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NASB | Genesis 34:31 But they said, "Should he treat our sister as a harlot?" |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Genesis 34:31 But they said, "Should he [be permitted to] treat our sister as a prostitute?" |
Subject: Rape, Circumcission, Slaughter. |
Bible Note: Hi, JRM! I termed your interpretation liberal because Scripture speaks of Dinah being raped, yet you insist on portraying the incident as a "perhaps she was raped" type of event... I also think that you are viewing the Old Testament in light of Christian principles and revelations--true God does not change; yet, during the Old Testament times a physical punishment was exacted for transgressions against God; while in the New Testament, it is a spiritual retribution that is exacted for the transgressions of Christians. "Can you imagine being Jacob, and only having the stories of the beginning of Genesis to work with?" Can you imagine being Jacob, and having God stand right next to you as He Commands you to do one thing or another? Can you imagine the intimacy of wrestling with God? God's Plan is revealed according to His timetable... those who were taught in the Old Covenant were just as fortunate as those who are taught under the New Covenant... the difference is that we are in the end of times (spiritual economy) rather than the beginning (physical economy); we are called to believe and trust God based on what others experienced or were commanded to write down! "the picture of God becomes a little clearer." Yet, we fall short of understanding this advantage... mostly because we seek to know not what God has expressly written for us but that which we think we might find if we search for a deeper meaning than what God has offered: "The Bible often uses few words to describe an event, leaving many questions" This is part of God's design... we are meant to rely on Him not to become experts of what He mean to say or do, but to become experts on listening and obeying His Word! If we search Scripture for deeper understanding of God, that is a profitable and honorable commission... yet, if by searching for deeper meaning and understanding we manipulate Scripture or its interpretation, then we are not serving God nor ourselves... rather, we might even be derailing those who are babes in the Faith! We can take any literary work or any artistic rendering and we can analyze it to death, offering as wild interpretations as we desire... no harm, no foul! But if we employ that same technique to Scripture... at best, we are doubting God's Word; at worst, we are contradicting God's Word! For this very reason I do not indulge in the "what if" speculations... at best, they confound the reader/listener; at worst they confound even the author/writer. "The Old Testament, in particular, is full of ethically complicated situations" Again... this is all relative... in America we have hundreds of laws that dictate what, where, or when citizenry is able to do or not do... child labor laws are a fantastic example... as moral and ethical as they are today, in the not too far past children were a little more than an opportunity being exploited by both the parents and society--this is still true in certain parts of the world... Since God dealt differently with the people of the Old Covenant than He deals with the people of the New Covenant, how can anyone compare ethical or spiritual values? It would be akin to wanting to have hundreds of wives because David and Salomon did! God Bless! Angel |