Wednesday, December 5, 2018
One-Stop Reincarnation Body Shop
There they were,
most as naked as
I, with youthful
bodies, fresh and
unmarred;
a young man,
a teenage girl,
children
of both sexes.
I will have decisions
to make next time around,
but in the end,
does it matter?
There is so much
potential
in all of us.
most as naked as
I, with youthful
bodies, fresh and
unmarred;
a young man,
a teenage girl,
children
of both sexes.
I will have decisions
to make next time around,
but in the end,
does it matter?
There is so much
potential
in all of us.
Tuesday, December 4, 2018
The Missing Verse of Psalm 145
A few years ago a friend asked me about this. The answer I gave then was probably not the one that I would give now.
Psalm 145 is an acrostic. In other words, each verse begins with a particular letter of the alphabet. Sometimes they spell out a name or a message, but in the Psalms they usually just follow the order of the letters of the alphabet. The latter is the case here. The Psalm, in the Masoretic text that is official in Judaism, has no verse beginning with "נ," "nun," the letter "n" of the Hebrew alphabet.
But there originally was such a verse, we know its meaning, and we can reconstruct it in Hebrew. The meaning is still present in the Septuagint (LXX), the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, dating from about 150 BCE. But by the time of St. Jerome (ca. 400 CE), the verse had disappeared from the Hebrew text.
When my friend originally asked me about this, I thought it was just a copyist's error, and no big deal. Here is the reconstruction of the verse in Hebrew:
Psalm 145 is an acrostic. In other words, each verse begins with a particular letter of the alphabet. Sometimes they spell out a name or a message, but in the Psalms they usually just follow the order of the letters of the alphabet. The latter is the case here. The Psalm, in the Masoretic text that is official in Judaism, has no verse beginning with "נ," "nun," the letter "n" of the Hebrew alphabet.
But there originally was such a verse, we know its meaning, and we can reconstruct it in Hebrew. The meaning is still present in the Septuagint (LXX), the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, dating from about 150 BCE. But by the time of St. Jerome (ca. 400 CE), the verse had disappeared from the Hebrew text.
When my friend originally asked me about this, I thought it was just a copyist's error, and no big deal. Here is the reconstruction of the verse in Hebrew:
נאמן יהוה בכל־דבריו וחסיד בּכל־מעשׂיו ׃
Here is the meaning:
The Lord is faithful in all his words,
and gracious in all his deeds.
This verse appeared in Hebrew Bibles at the time when the LXX translators did their job (ca. 150 BCE). It had, however, disappeared from current Hebrew texts of the Psalms by Jerome's time, 400 CE. Why?
What had happened between 150 BCE and 400 CE? Two things immediately come to mind: the destruction of the Second Temple, and the crushing of the Bar Kokhba revolt.
Is the omission of this verse from the Masoretic text that is the gold standard in Judaism to this day just an accident, a coincidence? Or had these words, in light of historical events, become too painful for the Jews to utter?
You decide.
uyelvha agadohvsdi 34 - translation
ᏂᎦᏛ ᎩᎵᏗ ᏅᎵᏎ ᏩᏯᏗ ᏂᏛᎴᏅᏓ. ᎾᏍᎩᏛ ᎨᏒᎠᏎ ᎠᏆᏤᎵ ᎣᏍᏛ ᎤᎾᎵᏗ. ᎢᏳᏃ ᏂᎯ ᎤᎭ ᎩᎵ, ᏂᎯ ᎤᎭ ᎤᏬᎯᏳᎯ ᎠᎾᎵᎪᎲᏍᎩᏁ.
Nigadv gilidi nvlise wayadi nidvlenvda. nasgidv gesvase aquatseli osdv unalidi. iyuno nihi uha gili, nihi uha uwohiyuhi analigohvsgine.
All dogs have come from wolves. They are our good friends. If you have a dog, you have a loyal companion.
Nigadv gilidi nvlise wayadi nidvlenvda. nasgidv gesvase aquatseli osdv unalidi. iyuno nihi uha gili, nihi uha uwohiyuhi analigohvsgine.
All dogs have come from wolves. They are our good friends. If you have a dog, you have a loyal companion.
uyelvha agadohvsdi 34 / ᎤᏰᎸᎭ ᎠᎦᏙᎲᏍᏗ 34
ᏂᎦᏛ ᎩᎵᏗ ᏅᎵᏎ ᏩᏯᏗ ᏂᏛᎴᏅᏓ. ᎾᏍᎩᏛ ᎨᏒᎠᏎ ᎠᏆᏤᎵ ᎣᏍᏛ ᎤᎾᎵᏗ. ᎢᏳᏃ ᏂᎯ ᎤᎭ ᎩᎵ, ᏂᎯ ᎤᎭ ᎤᏬᎯᏳᎯ ᎠᎾᎵᎪᎲᏍᎩᏁ.
Monday, December 3, 2018
Nude Is My Normal
Nude is my normal,
as much as possible.
I don't need to write
about it,
because I live it.
The sun warms
and nourishes my body,
and freedom
nourishes my soul.
How about you?
as much as possible.
I don't need to write
about it,
because I live it.
The sun warms
and nourishes my body,
and freedom
nourishes my soul.
How about you?
Sunday, December 2, 2018
And Now the Mind Outruns the Body
And now the mind
outruns the body,
but both are still
in place,
and great distances
will be traveled
in this unequal
race.
outruns the body,
but both are still
in place,
and great distances
will be traveled
in this unequal
race.
