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NASB | Genesis 15:16 "Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete." |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Genesis 15:16 "Then in the fourth generation your descendants shall return here [to Canaan, the land of promise], for the wickedness and guilt of the Amorites is not yet complete (finished)." [Josh 24:15] |
Subject: How long is a Biblical Generation ? |
Bible Note: Dear biblicalman, Sir, everyone has "an axe to grind." Scholars attempt to be regarded as unbiased, but I have yet to meet one for which it was anything more than a polite fiction. As Christians we understand this fruit as arising from man’s fallen nature (Jeremiah 17:9; Matthew 15:19). But this all seems very peculiar: literate people who cannot count and professional counters who cannot read or write. Hmmm. The roots of Judeo-Christian faith has to do with the Word of God; i.e., text. Such a foundation makes literacy an essential skill. Certainly literacy fell among those of Israel who were not taken into captivity. But if we are talking about the early descendants of Jacob: How were the early Jews – i.e., those who stood at Sinai and swore to keep them (Exodus 24:3-7) -- to comply with the explicit command of Moses without the ability to read? Those commands included: To read the Shema multiple times a day, as it is written "and [you] shall talk of them [the Law] when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise." (Deuteronomy 6:7b). To learn Torah and to teach it, as it is written "You shall teach them diligently to your children” (Deuteronomy 6:7a). For every man to write a Torah scroll for himself, as it is written "Now therefore write this song and teach it to the people of Israel. Put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the people of Israel." (Deuteronomy 31:19). Even if the logic were sound, I do not think that there is a single Rabbi that would agree with your assessment of the children of Israel. Clearly, Moses did not. I wish I was not traveling, as I would be able to cite ancient and contemporary sources. In Him, Doc |