No, he protects children from the sins of their fathers to the 3rd and 4th generation for those that hate him and to the thousands of generations for those that love him. The word for ‘visit’ in Numbers 14:18 KJV is פָּקַד pakad. While later Christian interpreters, concerned with sin, translated it to mean ‘visit’, there are several other meanings including to care for. So in looking at the context of the verse, there is a comparison to the lovingkindness (hesed) of God (also weakly translated) toward both those who do not acknowledge Him (those that hate Him) and those that do (those that love Him). English is not the best language to translate Hebrew. We are separated by thousands of years of language change and cultural differences. I would suggest using
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Cheryl Durham, Ph.D.Cheryl is the Executive Director at Living Truth. She is also currently Dean of Students and Professor of New Testament Culture and History at Master's International University of Divinity. She holds a Bachelor and Master's Degree in Biblical Counseling, a Doctor of Biblical Studies in Worldview and a Ph.D. in New Testament History and Culture. Archives
March 2020
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