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Hey, Bible nerds. This is Dr. Manny Arango and I'm your host for the Bible department podcast powered by Arma. This podcast follows a Bible reading plan we created to help you read the entire Bible in a year. You can head to the show notes or thebibledepartment.com to download our reading plan and join the Journey.
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Family.
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Welcome to day 286. We're looking at two Psalms today, Psalm 102 and Psalm 103. If you've done the reading, then everything I'm going to say on this episode today is going to make sense. If you have not done the reading, how about you stop the video, pause the audio, go do the reading. We only got two psalms today. Normally we got three, but today we got two. Get the reading done and then come on back and everything that I'm going to say is going to make hopefully perfect sense. All right, let's dive in to our context clues for the day.
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Then we'll get our nerdy nuggets and then we'll leave off the episode with a timeless truth.
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And I'm really excited about our timeless.
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Truth for the day.
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And I've applied this timeless truth to my life. Hopefully you'll be able to apply it to your life. Let's. Let's dive in. All right, we've got Context for Psalm 102, but not the kind of context that we normally get. All right, Psalm 102, the heading that we have right at the top of Psalm 102 should honestly make your ears.
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Perk a little bit.
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Like they should make your ears perk up. Typically, when it comes to context, we'll get a setting or like something that's happening or like some narrative or a story. But we'll also get like, who, what, when, where. You know, this is a lot of what, but no who or when or where. None of those details. But I'll just read it to you. It says this. A prayer of an afflicted person who has grown weak and pours out a lament before the Lord. A prayer of an afflicted person. What afflicted person? We don't know who afflicted the person. We don't know. Where is this afflicted person? We don't know, but we know that they've grown weak and they're pouring out a lament before the Lord. So it's a psalm of lament. We know that we know somebody's afflicted and we know nothing else. So it's funny because we know A solid amount of details, but not the kinds of details that we are used to knowing. So this is. This is. This should make. This should. Already your spidey senses should be tingling. Let me give you a hint. There is an afflicted person who grew weak and poured out a lament before the Lord. And that afflicted one took on the weight of your sin and mine. And there's a lot of clues that this psalm right here is actually about Jesus. And so. All right, let's kind of keep going. All right, that's Psalm 102. Okay, we've got context, but the context is a little odd. Context is. Is a bit strange to say the least. All right, Psalm 103, okay? Once we get to Psalm 103, we're not gonna have any context. It just says of David. Okay? So this is just a psalm of David. All right, so that's the context that we got. Now let's go back to Psalm 102.
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And let's look at some nerdy nuggets.
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All right, we're going to have to dive into language. I'm going to have to give you some. A little nerdy deep dive for.
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For language. Okay?
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We're going to dive into language, and we're going to have to dive specifically into the difference between the original Hebrew text and the Greek Septuagint. Now, many of you may know this, many of you may not know this. I'm going to start. I got to explain this. So bear with me if you already know this, okay? Our Hebrew Bibles, okay, which AKA is the Old Testament. Our Hebrew Bibles are, of course, originally written in Hebrew. Now, somewhere in the intertestamental period that would be once the Hebrew Bible is closed and before Matthew starts in those 400 years, a lot of history happens.
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Okay?
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Let's just think about what the world was like 400 years ago. Right? We're currently living in 2025. 1625 was a different world. All right? So think about how much different 1625 is than 2025. And just think, okay, when the end of the Hebrew Scriptures are, when those historical moments are done, you got 400 years go by before you get John the Baptist being born and Jesus being born and the events that kind of start the New Testament. So the New Testament is a different world, literally a different world, in the same way that 2025 is a different world from 1625. Right? We would all agree, hey, these are. Going back in the past is going to a different world with different norms, different. With different you know, culture with different everything.
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All right?
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One of the things that happens in that 400 year span between the ending of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament is Alexander the Great conquers the world. No exaggeration, my man. Alexander the Great goes on a tear and leaves from a tiny little province called Macedonia and conquers the known world and spreads the Greek language with him.
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Not only does he spread the Greek language, he spreads Greek culture.
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And this is going to impact like everyone on the globe at this time, just in history. Okay, Dr. Manny, why does that matter? Like, why does that matter for like.
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What we're reading today?
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Well, it matters because in that intertestamental period, Jewish leaders, rabbis are starting to think, well, our kids are speaking Greek. Like Greek is becoming the longer franca of the day. It's kind of becoming the common tongue, becoming a common language. Greek ideas, Greek philosophy, Greek culture and the Greek language are spreading all over the world. And we should, should translate our scriptures which had never been translated up until that point. Okay? The Hebrew Bible had been in Hebrew and for the first time they get together to create a Greek translation of the Bible. So you have to think about this. Greek as a language and as a cultural force is so popular that the Jewish people, known for like tradition and like not changing, decide we got to create a Greek translation to our Bible or else our kids are not going to know how to follow like the statutes laid out in the Old Testament. So the Greek Septuagint is born. Now here's why this is important. Because a lot of people I think are aware that the Old Testament is in Hebrew and that the New Testament is in Greek. But what they don't know is that in the New Testament, when the New Testament quotes the Old Testament, it does not quote a original Hebrew manuscripts. So those quotations are not in Hebrew, but it quotes the Septuagint. So it quotes the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible. Okay? So the Greek New Testament and the authors, so Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, the author of Hebrews, okay, when they are writing New Testament texts and they have to quote the Old Testament, they are quoting the Septuagint. And there are times where the Septuagint, which is the Greek translation of the Old Testament and the actual Hebrew manuscripts of the Old Testament don't agree. Okay? And so we have to then ask, when the translators of the original Hebrew text translated things into the Septuagint, were they attempting to fix things that they saw in the Hebrew Bible as maybe problematic or did they just make Mistakes. Okay, so when there are discrepancies between the original Hebrew manuscripts and the Greek translation of those Hebrew manuscripts, we have to ask a question. Is this intentional or unintentional? If it's unintentional, then that means that the translators made some errors. If it's intentional, then that means that the texts were adapted for a theological purpose. And if it's intentional, that's not evil. It's not bad, it's not wrong. But we have to know the intention of the author. All right, the psalm that we're dealing with today, Good old Psalm 102, is definitely quoted in the New Testament. And when it gets quoted in the New Testament, it quotes the Septuagint and the Septuagint and the Hebrew original. Not the same. However, in a Western world, whenever there is a discrepancy, we deconstruct and we.
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Doubt and we stop believing the validity of the thing where there's a discrepancy.
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However, in an Eastern world where there's a discrepancy, you get curious, you start asking questions, and you assume that the person who created the discrepancy created a.
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Discrepancy to get your attention.
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And they created the discrepancy so that they could lead you down a rabbit hole. And they created the discrepancy intentionally to offer some breadcrumbs.
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And if you follow the breadcrumbs, you'll. You'll get led down the path that they wanted you to get led down, and you'll come to some conclusion. Conclusions. All right, so, Hebrews, I'm trying to.
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Explain, like, the most nerdy stuff possible.
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In, like, an exciting and engaging way.
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I hope I'm doing a good job. Hebrews, chapter 1, verse 10 through 12.
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Is going to quote verses 23 and 25 of Psalm 102. Only issue.
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And it's not an issue. I sound so Western by saying it's an issue.
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Ah, not an issue. The wrinkle in the text, the thing.
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That makes it interesting, is that in.
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The original Hebrew, okay, the psalmist is talking to Yahweh through the whole Psalm. So let's read verses 25 through verses 23. Really? To 26. He has broken my strength in mid course. He has shortened my days. Oh, my God, I say, take me not away in the midst of my days. You whose years endure throughout all generations of old, you laid the foundations of the earth. Okay? This, however, is what it says in the Septuagint, the Greek Old Testament text. He answered him in the way of his Strength, declare to me the fewness of my days. Do not bring me up in the middle of my days. Your years are for generations on end. In the beginning, you, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth. The differences are down to translation of words with no vowels. Okay? The reason that there's a discrepancy is because whenever words have no vowels, you could interpret to mean different words depending on what vowel sounds are added.
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Okay, so let's think about it. Spit and spot. Two different words, spit and spot. What makes spit and spot different? What makes it different is an I versus an O. I and O are vowels. Now, Hebrew has no vowels. It only has consonants. So it is the context of the sentence that tells you whether or not.
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It should be spit or spot.
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So anytime there's a discrepancy between the Greek Septuagint and the Hebrew, the translators are making decisions.
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Is it spit or is it spot, or is it spat, or is it sput? Spat, Spit, A, E, Is it spit?
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You know, and let me stop, okay? Because of that, the Septuagint version interprets.
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These words found in verses 24 to 28 as words spoken by God to the Psalmist, rather than the psalmist saying these words to God, as is found in the Hebrew.
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So in the Hebrew text, the psalmist.
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Is talking to God.
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However, in the Septuagint, which in your sub, these little footnotes down here at the bottom of your Bible, anytime there's a discrepancy, it'll say lxx, because that's.
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The code for Septuagint.
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All right?
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Why does Hebrews, the Book of Hebrews.
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In the New Testament? Why is the author of the Book.
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Of Hebrews really excited that the Greek translation of the Hebrew has reversed?
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Who's talking to who?
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Let me read you what I have in my notes. Why is this important?
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Why do we need to dive into.
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All these nerdy details about the Hebrew versus the Greek and the Septuagint and blah blah, blah. It is presented as God's word and the author uses it as God speaking to his Son. And is one of the quotes he used to show Jesus deity in how God speaks of His Son in a way he has never spoken to any angel. If it is God speaking, then Lord is not God, not Yahweh, but Adonai. And is another example of what Jesus confused Pharisees with when he quotes David calling the Messiah Lord. Adonai, the author of Hebrews clearly then sees this Lord to be Jesus. And as it is God speaking, it is God speaking to Jesus.
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So the way the Book of Hebrews is going to interpret this discrepancy between.
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The Septuagint and the Hebrew is that the Septuagint authors were led by the Holy Spirit to reveal that it was never the psalmist talking to God, but it was God talking to the psalmist. Because this afflicted one who has grown weak and pours out of lament before the Lord is none other than.
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Drum roll, Please, Jesus. Now, most Western people would not come to this conclusion. Now, here's where I actually want to.
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Stop and give you something that's helped me a lot when it comes to biblical interpretation.
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And I'm going to do a whole video on this channel just about what.
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I'm telling you about.
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There are four layers of Hebrew or rabbinic interpretation. And a lot of times for Western.
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American Christians, we get lost in one.
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But for Hebrews, there are four.
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There's the peshat, which is the literal, simple, plain meaning of the text. This focuses on historical and grammatical sense or the meaning of words. This layer lends itself to teaching more than preaching. Okay, Number two, there's a Ramez. Ramez is the allegorical interpretation of the text. Okay. Hints, illusions, wrinkles, Creative and even unorthodox takes on scripture. This layer allows for creative license and storytelling. Narrative approach to Scripture. Okay, Then there's the drosh. Okay, this is a homiletical interpretation. This is midrashic. It derives moral lessons in practical wisdom. This is the most pastoral layer. It focuses on the application of truth and not just the accumulation of truth. And then there's the soda. Soda. Okay, this is the mysterious layer, the revelatory layer. The secret or the hidden or the spiritual meaning of the text. Two anchor verses for sod is Psalm 118, verse 18, which says, Open my eyes that I may see, that I may behold wonderful things in your law. That's revelation. God, open my eyes. God, do an unveiling. I want to see secrets. I want to unlock secrets. Okay, and then Matthew 16:17, where Jesus says to Peter, flesh and blood didn't reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven revealed this to you. A lot of times we try to lock biblical interpretation into one of these four. But for a good Jewish person, the reason they could see a discrepancy between the Hebrew and the Greek and not come to all kinds of deconstructive ideologies about this is because they are always looking at any individual text in four ways. They're saying, well, what's the pashat? What's The Ramez, what's the drosh and what's the sod? What is the literal, simple meaning? What is the grammatical meaning? What is the allegorical meaning? What is the homiletical meaning? And then what is the mysterious, secret, hidden, revelatory meaning? And for a lot of Christians, we are only ever looking at the Bible with one, maybe two.
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We don't see the Bible as yet.
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There's four different ways to see any text.
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So then one person who's seeing it.
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With a drosh and one person who's seeing it with a sod is arguing.
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And debating with each other in the.
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Comment section of Facebook. Whereas the reason I personally don't get into any arguments or fights with people.
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Especially not online, is because I just go, oh, got it. You see the peshat, I see the Ramez done. And what the author of Hebrews is.
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Saying, is he saying, ah, I'm choosing to look at this with a Ramez perspective or with a sowed perspective. I'm choosing to not just take the literal, simple, plain meaning of what this Psalm means, but I am going to add some creative license and I'm gonna get a revelatory meaning from the text. And I think that this is here not because the author who translated it from the Hebrew to Greek made a mistake, but because they saw something that they didn't even know how to explain. They saw that the God of the universe was actually talking to his Son, and they had no language for that. But we have language for that because Jesus has risen from the grave. And so now we're gonna take an interpretive approach to interpret the Psalm in a way that is different.
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And this is what all the New.
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Testament authors are doing, by the way.
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They are taking the Old Testament text and they are doing something that would.
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Make most Western people very, very uncomfortable. They are seeing that texts are alive and active, something that the author of Hebrews also says that the Scriptures are alive, that they are active, that we.
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Are not trying to dissect a dead.
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Rabbit, that we are actually trying to examine a living, breathing rabbit. It's moving around. It's doing its thing. Okay, so that means that the afflicted one here is Jesus. Okay, let's keep going, family.
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The wait is over. My brand new book, Crushing Chaos, is out now and available everywhere. Books are sold. Literally. Today I walked into a Barnes and Noble and I signed a bunch of copies at a physical location. So you can grab this book at a physical Barnes and Noble or you can go to a books a million or at least Amazon or anywhere books are sold and grab a copy. If you enjoy reading the Bible from an ancient perspective, if you understand that the beauty of scripture is actually knowing it in context, then you'll love this book. And if there's any chaos in your personal life, I think that reading the Bible from an ancient perspective can actually help to crush the chaos in your life. I think this book is going to to be a New York Times bestseller. I really do. I think we wrote a good one. I think you should get a copy today. All right, back to the episode.
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The difference in translation of the Greek text transformed this psalm for the early church from a normal psalm into a Messianic one. Now, the unjust suffering of the individual is the suffering of Christ. The corporate part of the psalm is then transformed into his victory in Zion on the cross, which leads all nations to worship God. And I know I'm already over time, so let me give you some nerdy nuggets from Psalm 103 and then give you a Thomas truth. Psalm 103 is a hymn of praise to Yahweh as Savior and Father of Israel. This again paints a picture of Yahweh is holy, righteous, merciful, full of steadfast love, the great King. It's a beautiful Psalm. Psalm 103 is a beautiful psalm. I mean, this is a treasure, a gold mine for worship songs. But the thing I want to focus on is how the psalmist opens up in verse 1. Bless Yahweh or Praise Yahweh. Okay, Praise the Lord, O my soul and all that is within me. Bless his holy name or Bless Yahweh, O my soul and all that is within me. Bless his holy name. I'll read it for the sake of time. I read what I have. Perhaps the best timeless truth to be found here is simply the refrain of Psalm 103. Bless Yahweh, O my soul. David commands himself to bless Yahweh. It is not a matter of feeling or experience. It is not a matter of feeling or of experience or of being in the right place with the right mood. It is a matter of worship. Worship is obedience. Worship is loyalty. Worship doesn't care about our feelings. Worship doesn't care if the mood is right. Worship doesn't care if we experience the spirit or not. Worship doesn't care about style, lighting, LED screens, et cetera. Worship sometimes just comes down to us commanding ourselves to bless Yahweh.
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My youth pastor used to say it this way, and I said it to my kids when I was a youth pastor.
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We don't praise him cause we feel him. We feel him because we praise him. That worship is an act of the will. And David here in Psalm 103 commands his soul to bless the Lord.
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And sometimes we've got to command our.
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Soul to bless the Lord. When we're tired, when we're burnt out, when we're fatigued, when we're depressed, when we're anxious, we command our souls to praise the Lord. Because worship is not the goosebumps I get. Worship is not how emotional I got or whether or not the lighting was right or the mood was right or the LED screen had the perfect graphics. No, no, no. Worship is a decision of my will.
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And that's not just true for David.
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That's true for me. That's true for you. I hope today's episode was helpful.
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Tomorrow we got day 287. We're gonna be diving into Psalms 104 to 106. It's gonna be fantastic. I'm excited about it. I'm gonna be right here. Same time, same place.
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If you're on a streak, I'm proud of you.
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Even if you're not on the street, I love you. I do want you to be on the street, though. I'm not gonna lie. Come on, let's be disciplined. How about you command your soul to.
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Worship the Lord by reading his Word?
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I'll see you right here tomorrow. Love you guys. Peace. Thanks so much for joining us on the Bible Department podcast. You can find us online and learn more about the show at thebibledepartment.com and on Instagram hebible department. If you enjoyed this episode and want to dive deeper into the Bible, you can get free access to our library of courses@thebibledepartment.com we'll see you back here tomorrow.
Host: Dr. Manny Arango
Date: October 13, 2025
In this episode, Dr. Manny Arango takes listeners through Psalms 102 and 103 as part of The Bible Dept.’s 365-day Bible reading plan. The primary focus is unpacking the unique context and textual nuances of Psalm 102 and drawing practical, timeless truth from Psalm 103. Dr. Manny delves deep into Hebrew and Greek manuscripts, highlighting how translation and interpretation determine the meaning and application of these Psalms, capped off with a passionate encouragement about worship as an act of will.
Unusual Heading:
Psalm 102 is introduced as “A prayer of an afflicted person who has grown weak and pours out a lament before the Lord.” Unlike other Psalms, details like the author or a specific narrative context are missing.
“We know somebody's afflicted and we know nothing else. So it's funny because we know a solid amount of details, but not the kinds of details that we are used to knowing.”
— Dr. Manny Arango (01:33)
Messianic Hint:
Dr. Manny suggests this Psalm may point to Jesus, the ultimate afflicted one.
“There is an afflicted person who grew weak and poured out a lament before the Lord. And that afflicted one took on the weight of your sin and mine… this psalm right here is actually about Jesus.”
— Dr. Manny Arango (01:50)
Psalm 103 Context:
Simpler, attributed to David, without further narrative.
Historical Setting:
The intertestamental period (the 400 years between the last events of the Old Testament and Jesus’ birth) saw the Greek language spread through Alexander the Great’s conquests.
Jewish leaders translated Hebrew Scriptures into Greek (the Septuagint) to reach new generations.
“Greek as a language and as a cultural force is so popular that the Jewish people… decide, we got to create a Greek translation to our Bible…”
— Dr. Manny Arango (05:55)
New Testament Usage:
New Testament authors typically quote the Septuagint rather than original Hebrew scriptures, and sometimes the translations differ.
“There are times where the Septuagint...and the actual Hebrew manuscripts...don't agree.”
— Dr. Manny Arango (08:53)
Cultural Responses:
Western readers see textual differences and doubt; Eastern thinkers get curious, seeking the lesson behind the difference.
“However, in an Eastern world where there's a discrepancy, you get curious, you start asking questions...you'll get led down the path that they wanted you to get led down, and you'll come to some conclusion.”
— Dr. Manny Arango (09:31–09:56)
Hebrews 1:10–12 quotes Psalm 102:23–25, relying on the Greek version.
In Hebrew: The psalmist addresses God.
In Greek: God addresses the afflicted one.
The difference centers on the translation of Hebrew words that lack vowels, making interpretation flexible.
“The reason that there's a discrepancy is because whenever words have no vowels, you could interpret to mean different words depending on what vowel sounds are added.”
— Dr. Manny Arango (11:36)
Messianic Application:
Hebrews interprets the passage as God speaking to Jesus, revealing a hidden layer of meaning intentionally present via translation difference.
“So the way the Book of Hebrews is going to interpret this discrepancy...is that the Septuagint authors were led by the Holy Spirit to reveal that it was never the psalmist talking to God, but it was God talking to the psalmist. Because this afflicted one...is none other than...Jesus.”
— Dr. Manny Arango (14:04–14:25)
Dr. Manny explains the four classic rabbinic approaches:
Peshat: Literal, simple meaning.
Ramez: Allegorical (“hints, illusions, wrinkles”).
Drash (Drosh): Moral/homiletical meaning.
Sod (Soda): Secret/revelatory meaning.
“For Hebrews, there are four...what's the peshat? What's the Ramez, what's the drosh and what's the sod?... For a lot of Christians, we are only ever looking at the Bible with one, maybe two.”
— Dr. Manny Arango (16:55–16:59)
Practical Takeaway: Disagreement often comes from different interpretive layers rather than error; much of the New Testament’s use of the Old Testament leverages these deeper readings.
“They are seeing that texts are alive and active... that we are not trying to dissect a dead rabbit…we are actually trying to examine a living, breathing rabbit.”
— Dr. Manny Arango (18:41–18:43)
The Church reads Psalm 102 as about Christ’s suffering and victory, illuminated by textual differences.
“The difference in translation of the Greek text transformed this psalm for the early church from a normal psalm into a Messianic one. Now, the unjust suffering of the individual is the suffering of Christ…”
— Dr. Manny Arango (19:54)
Psalm 103’s Lesson:
Psalm 103 is a hymn of praise that urges the soul to bless Yahweh—regardless of feeling, mood, or circumstance.
“David commands himself to bless Yahweh. It is not a matter of feeling or experience. It is not a matter of feeling or of experience or of being in the right place with the right mood. It is a matter of worship. Worship is obedience. Worship is loyalty. Worship doesn't care about our feelings.”
— Dr. Manny Arango (20:49)
Memorable Quote:
“We don't praise him cause we feel him. We feel him because we praise him. That worship is an act of the will.”
— Dr. Manny Arango’s youth pastor (21:42)
Encouragement:
“Sometimes we've got to command our soul to bless the Lord. When we're tired, when we're burnt out, when we're fatigued, when we're depressed, when we're anxious, we command our souls to praise the Lord.”
— Dr. Manny Arango (21:56)
On Textual Curiosity:
“If you follow the breadcrumbs, you'll get led down the path that they wanted you to get led down...” (09:56)
On the Living Word:
“The Scriptures are alive, that they are active, that we are not trying to dissect a dead rabbit, that we are actually trying to examine a living, breathing rabbit.” (18:41)
On Worship:
“Worship is a decision of my will.” (22:20)
Dr. Manny’s tone is engaging, enthusiastic, and deeply pastoral—emphasizing biblical literacy, humility in interpretation, and practical worship. He encourages listeners to see Scripture as “alive,” to embrace interpretive depth, and to discipline themselves to worship, even when “the mood is not right.”
Final Encouragement:
“Command your soul to worship the Lord by reading his Word.” (22:46)
For further resources or to follow the reading plan, visit thebibledept.com/plan.