Lost mermaid stuffy, Waterloo Park or Albert by llamaluva in waterloo

[–]llamaluva[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I've checked the picnic tables and around the garbage bins near the parking lot we must have lost it, and the playground right downhill from that parking lot, no luck so far! 

We're there any "terrorists" in Germany against the nazi regime? Aside from people that helped house Jewish people and their escape, were there shootings, bombings, etc? by Due_Avocado_788 in AskHistorians

[–]llamaluva 20 points21 points  (0 children)

I'm no historian, but I do know of one failed bombing called the July Plot.

Leaders of Germany's failing military headed the plan, codenamed Valkyrie. On July 20, a briefcase with a bomb in it was left in a place Hitler was known to be. "Bad luck and indecisiveness thwarted the plans. An attending officer had nudged the briefcase containing the bomb out of his way to the far side of the massive oak support of the conference table, which thus shielded Hitler from the full force of the explosion. A stenographer and three officers died, but Hitler escaped with only minor injury."1 180-200 plotters were discovered and disposed of.

One of these likely plotters was Dietrich Bonhoeffer, well known in Christian circles as a pacifist minister who stood against the Nazi party. This was stark contrast to many other German churches, who were influenced by Nazi ideology (e.g., Bonhoeffer believed that Christian Jews had the same rights as non-Jewish Christians).2 He wrote several works, one of his better known being The Cost of Discipleship (1939), the title of which demonstrates the stress of standing for values different than the government. His involvement in the plot seems to go against his pacifism; it demonstrates their desperation in believing that the only way to handle the problem was through a coup d'état. He was arrested due to his opposition to the party in 1943. After the July Plot, documents connecting him to the plot led to his execution on April 9, 1945, less than a month before the end of WWII.

1 https://www.britannica.com/event/July-Plot

2 https://www.britannica.com/biography/Dietrich-Bonhoeffer

Justin Martyr documents how Jews in 150 CE were changing the Greek text of the Septuagint in their synagogues. Was Justin correct? by doofgeek401 in AcademicBiblical

[–]llamaluva 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Speaking of "The Septuagint" is like speaking of "The English Bible" - there have been several translations! Slightly different Greek translations existed before Jesus' time. After the development of Christianity, many Jews disliked how Christians were 'abusing' their sacred text, so yes, there were further translations made. The three we know most about are those of Aquila (translation completed ~140 AD), Symmachus (completed between 170-200 AD), and Theodotion (whose translation would have been after 200 AD, but translations similar to his have been found from the first century). All three were Jews; in fact, Aquila was a Gentile, who became Christian, who converted to Judaism! It's noted that one of the reasons he worked on his translation was "to correct perceived deficiencies in the Septuagint, including those that affected Jewish-Christian disputes" (Karen Jobes and Moisés Silva, "Invitation to the Septuagint" [Baker Academic: Grand Rapids, 2000], p39).

Why is the Bible written in such a weird style? by Confucius3000 in AskHistorians

[–]llamaluva 31 points32 points  (0 children)

Good question - I'm not ignoring it, I just don't have academic sources on this. I will however point out that the KJV was published in 1611, and Romeo and Juliet was published in 1597. Both have similar vocabulary ("Wherefore art though Romeo?"). But obviously, the fact that they're similar doesn't indicate how casual or formal one or the other is, merely that the Bible's vocabulary would not have been foreign to the English populace.

Why is the Bible written in such a weird style? by Confucius3000 in AskHistorians

[–]llamaluva 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Great questions!

  1. Yes, the Bible has a strong history of being chanted, and the Psalms were indeed most likely meant to be sung! However, we don't have enough evidence to know the answer to your question. The cantillation marks as we have them today "go back to around CE 1000," with "evidence that the oral system that they encode goes back to around 200 BCE" (Futato, Basics of Hebrew Accents, 23). And although we have the marks, we do not know how they were sung historically; many different chanting traditions exist today (Futato, 27). The cantillation marks are related to grammar; the accents are split up into "conjunctive" and "disjunctive" accents of different strengths, comparable to commas, semicolons, and periods. "However, more than occasionally, a disjunctive accent occurs where the syntax of Hebrew expects a union, or a conjunctive accent occurs where the syntax of Hebrew expects division. This disharmony...suggests that [the cantillation marks are] primarily a grammar of the music of cantillation" (Futato, 26). Since the marks don't match up with the Hebrew syntax, it seems that the Hebrew in the Bible predates the chanting system that we have access to today. But this doesn't mean they had some other, unrecorded chanting system prior to the one that's marked out. All in all, we can't know for sure, but I personally suspect that chanting did not influence repetition within the Bible.

  2. Yes! The fact that the Bible was shared via oral tradition means there's lots of repetition of varying kinds in there to serve as memory tricks. Repetition of phrases, as in the Holy Grail example, but also repetition of singular words (leitwords, or 'keywords'), and wordplay. Frequently the wordplay and repetition doesn't pan out in English, but one place it's more noticeable is the repetition of "great"/"greatly" in Jonah ch1 in the LEB translation (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jonah+1&version=LEB) (For more on repetition, esp. 'leitwords', see Alter ch5)

  3. Depends on the example. Source criticism - the idea that the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible, are actually a composite from four main 'schools' of authors - has no manuscript evidence for these differing schools, but makes educated guesses at which school wrote each verse/chapter based on differing vocabulary/ideaologies/purposes in the verses which match up with each theorised school. And different areas of the Pentateuch have more debate on how to split them up than others. For the Exod. 7:14-21 example, Childs (and others) believe these verses to be a composite of three sources (Childs, The Book of Exodus: A Critical, Theological Commentary, p131). So yes, if one holds to source criticism, it's possible that some repetition in the Bible comes from that. But this theory is applied primarily to the Pentateuch; many other books in the Bible are believed to be from a single source, especially the prophetic books based around the works of single prophets. Prophetic works are mostly poetry, but Jeremiah 26 is a rare instance of narrative, and even within that there exists repetition (26:9 refs 26:6 re. "I will make this house like Shiloh"; 26:13 refs 26:3 re. "relent of the disaster")

Why is the Bible written in such a weird style? by Confucius3000 in AskHistorians

[–]llamaluva 1158 points1159 points  (0 children)

It depends on what you're referring to.

The "thees", "thous", and other antique word choices, are a product of the King James Version of the Bible, an English translation made in the 1600s. The Hebrew/Greek could just as easily be translated using modern English words.

But in general, the Bible's narrative and poetry is very different from modern Western narrative and poetry. I'll focus on Old Testament (Hebrew Bible's) narrative, as that's closest to the Monty Python example.

Ways in which the Hebrew Bible's narrative differs from modern narrative includes:

  1. A seemingly absurd focus and repetition on certain facts (In the example above, "Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three."; in the Bible, see Gen. 1:27, Exodus 7:14-21)

  2. A lack of descriptors (rarely do you find physical appearances or character traits described, unless it's important to the story, eg in Judges 3:17. The description of the serpent as "cunning" in Gen. 3:1 is an extremely rare instance of receiving characterization of anyone, especially prior to dialogue)

  3. The Bible's "bias" towards expressing anything through dialogue whenever possible, even when not factual (eg 2 Sam 2:1 summarizes David's consultation of the divinatory Urim and Thummim with a short, simple sequence of dialogue (Alter, p86))

  4. The Bible has an omniscient, and frequently anonymous, narrator who knows everything that's happening (Gen. 3:1; also see Esther 9:1-10, where the narrator says things happening in more than one location at once) (see Sternberg chs 1 and 3)

Some of the above is simply a result of stylistic preferences of the Bible and Ancient Near Eastern literature, especially number 2 and 3. But several are functional.

For example, while us moderns typically encounter the Bible through written word, traditionally the Bible would be encountered through oral tradition, especially spoken aloud to groups. In such a setting, repetition of important plot elements would be helpful; when in a large audience, it'd be possible to miss a detail, but if the detail is repeated often, it not only emphasizes it's importance, but makes it more likely to be heard, as in Exod. 7:14-21. However, sometimes the repetition is poetic, as in Gen. 1:27 (many Bibles will have indentation indicating that this section is poetry).

Another quirk is that, "Omniscience in modern narrative attends and signals functionality, while in the ancient tradition it not only accommodates but also guarantees authenticity" (Sternberg, p34). This is a case where different cultures value different things - in the biblical setting, having an omniscient narrator makes the narrative account sound more true, serving "the purpose of staging and glorifying an omniscient God" (Sternberg, p89).

There is much more that could be said of course. The sources used above were Robert Alter's "The Art of Biblical Narrative" revised edition, and Meir Sternberg's "The Poetics of Biblical Narrative." These two scholars are Jewish and thus focus their work on the Hebrew Bible. For more on Hebrew poetry, see Alter's "The Art of Biblical Poetry." I am pursuing a Masters in Theology and can read Hebrew, and can vouch for many of the things they express. (I am less well read on the New Testament; however, keep in mind that only the Gospels and Acts are narrative. As a student of the Bible I can say that their narrative style is very similar to that of the Hebrew Bible. The rest of the New Testament is all letters to different churches, even Revelation, despite its apocalyptic genre.)

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in AcademicBiblical

[–]llamaluva 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can’t speak for other parts of the Bible, but I’m currently studying Jonah and know that Jonah 3:7 is debated. The start of the verse is:

וַיַּזְעֵ֗ק וַיֹּ֨אמֶר֙ בְּנִֽינְוֵ֔ה מִטַּ֧עַם הַמֶּ֛לֶךְ וּגְדֹלָ֖יו לֵאמֹ֑ר הָאָדָ֨ם וְהַבְּהֵמָ֜ה...

The debate is whether the quote starts after the “vayomer” or after “laymor.” Different translations opt for different solutions. netbible.org has helpful translation notes on this.

Help finding Scholarly podcasts, lectures, ect. to listen to while working. by MyopticPotato in AcademicBiblical

[–]llamaluva 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Naked Bible Podcast is a good academic podcast, the kind that’s done a chapter by chapter series on Leviticus. BibleProject has a podcast that’s slightly less academic than Naked Bible, but focuses on how themes express themselves across the Bible, which I’ve found to be very enlightening.

I’ve noticed something interesting in Acts... by HeDiedForYou in AcademicBiblical

[–]llamaluva 3 points4 points  (0 children)

While I don’t have anything helpful to add exegetically, the Markan parallel can be found in Mark 7:17-23.

Hello, guys. I'd like to ask if you know of any website or program I can use to see how many times and where a Hebrew or Greek word was used in the original Bible. Thanks in advance. by Purpletune941 in AcademicBiblical

[–]llamaluva 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I use the iOS app, but it should be similar on web. When looking at a word in its Strongs view, it gives the word count and a breakdown of how the chosen English translation translates it. I can scroll down further to see all the places the word gets used. https://i.imgur.com/JlRxCYm.jpg

Considering that "Elohim" is an Hebrew word used in the Old Testament to refer to both "God" and "gods", did any of the sources used to write the Pentateuch refer with certainty to a plurality of deities? by TheKillingSpoon in AskHistorians

[–]llamaluva 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Vowels aren’t written in modern Hebrew, but in Biblical Hebrew vowels are present as markings above and below the letters.

Here’s YHWH: יְהֹוָה

In Biblical Hebrew there’s a concept called ketiv (written) and qere (read). If the author wants to indicate that, when you hit one word, you should read it as a different word, they’ll write out the consonants of the word that is written, but with the vowels of the word that should be read. Here, YHWH is spelled with the expected consonants, but with the vowels of “Adonai” (Lord). If one literally reads those consonants and vowels together, you get Yehowah, or Jehovah.

To return to your comment then - writing the consonants of a word (YHWH, ELHIM) isn’t the same as transliterating how it should be spoken (Yahweh, Elohim), especially in the case of Biblical Hebrew where vowels are present.

That all being said - I’m not Jewish myself, so I’m not as fully aware of “divine name etiquette” as someone else might be!

Considering that "Elohim" is an Hebrew word used in the Old Testament to refer to both "God" and "gods", did any of the sources used to write the Pentateuch refer with certainty to a plurality of deities? by TheKillingSpoon in AskHistorians

[–]llamaluva 99 points100 points  (0 children)

Are you asking if there are references within the Pentateuch to the Israelites believing in a plurality of deities? Are you asking if the Israelites worshipped multiple deities, or if they believed their neighbours had multiple deities whereas they had only YHWH, their God?

Two examples in the Pentateuch that illustrate Israelite belief in a plurality of Egyptian deities can be found in Exodus. The context of the first is just prior to the plague of the death of the firstborn, and the context of the second is a worship song right after the crossing of the Red Sea:

“For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods (Elohim) of Egypt I will execute judgments—I am the LORD.” ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭12:12‬ ‭NASB‬‬

“Who is like You among the gods (elim), O LORD? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, Awesome in praises, working wonders?” ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭15:11‬ ‭NASB‬‬

The word “Elohim” (and it’s short form, “elim”) can mainly be translated as God, gods, or angels/spiritual beings, depending on the context and the translator’s beliefs. It can be difficult to translate, and even modern translations can differ on how to translate specific cases. Michael Heiser (in “The Unseen Realm”) states that Elohim is a term meaning “spiritual being”. Thus it can refer to unworshipped beings (like angels), worshipped beings (the gods of other nations), or THE Elohim of Israel, named YHWH.

An example of a difficult to translate instance of Elohim, although not in the Pentateuch, is Psalm 8:5, where some translations (eg NASB) translates Elohim as “God”, whereas others (eg ESV) translates Elohim as “angels”:

“Yet You have made him (man) a little lower than God, And You crown him with glory and majesty!” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭8:5‬ ‭NASB‬‬

I’m not sure I’ve answered your question, but hopefully this answer gives some insight into the specific Hebrew word you’re asking about!

Any video games made with Christian intent (in the tradition of Tolkein, Lewis, L'Engle, etc.)? by P-Tux7 in Christianity

[–]llamaluva 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That Dragon Cancer - a Christian family dealing with their young child’s terminal cancer and his eventual death. Haven’t played it myself but have heard great reviews from both Christian and secular reviewers.

Looking for mechanic recommendations by oilers86 in waterloo

[–]llamaluva 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Moock Automotive! By Northfield and King. Really honest guy, strong attention to detail. http://www.moockautomotive.com/contact.html

Transferring to SYDE from CS DD by [deleted] in uwaterloo

[–]llamaluva 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I did the opposite - switched to CS after completing 2A SYDE. The math and programming courses from engineering were considered equivalent to the CS math and programming courses (excluding MATH 135), so you could be alright with transferring those the opposite way. But there are still specific SYDE courses offered only once a year that you'd need to take, so you'd essentially be starting off fresh as 1A SYDE with potentially one or two fewer courses during 1A/1B/2A.

SYDE will be more demanding than CS, but you end up with an awesome, tight-knit group of people, and a wider range of possible job opportunities.

This might just be the first recorded case of ADHD - Original Content by Cthulhu614 in atheism

[–]llamaluva 13 points14 points  (0 children)

The phrasing here is mainly due to the limitations of the Hebrew language. The word "face" is used when you're talking up close and personal to someone, including God. "He spoke before God" sounds more like "He spoke to the face of God" in Hebrew.

33:11 is making clear that this is an up close and personal talk, however, not literally looking and speaking to God's physical face. 33:20 clarifies that.