Word: psalms
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When Israel was working on a secret nuclear program in the 1960s, satirist Tom Lehrer captured the rationale succinctly: "'The Lord's our shepherd,' says the psalm, but just in case, we better get a bomb." Israel was following the U.S., Britain, the Soviet Union, France and China. India joined the club too, followed eventually by Pakistan. And today North Korea, Iran, Iraq and Libya are knocking at the door...
...fooled by the book's title, though, for Kugel's book is not a close reading of biblical poetry. Indeed, the psalms, songs, proverbs and prophecies that serve as the "subjects" for each chapter are little more than jumping-off points for explorations of more general Biblical ideas. An excerpt from the book of Amos, for example, gives Kugel the opportunity to discuss the nature of the Biblical prophet, while the quotation itself receives only minor attention. And, while famous Psalm 137--"By the rivers of Babylon we sat down and wept"--allows Kugel to comment on exile as well...
Kids at V.B.S. had "the ultimate experience with Jesus," during which they learned portions of the Psalms and made fabulous and bizarre craft creations. (The "shepherd on a stick" was my favorite.) I am happy to report that I observed incidents not only of Bible-verse spouting but also of sharing and Golden-Ruling galore. Christine Kirkpatrick, 8, told me she understood Psalm 139: 9-10, "If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there your hand will lead me, and your right hand will hold me fast." She explained...
...Scripture, which was published in 1611; the translators remain anonymous to history. What is known is that it was translated at Hampton Court in 1610, a year when Shakespeare appears to have been in retirement. Shakespeare was 46 years of age that year, and if you go to Psalm 46 and count in 46 words, you will come to the word shake. Go to the end of the psalm and count back 46 words, and the next word is spear. Perhaps it is a clever Shakespearean cryptogram. JOHN J. BEECING Bangkok
Hold on. The number on her jersey is not some power grab at now vacant Airness but an allusion to the most important person in Holdsclaw's life. It refers to the 23rd Psalm, the one that begins "The Lord is my shepherd," taught to her by her grandmother June, who's been closer than a mother since Holdsclaw was 11 and her parents divorced. "I told her when she was little, anything you want, ask Him," says June. The Psalm provides this provocative promise: "Thou anointest my head with oil." So there's more than crossing Jordan involved here...