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Cover of Standing Before God

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Standing Before God

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Standing Before God follows the order of the Liturgy itself. From the opening blessing to the dismissal, it traces what God does at each turn and what is required of those who remain in His presence: to stand,…

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The Eucharist: Grammar of Thanksgiving

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In The Eucharist: Grammar of Thanksgiving, Marc Philip Boulos offers a fierce and sweeping hearing of Scripture through the shared grammar of Hebrew, Greek, Arabic, and the Abrahamic scrolls.

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Seen and Unseen: The Earth as the Ground of Testing

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In Seen and Unseen, Marc Philip Boulos hears the twelve verses of Luke 8:41–56, the raising of Jairus’s daughter and the healing of the hemorrhaging woman, through the consonantal triliteral roots that bind…

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New release, March 1, 2026

The Madness of the Shepherd

Matthew Franklin Cooper

Kosta Levan Khetagurov (1859–1906) remains the towering figure of Ossetian literature and one of the most significant poets of the late Russian Empire.

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The Bible as Literature

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Each week, the Bible read as literature. On Tuesdays, an in-depth analysis of the text in its original languages.

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Our authorsIskandar Abou-Chaar, Paul Nadim Tarazi, Raymond Acker, Andrea Bakas, Marc Philip Boulos, Matthew Franklin Cooper, Tom Dykstra, Duane M. Johnson, Archimandrite Kyprian Kern, William C. Mills, Nicolae Roddy, Bethany Saros, and Richard Benton

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Paul Nadim Tarazi

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Triliteral Root of the Day

ר-ח-ם
reš-ḥet-mem
Hebrew
ر-ح-م
rāʾ-ḥāʾ-mīm
Arabic

Greek renderings in the Septuagint, among others

  • οἰκτίρμων oiktirmon compassionate Exodus 34:6
  • ἐλεέω eleeo to have mercy Hosea 1:6; Isaiah 49:15
  • μήτρα metra womb Exodus 13:2
  • σπλάγχνα splagchna inward parts, compassion Proverbs 12:10

Womb · compassion · mercy

In Hebrew and Arabic the word for mercy grows out of the word for womb: reḥem (רֶחֶם) and raḥim (رَحِم). In this instance, the Septuagint carries the root into Greek as oiktirmon, and the New Testament takes that word up for the mercy of the Father.

Old Testament

אֵל רַחוּם וְחַנּוּן

ʾel raḥum weḥannun

“compassionate and gracious” God

Exodus 34:6

מֵרַחֵם בֶּן־בִּטְנָהּ

meraḥem ben-biṭnah

“compassion on the son of her womb”

Isaiah 49:15

לֹא רֻחָמָה

loʾ ruḥamah

“not pitied”: the name of Hosea’s daughter

Hosea 1:6

New Testament

γίνεσθε οἰκτίρμονες

ginesthe oiktirmones

“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful”

Luke 6:36

ὁ πατὴρ τῶν οἰκτιρμῶν

ho pater ton oiktirmon

“the Father of mercies”

2 Corinthians 1:3

διὰ τῶν οἰκτιρμῶν τοῦ θεοῦ

dia ton oiktirmon tou theou

“by the mercies of God”

Romans 12:1

διὰ σπλάγχνα ἐλέους θεοῦ ἡμῶν

dia splagchna eleous theou hemon

“because of the tender mercy of our God”

Luke 1:78

Bridge: the Septuagint renders raḥum in Exodus 34:6 as oiktirmon (οἰκτίρμων).

Qurʾan

بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

bismi llāhi l-raḥmāni l-raḥīm

“In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful”

Sūrat al-Fātiḥa سورة الفاتحة “The Opening” 1:1

وَرَحْمَتِي وَسِعَتْ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ

wa-raḥmatī wasiʿat kulla shayʾ

“and My mercy encompasses all things”

Sūrat al-Aʿrāf سورة الأعراف “The Heights” 7:156

وَٱلْأَرْحَامَ

wa-l-arḥām

“and the wombs,” the ties of kinship

Sūrat al-Nisāʾ سورة النساء “Women” 4:1

Exegetical note: Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Luke 6:31–36) RSS feed
Sources

Greek renderings from the CATSS Hebrew–Greek parallel text (CCAT, University of Pennsylvania). English: World English Bible; the Qurʾan in Pickthall’s rendering. Transliteration follows the Andalus system.

Exegetical Notes for Preaching and Teaching

By Fr. Paul Nadim Tarazi

Notes on the Sunday Gospel readings, from the Lenten Triodion through the Sundays of Luke, for clergy, students, educators, and anyone who preaches or teaches. Available in English, with translations into Arabic, Chinese, French, Greek, Russian, and Serbian.

43 notes

  1. Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee Luke 18:9–14 Lenten Triodion FrançaisРусскийالعربيةСрпскиΕλληνικά中文
  2. Sunday of the Prodigal Son Luke 15:11–32 Lenten Triodion FrançaisРусскийالعربيةСрпскиΕλληνικά中文
  3. Sunday of the Last Judgment Matthew 25:31–46 Lenten Triodion FrançaisРусскийالعربيةСрпскиΕλληνικά中文
  4. Forgiveness Sunday Matthew 6:14–21 Lenten Triodion FrançaisРусскийالعربيةСрпскиΕλληνικά中文
  5. First Sunday John 1:43–51 Great Lent FrançaisРусскийالعربيةСрпскиΕλληνικά中文
  6. Second Sunday Mark 2:1–12 Great Lent FrançaisРусскийالعربيةСрпскиΕλληνικά中文
  7. Third Sunday Mark 8:34–9:1 Great Lent FrançaisРусскийالعربيةСрпскиΕλληνικά中文
  8. Fourth Sunday Mark 9:17–31 Great Lent FrançaisРусскийالعربيةСрпскиΕλληνικά中文
  9. Fifth Sunday Mark 10:32–45 Great Lent FrançaisРусскийالعربيةСрпскиΕλληνικά中文
  10. Entrance into Jerusalem John 12:1–18 Great Lent FrançaisРусскийالعربيةСрпскиΕλληνικά中文
  11. Sunday of the Resurrection John 1:1–17 Pascha FrançaisРусскийالعربيةСрпскиΕλληνικά中文
  12. Sunday of Thomas John 20:19–31 Pascha FrançaisРусскийالعربيةСрпскиΕλληνικά中文
  13. Sunday of the Myrrhbearers Mark 15:43–16:8 Pascha FrançaisРусскийالعربيةСрпскиΕλληνικά中文
  14. Sunday of the Paralytic John 5:1–15 Pascha FrançaisРусскийالعربيةСрпскиΕλληνικά中文
  15. Sunday of the Samaritan Woman John 4:5–42 Mid-Pentecost FrançaisРусскийالعربيةСрпскиΕλληνικά中文
  16. Sunday of the Blind Man John 9:1–38 Mid-Pentecost FrançaisРусскийالعربيةСрпскиΕλληνικά中文
  17. Seventh Sunday of Pascha John 17:1–13 Mid-Pentecost FrançaisРусскийالعربيةСрпскиΕλληνικά中文
  18. Sunday of Pentecost John 7:37–52 Pentecost FrançaisРусскийالعربيةСрпскиΕλληνικά中文
  19. Sunday of All Saints Matthew 10:32–33, 37–38 Pentecost FrançaisРусскийالعربيةСрпскиΕλληνικά中文
  20. Second Sunday Matthew 4:18–23 Sundays of Matthew FrançaisРусскийالعربيةСрпскиΕλληνικά中文
  21. Third Sunday Matthew 6:22–33 Sundays of Matthew FrançaisРусскийالعربيةСрпскиΕλληνικά中文
  22. Fathers of the First Six Ecumenical Councils Matthew 5:14–19 Sundays of Matthew FrançaisРусскийالعربيةСрпскиΕλληνικά中文
  23. Fifth Sunday Matthew 8:28–9:1 Sundays of Matthew FrançaisРусскийالعربيةСрпскиΕλληνικά中文
  24. Sixth Sunday Matthew 9:1–8 Sundays of Matthew FrançaisРусскийالعربيةСрпскиΕλληνικά中文
  25. Seventh Sunday Matthew 9:27–35 Sundays of Matthew FrançaisРусскийالعربيةСрпскиΕλληνικά中文
  26. Eighth Sunday Matthew 14:14–22 Sundays of Matthew FrançaisРусскийالعربيةСрпскиΕλληνικά中文
  27. Ninth Sunday Matthew 14:22–34 Sundays of Matthew FrançaisРусскийالعربيةСрпскиΕλληνικά中文
  28. Tenth Sunday Matthew 17:14–23 Sundays of Matthew FrançaisРусскийالعربيةСрпскиΕλληνικά中文
  29. Eleventh Sunday Matthew 18:23–35 Sundays of Matthew FrançaisРусскийالعربيةСрпскиΕλληνικά中文
  30. Sunday Before the Exaltation of the Cross John 3:13–17 Sundays of Matthew FrançaisРусскийالعربيةСрпскиΕλληνικά中文
  31. Sunday After the Exaltation of the Cross Mark 8:34–9:1 Sundays of Matthew FrançaisРусскийالعربيةСрпскиΕλληνικά中文
  32. Fourteenth Sunday Luke 5:1–11 Sundays of Luke FrançaisРусскийالعربيةСрпскиΕλληνικά中文
  33. Fifteenth Sunday Luke 6:31–36 Sundays of Luke FrançaisРусскийالعربيةСрпскиΕλληνικά中文
  34. Sixteenth Sunday Luke 7:11–16 Sundays of Luke FrançaisРусскийالعربيةСрпскиΕλληνικά中文
  35. Seventeenth Sunday Luke 8:5–15 Sundays of Luke FrançaisРусскийالعربيةСрпскиΕλληνικά中文
  36. Eighteenth Sunday Luke 8:26–39 Sundays of Luke FrançaisРусскийالعربيةСрпскиΕλληνικά中文
  37. Nineteenth Sunday Luke 16:19–31 Sundays of Luke FrançaisРусскийالعربيةСрпскиΕλληνικά中文
  38. Twentieth Sunday Luke 8:41–56 Sundays of Luke FrançaisРусскийالعربيةСрпскиΕλληνικά中文
  39. Twenty-First Sunday Luke 10:25–37 Sundays of Luke FrançaisРусскийالعربيةСрпскиΕλληνικά中文
  40. Twenty-Second Sunday Luke 12:16–21 Sundays of Luke FrançaisРусскийالعربيةСрпскиΕλληνικά中文
  41. Twenty-Third Sunday Luke 18:18–27 Sundays of Luke FrançaisРусскийالعربيةСрпскиΕλληνικά中文
  42. Twenty-Fourth Sunday Luke 13:10–17 Sundays of Luke FrançaisРусскийالعربيةСрпскиΕλληνικά中文
  43. Twenty-Fifth Sunday Luke 14:16–24 Sundays of Luke FrançaisРусскийالعربيةСрпскиΕλληνικά中文

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Exegetical Notes · Fr. Paul Nadim Tarazi