All Questions
2
votes
1answer
27 views
How can we determine when an image is a symbol?
Put simply, a symbol is a tangible representation of an intangible idea. Authors, both ancient and modern, use symbolic images to convey abstract concepts. The problem with symbols, however, is that ...
2
votes
2answers
25 views
Why in John's account does Jesus reply to Pilate's inquiry with a question?
The initial exchange between Pilate and Jesus in Mark 15:2 is quite terse:
And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.”
Matthew 27:11 and Luke ...
3
votes
3answers
150 views
Did Lot or the men of Sodom recognize Lot's visitors as angels?
When the two angels arrive in Sodom in Genesis 19, Lot seems to immediately recognize them as such. He bows down to them, calls them "My lords", and invites them into "your servant's house." When the ...
4
votes
1answer
37 views
Why does John interweave the stories of Jesus' questioning and Peter's denial?
In John 18, the author weaves together an account of Peter's denial and a questioning of Jesus before Annas. It's very well done and seems rather more complex from a literary standpoint. But what does ...
8
votes
3answers
207 views
Does Peter suggest Jesus “descended into hell”?
1 Peter 3:18-22 (ESV):
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in ...
4
votes
3answers
734 views
What was meant by “paradise” when Jesus spoke to the thief on the cross?
As he was crucified, Jesus engaged in a conversation with one of the other thieves hung along side him. at the end is this pronouncement:
Luke 23:43 (ESV)
43 And he said to him, "Truly, I say to ...
6
votes
5answers
8k views
What is the meaning of “poor in spirit” in Matthew 5:3
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. - KJV Matthew 5:3
How can the "poor in spirit" get the kingdom of heaven? Is there a similar usage else where?
0
votes
0answers
9 views
in what way Jesus is God's Wisdom in 1 Corinthians 1:24
The verse is saying that to those who are called,both Jews or Greeks, the Messiah for them is God's power and wisdom.
1 Corinthians 1:24
So in what way Jesus is God's Wisdom here? As divine? Or as ...
0
votes
0answers
11 views
What is the “weakness of God” in 1 Corinthians 1:25?
Is God ever been weak? What does it mean to say that God has weakness? What was this weakness Paul was talking about?
1
vote
1answer
23 views
Are men (brethren) really men or are they human?
Psalm 133:1 KJV
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together
in unity!
VS
Psalm 133:1 GW
See how good and pleasant it is
when brothers and sisters live ...
4
votes
3answers
1k views
How and why did Jesus weep?
John 11:35 (the shortest verse in the Bible?) says simply:
Jesus wept.
How should we understand this? Tearful? Sobbing? What was the nature of his weeping?
And what was the reason? Sadness at ...
2
votes
1answer
75 views
Does Mark 11:26 mean we are not forgiven by God unless we forgive others?
Mark 11:26 has always bothered me:
But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions NASB
There are people in my life that I have a hard time ...
2
votes
3answers
114 views
What is the difference in meaning between Χριστός Ἰησοῦς and Ἰησοῦς Χριστός?
In the New Testament, sometimes the authors use Χριστός Ἰησοῦς ("Christ Jesus"), where Χριστός precedes Ἰησοῦς, yet other times they use Ἰησοῦς Χριστός ("Jesus Christ"). What is the difference in ...
2
votes
4answers
364 views
Accurate translations of original scripts/text
I've been on what is becoming quite the mission to find the most accurate translation of Daniel 9:23-27 (or the (Tenach/OT) bible in general) of the most original scripts/text available. It seems like ...
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?
8
votes
3answers
639 views
What does “because of the angels” refer to in 1 Cor 11:10?
In 1 Cor 11:10, Paul writes regarding head coverings and headship:
That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels. (ESV)
I don't mean to get too deeply ...
14
votes
5answers
1k views
Is Jesus giving the Spirit in John 20:22?
After the resurrection in John's gospel, Jesus appears to the disciples and in John 20:22 he breathes on them and says, "Receive the Holy Spirit." What is happening here? Is Jesus giving them the Holy ...
17
votes
8answers
2k views
What does it mean to be “born of water”?
In John 3:5, Jesus tells Nicodemus that to enter the kingdom one must be "born of water and the Spirit". How is this phrase understood? Is it a single construct (i.e. one birth of both water and ...
3
votes
2answers
96 views
Why does everyone in John misunderstand Jesus?
Jesus seems to be misunderstood pretty consistently throughout the Gospel According to John:
John 2:19-20
Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”
...
8
votes
3answers
398 views
Is Leviticus 12 saying that giving birth to a child is a sin?
I was reading Leviticus and saw that a woman, after she gives birth, would be unclean.
Leviticus 12:1-2 (NIV)
1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 “Say to the Israelites: ‘A woman who becomes pregnant ...
5
votes
1answer
67 views
Romans 8:11 - present or future?
Romans 8:11 appears in the following context:
9 However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he ...
9
votes
5answers
3k views
Why did the witnesses lay their coats at Paul's feet?
During the stoning of Stephen, according to the book of Acts, "the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul," who later converted to Christianity and took the name Paul.
...
7
votes
3answers
386 views
What are the arguments in favor of Markan priority?
The synoptic problem refers to scholars' attempts to understand the relationship among the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke (known as the synoptic gospels because they have so much material in ...
5
votes
5answers
168 views
Why did Paul collect and deliver an offering for the Jerusalem church?
Paul's collection for the Jerusalem church occupies significant portions of his letters (1 Cor 16:1–4; 2 Cor 8:1–9:15; Rom 15:14–32). It is so important to Paul he is willing to face hostility ...
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 ...
26
votes
6answers
553 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 ...
20
votes
4answers
593 views
Is “kill” a valid translation for Exodus 20:13 (Thou shalt not kill)?
Exodus 20:13 (KJV)
Thou shalt not kill.
Many political statements have been made about this verse. This translation has been used by many to support their pacifist desires. However, it seems ...
13
votes
4answers
262 views
Why would God disapprove of rituals he ordained?
In Amos 5:21-24 God says:
I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not ...
4
votes
3answers
81 views
Psalm 51:5 CEV vs ESV
How can we determine which translation is more close to the original message? Clearly "the day I was born" vs "mother conceive me" paints a completely different picture - and arguably, a different ...
3
votes
2answers
936 views
What is the 'cock's crow'?
Another question of semantics - was the cock's crow which Jesus prophesied Peter would hear before he betrayed Him thrice, the crow of a rooster or a trumpet blast which happened every 3 hours, or so.
...
2
votes
0answers
38 views
The time span of growing into Christ the Head in Ephesians 4:13-15
Ephesians 4:13:
Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of
the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of
the fulness of Christ
Does this ...
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, ...
4
votes
7answers
450 views
What does it mean that the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John the Baptist?
Matthew 11:11 (KJV):
Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is ...
3
votes
1answer
331 views
*Two* miraculous catches of fish in John 21 and significance?
In John 21, Jesus tells the disciples to throw their nets on the "right side of the boat" (verse 6) which enables the second miraculous catch of fish in Jesus' ministry, the catching of 153 fish.
...
8
votes
3answers
119 views
Who was Nimrod?
In the middle of an otherwise repetitive genealogy in Genesis 10, one man is especially singled out:
Cush was the father of Nimrod, who became a mighty warrior on the earth. He was a mighty hunter ...
8
votes
4answers
721 views
How tall was Goliath?
In 1 Samuel 17, David intends to battle against Goliath and ultimately wins by slinging a single stone into his forehead before decapitating him. As Wikipedia can confirm, there are multiple accounts ...
5
votes
3answers
2k views
What is the significance of the floating ax head in 2 Kings 6:1-7?
Now the company of prophets said to Elisha, "As you see, the place where we live under your charge is too small for us. Let us go to the Jordan, and let us collect logs there, one for each of us, ...
7
votes
2answers
116 views
In the Peshitta, what is the difference between the original word translated “Sabbath” and that translated “week?”
In Matthew 28:1 of the Aramaic Peshitta text, the word translated "Sabbath" and the word translated "week" appear similar but with slight variation.
Does anyone know what the significance is of the ...
9
votes
3answers
150 views
Why does Jesus tell his mother his “hour has not yet come”?
Very early on, John tells a story that is unique to his gospel:
On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus also was invited to the wedding ...
4
votes
2answers
101 views
Did God make an idol?
In the decalogue God forbids the making and or worshipping of images in the form of anything in the created order.
And God spoke all these words: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of ...
5
votes
3answers
680 views
What is the meaning of the reference to 'stones' in Ecclesiastes 3?
Ecclesiastes starts with a series of contrasts, most of which are easy to understand. However one reference is less obvious (at least to me) - the 'stones' in verse 5a:
1 For everything there is a ...
3
votes
0answers
44 views
Just how overpriced was Efron's burial cave anyway?
In Genesis 23 Avraham pays 400 shekels to Efron for a burial cave for Sarah (and, later, other family members). This seems to be an enormous amount of money and Rashi suggests it's even worse than it ...
6
votes
2answers
130 views
Why is “raah” usually translated differently in Amos 3:6 and 9:4
Why is "raah" usually translated differently in Amos 3:6 and 9:4, even in a super-literal translation:
6Is a trumpet blown in a city, And do people not tremble? Is there affliction in a city, And ...
4
votes
1answer
44 views
Did Mark intend to end his gospel at 16:8?
Mark's gospel may or may not end at 16:8. The earliest manuscripts do not contain 16:9-20.
As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe
sitting on the right side, and ...
7
votes
3answers
363 views
Why did Stephen give such a long speech?
Before he was stoned, Stephen gives a huge speech (Acts 7) going over Israeli history, from Abraham through Moses to David.
I really don't understand the purpose of it. What is the overall message? ...
3
votes
2answers
71 views
What is the significance of the young man who runs away naked in Mark's gospel?
Mark alone of the four Gospels tells of a young man who fled naked when Jesus was arrested in Gethsemane. Mark 14:51 states,
A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus.
...
17
votes
5answers
715 views
“A god” or “God” in John 1:1?
John 1:1 (NWT):
In [the] beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god.
This translation, the Jehovah's Witnesses New World Translation is, I think, unique in using ...
4
votes
3answers
76 views
Why does Luke associate the birth of Christ with the census conducted by Quirinus?
Luke states that Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem because of a census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria (2:1-5).
In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all ...
8
votes
4answers
555 views
What does “guardian/tutor” mean in Galatians 3:24
Galatians 3:24 reads in the ESV (and several modern translations)
So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.ESV
In the KJV it reads:
...
3
votes
0answers
22 views
In John 18, who was high priest at the time of Jesus' arrest?
First the text in John 18 (NIV) seems to make clear that Caiaphas was high priest:
18:13 They bound him and brought him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that ...
