Ziklag F7.5 Tonight

630C StarFall 2029 Premieres Live

Link to StarFall Here

SOS Discipline - Daily Proverb and Red Letter Reader

Fear is the wicked man’s expectation for good reason. cf Pr. 10:24

To walk is to talk is to entertain a reign. cf Mt. 10:7

A well-planned retreat is an excellent opportunity. cf Sun Tzu 6.23

Today’s the Day

It’s not like anyone has been waiting for it. Except, that if you follow me, you have.

You know I’ve been searching. You know I’ve been on a long, toilsome quest. You know that it’s not about me, and you know that the haters don’t see what we see. And, therefore, you’ve been waiting for me to “get my act together” and get back to doing whatever made everything click like a dream back in the WEtv days.

Would that it were a rabbit in a hat!

“If you can do it once, you can do it again, or you didn’t ever really do it at all.”

In the last four years I have parlayed the collapsing dregs of WEtv’s lost social capital, slipped through the fingers along with the airwaves of KFUO St. Louis, into three distinct brands of Lutheran media publications, all of which operate better than 60% without me. Mad Christian Mondays, A Brief History of Power, and SonsofSolomon are each fanbases and networks, separate but intertwined, with a wide reach for infuencing the LCMS and world with truly “Lutheran” Christian content, and none of them need me anymore.

As of this week, I am officially releasing them from my conscience. I still plan to scratch out scribblings, chitter with Dr. K. weekly, and pray the nine psalms that are already unifying pious Christian men everywhere. I’m just not going to consider their success my burden. The lines are in the water. The torpedoes are away!

Now, it's time for StarFall.

This is what you who love me have been digging in for. “When’s he going to just do it?” “Why isn’t he doing something?” “What’s wrong with him?”

Sometimes, for such a time as this, you just have to learn to wait.

Starfall 2029 Episode 242 launches tonight at 630 central on youtube!

From Today’s Stack

Navi (נָבִ֨יא) in Moses

First Use and Context

The first use of the word נָבִ֨יא (navi) in the Torah is found in Genesis 20:7, where God refers to Abraham as a prophet:

"Now therefore, restore the man's wife; for he is a prophet (נָבִ֨יא), and he will pray for you, and you will live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours."

What does this mean? Scholastically, נָבִ֨יא denotes a man with a special relationship to God, acting intermediately as an ambassador or messenger.

Use in Deuteronomy 18

In Deuteronomy 18:15-22, Moses speaks of himself as a prophet:

"Your God will raise up for you a prophet (נָבִ֨יא) like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him."

This passage promises the continuity of prophecy and the role of the Prophet as God's Leader by Speaking. The word “prophet” in English comes from the Greek Septuigant LXX adopting προφήτης as its translation:

"Προφήτην ἐκ μέσου σου ἐκ τῶν ἀδελφῶν σου ὡς ἐμὲ ἀναστήσει σοι Κύριος ὁ Θεός σου, αὐτοῦ ἀκούσεσθε..."

Hebrew (נָבִ֨יא): Emphasizes the act of bubbling forth with divine inspiration, with the prophet acting as an intermediary who conveys God's messages directly.

Greek (προφήτης): focuses on the aspect of speaking forth or declaring, with the prophet serving as a representative who communicates on behalf of the deity.

The nuanced difference between נָבִ֨יא and προφήτης lies in the Hebrew term’s connotation of deep inspiration and the Greek term’s emphasis on the act of speaking as representation.

The use of προφήτης by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, affirming the LXX translation, emphasizes the office of divine message-mediator.

Key to understanding His meaning is the biblical Greek distinction between prophet and oracle. At Delphi, the prophet relays the message from the oracle. Oracles are precisely what the Hebrew of Deut 18 forbids.

For this reason, both biblical terms serve to deeply qualify the Prophetic role as “one who speaks with God’s authority” as opposed to “one who tells the future.” This understanding is crucial for the prophetic office as imputed to all Christians through our baptisms into Jesus Christ.

Conclusion

The translation of נָבִ֨יא (navi) is consistent as προφήτης (prophetes) in the LXX. Each use of the Hebrew term נָבִ֨יא is translated directly to προφήτης in the Greek Septuagint, maintaining a unified interpretation of the term "prophet" throughout the Pentateuch, underscored as the language model adopted by our Lord to preach his most famous Sermon on the Mount.

This uniformity delivers the prophetic role to the present day Christian as a spirit of Wisdom, having stood in the counsel of God, tasted of his glory, and sung of his praises.

Addendum: All Uses of נָבִ֨יא (Navi) in the Pentateuch in Contrast with the Septuagint (LXX)

A list of the unified uses of the words נָבִ֨יא (navi) and προφήτης (prophetes) in the Pentateuch (the five books of Moses). There are no discovered discrepancies.

Genesis 20:7

Hebrew: "וְעַתָּה הָשֵׁב אֵשֶׁת הָאִישׁ כִּי נָבִ֨יא הוּא וְיִתְפַּלֵּל בַּעַדְךָ וֶחְיֵה..."

LXX: "νῦν οὖν ἀπόδος τὴν γυναῖκα τοῦ ἀνδρός αὐτοῦ προφήτης γάρ ἐστιν καὶ προσεύξεται περὶ σοῦ καὶ ζήσῃς..."

Exodus 7:1

Hebrew: "וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל־מֹשֶׁה רְאֵה נְתַתִּיךָ אֱלֹהִים לְפַרְעֹה וְאַהֲרֹן אָחִיךָ יִהְיֶה נְבִיאֶֽךָ׃"

LXX: "εἶπεν δὲ Κύριος πρὸς Μωυσῆν λέγων Ἴδε, δέδωκά σε θεὸν Φαραώ, Ἀαρὼν δὲ ὁ ἀδελφός σου ἔσται σου προφήτης."

Numbers 11:29

Hebrew: "וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ מֹשֶׁה הַמְקַנֵּא אַתָּה לִי וּמִי יִתֵּן כָּל־עַם יְהוָה נְבִיאִים כִּי־יִתֵּן יְהוָה אֶת־רוּחוֹ עֲלֵיהֶֽם׃"

LXX: "καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ Μωυσῆς Μὴ ζηλοτυπεῖς περὶ ἐμοῦ καὶ τίς δώσει πᾶν λαὸν Κυρίου προφήτας ὅτι δώσει Κύριος τὸ πνεῦμα αὐτοῦ ἐπ’ αὐτοὺς."

Deuteronomy 13:1

Hebrew: "כִּי־יָקוּם בְּקִרְבְּךָ נָבִ֨יא א֛וֹ חֹלֵ֥ם חֲל֖וֹם וְנָתַ֥ן אֵלֶֽיךָ א֖וֹת א֥וֹ מוֹפֵֽת׃"

LXX: "Ἐὰν δὲ ἀναστῇ ἐν σοὶ προφήτης ἢ ἐνυπνιαζόμενος ἐνύπνιον καὶ δῷ σημεῖον ἢ τέρας."

Deuteronomy 18:15

Hebrew: "נָבִ֨יא מִקִּרְבְּךָ֤ מֵאַחֶ֙יךָ֙ כָּמֹנִ֔י יָקִ֥ים לְךָ֖ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָ אֵלָ֖יו תִּשְׁמָֽעוּן׃"

LXX: "Προφήτην ἐκ μέσου σου ἐκ τῶν ἀδελφῶν σου ὡς ἐμὲ ἀναστήσει σοι Κύριος ὁ Θεός σου, αὐτοῦ ἀκούσεσθε."

Deuteronomy 18:18

Hebrew: "נָבִ֨יא אָקִ֤ים לָהֶם֙ מִקֶּ֣רֶב אֲחֵיהֶ֔ם כָּמ֖וֹךָ וְנָתַתִּ֣י דְבָרַ֔י בְּפִ֖יו וְדִבֶּ֣ר אֲלֵיהֶ֑ם אֵ֥ת כָּל־אֲשֶׁ֖ר אֲצַוֶּֽנּוּ׃"

LXX: "Προφήτην ἀναστήσω αὐτοῖς ἐκ τῶν ἀδελφῶν αὐτῶν ὥσπερ σέ, καὶ δώσω τὰ ῥήματά μου εἰς τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ, καὶ λαλήσει αὐτοῖς καθότι ἂν ἐντείλωμαι αὐτῷ."

Deuteronomy 34:10

Hebrew: "וְלֹא־קָם נָבִ֨יא ע֛וֹד בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל כְּמֹשֶׁ֑ה אֲשֶׁ֤ר יְדָעוֹ֙ יְהוָ֔ה פָּנִ֖ים אֶל־פָּנִֽים׃"

LXX: "καὶ οὐκ ἀνέστη ἔτι προφήτης ἐν Ἰσραὴλ ὡς Μωυσῆς, ὃν ἐγνώκει Κύριος πρόσωπον κατὰ πρόσωπον."