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Showing posts with the label biblical phrases

What is Passover? Where does the word come from?

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The Seder is the special meal that celebrates Passover

How did The Bible change the English language?

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The King James Bible is perhaps the most influential book in the development of the the English language. More on the King James Bible here Worksheets are included in:  English Language Teaching Pack   -  only £1.99 

Where does the word diaspora come from?

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di·as·po·ra    /dīˈaspərə/ Noun Jews living outside Israel. The dispersion of the Jews beyond Israel. The main diaspora began in the 8th–6th centuries bc, and even before the sack of Jerusalem... Though living in different countries across the world the diaspora expressed a shared culture and a belief that one day all Jews would be reunited (in the Biblical Promised Land). In modern times the term is sometimes used more generically to describe all communities of immigrants  with a shared sense of 'home'.  A recent article in The Economist, The Magic of Diasporas , suggests that these diaspora are playing an increasingly important role in the world economy There are now 215m first-generation migrants around the world: that’s 3% of the world’s population. If they were a nation, it would be a little larger than Brazil. There are more Chinese people living outside China than there are French people in France. Some 22m Indians are scattered all over t

Where does the word/name Emmanuel come from?

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The word Emmanuel is the Hebrew for 'God is with us'.  For Christians the birth of Jesus is the physical incarnation of this:   Mt:1:23: Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. Luke:1:26-39: 26: This is made explicit in  Hark the Herald Angel Sing: Glory to God in the ... Jesus our Emmanuel . ...  It is also the the theme of the most beautiful carols: