Biblical Greek Word Studies: μετοικεσίας

I started trying to read my Greek New Testament again recently, and very soon realized that the old adage "use it or lose it" really is true.  What I have especially forgotten is the vocabulary.

As I work my way through the new Testament, starting with the book 

ΚΑΤΑ ΜΑΤΘΑΙΟΝ,

"according to Matthew"), I plan on posting vocabulary studies.  I hope you find the posts to be useful.

The first word is metoikesias μετοικεσίας which appears in Matthew 1:17.  The word is from metoikizo which means "changing one's abode," "resettle," or "deport."

Πᾶσαι οὖν αἱ γενεαὶ ἀπὸ Ἀβραὰμ ἕως Δαυὶδ γενεαὶ δεκατέσσαρες, καὶ ἀπὸ Δαυὶδ ἕως τῆς μετοικεσίας Βαβυλῶνος γενεαὶ δεκατέσσαρες, καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς μετοικεσίας Βαβυλῶνος ἕως τοῦ χριστοῦ γενεαὶ δεκατέσσαρες. (SBL Greek New Testament)

So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and

from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations;

and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations. (KJV)

Messianic Prophecies from the Bible: The Virgin Birth

"Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." Isaiah 7:14, KJV

"almah" עַלְמָ֗ה  is a Hebrew word for “young woman" or "virgin.”  There is much controversy over the translation of this word as “virgin.” Hebrew scholar Michael L. Brown has pointed out that a young maiden in Isaiah’s time was expected to be a virgin.  Another Hebrew word, “betulah” בְּתוּלָ֕ה  (used in Genesis 24:16) more properly means “virgin” but can also mean “young woman” or “maiden.”

Many Jews point out that the context of the verse seems to show this as being a sign given to Ahaz, King of Judah, who lived centuries before Jesus. (Ahaz was a descendent of the line of David, as was Jesus). They also say the prophecy cannot refer to Jesus because He was not named Immanuel.

Professor Brown answers that Ahaz was addressed in two verses in the plural. (The divine right of kings or were two persons being addressed?).  Brown sees this as “a promise to the house of David as a whole” and says that “the birth of Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz seems to take the place of the Immanuel prophecy in terms of the immediate historical context.”

The “virgin” translation was used in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures which was in use during New Testament times.  The Greek word used here is “parthenos” ( “παρθένος” ; “virgin”).  The Septuagint was translated hundreds of years before Jesus was born and was quoted by Matthew. 

That not all Jews object to the translation of “almah” as “virgin” is shown by a quotation from the respected rabbi Rashi: :”And some interpret that this is the sign, that she was a young girl and incapable of giving birth.”  Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitschaki, 1040-1105) did not himself believe that Isaiah predicted a virgin birth.

(A Jewish rabbi discusses this question here.)

http://www.outreachjudaism.org/uploads/pdf%5CDUALVIRgin%20website.pdf

(A Christian response.)

http://www.aboutbibleprophecy.com/isaiah-7-14-ahaz-sign.htm

It is true that Jesus was not literally named Immanuel (Eμμανουηλ), which in Greek means “God with us,” but this is exactly what Christians believe about Jesus.

“Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” Matthew 1:23, KJV

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The Virgin Birth narratives occur in Matthew 1:18-25 and Luke 1:26-38.   Michael L. Brown is quoted from The Case for the Real Jesus (2007) by Lee Strobel.

At the Time When David Became King of israel

At the time when David became king of his unified Kingdom of Israel (ca 1000 BC/BCE), this is what was happening in other regions of the world.

The Chavin Culture established a trade network in Peru.

Japan was inhabited by a hunter-gatherer culture.

Agricultural farming began in Kenya.

The Phoenicians invented their alphabet.

Latins began to arrive in Italy.

The Hittite city of Troy (Troy Layer VII at Hisarlik, Turkey) was destroyed.

The Tamil language appeared in India.

China prospered under King Kang (ruled 1020-999BC/BCE) of the Zhou Dynasty.

Messsianic Prophecies: His Body Will Not Decay

“For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.” Psalm 16:10

David is speaking here in the Psalm and many then and now believed that the “holy one” of whom he speaks is David himself.  Holy as in the sense of holiness and being a saint, set apart from the world and dedicated to God.

Hell can be interpreted as separation from God.

Peter, in Acts 2:27, reinterprets the passage as a reference to Jesus’ resurrection.  Most conservative Christians now see this verse as a messianic prophecy.

“Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.” Acts 2:27

Paul also used the verse in the same way.

“Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.”  Acts 13:35

God Chooses to Use Whomever He Chooses

God seems to always choose the most unlikely person. Read the post below from The Jesus Site.com.

http://www.jesussite.com/blog/2012/02/think-god-cant-use-you/

You may wonder why this is.  My understanding of this is that if God used the obvious people (kings, military conquerors, politicians, the most beautiful women in the world, men as handsome as movie stars,  the richest and most powerful people, etc) everyone would "understand" why they were successful.  God's glory is magnified when He uses unexpected people to achieve His plan, because it is obvious that the actions come from God: a small teenaged boy used to defeat a giant, a donkey used to deliver a message, a frightened concubine used to save an entire nation, a brutal pagan absolute ruler used to take Judah into captivity to cause them to depend on Him, and a hate-filled persecutor used to become his doctrinal interpreter.  If God can use any of these people to bring about His purposes, He can use you to bring about His purposes.

Familial Relationships in the Bible: Abner, David, and Joab

Abner (Hebrew: "father is a lamp") was the commander in chief of King Saul's army (1 Samuel 14:50).  He was Saul's first cousin.  His father, Ner, was the brother of Kish, Saul's father.

Abner was murdered by Joab in revenge for his killing of Asahel, Joab's brother. (1 Samuel 2:12-32).  Joab was King David's nephew by his half-sister, Zeruiah (2 Samuel 8:16, 1 Chronicles 2:16)

Names in the Bible: Jesse

Jesse was the son of Obed and was a grandson of Ruth and Boaz. He had eight sons and two daughters and his youngest son was the future King David.  The meaning of Jesse's name is not known.

The video below really has nothing to do with this blog, but the dog's name is Jesse.

Solomon's Wall

Eilat Mazar, an Israeli archeologist has found what may be a fortification wall built by King Solomon in the 10th Century BC/BCE. She has called the wall "the most significant construction we have from First Temple days in Israel." She dated the wall from pottery shards found along the wall. Other archeologists, some of whom think David and Solomon are mythical, do not agree.

The segment of wall and a large gatehouse are located outside the walls of Jerusalem's Old City, near the Temple Mount/Noble Sanctuary.

While we should never base our faith on artifacts and relics, this may be yet another confirmation of the biblical records. Just think of the Hittite Empire which was "mythological," and mentioned only in the Bible, until the capital city, Hattusas (or Khattusas), was found in Turkey by Hugo Winckler in 1906-1907. Over ten thousand tablets were found which entirely corroborated the Biblical record.

British Israelism

I realized after I posted yesterday that some may not know what "British Israelism" is. The doctrine, also known as Anglo-Israelism, holds that persons of Western European ancestry are direct lineal descendents of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. Many British Israelists also believe that the British Royal Family is lineally descended from King David. As with Mormonism, the genetic, historical, and linguistic evidence just does not add up.

The doctrine existed earlier but was first clearly expounded in the late 18th Century. The most prominent proponents of the doctrine have been Princess Alice, the Countess of Athlone; Roger Rusk, a university professor and brother of United States Secretary of State Dean Rusk; William Massey, Prime Minister of New Zealand; and Herbert W. Armstrong, the founder of the Worldwide Church of God. Armstrong even declared that he was called by God to explain and prophesy about the doctrine.

Groups which have expounded the doctrine (or still do) are The Shepherd's Chapel, the Bible-Pattern Church Fellowship, the Orange Street Congregational Church, the Christian Revival Crusade, Brit-Am, the Revival Centres International, the Worldwide Church of God, and the Churches of God in Ireland. The Christian Identity Movement adds a racist angle to the doctrine. In a modified form, traces of the doctrine can be seen in the teachings of Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon (LDS) Church.

The main Bible verses on which the British Israel doctrine is based are Genesis 12:2-3, 17:4, 18:18, 27:29, 35:11, 48:14-20, 49:22; Exodus 31:13; Deuteronomy 2:25, 4:7-8, 15:6, 28:10; 1 Chronicles 5:1-2; Isaiah 24:15, 42:19, 49:6, 49:12, 66:19; and Hosea 1:9. This is clearly an example of eisogesis at it's worst; assembling random bits and pieces of scripture together to prove a point one has already accepted.

Eisogesis (Greek "eis" = "into") is the practice of taking an idea "into" the scriptures and trying to find "proof texts" to confirm one's thesis. Exegesis (Greek "ek" = "out") works in the opposite direction, seeking to derive doctrines from the scriptures which are internally consistent with the entire Bible.