All Questions
26
votes
5answers
1k views
Does the Bible mention unicorns?
I was reading Psalm 22 (from this question) and I found this verse:
Psalms 22:21 (KJV)
Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.
When I switched ...
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 ...
25
votes
5answers
1k views
Pre-Christian, Jewish interpretation of Psalm 22
How was Psalm 22 understood by Jewish tradition before the birth of Jesus? Was it interpreted messianically? What pre-Christian sources discuss Psalm 22?
22
votes
5answers
757 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 ...
20
votes
4answers
596 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 ...
19
votes
2answers
263 views
What are good contextual clues that a passage is meant to be read as hyperbole?
Today in conversation with an atheist we ran into trouble over this passage in Matthew:
Mathew 18:9 (ESV)
And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you ...
18
votes
4answers
829 views
The Eye of the Needle
What is the opinion on Jesus's use of the phrase "the eye of a needle" in Mark 10:25:
And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to ...
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 ...
18
votes
4answers
7k views
What does “meek” mean in Matthew 5:5?
Matthew 5:5 (NIV)
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
What does "meek" mean in the original language? Is "meek" a good translation for the original Greek word?
18
votes
2answers
288 views
Did John know about the Synoptics?
What evidence is there that John was aware of the Synoptics when he wrote the Fourth Gospel?
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?
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 ...
17
votes
3answers
533 views
Did Jesus sweat blood?
Luke 22:44 (NIV)
And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
Was this a literal thing--did he actually sweat drops of blood. Is ...
17
votes
3answers
929 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 ...
17
votes
5answers
717 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 ...
17
votes
5answers
542 views
What does Jesus mean by generation when talking about the end times?
In Luke 21:32-33 (ESV) Jesus says:
"Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away."
What ...
17
votes
1answer
172 views
Is NWT's translation of John 8:58 reasonable?
I already assumed the opposite in an answer to why there are so many Bible translations, on Christianity.SE. Now that we have an expert community, I'd like to check. The translators of the New World ...
16
votes
3answers
487 views
What does the prohibition against women speaking in church in 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 mean?
In 1st Corinthians 14:34-35 (NASB), Paul says:
34The women are to keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but are to subject themselves, just as the Law also says. 35If ...
15
votes
5answers
866 views
Did Jephthah actually sacrifice his daughter?
It's clear that what Jephthah intended was to sacrifice the first animal that he met when he returned home:
Then the spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah. He marched through Gilead and Manasseh, ...
15
votes
5answers
557 views
Are women really saved by childbearing according to 1 Timothy 2:15?
In 1 Timothy, Paul says:
1 Timothy 2:15 (ESV)
15 Yet she will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.
Does the "she" refer to ...
15
votes
2answers
344 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 ...
14
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?
14
votes
4answers
622 views
Does Genesis's creation account depict creation “ex nihilo”?
I had once heard that one of the remarkable thing about the creation account in Genesis, as compared to the other creation accounts of the cultures of the surrounding area is that God creates the ...
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 ...
14
votes
6answers
434 views
What role does the Holy Spirit play in hermeneutics?
As Christians in the NT age of the Church it is understood that believers have an indwelling of the Holy Spirit who acts as a counselor and guide, enabling them to rightly understand God's word. How ...
14
votes
2answers
600 views
Translation of “Selah” (סֶלָה)
What is the current scholarly opinion on the possible translations for "Selah" (סֶלָה) as used in the Psalms?
14
votes
2answers
417 views
How can we determine if a text is sarcastic?
What hermeneutical principles help in understanding whether a particular passage is to be understood as sarcastic?
For instance,
Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! ...
13
votes
4answers
263 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 ...
13
votes
3answers
454 views
Does Gen 1:1 refer to day 1 or the entire 6 days of creation?
A natural reading of Gen 1:1 with it's immediate context is that it is part of the first day of creation
1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and ...
13
votes
1answer
171 views
Who is the author of Hebrews quoting in Hebrews 10:38?
Who is the author of Hebrews quoting in Hebrews 10:38?
Now the just shall live by faith: but if [any man] draw back, my soul
shall have no pleasure in him.
The "just shall live by faith" part ...
13
votes
2answers
571 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 ...
13
votes
5answers
150 views
Why is the Bible so repetitive?
Some pieces of the Bible are repeated (several times even) without changes. Let's look at the book of Leviticus, especially chapters 13-16, which concerns laws about leprosy, mold, and bodily ...
13
votes
3answers
1k views
What does it mean that “Scripture interprets Scripture”?
What does the rule that "Scripture interprets Scripture" mean and where does it fit into a larger picture of the field of hermeneutics? What hermeneutical approaches use this as a guiding principle?
13
votes
2answers
1k views
Was “Τετέλεσται” actually stamped on paid bills and debt certificates in the first century?
I've often heard some really cool explanations around the meaning for the greek word Τετέλεσται in the New Testament where Jesus said, "It is Finished". I love what I've heard, and have even preached ...
12
votes
2answers
384 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 ...
12
votes
3answers
239 views
Was Noah absolutely blameless or relatively good?
This is the line of Noah.—Noah was a righteous man; he was blameless in his age; Noah walked with God.—Noah begot three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
The earth became corrupt ...
12
votes
3answers
687 views
What was Eve's role in relation to Adam?
The role of Eve in relation to Adam is dramatically changed by the interpretation of the sections I have bolded below, from Genesis 2:18:
The verse as most people learned it:
And the Lord God ...
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 ...
12
votes
2answers
400 views
“You are gods” in John 10:30-36
In John 10:30-36 (NASB), Jesus responds to an accusation of blasphemy by quoting the Old Testament:
30I and the Father are one.”
31The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him. 32Jesus ...
12
votes
4answers
582 views
Is John 7:53-8:11 inspired?
I've read several recent commentaries on John 8 and all agree that the story of the woman caught in adultery almost certainly wasn't there in the original manuscript. Yet they all go on to explain the ...
12
votes
4answers
2k views
Interpretations of Elihu in Job
In the book of Job, it becomes clear that the first three of Job's friends - Eliphaz, Blidad, and Zophar - speak wrongly. Not only do they incur the indignation of Job and his other friend Elihu, but ...
12
votes
4answers
2k views
Who are “the least of these my brothers” in Matthew 25?
In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus teaches that when the Son of Man comes in his glory, he will separate sheep and goats along certain lines, saying: "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of ...
12
votes
3answers
405 views
Does the original Hebrew support the NLT of Genesis 6:3?
Genesis 6:3 refers to when God set humans' lifespans to (approximately) 120 years. However, the NLT (the translation I prefer) has a slightly different translation for the 120-years part.
Genesis ...
12
votes
1answer
106 views
What is the proper translation of Hosea 11:12?
I have been researching Hosea 11:12 and have come to realize that it is translated differently in many differing translations of the Bible. It is sometimes translated that Judah walked (or ruled) with ...
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?
12
votes
2answers
501 views
Hermeneutical Approaches vs. Inductive Bible Study
Inductive Bible Study teaches that you observe, interpret, and then apply scripture, and has lots of specific things you should observe such as word repetitions, structural elements such as ...
12
votes
1answer
144 views
When is allegorization of scripture productive?
If I were to run into the story of the three little pigs accidentally used as a bookmark in my Bible I might draw these conclusions:
Clearly the wolf is the Devil trying to devour sinners who are ...
12
votes
1answer
320 views
Is Keller's view of the father in the Prodigal Son parable a reasonable interpretation?
In Tim Keller's book "The Prodigal God", Keller points out a fairly incredible dichotomy between older and younger brothers - and the parallels between these categories and our society.
In the final ...
11
votes
4answers
4k views
Translation of “Hosanna” (ὡσαννά)
What does "Hosanna" (ὡσαννά) mean (as it appears in the Gospels)? What is its etymology/derivation from Hebrew/Aramaic?
11
votes
2answers
212 views
Bart D. Ehrman - respected critic?
I found Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why troublesome to my understanding of the translation process of the bible. It has made me review my understanding of the bible. ...
