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Heather Micaela
06-29-2005, 02:16 PM
Well, it's not that I didn't trust all the advice and links I got on here. I loved all of it :heart. And I got totaly on board with gd. But then the doubts started creeping in - what if these sources are biased? What if we are reading into a verse like the cults do?

So I went to the most unbiased sources I could think of - the wall of refernce books my DH has (he was an asistant pastor) that were orignaly published a long time ago. Not all of them made a reference to the "rod" at all but here is what I read in those that did:

... added to show where work was abridged to comply w/ coptwright laws

The New Ungers Bible Dictionary (original work coptwright 1957, Moody Bible Institue of Chicago)
ROD. The rendering of several Heb. Words and one Gk. term
1. A stick for punishment (Heb. shebet, )...........
Figurative. (Prov 13:24) and (29:15) are proverbs in which rod is used as a figure forpunishment "I shall make you pass under the rod" (Esek 20:37) ...custom ..shephards ... let the sheep pass under their rod for the purpose of counting them and seeing whether they are in good conditin or not. The figure is here applied to God, who will cause His flock... to pass under the rod ...be taken into His special care. Rod is used as a symbol (UNDERLINE MINE)of power and authority

Vines Complete Expository Dictionary of Old an New Testament Words (copywright 1980, Thomas Nelson Inc.)
ROD
A. Noun
(d) a "rod" for chastisement (figuaritvely), 1 Cor 4:21

The New Strongs Exhuastive Concordance of the Bible, James Stong LL.D., S,T.D. (origanal concordance published in 1890. Imnproved for readability Copywright 1990 Thomas neslon Publishers)
7627 shebet from an unused root prob. mean to branch off: a scion i.e. (lit) a stick (for punsihing, writing, fighting, ruling, walking, etc.) or (fig) a clan - X correction (underline mine) emphasis, dart, rod, scepter, staff, tribe

In the above one it seems like the word is used both lieraly and figuratively - could use clarification there :shrug

Thordike Barnhart Advanced Dictionary (Copywright 1974, Scott,Forseman) This is a regualr dictionary - not a Bible one so they are going by most common usage, not biblical
rod (rod)4 stick 5 punishment 6 spare the rod, fail to punish


I think in all of these they are using punishment and discipline synonomously. And even if you still accepted the word punishment, at the very least this would show that spanking isn't mandated or implied in he bible. Besides, we dont build a doctrine on the definition of one word, but from scripture as a whole. Just found this all interesting

Katherine
06-29-2005, 06:04 PM
(( Heather ))

I had some of the same questionings after I'd started following GBD.. Maybe all these people were biased and reading what they wanted to read... after all--there are lots of well-respected Christians who "see" other things in the Bible that I don't agree with.??

I spent a few late nights digging through MY concordances and looking at my very OWN Bible... trying to see if I was really in pursuit of truth, or just looking for an escape route from something I didn't want to do.

It's really affirming when you seek truth with an honest an open heart, and God teaches YOU directly through His Word, isn't it? :) :heart

MarynMunchkins
06-29-2005, 07:59 PM
www.blueletterbible.org (http://www.blueletterbible.org) is a great resource to do some of your own research. :tu

ArmsOfLove
06-29-2005, 08:30 PM
The problem with looking up the English Word that way is that you aren't seeing the Hebrew or Greek word being translated as Rod. There is only one Greek word transled to our English "rod" but there are THREE Hebrew words and they all mean different things in the Hebrew ;) One of them, "choter", does mean "small stick", but "Shebet" is the one used in the Proverbs verses. :amen