text:
Update on student recruitment for the 2021-22 academic year 20 August 2021
You may have seen in the news that this year the number of students achieving top grades at A level reached a record high.
This has meant that a higher proportion of students have achieved the grades required to meet the offers from universities. As a result, at Loughborough we are expecting an increased number of new undergraduate students to start courses with us in the autumn.
The additional undergraduate students are spread across several academic Schools, but a significant number will be studying in the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, the School of Business and Economics, and the School of Social Sciences and Humanities.
Postgraduate recruitment and admissions are continuing and details of postgraduate recruitment figures will be clearer towards the start of term, although we expect that challenges with international travel may still affect the final number of postgraduate taught students.
"This has been an unusual year for undergraduate recruitment, and we are very grateful to all the colleagues in the admissions teams in both Schools and the Professional Services who have worked tirelessly in response," said Professor Rachel Thomson, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Teaching.
"It is great that so many high-quality students have chosen to come to Loughborough. We will work to ensure that all our students are able to benefit from the excellent all-round experience we offer at Loughborough and that staff workloads are not adversely affected.
"To this end, Operations Committee has agreed a package of additional investment to enable Schools and Professional Services to recruit to a number of additional positions, such as University Teachers, Programme Administrators and support roles in Student Services. New Graduate University Teacher roles will also be introduced across a number of the Schools to provide additional support for both teaching and pastoral activities."
Advertisements for these posts will be placed over the next week to enable the recruitment process to begin as soon as possible.
We have now begun Experience Days on campus every Thursday, Friday and Saturday, which will continue until late September, for students interested in applying to Loughborough for 2022.
Update on student recruitment for the 2021-22 academic year


Gateway Ventures (www.gatewayventuresre.com) and its partner, Atlantic Capital Properties (http://www.atlanticcapitalproperties.com), are commercial real estate development firms. Principals Mack Reese and Jim Meyer are seeking an experienced individual to join the team and support the development efforts for 4 large commercial projects located in Atlanta GA, Charleston SC, and Gainesville FL.
The right candidate is motivated and organized self-starter who is comfortable managing multiple assignments from multiple team members. Typical hours are 9a-6p Monday to Friday however some emails, phone calls, and additional work may be required evenings and weekends to support the company. The base salary range is subject to experience, and the position is eligible for an annual bonus.


text:
Home » Interstate Batteries Videos Offer Tips To Build the Best Shop
Service Suppliers
Interstate Batteries Videos Offer Tips To Build the Best Shop
Interstate Batteries Inc. wants to help tire dealers and automotive repair businesses of all sizes take their shops to the top, so the company has turned to a team of experienced technicians and owners for their best tips. Their insights are the focus of a new video series: Shop Goals.
The 10-episode series kicks off with three experienced technicians:
Audra Fordin, a fourth-generation technician who is the owner and operator of Great Bear Auto Repair in Flushing N.Y. She's also the founder of Women Auto Know, which works to empower consumers as well as honest shop owners through a community.
Ralph Parente, who grew up in his family's Soundview Service Center in Mamaroneck, N.Y., now runs the business. But when he started working on cars the same year he learned to drive, he remembers plenty of customers who didn't take him seriously.
Charles Sanville, who went from technical school to a Volkswagen dealership, and now is best known as "The Humble Mechanic." The master certified Volkswagen technician has a YouTube channel with more than 318,000 subscribers and hundreds of videos.
In the first two episodes Fordin, Parente and Sanville talk about their days as the newbies in the business. (Fordin once had a male janitor relay information to a customer because the customer didn't believe she was a technician.) They also talk about the best ways to train new technicians in the bay, and how to identify the mentors in a business.
Find all the episodes here.
Eight more episodes will be released throughout June, Interstate Batteries said.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


All activities are licensed and certified. Highly focused tasks are executed by the personnel possessing sufficient knowledge and years of experience.
The main directions of transportation are CIS countries (Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan), Baltic countries, and countries of all European regions (Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, France, Denmark, Italy, and Poland).
For transportation across Europe, we can involve our foreign partners' vehicles. Such approach helps to optimize the terms and cost of delivery.


Perhaps clicking on the ad (left) would have saved Magi 12 days!
It is understood that they are on their way to a manger to see a little child who has just been born.
In an interview with the three Magi, we have agreed only to give three clues as to where they were when this picture was taken.
Then Balthazaar said, "Please, come and join us at the manger at the place where we are going. My clue is simple. Just click on the photo above, and all will be revealed."
If you would like to find a Holy Mass being celebrated in England or Wales on 6th January honouring the Feast of the Epiphany, please click here. However, please check latest information with the Church before travelling to the Church.


Bio-Gel Bio-Restorative Hydrogel nurtures, nourishes and refreshes stressed skin that has become dull and less than satisfactory. The Neocutis Bio-Gel Bio-Restorative Hydrogel's formulation delivers the anti-aging benefits of PSP in a lighter gel option for skin that is more prone to oil and shine. The powerful formula visibly reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles to give a brighter, more youthful skin complexion. The Bio-Gel Bio-Restorative Hydrogel also adds a light moisture to the skin to help hydrate and prevent the skin from excessively drying out. Product is ideal for those with normal to oily skin, however, the light gel formula is perfect for men's use as well. The Hydrogel is non-comedogenic and comes fragrance-free and free of color additives so it will not irritate the skin. It has been Dermatologist tested, and proven to work in a few weeks.
Apply a few pumps of Bio-Gel to the face and neck once nightly.


Note: references to B5 and C4 are mixed references to allow the formula to be copied across and down.
The gist of this formula is to replace a given delimiter with a large number of spaces using SUBSTITUTE and REPT, then use the MID function to extract text related to the "nth occurrence" and the TRIM function to get rid of the extra space.
The total characters extracted is equal to the length of the full text string. The TRIM function then removes all extra spaces and returns just the nth string.
For manual, one-off conversions, Excel has a built-in feature called "Text to Columns" that can split text in cells with a delimiter of your choice. You'll find this feature on the the Data tab of the ribbon in the Data tools section.


Your contributions will be processed through our secure online provider at Blackbaud - NetCommunity. Together we are making a difference for Point Reyes National Seashore - thank you for caring!
If you have additional questions, please contact us at info@ptreyes.org or (415) 663-1200 x 314.


"How should banks support SMEs to manage funding risks in China? The role of relationship banking", (with Liu Yajing, Toshiki Jinushi, and Nobuyoshi Yamori), pp.365-398, in Nguyen et.al.eds. Risk Management in Emerging Markets: Issues, Framework, and Modeling, Emerald Group Publishing, 2016.
"Does the Japanese Closed-End Fund Puzzle Exist? : An Empirical Study of the Efficiency of the Financial Market in Japan", International Journal of Business, 11, 33-45, 2006.


Beiqi Foton Motor Co has launched a heavy-duty truck – the Auman GTL – for the U.S. and European markets with stringent environmental requirements. In the past, Foton mainly exported to Southeast Asian, South American and African markets. The company has been the top Chinese maker of commercial vehicles since 2003. It shipped 693,000 units in 2010. The company has produced 5 million vehicles since its foundation in 1996, and has factories in Indonesia, Vietnam, Russia, Mexico, Pakistan, Turkey and Iran. More are under construction in South America and Africa. Last year, international sales exceeded 31,800 units, but Beiqi has yet to penetrate the U.S. and European markets. The GTL cost CNY1.7 billion to develop. The company plans to open 100 to 200 franchise stores in the U.S. and Europe before exporting the model. Beiqi Foton is cooperating with U.S.-based Cummins, a maker of gasoline engines, which has already built more than 100 service stores overseas.
Growth in China's auto sales will slow to 3% to 5% this year after government incentives that boosted deliveries in 2010 were removed, according to Xu Changming, Research Director at the State Information Center. Deliveries will likely be about 19 million units this year. "I don't expect any more stimulus policies from the government in the near future," Xu said. China's auto sales have slowed this year after surging 32% in 2010 to a record, as the government phased out sales tax breaks and rebates for rural purchases. Total vehicle deliveries rose 3.2% in the first seven months, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM). The State Information Center is conducting research on consumer acceptance of electric vehicles to see whether and under what circumstances buyers will opt for the alternative-energy cars, Xu said. Growth in China's auto sales picked up in August as automakers offered more price cuts to boost demand, the CAAM said. Vehicle deliveries grew to 1.38 million units last month, an increase of 4.1% from the same period of last year. The growth accelerated from the 2.2% increase in July and June's 1.4%. Passenger car sales gained 7.3% year on year to 1.09 million units while commercial vehicle sales fell 6.4% to 285,900 units. "We expect the auto market to be brisk in the next few months and the mild growth is likely to continue," the CAAM said. The Association revised 2011 sales growth down to 5% from an earlier estimate of 10% to 15%. In the first eight months of this year, carmakers sold 3.3% more vehicles, totaling 11.9 million units, the CAAM's figures showed. In the first eight months of the year, overall sales expanded 3.3% to 12 million units, with passenger-car sales gaining 6.1% to 9.2 million units. Sales at SAIC-GM-Wuling Automotive showed the biggest growth last month, the carmaker association said. GM said that August sales rose 13% to 205,885.
Production began at Chery Automobile's new Venezuelan factory on August 29. Assembly of its A1 and A3 models in the state of Aragua made Anhui-based Chery the first Chinese automaker to build cars in Venezuela. The country imposes a 40% tariff on imported cars, so the factory is expected to boost sales. The Venezuelan operation follows the roll out of Chery's Fulwin 2 hatchback in Ukraine, where it began to assemble cars in 2006 and has now produced more than 70,000 units. Chery also reached an agreement with the China-Africa Development Fund to form the Chery Overseas Industrial Investment Co joint venture to provide financial and consulting services in Africa. The new company, with a registered capital of CNY1.27 billion, will be 55% owned by Chery, with the development fund holding the remaining share. Chery first exported cars to Africa in 2003 and now sells about 15,000 vehicles on the continent, mostly from an assembly factory it built in Egypt. In August Chery also became the mainland's first homegrown carmaker to enter the Hong Kong market when its Tiggo and S21 models went on sale. The only Chinese mainland vehicles on Hong Kong's roads before were a small number of sightseeing buses. The carmaker has a sales goal of 500 to 1,000 units for this year in Hong Kong and plans to increase the number of dealers from the existing two to four. Another Anhui-based automaker, JAC Motors, reported 280% growth in exports in the first seven months of 2011 compared to the same period last year, much of it to Brazil. Chery exported 17,008 vehicles in July, a 92.53% increase over the same month last year, bringing its exports to 88,835 units in the first seven months, an increase of 89.25% year-on-year. Geely Automobile Holdings reported exports of 13,385 vehicles in the first six months of 2011, a 93% increase over the same period in 2010. Overall exports by domestic automakers in July hit 73,300 vehicles, a 57.7% rise over the same period in 2011. Total exports of China-made vehicles ― including passenger and commercial vehicles ― from January to July totaled 454,400 units, a 57.3% increase over the same period last year, the China Daily reports.
A new electricity pricing system for electric vehicles is likely to be established in pilot cities to boost China's new-energy vehicle industry. New-energy vehicles will become big electricity consumers and provide a potential market for power companies' future operations, Li Ying, Chief Economist of the State Grid Energy Research Institute, told China Daily. "A new category for electricity use might be developed for new-energy vehicles," besides those for residential, agricultural and industrial users. Charging costs would be kept below those for petroleum products to maintain the competitiveness of electric vehicles. State Grid Corp of China plans to build 1,700 charging stations and 3 million charging poles by the end of 2015. Potevio, a state-owned telecommunication equipment maker is working with the authorities in Shenzhen to gather data to support the design of a pricing system. Potevio has built 57 power charging-switching stations in Shenzhen, with 850 charging positions.
London-listed car distributor Inchcape plans a fivefold increase in China dealerships in the next five years. With an investment of about GBP10 million per outlet, Inchcape plans to spend a total of about HKD2 billion adding 16 new dealerships by 2016 to the four it now operates. "We are taking our time to build our presence in China because our competitive advantage is customer service, and that takes time to develop people's skills and capability to deliver," Chief Executive André Lacroix said. Hong Kong, where it operates as Crown Motors and is the sole official importer for Toyota and Lexus, ranks as the firm's third biggest market globally. Inchcape grew into a multinational conglomerate with businesses as diverse as shipping, Coca-Cola bottling, high-end fashion retailing, insurance broking and wine and spirits trading, in addition to car sales, until the board decided in the late 90s to sell all of its businesses except the core car trading operations. In China Inchcape now operates Toyota, Lexus and Jaguar Land Rover dealerships in Shaoxing and it has one Lexus showroom in Shanghai.


"Participation in Expo is reaching an early sell-out; most of the larger exhibit spaces are already occupied. Many of the exhibiting companies are determining the equipment they'll bring for display in Atlanta. And some have expanded their exhibit space based on strong, pre-show orders," commented Eric Gee, SFPA's exposition director. "Expo 2019 is the best place to be for companies wanting to showcase the latest equipment, products and services for the wood industry," he added.
Sponsored and conducted by the Southern Forest Products Association (SFPA) every two years since 1950, this event has traditionally included many of the biggest names in the business displaying everything from sawmill machinery to materials handling equipment, attracting key representatives from the nation's largest wood products manufacturers. Expo 2017 featured 183 exhibitors, with a total attendance of just over 2,000.
An online sales kit and exhibit space application is now available at www.sfpaexpo.com. "We have also rolled out new event management software that streamlines the exhibit space selection and confirmation process," Eric noted.
For questions about Expo 2019, contact Eric at 504/443-4464 (option 3), or e-mail him at egee@sfpa.org.
NOTE to Editors: The EXPO 2019 logo and photos from Expo 2017 are available upon request; contact Cameron Goodreau, cgoodreau@sfpa.org.
The Forest Products Machinery & Equipment Exposition has been sponsored since 1950 by the Southern Forest Products Association, a trade association representing Southern Pine lumber manufacturers from Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas.
SFPA's member companies produce about 45 percent of the nation's Southern Pine lumber.


text:
The Explanation of Jesus' Origin (Mat 1:18-25)
The genealogy has prepared us for this next section. That which the genealogy implied is now clearly taught. Matthew now explains the supernatural origin of Jesus as well as His purpose for coming to the earth—to save His people from their sins. This section, therefore, is a justification of his genealogy. It shows that while His birth was supernatural, Jesus still can rightly be regarded as the legitimate son of Joseph and thus the heir to David's throne.
The virgin conception, along with the genealogy, answer the charges about Jesus' humble birth and his actual origin (13:57-58; Mark 6:3; Luke 4:22; John 7:27, 40-41; 8:41, 8:48).
These verses do not relate to the actual birth of Jesus but rather explain His origin (or virginal conception). The story is told from Joseph's standpoint rather than that of Mary (as Luke does). Interestingly, Matthew assumes his readers know who Joseph and Mary are, since there is no attempt to explain anything about them. We will learn two things about the child from this section—The child is Immanuel (God with us) and His name (or purpose) is Jesus—the One who is to save.
Matt. 1:18 Now the origin of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary had been pledged to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.
Note on variant readings: Some manuscripts read Jesus rather than Jesus Christ. There is also a variant reading found in the word translated origin. The Greek manuscripts read either genesis or gennasis. Both terms mean "birth" but genesis also means "creation", "generation", and "genealogy". It is the same Greek word found in 1:1. Gennasis has a stricter meaning of "engendering". It eventually became the customary word in early Christian literature to refer to the birth of Christ. Gennasis is found as the reading of TR and MT.
Now the origin of Jesus Christ was as follows: The use of the same Greek word genesis picks up the idea of "origin" found in 1:1. This suggests that the record of origin now reaches its goal. The position of the words "of Jesus Christ" in Greek makes them emphatic. His birth is the focus of attention.
After His mother Mary had been pledged to Joseph, Matthew records that Jesus' conception took place when Mary was betrothed or pledged to Joseph. Betrothal was a different matter than our western idea of engagement.
Jewish weddings involved three separate phases. First, there was the engagement which was often arranged by the parents while the couple were still children.
The second phase was the betrothal. In Jewish law the betrothal period lasted about a year. It was a formal binding contract entered into before witnesses. Therefore in a restricted sense they were married. It gave the man legal rights over the girl and was terminated only by death (which left the betrothed a widow) or by the formal process of divorce as for a full marriage. If, for example, the girl had been guilty of adultery during the betrothal period she would face the penalty for adultery. In addition, if either of the parties did not want to go through with the marriage a divorce was required (Deuteronomy 22:24). During this period the man was legally called her husband (see verses 16, 19, 20, 24) yet the couple did not live together during the betrothal period and did not engage in sexual relations. Betrothal usually took place when the girl was between 12 and 13. The same word for betrothal is used of Mary in Luke 1:27; 2:5.
The third part was the marriage proper which took place about a year later. The marriage was complete when the husband took the betrothed to his home in a second public ceremony (vs. 24; cf. 25:1-13); thus they came together and could begin.
but before they came together, The verb used here denotes the consummation of the marriage.
There is no evidence that is was used for the marriage ceremony itself in which the bride was brought to the bridegroom. Luke agrees with Matthew that Mary and Joseph did not have sexual relations before the birth of Jesus (see 1:25). This statement again emphasizes that the father of Jesus was notJoseph.
she was found to be with child This does not mean that she was "found out". Rather it became obvious to all that she was going to have a baby.
from the Holy Spirit The divine origin of Mary's baby is now asserted. Luke also stresses that the Holy Spirit was the agent in Jesus' conception (1:35). The reference to the Holy Spirit shows that God is about to act through the child.
In the Old Testament the Spirit of God appears as the agent of God's activity, especially in creation and the giving of life (Genesis 1:2; Ezekiel 37:1-14; etc.). The Old Testament idea that God's Spirit will bring in the Messianic age (Isaiah 11:2; 42:1; 61:1; Joel 2:28; etc.) is also in view.
The relationship between Jesus' divine sonship and the Holy Spirit is evident at two other key points in His life (His baptism 3:16-17 and His resurrection Romans 1:4).
The fact that the Holy Spirit is not mentioned that often in the first three gospels underscores the importance of this reference. Just as the Spirit of God was active in the creation of the world, so He is active in its renewal through the Messiah.
Matt. 1:19 Joseph her husband, being a righteous man, and yet not willing to expose her to public disgrace, desired to divorce her quietly.
Joseph her husband, Joseph is called her husband though the last part of the process, the marriage ceremony, has not taken place.
being a righteous man, His righteousness is in the sense of him being conscientiousness in his observance of the law. He was "in the right" before the Law (Deuteronomy 22:13-21). The same word is used of Zacharias and Elizabeth (Luke 1:6)
and yet not willing, This phrase could have one of two possible meanings depending upon the translation of the participle.
"and yet not willing". As a good Jew he could show his zeal for the law if he made her a public disgrace. Though the law called for this, he decided not to do it.
"and therefore not willing". Because he was a righteous man he was not willing to disgrace her. Since he was morally upright he would not shame her.
Though both translations are possible, most commentators feel the first possibility has the most going for it considering the times in which they were living.
His righteousness is set against his own wishes. Joseph as a just, or a law abiding man, could have divorced her by an accusation of adultery resulting in a public trial.
to expose her to public disgrace This refers to making the divorce public rather than doing it privately. Joseph was unwilling to put her to public shame (same word as Colossians 2:15 "make a public spectacle"). The word deigmatizo means to "expose" or "humiliate". A deigma is a "specimen" or an "example".
desired to divorce her quietly. "Her" is in the emphatic position in Greek.
The Mosaic law stated that the man was to divorce his wife if he found something indecent in her (Deuteronomy 24:1). This was Joseph's legal obligation according to Scripture. Though Joseph did not want to expose her as an adulteress neither did he want to marry one who appeared to be guilty of sin. In the Old Testament the penalty for unchastity before marriage was stoning. However, by the time of Jesus, divorce, based on Deuteronomy 24:1 was the rule. Death by stoning was probably not insisted upon in the New Testament era (see John 8:3-11). This led him to consider the alternative of a formal divorce proceeding in relative privacy between two witnesses (see Deuteronomy 24:1). It is also possible that he intended to dispense with the witnesses altogether.
McNeile notes:
A betrothed girl was a widow if her fiancee died and this whether the man had 'taken' her to his house or not. After betrothal, therefore, but before marriage, the man was legally 'husband' (Genesis 29:21; Deuteronomy 22:23) hence an informal canceling of betrothal was impossible: the man had to give the woman a writ and pay a fine (McNeile, p. 7, 8).
Robert Gundry has a different idea of what transpired:
According to common opinion, in ignorance or unbelief Joseph supposed that Mary's pregnancy had come about through fornication with another man after she was betrothed to Joseph…Because he wanted to keep the Mosaic law, Joseph considered himself obligated at least to divorce Mary…Yet Joseph was magnanimous and possibly retained affection for Mary; so he planned to spare her disgrace by handing her the bill of divorce in the presence of only two or three signing witnesses. If the pregnancy had not yet made itself obvious, they might not even know the reason for the divorce.
To the contrary the presence and participation of two or three witnesses doubtfully meets the demands of Matthew's "secretly"…for two or three witnesses were normally involved…Furthermore, the later words of the angel to Joseph "do not fear to take Mary as your wife" (v 20), suggest reverential hesitation to intrude rather than suspicion of unfaithfulness; i.e. Matthew portrays Joseph not as fearing to break the law through failure to divorce Mary, but as fearing to do wrong by taking Mary to wife when she was found pregnant by divine causation. Then the statement in v 18, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit does not come as a piece of advanced information to the reader, but bears its more natural sense that Joseph found out the reason for, as well as the fact of Mary's pregnancy early in the episode (and presumably from Mary; cf. Luke 1:26-45). That, not a wrong deduction, left Joseph in a quandary. In deference to the Holy Spirit he decided to divorce Mary. In consideration of Mary he planned to hand her the certificate of divorce without any witnesses at all. The Mosaic law did not require them, anyway. They had become customary to protect a man from a divorced wife's false denial of divorce. But according to Matthew, Joseph intended to waive that precaution. The angel will repeat what Joseph already believed both to assure him of the truth and to provide a basis for the command to marry. Meanwhile the readers of Matthew have no reason to suspect Mary of what not even Joseph suspected her (Gundry, pp. 21, 22).
Matt. 1:20 But after he had considered these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not ever fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit".
But after he had considered these things, There was a struggle between his legal conscience and his love for Mary. But as Joseph was planning to proceed with the divorce he was divinely interrupted. Like Abraham (Genesis 22:11), Joseph was supernaturally hindered from injuring the One in whom all the families of the earth would be blessed.
behold, This expression is used a number of times in Matthew. Some modern translations completely ignore it while others always translate it with an English word such as behold, lo, or something like it. The word is used to call attention to the fact that something vivid is about to happen.
the angel of the Lord The angelic appearance to Mary, as recorded in Luke's Gospel, is not the same event that Matthew records. Each of them had a separate visitation from an angel. In Luke 1:19, 26 the angel is named (Gabriel) while in Matthew he is simply called the angel of the Lord here and the other times he appears (2:13, 19)
In the Old Testament, the angel of the Lord appeared on several prominent occasions (Genesis 16:17 ff.; 22:11; Exodus 3:2) The word angel simply means "messenger" and can refer to a human being (see Luke 7:24) as well as one of God's created "spirit beings" (Hebrews 1:7,14). In the Old Testament it sometimes refers to the Lord Himself in a temporary "theophany" or "activity on the earth". On occasion, the angel of the Lord may refer to the Holy Spirit. F.F. Bruce writes:
This section of the Philip narrative [Acts 8:26-40] is reminiscent here and there of the story of Elijah, who was apt to be moved from one place to another at short notice by the Spirit of Yahweh; cf. 1Ki 18:12; 2Ki 1:3; 2:16. Moreover, in this section as it is in the story of Elijah, it is difficult to distinguish between the angel of the Lord from the Spirit of the Lord (vv. 29, 39). (F.F. Bruce, The Acts of the Apostles, Revised Edition, Eerdmans, 1990, p. 225).
appeared to him in a dream The communicating of God's instructions in a dream is emphasize repeatedly in Matthew's story of Jesus' birth (2:12, 13, 19, 22). All but one of dreams are given to Joseph (the other is to the Magi). The only other dream recorded in Matthew is to Pilate's wife (27:19).
Three of these dreams involve the angel of the Lord (here, 2:13, 19). This same angel appears again at the end of the gospel (28:2). These appearances emphasize that God has supernaturally directed Jesus' birth, childhood and resurrection.
God often used dreams to reveal His will. In Scripture they often appear in clusters—during the period of the Patriarchs, the time of Daniel, and in Matthew's account of Jesus' birth.
saying, "Joseph, son of David, This is the only place in the gospels where this designation is applied to someone other than Jesus. The form in which Joseph is addressed summarizes the purpose of the genealogy—Joseph is legally connected to David. The title also seems to confirm that the genealogy is that of Joseph's rather than Mary's.
It has been observed that Joseph had certain things in common with his Old Testament namesake: both were righteous, both were influenced by dreams, and both were forced to journey into Egypt.
do not ever fear Don't be afraid now or in the future. There should be no hesitating.
to take Mary as your wife, Joseph is instructed to enter into the full marriage relationship with Mary. This would mean going through with the marriage ceremony. It was essential for Joseph to complete the marriage in order to establish legal Davidic lineage for the child about to be born. Jesus would become the legal son of Joseph and would be reckoned as descending from David though Scripture makes it clear that He was not actually Joseph's son.
for that which is conceived in her Note that the Greek word referring to Jesus translated "that which" is in the neuter gender. Grammatical gender is not equivalent to personal gender. For example, the Greek word for "Spirit" (pneuma) is in the neuter gender while in Hebrew (ruach) it is in the feminine gender. Another example of where the neuter refers to things personal include Luke 19:10 "that which was lost"—that refers to sinners both male and female.
is from the Holy Spirit. The angels imparts to Joseph information that had already been given to Mary (Luke 1:35)—the power of the Holy Spirit is the source of Mary's conception. The idea that a virgin would conceive a child would have been very startling to Joseph for a virgin conception was not something that was part of the first century Jewish belief. The Jews were not looking for their Messiah to be virginally conceived. The fact that the origin of the child is from the Holy Spirit underscores the passive role of both Joseph and Mary in the conception of Jesus. God is the one who initiated all the action. This would have comforted and encouraged Joseph seeing that he could enter into the marriage without assuming Mary had been unfaithful.
Matt. 1:21 For she will give birth to a son, and you will call His name Jesus, for He Himself will save His people from their sins."
Note on variant readings: Two manuscripts have to you after give birth. Instead of His people one Syriac manuscript reads the world.
For she will give birth to a son, The virgin will give birth while still remaining a virgin.
and you The "you" you is singular referring to Joseph. It is not the plural form of "you" which would indicate Joseph and Mary. Old English had "thou" and "ye" to distinguish between singular and plural while modern English has only "you".
will call His name Jesus. It was important for Joseph to name His Son, Jesus. By doing so he would acknowledge the child as his own son. Therefore Jesus would be the "Son of David."
Male children were formally named at the time of circumcision—on the eighth day after birth (Luke 2:21). The language "You will call His name" reminds us of similar revelations in the Old Testament (Genesis 16:11; Isaiah 7:14). Divinely revealed names are full of meaning. The style is an echo of the Old Testament story in Genesis 17:19 (LXX) where the birth of Isaac is recorded. Hence the birth of Jesus and Isaac are compared in their supernatural character.
The use of the word "name" in this sentence is a figure of speech called a pleonasm or a redundancy. It refers to the use of more words than the grammar requires—that is, the sentence would be complete without the use of this word or group of words. Although the use may appear to be redundant, it certainly is not. They are not useless words but rather are necessary to complete the sense.
We find the word "name" seemingly redundant in the phrase "the name of God" which means God Himself. The use of name places greater emphasis than if the simple word God was used. Therefore when we have the phrase "to call upon the name of the Lord" it refers to calling upon the Lord Himself since this expression, by the figure of pleonasm, refers to His character. Thus when Scripture refers to the name of the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit, it refers to their person rather than their personal name.
Consequently in the phrase "His name Jesus" it refers to more than just His personal name, it means "that holy one Himself." For another example of this figure of speech see 6:9 "hallowed by Your name"—that is "Let You Yourself alone be worshipped."
For He Himself The "He" is emphatic in the Greek. Jesus Himself, and no other, will bring about this redemption (Luke 1:68; 24:21).
will save Salvation from sins was part of the hope of the Old Testament (Psalm 130:8 LXX; Isaiah 53; Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:24-31). However, it was not the dominant hope of the Jews living at the time of Jesus. The mention of it here would warn them not to expect the popular notion that the Messiah would be a national liberator.
In the late 1st century before Christ the work Ps. Sol. 17 expressed the Jewish expectation of a Davidic Messiah who would deliver His people and purify them for judgment. However the idea of saving them from their sins is missing.
There is a play on words here between the Hebrew words to save (yoshea) and Jesus (yeshua). This may imply there was a Hebrew original behind this verse. The play on words does not work in Aramaic or Greek.
His people This refers to the people of God—the Jews as opposed to the Gentiles.
from their sins He had come to save them from their sins, not to free them from Rome. This was different than the popular expectation of that day. This salvation will be accomplished by the shedding of Jesus' blood (26:28) and will forgive each individual of sin who trusts in Jesus.
Matt. 1:22 But all this took place that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying,
Note on a variant reading: A few manuscripts (along with the Syriac Versions) read Isaiah after the word prophet.
But all this took place, The coming of Jesus was not only a new creation by the Holy Spirit, it was also the last stage in a long-awaited process in the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. This is the first of Matthew's formula quotations. Verses 22-23 should probably be understood as the comment of Matthew rather than the continuation of the words spoken by the angel.
that what was spoken by the Lord The ultimate source was the Lord.
through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, The prophet was the intermediate source between the Lord and His people. In one half of Matthew's fulfillment quotations the prophet is not named.
Matt. 1:23 "Behold the virgin will conceive, and give birth to a son, and they will call His name Immanuel," which translated means, "God is with us."
Note on a variant reading: A few manuscripts read you will call (singular) instead of they will call.
"Behold the virgin will conceive, Isaiah 7:14 is the source of the quotation. Luke 1:31 probably also alludes to this verse indicating that both he and Matthew saw its relevance in the birth of Christ. By the middle of the second century (see the writing of the church father Justin) Isaiah 7:14 was an important Christian weapon in defense of the virgin birth of Jesus.
and give birth to a son, Not a daughter.
and they will call That is-people looking back on this event.
His name Immanuel," This is not a personal name. In Isaiah 7:14 is seen as fulfilled, not in the naming of Jesus, but in the whole account of His origin and naming. It is not that Jesus ever bore the name Immanuel but that it indicates His role, bringing God's presence to man.
which translated means, Matthew now explains to his readers what this phrase means. It is actually a transliteration of the Hebrew into Greek—making a new Greek word from the sound of the Hebrew phrase "God is with us."
"God is with us." This is a statement, not a prayer. the meaning is explained to Matthew's readers. Matthew's use of this term may be understood in one of two ways.
"God is with us" describes the nature of Jesus. He is God who has become a human.
Matthew wanted to show that the virgin conception was not something new, but that it had been predicted by the prophet Isaiah. God is now with the people to save them as the prophets have predicted. Therefore "God is with us" would not so much describe the exact nature of Jesus, but rather that God has been gracious to His people by sending His Messiah.
Matt. 1:24 And when Joseph rose up from the sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord ordered him, and took her as his wife.
And when Joseph rose up from the sleep, The divine dream is now over.
he did as the angel of the Lord ordered him, Throughout the first two chapters of Matthew, the divine initiative is first described and then followed by human obedience.
and took her as his wife. The marriage was formally completed but not consummated until after the birth of Jesus. In Matthew's explanation of Jesus' birth and infancy, God's initiative is given first, and then it is followed by human action and obedience. "The sole purpose of the hastened marriage being to legitimize the child"(Bruce, p. 69).
Matt. 1:25 And he did not know her until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.
Note on variant readings: The phrase And he did not know her until is not found in two manuscripts. After birth one Syriac manuscript reads to him. Many manuscripts (the reading of TR and MT) have the phrase her firstborn son instead of a son (this same phrase is used of Jesus in Luke 2:7).
And he did not know her This reemphasizes the fact of the miracle of the virgin conception. Joseph did not have sexual relations with Mary until after Jesus was born.
until she gave birth to a Son. The Greek expression "did not know her until" suggests that they enjoyed a normal marriage relationship after Jesus' birth and that Jesus brothers (12:46) were subsequently born of Joseph and Mary in a normal way.
It must also be noted, that in the New Testament, whenever we find this Greek word heos (translated "until") preceded by a word that negates it, it always implies the negatived action did, or will take place after the point of time indicated. Consequently we should assume that Joseph and Mary did have a normal marriage relationship after the birth of Jesus. Harold Fowler observes:
The perpetual virginity of Mary, asserted by many, creates some not indifferent biblical problems, since it seems to be contradicted by clear New Testament testimonies. Such a doctrine obligates the believer to give to the "until" of Matthew a defining sense that is never found elsewhere in Holy Scripture, introducing into it an exception without any sure foundation (Fowler, Volume 1, p. 210).
A.B. Bruce adds:
Subsequent intercourse was the natural, if not the necessary, course of things. If the evangelist had felt as the Catholics do, he would have taken pains to prevent misunderstanding (Bruce, p. 69).
Furthermore, the verb in the imperfect tense (continuous action in past time) also suggests a normal marriage relationship after the birth of Jesus. There is no biblical warrant for the idea of the perpetual virginity of Mary as David Hill notes:
As the text stands, however, the words reiterate the miracle (which was Matthew's concern here) and do not lend support to the idea of the subsequent virginity of Mary, although they do not absolutely deny it. It must be admitted that if the notion of Mary's perpetual virginity had been familiar to the evangelist or to the milieu for which he wrote, he would surely have been more explicit (Hill, p. 80).
And he called His name Jesus. Joseph named Him Jesus in obedience to the angel. This also indicates his formal adoption of Jesus and the establishment of his Davidic lineage. Bruce notes:
"He (not she) called the child Jesus, the statement referring back to the command of the angel to Joseph…before the Exile the mother, after the Exile the father, gave the name to the child at circumcision (Bruce, p. 69).
Note: If the phrase "firstborn son" is original with Matthew, it does not, in and of itself, mean that there were other sons (or daughters) after Jesus that were born to Joseph and Mary. The term "firstborn" has the idea of preeminence, not Jesus was the first of later-born children. The first may be the "only" (Isaiah 44:6).
Chapter one is divided into two distinct parts: verses 1-17 gives the record of Jesus' ancestry and in verses 18-25 the angel appears to Joseph and explains the meaning of Mary's pregnancy—Joseph will be the father of Jesus only in the legal sense.
The story of Jesus' birth records God fulfilling what He has promised in the Old Testament—specifically to David and Abraham. In the genealogy Matthew lists three times fourteen generations. The first series of fourteen show the origin of the house of David. The second fourteen chronicles its rise and decline. In the third list, the house of David ends with the fulfillment of the promises made to Abraham and David—the coming of the Messiah.
Matthew's intent is to show that Jesus is the legitimate heir to the throne of David. In listing His genealogy we find various types individuals: women and men, Gentiles as well as Jews, those who did evil and those who did good. The Messiah is the Savior of all races and all classes of people.
The section reveals the virginal conception of Jesus. Joseph and Mary were betrothed but not officially married when she was pregnant. Joseph was going to privately divorce her when the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream with an explanation of the circumstances. It is the power of the Holy Spirit that impregnated Mary and that Joseph must take her home to be his wife. Furthermore Joseph must name the child Jesus since He is the one who will save His people from their sins.
Matthew then cites Isaiah 7:14 as the passage that predicts the virgin conception of Jesus. With Jesus' coming to earth He is Immanuel—God with us. God is now dwelling in the midst of His people.
Joseph rises from his sleep and immediately does as the angel commands. He takes Mary to be his wife but does not have sexual relations with her until after the Son is born—whom He names Jesus.
Matthew's account is a mixture of the miraculous with the ordinary, the divine with the human. God brought His Son into the world by means of a virginal conception. Matthew does not focus on the birth itself but on the significance it will play in fulfilling God's plan. The names of the Promised One—Jesus and Immanuel—have significance. They illustrate God has visited His people in order to save them from their sins. The history of the chosen people, which began with Abraham, has now reached its long-awaited goal. The One whom the Law and the Prophets wrote about has finally arrived—God has become human!
QUESTIONS FOR CHAPTER 1
QUESTION: WHY ARE THE GENEALOGIES OF MATTHEW AND LUKE DIFFERENT?
One of the most-often asked question surrounding the New Testament is the relationship between the genealogy of Matthew and Luke. We note the following differences between the two accounts:
Matthew's genealogy works forward while Luke works backwards. Luke's genealogy (3:23-38) starts with Jesus and works back to Adam. Matthew starts with Abraham and works his way forward to Jesus. Therefore Luke goes from son back to father while Matthew goes from father to son.
Each gospel has a different end point. Matthew only goes back to the founder of the Hebrew nation—Abraham—while Luke goes back to the first man—Adam.
Sometimes Matthew stops and explains the reason for a name (1:2, 5) while Luke never does this.
Luke's genealogy has seventy-seven names while Matthew has only forty-two.
In their common period between Abraham and Jesus, Luke has fifty-six names compared to Matthew's forty-one. Thus Luke adds fifteen extra names for this time period.
Of Matthew's forty-one names, Luke has only seventeen that agree with Matthew. Thirteen of them are found in the period between Abraham and David (the only name missing is Ram or Aram).
Though there is close agreement from Abraham to David, after David the genealogies diverge. Matthew follows the succession of the throne of Judah from Solomon while Luke's list goes through Nathan, another Son of David. The two genealogies converge only for two names (Shealtiel and Zerubbabel) until Joseph and Jesus are reached.
Matthew clearly divides the names into three groups of fourteen. Luke, on the other hand, gives no division of his seventy- seven names. It is possible that he is listing eleven groups of seven but of this we cannot be certain.
Matthew lists four women (five if we include Mary) in his genealogy while Luke lists none. This is especially interesting given Luke's attention to women in his gospel.
We do not know what source Matthew used for the period after Zerubbabel, nor Luke's source of the time from David to Joseph. We know that there were public records of genealogies at that time. Flavius Josephus tell us that he traced his own genealogy in "public records" (Life 6). But the question remains, "How could these family records be so different?"
Many solutions have been offered to the problem of the two genealogies:
SOLUTION 1.
HARMONY IS NOT POSSIBLE.
Many scholars have given up on the idea of harmonizing the two accounts. They argue that the genealogies should be looked at theologically rather than historically. It is true that each account does have a theological connection—Matthew shows Jesus is the king through David while Luke identifies Jesus with all of humanity in tracing Him back to Adam—yet this does not mean they are without historical foundation. The fact-of-the-matter is that there are possible solutions to this problem.
LUKE RECORDS THE GENEALOGY OF MARY WHILE MATTHEW CHRONICLES THE GENEALOGY OF JOSEPH.
This a very old view which has its origin in Annius of Viterbo in 1490. The arguments for this position are as follows:
Luke 3:23 states that Jesus was the supposed son of Joseph. Since Joseph was not the genuine father of Jesus then the following names would not be referring to his family but rather to Mary's.
The absence of the article in Greek shows that Joseph is not a part of the ensuing genealogy.
If Joseph is in the genealogy, then Luke contradicts not only Matthew but also himself where he states that Jesus was virginally conceived.
There is Rabbinic tradition that connects Mary with Heli (or Eli).
If this is the correct view then, through Mary, Jesus would be a physical descendant of David (by Nathan). He would have the legal rights to the throne through his adoptive father Joseph. Hence He would be both the physical and legal heir to David.
This answer, though popular, has its problems.
Luke seems to state clearly that he is giving Joseph's genealogy the "supposed" father of Jesus (3:23). It was not the practice to trace a genealogy through the female line (though females were occasionally mentioned in genealogies). It is true, however, that this genealogy has no human father with which to trace Jesus' ancestry.
The absence of the article in Greek can be attributed to Joseph starting the list, therefore the article before his name would be unnecessary in Greek.
The virgin conception of Jesus through Mary would not prevent the legal rights to be transferred to Jesus seeing that He was adopted by Joseph.
It is unclear whether the Rabbinic tradition applies to this Mary. It does not state that Mary, who comes from Eli, is the mother of Jesus. Another Mary could be in view.
Since Mary is not named in the genealogy the most natural way of reading the text would be assuming that it refers to Joseph. The Greek article that is in front of the list of names is in the masculine gender. If Luke wanted to have Mary in the genealogy he could have named her or else used the feminine article which would have made it clear that he was referring to Mary.
Still, the idea that Luke records Mary's genealogy while Matthew records Joseph's remains a possibility.
Most modern interpreters see both genealogies as Joseph's line. There are, however, several ways in which they understand the two genealogies relate to one another.
LUKE IS THE ROYAL OR LEGAL LINE WHILE MATTHEW IS THE NATURAL LINE.
This is the oldest known suggested solution to this problem, going all the way back to Julius Africanus (A.D. 225). He argued that Matthew gives Joseph's natural line while Luke records the royal line. The difference in the two genealogies was due to levirate marriages (Deu 25:5-10)—marriages where a brother would marry the wife of his dead brother who had not produced any offspring.
According to this view Matthan (Mat 1:15) had a son, Jacob, through his wife Estha. When Matthan died Estha married Melchi (Luk 3:24). They had a son whom they named Heli (Luk 3:23). Heli died without having any children. Thus his half-brother Jacob took his wife by levirate marriage. This would link Jacob's sons to Heli's line. Therefore Joseph could be aligned with both lines: physically to Jacob and legally to Heli. We know that levirate marriages were practiced in Jesus' time (Mat 22:24-28), otherwise the question that the Sadducees raised would have been nonsensical.
The problem with this view is that there are two names in Luke's genealogy that are between Heli and Melchi (Mathat and Levi). Since Matthew's list is shorter than Luke's the connection is not impossible, but it is not very likely.
LUKE RECORDS JOSEPH's PHYSICAL GENEALOGY WHILE MATTHEW RECORDS THE ROYAL GENEALOGY.
This view reverses the previous theory—the royal line is in Matthew while Joseph's physical or natural line is found in Luke. This approach takes note that ancient Judaism argued for two lines for David.
This theory holds that Luke records Joseph's actual physical descendants which go back to David. These descendants of David, through Nathan, were not in royal line. Matthew records the royal line of succession to the throne or his legal descendants. Had the kingdom continued these descendants of David would have ruled.
According to this view, Luk 3:23 records Joseph's actual father (Eli) while Jacob (Mat 1:16) therefore would have been his adoptive father, or a relative whom Joseph succeeded in the absence of a son of his own. Jacob, therefore, (Mat 1:15) was childless and Heli was the actual physical father of Joseph.
For this explanation to work there must be another levirate marriage because Mat 1:16 seemingly has Jacob as Joseph's father, while Luk 3:23 says Joseph is the son of Heli. If Jacob and Heli are brothers then Matthan (Mat 1:15) and Matthat (Luk 3:24) are the same person. However if these two men are brothers then their father's differ in the two genealogies (Eleazar in Mat 1:15 and Levi in Luk 3:24). Therefore one must assume another levirate marriage or else the line through Eleazar became extinct.
It is not impossible that the two lines would converge at two points (Shealtiel and Joseph) in a period of 1,000 years. This view is possible but as one can see it is very complicated.
MATTHEW GIVES THE PHYSICAL LINE WHILE LUKE GIVES THE LEGAL AND PHYSICAL LINE.
There is another possibility to harmonize the two accounts by assuming that Jacob and Heli were half-brothers. Matthat and Matthan, according to this view, are not the same person. Joseph, then, is the physical descendant of Jacob (Matthew) by a sister of Heli (Luke) who bears his name. If this view is correct then Matthew gives the physical line and Luke gives the legal and physical line. Luke's line is physical through Heli's sister who has legal claim to the line as the nearest relative to Heli.
The problem with this view concerns how Joseph could be called the son of Heli since Heli would not have been his father and there is no levirate marriage.
LUKE's IS THE LEGAL LINE REFLECTING THE ADOPTION OF JOSEPH.
This solution has Mary as the heiress to Eli because she had no brothers. Upon his marriage to Mary, Joseph was adopted by Eli as his son. The Bible speaks of other cases where a father did not have a physical son (Numbers 27:1-11; 1 Chronicles 2:34-35; Ezra 2:61; Nehemiah 7:63). If this solution be the case, then Matthew gives the physical line of Joseph while Luke the legal line.
If Luke does represent the legal line then it would offer a solution to the cursed line of Jeconiah—a name that appears in Matthew's genealogy but not in Luke's. Luke, therefore, would wipe out any recognition of Jechoniah's line from the official royal line because of the curse which was placed upon him (Jeremiah 22:30).
To add to the complicated nature of this issue, there is the statement in Haggai 2:2 that Zerubabel received the signet ring. This may indicate that the curse had been removed from Jeconiah's line.
SUMMARY TO THE GENEALOGY PROBLEM
Any solution to this problem must remain only in the realm of possibility since we cannot know for certain which theory is correct as New Testament scholar, Craig Blomberg, notes, "Knowing which of these solutions is more likely probable is impossible unless new evidence comes up." (Blomberg, pp. 53, 54).
John Broadus sums up the proper attitude:
We are little concerned to show which of them is best, and under no obligation to prove that either of them is certainly correct; for we are not attempting to establish from the Genealogies the credibility of Matthew's Gospel. When the object is simply to refute an objection…founded upon an apparent discrepancy between two statements, it is sufficient to present any hypothetical explanation of the difficulty which is possible. If the explanation be altogether reasonable and probable, so much the better. And if there be two, or several, possible explanations, these reinforce each other in removing the ground for objection, and it is not necessary to choose between them (Broadus, p. 7).
WHY DID MATTHEW ADD THESE PARTICULAR WOMEN TO THE GENEALOGY?
In Greek and Jewish culture women had few legal rights. They would not inherit property or give testimony in a court of law. It is recorded that in the first century the Pharisees would begin the day by thanking God they were not born one of three things: a slave, a Gentile, or a woman! Therefore it was strange to see women having a prominent part in the genealogy of Jesus.
The naming of women in a genealogy is rare in Jewish lists. The four women usually mentioned in Jewish writings were Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah. It is not so much that women are mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus, but rather the specific women that are singled out. As we have already mentioned they include: a women who seduced her father-in-law and had twins born out of wedlock, a lying prostitute, a Moabitess (from a cursed people), and the wife of a Hittite with whom David committed adultery and later murdered her husband to cover it up. It is hard to imagine a more unlikely group to be candidates for the lineage of the Messiah! Yet Matthew lists them. It must be also mentioned that they are not in the lineage of the Messiah in the same sense that the men—their names did not have to be included. Furthermore Matthew could have mentioned the mothers of all the other kings as well. But he did not. Therefore there must have been some specific reason for including these particular women in the genealogy of Jesus. There are several possible reasons as why these four women (five if we include Mary) are specifically mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus. They include:
1. THE FOUR WOMEN WERE NOTORIOUS SINNERS
One suggestion is that all were specifically involved in sexual sin. The problem is that Ruth was not implicated in sexual sin as the others. All, however, were involved in marriage irregularity and all four were vindicated by God's subsequent blessings.
2. THE FOUR WOMEN WERE GENTILES
Matthew wants to show that ultimately including Gentiles in God's purposes is not something strange. He does this by showing that the Messiah has Gentiles among His ancestors. It is however, not clear that Tamar and Bathsheba were Gentiles though it is quite reasonable that Tamar, a local girl, was probably a Canaanite, and Bathsheba, the wife of a Hittite, was also a Gentile.
3. THE WOMEN WERE A TESTIMONY TO THE GRACE OF GOD.
One of the reasons for the inclusion of these women may have been the foreshadowing of the gracious character of Jesus. He invited all to come to Him for rest (Mat 11:28) which include the sinful and the miserable. Thus the women mentioned in the genealogy are a picture of the gospel.
4. THEY SHOW GOD's SPECIAL PROVIDENCE
A further reason for listing these women is their providential connection in the line of the Messiah. Tamar was the mother of the children of Judah—the one of twelve sons of Jacob who was singled out for the Messianic line. Ruth was the mother in the line that culminated with the first king David. Rahab was connected with the earlier Jesus (Joshua) and Bathsheba was the first mother of the line of kings.
5. THE WOMEN IN THE GENEALOGY PREFIGURE MARY
Matthew seems to have wanted to disarm criticism by showing that in the Messiah's lineage God worked through some unlikely people. Those who were receptive to His will include Gentiles and a prostitute. Ruth was a virtuous woman though she was from Moab. Rahab, though a prostitute, was saved by her righteous action in hiding the spies. James called her "justified" (James 2:25). She is also listed among the faithful in Hebrews 11:31. Though Tamar and Bathsheba were adulteresses, Tamar was pronounced more righteous than Judah (Genesis 38:26), and Bathsheba bore a son who was named beloved of the Lord (2 Samuel 12:25).
The virgin conception through Mary would also be surprising and seemingly scandalous. However, the women mentioned serve as a reminder that God works His purposes in unusual ways and that we should be prepared for the surprising events. The four provide an impressive precedent for Jesus' birth of an unmarried mother from an obscure background. Furthermore, Matthew closes his genealogy by stating that Mary was his legally acknowledged wife.
WHY DOES THE THIRD SECTION OF MATTHEW's GENEALOGY CONTAIN ONLY THIRTEEN GENERATIONS, NOT FOURTEEN?
When the names are added up on the last list of Matthew's genealogy it seems there are only thirteen instead of fourteen. There are several ways of explaining why this seems to be so.
Jeconiah Has Two References
The first reference to Jeconiah should be Jehoiakim, who was the son of Josiah and the father of Jehoiachin. The second reference to Jechoniah would be Jehoiachin. Both names (Jehoiakim and Jehoiachin) are spelled the same in Greek. This would account for the fact that Jehoiakim is seemingly missing from Matthew's genealogy as well as have each group equal fourteen names.
We Could Count Jechoniah Twice
Another possibility is that Jechoniah (Jehoiachin) should be counted twice. This is because he lived both before and after the Babylonian captivity. If this is done, then there is no problem with having three groups of fourteen.
It Is A Scribal Error
Some have argued for a scribal error in the manuscripts. The earliest copyists of Matthew accidentally omitted the name Jehoiakim—whose inclusion would make fourteen on the final list.
Others have suggested that the name Asir dropped out between Jechoniah and Shealtiel (1 Chronicles 3:17 LXX).
Mary Is The Fourteenth Name
A simple explanation is to count Mary as the fourteenth person in the genealogy. This would make all of them equal.
The Ancient Method of Reckoning
Ancient reckoning always included the first and last elements in a series. Therefore we have (1) Abraham to David (2) David to Josiah (the last free king), (3) Jeconiah (the first king of the Babylonian captivity) to Jesus. This would have fourteen names in each division.
It Was Typical Jewish Practice
Writing in the middle of the 17th century, the great Hebraist John Lightfoot offered another possible solution. He noted that it was typical Jewish practice to round off certain numbers.
Although all things do not square exactly in this threefold number of fourteen generations, yet there is no reason why this should be charged as a fault upon Matthew, when in the Jewish schools themselves it obtained for a custom, yea, almost an axiom, to reduce things and numbers to the very same, when they were near alike. The thing will be plain by an example of two, when a hundred almost might be produced (Lightfoot, Volume 2, p. 15).
After giving several example he concluded:
They do so very much delight in such kind of conceits…So that if a Jew carps at thee…Matthew for the unevenness of thy fourteens, out of their own schools and writings thou hast that, not only whereby thou mayest defend thyself, but retort upon them (Lightfoot, ibid., p. 16).
DOES ISAIAH 7:14 PREDICT THE VIRGIN CONCEPTION OF JESUS?
Though Isaiah 7:14 is cited by Matthew as a prophecy of the virgin conception of the Messiah there are a number of objections that arise to his use of this passage.
The Word For Virgin
First, it is argued that Matthew depends upon the Greek word parthenos (virgin) to come up with the prophecy of the virgin conception. However, the Hebrew word almah, from which it is translated, means only "young woman" who may or may not be a virgin. If Isaiah really wanted to predict the virgin conception then he would have used, so the argument goes, the more specific Hebrew term for virgin, bethulah. Matthew, therefore, used a term in Greek that was more specific than the original Hebrew text.
This objection is not as weighty as it seems. First, the word bethulah is not that specific of a term as some claim. Old Testament specialist E.J. Young wrote, "The word in question is ambiguous. Does it mean a virgin, a betrothed virgin, or a married woman? I am convinced that it may mean any one of the three" (Edward J. Young, article on "The Virgin Birth" in The Banner, April 15, 1955, cited by Hendriksen, p. 137).
Furthermore, almah is never used of a married woman in the Bible or in any other reference. Almah is specifically refers to a young woman, with the implication that she is a virgin. The word is found only 7 times in the Old Testament and is used of both girls or young women, at least two of whom were unmarried . (Genesis 24:43; Exodus 2:8). But it is not used elsewhere in connection with childbirth (or even marriage).
Therefore the use of almah in Isaiah 7:14 points to some type of unique birth. If merely a normal birth were in Isaiah's mind, he would have used the Hebrew word issa (woman, wife) in this context rather than almah.
Used of Parthenos
The indication that Isaiah was thinking of a birth outside the normal pattern of childbirth within marriage is what may have led the Septuagint translators to use the Greek word parthenos to translate almah.
It is clear that the translators of the Septuagint with their use of parthenos understood it to refer to more than an ordinary birth. Parthenos normally means virgin, the Greek word for "young woman" is neaneas. It is possible that parthenos could be used for a woman who has lost her virginity (Genesis 34:3) yet this is not the normal meaning of the term. The fact that the Greek translators used parthenos, rather than the simple term for young woman, shows they understood there would be something unique about the child's birth.
Therefore, from the Hebrew word that Isaiah chose, as well as the Greek term used to translate it, it is consistent that this woman who conceived the child would be a virgin.
The Context of Isaiah
The second objection concerns the context of the prediction of this birth (Isaiah 7). It is argued that the promise of the child that will be born (Isaiah 7:14) is specifically referring to the immediate historical situation. Isaiah was speaking about current king of Judah (Ahaz) not about something that would happen in the distant future. The prophet promises a sign to king Ahaz and the entire House of David—the birth of a son. This prophecy may have been fulfilled by the birth of Hezekiah. For it was during his infancy the two kings feared by Ahaz (of Syria and Israel) suffered ruin. Therefore the context is clear that fulfillment is required in the immediate future. Consequently, this prophecy, by its nature, was restricted to the time of Ahaz and has nothing to do with the future.
A Double Fulfillment
This objection is usually answered in one of two ways. The first answer sees a double fulfillment in Isaiah's prophecy, one for the immediate future and one for the distant future. It is argued as follows: although the immediate context of Isaiah is clear, it is also clear from the wider context of Isaiah that there is more than this involved. The fact that the name Immanuel is reintroduced in Isaiah 8:8, 10, and the recurrent theme of a child to be born as deliverer (9:6-7; 11:1ff.), indicate that 7:14 is to be seen as preparing the way for a developing theme in this section of Isaiah—the Messiah is coming and He will bring in a golden age.
The Context Is Crucial
Furthermore, the surrounding passages speak of the beginning of this promised age where the wicked will be judged and righteous blessed (Isaiah 2:2-4; 9:2-7; 11:1-16). Consequently this passage has wider application than the promise of a son born to Ahaz.
Robert Gundry notes:
Since Isaiah goes on to speak of the near future, we are to think of his prophecy as having come to pass partly during the youth of Mahershalahashbaz (see Isa 7:15- 8:22). But the part of his prophecy having to do with the virginal conception and birth of a divine child awaited fulfillment till Jesus' nativity. The NT distinction between two advents of Christ similarly rests on the phenomenon of partial fulfillment followed at some distance by a completion. Examples abound if we do not deny predictive prophecy out of hand. (Gundry p. 25).
Only the Virgin Conception
A second way in which this objection is answered is to see the prophecy of Isaiah referring solely to the virgin conception of the Messiah with nothing to do with the near future in Isaiah's day. The main argument is that the prophecy is that a virgin will conceive a child. This it is argued, can only refer to Jesus, not to some unnamed child in Isaiah's day. William Hendriksen writes:
As to Matthew's reference to Isa. 7:14, if…Isaiah did indeed refer to a virgin, there is no discrepancy whatever between Isa. 7:14 and Matt. 1:23. On the other hand, if Isaiah was thinking of a young married woman who, with the help of her husband, conceived and gave birth to a child, it is difficult to see how Matthew could regard Christ's birth "of the virgin Mary" to be a fulfilment of Isa. 7:14. The 'almah mentioned in Isa. 7:14 cannot have been at the same time virgin and non-virgin. Moreover, it is clearly as an 'almah that she conceives and gives birth to a child. The interpreter has no right, as is sometimes done, first to introduce her as a young unmarried woman, and then surreptitiously, as it were to let her get married before she conceives a bears a son (Hendriksen, p. 138).
Is the Virgin Conception of Pagan Origin?
There is also the objection that the Virgin conception of Jesus derives from a pagan origin rather than from the passage in Isaiah. It is, so the argument goes, another story of the gods coming down, having intercourse with a woman or a goddess mother, and producing some sort of heavenly offspring. However this objection has no weight when the facts are considered as A.H. McNeile notes:
Several writers have held that the origin of the belief [in the virgin conception] was not Jewish but pagan…Pagan myths of goddess mothers whose sons were divine redeemers are easy to collect. But, as these writers admit, the belief produced from such myths could not have taken its rise in Palestinian Jewish circles. The adaptation of pagan ideas must have been the work of Gentile Christians and their incorporation into the Christian tradition must have taken place at a later date. But such a theory is confronted with the difficulty that the narratives of the Nativity are intensely Jewish; the language is Hebraic, and the atmosphere Palestinian. If the portions which deal with the virgin birth are Gentile insertions into an earlier Jewish story, they should present distinctively Greek features; but they do not; they are as Hebraic as the surrounding context…This is not only true of Matthew's account but also of Luke 1:34-35…
We are thus led to the conclusion that no non-Christian source, written or oral, has been found which satisfactorily accounts for this phenomena of the Gospel narratives. It is impossible to determine how the event of the Virgin Birth was known to Christians. From the nature of the case it would not be common knowledge at first…It is often said that Matthew's account must have been derived from Joseph, and Luke's from the Lord's mother; this however cannot be considered proved and must not be pressed, although they were obviously the ultimate authority for the fact. But at least the written narrative was current within the lifetime of the members of the family who were in a position to know the facts and could have contradicted false statements. (McNeile, pp. 11-13).
We conclude that the various objections to Matthew using Isaiah 7:14 as a prediction the virgin conception of Christ do not have any weight. Clearly Isaiah 7:14 is a passage that contained Messianic overtones and the surrounding context confirms this.


The important question is, what determines if a crystal is rare or not.
Well it could be that the stone is newly discovered and correctly identified as a new mineral or combination of minerals.
The stone is only found in one or two locations in the world.
There are controls on how much of the stone goes on the market each year.
The stone requires a specific set of circumstances for it to be created.
The mines are all payed out and no more natural stones are being found.
The mining process is time consuming and expensive.
Bismuth occurs as granular reticulated lamellar masses dendritic and skeletal aggregates.
Bismuth is a silvery sometimes tinted red-pink metallic colour often coated with and iridescent film and is frequently associated with nickel, cobalt, silver, tin and uranium sulphides. There is also a brightly coloured man-made form of bismuth with stepped crystals and a peacock like iridescence that is sold as a decorative mineral specimen.
Bismuth is good for reducing fever, it assists in finding and benefiting from new treatments for chronic conditions. This stone will reduce the effects of ME and muscle degenerative conditions. It will assist you in getting back onto your feet after major surgery and sever accidents.
Bismuth simultaneously clears and opens the base and crown chakras and is excellent for relieving exhaustion and a sense of being overwhelmed by responsibility. Bismuth relieves emotional and spiritual isolation and helps people who have been institutionalised, settle back into the community.
Bismuth is a good stone for business people who work hard and must maintain focus and determined effort to succeed. This stone is also good for programmers, information technology teams, and anyone who is learning how to use a computer of is learning a new computer program.
Bismuth is useful during meditation or contemplation for sorting out emotional challenges. Gazing at its intricate metallic structure helps you to reorganise your thoughts and feelings.
The energy vibrations associated with bismuth's geometrical patterns help create pathways for the development of creative ideas in the mental body. With this stone in hand, think of untraditional approaches to any problem that needs a solution. When looking at things with a new perspective, other possibilities of ways of approaching life is revealed.
Bismuth helps you gain access to the part of your consciousness that connects with the Akashic Records. Using this stone, tap into higher awareness and access the information and knowledge provided by angels, departed loved ones and other spirit guides.
Dianite is a blue fibrous crystal that is a potassium magnesium silicate with other trace elements. It occurs as a fibrous blue to almost black stone that is known by the alternative trade names blue jade or blue nephrite jade.
This stone was discovered in 1997 Russia and was named after the late Diana, Princess of Wales. There is very little Dianite being mined at this time so it is quite rare on the market.
Dianite is ideal for people who feel hurried, anxious, stressed or simply overwhelmed. It is an uplifting stone and can help you to remain cool and calm, especially in stressful situations. This stone will relieve anger and frustration. It helps you see a situation from another person's perspective, while keeping you protected.
Dianite can also help you to review what has been said and done in the past in an abstract way without bringing the situation into the present. Dianite helps you to draw on any lessons good or bad, that you may have learnt in the past and then keep or discard these lessons as needed to move forward in your present.
Dianite inspires both extensive and coherent thinking, helping to make you more creative and prompts a sense of harmony.
Dianite will help in treating cases of hyperactivity. It is also believed to help in the treatment of both arthritis and inflammation of the joints. This stone will help ease asthma, bronchial conditions and increase blood circulation. Dianite is often thought of as bringing a feeling of kindheartedness to the person holding it.
Dianite is an exceptional stone for those who wish to become mediums as it helps you to hear the voice within and to consider what you are hearing.
It also helps you hear the voice of your own spirit guide and the voice of your heart. It encourages your innate psychic abilities and makes you more sensitive to the spiritual things around you.
Dianite helps to promote visualisations and dreams, enhances meditation and helps you to reach decisions based on your own spiritual knowledge and learning.
Gaia Stone is the name given to a glassy material derived from the ash of the Mount St. Helens volcanic eruption of 1980. According to some tales, its discovery was an accident.
As the story goes, after the eruption of the volcano, workers went up the mountain to demolish and remove heavy equipment which had been destroyed by the avalanches of volcanic ash.
Workers with cutting torches noticed that the heated ash reformed into a blue greenish to green glassy material after being melted by the torches. Later, local craftsmen worked to refine and improve the process, which ultimately yielded beautiful transparent material, suitable for cutting gems.
Although it must be designated a manmade glass, its creation from fresh volcanic ash and its healing properties means that I have included it in this section.
Crystal therapists use Gaia stone to ease migraines and tension headaches, stress, gastric upsets, anxiety and all agitated emotional states. It has also been used to aid fertility and bring ease to the heart and lungs. It is helpful in healing eye conditions and has been used to release stress stored within the muscles of the eye.
Gaia stone encourages balanced judgment and is very helpful for teenagers and anyone with troubled emotions. It is used for healing relationships and promoting fidelity in long term relationships. Gaia Stone banishes nightmares and aids restful sleep.
Gaia stone is a shielding stone, it energetically protects women from domestic violence and abuse. It strengthens women and helps them in the workplace to overcome sexism or prejudice. This stone shields counsellors and social workers of both sexes from becoming weighed down with responsibility. Gaia stone encourages cooperation and teamwork. It helps to calm children who are stressed by exams, by easing the fear of failure. This stone assists in assimilating new ideas and unfamiliar subjects or course work. It eases feelings of restriction caused by outside influences. It allows you to 'go with the flow' by releasing the fear of the unknown. This helps change to happen.
Gaia stone is a potent aid for both psychic and magical development. It increases clairvoyant and telepathic abilities. Gaia stone encourages past-life recall. It can be used in rituals for the gradual increase of prosperity. This stone attracts good luck and assists those who are starting new ventures. Gaia stone also helps those who work with natural forces, including Nature Spirits.
Gaspeite is a nickel, magnesium iron carbonate and is a bright green mineral found only in a few localities in the world. The majority of the specimens are found in Australia and Canada.
Its name is derived from the location where it was first discovered, the Gaspe peninsula of Quebec, Canada.
Gaspeite is found as a secondary mineral around nickel sulphide deposits. It is sometimes associated with Millerite, Pentlandite, Skutterudite, Annabergite and other nickel minerals. Indigenous Australians have used the earth energy of this crystal since ancient times to aid in experiencing visions. It is used to help you to let go of unwanted emotional and spiritual baggage.
Gaspeite gently stimulates the metabolism, helps to support proper insulin levels, and can be useful in energetically supporting you in recovery from or management of diabetes symptoms. It is useful in dealing with stress, both emotionally and physiologically. Gaspeite facilitates weight loss by stimulating the metabolism.
This stone will help you release your unhealthy attachments to your possessions. Gaspeite will help you declutter your life and your mind.
Gaspeite will encourage you to love yourself just as you are today and continue the feelings into the future. To love others you need to love yourself first and this stone helps you achieve that. It facilitates self healing by helping you to release old hurts and bad habits.
Gaspeite assists you in feeling safe and secure, while encouraging you to let go of the past and of experiences that no longer serve. It can assist you in receiving more love and in feeling more joyful and abundant on all levels.
This beautiful green stone helps you understand the Divine Mind and allows you to live in alignment with your highest purpose. It enables you to see your life from a spiritual perspective thereby making it easier to change your thoughts and behaviours.
Gaspeite can also increase the incidence of fortuitous synchronicities in your life.
This is a vision stone that enhances your ability to see and receive spiritual signs and messages in the world around you. You can also use it to find answers to your important spiritual questions.
Greenstone is a name used for fine grained rocks consisting essentially of either tremolite amphibole or serpentine, which were used originally by the Maori of New Zealand in the manufacture of implements and ornaments.
Though such rocks are typically green in colour, they vary from greenish-white to almost black. The Greenstones of New Zealand are typically found in the areas of Otago and South Canterbury. These fall into two main divisions, nephrites and related rocks, the essential constituent of which is tremolite or actinolite; and serpentines, composed mainly of a hydrogen-magnesium silicate.
The Maori name for both types of New Zealand Greenstone (not usually differentiated from one another) is Pounamu. The Maoris have made intricate ornamental carvings, weapons and tools from this material, which is considered sacred in their culture. It is called 'a stone of the wairua (the world of the spirit realm that surrounds all).
Greenstone is a source for great quantities of chi, or Life Force. It particularly supports the heart, lungs and circulatory system. Greenstone is a stone of longevity, and it can be used in healing work to implant the vibrations of vitality and program long life into the body.
Greenstone acts as a fountain of vitality, helping one to overcome fatigue and stress. Greenstone supports the heart, lungs and the circulatory system.
Greenstone inspires powerful self loyalty and self love. It stimulates the emotions of courage, loyalty, passion and freedom, and a consciousness of how important it is to honour them. Acting out of your own power, out of commitment to your true emotions, enables you to manifest a great deal of magic.
Greenstone creates a wall of allies, an energy field populated by helping spirits, reinforcing your intent and amplifying its effects.vGreenstone stimulates the Life Force and power within the individual. This stone allows you to dispense with unhealthy relationships, bad habits, self-doubt, anxiety and depression.
Greenstone assists in doing real magic, and can link you to spiritual helpers from ancient New Zealand. It can be used to clear out congested energies and to purify the auric field of debris. It enhances your inner radiance, and allow the emergence of your true, strong self.
Guardianite is the name given to a recently discovered stone from Oregon, USA. It is a complex material, composed of the minerals aegirine, feldspar, nepheline, analcime, riebeckite-arfvedsonite, biotite, olivine and apatite. It exhibits intricate dotted patterns of black on a grey white background.
Guardianite has a deep and immediate grounding effect through the base chakra. This stone offers an almost instantaneous connection with the Earth and its upwelling Life Force currents, also known as the Earth's chi, or prana.
Guardianite is a protective, purifying, balancing, strengthening and uplifting stone that offers you energy to assist you through the challenges of any life transitions that are happening to you.
When the energy that Guardianite projects is in your auric field you will know that you are supported, empowered and safe from harm. This stone will encourage you to be strong and stable. Also your will power and ability to manifest your desires are enhanced.
Its beneficial influence on the auric field can help heal energy leaks that lead to anxiety and depression. Guardianite is an excellent stone for breaking through all sorts of 'downward spirals' that can adversely affect your wellbeing. It stimulates courage, confidence, optimism, creativity and willpower. It unleashes the dormant power of the fully awakened solar plexus chakra, allowing you to manifest your highest aspirations and make your dreams come true.
Healerite is the name given to a newly discovered magnesium-silicate mineral from the Northwestern USA. It has a bright lime-green colour, and occurs in amorphous chunks ranging from a few grams to several kilos in weight. It has a soft feeling in the hand, and is pleasant to hold.
Healerite resonates strongly with the heart, solar plexus and third eye chakras, assisting in opening and aligning these chakras with your vibrational field. Through the linking of these chakras, Healerite stimulates the harmonious accord of awareness, love and will, empowering you to manifest these emotions more fully than ever before. Those engaged in self-healing or in facilitating the healing of others will find a valuable ally in this wholesome and powerful stone.
Healerite is an excellent stone for encouraging the optimal emotional states of joy, expansiveness, generosity, intimacy and heart centred awareness. This stone is a great aid for those seeking to heal old emotional wounds even those carried unconsciously from past lives. It is excellent for facilitating the recollection of past lives, and for learning the lessons that allow you to correct dysfunctional patterns and move forward. Healerite can also help practitioners break the pattern of being the 'wounded healer'—the person who engages in helping others but neglects their own self-healing.
It is one of the most profoundly wholesome, balancing, energising stones around today as it can help you bring about amazing shifts into health and wholeness.
Healerite assists in helping to calm frayed nerves, balance the body and emotions, attune to the spiritual realms and increase inner vitality and energy.
Nebula Stone is purifying for the physical body. It can help in detoxifying you from chemical abuse, breaking self-abusive patterns and behaviours. It is ideal for recovery from alcohol or drug addiction. Nebula Stone encourages the release of toxins and heavy metals from the organs and tissues. It can help regulate cystitis and promotes fertility in women.
Nebula Stone helps purify and strengthen the emotional body. Its energy is supportive and encouraging, prompting you to clear any old emotional patterns or habits that stand in the way of your growth.
This stone clears negativity from the auric field and stimulates the kundalini and the psyche, giving you the energy and courage to do whatever is necessary for the fulfilment of life path.
Nebula Stone attunes you to the energy of creation and enhances your ability to find your inner knowledge of the Creator. It helps in grounding you through the spiritual opening process.
Nebula stone makes you feel mentally alert and able, physically strong and comfortable, and spiritually attuned to the higher vibrations of consciousness.
Shattuckite is a relatively rare copper silicate mineral. It was first discovered in the copper mines of Bisbee, Arizona, specifically the Shattuck Mine (hence the name). It is a secondary mineral that forms from the alteration of other secondary minerals. At the Shattuck Mine, it forms pseudomorphs after malachite. A pseudomorph is an atom by atom replacement of a crystal structure by another crystal structure, but with little alteration of the outward shape of the original crystal. Pseudomorph is Greek for "false shape". Shattuckite is also found with other rare and/or attractive secondary minerals such alamosite, azurite, "bisbeeite" (a variety of chrysocolla), luddenite, fornacite , cerussite, malachite, limonite and standard chrysocolla.
Shattuckite heals the thymus chakra and the kundalini line. It heals the astral body and astral twin. This stone facilitates regeneration of the soul from being fragmented and aids core soul healing. It will help you recover from past abuse by releasing it from your emotional and physical body. Shattuckite connects your personal healing with the planet's healing, while bringing hope and optimism into your life. It calms, and heals deep grief.
Shattuckite facilitates the healing of headaches, migraines and all throat problems. This is an ideal stone for channelling, automatic writing and removing writers block, psychic blockages to information and creativity. Shattuckite aids connection with the Light and Light guidance, it promotes psychic hearing, psychic opening and enhancement. With shattuckite you will have clarity of psychic information and obtaining the psychic truth.
Shiva Lingams are egg shaped stones of crypto-crystalline quartz with impuritie. Shiva Lingams originate at the Narmada River in Onkar Mandhata, in western India, one of India's seven holy sites.
Villagers gather the rough stones from shallow river beds and hand polish them to the classic elliptical proportions. Among the key features of Shiva Lingams are the reddish spots and stripes found on the otherwise grey or tannish stones.
Shiva Lingam symbolises both the male and female, as well as the cosmic egg out of which all creation is said to have emerged. Legend has it that the goddess Parvati fashioned a Shiva Lingam from a fistful of sand at Kanchipuram and there worshiped Shiva.
Shiva Lingams symbolise the primeval energy of the Creator. This stone is also said to be a depiction of the infinite Cosmic Column of Fire.
Shiva Lingams stimulate the body's energetic systems, supporting general healing on all levels. They can be used to treat impotence, infertility and other sexual or reproductive imbalances. Their highest use, however, is for strengthening and balancing the entire body.
Shiva Lingams can assist in overcoming judgment, separation and the need to be individual or apart from others. This stone helps you feel unity, even in situations of apparent separation.
The total energetic effect of this stone is one of union and the activation of the sacred kundalini energy that rises up the spine, activating the chakras and bringing enlightenment.
Shiva Lingams reminds you that perceived opposites are simply different energetic expressions of the whole. Beyond 'male' and 'female,' 'light' and 'dark,' 'good' and 'evil,' there is an underlying unifying force. Shiva Lingam assists in uniting all sides of the self and lovingly accepting the differences in others as expressions of the many faces of the one Creator.
Stichtite is a hydrated magnesium chromium carbonate mineral that forms in compact masses or micaceous aggregates. Stichite occurs as a pinkish purple, purple to rose red with a waxy or greasy lustre. Stichtite most often occurs in association with green serpentine, the two minerals tend to be inter-grown, providing crystals that are green with purple spots.
Stichtite calms the nervous system, helps support healthy blood pressure levels and a positive, healing biochemistry. This stone is able to help you with tension headaches or muscular tension due to stress. It is an aid to digestion and can help prevent emotionally based food cravings and binge eating. Stichtite supports the regeneration of neural pathways, making it an excellent aid for dealing with such problems as spinal injury, dementia, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. Place this stone near the persons head beside the bed for optimal healing.
Stichtite is a stone of love, unity and cooperation. It will help you overcome reluctance to ask others for support and encourages feeling more compassionate toward those who need assistance. It is an excellent protective stone against negative emotional fields being created by others and will help you feel compassionate towards such individuals.
Stichtite reminds you of the power of the heart. It encourages you to call on your spirit guides and angels both in good and hard times. This stone can help you feel their presence. It activates the third eye and crown chakras and can stimulate visionary experiences.
Stichtite stimulates the kundalini energies, moving dormant energy at the base of the spine up through the chakras to the crown of the head.
Variscite is composed of aluminium phosphate and occurs in masses, nodules , veins and crusts. It comes in various shades of green from pale green to an almost emerald green. Variscite is found in Utah in the USA (one of its other names is Utahlite) and can also be found in Nevada, USA, as well as Queensland, Australia.
Variscite can be cut into cabochons, used for carvings and ornamental objects. It is sometimes confused with turquoise, but variscite usually has a greener colour.
Variscite gives you energy and heals the nervous system. It treats abdominal distension (a sensation of elevated abdominal pressure and volume. Some describe it as belching, others claim they feel nausea and yet others say they pass excessive gas). This stone increases blood flow to the body and increases elasticity to the veins and skin. It neutralises acidity, cramps, gout, gastritis, ulcers, rheumatism and all allied conditions. Variscite is helpful for male impotence.
Variscite gives you hope and courage, it is useful for illness and invalids.
This stone supports and encourages an invalid to continue despite the illness, and it helps the caregivers deal with the patient and the disease. It opens the heart chakra and brings unconditional love to both the patient and caregiver. Variscite helps clear thinking and increases perception. It will aid you in expressing your self to others and be able to communicate with others in a clear manner.
Variscite helps you recover from despair and put you into a situation of hope and trust. It encourages you to show yourself to the world exactly as you are. Variscite calms nervousness and brings a peaceful heart. It has a lively energy that will lift your spirits and prevent you being too serious about life. If placed under your pillow it will bring peaceful sleep and and untroubled mind. Variscite helps you calm and centre the mind, so you can attune to that 'still small voice' that lies within. It enhances your conscience, so one can align your life more fully with truth. It is an expansive stone that assists you in connecting with the frequency of Universal Love.
Variscite is helpful in past life exploration, it helps bring visual images of the experience while going deeply into the feelings and experiences of past lives. It encourages insight into the cause of disease or patterns that are not constructive to you anymore, it helps you to adjust the situation to bring about healing.
Vitalite is the name given to a stone comprised of quartz, muscovite, piemontite and various trace minerals. It was discovered in New Zealand, in the remote wilderness of the South Island. It has layers of pink-red piemontite that appear as swirling patterns in a background of sparkling white muscovite and quartz.
Vitalite is named for its strongest energetic influence, the replenishment of your Life Force and energy through the infusion of prana. This stone stimulates an overall sense of well-being, helping to alleviate stress, anxiety, irritability and/or depression. Vitalite stimulates courage and love, two of the heart's main virtues.
This stone has a cleansing influence. It can be a catalyst for emotional release in the form of laughter, tears or passionate expressions of love. Vitalite can dislodge repressed emotions, but its influence is so positive that the release rarely takes the form of anger.
If your feelings are blocked because of past traumas, even those from past lives; Vitalite's currents can clear the path for a healthier energy flow. Vitalite is a stone of generosity. It gives of itself without hesitation and without limit, encouraging you to do the same.
It is a stone of powerful creativity, stimulating your imagination so that you can receive inspiration and carry your visions into manifestation.
It is a stone of spiritual awakening because its joyful, loving energy flow reminds you that you are part of the ever-moving river of life, and that you are as divine as the Universe itself.
Vitalite's energies flow directly to the heart, bringing new vitality to not only the heart but the circulatory system, lungs, liver and digestive system. The chi in this stone is so strong that it affects the entire body on the cellular level, encouraging a healthy flow of Life Force in every cell, organ and system. Vitalite speaks to the cellular consciousness, exhorting the cells to live, and to live in a flowing current of joy.


Posted in Connecticut Special Events for Families, Family Day Trips, Shows/Events, Things to do in CT. Tagged Day out With Thomas, Dinosaur Place, Dogwood Festival, hubbard park, Meriden Daffodil Festival, Spring 2018 CT, Spring Festivals in CT, Spring in CT, Stamford Museum & Nature Center, touch-a-truck.
Castle Craig in Meriden, CT is one of the best spots in the state to enjoy the fall foliage.
Posted in Family, Family Day Trips, Things to do in CT, Travel. Tagged Castle Craig, fall, fall foliage, fall in CT, hubbard park, meriden, things to do in CT.
The Silver Light Festival at Hubbard Park is one of our favorite Christmas activities. I hope that you'll consider taking a trip down and enjoying the lights too!
Posted in Family, Family Day Trips, Holidays, Things to do in CT, Travel. Tagged christmas, Connecticut, ct, family friendly, Free, Free Activities, Holiday, hubbard park, meriden, Silver Lights Festival, Winter, Winter Activities.
Meriden's Hubbard Park is a fun, beautiful way to keep your toddlers busy on a Spring day.
Posted in Family, Family Day Trips, Mom Stuff. Tagged Connecticut, hubbard park, meriden, Meriden Daffodil Festival, Mother's Day, playground.


text:
La competizione della categoria pesi medio-massimi (fino a 87 kg) di lotta libera dei Giochi della X Olimpiade si è svolta dal 1° al 3 agosto al Grand Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles.

Formato
Ad ogni incontro venivano assegnate le seguenti penalità:
 0 = Al vincitore per schienata
 1 = Al vincitore ai punti
 3 = Allo sconfitto
Con cinque punti o più di penalità il lottatore veniva eliminato.

Risultati

1º Turno

2º Turno

3º Turno

Classifica finale

Bibliografia

Collegamenti esterni

LL 6

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia