A light, an angel, a pig. (Acts 10)

My wife loves detective stories. I occasionally indulge, if the story is set in an alien culture. The late Tony Hillerman used Navajo tribal lore as the framework for his novels. Harry Kellerman lets us see things from the Jewish perspective. The protagonist in Someday, the Rabbi Will Leave is a conservative, nearly orthodox, scholar who applies Talmudic reasoning to local crimes. There are not too many places where he can comfortably dine -- strictly observant Jewish families have separate utensils for milk and meat products. "The first time I saw a man in a restaurant cut his steak using the same knife he'd used to butter his bread, I nearly retched,"[1] Rabbi Small said.

Paul fell to the earth, overwhelmed by a vision of blinding light. Cornelius, a Roman officer and occupation soldier, had a vision of an angel who told him to send to Peter for advice on how to find secure favor with God. Peter's vision, however, while dramatic, and disturbing, took an earthier theme:

Act 10:10 Acıkınca da yemek istedi. Yemek hazırlanırken Petrus kendinden geçti.
Act 10:11 Göğün açıldığını ve büyük bir çarşafı andıran bir nesnenin dört köşesinden sarkıtılarak yeryüzüne indirildiğini gördü.
Act 10:12 Çarşafın içinde, yeryüzünde yaşayan her türden dört ayaklı hayvanlar, sürüngenler ve kuşlar vardı.
Act 10:13 Bir ses ona, "Kalk Petrus, kes ve ye!" dedi.
Act 10:14 "Asla olmaz, ya Rab!" dedi Petrus. "Hiçbir zaman bayağı ya da murdar* herhangi bir şey yemedim."
Act 10:15 Ses tekrar, ikinci kez duyuldu; Petrus'a, "Tanrı'nın temiz kıldıklarına sen bayağı deme" dedi.
Act 10:16 Bu, üç kez tekrarlandı. Sonra çarşafı andıran nesne hemen göğe alındı.
Act 10:17 Petrus şaşkınlık içindeydi.

And, a few words:

• Bir ses ona, -- A / voice / to him
  
• "Kalk Petrus, kes ve ye!" -- Rise / Peter / kill / and / eat. (To form the Turkish second person singular imperative, drop the -mek /-mak from the infinitive.)
  
• dedi. -- it said.
  
• "Asla olmaz, ya Rab!" dedi Petrus. -- Never / it will not happen / but / Lord! / said / Peter.
  
• "Hiçbir zaman bayağı ya da murdar herhangi bir şey yemedim." -- Not one thing / at any time / foul / and / but / corrupt / no way / one / thing / I have never eaten. (Turkish lets you go crazy with negatives!)
  

Poor Peter. How little he knew -- God was about to demand that he do something even more repulsive than chowing down on pork chops with bacon gravy.

______________

[1] English has a rich lexicon of synonyms and euphemisms for vomiting. This may go with having a partying subculture that glories in heavy drinking. To puke is the most common. To hurl is somewhat dated. Kneeling before the ceramic idol and (my favorite) talking on the big white telephone happen in the bathroom after a drinking bout that went to excess.