Often - not always - our military intervention, or the mere threat of it (and you can't have a credible threat without a proven willingness to use one's capabilities), has saved lives and secured peace sooner rather than later.On this I must insist that there has to be a different way to save lives and secure peace. While I agree with him that
a more pertinent criticism might be that we stabilized monsters like Saddam Hussein and the Assads for far too long.
We not only stabilized them, we set them up 100 years ago.
But to return to Syria in the last 8 years, what if there had been an earlier intervention say in 2006 when the famine began. (See Polk here)
But to return to Syria in the last 8 years, what if there had been an earlier intervention say in 2006 when the famine began. (See Polk here)
Syria has been convulsed by civil war since climate change came to Syria with a vengeance. Drought devastated the country from 2006 to 2011. Rainfall in most of the country fell below eight inches (20 cm) a year, the absolute minimum needed to sustain un-irrigated farming. Desperate for water, farmers began to tap aquifers with tens of thousands of new well. But, as they did, the water table quickly dropped to a level below which their pumps could lift it.....
the Syrian government made the situation much worse by its next action. Lured by the high price of wheat on the world market, it sold its reserves. In 2006, according to the US Department of Agriculture, it sold 1,500,000 metric tons or twice as much as in the previous year.
What if the international community had prevented Syria from selling their food surplus? Would this not have led to saving lives and also have been an affront to the market forces that led Syria to such unwise action? Where was Joseph when we needed him? If you are going to have a Pharaoh - and they are a-plenty in the Middle East, then you need a Joseph - not a bigger Pharaoh.
As I was pondering these things I was reading Psalm 90 on this New Year - שנה טובה to my friends in the Hebrew world. So given that time is a theme in Psalm 90, I wondered how God might establish the deed of our hands verse 17. Read this with me and think about how we might avoid the failure of Monarchy (Psalm 89) and move to a sustainable action that contributes to an economy that supports people rather than killing them. I have bolded the verses that jumped out at me.
תְּפִלָּה לְמֹשֶׁה אִישׁ הָאֱלֹהִים
אֲדֹנָי מָעוֹן אַתָּה הָיִיתָ לָּנוּ בְּדֹר וָדֹר | 1 | A prayer of Moses the man of God My Lord, a habitation you yourself have become for us from generation to generation |
בְּטֶרֶם הָרִים יֻלָּדוּ
וַתְּחוֹלֵל אֶרֶץ וְתֵבֵל וּמֵעוֹלָם עַד עוֹלָם אַתָּה אֵל | 2 | from ere mountains were born or you birthed earth and world and even from everlasting to everlasting you are God |
תָּשֵׁב אֱנוֹשׁ עַד דַּכָּא
וַתֹּאמֶר שׁוּבוּ בְנֵי אָדָם | 3 | you turn a mortal to contrition and you say Turn children of humanity |
כִּי אֶלֶף שָׁנִים בְּעֵינֶיךָ
כְּיוֹם אֶתְמוֹל כִּי יַעֲבֹר וְאַשְׁמוּרָה בַלָּיְלָה | 4 | for a thousand years in your eyes are like a recent day that is over and a watch in the night |
זְרַמְתָּם
שֵׁנָה יִהְיוּ בַּבֹּקֶר כֶּחָצִיר יַחֲלֹף | 5 | you inundate them sleep they become in the morning as grass renews |
בַּבֹּקֶר יָצִיץ וְחָלָף
לָעֶרֶב יְמוֹלֵל וְיָבֵשׁ | 6 | in the morning it blossoms and renews of the evening it is cut down and dries up |
כִּי כָלִינוּ בְאַפֶּךָ
וּבַחֲמָתְךָ נִבְהָלְנוּ | 7 | for we are consumed in your anger and in your heat we are vexed |
שַׁתָּה עֲוֹנֹתֵינוּ לְנֶגְדֶּךָ
עֲלֻמֵנוּ לִמְאוֹר פָּנֶיךָ | 8 | you put our iniquities before you our dissembling in the light of your face |
כִּי כָל יָמֵינוּ פָּנוּ בְעֶבְרָתֶךָ
כִּלִּינוּ שָׁנֵינוּ כְמוֹ הֶגֶה | 9 | for all our days face away from your fury we consume our years as a mutter |
יְמֵי שְׁנוֹתֵינוּ
בָהֶם שִׁבְעִים שָׁנָה וְאִם בִּגְבוּרֹת שְׁמוֹנִים שָׁנָה וְרָהְבָּם עָמָל וָאָוֶן כִּי גָז חִישׁ וַנָּעֻפָה | 10 | the days of our years in them a seventy year span and if valiant an eighty year span but their boldness is toil and mischief for they scurry past and we fly away |
מִי יוֹדֵעַ עֹז אַפֶּךָ
וּכְיִרְאָתְךָ עֶבְרָתֶךָ | 11 | Who knows the strength of your anger and according to your fear your fury? |
לִמְנוֹת יָמֵינוּ כֵּן הוֹדַע
וְנָבִא לְבַב חָכְמָה | 12 | To apportion our days so make us know that we may come to the heart of wisdom |
שׁוּבָה יְהוָה עַד מָתָי
וְהִנָּחֵם עַל עֲבָדֶיךָ | 13 | Turn יְהוָה, how long? And be comforted over your servants |
שַׂבְּעֵנוּ בַבֹּקֶר חַסְדֶּךָ
וּנְרַנְּנָה וְנִשְׂמְחָה בְּכָל יָמֵינוּ | 14 | satisfy us in the morning of your kindness and we will shout for joy and be glad in all our days |
שַׂמְּחֵנוּ כִּימוֹת עִנִּיתָנוּ
שְׁנוֹת רָאִינוּ רָעָה | 15 | Make us glad for days you afflicted us years we have seen evil |
יֵרָאֶה אֶל עֲבָדֶיךָ פָעֳלֶךָ
וַהֲדָרְךָ עַל בְּנֵיהֶם | 16 | Let your work appear to your servants and your honour upon their children |
וִיהִי נֹעַם אֲדֹנָי אֱלֹהֵינוּ עָלֵינוּ
וּמַעֲשֵׂה יָדֵינוּ כּוֹנְנָה עָלֵינוּ וּמַעֲשֵׂה יָדֵינוּ כּוֹנְנֵהוּ | 17 | And let the pleasure of the Lord our God be upon us and the deed of our hands establish upon us and the deed of our hands establish |
Hebrew words: 140. Percentage of Hebrew words that recur in this psalm: 54%. Average keywords per verse: 4.4.
Selected recurring words
Note the pair of long circular structures in this poem. These begin at verse 11 and 12 and can be traced through the diagonal lines that use several words in reverse sequence. Note also the focus of the poem on knowing, seeing/appearing, and finally the works of our hands establishing.
Note the pair of long circular structures in this poem. These begin at verse 11 and 12 and can be traced through the diagonal lines that use several words in reverse sequence. Note also the focus of the poem on knowing, seeing/appearing, and finally the works of our hands establishing.
| Word and gloss * first usage | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 20 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Vs | Root |
האלהים God
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| 1 | אלוה | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
אדני My Lord
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| 1 | אדון | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
אתה yourself
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| 1 | אתה | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
היית you have become
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| 1 | היה | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
בדר from generation
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| 1 | דור | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ודר to generation
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| 1 | דור | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ומעולם and even from everlasting
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| 2 | עלם | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
עד to
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| 2 | עד | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
עולם everlasting
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| 2 | עלם | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
אתה you are
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| 2 | אתה | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
אל God
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| 2 | אל | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
תשׁב you turn
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| 3 | שׁוב | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
עד to
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| 3 | עד | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
שׁובו turn
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| 3 | שׁוב | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
בני children of
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| 3 | בן | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
כי for
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| 4 | כי | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
שׁנים years
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| 4 | שׁנה | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
כיום are like a day
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| 4 | יום | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
כי that
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| 4 | כי | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
יעבר is over
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| 4 | עבר | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
יהיו they become
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| 5 | היה | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
בבקר in the morning
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| 5 | בקר | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
* יחלף renews
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| 5 | חלף | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
בבקר in the morning
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| 6 | בקר | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
* וחלף and renews
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| 6 | חלף | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
כי for
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| 7 | כי | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
כלינו we are consumed
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| 7 | כלה | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
באפך in your anger
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| 7 | אף | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
עלמנו our dissembling
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| 8 | עלם | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
פניך your face
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| 8 | פנה | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
כי for
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| 9 | כי | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
כל all
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| 9 | כל | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ימינו our days
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| 9 | יום | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
פנו face away
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| 9 | פנה | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
בעברתך from your fury
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| 9 | עבר | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
כלינו we consume
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| 9 | כלה | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
שׁנינו our years
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| 9 | שׁנה | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ימי the days of
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| 10 | יום | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
שׁנותינו our years
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| 10 | שׁנה | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
שׁנה a year span
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| 10 | שׁנה | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
שׁנה a year span
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| 10 | שׁנה | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
כי for
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| 10 | כי | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
יודע knows
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| 11 | ידע | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
אפך your anger
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| 11 | אף | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
עברתך your fury
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| 11 | עבר | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ימינו our days
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| 12 | יום | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
הודע make us know
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| 12 | ידע | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
שׁובה turn
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| 13 | שׁוב | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
עד long
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| 13 | עד | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
על over
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| 13 | על | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
עבדיך your servants
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| 13 | עבד | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
בבקר in the morning of
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| 14 | בקר | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ונשׂמחה and be glad
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| 14 | שׂמח | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
בכל in all
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| 14 | כל | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ימינו our days
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| 14 | יום | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
שׂמחנו make us glad
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| 15 | שׂמח | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
כימות for days
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| 15 | יום | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
שׁנות years
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| 15 | שׁנה | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ראינו we have seen
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| 15 | ראה | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
יראה let appear
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| 16 | ראה | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
אל to
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| 16 | אל | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
עבדיך your servants
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| 16 | עבד | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
על upon
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| 16 | על | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
בניהם their children
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| 16 | בן | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ויהי and let be
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| 17 | היה | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
אדני the Lord
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| 17 | אדון | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
אלהינו our God
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| 17 | אלוה | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
עלינו upon us
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| 17 | על | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ומעשׂה and the deed of
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| 17 | עשׂה | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ידינו our hands
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| 17 | יד | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
כוננה establish
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| 17 | כון | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
עלינו upon us
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| 17 | על | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ומעשׂה and the deed of
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| 17 | עשׂה | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ידינו our hands
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| 17 | יד | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
כוננהו establish
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| 17 | כון |
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