inappropriate

February 14, 2016

Contentious wife (Prov 27:14-27:16)

“Whoever blesses his neighbor

With a loud voice,

Rising early in the morning,

Will be counted as cursing.

A continual dripping on a rainy day

Is like a contentious wife.

To restrain her

Is to restrain the wind.

It is to grasp oil in the right hand.”

What is wrong with blessing your neighbor in the morning? Well, you were supposed to pray in the morning before greeting your neighbor. Using a loud voice was considered inappropriate. This was like cursing instead of blessing. The contentious wife was like dripping rain on a rainy day. She was difficult to restrain since this was like trying to restrain the wind or hold oil in your right hand. The contentious wife was a real problem. However, there was no mention of an obnoxious husband.

June 5, 2015

The Olympics at Tyre (2 Macc 4:18-4:20)

“When the quadrennial games were being held at Tyre, the king was present. The vile Jason sent envoys, chosen as being citizens of Antioch from Jerusalem. They were to carry three hundred silver drachmas for the sacrifice to Hercules. Those who carried the money, however, thought best not to use it for sacrifice, because that was inappropriate. They spent if for another purpose. So this money that was intended by the sender for the sacrifice to Hercules, but by the decision of its carriers it was applied to the construction of triremes.”

Now we have the Olympics in the biblical tradition. The quadrennial Olympics were held in Tyre. The Greek Olympics began in 776 BCE. However, they were eliminated by the Christian Emperor Theodosius in 393 CE as a pagan cult. Although the Olympics were only held in Olympia in Greece, there were other gatherings of athletes in what might be called Pan-Hellenic Games that were held throughout the ancient world in various cities at different times what were also called Olympics. Tyre was an important sea port town north of Palestine. Hercules was the name of god of Tyre. Instead of offering the sacrifice to Hercules, these so-called Antiochian envoys to these games made triremes, war vessels with rowers on each side.