directing versions -- translated it straight as doubled. This isn't difficult to discover. One place to start is with Strong's 639.

I don't begrudge you repeated reliance on Benton's translation of LXX, but it just means I have to repeat that it's still a matter of translation of who knows what bias from translation of partially-known clear bias from original manuscripts (their claim), best extant manuscripts and what the LXX claimed as common understanding. Something like playing gossip on a long-distance line before the ATT break-up with everyone wearing three face diapers and a set of ear plugs.

And even that ignores the fact that the only possibility that exists that the only extant Hebrew texts are newer than the LXX would be that the LXX folks destroyed what they worked from; the best, most charitable conclusions would be that (a) the originals were subsequently and thoroughly very purposefully destroyed, or (b) they never had them to begin with and just worked from their own personal prejudices based on memories of stories they'd heard. This is no unreasonable suspicion on my part, either. Even in modern times we are inundated with much larger groups of supposed clerics or scientists claiming they represent consensus of religion or science.



Actually, I was a little surprised that you even went there, Samuel, and I'm not talking about the thin-air aspersion. Is there ANY doubt that both the Latin Vulgate and the KVJ were purposeful mistranslations with multiple agenda items about what was required to be left out and what that hadn't previously been part of Scripture be inserted? If one doubts that, one could stand to do at least a little research beyond what Catholics or KJV-only adherents would recommend. Both had as their intention driving people into the pews or back into the pews. Both were intended to brainwash constituents into being more easily controlled by their secular and religious masters, and both very purposefully did so by demonizing normal sexuality, and neither were at all hesitant to bastardize original Scripture in service of doing so. Don't forget that the Vulgar Vulgate was subsequently used thus to demonize polygamy and demand that priests (who, previously, were more likely than the average lay person to be polygynists) not only not marry multiple wives but be entirely celibate.

And the Geneva was an improvement but didn't have the cojones to stray from much of the false-teaching Vulgate narratives.

Thus, without reference to something better where more effort has been made to research original idioms, seek out original manuscripts, and deep-six most everything known to have been added to Scripture, I ALWAYS completely reject anything that relies either entirely or even substantially on the Septuagint, the Latin Vulgate and the King James Version.

As things stand, the following versions indicate a double portion: NIV, ESB, Berean, NKJV(!), NASB (all), CSB, Holman CSB, CLNT, CSV, Aramaic translations, ISV, JPS, NAB, NET, Literal SV, New Heart English, NRSV, WEB, YLT, A Faithful Version, Darby, ERV.

Catholic versions like the Douay-Rheims do not. And, other than being known for only the second of English translations of the LXX, it seems impossible to glean any reason other than seminary attendance and self-appointment to consider Sir Bretton authoritative, anyway.

I'll just add last in this section that I do consider the Textus Receptus to be better than others, such as the Codex Vaticanus, on which Bretton exclusively relied, but it has its own problems, so I don't automatically think I've gotten to the minds of those on whom Yah implanted His Word any time I'm reading a translation that predominantly relies on any one set of partial manuscripts.



But we're not just talking about one feast. It says "days of days," indicating that each time a time of sacrifice came up he did this. You could be correct that Hannah's share that was doubled was only some piece of meat, but we are not told whether it was limited to food or even that the food was meat.

Whether she ate it or not is not just symbolic. Unless compensated for in some other way to treat his wives equally (because everything doesn't have to be the same -- or equitable -- just of equal value), and we're not told anything about that, so we can't assume just compensation was exhibited, but we damn sure can't assume that it was. Just ask the men here who have or have had more than one wife whether watching that go on would just be symbolic even if the double portion wasn't eaten . . . gee, what if he only tried to have sex with her twice as often but she turned him away half the time . . .

Our suspicions are interesting but not scriptural. It's always hard to confidently glean full scripturalness, anyway, given how far removed we are from His Word.



Or perhaps it's just another example of men wishing the message didn't hit so close to home. Does Elkanah having fathered Samuel make him worthy of excusing away his potential lack of leadership? Does treating a wife as a child because she won't eat meat represent the highest potential pinnacle for wearing the pants in the family? And I'm not at all asserting that wives never need to be treated like children -- just that relying on that as a top strategy would indicate to me that a man has a tendency to avoid reaching beyond the top layer of his tool box.
Oh I'm not saying definitively that it does mean choice and not doubled, just that I had not considered even looking into that particular word. I'm thankful @FollowingHim pointed it out! Now I'm curious though, do y'all think maybe it could mean literally meat from the face of the animal? After all, the meat from the face is considered a choice portion in a lot of cultures, but there is not a whole lot of it in comparison to the rest of the animal. Now, if Elkanah was offering a burnt offering, then this wouldn't be the case, because Leviticus 1 specifies that the head and the fat were put on the fire. However, would eating the face meat be permitted in a peace offering? The fat and kidneys are mentioned as being burned in Leviticus 3, but the head is not mentioned. Does this mean that such meat was available to eat in such case?

Either way, whether it directly applies or not, now we've got more digging to do! 😀
 
Hello shalom, awesome topic that could go on for decades huh? Have you looked at a Septuagint? Most translations used today are of mosaic translation which we know was tampered with.
Hello indeed!! And yes, it probably could go on that long, but that wouldn't be a bad thing, so long as it remains edifying and we all learn something one way or the other! And yeah, I've actually started to use the Septuagint as a referencing resource, I try to compare a lot of things and use it for potential insight into some of the Hebrew nuance, though as of yet I prefer to use it comparatively as opposed to outright authoritively.

Also, when you say "mosaic translation", did you mean "Masoretic"?
 
This is how I see most things in the Bible. The different versions or translations of the Bible speak to how things can be told and retold and sometimes drift from their original meanings. Or we can see different versions of the original because there were different versions of the original.
Oh I agree entirely that there were differences! I was just pointing it out as a means of sparking some further digging. I think that perhaps the small differences have potentially vastly different meanings, implications, and applications, and it may be easier to see it as such and glean from the text if we can stop for a second and delve deeper into those seemingly slight differences.
 
Hello indeed!! And yes, it probably could go on that long, but that wouldn't be a bad thing, so long as it remains edifying and we all learn something one way or the other! And yeah, I've actually started to use the Septuagint as a referencing resource, I try to compare a lot of things and use it for potential insight into some of the Hebrew nuance, though as of yet I prefer to use it comparatively as opposed to outright authoritively.

Also, when you say "mosaic translation", did you mean "Masoretic"?
Shalom and yes I meant Masoretic, my apologizes. What a challenge this is for us to find truth in all the mistranslations, yet at the same time is kind of like a treasure hunt. You mentioned 1 Samuel 1 too get the ball rolling, how bout Isa 7:14 and some of the mistakes surrounding it? I'm real curious as to what the sep. Would have on that.
 
Oh I agree entirely that there were differences! I was just pointing it out as a means of sparking some further digging. I think that perhaps the small differences have potentially vastly different meanings, implications, and applications, and it may be easier to see it as such and glean from the text if we can stop for a second and delve deeper into those seemingly slight differences.

I agree! One of my OCD-ish obsessions is metaphors and how something that was perhaps a metaphor thousands of years ago is being interpreted literally in the modern day. Which means we can be totally off about the original meaning.

Like when we say, "That is so cool!" then what happens say four thousand years from now when someone thinks things in the the 21st century were cold?

Sometime Biblical metaphors are right in front of us and we don't see them. Like the shepherd being so happy to find his lost sheep that he puts it on his shoulders and carries it home. Since we've had sheep on the ranch I've discovered that sheep are stinky, they're covered in lanolin, they have ticks and lice, and they're not always the nicest animals. They're not the soft, clean lambs we see in most art.

Now imagine being so happy to find a lost sheep that you don't care how awful that creature is and instead you're overwhelmed with joy to have it back. That's Jesus being so happy to have us back that He's willing to pick us up and carry us to salvation regardless of how stinky we are!
 
I agree! One of my OCD-ish obsessions is metaphors and how something that was perhaps a metaphor thousands of years ago is being interpreted literally in the modern day. Which means we can be totally off about the original meaning.

Like when we say, "That is so cool!" then what happens say four thousand years from now when someone thinks things in the the 21st century were cold?

Sometime Biblical metaphors are right in front of us and we don't see them. Like the shepherd being so happy to find his lost sheep that he puts it on his shoulders and carries it home. Since we've had sheep on the ranch I've discovered that sheep are stinky, they're covered in lanolin, they have ticks and lice, and they're not always the nicest animals. They're not the soft, clean lambs we see in most art.

Now imagine being so happy to find a lost sheep that you don't care how awful that creature is and instead you're overwhelmed with joy to have it back. That's Jesus being so happy to have us back that He's willing to pick us up and carry us to salvation regardless of how stinky we are!
love the voice of reality. But indeed we ARE the stinky sheep still beloved by the shepherd.
 
Since we've had sheep on the ranch I've discovered that sheep are stinky
Ah, but one person's stink is another's perfume. I grew up on a sheep farm, then went to work on a dairy farm. One day, visiting home, I found my little sister had a pet lamb. It smelt so nice in comparison to the stinky dairy cows that I seriously picked the thing up and breathed deeply like I was smelling a bouquet of flowers!

But I do agree with your point. Just had to disagree that sheep are stinky. They may however be an acquired smell. :)
 
Can also be different types of sheep than you have in NZ. I have no idea what breed these sheep are because they're not ours they just graze here.
 
Shalom and yes I meant Masoretic, my apologizes. What a challenge this is for us to find truth in all the mistranslations, yet at the same time is kind of like a treasure hunt. You mentioned 1 Samuel 1 too get the ball rolling, how bout Isa 7:14 and some of the mistakes surrounding it? I'm real curious as to what the sep. Would have on that.
Oh all good, brother, and no need to apologize! And it is a challenge at times indeed, but a rewarding embarkation nonetheless, the kind of treasure that never goes bad too!

I'm a bit confused though, what exactly are you pointing out about Isaiah 7:14?
 
Oh all good, brother, and no need to apologize! And it is a challenge at times indeed, but a rewarding embarkation nonetheless, the kind of treasure that never goes bad too!

I'm a bit confused though, what exactly are you pointing out about Isaiah 7:14?
Well, bout Isa 7:14 there is a lot of differences in the interpretation of this passage and some claim it is speaking just a women who has known a man. But believers in messiah claim it speaks of him. And then some claim it is only in reference to Isa kid. What are your thoughts on it.? Messiah prophecy or bout Isa kid ? Is it a women known a man or a virgin? A women having a child who is a virgin is a amazing thing
 
If you use scripture to interpret scripture, it is definately Messiah prophecy, because Matthew 1:23 applies it to Jesus. It might have a dual meaning and be about something else also, but it's certainly a messianic prophecy.
What does it look like in the Hebrew? Can we write out out in the Hebrew on these phones we use?
I agree though that's it's bout messiah
 
Malachi 2:16

Most translations use the term "divorce". The term used here is actually "sending away". While many will see this as the same thing, I think there may be some more subtle nuance that may differentiate between the two. Thoughts?
 
Numbers 15:33

Most translations use the term "sticks" for what the man was gathering on the Sabbath. This very well may have been the case, I cannot at all discount it, but Hebrew term used here can also be translated "trees", "logs", or, more simply, "wood". It's actually the same word used for the trees in the Garden of Eden. The term can include sticks, no doubt, but I think translating it as such here assumes what the man was collecting. The same would be so if we translated it as "logs", or "trees", so I think the best translation option for us would be "wood". This could in turn imply that the man was gathering an assortment of logs, sticks, and branches, rather than just one form of wood. Given that we do not know the reason for which he was gathering either, we cannot assume any one thing nor purpose for the wood, and "wood" allows for any such reason, purpose, or item gathered to be included.

All in all, though, the nuance may not seem to matter, but I think this verse and how this term is translated can actually greatly affect our understanding of the Sabbath.
 
2 Samuel 12:8.

Many modern translations use terms like, "into your arms" or "into your keeping/care" for how Nathan describes Yah's giving of Saul's wives to David. This is a mistranslation. The term used is "into your bosom".

This is important for our understanding, since many people will say that God gave David Saul's wives as servants, not as wives, saying that they were given "into his keeping". "Into your bosom" dispels that thought. It connotes a much more intimate relationship than that of a servant. Deuteronomy 13:6 and Deuteronomy 28:54 both use the term "wife of your bosom" which backs that up. Likewise, the first time the term "bosom" is used in describing the way that Sarai gave Hagar to Abram in Genesis 16:5. This does not make any sense at all to translate "into your keeping" or "into your care" since Hagar was already a servant within Abram's household before she became his wife. Thus, 2 Samuel 12:8, lol, if anyone should challenge you on what exactly that verse is implying, you've got some stuff now to prove them wrong.
 
Well, bout Isa 7:14 there is a lot of differences in the interpretation of this passage and some claim it is speaking just a women who has known a man. But believers in messiah claim it speaks of him. And then some claim it is only in reference to Isa kid. What are your thoughts on it.? Messiah prophecy or bout Isa kid ? Is it a women known a man or a virgin? A women having a child who is a virgin is a amazing thing
Well, I think @FollowingHim summed it all up pretty well indeed! I as well agree with y'all both that Matthew 1:23 proves it to be Messianic at the very least. As well, if you ever want to see what a verse looks like in Hebrew, Blue Letter Bible is an excellent resource to use for that, unless you can find a good online Hebrew Bible, though you might want one with an English side-by-side translation for easier navigation.
 
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