Puritan Corner - Uphill

“The way to Heaven is ascending; we must be content to travel uphill, though it be hard and tiresome, and contrary to the natural bias of our flesh.” 

Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? Psalm 24:3

by Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758)

The Study Series: Like the Frogs of Egypt-- A Buckeye Case Study

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, 

a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, 

rightly dividing the word of truth.

2 Timothy 2 :15

 

 "LIKE the frogs which came upon Egypt, Sunday sermons, Sunday tracts, Sunday pamphlets, and Sunday books are now swarming over all our land; and they are just about as much of a blessing to mankind.

  

Such an one we have just received from our brethren in Ohio. It is

by "J.B. Knappenberger, B.D.," and is entitled, "The Old and the New Sabbath." The very title betrays its character, and shows it to be an effort to defend a human institution; for where in the Bible is there anything said about a "new" Sabbath? - Nowhere. 

The Bible knows but one Sabbath; and that is neither Jewish nor Christian, neither old or new, peculiar to neither one dispensation and people nor to another; but it is the Sabbath of the Lord our God, and his only from the beginning to the end. We might just as well talk about "the old and the new" marriage relation, as about the old and the new Sabbath.

 

*The ten-commandment law to which the Sabbath belongs, was not the old covenant.
Beat out from the minds of men this idea which some religious teachers are laboring so zealously to instill into them. 

It is a terrible and deadly error. 

It leads to conclusions the most horrible. 

 

Cain was a murderer, and was condemned as such, because the law against murder was in force; 

the antediluvians were destroyed for their wickedness, because the law against covetousness, theft, murder and adultery, blasphemy and idolatry, was in force; 

Noah was righteous because his life was in accordance with a true standard of right, which could have been none other than the moral law, as that includes all righteousness.

So all the way from Adam to Moses traces can be found of the violation of every one of the ten commandments, and the
condemnation of that violation as a sin. This is an open fact of which every candid reader of the Scriptures must be aware.

 

But that portion of the pamphlet before us which is most calculated to deceive the general reader, simply because he is not familiar with that branch of study, is the wonderful display that is made over the Greek of Matt.28:1, and parallel passages. 

Much space is wasted in giving the Greek text in full in the eight
passages where the expression "first day of the week" occurs, and then a pretended "interlinary" translation. (Can some reader give us a little light on "interlinary," and tell us what it means?) 

 

The writer says:-
"We are asked to give one text in which the first day of the week, or
resurrection day, is called the Sabbath by divine authority. It gives us great pleasure to do exceeding abundantly above all that is demanded on this point."

No one but an ignoramus would pen such a sentence as that..... 

 

A little farther on he has this:-"Sabbaton does not mean week, and cannot be so translated without doing violence to the Greek text: the Greek word for week was not Sabbaton but Hebdomas, and is familiarly known as the 'hebdomadal division,' or the dividing
of time into periods of seven days. (A correct reading will be obtained of all those passages in the New Testament in which the phrase 'first day of the week' occurs by omitting the italicized word 'day' and substituting the word 'Sabbath' for that of 'week.')"
 

We are now prepared to look at his pompous display of Greek; and

the matter can be made so plain that the English reader can readily understand it. The phrase rendered in the common version, "toward the first day of the week," in Matt.28:1, is, as our readers are well aware, from the Greek words eis mian sabbaton, eis being the preposition "to" or "toward," mian the numeral adjective
"first," and sabbaton the noun rendered, "of the week." This Mr. Knappenberger translates, "into first Sabbath." 

It will be seen that he makes the adjective "first" agree with "Sabbath." 

Now, as he claims to know something about gender, number, and case, we must charitably suppose that he understands the universal
rule that an adjective must agree with its noun in gender, in the same number, and in the same case. Thus, if the adjective mian "first," agrees with sabbaton, as he claims, it must be the same gender as sabbaton, and in the same number and case. 

 
Now let us ask a few questions concerning this construction, to which he must give the following answers, if he has the least knowledge of what he is talking about. 

---Take the noun sabbaton: What is its gender? - It is neuter. What is
its number? - It is plural. What is its case? - It is in the genitive case. ---Take now the adjective mian, which Mr. K. makes agree with this noun sabbaton: 

---What is the gender of mian? - It is feminine. What is its number? - It is in the singular!
---What is its case? - It is in the accusative case! 

How, then, can it agree with sabbaton? - There is no agreement at all. In not one single particular of the three, which are all essential to his construction, is there any correspondence between the adjective and the noun. Yet he says that they agree, and should be rendered "first Sabbath." 

This is rather a bad showing

 for a "bachelor of divinity."

  

So the leading Greek lexicographers, Liddell and Scott, Robinson, Greenfield, Bagster, and Parkhurst, give the word "week," as one of the definitions of sabbaton, under the conditions named above; all the learned men who made the King James version, and the probably more learned men who have given us the revised version, so understood it; and so the commentators and translators understand and render it. But lo! a little bachelor of divinity rises up in Ohio, and charges all these men with stupidity and classical incompetency, saying that it cannot be so rendered without "doing violence to the Greek text"! 

It becomes a question difficult to determine whether this man does not know any better, or whether he is intentionally laboring to deceive by deliberately falsifying."

Uriah Smith

What's Really at the Root of those "Itching Ears"

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;

2 Timothy 4:3

 

"The influence of the moral condition of the heart on the interpretation of the Scriptures has long been a subject of familiar remark. 

As the preacher,

 destitute of vital piety, 

will not appreciate the spiritual element in truth, because he has not experienced its power-so he will not present it in its living energy, and will be at the test, a mere "hewer of wood and drawer of water for the congregation of the Lord." 

 

---Thus it is with the interpreter. 

In all that addresses itself to the conscience of man, he is sure to fail, because, in his own conscience, there is no chord that responds to the touch of truth. 

If, perchance, he should feel at all, he will be offended with those declarations which announce his danger as a sinner, and his entire dependance on God." 

N.N. Whiting

Creation Moment 8/31/2022 - What Rangifer Tarandus remind us about the Fall

 Everything after the Fall in the Garden was apparently tweaked in this sinful world--animals (And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: Gen. 3:14) Plants (Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; Gen.3:18) and Humans (Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. Gen.3:16).

Also, it stands to reason, He gave each creature an ability for survival in this Fallen world at that time----including the following ability in deer-----

"The golden-colored eyes of Arctic reindeer (caribou, Rangifer tarandus) turn deep blue in winter. A researcher involved with this 2001 discovery, neuroscientist Glen Jeffery.

Such unsuspected layers of complexity make the evolutionary dilemma of eye origins even more intractable, and are strong evidence for creation and design, not evolution. 

It is an adaptation to optimize vision during winter twilights, when both the reindeer and their predators are most active.

Just after the sun goes down, and just before the sun comes up, is a period called the “blue hour”. 

In the blue hour, the sky has quite a ‘pure’ blue hue, i.e. very little of the other light colors present. 

The blue hour is very different from the blue of the daytime sky that is caused by Rayleigh scattering of visible light, where blue scatters more strongly. 

The blue hour is caused by the ozone layer absorbing almost all light but blue. This effect is dominant when the sun is just below the horizon, so the light travels horizontally through the ozone layer, allowing maximal absorption. 

Most of the time, we don’t notice the blue hour, because our eyes have gradually adapted to the change.

In winter, this optimization to ‘twilight ozone blue’ is particularly important, because in polar regions, the twilight can last a third of a day. Also, the lichen eaten by the reindeer and the wolves that try to eat them reflect very little blue light, so appear dark against the snow. This greater contrast, and greater ability to detect motion, outweighs the disadvantage of lower visual sharpness." CMI

The Study Series: eis mian sabbaton

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, 

a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, 

rightly dividing the word of truth.

2 Timothy 2 :15

 

"Now let us see if this day on which they came to the sepulcher is also called "the Sabbath," as the new critics so lustily assert. The words on which they make this claim, as will be seen by the foregoing translation, are "eis mian sabbaton." 

 

Let us analyze this construction:-

Eis is simply a preposition meaning to, toward, or into. It is regularly followed by the accusative case, as we have in the following word

"mian," which is in the accusative.  

 

Mian is an adjective, from the nominative masculine heis, which is the first of the cardinal numbers, meaning "one." (By a Hebraism it is here used as an ordinal, signifying "first.") Adjectives in Greek have a declension the same as nouns; and a difference in gender, number, and case, is indicated by a change of form the same as with nouns. A Presentation of the declension of the numeral adjective "one," in the singular number, will show the reader at once where the form "mian" is found.  

 

From this the reader will see that the form mian is found only in that column which marks the feminine gender, and in the line which gives the accusative case. Therefore we say of mian, that it is a numeral adjective, feminine gender, singular number, and accusative case. There must be some noun, either expressed or understood, with which it agrees, and that must be a noun of the feminine gender, singular number, and accusative case, which caused the
adjective to be so written; for adjectives must agree with their nouns in gender, number, and case.
 

One word more remains to be considered, and that is Sabbaton a word which our translators render "of the week," but which the new critics say should be called "Sabbath," because it is the word which is generally translated "Sabbath."
 

There are two different words rendered "Sabbath" in the New Testament. The first is sabbaton (short "o" in last syllable), a noun of the second declension; the second is a form in the dative plural, sabbasi, as if from the nominative sabbat, which would be a noun of the third declension. But both words are of the neuter gender.

 
The word generally used in the New Testament is sabbaton in some of its forms; and it is used both in the singular and the plural; but when it is used in the plural form (with the exception of such passages as Acts 17:2 and Col.2:16, where it has a plural signification), it means just the same as if it had been written
in the singular. (See Robinson's Greek Lexicon.) The forms for the nominative and genitive, in the singular and plural, are the following: nominative singular, sabbaton, genitive singular, sabbatou; nominative plural sabbata, genitive plural, sabbaton. 

The reader will note that the genitive plural is distinguished by having the long "o," omega, in the last syllable instead of the short "o" as in the nominative singular.

 
In what case and number is the word in Matt.28:1? - It is in the genitive case, plural number, and so it is in every one of the eight texts where the first day of the week is named, except Mark 16:9, where it is in the genitive singular (sabbatou).

What is the relation indicated by the genitive case? 

It shows that relation which is expressed in English by the word "of," so that whatever definition we give to sabbaton, it must be, "of the Sabbath;" if we call it "week," it must be, "of the week."
 

Now what must be the definition of sabbaton in the case before us? If we say it is "Sabbath," meaning just one  day, then we have the expression, "the first of the Sabbath." The first what of the
Sabbath? It cannot be translated "the first Sabbath;" for, as we have seen, the word "of" must come in before the word "Sabbath;" and further, the adjective mian (by a Hebraism used as an ordinal, the first) cannot belong to Sabbath; for it does not agree with it in any particular, mian being of the feminine gender, singular number, and accusative case, while sabbaton is of the neuter gender, plural number, and genitive case!

 
Before following sabbaton farther, let us dispose of mian, and our way will then be still clearer. There is no word expressed with which the adjective mian agrees, hence there must be some word understood, and to be supplied, to bring out the full sense of the passage. What can that word be? There is only one which can be supplied, and that is hemeran, accusative singular of the feminine
noun hemera, "day." 

Hence Greenfield in his Greek Testament, after the adjective
"first," in all the eight texts, refers to the margin where he says, "Supply hemera [day]." 

So in all these passages we have "first day' as a fixed fact; but first day of what?
We now come back to sabbaton, which we are gravely told means "Sabbath" in these passages. Then we have "the first day of the Sabbath," but as the Sabbath consists of only one day, we have "the first day of one day"! We have charity enough for our friends to believe that this is greater nonsense than even they will be willing to father; but they must accept it, or abandon their position.
 

As it must now be apparent to all that we cannot give to sabbaton in these passages the definition of "Sabbath," the question remains as to how it shall be translated. Does it ever mean "week," referring to the whole seven days? and can it mean so here? If it can, then all difficulty is removed, the Greek which Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Paul have given us is vindicated, and a clear and intelligible idea is expressed; namely, "the first day of the week."

 

Looking in the lexicons, under the word sabbaton, we find the following definitions:-
Greenfield, in his New Testament Lexicon, defines it first as, "the Sabbath, the seventh day, singular and plural," and secondly, "a period of seven days, a week, singular and plural. Matt.28:1; Mark 16:9, et al," etc.

Bagster's Greek Lexicon says: "Properly, cessation from labor, rest; the Jewish Sabbath, both in the sing. and pl.; a week, sing. and pl. Matt.28:1; Mark 16:9, et al."

The Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, article "Week," says:-
"The enumeration of the days of the week commenced at Sunday. Saturday was the last or seventh, and was the Hebrew Sabbath, or day of rest. The Egyptians gave to the days of the week the same names that they assigned to the planets. From the circumstance that the Sabbath was the principal day of the week, the whole period of seven days was likewise called shabat, in Syriac shabta, in the N.T. sabbaton and sabbata. The Jews, accordingly, in designating
the successive days of the week, were accustomed to say, The first day of the Sabbath (that is, of the week), the second day of the Sabbath; that is Sunday, Monday, etc. Mark 16:2,9; Luke 24:9; John 20:1,19."
Young, in his new Concordance, under the word "Week," says:-
"A week (from Sabbath to Sabbath) sabbata." He then refers to Matt.28:1; Mark 16:1; Luke 24:1; John 20:1,19; Acts 20:7; 1Cor.16:2. Again he says:- "A week (from Sabbath to Sabbath) sabbaton," and then refers to Mark 16:9 and Luke 18:12.

 

But one more query can arise on this subject; namely, inasmuch as the same word, and the same form of it (sabbaton,) is used to signify both the Sabbath and the week, how is it to be determined when it has the signification of "week"? 

The answer is, Whenever it is preceded by a numeral adjective specifying the day of the week, and agreeing with "day," understood. Whenever sabbaton is used in such a construction, following such an adjective, it cannot with any sense be translated by any other word than "week." And this is exactly the construction we
find in every one of the eight first-day texts. So easy is it to tell why it should be so translated and when." 

Uriah Smith