Author Archives: Mark

Synantilambanomai or Helps

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Synantilambanomai is a related post of Wonderful Counselor and with the help of Mounce, Strong, and Biblehub.com we will look at the two times it is used in the New Testament. You will find synantilambanomai in Romans 8:26 (8:27 will be added) and Luke 10:40. To help, aid, or support someone are the terms that will assist us with the verses.

This word and the verses in Romans are great examples of low-use, single-use, or added prefixes and suffixes highlighting an important thought. The online Strong’s Concordance and Mounce Dictionary may list the verses where they are found, and that allows for easy comparisons.  

I will provide a connection between our two verses as a loose example of synantilambanomai. In Romans, the Spirit is the One who helps us, by praying through us when we can’t do it ourselves. In Luke, Martha is “praying to Jesus” asking for Mary to come to her aid, so she does not have to do all the work by herself.

Our keyword has two prefixes and a suffix. This is my simple explanation for Romans. We come together with the Spirit against the problem to take or get an answer/help.  

References:

Romans 8: 26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. (KJV) Thank you Bible Gateway.

Yes, there is a translation difference because of variations in word meanings. (These are not in order.) When I used a parallel function, I found it interesting how the different translations chose to interpret and footnote this verse. All of them did proclaim a divine act of the Spirit. Some left a little “wiggle room” for what it may look like in the believer’s life and practice.

Intercedes

In the above verses, interceding is the main thought. In verse 26 we see the role of the Holy Spirit being our Counselor and praying through us. In verse 27 we see Jesus doing His intercession before the Father on our behalf. Of the five times the second word is used three of them refer to Jesus, two are in Romans and one in Hebrews. The other two uses are examples (I think) of how that intercession may have sounded (the intensity) or have been done. The word in verse 27 is entynchano.

In verse 26, the one that is associated with the Holy Spirit, the word is hyperentynchano; it is only used once. The prefix hyper should speak volumes to you. Combine this word and the thought of the Spirit’s help and we can understand how special that ministry is for us.

On a personal note, when I have experienced the type of intercession as described in Romans 8:26 it is profound and intense. It is more than (hyper) speaking in tongues. Since it is the Holy Spirit praying through me, I have no understanding of what I am saying and cannot control it, other than to stop. Can this be different in other people? Yes. I will not put the Holy Spirit in a box, He will work with us where we are, but He is still God. While musing on this act of the Holy Spirit, I believe that when the problem is too big for my mind or faith level, He has taken over and prayed as needed. This ministry of the Holy Spirit is more than a promise, it is why He is our paraclete and synantilambanomai.  

Praise of His Glory

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While reading a morning devotion I noticed the phrase “Praise of His Glory” in Ephesians 1. I had spent several months looking at the words in Ephesians 1. This post is to remind me that studying is great but take some time and let the Word fill you up.

Search engines can reveal things that you may not see even with a concordance or extensive study. Praise of His Glory is like that, the phrase is not used as much as I thought in the New Testament. I found these three verses in Ephesians 1.

  • 1:6 His grace that accepted us into His Son is the object of the praise.
  • 1:12 Because we trust in Christ, we should be the praise of His glory.
  • 1:14 The Holy Spirit is our guarantee of what Jesus redeemed and we should praise His glory.

Hyperballo

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Hyperballo is not an adjective for a sporting contest where you beat your opponent. According to Mounce and Strong, it is used five times in the New Testament. NASB translates it as “surpassing” in 2 Corinthians 3:10, which is where it caught my attention, again. (See Ephesians 1:19)

Surpass is a nice word, but I cannot say I use it very much in my day-to-day communication. After paraphrasing the verses below and taking a Muse Moment it may be that my writing and focus could use some adjusting.  

2 Corinthians 3:10 The glory of the New Covenant surpasses the glory of the Old.

2 Corinthians 9:14 The amount of grace from God on the people in the Church.

Ephesians 1:19 The above and beyond power of God that is available to us.

Ephesians 2:7 Because of Christ Jesus (God-Man) the Father will have a testimony of the rich grace He gave us.

Ephesians 3:19 The love of Christ is far greater than knowledge and we should be filled up with it.

ὑπερβάλλω | Free Online Greek Dictionary | billmounce.com

Strong’s Greek: 5235. ὑπερβάλλω (huperballó) — to throw over or beyond, to run beyond (biblehub.com)

Hyper G5228 above, beyond

Ballo G906 to throw past

There are many “hypers” in the New Testament, just look on either side of hyperballo in the concordance. Okay, I think it is beyond the intended use of the word, but hyperballo could be a slang term for winning a game.

The Lamp of the Body

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The Lamp of the Body is a phrase found in Matthew 6:22-23 and Luke 11:33-36. This thought has lit several studies, I will list some of them below. I prefer to think of this entry as another layer in the study of these verses and eyes. I will follow Matthew’s Gospel as the primary source for this intriguing thought about the Kingdom.

Jesus used the two thoughts that make up Luke’s version in the Sermon on the Mount – Matthew 5:15 and 6:22-23. There are many great verses in the Old Testament about light and lamps, today I like Proverbs 4:18; my path is like following the sun. Verse 19 is about those is darkness and stumbling. c is a possible source of Jesus’ teaching on the Mount; sin is the lamp of the wicked because of haughty eyes and a proud heart (I used the NASB). Do a Bible search with “light and hid”, it looked good. Mark 4:21-25 repeats the light and hiding part, but ends with hearing and what kind of measure you use.

Tree of Knowledge

I will use this idea again, and not be sorry about it. In our verses, we have eyes, lamps, and light associated with good/healthy and evil, negative, and unsound. What we see can depend on how we are looking at something and in what type of light. Things and people may/can/do have a good and bad side to them.

  • Grapes – a great food source and wine can gladden the heart or you can get drunk. People who chose to be a Nazarite for a season could not partake of either of grape‘s attributes.
  • Yeast – Jesus used it as a symbol of how the Kingdom would grow. It is forbidden during Passover and the Feast of Unleaved Bread, in part, because it was associated with an Egyptian deity and beer-making (a wage earned as slaves). Many love to proclaim yeast is always a symbol of sin.
  • The Bronze Serpent – Jesus compares Himself to this implement of healing during Moses’ time. One of Pharoah’s symbols was the cobra.
  • King Saul – He was changed when he believed and followed the signs from Samuel. He turned to the dark side when he sought his own glory and a tidy profit because he feared his men, by saving forbidden items. He worked hard trying to kill David because of a song.
  • Peter – You have to love him and his steady growth throughout his time with Jesus. Matthew 16: 17 Jesus to Simon you are blessed. 16:22 Jesus to Simon, “Get behind Me, Satan”. Peter had his highs and his lows.
  • The Number Thirteen – In the Bible, I found many positive things associated with thirteen. There are Christians who make it a symbol of bad, it really depends on how you want to look at something. I won’t even discuss the world’s view of the number.

If I may, think of Hebrews 11, the “Hall of Faith”, as I have heard it labeled. The writer of Hebrews sees these men and women as examples of faith, and they are. It is very easy when you read through their stories in Genesis, Exodus, Joshua, Judges, and Samuel to pick out their failures and faults. Light or darkness; it may be time to study grace. The Father loves righteousness and He is the one who defines it.

The Greek

I enjoy looking at the Greek and Hebrew words and thoughts, the Lord has used to this clear up and shed new light on many things. (God bless translators.) For the most part, Luke shares Matthew’s quote from the Sermon, many of the Greek words are the same. Some of these Greek words have more than one meaning. I found that when I compared the texts from the same Bible, they may read differently even though they are the same in the Greek text. You can use the links, do text analysis, and/or look up words in a concordance, whatever makes you happy and you are comfortable with.

Evil πονηρός | Free Online Greek Dictionary | billmounce.com

Filled with darkness σκοτεινός | Free Online Greek Dictionary | billmounce.com 

Matthew uses two different words for darkness (yes they are related). The last two “darkness” words are skotos. σκότος | Free Online Greek Dictionary | billmounce.com

Good ἁπλοῦς | Free Online Greek Dictionary | billmounce.com

Filled with light φωτεινός | Free Online Greek Dictionary | billmounce.com

It is good to see what other verses use the same root words to convey the message. Mounce lists the verses on those pages. I found some of these words are used only in our two primary texts.

My New Layer

I have played with the thought of beams of light coming from our lamps/eyes out into the world, like lasers in some comic book characters. Now I would like to say our lamps are shining inward and spotting the things in us that need correcting and more attention on our part. Light shining on an object is what allows us to see the object. If an idea is unhealthy/evil that is what and how we will see it. You need to look up these words!

The Tree of Life in Revelations is for healing the nations. We are the product of eating the Tree of Knowledge. Yes, we need knowledge and wisdom, but those without healing from mercy and grace can still produce an unhealthy person.

Luke

What an amazing person. A Gentile doctor who traveled the Mediterranean with Paul as he spread the Gospel. Yes, there are legends and folklore surrounding this man, but we really do not have many facts. In this same breath, I want to thank God for Theophilus. He shared (apparently) the two works with others that Luke wrote for him.

I think this teaching in Luke 11 is a great example of Luke’s collecting and recording the stories he heard from eyewitnesses. (That is a huge thought in itself.) He combines several thoughts to get verses 33 + 34 and then adds some very insightful words for 35 + 36. Had Luke borrowed 35 + 36 from Paul, Peter, or John? Perhaps he got it from Mary (either one). Given his profession and level of training, it may be his insight from the years of travels, trials, and teachings he experienced that produced 35+36.

I view the Gospel of Luke as his reteaching and reinforcing the Good News he shared with Theophilus. I like his version because he joined stories together in units to boost our thinking about the topics. He adds details and information that may not be in the other Gospels but maintains an “orderly account” in this piece for the Master. (Thank you, Holy Spirit, for getting his work into our Bible.)

These are other posts I have done that might help you.

My hope for this post is that you will find the common thoughts in Luke 11:33-36 and Matthew 6:22-23 to grow in your travels with Jesus.

Hevel or Abel

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My post on Hevel or Abel is a 2fer. I will talk about Abel and the food God gave man from Genesis 2 through 9.

Abel

The second son of Adam does not get a lot of printed words in the Bible; Genesis 4 and he is mentioned four times in the New Testament. Now Abel is mentioned many times and is associated with town names, it seems to refer to stream, so be careful in your studies.

Hevel is another form of Abel or pronounced the same as Abel. It means vanity and is used by Solomon and others. The vanity idea comes from a breath that is quickly passing. Please use the links below as they do a great job of exploring this word.  

These words surprised me by ending in “el” and not being associated with God. The root words for these words are not the same Hebrew word. I find it interesting that the second son of Adam is associated with breath and a stream of water. This sounds like part of the Trinity to me, not by name but by association.

Hevel: VANITY of Vanities! Is life a Vapour of Nothingness? – Hebrew Word Lessons

Strong’s Hebrew: 1892. הָ֫בֶל (hebel) — vapor, breath (biblehub.com)

Abel | The amazing name Abel: meaning and etymology (abarim-publications.com)

The references in the New Testament deal with blood, either his own or through his sacrifice in Genesis 4. Luke 11:51 and Matthew 23:35 are a statement that Jesus made on the Temple Mount the Tuesday before His crucifixion. He was fussing at the Temple leaders, it is part of the “seven woes”. In this section (V29-39), Jesus points out all of the innocent lives that were lost because religious men were not following God.

Hebrews 11:4 – This starts a section of “better” in my post Better in Hebrews. Abel is recognized for his faith because of his sacrifice in Genesis 4. This is also the verse that made me think about food in Genesis 2 – 9. Better in this verse is polys in Greek, it makes you wonder how much or how many times Abel had made offerings.

Hebrews 12:24 – This is the end of the section that started in 11:4, this “better” is kreitton. It could be read that Jesus’ sprinkled blood is more excellent than Abel. Some translators include or say “of the blood” of Abel, but that is not what the Greek says. Hebrews 12:24 Greek Text Analysis (biblehub.com) I am glad the Holy Spirit who has mastery of all languages helped Hebrew/Aramaic educated men who were writing in Greek.

Food

While working on my Genesis 911 post it was clear that food and animals were part of the plan for the ark. This led to questions that did not have a simple clear-cut answer. I love to find answers in God’s Word and see things in a better level of understanding. Oh, I am good with not always finding an answer, after all this is a STUDY, not an answer. I did look through many websites, Jewish and Christian, but was not confident they were answers to my question. Look up Cain and Abel, but be prepared; even from ancient times, man’s imagination has been very fertile on this subject. Opinions vary on topics like the sacrifice and why it was rejected, the twins’ relationship with their mother, and many other things that were opinions with little or no proof. Some writers superimposed things from after the Law was given back onto Genesis 4. Even the text in Chapter 7 mentions ideas from the Law long before it was delivered to Moses on that mountain. Now for my question.

Why was Abel keeping flocks when they had not been given to man as food? Yes, I came up with many hypotheses, but most required Exodus to Deuteronomy to be a plausible answer. Yes, clothing first came to mind, but then there is the sacrifice. So, please follow the verses from Genesis as I go through what man got to eat and when.

Genesis

2:15 Adam and Eve could eat from the trees.

3:18 Part of the curse was eating the plants of the field.

4:3 Cain brought fruits of the soil, Abel brought fat of the firstborn. This may imply knowledge of what was good inside that lamb.

6:21 To prepare for the flood every kind of food to be eaten was taken into the Ark.

7:2 Seven pairs of every clean animal and two pairs of the unclean animals were to go into the Ark. This predates the requirements of the Law. Please remember that some of the sacrifices and offerings in the Law were eaten in the presence of the Lord after a portion was burnt on the altar.

8:20 After the flood Noah offered animals and birds as sacrifices and the aroma was pleasing to God. Here is the first mention of animals being food for man.

9:3 God adds everything that lives and moves to be food just like the green plants. This verse begins and ends with everything (H 3605). It was repeated for a reason, to confirm the decision.

9:20 God has made a covenant with Noah. The next thing we read is him planting a vineyard, making wine, and getting drunk. I doubt this was an accidental discovery. You could have gotten vinegar just as easily (sour wine). So, there was a process that he must have known about before going into the Ark.

Contrast the big picture of Noah and the Flood to the text of Jeremiah 31 and the new covenant God would make especially verse 29.

Okay, it appears that Abel and later Noah had the idea of an altar and offerings made by fire. I know that Abel and his offering were pleasing to the Father. Jesus refers to him as righteous and the blood of his sacrifice and possibly his blood were part of that consideration.

To complete the study, view some about Cain.  

Strong’s Hebrew: 7014. קָ֫יִן (Qayin) — Cain (biblehub.com)

Cain | The amazing name Cain: meaning and etymology (abarim-publications.com)

What I can rest in is that Adam, Cain, and Abel/Hevel were told things that were not included in our Genesis narrative; I am good with that.