Word of the Day

In my daily devotions these days, I'm reading through the Bible (not in a year, I prefer to go at my own pace) and I happen to be in Numbers right now, specifically chapters 23-24. You may know this to be the account of Balaam's prophecy. Well, I don't pretend to understand everything I read and get all the nuances, so I usually have my humongous Matthew Henry's Commentary On The Whole Bible nearby to help me out. Today Mr. Henry described Balak as being sottish. No, not Scottish; sottish. I seem to remember reading that word somewhere before in a Shakespeare play, but couldn't remember what it meant, so I was driven to the dictionary. Here is Webster's definition as found online:

Sot: 1. A stupid person; a blockhead; a dull fellow; a dolt. [Obs.] --outh.
In Egypt oft has seen the sot bow down, And reverence some d?ified baboon. --Oldham.
2. A person stupefied by excessive drinking; an habitual drunkard. "A brutal sot." --Granville.

I think Henry's intended meaning was definition #1, since he says a few sentences later, "Ridiculous nonsense, to think that [the setting up of sacrifices] would please God, and gain his favour, when there could be in them no exercise of faith or obedience!"

Anyway, I'm learning a lot reading through my Old Testament these days. Life lessons, truth about Who God is, and even new vocabulary! :) What have you been learning lately?

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