1 Timothy 4:4-5

[R' Y'hoshua Moshe]

And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, and she took of its fruit and ate. And she also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.

Very good I will no doubt use this in the future.

Shalom chaver,

Reuel

[The 614th Mitzvot]

Bravo,
I have read this forum and I am definetly liking what I am learning.

[steve_613++]

Shalom everyone.

Here are some more thoughts relevant to those who abuse the Word by proof-texting, that is, using parts of verses or single words to prove a point.

In Romans, 7:1 we read; "To all who are in Rome ..."

To those who insist that "all" means "all" I say, Does this "snippet" prove that Paul is writing to every citizen, nay, every human being, citizen or not, that happens to be in Rome? This would be a strange thing for Paul to do.

Proof-texting only works if you narrow down the context of a quote so drastically that all context is lost. As soon as we, as it were, "zoom out" and have a look before and after the quoted extract, a different interpretation then usually becomes possible. In the case of the above verse, which is relevant because of the word "all," we can resolve the difficulty simply by reading on;

To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 1:7

So we see that the application of "all" is in fact narrowed or qualified by its context. This text continues with the words, "First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all."

This letter is obviously intended for believers in Rome. That is the context and must be borne in mind when interpreting the use of the word "all." Paul is not thanking God for unbelievers, enemies of the Gospel, pagan priests, shamans, devil worshipers, astrologers and so on, examples of whom could be found in Rome when this letter arrived. But such people were never meant to hear this letter read out in a company of believers; it simply was not addressed to them.

Literalists have an even bigger problem with the end of verse 8;

''... that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.''

This surely is an example of hyperbole, which can be defined as "exaggeration for the sake of effect, not meant to be taken literally." Or does anyone think that the faith of Roman believers was indeed spoken of, literally, throughout the whole world?

More problems for literalists in the very next verse:

'' ... that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers.''

Well now, unless Paul was in the habit of praying in his sleep we cannot take the words "without ceasing" or "always" literally.

Just some thoughts for the next time someone says to you, "All means all".

Steve.

[R' Y'hoshua Moshe]

Shalom Steve,

Thank you for sharing this. Indeed, in 1 Timothy 4:4-5 Rav Sha'ul (Paul) was not saying every and all animals are acceptable to eat. In fact, the context suggests that only food sanctified (set-apart) by the Word of G’d (Lev.11) is acceptable.

Yom tov b’Yeshua,

Reuel