“The Witchery of Paltry Things”

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Sometimes Bible translators go too far. They get a little too creative and they end up making strange sounding phrases in the target language. I have to believe that that is what happened with this weird phrase in the Book of Wisdom that the NABRE renders as “the witchery of paltry things” (Wisdom 4:12). What the heck is that?

Survey of Translations

Before we go back to the Greek, let’s survey some other translations of the phrase:

  • “the fascination of wickedness” (RSV, ESV, NRSV)
  • “the witchery of evil” (Winston AB)
  • “the bewitching of vanity” (Douay-Rheims)
  • “the fascination of evil” (New Jerusalem)
  • “the bewitching of naughtiness” (KJV, Brenton)
  • “the witchery of paltry things” (NABRE)
  • “la fascination de la frivolité”

Take a Look at the Greek

The Book of Wisdom was written in Greek, so that’s where we should start.

  • βασκανία γὰρ φαυλότητος

So what do these words mean? “Baskania” means something like “envy” (BDAG) or “malign influence, witchcraft, evil eye, envy” (Lust). It’s a weird word from a different cultural context. Looking at the whole verse in context might help us understand what the author is trying to convey:

He was caught up lest evil change his understanding or guile deceive his soul. For the fascination of wickedness obscures what is good, and roving desire perverts the innocent mind. (Wis 4:11-12 RSV)

The author is talking about Enoch, who was so righteous that he was zapped up to the heavenly realm (Gen 5:21-24). So “baskania” is about temptation, particularly about the power of worthless evil things to cloud moral judgment and seduce a person to sin. “Gar” is simply “for.” But “phaulotetos” is harder to explain. It means “meanness, paltriness, pettiness, badness” or even “plainness, simplicity” (abridged LSJ). Another lexicon has “meanness, worthlessness, frivolity” (Lust). 

Trying to Make a Better Translation

We have to admit that the idea is pretty obscure: the author is trying to describe the psychological side of temptation using an almost magical “law-of-attraction” kind of concept, where an evil/worthless thing bewilders the mind. The second concept to me feels extremely Greek and not very English–that is, that evil things, temptations are “worthless” or “paltry” or “mean (as in common).” Perhaps our forebears thought this way, but I don’t think our contemporaries do, so it makes translating hard. That is, while we might look on sin as bad or evil, we don’t usually think of it as petty or trivial (except, perhaps, when folks refer to things like “foibles” or “peccadilloes”). The other thing that is weird is that “phaulotetos” is singular in context, so probably we should not translate with a plural idea (like “paltry things”). Here are a couple of my suggestions to improve this phrase in English translation:

  • “the allure of triviality”
  • “the seduction of mediocrity”
  • “the enchantment of insignificance”
  • “the entrapment of irrelevance”

I have to admit that it is hard to come up with an intelligible English equivalent for this uncommon phrase, but I do feel that we could do better than “the witchery of paltry things”.

A Museum Accident of Biblical Proportions

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It’s every parent’s worst nightmare (ok, maybe not worst, but close): you take your 4-year-old child to the museum and he or she curiously touches something, accidentally shattering an irreplaceable artifact of human history that dates back millennia–and it just happened to a Dad at the Hecht Museum in Haifa in Israel this week, as the BBC reports:

Boy accidentally smashes 3,500-year-old jar on museum visit

Ugh! His four year old boy wanted to know what was in the giant amphora, grabbed at the rim to look and then it took a tumble. The rest is history:

Shay Levy, Hecht Museum

Shay Levy, Hecht Museum (via BBC)

Or, I guess, it was history. Now I think my blood pressure will go up even more next time I take my kids to a museum. This jar was from before 1500 BC. That means half a millennium before David and Solomon. It could be 4,000 years old. When a four-millennium old piece of pottery goes up against a four-year-old, we know who wins–and it’s not the jar. I would imagine that the Hecht museum curators are face-palming themselves over their desire to display artifacts without glass protection because of the “special charm” museum-goers feel. Oh well, I suppose by the time the eschaton arrives all clay jars will be smashed. I’m not sure which proverb to cite, but maybe “He who digs a pit will fall into it” (Eccl 10:8 ESV) or perhaps better would be Jeremiah’s prophecy about the broken flask: “So will I break this people and this city, as one breaks a potter’s vessel, so that it can never be mended” (Jer 19:11 ESV). Keep a close eye on the artifacts next time you bring a little child to a museum or they might be so broken that they can never be mended again! 

Two TV Interviews with Bishop John Barres

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I recorded two TV interviews with Bishop John Barres of the Diocese of Rockville Centre and host Monsignor Jim Vlaun.

In this first conversation, we talk about the Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture in general, the value of commentaries for Catholic faith and life, the long tradition of commentary writing, the growth in understanding of historical background, the need for the CCSS, the goals of Scripture study, Lectio Divina, and homily preparation.

Encounter – Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture Series, Part 1 from Catholic Faith Network on Vimeo.

The second conversation focuses on my volume in the CCSS on the Wisdom of Solomon. We talk about reading the Old Testament in light of the New (DV 16), the problem of over-specialization and the need for an integrated vision for Sacred Scripture, the date of Wisdom, the historical and literary background, Hellenistic Judaism, Alexandria, Solomon as a role model for Wisdom-seeking, the funeral reading of Wisdom 3, the hour of death, Wisdom’s critique of idol worship, the need to “love righteousness” (Wisd 1:1), and the illumination of the human intellect by the Wisdom of God.

Encounter – Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture Series, Part 2 from Catholic Faith Network on Vimeo.

Two Interviews from the Augustine Institute

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Recently, I was interviewed by the Augustine Institute about my two new books. We got to record these interviews in the studios here at the A.I. and both of them have been produced as YouTube videos for you. I hope you enjoy them.

In the first video, I was interviewed by my colleague, Dr. Michael Patrick Barber, regarding my commentary on the Wisdom of Solomon:

In the second video, I was interviewed by our Admissions Counselor, Anna Wessel:

Two Interviews: Suffering Video and Wisdom Radio

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Last week, I got to speak with Bob Krebs on “Catholic Forum” out of the Diocese of Wilmington about my book on Suffering. It aired on Relevant Radio and Bob recorded it as video and put it on YouTube for you:

Yesterday morning, I appeared on Spirit Mornings Catholic Radio out of Omaha with my friends Bruce and Jen. We got to talk about the Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture series and my new volume on Wisdom of Solomon. It was early and it was a fun conversation. Check it out:

Two Radio Interviews on Suffering

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Last week, I was interviewed on the Catholic Answers Focus podcast by Cy Kellett. They published both the transcript and the audio: https://www.catholic.com/audio/caf/suffering-101 

We got into the philosophical deep end a bit. Here’s a challenging prompt he gave me:

Cy Kellett:
I appreciate that very much, but you appreciate, I know from the book that for many people, the personal crisis of their own suffering is intense in a way that almost seems to dispose them against theological or philosophical answers. They need something else. So how do you find that? Where’s the sweet spot for making a personal response to individual suffering and putting all of that in the theological context?

Also, I appeared on Treasures of Faith with Michael Gisondi on Divine Mercy Radio WDMC920. Here’s a link: https://files.ecatholic.com/34714/documents/2024/4/240425.mp3

New Interviews on Suffering

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I appeared on the Busted Halo show – the longing-running slightly funny show that broadcasts on SiriusXM satellite radio. They posted a video version of the interview:

Also, yesterday, I came back on the Kresta in the Afternoon radio show hosted by Marcus Peter. Here’s the link to the segment: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kresta-in-the-afternoon-april-22-2024-hour-2/id316247661?i=1000653266960

 

Two Written Interviews on Suffering

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Aleteia published an interview with me earlier this week. Here’s an excerpt:

Suffering is part of everyone’s life. It comes in all shades and varieties: illness, disability, pain, loss, depression …
Every news website today is replete with people’s suffering from around the world. Some regions of the world seem to have an unfair burden of suffering.
But most of the suffering that people endure is much less dramatic, and might not even be thought of as suffering: relatively small annoyances that stem from the rudeness of neighbors, the impatience of our own temperament, or simply the ups and downs of daily life.
Catholic spirituality has a lot to offer on not only the reasons for suffering but the ways in which we can fruitfully respond to it. (Link: https://aleteia.org/2024/04/14/if-you-are-suffering-and-you-probably-are-this-book-can-help/ )

And Catholic World Report published another. An excerpt:

   All of us suffer. We live in a fallen world, and suffering is simply a part of life. This suffering can take many forms, and we are all affected differently by it.
But why do we suffer at all? How are we to understand suffering? Is there any purpose to it? And what are we to do with the suffering we face? (Link: https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2024/03/08/interview-with-mark-giszczak/)