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Mene, Mene, Tekel: A Lively Lexicon of Words and Phrases from the Bible
Explains the origins, modern usages, and pronunciations of phrases, such as "doubting Thomas" and "feet of clay," that have come from the Old and New Testaments
- GenresJudaism
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
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November 7, 2017
Somewhat good reference book. Sometimes frustrated with incompleteness, inaccuracies, and lack of religious context.
Author commentary sometimes surprises or offends. Like, for the entry “mouths that speak not”, p 168, author writes entry then finishes with “Clear enough?” As if reader needs to feel even more challenged if they don’t easily comprehend?
Then, there is clearly the lack of context and religious training for full understanding. For example, entry for “moneychangers”, p 166, had a bit of context written into explanation (moneychangers are essential to traveling within countries with different currencies), however, concludes that “Presumably, he [Jesus] would not have objected if exchange of currency had been carried on less noisily outside the Temple gates.” This is in reference to Jesus losing his shiz table-flipping and throwing moneychangers out of the Temple.
Look, 1) Jesus was a Rabbi; knew Jewish law inside and out. 2) Jewish law states you don’t exchange money in the Temple. Period. To this day. (In other words, there’s no begging for money from pulpit or passing the offering plate if you go to service. You can imagine if Jesus saw trade going on why he would lose it.)
It’s weird authors didn’t know that and presumed it was just because of noise.
Love the gathering of lexicon phrases with accompanying scripture references. It’s great for that alone! And while you can see it is written by scholarly men, please question the entries. Do more research and cross reference.
Other than that....awesome. 👍
Author commentary sometimes surprises or offends. Like, for the entry “mouths that speak not”, p 168, author writes entry then finishes with “Clear enough?” As if reader needs to feel even more challenged if they don’t easily comprehend?
Then, there is clearly the lack of context and religious training for full understanding. For example, entry for “moneychangers”, p 166, had a bit of context written into explanation (moneychangers are essential to traveling within countries with different currencies), however, concludes that “Presumably, he [Jesus] would not have objected if exchange of currency had been carried on less noisily outside the Temple gates.” This is in reference to Jesus losing his shiz table-flipping and throwing moneychangers out of the Temple.
Look, 1) Jesus was a Rabbi; knew Jewish law inside and out. 2) Jewish law states you don’t exchange money in the Temple. Period. To this day. (In other words, there’s no begging for money from pulpit or passing the offering plate if you go to service. You can imagine if Jesus saw trade going on why he would lose it.)
It’s weird authors didn’t know that and presumed it was just because of noise.
Love the gathering of lexicon phrases with accompanying scripture references. It’s great for that alone! And while you can see it is written by scholarly men, please question the entries. Do more research and cross reference.
Other than that....awesome. 👍
Displaying 1 of 1 review