A Hebrew Understanding of the Difficult Passages in the Bible

By Dr. Roy Blizzard Jr. Ph.D.

So often we read passages from the Bible, but the beauty and richness of what we are reading is veiled from us because we neither understand the language, the culture, nor the context in which it was written. Dr. Blizzard and other contributors to this book take some of these important passages and shine a light of understanding on them so clearly that anyone reading can understand and enjoy the beauty of the Word of God.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Aug 19, 2019
• ISBN: 9781973676393

Dr. Roy Blizzard Jr. Ph.D.

Author of groundbreaking book, “Understanding the Difficult Words of Jesus”. He has a BA from Phillips University with a major in religion. He has two master’s degrees; one in Archeology, Anthropology, and Religion from Eastern New Mexico University and the other in Hebrew studies from University of Texas in Austin Texas. Finally, he has a PhD from the University of Texas in Hebrew Studies.

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Copyright © 2019 Dr. Roy Blizzard Jr. Ph.D.

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ISBN: 978-1-9736-7638-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-7639-3 (e)

WestBow Press rev. date: 10/01/2019

Scripture quotations marked KJV taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the Amplified® Bible, Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked ESV are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked ASV taken from the American Standard Version of the Bible.

Scripture taken from the Common English Bible®, CEB® Copyright © 2010, 2011 by Common English Bible.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. The CEB and Common English Bible trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Common English Bible. Use of either trademark requires the permission of Common English Bible.

Scripture quotations marked CJB taken from the Complete Jewish Bible by David H. Stern. Copyright © 1998. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Messianic Jewish Publishers, 6120 Day Long Lane, Clarksville, MD 21029. www.messianicjewish.net

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.0. Copyright © 1996-2013 by the ISV Foundation. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY.

Contents

Gemilut Hasidim: The Fundamental Principle of Biblical Faith

Old Wine is Better!

Linen and Wool

Matthew Chapters 5 – 7 The Sermon on the Mount

The Kingdom of Heaven

Thou shalt not kill

Committing adultery in your heart?

Do Not Swear - Do Not Take An Oath

The Measure With Which You Give

What Does it Mean to be Born Again…

What is the Focus of Jesus’ Teaching?

Questions and Answers

Foreword

As I look back over my life and consider where I am today, I have to acknowledge the contribution of two men, men who have influenced my life in ways that I will forever be appreciative of.

The first one, my late father-in-law, taught me the importance of reading and studying and digging into the word of God for myself. He taught me to question, to investigate and to search for opinions and answers other than those with which I had been educated during my formal years at University and Bible College, opinions and ideas which I had been predisposed to believe. I can remember him saying these words to me, as clearly as if it were yesterday, What you have learned at Bible College you can write on the back side of a postage stamp, then pointing to his library he continued, This is where you are going to get the knowledge you need to understand God’s word. Those words set the course for my life 38 years ago and those words have guided me into a rich and wonderful relationship with God and a unique understanding of his word.

The second man to influence my life is a bible scholar and archeologist by the name of Dr. Roy Blizzard Jr., who challenged me to question everything I had been taught and to accept change when confronted with the truth, even when it went contrary to what I had been taught and defied what I believed. He taught me that it was arrogance that led me to believe that I knew it all and that it was narrow-minded foolishness that refused to change. I can remember him addressing a class, of which I was a part, and telling us that if we were not prepared to change what we believed, we were wasting our time studying and might just as well go home! What was the point of spending time studying in order to discover truth but being unwilling to accept what we discovered?

At the time I thought that this statement was rather conceited, not to say, offensive and I had it in mind to leave the class as soon as the session ended… but then he began to teach… and as he spoke and began to unfold the richness of understanding contained in the Hebrew text, I was fascinated and began to listen with intent. He continued to demonstrate to us just how much an understanding of Hebrew, not only the language but the context and the culture, could influence our understanding of the scriptures and forever change our perspective and religious worldview.

I had been a Christian for many, many years. I had risen through the ranks of traditional Christianity, had received a Bachelors degree, a Masters Degree and two diplomas and had ultimately been ordained as a Pastor in a mainstream denomination. As the morning progressed I realized that all of this was now ‘on the line’ and I began to realize the very difficult dilemma that was looming up before me. The very thought of questioning my entrenched beliefs seemed almost blasphemous and unacceptable but this new perspective with which I had now been confronted, was so overwhelmingly rational and enlightening that I could not ignore it. The predicament I faced was real and as I left that conference, I realized that I would be unable to continue without making a valiant and sincere effort to find the TRUTH. To find that truth which seemed to have eluded me for the better part of my life time.

I was forced to ask myself questions like this:

What did it benefit me if all that I could do was simply read the Bible without understanding what I was reading?

What did it help me to be so schooled in the sacred texts as to be able to quote verses, or even passages of scripture by heart, if I didn’t know what those verses and passages really meant?

How could I teach God’s word so convincingly so as to move men and women to tears and cause them to seek a change of lifestyle, if I didn’t really understand what it was that I was teaching?

I remember telling my wife one Sunday morning as we walked out of church, I am going to discover the truth, if it takes me the rest of my life to do so. That day I embarked upon a life of study which has changed my understanding of God’s word forever. With the help of many, many scholars and the guidance of Dr. Roy Blizzard, I began to discover the unfathomable riches and yet, the beautiful simplicity of God’s word as I began to explore the Hebrew text and understand the Hebrew context. How had I missed this? How come I’d never been taught this? The material I was reading had been available for years. The questions I was asking were rational and sensible so why had I never asked them before?

At first it was overwhelming. As I considered the vast amount of knowledge that was available to me and realized just how much of it I would have to familiarize myself with, I was tempted to throw in the towel right there and then. Then one day I came across these words of wisdom and they have been the inspiration that has kept me going over the years:

Learn in small doses. The little bit you learn, added to the little bit you know, makes just that little bit more.

How does one study Torah? the Sages of old would ask, One little verse at a time.

One day my wife informed me very clearly, Not everyone likes to study! Of course I realized that she was right, though the concept was a little difficult for me to grasp. How could someone not enjoying study and not be caught up in the thrill of discovering truth? I did realize however that some people just did not like to study. It was something that I had to come to grips with. To this end I began work on a book that I hoped would illustrate some of the easier to understand concepts of the Hebrew text. In it I set out to explain the basics of why it is so important to approach the scriptures from a Hebrew perspective and how just about anybody could do this if pointed in the right direction and given the right tools. I published the book, Created in His Image, Kept by Covenant but I really wanted to produce something simpler and easier to read. Then one day Dr. Roy Blizzard said to me,

Why don’t we collate some of the articles from the Yavo Digest and publish a book or series of books containing these easy to read, and informative articles?

The idea was irresistible. Yavo Digest was a publication that Dr. Blizzard had published years ago on a monthly basis. In it he included wonderful articles explaining and expounding upon some of the difficult words that Jesus had spoken and explaining some of the difficult to understand texts in the Bible. What an opportunity to put