The Hebrew bible, as distinct from the Christian understanding of the "old testament".
26
votes
6answers
556 views
How do Jewish scholars differ from Christian scholars in their approach to the Tanakh?
What are the characteristic differences between how Jewish scholarship approaches the text of the Tanakh (Old Testament) and that of Christian scholars? If their approach was the same I assume they ...
17
votes
5answers
570 views
Why is the Septuagint (LXX) significant?
What is the LXX and why is it so noteworthy that there is a Greek translation of the OT? Wouldn't it be better to reference the Hebrew original?
10
votes
3answers
139 views
Why does the Septuagint contain non-Tanakh books?
The deuterocanonical books, treated as part of the Bible by the Orthodox and Catholic churches, are accepted because they appear in the Septuagint. However, they are excluded from the Jewish Bible, ...
10
votes
2answers
159 views
Did Jephthah have pets?
Judges 11:29-40 tells the story of Jephthah's victory over the Ammonites. Before the battle he promises, "whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the ...
10
votes
1answer
371 views
Exodus 6:3 - what is the significance of God's different names in the Tanakh?
Exodus 6:3:
And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob by the name of
God Almighty, but by My name JEHOVAH was I not known to them. (KJV)
This is a strange and unique verse in the ...
9
votes
2answers
752 views
What is the significance of “east” in the Scriptures?
There seems to be some significance to the east in the Scriptures.
The garden is planted in the east of Eden
Cherubim are stationed on the east side of the Garden of Eden
Parts of the burnt offering ...
7
votes
3answers
328 views
How does the Noah's Ark narrative relate to the Gilgamesh flood account?
How does the Noah's Ark narrative relate to other the Gilgamesh flood account?
For reference, the Biblical flood account is in Genesis 6-10 and the Gilgamesh flood account is on Tablet XI. The ...
7
votes
3answers
619 views
Did King Hezekiah do something wrong in showing off his wealth to emissaries from Babylonia in II Kings 20?
The Hezekiah (Heb: Chizkiyahu) narrative in II Kings (chapters 17 – 20) and Isaiah (36 – 39) concludes on a dissonant and haunting confrontation between King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah. Hezekiah ...
6
votes
4answers
540 views
What is the tree of life in Proverbs 11:30?
While reading through Proverbs, I found a somewhat startling verse:
Proverbs 11:30 (NIV)
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
and the one who is wise saves lives.
My immediate ...
5
votes
7answers
578 views
How did mankind's way of relating to God change in Genesis 4:26?
At the end of Chapter 4 of Genesis there is a statement in verse 26, "It was then that men began to invoke the Lord by name." Other translations have "call on the name" or "worship the LORD by name". ...
5
votes
3answers
92 views
What, if any, is the significance of the color of the cord that Rahab hung out of her window?
Joshua 2 describes Rahab's concealment of the Hebrew spies. Vv. 18
Unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you have ...
5
votes
1answer
114 views
What do we learn from the different usages of “aman” and “batach” in the OT?
aman (Strong's H539) and batach (Strong's H982) are both used in the OT to imply some level of trust in God.
And he believed (aman:H539) in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. ...
5
votes
1answer
133 views
Should we read Melchizedek in Genesis 14 to be metaphorical?
Genesis 14:17-20 (NJPS):
When he returned from defeating Chedorlaomer and the kings with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh, which is the Valley of the King. And ...
5
votes
2answers
337 views
Does Genesis say where evil came from? [closed]
The first hint of evil in the Tanakh seems to come in Genesis 3:1 (NJPS):
Now the serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild beasts that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really ...
4
votes
2answers
182 views
Why are the Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS) significant?
Is there anything that the Dead Sea Scrolls made clearer regarding the texts of the Old Testament? Did their discovery change the way we view the development of the Tanakh?
4
votes
2answers
147 views
How can the sacrifice of one animal atone for many? [closed]
It is often thought that the fundamental principle of atonement is "life for life."
In Lev. 6:2, if an individual sinned, he would bring a "trespass offering to YHVH" (Lev. 6:6), and the kohen would ...
4
votes
1answer
298 views
Was Ezekiel 37 understood as a prophesy of a literal Resurrection?
Ezekiel 37 presents a dramatic picture of a valley of bones being resurrected. The natural Christian interpretation is that it is an image of the day of the Lord when the righteous will be brought ...
4
votes
1answer
99 views
How often does the Bible use “God of Jacob” versus “God of Israel”?
The Bible uses both "God of ...Jacob" and "God of Israel". How often does it say each version? Is there a place I can look up the actual references?
3
votes
5answers
598 views
Why did the Law of Moses tolerate polygyny (polygamy) but not polyandry? [closed]
Why did the Laws of Moses tolerate men having multiple wives, but did not grant the same type of toleration to women? I am not asking why God tolerated polygyny, although that may be included in the ...
3
votes
1answer
347 views
What does the Old Testament phrase 'cut off from their people' mean?
What does the Old Testament phrase 'cut off from their people' mean?
I have often read it, but am having difficulty imaganing how it may have actually been practiced? If it was determined that so and ...
2
votes
4answers
388 views
Which hermeneutical approaches support a literal interpretation of the Creation account?
I had always been told that a day meant 24 hours, but a systematic theology textbook I read disputed that pretty well. (Please do not address this item in particular. This isn't the question I'm ...
2
votes
3answers
114 views
Old Testament connection between circumcision and (re)birth? [closed]
In the New Testament, spiritual circumcision is equated with the new birth.
Does a circumcision-birth connection exist in the Old Testament or Tanakh? I've thought about posting this at Judaism.SE or ...
1
vote
2answers
118 views
Was Nathan a false prophet?
After David established himself in Jerusalem, Nathan prophesied:
“The Lord declares to you that He, the Lord, will establish a house for you. When your days are done and you lie with your fathers, ...
0
votes
3answers
475 views
Where does the Tanakh differ from the Christian Old Testament?
Relating to this question: Is the Jewish Tanakh same as the 'Old Testament' which Christians use?
Do they contain the same books and is the textual content same? If not where do they differ?
0
votes
2answers
122 views
Why is God called the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? [closed]
Jesus termed God as mentioned in the title. On what account did he do that specifically regarding these three fathers? Why did he not say: The God of Noah? Or the God of Joseph? Or the God of Moses? ...
-1
votes
1answer
208 views
Does the story of Tamar and Judah in Genesis 38 typify gender relations in Genesis? [closed]
I don't have my Bible with me at the moment, so I can't quote, but the interactions between Tamar and Judah indicate, and perhaps provide a categorical example of, the mode of intersexual interaction ...
