17
votes
3answers
973 views
What language did Jesus commonly speak?
According to Mark 15:34 (ESV):
And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Jesus spoke Aramaic ...
7
votes
3answers
418 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 ...
4
votes
2answers
327 views
Understanding argument in Galatians 3:19-20
I think I understand the argument in Galatians 3:19a about the purpose of the law. But then in the second half of the verse, Paul begins, "The law was given through angels and entrusted to a mediator. ...
4
votes
2answers
319 views
Chronology of Jesus' ministry: John and the Synoptics
I've heard that there is a recent trend to see the Fourth Gospel - despite its obvious theological purpose as compared to especially Luke - as actually more chronological than the Synoptics. Wikipedia ...
17
votes
5answers
595 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?
12
votes
2answers
440 views
What arguments exist that would refute the theory concerning Aramaic primacy of the New Testament?
Many Nestorian and some Seventh Day Adventist scholars assert that the New Testament was originally written in Aramaic (such as Paul Younan and George Lamsa). What scholarly arguments exist that would ...
7
votes
4answers
290 views
What portions of the New Testament are purported to have originally been written in Aramaic?
I am wondering what portions of the New Testament are purported to have originally been written in Aramaic, and by whom. I am aware that Seventh Day Adventist and Nestorian scholars often assert ...
9
votes
4answers
276 views
What is the relationship between the “Adversary” in Job and the serpent in Genesis?
An individual named the Adversary appears in Job 1:6-12 (NJPS):
One day the divine beings presented themselves before the Lord, and the Adversary came along with them. The Lord said to the ...
18
votes
2answers
304 views
Did John know about the Synoptics?
What evidence is there that John was aware of the Synoptics when he wrote the Fourth Gospel?
8
votes
3answers
338 views
Is hermeneutics primarily descriptive or prescriptive?
I sometimes hear (particularly on this site) of hermeneutical "methods", such as the grammatico-historal approach, or literal-historical approach, or sensus plenior. These all seem to be tools or ...
5
votes
2answers
275 views
How should graded numerical parallelism in Hebrew poetry be understood?
In Hebrew poetry, especially proverbs, we see examples of monotonically increasing numbers that set up parallels. For instance Proverbs 30:15 (NJPS):
The leech has two daughters, “Give!” and ...
7
votes
1answer
276 views
Jesus's genealogy: 28 generations or 41 since David?
These questions keep me wondering:
Firstly, how is it possible that Matthew and Luke came up with completely different genealogies of Jesus ancestors, if they are both following the masculine line?
...
7
votes
2answers
263 views
How big were the nomadic clans of the patriarchs?
According to the book Genesis, 70 people came down with Jacob to dwell in Egypt after contact was made with Joseph:
And the sons of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt were two souls; all the ...
4
votes
3answers
234 views
Sacrificing and kissing calves in Hosea 13:2
Reading Hosea 13:2 ESV, I found myself confused:
And now they sin more and more, and make for themselves metal images, idols skillfully made of their silver, all of them the work of craftsmen. It ...
12
votes
2answers
1k views
What is the difference between historical-grammatical and historical criticism?
The historical-grammatical method and historical criticism are both hermeneutical approaches seeking to uncover the original meaning of the text.
What is the difference between the two?
9
votes
3answers
1k views
What is the “fourfold sense of Scripture”?
During the Patristic Period in the Middle Ages practiced an exegetical tactic known as the fourfold sense of Scripture. What are these four senses and do these ideas about the nature of Scripture ...
10
votes
3answers
639 views
Why does Matthew double people?
Matthew seems to mention two people (or animals) where other Gospels mention just one, e.g.
two demon possessed men, in Matthew 8:28-34 (compare Mark 5:1-17 and Luke 8:26-39)
two blind men, in ...
8
votes
7answers
510 views
According to Scripture, how should we interpret Scripture?
There have been many principles proposed for how to properly interpret Scripture. Some of those principles actually come from Scripture. Here are some examples of principles which seem to come from ...
22
votes
5answers
770 views
Does 1st Kings say that pi = 3?
The construction of Solomon's temple includes a piece of furnishing described in 1 Kings 7:23 (ESV):
Then he made the sea of cast metal. It was round, ten cubits from brim to brim, and five cubits ...
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 ...
12
votes
3answers
1k views
Jesus' command to hate your father and mother in Luke 14:26
I've often heard that Luke 14:26 is meant to be interpreted as "Love me more than your family" or something along those lines (in fact, the CEV translates it as such). I'm interested in how scholars ...
9
votes
3answers
213 views
Is David the Godfather?
As David neared the end of his life, he calls Solomon to himself and gives him some final instructions recorded in 1 Kings 2:1-10. It starts out how you'd maybe expect, with David admonishing Solomon ...
8
votes
2answers
110 views
What is the “systematic typology” hermeneutic method and how does it work?
There's a hermeneutic method that's been used on this site called "systematic typology". What is it? How does one apply it? Are there contexts where it is considered to be a particularly good or ...
8
votes
4answers
2k views
Has the meaning of “Love” changed enough to warrant substitutions in Bible translations?
The culturally accepted uses of the word "Love" seem to be a trite shadow of its biblical meaning. Common use of "Love" is now interchangeable with "Like," "Enjoy," or "Emotionally attachment" of ...
7
votes
2answers
91 views
Can John's Passion chronology be reconciled with that of the Synoptics?
Background:
Over the centuries, many readers of the four Gospels have seen significant discrepancies between John and the Synoptics, particularly with regards to chronology. This has led many to ...
6
votes
2answers
498 views
Why did David advise Solomon to kill Joab? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Is David the Godfather?
Joab was a loyal captain in charge for King David and he won lot of battles for his king. He had also risked his life in many occasions for the ...
6
votes
1answer
119 views
Has Pesharim left any mark on modern hermeneutics?
I understand that the Qumran monastic community—those primarily responsible for having collected and preserved the Dead Sea Scrolls and other works—endorsed the Pesharim approach to scriptural ...
14
votes
2answers
630 views
What is Sensus Plenior and how does it impact the field of hermeneutics?
What is the Sensus Plenior view of Scripture?
Without trying to resolve it's ultimate validity or not, what significant implications does the idea hold for Biblical hermeneutics in theory and ...
10
votes
2answers
134 views
How strong was Midian's army?
When Israel took vengeance on Midian they sent 12,000 troops (Numbers 31:4) and prevailed:
אֶלֶף, לַמַּטֶּה, אֶלֶף, לַמַּטֶּה--לְכֹל מַטּוֹת יִשְׂרָאֵל, תִּשְׁלְחוּ לַצָּבָא.
Of every tribe a ...
10
votes
2answers
538 views
How can I identify puns in the Hebrew Bible?
The Bible sometimes uses words with multiple meanings to the effect of an intentional pun or wordplay. Punning seems especially common in Hebrew. I think that being aware of these literary devices ...
9
votes
2answers
283 views
What is the evidence for the existence of the Q document?
According to most scholars, Mark was the first of the four gospels to be written. Matthew and Luke then relied upon Mark and a second written source called Q. What is the evidence for the existence of ...
9
votes
2answers
1k views
What is the translation philosophy for tachash skins in Exodus?
In Exodus (e.g.: 26:14) we learn one of the coverings for the tabernacle is to be made of "תחש" (tachash) skins. The translation of this term appears to be especially difficult or contentious as there ...
9
votes
1answer
223 views
What is the “Grammatical Historical Approach” to hermeneutics?
BH seems to be divided into several different approaches. What is the Grammatical Historical Approach and what are the primary ways that it differs from other modern approaches?
8
votes
2answers
180 views
In the Peshitta NT, what was the original meaning of the word often translated “first day of the week”?
Is there an Aramaic word for "week" different from "Sabbath?"
Is the word for Sabbath used in the Peshitta New Testament in the following passages:
But on the eve of the Sabbath, when the first ...
8
votes
4answers
1k views
Are Job's friends the voice of the Accuser?
I have often struggled with the book of Job, wondering what rubric should guide my interpretation as I read through the speeches of Job's "friends". They say so much that is "true" (so much that ...
6
votes
2answers
142 views
Does the qal in Amos 3:6 automatically imply causation?
I am looking at Amos 3:6 and I expected a permissive rather than causative verb but I found a perfect qal. Does this qal actually mean cause here?
Amo 3:6 Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and ...
6
votes
2answers
538 views
What are the arguments in favor of Matthean 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 ...
2
votes
2answers
190 views
Does the “lost leaf” theory for Mark's abrupt ending fail if written on a scroll?
I really like this explanation of Mark's rather abrupt ending:
There are three possible explanations for Mark ending at 16:8: (1) The author intentionally ended the Gospel here in an open-ended ...
2
votes
1answer
122 views
Is Hosea 6:1-3 a quotation?
Many translations wrap Hosea 6:1-3 in quotation marks. For instance, in the NJPS:
“Come, let us turn back to the Lord:
He attacked, and He can heal us;
He wounded, and He can bind us up.
In ...
1
vote
3answers
146 views
The number two in the book of Zechariah
Reading Zechariah, I have been struck by the frequency of the occurrences, explicit and implicit, of the number two. The most prominent are:
Two angels in chapters 1 and 2
Two dimensions:
"To ...
0
votes
1answer
224 views
Is Hosea 6:1-3 a prophecy of Jesus?
I've asked in a separate question if Hosea 6:1-3 is a quotation. Here is the ESV translation for reference:
“Come, let us return to the LORD;
for he has torn us, that he may heal us;
he has ...
17
votes
5answers
796 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 ...
8
votes
3answers
392 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? ...
26
votes
7answers
603 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 ...
18
votes
6answers
3k views
What's wrong with cooking a kid in its mother's milk?
In the Pentateuch there are at least three repetitions of the following prohibition:
Exodus 23:19b (ESV)
You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk.
Exodus 34:26b (ESV)
You ...
15
votes
4answers
2k views
What is the difference between exegesis and hermeneutics?
What is the difference between exegesis and hermeneutics? Are they the same, is there overlap, or does one pick up where the other leaves off?
15
votes
2answers
381 views
Understanding Numbers 11:25
As I am studying, I have encountered different renderings of the last phrase in this verse, which describes the prophesying of the seventy elders of Israel after the Spirit was placed on them. An ...
12
votes
4answers
673 views
How is it that Jesus could be “three days and three nights in the heart of the earth”?
This verse is usually interpreted as a prophetic word by Jesus about Himself:
Matthew 12:40: For as Jonas was three days and three nights
in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three ...
10
votes
3answers
3k views
Which 'modern' English translation of the Bible is considered the 'closest' or most accurate translation?
Which 'modern' (anything inclusive of King James Version to date) English translation of the Bible is considered the 'closest' or most accurate translation from the original Hebrew & Greek texts?
...
8
votes
5answers
352 views
Who named the wrong priest in Mark 2:26?
Here's a story Jesus told about David according to Mark 2:23-28 (ESV):
One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. ...
