About

The Person

My name is Chris. I am a follower of Jesus, a husband, and a dad. The main occupation of my life is studying Scripture for a myriad of reasons. I do a lot of translation and interpretation of Scripture. I created this site as a place to document my work. I write here solely under my name. I don’t represent any organization. Therefore, if you notice something wrong, it will need to be addressed directly to me. You can reach me via the contact page or @cherev_machaira on X (Formerly Twitter).

I think it’s somewhat fallacious for me to list my educational credentials here, so I’ll refrain. I’m just a regular guy doing my best to make sense of the Bible and know the God of it. Instead of trusting me based on my list of educational credentials, I encourage you to consider what you read on the site prayerfully; if it’s helpful, I’m grateful. If it’s not helpful or worse, it’s damaging, reach out and let me know. I have probably made a mistake. I am certainly a fallible human, and I’d love to hear your take so long as it can be done with honor and dignity.

📜 1 Peter 3:15 – Legacy Standard Bible

but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and fear

If we can’t have a charitable discussion together, don’t bother. If you’re a troll just looking for an argument, there are way better things to do with your time. Move along and find something that entertains you. I know that sounds harsh, but if you spend enough time on the Internet, you come to realize that ignorant keyboard warriors abound, and they always seem to have way too much time on their hands.

Finally, any information on this website can be freely used and freely distributed. Everything written has a very generous license, which you will see at the bottom of each piece of writing. You will need to give attribution to your source. Otherwise, I hope it benefits you well. I hope that these writings will contribute to you growing closer to the Lord and becoming more like Him in your sanctification process.

The Name

The name “The Sword” was chosen primarily due to the content hosted on this site. Perhaps more exciting is an explanation of the address by which the site is reached. You’ll notice that the address to get here is cherev-machaira. Since everyone knows what dot org means, I’ll leave that alone. Cherev is a transliteration of the Hebrew word for sword, it looks like this חֶרֶב. Machaira is a transliteration of the Greek word for sword, and it looks like this μάχαιρα. I chose this address because the Old Testament is written in Hebrew (mostly), and the New Testament is written in Greek. Therefore, having the word “sword” mentioned in both languages symbolizes both testaments being linked together. To me, it has a feel of great continuity and harmony. Sword, of course, comes from the name of Scripture. We see this primarily in Ephesians 6:17 – The Sword of the Spirit. Since this site deals with Scripture alone, I felt it necessary to give it a proper name.

The Content

You won’t find articles or devotions on this website. In a sense, you have stepped into my workshop. Here, you will see the mining process for spiritual gold. I may offer applications from time to time, but that isn’t my main focus here. My main focus here is drilling into the meaning. What does the text say and what does the text mean? Those two questions combine together to drive the purpose of what’s going on here.

In terms of formatting, have a look at this page.

Disclaimer(s)

It’s somewhat ludicrous that I even need to do this but with the increasing criticality of the culture today and the egregious twisting of people’s reputations that goes on, I want to make a few things clear. As a blanket statement, I have no affiliation and am not supported by any company or organization for the work conducted on this website. However, I am under the spiritual authority of a local body of Christ to whom I gratefully submit. I am not a pastor or on staff at my local church. I am a normal congregant serving side-by-side with my fellow brothers and sisters for the advancement of the gospel.

1. The use of the Logos Reference Tagger in no way means I endorse or am supported by Logos. I just like that reference tagger and it doesn’t come with a lot of baggage like some of the other ones.
2. I use several tools to study Scripture, particularly Logos Bible Software and Accordance Bible Software. I’m not a representative of either platform (little redundant here), but I do support and recommend their products. Both are very well done. They’ll be mentioned from time to time in the attributions to conclusions that have been drawn.
3. I give credit where credit is due. Giving credit to someone within a specific scope in no way implies I agree with everything they say regarding every matter.
4. As mentioned previously, I’m a flawed and fallen human being like everyone else. I am prone to error. Please hear me clearly; do your own homework. Don’t take anything I say on this site to heart without first weighing it for yourself and giving the opportunity for the Holy Spirit to arrest your conscience. In short, be a Berean (Acts 17:10-15). You should be a fact-checker for everyone who handles Scripture. That’s one of the ways you can guard your heart (Proverbs 4:23) in a culture full of people who would love to mislead you for their own gain.
5. In Greek, we will use the Nestle Aland 28th Edition, Tyndale House Greek New Testament, and the UBS-5 Greek texts.
6. In Hebrew, we will use the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 5th Edition.
7. In English, we will use the Legacy Standard Bible, the New American Standard Bible – 1995 Edition, and the English Standard Version – 2016 Edition.

Please see the primary sources page for a more complete list and a general bibliography.