Welcome to Day 2376 of Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom – Theology Thursday – Spellchecking the Bible – I Dare You Not To Bore Me With The Bible

Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2376 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2376 of our Trek. The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before.   Today is the fourth lesson in our segment, Theology Thursday. Utilizing excerpts from a book titled: I Dare You Not To Bore Me With The Bible written by Hebrew Bible scholar and professor Dr. Michael S Heiser, we will invest a couple of years going through the entire Bible, exploring short Biblical lessons that you may not have received in Bible classes or Church. The Bible is a wonderful book. Its pages reveal the epic story of God’s redemption of humankind and the long, bitter conflict against evil. Yet it’s also a book that seems strange to us. While God’s Word was written for us, it wasn’t written to us. Today, our lesson is Spellchecking the Bible. The words of the original biblical text cannot always be read with certainty. Genesis 49:10 is a famous example. These three translations show the differences.       NASB ESV NIV “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.” “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.” “The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his.” Three translators arrived at different conclusions because the Hebrew text itself is ambiguous. The problem is one word made up of four Hebrew letters translated (shiyloh). The NASB takes these four letters as the spelling “Shiloh,” the place where the ark of the covenant was kept during the days of the Judges, Samuel, and David. As it is written, this is how the word should be pronounced, but “Shiloh" is not spelled this way anywhere else in the Hebrew Bible.- The odd spelling has led many translators to suspect that “Shiloh" is not the correct translation. Another problem with translating this word as “Shiloh" is that the Septuagint —the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible produced a few centuries before Christ, which is often quoted by the New Testament writers—has a different rendering. The Septuagint literally reads: “until that which is stored away for him comes." The Hebrew text used by the Septuagint translator did not read (shiyloh). The Septuagint translator saw one of two things. The four consonants in our problem word could have been divided into two words: (shay loh). That option would result in “until tribute comes—is brought to him."- The ESV reflects this option. Or the text of the Septuagint translator may have had three consonants instead of four. His Hebrew Bible may have read (shiloh). Although this is a frequent spelling for “Shiloh" in the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint translator did not regard the word as the place name. Instead, he took the word as a combination of two other Hebrew words translated: (“that which") followed by (“to him" or “to whom"). The result is typically translated, “that which to whom it belongs." When the verb (“he/it comes") is added, we get something akin to the NIV: “until he comes to whom it belongs." Traditional Hebrew Text Hebrew Behind Septuagint: Option One Hebrew Behind Septuagint: Option Two  (shiyloh) (shay loh) (she loh) “until Shiloh comes" (NASB) “until tribute comes to him" (ESV) “until he comes to whom it belongs" (NIV) Both of the possible Septuagint textual readings have a messianic flavor. They speak of a person—specifically, a descendant of Judah—coming to reign, or having tribute brought to him as king. While translators don't have to guess about messianic prophecy in dozens of other places, Genesis 49:10 has kept them guessing for centuries. The lessons that make up Theology Thursday on the Wisdom-Trek Podcast for the next couple of years will satisfy the statement, “I Dare You Not to Bore Me with the Bible.” I trust you’ll enjoy them—and, of course, not be bored.     Reflect… If you found this podcast insightful, subscribe and leave us a review, then encourage your friends and family to join us and come along tomorrow for another day of ‘Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.’. Thank you so much for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and, most importantly, I am your friend as I serve you through this Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal. As we take this Trek together, let us always:

1. Live Abundantly (Fully)
2. Love Unconditionally
3. Listen Intentionally
4. Learn Continuously
5. Lend to others Generously
6. Lead with Integrity
7. Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

I am Guthrie Chamberlain….reminding you to’ Keep Moving Forward,’ ‘Enjoy your Journey,’ and ‘Create a Great Day…Everyday! See you next time for more daily wisdom!