#the hebrew bible due to it's greek.

[hypokeimena]

The version of the Hebrew Bible/'OT' common to early christians and used by NT composers was absolutely in Greek! If you're interested in reading the Septuagint in Greek, I recommend starting by reading NETS in English to get a sense of its similarities and differences from the 'traditional' 'old testament'.

it's harder to find a decent version of the LXX (<- septuagint) than the greek new testament unless you have academic access, though, many of the online resources are dubiously reliable.

I came from a classics/attic background as well and so already had greek when i started studying the lxx, but koine is much easier to read than standard attic. I also cannot speak to the efficacy of koine-learning materials as i have never used them; if you will ever read anything other than the bible in greek, i do recommend starting with attic, but it is definitely harder than koine greek overall and this can be very frustrating.

I learned attic out of hansen and quinn originally (and went in with strong latin, which does help), but I use athenaze for grammar review and find it pretty effective and probably best for anyone who doesn't already have a strong grounding in ancient languages.

If one wanted to translate the Old Testament from the Ancient Greek do u have any recommendations for where to start

Hi! I think you mean the New Testament, since the Old Testament (i.e. the Tanakh) is in Hebrew with a few passages in Aramaic.

As a disclaimer: I am by no means an expert in Biblical Greek, I'm trained as a classicist whose introduction to Greek was through Attic Greek (ca. 5th-4th century BCE), which is usually the introductory dialect for anyone who wants to learn Ancient Greek. The New Testament is in Koine Greek which is quite readable with a background in Attic, but I know there are also resources more targeted toward Koine (and probably for an audience specifically interested in Biblical Greek rather than Ancient Greek more broadly). A quick Google search suggests that there's some online tools for learning Koine as well; I can't speak to the quality of any of them.

Because of my background, all the resources I have personal experience with and would know to recommend are really resources for learning Attic - I started with Cynthia Shelmerdine's Introduction to Greek, which is fairly solid and generally my preferred Greek textbook but might be easier going if you've had some Latin. A lot of people swear by Hansen and Quinn's Greek: An Intensive Course which is also what my department uses for teaching, but I personally find it a more difficult textbook in that it introduces some of the most difficult grammatical concepts in the language very early. There's several other Greek textbooks out there (Athenaze is one I've heard relatively good things about) but I don't have personal experience with them and can't offer a recommendation one way or the other. Depending on your commitment level, several universities also offer online summer Greek intensive courses which are typically open even to non-enrolled students of that university; here's a decent list including both online and in-person intensives that looks to be fairly current.

Sorry I can't be of more help!

[beanytuesday]

BeanyTuesday I like your angel post but to be an insufferable nerd there's no Hebrew word for angel in the scriptures, the closest we have is "malakhim" and even then there's more phrases to call said divine beings than that, calling the messengers in the likeness of men angels and the flaming wheels angels are both correct

Right, I should clarify, because I guess the comic is vague: the word angel comes from the greek word angelos (messenger), which is what the word malakh was translated to when the bible was translated into greek. The Seraphim and Ophanim are not referred to as malakhim in the body of the text itself, even if the word could be theoretically be applied fairly. It's a nitpick, for sure, but that's kind of the point.

But don't take it up with me; this great explainer from Religion For Breakfast was a big resource I relied on for the comic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qr49JMym4_w

I appreciate the callout though-- I want to make sure I'm doing my due diligence to keep this stuff accurate

[aro-ace-christian]

Ok, so, I'm curious: what are your views on Christianity and the LGBTQ+ community's relationship, per se, and like what is it like being part of both (for you)? I'm aroace as well, and I'm struggling with my faith a lot currently but was raised Christian. I'm just really curious as to what your views are on everything I guess, as I've never met another aroace, or LGBTQ+ member in general, who also considers themselves a Christian. 💜

Honestly, I've noticed that the God I serve, the One I have a relationship with cannot be the same that others serve. Because my God is all about love. And that is abundant in scripture.

I spent a lot of time in prayer and research when I was figuring myself out. A great site that helped me reconcile how I've felt about myself lining up with Christianity is Hope Remains. It goes through scripture that people quote against the LGBTQIA+ community and shows translations that are much closer to the original Hebrew and Greek.

Because, the thing is, there are two major problems with how people view the Bible in today's world:

1) They don't look at context.

People tend to look at one verse only. They don't look at the verses or even story around that verse.

A lot of time things are said to a specific people (Levitcus was for the Hebrews), in a specific time (Old Testiment laws were overwritten by Christ's death), or due to a specific circumstance.

2) People don't realize that the different translations in English aren't always exactly accurate.

There are words, phrases, and concepts that get lost when translated from language to language, from time period to time period, and from place to place.

If you've ever taken a foreign language you know this to be true. Even a simple children's book can have these issues. Compare that to thousands of years of translating scripture. That's why it's so important to go back to the original Hebrew and Greek.

For being AroAce specifically, I love to quote 1 Corinthians 7 to people. Paul never married. He says he wish others could be like him and stay single.

"I wish that all of you were as I am. But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that. Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do.  But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion."

But as I stated above, even Paul's thoughts in scripture are all about context. He's speaking to the church in Corinth. He didn't know we'd be reading it 2000 years later. But even with that context, I find comfort there.

So TLDR: There are some great resources out there. But nothing beats prayer and research. I suggest digging into scripture and translations yourself and then through prayer deciding what it is you believe for yourself.

I hope that helps!

[anniflamma]

It always makes me laugh to think that the Apostle Paul's Hebrew name is Saul and his Roman name is Paul. Considering that Jesus healed the centurion's servant, he had no interest in homophobia, but considering that Paul left that infamous homophobic letter… Paul (Saul): I don't know why, but I feel like I lost my crown, which I never had, because of my gay son and bisexual son-in-law.

Hehe, I'm going to dump my knowledge of the Bible now! XD

I guess the 'infamous homophobic letter' you mentioned is the Corinthians, right?

Paul says that individuals who continue in sinful behavior will not attain heaven and among these 'sinners' were drunkards, people who bangs alot, and cheaters. He also references two Greek words that many translate and associate as expressions of same-sex behavior. These two words are malakoi and arsenokoitai.

Of course, these are the words throughout history that translators have had the worst time translating, and of course, homophobes change the meanings of what these words actually means.

Malakoi directly translates into 'soft,' and it was usually used to describe someone who lacks self-control and is weak, cowardly, and lazy.

Of course, people being sexist and all translate this word to 'effeminate' instead. Because women are lazy and cowards, I suppose... 🙄 Instead, the word doesn't really have anything to do with gay men, but it could have a connection when you use the word in a sexual context. However, that word is frequently used to describe men who were seen as lacking self-control in their love for... women.... For the past centuries, English translations used the word 'weaklings'. It's only in the past century that they connected the word with same-sex relationships instead.

Arsenokoitai comes from two Greek words: arsen (male) koites (bed). This is the word that makes many speculate that this term was used to condemn same-sex behavior. Alas again! CONTEXT 👏 ALWAYS 👏 MATTERS! 👏 The word likely relates to sexual or economic exploitation, due to in ancient literature, the word only appears in lists of vices. Some historians even think that this was about temple prostitution. So yeah, it probably relates to same-sex behavior, but not in a consensual way.

And then we have the whole deal that many people points out... The dude was a Roman who could speak Greek... Why didn't he just use the words Erastes and Eromenos if he wanted to be really clear to condemn same-sex behaviors? Malakoi and Arsenokoitai have never really been used as a pair by other ancient writers.

So again, why didn't Paul just use the already existing term that was associated with same-sex behaviors? Why not the latter? Hmmm... Mystery.... 😶

And I'm not going to talk about the Romans letters because there he just slut-shaming EVERYONE!

I'm definitely wanna/gonna talk about Paul's sexuality! But that will be later... I need to rest!

(ps. I don't really know if you even wanted to know this, but here we are... I also feel like I spiraled a bit… Sorry!)

[todaysjewishholiday]

21 Tammuz 5784 (26-27 July 2024)

Shabbat shalom! Sabado bueno! Gut shabbes!

It is once again the most significant holiday in the Jewish calendar. Shabbat begins eighteen minutes before sunset on the twentieth of Tammuz and continues until full nightfall on the twenty second. May it be a day of rest and peace for all of us.

The parashat hashavua is Pinchas in Bamidbar, which contains the second census of the Israelites. It also contains the story of The daughters of Zelophechad, who petition for an adjustment of the laws of inheritance to account for families with no sons. The parsha shows HaShem adjusting the law in accordance with their request. Next, Yehoshua is chosen as Moshe’s successor and presented to the people. The parsha ends with instructions regarding korbanot to be offered on the major holidays, including the high holy days, which are described as being in the seventh month rather than the new year because the calendar is still counting from Nisan.

The twenty-first of Tammuz is also the yahrzeit of the Spanish martyr Don Lope de Vera y Alarcon, known at the end of his life by the self-chosen name Judah the Believer, who died at the hands of the Spanish Inquisition after six years of imprisonment and torture.

The mission of the church and crown to remove all Jews from the Iberian peninsula was doomed from the start for a number of reasons, chief among them that no matter how many Jews the Inquisitors hounded from Spanish and Portuguese shores, the very book on which they based their religion, the Christian Bible, was full of them. This is the flaw at the heart of all Christian antisemitism, for without us, their religion could never have come into being, and anybody who is exposed to Christianity through the Bible is also thereby exposed to the holiest texts of Judaism as well. And though Christian denominations have their own official interpretations of these texts, the words can speak for themselves to readers who decide to look for an understanding of their own.

This is what happened with Lope de Vera. Born into a Spanish noble family, he belonged to the class the Inquisition saw as the truest of all Spaniards. An academic prodigy, he entered the University of Salamanca at the age of fourteen, and due to a great aptitude with languages was soon fluent in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew as well as Spanish. His study of the Tanakh in its original Hebrew led Lope, who had in all likelihood never met a living Jew, to privately reject Catholic teaching and identify with the faith and ritual practices described by the Torah. Lope made the mistake of describing his newfound convictions to his elder brother, who reported him to the Inquisition in a misguided effort to save his soul. For the next six years the young scholar was imprisoned, interrogated, and routinely tortured in an attempt to force him to recant. All these efforts only made him more certain of his decision to adopt the Jewish religion. He had no access to a Jewish community or any rabbi, and certainly was never able to complete halakhic conversion overseen by a beit din. But for simply professing his affection for the Jewish people and conviction that the messiah had not yet come and that the commandments of the Torah remained in effect, he was considered a profound threat to the very basis of Spanish Catholic society which had spent over a century convincing itself that there were no more Jews in Spain.

In prison, Lope performed a bris on himself, and refused all meat since it was not slaughtered in accordance with kosher laws. He took the name Judah the Believer in place of the name of his birth. After six years, his jailers despaired of all hope of persuading Lope to return to Catholic orthodoxy, and because freedom of conscience and religious association was anathema to the mission of the inquisitors, Lope de Vera y Alarcon was burned at the stake on the 21st of Tammuz 5404.

Before his death, Lope had prepared a written explanation of his journey from Catholicism to identification with the Jews of the Tanakh, as part of the meticulous records kept by the Inquisition of the “confessions” of its victims. This document was smuggled out of the Inquisition’s headquarters by a sympathizer with Lope’s persistence, and donated to a synagogue in Livorno. The Inquisition was unable to silence him, even in death.

[thebindingofpillo]

Lilith

Some of you are about to get real mad at me.

While Lilith is traditionally considered Adam’s first wife, that couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, her status as mother of all demons is also false because Lilith is not a demon at all, she’s a monster. Or at least she was, before making a deal with Satan, we will explain everything in due time. I wanted to make a separate post about the differences between demons and monsters, but there’s not much to say about them, so I’ll condense everything here.

Monster = mortal, weaker than demons (but still stronger than a human though), their magic is more specialised and requires physical things like blood ad flesh (usually human blood and flesh) to work. Unlike demons, who are naturally evil, monsters can be more morally grey, and while there’s a lot of them who eat and kill humans for whatever reason, friendly monsters do exist.They are born, not created, and are native to Earth. Monsters were incredibly common on Earth in the ancient times, but were progressively driven out of their habitats by humans, which brought most of them to extinction. Nowadays monsters are very few, tend to stick to their own communities or blend into human society and fly under the radar. This is what Lilith does, she’s a preschool teacher and lives a quiet life with her Incubus. Demon = immortal, have access to more magical powers (and brimstone!) and are born in hell, which is on a different plane of existence. They can still visit Earth, but it takes time and energy. And also they’re all evil. Sorry.

Lilith is a Hebrew word, that might derive from the Akkadian Lilitu, which might derive from the Sumerian Ki-sikil-lil-la-ke (or just lil). All of these words describe a type of female monster that lives at night and preys on men (If you’re a nerd like me, here’s the handy video that started this whole thing lmao). The noun (yes, noun) “lilith” is used exactly once in the Bible (Isaiah 34:14) and is translated as “lamia” in the Greek version of Symmachus (dated around 200 c.e.) and the Latin Vulgata, which is another type of female monster that feeds on children and kills men after seducing them. Everything fits. King James’ bible translates lilith as “screeching owl” so I decided to co-opt that for her design, and give her some feathers.

And now for the actual lore, the preamble is done I swear.

Note: I’m gonna use “lamia” when talking about the creature, and “Lilith” when talking about the character What are lamias (in my AU) Lamias are a type of female monster whose powers revolve around illusions and transformation. Their normal state is usually of half-bird women with pronounced snake features (like Lilith in her normal form), but they can turn into full snake ladies if they need to (usually to protect their territory, or fight off other lamias). Doing so requires a lot of energy, and is a difficult form to maintain, even for the oldest, most powerful ones. Lamias can also turn into beautiful women to better attract men, their main source of food. They are also known to feed on human children, who are usually kidnapped from their homes and eaten whole. Lamias can feed on women and cattle too, but this is quite uncommon and usually only done in dire situations, like after a war. They are all females. Male lamias do not exist. This is another reason why they need men: they cannot reproduce by themselves.

Lamias usually live in family groups, composed by a matriarch and her (often many) daughters and her granddaughters. Once the matriarch dies, the eldest daughter takes her place, and so on and so forth. These groups can get quite large! So much so that sometimes, the oldest daughters might leave their mother to create their own pack somewhere else (usually due to lack of food and resources).While lamias prefer forest terrain and hotter climates, any place with a lot of hiding spots and a decent dry season is enough for them. It’s not uncommon to find them chilling amongst abandoned buildings, or in the mountains, in caves etc. they’re very adaptable, and while their wings might seem small, they’re still able to travel long distances to find a perfect place for them. Note: their wings are usually only accessible in full snake form.

Lamia culture is usually passed down orally from mother to daughter. They worship the Earth as the First Mother, from which every creature came, and to which every creature will return after death. Their rituals usually revolve around fertility, love, abundance of preys etc. I still don’t know if they believe in the afterlife, but they probably believe that once dead, they return to the womb of the First Mother, where they can rest in eternal bliss and be loved forever. With deforestation, poaching and human being less afraid of monsters in general, lamia population has greatly decreased, and with them being mortal, there could be a very concrete possibility that Lilith is the last lamia alive.

Lilith time for real this time Lilith is a sweetheart. A big softie and a hopeless romantic, perfectly content in her quiet life of preschool teacher. She likes cheesy romcoms, long walks and hot chocolate, but it wasn’t always that way for her. Born a little after the birth of the Roman Empire (around… 40/45 AD, she’s the youngest of the immortals), Lilith used to live in a secluded forest with her mother and sisters (and her daughters too, even if she didn’t have that many yet), occasionally luring men in, eating human flesh and generally having a good time. Think… Libia. Around there. I don’t know. Somewhere with both trees and Roman occupation, I’m not gonna pour more hours into this character PLEASE I’m doing all of this for free. Anyway, life was good for her and her family, until one day Cain passed through that forest, looking for a new place to live after he was exiled for the umpteenth time. Lilith immediately noticed the man and tried to entice him, but Cain (who had at least a couple of millennia more of experience) was not having it. He just wanted to leave the forest behind and find a new home, he didn’t have time to entertain a lamia, so he booked it out of there as soon as he could. Unfortunately, Lilith took that as a challenge and started chasing after him, hoping to tire him out enough to pounce him and put an end to his existence. The chase lasted two whole weeks by the way, but at that point Lilith was too stubborn to let it go. Cain was smart enough to always stop in densely populated areas as to lose his scent and get some extra protection (lamias and monster in general were already close to extinction at the time, and usually steered clear of human cities) but even with the best precautions, Lilith managed to corner him and finally get to him, but she was also exhausted after two weeks of constant chase, and could only knock him down and give him a couple of nasty bites. Cain still has the scars to this day. Sadly, Lilith was not aware of the other, worse part of Cain’s curse, so when she hurt him, her destiny took a turn for the worst. The man managed to wiggle free of her grasp, and while Lilith would have gladly chased after him some more, she realised she had been away from home for way too long, so turned back, only to find her beloved forest and family gone forever. In the weeks she was away, a Roman troop had levelled the forest, cutting down all the trees, killing her mother and sisters and selling her youngest daughters into slavery. She was desperate, and vowed to take revenge on the whole humankind, and that’s when things got even worse! Hearing her cries and pleads for revenge, Satan himself, king of hell, decided to pay her a visit. He offered her eternal life, a chance at taking back what was hers, and in return she would become his, in body and soul, and help him grow his army even further (which is a very fancy way of saying Lilith would become his wife, give him children, and he could also do whatever he wanted to her). Now, Lilith would have never accepted such a rotten deal, but she was incredibly desperate and in a very vulnerable position, and Satan knew that. He played her and used her trauma as an excuse to grow closer to her, promising her he would help her take revenge on the people who wronged her, and would even help her save some of her family, if there was anything to be saved.

Anyway, Lilith accepted the deal, and thus became immortal. Her new home was in Hell, ruling at Satan’s side… only he didn’t really want her ruling anything at all. He was a terrible husband, let me tell you. Once he secured the deal, Lilith was just another unfortunate soul to exploit, so he relegated her somewhere in Hell, and only came to visit once in a while, to check in on her and maybe send her on some errands. Pretty soon, Lilith became restless, and started pushing for her husband to hold up his end of the deal, only Satan wasn’t really planning to. In a fit of rage, he gouged out her eyes, and left her helpless and without sight. Luckily Lilith was immortal now, and losing her eyes didn’t kill her. She could even put them back in again, if Satan let her, but he usually kept her eyes hidden on him all the time, in a little satchel around his neck, only letting her have her sight back if he needed Lilith to run some errands for him. Satan kept her blind to control her better. After enough time, Lilith decided that a life of servitude to a man she didn’t even love wasn’t cutting it, so she walked out of Hell. She was strong, she could handle being blind, and even managed to snatch one of Satan’s little minions on the way out, her trusted Incubus. It was a meagre victory, but at least now she was free, and the Incubus useful enough. Sadly, there wasn’t much she could do about her revenge now. The Roman Empire had fallen while she was in hell, and the men who killed her family were already long dead and forgotten. She managed to meet Cain again after a while, in a different place, as different people, and the two actually became friends. This friendship would only grow stronger over the centuries, Lilith being one of the very few people Cain could be fully open, and while Cain could be considered the source of Lilith’s misery, she was quite understanding of the nature of his curse, and while it took some time, she came to understand that it wasn’t his fault.

Where is Lilith now. As said before, Lilith is now enjoying a quiet life. She works as a preschool teacher (children have always been her passion). She lives in the same city as the majority of the rest of the cast (her and Maggy are coworkers too!) and maintains a close friendship with Cain. Her magic has greatly diminished over the millennia because she firmly refuses to consume human flesh. She doesn’t really see the point in it anymore, since her whole family is gone and monsters are incredibly few. What little of her magic remains, she uses to keep a human form during the day, so she can work and run errands without much trouble. She could theoretically return to her full powers (and even transform fully into a lamia) with some generous blood donations, but it’s not really something she has any desire to do. Over the years she’s ha many relationships, some even quite serious, but tried her best not to have children. She doesn’t know if her immortality would be transferred to her daughters and doesn’t want to run the risk of seeing her children die. Incubus is still with her after all these years, and while she can’t exactly take him out like a normal pet, he can still follow her everywhere by hiding in her poofy hair. He loves it.

Other stuff that I couldn’t fit anywhere else

Lilith is not her real name! That’s just another name for her species, like calling someone “human”. Her real name is unpronounceable by a human mouth, and with lamias being basically extinct, she’s made her peace with the fact nobody will ever call her that again. While “Lilith” is not an ideal name (she prefers going by “Lily”) it’s still okay.

Can sustain herself with human food too! Just prefers her meat extra rare. This is how she maintains that little magic she needs to turn human.

Incubus is sentient, but to a lesser degree. He’s like a very intelligent animal (his ref is coming eventually I didn’t have time for it UGH)

I hope you enjoy her! I did not proofread anything of this, just take it.

[gatekeeper-watchman]

Daily Devotionals for November 14, 2024

Proverbs: God's Wisdom for Daily Living

Devotional Scripture:

Proverbs 28:4-5 (KJV): 4 They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them. 5 Evil men understand not judgment: but they that seek the LORD understand all things. Proverbs 28:4-5 (AMP): 4 Those who forsake the law (of God and man) praise the wicked, but those who keep the law (of God and man) contend with them. 5 Evil men do not understand justice, but they who crave and seek the Lord understand it fully.

Thought for the Day

Those who are rebellious will applaud the wicked, but law-abiding citizens will contend with them. Evil men cannot understand justice, but whoever seeks the Lord has good understanding. We saw in Day 315 that God's judgment is directly connected to the principle of sowing and reaping and comes upon the wicked because of sin. The Bible reveals that all the troubles in the world are due to either my own sin or someone else's. "...For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). "For the wages of sin is death..." (Romans 5:23). What exactly is sin? It is a heart condition, stemming from pride. Pride is referred to as "original sin." The Hebrew and Greek words for sin both convey the meaning "to miss the mark." God created us to be like Him, but our pride and rebellion make us fall far short of that glorious purpose.

We cannot deal with our sin by "cleaning ourselves up" on the outside, when our problem is a heart condition. We need to be cleansed from sin; freed from its penalty, which is death; and restored to fellowship with God. We need a new heart and nature. This is what Jesus Christ meant when He said that we "must be born again" (John 3:7), and that "...except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). When we were physically born the first time, we were made a partaker of the nature of natural man. When we are born again spiritually, we become a partaker of the divine nature according to 2 Peter 1:4 which says, "Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." God becomes our spiritual Father. Without the experience of the new birth, we have no hope of enjoying the glories of heaven or escaping the terrors of hell.

Have you been born again? The "new birth" is not a religion, a creed, a set of rituals, or joining a church. It is a transformation, the receiving of a new nature. Old things pass away and all things become new in Christ. "Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17). Whoever receives and obeys Jesus will understand God's judgments. They will understand that all He allows (even punishment for sin) is meant for good. Those who rebelliously reject Christ will not understand. They will praise wicked men for their deeds and resist the righteous.

Prayer Devotional for the Day

Dear heavenly Father, thank you for saving me from my sin. I am grateful for what You did on the cross when You took the penalty for my sin. Lord, I pray for the lost who do not understand what You did for them. Lord, draw them by Your love and use me and your other children to witness to those who do not know You. Reveal Your love for them, so that they understand they do not have to go to hell, but can receive Your life and enjoy a future in heaven with You. Give us understanding of Your ways and grace to live a holy life. I ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.

[paganimagevault]

Cyrus the Great with a Hemhem crown from Pasagardae 559-530 BCE.

"The four-winged guardian figure representing Cyrus the Great or a four-winged Cherub tutelary deity. Bas-relief found on a doorway pillar at Pasargadae on top of which was once inscribed in three languages the sentence "I am Cyrus the king, an Achaemenian." Scholars who doubt that the relief depicts Cyrus note that the same inscription is written on other palaces in the complex."

"Cyrus II of Persia (c. 600–530 BC; Old Persian: 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 Kūruš), commonly known as Cyrus the Great and also called Cyrus the Elder by the Greeks, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, the first Persian empire. Under his rule, the empire embraced all of the previous civilized states of the ancient Near East, expanded vastly and eventually conquered most of Western Asia and much of Central Asia. Spanning from the Mediterranean Sea and Hellespont in the west to the Indus River in the east, the empire created by Cyrus was the largest the world had yet seen. At its maximum extent under his successors, the Achaemenid Empire stretched from parts of the Balkans (Eastern Bulgaria���Paeonia and Thrace–Macedonia) and Southeast Europe proper in the west to the Indus Valley in the east.

The reign of Cyrus lasted about thirty years; his empire took root with his conquest of the Median Empire followed by the Lydian Empire and eventually the Neo-Babylonian Empire. He also led an expedition into Central Asia, which resulted in major campaigns that were described as having brought "into subjection every nation without exception". Cyrus did not venture into Egypt, and was alleged to have died in battle while fighting the Massagetae, an ancient Eastern Iranian nomadic tribal confederation, along the Syr Darya in December 530 BC. However, Xenophon claimed that Cyrus did not die in battle and returned to the Achaemenid ceremonial capital of Persepolis again. He was succeeded by his son, Cambyses II, who managed to conquer Egypt, Nubia and Cyrenaica during his short rule.

Cyrus is well-known for having respected the customs and religions of the lands he conquered. He was important in developing the system of a central administration at Pasargadae governing satraps in the empire's border regions, which worked very effectively and profitably for both rulers and subjects. The Edict of Restoration, a proclamation attested by a cylinder seal in which Cyrus authorized and encouraged the return of the Israelites to the Land of Israel following his conquest of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, is described in the Bible and likewise left a lasting legacy on the Jewish religion due to his role in ending the Babylonian captivity and facilitating the Jewish return to Zion. According to Isaiah 45:1 of the Hebrew Bible, God anointed Cyrus for this task, even referring to him as a Messiah (lit. 'anointed one'); Cyrus is the only non-Jewish figure in the Bible to be revered in this capacity."

-taken from wikipedia

[doublegoblin]

Character Names

As always thank you @toribookworm22 for the tag. Sorry it took me a bit to get to it!

Tag of my own - @asterhaze @stanrendipity @lola-theshowgrl @tisiphonewolfe only do if you feel like it!

Rules: give us your characters' names and definitions and vote whether or not they fit the meaning.

I'll be going over a handful of the Characters that appear in Rituals and Red Tape (and I'll just be honest I'm plugging these into google and taking the big blurb result)

Alex

Alex is a gender-neutral name of Greek origin meaning "defender of humankind." It is derived from the ancient Greek name Alexandros which comes from the Greek alexein meaning "to defend" or "to protect" and aner translating to "man or warrior."

Ya know I had picked this name originally because I wanted something gender neutral to begin with. Given their role as an Auditor I'd actually say this works pretty well 7/10 coincidence

Andrea

In Greek, the name Andrea is a feminine form of Andrew, which means “warrior” or “protector.” In Latin, the name Andrea means “courageous” or “brave.” It was a common name among early Christians, as Andrew was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus.

By virtue of also being an Auditor it kinda fits, but her personality (while yes brave and whatnot) I'd say is more based in confidence and a touch of impulsiveness. 5/10 she is a mess and I love her.

Dave

From the Hebrew Dawid meaning "beloved" or "favourite". Originally used in the Bible, where David was the name of a King of Israel. St. David is the patron saint of Wales.

Tee hee this one I kinda saw coming. Nah. I guess you could maybe spin this favourite as close because he has hailed as the head of The Board for countless cycles, but that's more due to happenstance and reasoning beyond our comprehension. 3/10 he is a stinky bastard.

Peter

The name Peter means Stone (or Stone Man as Spiros Zodhiates proposes) and symbolizes instability. Two Hebrew names that express the same difference are Zur, meaning rock, and Zeror, meaning pebble

So this one I did take from one of the drop down options. The big blurb only talked about how it meant stone. Being they are a fresh Dreamer and are meant to act as a normalcy barometer against the more jaded and desensitized Alex; sure. I won't weight this one to strongly because I chose a biased option. 4/10 this man will piss his pants.

Frank

Meaning:Free. To be frank is to feel free to express yourself and be upfront in life. The name Frank is of German origin and means "free," and is a diminutive of Francis and Franklin. 

Another one where I was purposeful in choosing the name for the character rather than going off a vibe. He speaks in one word sentences that you need to do some mental gymnastics to understand the true meaning behind. Also I learned this name can also mean to be from France...soooo. 9/10 I chose this oui oui.

Greg

Stemming from the Greek name Grēgórios and later the Latin Gregorius, Greg means "watchful" or "vigilant." Most fittingly, the name finds close proximity to the Latin noun grex, and its stem greg, meaning "flock." Such ties grant Greg the stature of a shepherd, faithfully watching over their flock

Okay this one was a shock actually. He is the head Chaperone for the Onboarding department. These are the Dreamers that are tasked with bringing the fresh Dreamers into the society. So um, yeah I guess way to go me for the vibe check. 8/10 this tall lanky man is going to watch over you.

Ishmael

Ishmael is a boy's name of Hebrew origin, meaning “God will hear.” Gifting baby this biblical title is a lovely way to honor one's faith and remind baby of their religious roots. In the Old Testament, Ishmael is the name of Abraham's firstborn son and is also considered the traditional ancestor of the Arab people.

Aight so, I knew this one would be a dud. This dude is the surfer-bro head of the DNR and I wholeheartedly chose the name because of Moby Dick. Despite the name his approach and reverence of the wildlife is more akin to Steve Irwin than the whale hungry fisherman. I thought it was a funny juxtaposition. 1/10 just nah.

[seeminglyseph]

Watching Hazbin Hotel with vague knowledge of angelic lore and having been raised Catholic is so wild. Like I can vibe with most of it, the writing is cool and shit, but then I crash into “why the fuck is Adam an Angel?!” And it’s like… fuck this is a different view on Angels and Heavenly bodies than I’m familiar with and mostly cartoon shit, but I’m still like.

Adam and Eve are guilty of Original Sin, and IF he’s in heaven he has to be proof of redemption, in some way. This was way easier to bullshit when we were exclusively in Hell dealing with demonic entities. Heavenly Bodies is bringing in questions of “what isn’t a sin, and what is forgiven, what does allow someone into Heaven” and my fucking Catholic Trauma brain is starting to go a little obsessive with what that means.

Where’s Eve? How does all this add up? How do human souls become angels? Is Adam just built different? How accurate to biblical lore is it? Which biblical lore? Saint Peter guards the gates of heaven, which is technically not canon to any biblical scripture, but I think Catholicism is the only one that has “Saints,” and I did take a like 30 minute wiki skim to check for sure that it was Saint Peter who does that because my brain seriously blanked on whether it was Peter or Paul who did that. But it makes sense it’s Peter given the whole… “Peter, born Simon, named by Jesus as the rock, foundation of the Christian Church” which is like. *An* interpretation of the translation. But the one I learned. I know it’s potentially incorrect and up for interpretation and I know neither Hebrew nor Greek nor Latin so please don’t get mad at me lmao. I know there’s like four alternative names like Simeon and Petros and Cephas but that isn’t applicable to like. This current conversation. I’m *raised* Catholic, not Catholic anymore. It’s been a while since I went to bible study. And it’s hard to find a non-theistic bible study that isn’t… so condescending I want to commit violence. (Literally, what the fuck is up with Atheists who have to be assholes about it? Like. You do not make recovery from religious trauma easier by making the outside world the most hostile and unpleasant place possible.)

That was a fucking tangent and a half but like. Yeah. I am definitely maybe asking too many questions about the biblical lore of Hazbin Hotel, and I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be like this. I just maybe like. Am fascinated. In weird ways. Due to my own weird history. Oops.

[awideplace]

To the anon who wrote me inquiring about my potential intimate life after marriage, I'm not publishing your question due to the inappropriately worded inquisition, but to answer your theological question: https://www.gotquestions.org/divorce-remarriage.html

It sounds like you have presuppositions that are based on traditions of men and specifically the Catholic church. I understand how some Scriptures can be confusing. I heartily encourage you to study the Word of God, the context of what you are studying Scripturally, and looking into the Greek and Hebrew when studying the Bible. The Bible makes it clear that divorce is only allowed if a spouse has been unfaithful and/or abandoned their spouse. Even God himself gave Israel a certificate of divorce due to her unfaithfulness (Jeremiah 3:8). Remarriage is allowed for the spouse who has been injured, I.E. the one who was cheated on and/or left, and only to marry in the Lord (another true believer; 1 Corinthians 7:39).

[doc-avalon]

Mrs. God

Behold, there is Sophia, which is the Greek version of her name; and other names and titles are Binah, which is Hebrew for understanding; Sapienta, which is Latin; Mother of All, which is Gnostic; Holy Spirit, which very early Christians used; Wisdom, which is what all the other names mean.

Her symbols are a cup, a crescent moon, a dove, and a tree. Her usual image is that of a red-winged woman crowned with seven stars, at whose feet lies the world and in whose right hand is a golden cup.

She is also often depicted wearing a red gown and pregnant.

The Day of Sophia is November 28th, and holy books include the Trattato Gnostico, the Clementine Homilies, and the Gospel According to Mary. Places of worship include temples and places of learning.

Her relatives are Yahweh (ex-husband or son or both), Adam, Eve, Lilith, angels (children), Christ, who entered (possessed) Jesus (son), and the Achamoth, who entered Mary Magdalene (daughter).

Other deities like her are Isis (Egyptian), Juno (Roman), Hera (Greek), Sarasvati (Hindu), Frigga (Norse), Spider Grandmother (Native American), Inanna (Sumerian), Tara (Tibetan), Yemaya (African-Caribbean), Amaterasu (Japanese), Pachamama (Incan), Changing Woman (Navajo and Apache), and Danu (Celtic).

Sophia, or Sapienta, etc., was the primary female figure of Judeo-Christianity.

She was once important, but because of the efforts of men who had problems with the female force in nature and themselves, she has been expunged from modern Bibles. She is the veiled holy spirit of wisdom, pregnant with knowledge and inviting us to drink deeply from her cup.

Old Jewish literature tells of her role as God's co-creator, saying, "She reaches out from one end of the earth to the other with full strength and orders all things well…Herself unchanging, she makes all things anew." Without her, God is powerless.

She shares God's throne and is his creative breath. The Shakers recognized her in the rhyme: "Wisdom holds the Mother's seat, and is the Father's helper-meet." There are those who become very upset when a feminine interpretation is placed on wisdom, but some people just need to be upset.

Henceforth, it is time that Mrs. God gets her due!

[terrapin-holm]

And don’t say the “Bible has been rewritten many times” because it never was. But, it has be translated many times FAITHFULLY and ACCURATELY.

The verse above does not mean a man should not lay with a child, whatsoever. In Hebrew (which was the original language), Greek and Aramaic, it was never a child. It’s a man should not lay with a man.

Jews don’t even share beds on overnight trips. They’re not even allowed to sleep in the same bed. That’s how serious this is.

You can’t call yourself a Christian and be a homosexual. It’s an abomination in God’s eyes. “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.”

(Proverbs 16:18)

.

.

💠“Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable.”

-Leviticus 18:22

💠In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.

-Romans 1:27

💠Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.

-Jude 1:7

💠“A woman must not put on men’s clothing, and a man must not wear women’s clothing. Anyone who does this is detestable in the sight of the LORD your God.

-Deuteronomy 22:5

.

.

God only created Two genders. Male and Female. Not 1,556 genders. Even animals have two genders.

💠But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

-Mark 10:6-9

💠You shall take with you seven each of every clean animal, a male and his female; two each of animals that are unclean, a male and his female;

-Genesis 7:2

💠two by two they went into the ark to Noah, male and female, as God had commanded Noah.

-Genesis 7:8

[eli-kittim]

The Bible Says That The Messiah Will Not Come From Israel

Eli Kittim

Isaiah Declares That The Messiah Will NOT Come From Israel

In Isaiah 46:11 (KJV), God says: I will bring from a far country the Messiah who will execute my counsel (cf. Matt. 28:18; 1 Cor. 15:24-25):

Calling … the man that executeth my

counsel from a far country: yea, I have

spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have

purposed it, I will also do it.

For further biblical evidence concerning a Gentile Messiah, see the following paper: ⬇️

The Masoretic Text (Old Testament)

In Isaiah 46:11, the Hebrew word מֵאֶ֥רֶץ (mê·’e·reṣ) means “from the land” or “country,” while the word מֶרְחָ֖ק (mer·ḥāq) means “distant place” or “from afar.” Together they mean “from a distant place,” “from afar,” or “from a distant country.” Since God is speaking to the Israelites, it is obvious that the Messiah he has appointed to execute his counsel WILL NOT come from Palestine!

Isaiah 46:9-11 reads:

I am God, and there is none like me,

Declaring the end from the beginning, and

from ancient times the things that are not

yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand,

and I will do all my pleasure: Calling … the

man that executeth my counsel from a far

country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also

bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also

do it.

The Greek Old Testament (Septuagint)

This is also recorded in the Greek Old Testament of Isaiah 46:9-11. The LXX uses the word αὐτόν (autón)——which is the accusative masculine singular form of αυτός, meaning “him”——to describe the “man” who will be called “from a land afar off” to execute both God’s counsel and plans! The key word here is πόρρωθεν, which means “from a distance” or “from afar” (see Lk. 17:12; Heb. 11:13). It means that this messianic figure will come from a distant country. He is obviously not a native Israelite! Similarly, in Matt. 21:43, the literary Jesus promised that the kingdom of God will be taken away from the Jews and given to another nation. What is more, the covenant of the seed (in Genesis 12) is a reference to Christ. That is to say, the covenant is through Abraham’s seed, who **is** Christ (see Gal. 3:16). That’s why Isaiah 61:9 says that the Gentiles are the blessed posterity of God (through the messianic seed):

And their seed shall be known among the

Gentiles, and their offspring among the

people: all that see them shall acknowledge

them, that they are the [Messianic] seed

which the LORD hath blessed.

For further proof of a Greek Messianic line, see the following article: ⬇️

God is Called by a Gentile Name


Conclusion

Why is the New Testament written in Greek? It’s not because it was the lingua franca. If that was the case, we would expect the Dead Sea Scrolls to be written predominantly in Greek. Yet they were written in Hebrew for the most part. No! It has to do with the identity of the Messiah! Why does the literary Christ call himself the alpha and the omega (referring to the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet)? Why is John on the Greek island of Patmos to proclaim the testimony of Jesus on the Lord’s day? It isn’t because he is in exile. That’s an old wive’s tale… There is much much more that I obviously cannot reproduce, here, due to time constraints.

‘all the Gentiles … are called by My name,’

Says the LORD (Amos 9:12 NKJV).

For additional information on a Gentile Messiah, see the following article: ⬇️


The Evolution of a Gentile Messiah in the Bible


[breaddippedinorangejuice]

SCP: DOLLHOUSE

A THEORIES

Solved the 23.12.15

process:

When input to google search, some symbols (hebrew letters to be exact) will show. Copied those and translated it to english. It translated to "an attack"

Using the same code, I also got the idea from a reddit post where the code may had been used for referencing a bible verse 23:12-15 which is about a plot to kill Paul who's an apostle during Jesus's time

The THEORY (VER 1)

The anomaly is uknown but the couple (the female occupant and male one) was chosen by the system. The glitching tv message could be either a propecy, or recording the events like a prophecy, similar on how apostles write. (About the bible verse, Im still not sure whats the connection but I swear there is something) The female occupant's name could also be translated from Greek to English, the meaning would be "oracle" or "prophetess"

THE THEORY (VER 2)

Also correction here, instead of circuit board, it should be circuit diagram.

for clearer, pic, here it is.

Onto the female occupant, here the full text:

CONFIDENTIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL RE(covered by pic)

For Professional Use Only

Name: Sybil

Birthdate: XX/XX/XXXX

Age: XXX

Phone: XXX

Adomition Date: 1/04/2019

Adress: XXX

INDENTIFYING DATA AND REASON FOR REFERRAL:

Sybil was admitted to KVC Praine Ridge Psychiatric hospital for rational behavior and suspicion of not taking the therapy. Patient already had a history of major emotional outbreaks and was hospitalized many under the assumptions of nervous breakdown and suicidal thoughts. After thorough examination, she was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and severe depression, deemed unsuitable for contact with public

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

Sybil's doctor expressed concem for her mental state after she missed two of their appointments and didnt take prescription for her therapy. Doctor says Sybil was known for strange behavior since (covered) infancy and has been diagnosed with depression before. However, due to her active us(covered) and participation multiple therapy groups, it was believed she was able to live (covered)

After she missed her appointments and didn't come to take doctor (covered) the concern for Sybil's mental state and (covered) She was found wandering the streets taking to herself (covered)

the woman who called the hospital, said Sybil (covered) "-after her"

ASSESSMENT PROCESS

Interview (covered)

Sybil (covered)

Sybil could either be a part of the system or someone who knows the anomaly from the start. Could be a victim of circumstances or an accomplice. Given the fact that any info about Sybil was not found, she must not be from the neighborhood, but still a citizen on earth.

&#73,;&#32;&#97;&#107;&#32;&#80;#114;&#11 1;&#109;&#101;&#116;&#104;&#101;&#117;&#115

When translated, it is "I am Prometheus". Searching the correlation of Prometheus and Scp, I found the Prometheus Labs. The said lab is a group of interest and made electronic, industrial, and other kinds of goods from anomalous objects. The said lab was siezed by the Foundation and got splintered in groups. It is also mentioned that some of the workers in the lab who was found were given a job in the Foundation.

Back to the theory, It is possible that the male occupant/researcher have contact with the splinter groups while being a researcher at the Foundation. Given that, on one scene, he was shown talking to someone about if someone had go to the house in which he said no. That is probably before the anomaly took him. Or perhaps the girl.

Thats all my theory and uhh ty for reading ig lol

[curtklingermanposts]

Don't Gloss Over Truth

Why Some Lack Understanding

How many have said, “I wish I understood the Bible?” A prerequisite to understanding the Word of God is an honest heart that actually desires to know His truth. A reason some lack understanding is they are not considering what is said, much less, taking to it to heart. Basically, it equates to ignoring it. When a person ignores truth, he becomes ignorant to it as well. That ignorance can lead to outright rejection of truth. Truth challenges people to change, and some do not want to change. This is another reason people can’t seem to find time to read their Bible, or listen to the spoken Word. If one finds himself pushing back against the truth, one might ask, “Am I being carnal, (or flesh-driven)?” Romans 8:6-8 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God (NASB). The carnal mind, or flesh, relates to the old nature. Ultimately, it will die in the end. For those in Christ Jesus, it is counted as dead already. By God’s grace, we are able to follow the Spirit, while counting the flesh as dead. The more you place your mind on the things of the Spirit, the easier it will be to grasp the Word of God. Conversely, the more focused you are on the world, the more difficult it becomes. Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, Who loved me, and gave Himself for me.

Ignorance is No Excuse

“Ignorance of the law is not excuse” can actually be applied to the Word, especially when goes beyond mere lack of knowledge. People have a misconception that God will not hold people accountable for what they do not know. What does God have to say about it? Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. It is one thing to be ignorant due to the lack of learning; it’s another to be ignorant, because one refuses to learn. In everyday life, most have experienced this to various degrees. Have you ever made a poor choice, because you refused to learn all the facts involved? Perhaps, you knew the consequences, but did something anyway. Depending on specifics, the consequences of ignorance can be quite profound. In some cases, destruction awaits those who are willingly ignorant.

Take His Truth to Heart

Underscoring a previous point, if we gloss over what we read, we miss much of what the Lord desires to reveal to us. This is easy to do if we’re trying to read by volume, or rushing through our devotion, just so we can get done for the day. There is a difference between quality and quantity. Of course, a quantity of quality is an awesome thing. It may prove much more beneficial to meditate on single passage of Scripture than to quickly read a chapter, or book. When we take His Word to heart, we are more apt to dig to find the riches of the meaning found in the words. It is easy to gloss over something we don’t understand, such as a particular word used in a verse. The challenge is to find the meaning of the word in a dictionary. To drill down even deeper, a Strong’s Concordance with a Hebrew/Chaldean/Greek dictionary is rather useful, since it goes into the original languages. What if it still doesn’t make sense after using a dictionary, or Strong’s Concordance? Sometimes, we need to meditate on it, and wait on Holy Spirit for revelation (the revealing of an already existing truth), which requires us to be teachable. The New Man already understands, which is why we get a sense of knowing, even if we may not be able to articulate it in the moment. Our conscious mind simply has to catch up.                                  Be encouraged, God is faithful to reveal His truth. Nonetheless, we do have a part to play. Moreover, there is a proving process taking place, when we don’t immediately grasp the things of God. Proverbs 25:2 It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.

perfectfaith.org