So there you have it, at least for the past week. I can't explain it. Russia is high, the US is low (maybe we have other things on our minds these days).
If you celebrate it, happy Thanksgiving.
Thursday, November 28, 2019
Where do all these visits to the poetry/photography blog come from?
As I write this, we have had 71,766 visits to this blog. I can show you where they came from this past week, but I can't explain it.
So there you have it, at least for the past week. I can't explain it. Russia is high, the US is low (maybe we have other things on our minds these days).
If you celebrate it, happy Thanksgiving.
So there you have it, at least for the past week. I can't explain it. Russia is high, the US is low (maybe we have other things on our minds these days).
If you celebrate it, happy Thanksgiving.
The Words Pass Through Him / Les mots passent à travers lui /
The words pass through him,
unimpeded and undistorted,
unobstructed by dogma
or design.
Les mots passent à travers lui,
sans entrave et sans distorsion,
non obstrué par le dogme
ou la conception.
Las palabras pasan a través de él
sin trabas y sin distorsiones,
sin obstáculos por el dogma
o diseño.
As palavras passam por ele,
desimpedido e sem distorção,
desobstruído pelo dogma
ou disenho.
Text and image © 2019 by Donald Jacobson Traxler.
unimpeded and undistorted,
unobstructed by dogma
or design.
Les mots passent à travers lui,
sans entrave et sans distorsion,
non obstrué par le dogme
ou la conception.
Las palabras pasan a través de él
sin trabas y sin distorsiones,
sin obstáculos por el dogma
o diseño.
As palavras passam por ele,
desimpedido e sem distorção,
desobstruído pelo dogma
ou disenho.
Text and image © 2019 by Donald Jacobson Traxler.
Wednesday, November 27, 2019
He Is Made of Light and Shadow / Il est fait d'ombre et de lumière / Él está hecho de luz y sombra / Ele é feito de luz e sombra / ᎠᏨᏯᎢ ᎨᏒᎠᏎ ᎪᏢᏗᏔ ᎤᎸᏌᏓ ᎠᎴ ᎤᏓᏴᎳᏛ ᎥᎿᎢ /
He is made of light and shadow,
the past, the present, and the future.
Il est fait d'ombre et de lumière
le passé, le présent et le futur.
Él está hecho de luz y sombra,
el pasado, el presente y el futuro.
Ele é feito de luz e sombra,
o passado, o presente e o futuro.
atsvyai gesvase gotlvdita ulvsada ale udayvladv vhnai,
tsuwagutanvsv, noquuhida, ale uwagudidisv.
ᎠᏨᏯᎢ ᎨᏒᎠᏎ ᎪᏢᏗᏔ ᎤᎸᏌᏓ ᎠᎴ ᎤᏓᏴᎳᏛ ᎥᎿᎢ,
ᏧᏩᎫᏔᏅᏒ, ᏃᏊᎯᏓ, ᎠᎴ ᎤᏩᎫᏗᏗᏒ.
Text and image © 2019 by Donald Jacobson Traxler ꮨᏺꭽꮅ.
the past, the present, and the future.
Il est fait d'ombre et de lumière
le passé, le présent et le futur.
Él está hecho de luz y sombra,
el pasado, el presente y el futuro.
Ele é feito de luz e sombra,
o passado, o presente e o futuro.
atsvyai gesvase gotlvdita ulvsada ale udayvladv vhnai,
tsuwagutanvsv, noquuhida, ale uwagudidisv.
ᎠᏨᏯᎢ ᎨᏒᎠᏎ ᎪᏢᏗᏔ ᎤᎸᏌᏓ ᎠᎴ ᎤᏓᏴᎳᏛ ᎥᎿᎢ,
ᏧᏩᎫᏔᏅᏒ, ᏃᏊᎯᏓ, ᎠᎴ ᎤᏩᎫᏗᏗᏒ.
Text and image © 2019 by Donald Jacobson Traxler ꮨᏺꭽꮅ.
She Is a Goddess / Elle est une déesse / Ella es una diosa / Ela é uma deusa
She is a goddess,
she is a witch,
she is Kali,
she is the dark womb
of the universe.
Elle est une déesse,
elle est une sorcière,
elle est Kali,
elle est le ventre noir
de l'univers.
Ella es una diosa
ella es una bruja
ella es Kali
ella es la matriz oscura
del universo.
Ela é uma deusa
ela é uma bruxa,
ela é Kali,
ela é o útero escuro
do universo.
Text and image © 2019 by Donald Jacobson Traxler. Black-and-white illustration is from an original color lithograph by Félix Labisse, in my collection.
she is a witch,
she is Kali,
she is the dark womb
of the universe.
Elle est une déesse,
elle est une sorcière,
elle est Kali,
elle est le ventre noir
de l'univers.
Ella es una diosa
ella es una bruja
ella es Kali
ella es la matriz oscura
del universo.
Ela é uma deusa
ela é uma bruxa,
ela é Kali,
ela é o útero escuro
do universo.
His History / Son histoire / Su historia / Sua história / ᎤᏤᎵ ᎧᏃᎮᏍᎩ
His history is a mystery.
Son histoire est un mystère.
Su historia es un misterio.
Sua história é um mistério.
ההיסטוריה שלו היא תעלומה.
Η ιστορία του είναι ένα μυστήριο.
Historia eius mysterium est.
Is Mystery é a stair.
זיין געשיכטע איז אַ מיסטעריע
Його історія - таємниця
Hans historia är ett mysterium.
Hänen historiansa on mysteeri
उनका इतिहास एक रहस्य है
ʻO kona mōʻaukala he mea huna
Tarihi bir gizemdir
他的歷史是個謎。
他的历史是个谜。
彼の歴史は謎です
utseli kanohesgi gesvase usquanigodi
ᎤᏤᎵ ᎧᏃᎮᏍᎩ ᎨᏒᎠᏎ ᎤᏍᏆᏂᎪᏗ
Text and image © 2019 by Donald Jacobson Traxler ꮨᏺꭽꮅ.
Son histoire est un mystère.
Su historia es un misterio.
Sua história é um mistério.
ההיסטוריה שלו היא תעלומה.
Η ιστορία του είναι ένα μυστήριο.
Historia eius mysterium est.
Is Mystery é a stair.
זיין געשיכטע איז אַ מיסטעריע
Його історія - таємниця
Hans historia är ett mysterium.
Hänen historiansa on mysteeri
उनका इतिहास एक रहस्य है
ʻO kona mōʻaukala he mea huna
Tarihi bir gizemdir
他的歷史是個謎。
他的历史是个谜。
彼の歴史は謎です
utseli kanohesgi gesvase usquanigodi
ᎤᏤᎵ ᎧᏃᎮᏍᎩ ᎨᏒᎠᏎ ᎤᏍᏆᏂᎪᏗ
Text and image © 2019 by Donald Jacobson Traxler ꮨᏺꭽꮅ.
Monday, November 25, 2019
He Sees Beyond / Il voit au-delà / Él ve más allá / Ele vê além
He sees beyond the bonfire of today,
and will inhabit the bonfires
of many tomorrows.
Il voit au-delà du feu de joie d'aujourd'hui,
et il habitera les feux de joie
de nombreux lendemains.
Él ve más allá de la hoguera de hoy,
y habitará las hogueras
de muchos mañanas.
Ele vê além da fogueira de hoje,
e ele vai habitar as fogueiras
de muitos amanhãs.
Text and image © 2019 by Donald Jacobson Traxler.
and will inhabit the bonfires
of many tomorrows.
Il voit au-delà du feu de joie d'aujourd'hui,
et il habitera les feux de joie
de nombreux lendemains.
Él ve más allá de la hoguera de hoy,
y habitará las hogueras
de muchos mañanas.
Ele vê além da fogueira de hoje,
e ele vai habitar as fogueiras
de muitos amanhãs.
Text and image © 2019 by Donald Jacobson Traxler.
Sunday, November 24, 2019
Synoptica XXI - The Lost Sheep of the House of Israel
This blog entry is a follow-on to Synoptica XX, and is intended to further illustrate the importance of the Synoptic Problem.
In Shem-Tob's Hebrew Matthew we read (Mt. 10:5-6, in George Howard's translation):
5 These twelve he sent; he commanded them saying: To the lands of the Gentiles do not go and into the cities of the Samaritans do not enter.
6 Go to the sheep who have strayed from the house of Israel.
This is pretty clear, and we see that it is described as a command.
In Greek Matthew, which as we have shown was translated from Hebrew, just as Papias said, we have (in the RSV translation):
5 These twelve Jesus sent out, charging them, "Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
The wording is a little different, but the message is essentially the same: Don't go there.
Interestingly, none of this is in Mark or Luke.
Let's go now to Mt. 15:24 (in George Howard's translation from Hebrew):
24 Jesus answered them: They did not send me except to the lost sheep from the house of Israel.
In Greek Matthew (RSV translation) we have:
24 He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
Again, there is silence from Mark and Luke.
These words of Rabbi Yeshua were spoken in the context of a foreign woman asking for his help. Hebrew Matthew describes her (Mt. 15:22) as "a certain Canaanite woman, who came from the lands of the East . . . " In Greek Matthew we read (RSV): "a Canaanite woman from that region . . ." Mark says (Mk. 7:26, RSV): "Now the woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth." But in telling the story, Mark leaves out the statement about Rabbi Yeshua/Jesus being sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Luke does not tell the story at all, as he wishes not to offend his Gentile audience.
Only Matthew reports the words about the "lost sheep of the house of Israel," and he does so in two places. In both cases, Mark and Luke are silent about it.
Some scholars believe that the Gospel of Mark was written for the Romans, and may have originally been written in Latin, resulting in rather awkward Greek. There is a lot of evidence to indicate that the Gospel of Luke was written primarily for the Gentiles, whom he avoids offending. But the Gospel of Matthew was unquestionably written for the Jews.
We have already given strong evidence that the original language of the Gospel of Matthew was Hebrew, just as Papias stated in the second century. But even apart from considerations of language, we note from internal content that where Mark needed to explain Jewish customs to his audience, Matthew did not. We see a good example of this in Mt. 15:1-20, || Mk. 7:1-23, "What Defiles a Man."
If we were to assume Markan or Lukan priority, we could claim that the words about the "lost sheep of the house of Israel" were added by the Jews. But if we assume Matthaean priority, as did the Church for more than ninety percent of its history, then we can reasonably assume that these words were suppressed by evangelists writing for an audience of Gentiles.
Any theory of Markan or Lukan priority has two effects: 1) it stands history on its head; and 2) it has the effect, whether intended or unintended, of de-Semitizing the origins of Christianity.
Text © 2019 by Donald C. Traxler.
In Shem-Tob's Hebrew Matthew we read (Mt. 10:5-6, in George Howard's translation):
5 These twelve he sent; he commanded them saying: To the lands of the Gentiles do not go and into the cities of the Samaritans do not enter.
6 Go to the sheep who have strayed from the house of Israel.
This is pretty clear, and we see that it is described as a command.
In Greek Matthew, which as we have shown was translated from Hebrew, just as Papias said, we have (in the RSV translation):
5 These twelve Jesus sent out, charging them, "Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
The wording is a little different, but the message is essentially the same: Don't go there.
Interestingly, none of this is in Mark or Luke.
Let's go now to Mt. 15:24 (in George Howard's translation from Hebrew):
24 Jesus answered them: They did not send me except to the lost sheep from the house of Israel.
In Greek Matthew (RSV translation) we have:
24 He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
Again, there is silence from Mark and Luke.
These words of Rabbi Yeshua were spoken in the context of a foreign woman asking for his help. Hebrew Matthew describes her (Mt. 15:22) as "a certain Canaanite woman, who came from the lands of the East . . . " In Greek Matthew we read (RSV): "a Canaanite woman from that region . . ." Mark says (Mk. 7:26, RSV): "Now the woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth." But in telling the story, Mark leaves out the statement about Rabbi Yeshua/Jesus being sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Luke does not tell the story at all, as he wishes not to offend his Gentile audience.
Only Matthew reports the words about the "lost sheep of the house of Israel," and he does so in two places. In both cases, Mark and Luke are silent about it.
Some scholars believe that the Gospel of Mark was written for the Romans, and may have originally been written in Latin, resulting in rather awkward Greek. There is a lot of evidence to indicate that the Gospel of Luke was written primarily for the Gentiles, whom he avoids offending. But the Gospel of Matthew was unquestionably written for the Jews.
We have already given strong evidence that the original language of the Gospel of Matthew was Hebrew, just as Papias stated in the second century. But even apart from considerations of language, we note from internal content that where Mark needed to explain Jewish customs to his audience, Matthew did not. We see a good example of this in Mt. 15:1-20, || Mk. 7:1-23, "What Defiles a Man."
If we were to assume Markan or Lukan priority, we could claim that the words about the "lost sheep of the house of Israel" were added by the Jews. But if we assume Matthaean priority, as did the Church for more than ninety percent of its history, then we can reasonably assume that these words were suppressed by evangelists writing for an audience of Gentiles.
Any theory of Markan or Lukan priority has two effects: 1) it stands history on its head; and 2) it has the effect, whether intended or unintended, of de-Semitizing the origins of Christianity.
Text © 2019 by Donald C. Traxler.