All Questions
6
votes
1answer
66 views
Who are the πρεσβυτέροις in 1 Peter 5:1-5?
ΠΕΤΡΟΥ Α΄ 5:5 (SBLGNT)
ὁμοίως, νεώτεροι, ὑποτάγητε πρεσβυτέροις. πάντες δὲ ἀλλήλοις τὴν ταπεινοφροσύνην ἐγκομβώσασθε, ὅτι Ὁ θεὸς ὑπερηφάνοις ἀντιτάσσεται ταπεινοῖς δὲ δίδωσιν χάριν.
1 ...
4
votes
2answers
865 views
How did the Greek “charis” come to imply “favor?”
Luke 2:52 (ESV) states that "Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man." The word "favor" in this passage is translated from the Greek word "charis" (Strong's G5485), ...
11
votes
1answer
166 views
What word best captures the spirit of לִּילִית in Isaiah 34:14?
Isaiah 34:14 in the Masoretic Text is the following:
גְשׁוּ צִיִּים אֶת-אִיִּים, וְשָׂעִיר עַל-רֵעֵהוּ יִקְרָא; אַךְ-שָׁם הִרְגִּיעָה לִּילִית, וּמָצְאָה לָהּ מָנוֹח
Here, לִּילִית is supposedly ...
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 ...
11
votes
2answers
911 views
Is “wait” in Isaiah 40:31 active or passive?
Some translations have this verse reading "They that wait (up)on the Lord" (eg. NKJV) while others have "They that wait for the Lord" (eg. ESV) and still others "Those that hope in the Lord". (eg NIV)
...
6
votes
2answers
1k views
What exactly did Moses do wrong at Meribah?
We read that God commanded Moses to speak to the rock at Meribah so that water could flow out of it. Instead, Moses struck the rock with his staff:
Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly ...
2
votes
2answers
89 views
Is there any exegetical reason for believing the seven churches of Revelation correspond to seven successive “church ages”?
The Book of Revelation self-identifies as a letter to seven churches:
John to the seven churches that are in Asia -v.4
John explains his experience to them as follows:
I, John, your brother ...
2
votes
2answers
66 views
What significance does John perceive in the piercing of Christ's side and the flow of blood and water?
Both the piercing of Christ side and the flow of blood and water (John 19:34) are unique to John’s gospel and it’s clear from the testimony which follows (19:35) he sees in them great deal of ...
4
votes
4answers
114 views
How should ἐκκλησίαις be translated in 1 Corinthians 14:34?
Though it has a couple different meanings, most often ἐκκλησία is translated as "church" in the NT. I'm wondering, though, whether its use in 1 Corinthians 14:34 might be distinguished from its use in ...
5
votes
1answer
32 views
How should the prepositions in Romans 11:36 be translated?
Romans 11:36 has four propositions that provide a neat parallel structure:
ὅτι ἐξ αὐτοῦ καὶ δι’ αὐτοῦ καὶ εἰς αὐτὸν τὰ πάντα· αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας, ἀμήν.
The ESV translation is fairly ...
11
votes
3answers
1k views
What is meant by “Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire”?
In Revelation 20:14 (ESV) we read:
"Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the
second death, the lake of fire."
The concept of "fire" is used multiple times in the New ...
10
votes
6answers
346 views
How should we understand the “Cleansing of the Temple”?
As a preface, I was talking with some good friends last night and this passage came up. On of my friends contributed an interpretation that made my blood boil. He was clearly wrong and clearly ...
7
votes
4answers
399 views
Did Jesus have the legal authority to cleanse the temple?
The narrative of Jesus' cleansing of the temple is present in all four gospels: Mark 11:15-17, Matthew 21:12-13, Luke 19:45-46, John 2:13-17. When He cleanses the temple, there does not seem to be any ...
6
votes
3answers
158 views
Is God still at war with Amalek?
After they are defeated by the Israelites at Rephidim, God promises unending judgement on Amalek in Exodus 17:
14Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in ...
7
votes
3answers
163 views
What are the Pharisees saying to search in John 7:52?
The Pharisees say to Nicodemus in John 7:52:
ἐραύνησον καὶ ἴδε ὅτι ἐκ τῆς Γαλιλαίας προφήτης οὐκ ἐγείρεται
Or
Search and see that a prophet has not arisen from Galilee
Is there any way to ...
-2
votes
1answer
135 views
How should the Valley of Hinnom be translated?
Transliteration vs. Translation vs.Travesty vs. Allegory
Gehenna or Valley of Hinnom or Djennem or Hell?
Through the prophecy and book of Jeremiah the Valley of Hinnom (ge hinnom) east of Jerusalem ...
4
votes
2answers
54 views
Parallelism in the Beatitudes
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit ...
3
votes
4answers
197 views
Was the angel of the Lord the pre-human appearance of Messiah? [closed]
I have noticed some commentators interpret the phrase "Angel of the Lord" ("מַלְאָךְ יהוה" mal'ak YHWH) in the Hebrew Scriptures to refer to a pre-human appearance of Messiah?
I am considering to ...
3
votes
1answer
36 views
What is the significance of the phrase πιστὸς ὁ λόγος (“the faithful saying”) in Pauline epistles?
I was browsing the first epistle of Timotheos, and I noticed that the apostle Paulos sometimes preceded a statement by the Greek phrase πιστὸς ὁ λόγος (cp. 1 Tim. 1:15), which may be translated as ...
8
votes
1answer
86 views
Why does Mark provide two feeding accounts?
The Gospel According to Mark, in contrast to the other three gospels, provides two separate feeding miracles wherein Jesus multiplies loaves and fishes to feed five thousand and four thousand ...
4
votes
1answer
40 views
Was Mark A Scribe?
Given that the ability to write was an unusual skill in the time of the composition of the Gospels, would Mark have been likely to have been a scribe? I mean if the tradition of Peter dictating to ...
6
votes
2answers
63 views
Why is the law about cooking a goat in mother's milk listed with instructions about feasts?
As this question notes, the law concerning cooking a young goat in its mother's milk appears three times in Torah: Exodus: 23:19, Exodus 34:26, and Deuteronomy 14:21. It's placement in Deuteronomy ...
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 ...
0
votes
0answers
26 views
Punishment in Exodus 20.5? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Who are the “third and fourth generation” in Exodus 20:5?
“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven ...
0
votes
0answers
43 views
Waltke/O'Connor qal causation references [closed]
According to Waltke/O'Connor, "the Qal...is simple semantically in that notions of causation are absent.". An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax Chapter 22.
I'm having trouble finding ...
0
votes
1answer
45 views
Why does the KJV translate Num. 11:25 as “and did not cease”? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Understanding Numbers 11:25
Numbers 11:25 (KJV):
And the LORD came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that [was] upon him, and gave [it] ...
1
vote
2answers
83 views
When a new translation of the Bible is created
When a new translation of the Bible is created or revised (such as NIV) do they go back to the original text and re-translate? Or do they change an existing version?
I realize that this may have ...
1
vote
0answers
99 views
What is the actual word used in “Thou shall not kill?” [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Is “kill” a valid translation for Exodus 20:13 (Thou shalt not kill)?
What word is used in the original Ten Commandments for "kill"? What modern equivalent ...
2
votes
1answer
42 views
Judgment like light(ning) in Hosea 6:5
ESV, NIV and NLT each have a rather distinctive translation of the last phrase of Hosea 6:5:
Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth, and my judgment ...
2
votes
1answer
278 views
Leaping over the threshold in Zephaniah 1:9
It would seem from the various translations of Zephaniah 1:9 that is is tricky to understand. Some translations give an apparently fairly vanilla, literal rendering:
On that day I will punish ...
1
vote
3answers
101 views
Is Hosea 4:11 teaching total abstinence from alcohol?
In Hosea 4:11 (ESV), God seems to condemn drinking wine:
They shall eat, but not be satisfied;
they shall play the whore, but not multiply,
because they have forsaken the Lord
to cherish ...
2
votes
1answer
119 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 ...
3
votes
1answer
94 views
What does “in the midst of the years” mean in Habakkuk 3:2?
The phrase "in the midst of the years" occurs in some more literal translations of Habakkuk 3:2:
Yahweh, I have heard the report of you, and your work, Yahweh, do I fear. In the midst of the years ...
3
votes
1answer
33 views
How should the phrase ἐλέγξει τὸν κόσμον περὶ in John 16:8 be translated?
The 1984 NIV of John 16:7b-11 reads (emphasis mine):
Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of ...
3
votes
1answer
103 views
A woman is not to put on a man's dress?
I came across a web page belonging to a christian person/org.
The page (carrying on a trait I find frequent among christian fundamentalist web sites) critiques other fundamentalist christian ...
5
votes
2answers
182 views
Why do many chinese Bibles translate “Logos” in John 1:1 as 道 (dao)?
道（dao) is the concept which the entire Dao De Jing seeks to expound upon and discuss. Dao De Jing is the central text of Daoist philosophy. I don't know how to define "dao" beyond an extremely ...
4
votes
3answers
221 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 ...
5
votes
1answer
55 views
Is Job 28 a part of Job's speech?
I noticed that in the 2011 NIV, Job 28 is marked off as an interlude as does not appear in quotation marks; whereas in the 1984 NIV, the text appears in quotation marks and is considered a part of ...
5
votes
2answers
77 views
Hosea 13:14 as quoted in 1 Corinthians 15
Hosea 13:14 reads in the ESV:
Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol?
Shall I redeem them from Death?
O Death, where are your plagues?
O Sheol, where is your sting?
Compassion is ...
5
votes
2answers
106 views
What language are people translating the Bible from?
Say a publisher or other organization creates "a new translation" of the Bible: What's the source text? Are they experts in ancient Aramaic? What exactly is the text being translated from in modern ...
6
votes
1answer
74 views
Is translation a subset of exegesis?
This site is in an odd position. Questions about the site are also questions that are valid for the site. This is another such question.
It seems that there has been discussion on chat multiple ...
10
votes
2answers
175 views
How Is the Date of Composition of the Gospels Estimated?
So considering that the oldest copies of the gospels are dated to around 400 AD (I'm thinking of the Codex Sinaiticus), how do scholars go about estimating the date of composition of the gospels? I ...
5
votes
1answer
45 views
How should πονηρός be translated in Matthew 7:11, and why?
Matthew 7:7 “Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone ...
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
2answers
97 views
What is the meaning of Jesus' teaching about unclean spirits returning to a person after being driven out?
In responding to allegations that he drives out demons by the power of Beelzebul, Jesus says, among other things:
When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it wanders through waterless ...
6
votes
2answers
165 views
What are the strict set of rules followed by sensus plenior?
I realize there are similar questions posted but not seeking an exact explanation where it can be shown rationally that three or more independent people, not talking to each other, can come out with ...
9
votes
2answers
138 views
Whose meaning are we trying to find?
If hermeneutics is the study of the meaning of a text, whose meaning are we trying to find when we study the Bible? How does Scripture being inspired by God but penned by men affect our ability to ...
2
votes
1answer
87 views
How does a less Messianic reading of Song of Solomon interpret 5:16 “He is altogether lovely”?
Song of Solomon is a book with some seriously divergent interpretations. I have just started reading a pamphlet by John Flavel called Christ Altogether Lovely on this verse:
His mouth is sweetness ...
2
votes
1answer
29 views
Does Paul counsel against marriage or remarriage in 1 Corinthians 7:27b?
What situation is Paul addressing in 1 Corinthians 7:27b?
I think that in view of the present distress it is good for a person to remain as he is. Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be free. ...
0
votes
1answer
53 views
Does Matthew 6 prohibit public displays of faith? [closed]
Does Matthew 6 prohibit public displays - such as the nativity?
