Discovery Box1 Kings 22:19-23
Context22:19 Micaiah 1 said, “That being the case, hear the word of the Lord. I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, with all the heavenly assembly standing on his right and on his left. 22:20 The Lord said, ‘Who will deceive Ahab, so he will attack Ramoth Gilead and die 2 there?’ One said this and another that. 22:21 Then a spirit 3 stepped forward and stood before the Lord. He said, ‘I will deceive him.’ The Lord asked him, ‘How?’ 22:22 He replied, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.’ The Lord 4 said, ‘Deceive and overpower him. 5 Go out and do as you have proposed.’ 22:23 So now, look, the Lord has placed a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours; but the Lord has decreed disaster for you.”
Isaiah 6:1-5
Context6:1 In the year of King Uzziah’s death, 6 I saw the sovereign master 7 seated on a high, elevated throne. The hem of his robe filled the temple. 6:2 Seraphs 8 stood over him; each one had six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, 9 and they used the remaining two to fly. 6:3 They called out to one another, “Holy, holy, holy 10 is the Lord who commands armies! 11 His majestic splendor fills the entire earth!” 6:4 The sound of their voices shook the door frames, 12 and the temple was filled with smoke.
6:5 I said, “Too bad for me! I am destroyed, 13 for my lips are contaminated by sin, 14 and I live among people whose lips are contaminated by sin. 15 My eyes have seen the king, the Lord who commands armies.” 16
Daniel 7:9
Context7:9 “While I was watching,
thrones were set up,
and the Ancient of Days 17 took his seat.
His attire was white like snow;
the hair of his head was like lamb’s 18 wool.
His throne was ablaze with fire
and its wheels were all aflame. 19
Acts 7:55-56
Context7:55 But Stephen, 20 full 21 of the Holy Spirit, looked intently 22 toward heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing 23 at the right hand of God. 7:56 “Look!” he said. 24 “I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”
[22:19] 1 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Micaiah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[22:21] 3 tn Heb “the spirit.” The significance of the article prefixed to רוּחַ (ruakh) is uncertain, but it could contain a clue as to this spirit’s identity, especially when interpreted in light of v. 24. It is certainly possible, and probably even likely, that the article is used in a generic or dramatic sense and should be translated, “a spirit.” In the latter case it would show that this spirit was vivid and definite in the mind of Micaiah the storyteller. However, if one insists that the article indicates a well-known or universally known spirit, the following context provides a likely referent. Verse 24 tells how Zedekiah slapped Micaiah in the face and then asked sarcastically, “Which way did the spirit from the
[22:22] 4 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the
[22:22] 5 tn The Hebrew text has two imperfects connected by וְגַם (vÿgam). These verbs could be translated as specific futures, “you will deceive and also you will prevail,” in which case the
[6:1] 6 sn That is, approximately 740
[6:1] 7 tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in vv. 8, 11 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).
[6:2] 8 tn Hebrew שָׂרָף (saraf, “seraph”) literally means “burning one,” perhaps suggesting that these creatures had a fiery appearance (cf. TEV, CEV “flaming creatures”; NCV “heavenly creatures of fire”). Elsewhere in the OT the word “seraph” refers to poisonous snakes (Num 21:6; Deut 8:15; Isa 14:29; 30:6). Perhaps they were called “burning ones” because of their appearance or the effect of their venomous bites, which would cause a victim to burn up with fever. It is possible that the seraphs seen by Isaiah were at least partially serpentine in appearance. Though it might seem strange for a snake-like creature to have wings, two of the texts where “seraphs” are snakes describe them as “flying” (Isa 14:29; 30:6), perhaps referring to their darting movements. See the note at 14:29.
[6:2] 9 sn Some understand “feet” here as a euphemistic reference to the genitals.
[6:3] 10 tn Some have seen a reference to the Trinity in the seraphs’ threefold declaration, “holy, holy, holy.” This proposal has no linguistic or contextual basis and should be dismissed as allegorical. Hebrew sometimes uses repetition for emphasis. (See IBHS 233-34 §12.5a; and GKC 431-32 §133.k.) By repeating the word “holy,” the seraphs emphasize the degree of the Lord’s holiness. For another example of threefold repetition for emphasis, see Ezek 21:27 (Heb. v. 32). (Perhaps Jer 22:29 provides another example.)
[6:3] 11 tn Perhaps in this context, the title has a less militaristic connotation and pictures the Lord as the ruler of the heavenly assembly. See the note at 1:9.
[6:4] 12 tn On the phrase אַמּוֹת הַסִּפִּים (’ammot hassippim, “pivots of the frames”) see HALOT 763 s.v. סַף.
[6:5] 13 tn Isaiah uses the suffixed (perfect) form of the verb for rhetorical purposes. In this way his destruction is described as occurring or as already completed. Rather than understanding the verb as derived from דָּמַה (damah, “be destroyed”), some take it from a proposed homonymic root דמה, which would mean “be silent.” In this case, one might translate, “I must be silent.”
[6:5] 14 tn Heb “a man unclean of lips am I.” Isaiah is not qualified to praise the king. His lips (the instruments of praise) are “unclean” because he has been contaminated by sin.
[6:5] 15 tn Heb “and among a nation unclean of lips I live.”
[6:5] 16 tn Perhaps in this context, the title has a less militaristic connotation and pictures the Lord as the ruler of the heavenly assembly. See the note at 1:9.
[7:9] 17 tn Or “the Ancient One” (NAB, NRSV, NLT), although the traditional expression has been retained in the present translation because it is familiar to many readers. Cf. TEV “One who had been living for ever”; CEV “the Eternal God.”
[7:9] 18 tn Traditionally the Aramaic word נְקֵא (nÿqe’) has been rendered “pure,” but here it more likely means “of a lamb.” Cf. the Syriac neqya’ (“a sheep, ewe”). On this word see further, M. Sokoloff, “’amar neqe’, ‘Lamb’s Wool’ (Dan 7:9),” JBL 95 (1976): 277-79.
[7:9] 19 tn Aram “a flaming fire.”
[7:55] 20 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Stephen) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[7:55] 21 tn Grk “being full,” but the participle ὑπάρχων (Juparcwn) has not been translated since it would be redundant in English.
[7:55] 22 tn Grk “looking intently toward heaven, saw.” The participle ἀτενίσας (atenisa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
[7:55] 23 sn The picture of Jesus standing (rather than seated) probably indicates his rising to receive his child. By announcing his vision, Stephen thoroughly offended his audience, who believed no one could share God’s place in heaven. The phrase is a variation on Ps 110:1.
[7:56] 24 tn Grk “And he said, ‘Look!’” Because of the length of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences, καί (kai) has not been translated here; a new sentence is begun instead.
