Nehemiah

Numbers 22

Chapters twenty-two through twenty-four contain another well-known story from Numbers: the account of Balak and Balaam. 1 In Numbers 21:26 we read that Sihon had defeated Moab. Now that Israel had defeated Sihon, the Moabites were naturally afraid that they could be next, so when Israel journeyed up the eastern border of Moab, Balak, their […]

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Nehemiah 1

Ezra and Nehemiah were originally one book in the Hebrew text, because they tell the three-part story of Israel’s return from captivity in Persia. When the Hebrew text was translated into Greek (the Septuagint), this was retained as one book, called Esdras B (or 2 Esdras). It was not until Origen and, finally, Jerome in

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Psalm 45

Psalm 45 is unique in several ways, beginning with the title. It is the first of only four psalms to use have been written with the style or tune of “Lilies” (Psalms 60 and 69 by David and Psalm 80 by Asaph are the others). Outside of these psalms, the term “lilies” has limited use

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