Not long ago we were eating at a fast food restaurant. I noticed a family standing in line, one member of which was a woman with a tattoo on her back. Now it's not uncommon to see women with tattoos these days; but this one was unusual. It was in Hebrew. I was curious enough to stare at it and try to decipher what it said. I could make out the first letter: it was an M. The second consonant was a T. But I couldn't make out the rest of the word, and since there are no vowels I wasn't sure how the first part sounded. I tried to sound it out, but it made no sense to me.
So, I did something I've never done before: I asked a woman about her tattoo. Actually I went over to her and told her that it had been a long time since I was in seminary, and couldn't quite make out what her Hebrew tattoo said. She smiled shyly and said, "It says 'Matthew,' " and pointed to the man next to her. I didn't ask; I assumed he was her husband. I looked back at the tattoo and it made sense. M...(a)...T(t)...H...(e)w.
Do you pay attention to peoples' tattoo?
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