All Questions
1
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0answers
20 views
Was the LXX ending to Job written in Greek?
The Septuagint's ending to Job begins:
And it is written that he shall rise again with the ones whom the Lord shall raise up. This man is described by the Syriac book as dwelling in the land of Uz ...
2
votes
1answer
26 views
Did Job repent?
Many translations of Job 42:6 have something like the NIV:
Therefore I despise myself
and repent in dust and ashes.
However, in the article on Job from The Dictionary for Theological ...
2
votes
0answers
14 views
Does 1 Thessalonians 4:17 borrow from Daniel 7?
Paul writes to the Thessalonians:
After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord ...
5
votes
1answer
103 views
By what Name did God reveal Himself to Abraham?
God is on several accounts called the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (Even by Christ himself and by his apostles He is called their God. e.g. Mk 12:26 /Acts 3:3
I quote from Monica Cellio´s ...
9
votes
2answers
89 views
Why does the Peshitta use the word ‘baptism’ for ‘enlightened’ in Hebrews 6:4?
In Hebrews it talks about certain apostates that can’t be renewed to repentance because they have undergone certain things, which they have then rejected, signifying something terribly wrong and ...
10
votes
6answers
1k views
What are the “household gods” Rachel stole from Laban?
When Jacob flees from Laban, Rachel steals his household gods.
When Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel stole her father’s
household gods.
Genesis 31:19 (NIV)
Jacob seems pretty ...
2
votes
0answers
19 views
Why was Elisha bald?
When Elisha is jeered by youths, he is at the beginning of his ministry which lasted approximately 50 years and so seemingly fairly young still. He is jeered, however, for being being bald. Did he ...
10
votes
4answers
733 views
What was Noah thinking when he sent a raven from the ark?
In tablet 11 of the epic of Gilgamesh, after Utnapishtim's ark lodges on a rock, he releases a dove, a swallow, and a raven, in that order. The first two birds return when they fail to find a resting ...
9
votes
3answers
705 views
What does “born again” from John 3:3 mean?
John 3:3 (NIV)
Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
A note for this verse in the NIV says, "The Greek for again also means from ...
5
votes
0answers
44 views
Is the Gospel of John arranged as a chiasm?
In his book the Literary Structure of the Old Testament, David Dorsey compiles a list of fifteen ways the writers of the Hebrew bible linked narrative units into narrative patterns. One of these ...
2
votes
2answers
53 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. ...
6
votes
3answers
88 views
What analogy is Joel using to compare God's spirit to?
Joel uses the act of pouring to describe God providing His spirit to all the people of Israel:
After that,
I will pour out My spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and daughters shall prophesy;
...
2
votes
3answers
147 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 ...
3
votes
2answers
102 views
Did the Jerusalem Council intend to replace the Torah?
When Paul and Barnabas when down to Jerusalem to consult with the apostles about whether Gentiles ought to be compelled to be circumcised, the final word comes from James:
Therefore my judgment is ...
4
votes
1answer
67 views
Why does John note the name of the servant whose ear was cut off?
Unlike the synoptics, John notes the name of the man whose ear was cut off during Jesus' arrest.
John 18:10 - Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, ...
6
votes
4answers
122 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
2answers
3k 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, ...
5
votes
2answers
70 views
When the Kingdom of Israel split, what happened to Benjamin?
All my life I've been told that the tribe of Benjamin remained with the faithful tribe of Judah. And I've read the passage in 1 Kings 11:29-35 where the kingdom is split in two many times before, but ...
4
votes
3answers
104 views
Where did the idea that the law was administered through angels come from?
The idea that the law was given through angels seems common enough in the first century literature:
Galatians 3:19
Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring ...
5
votes
2answers
58 views
“Believing wife” or “sister” in 1 Corinthians 9:5?
In 1 Corinthians 9:5, there is a referrence of women serving the apostles. In most translations, they are called wives:
Don’t we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do
the ...
7
votes
5answers
415 views
What does Paul mean by allegory in Galatians 4:24?
Paul's method of interpretation in Galatians 4:21-31 seems a bit unusual as compared to most modern methods. He says these things may be "interpreted allegorically." What is his method of exegesis? ...
1
vote
2answers
50 views
Genesis 3:13 Does the Hebrew actually say הִשִּׁיאַ֖נִי deceived ME?
In Genesis 3:13
Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
Does the Hebrew word actually say "deceived me"? ...
5
votes
3answers
96 views
Significance of the “Son of Man” appellation in Ezekiel
Ezekiel is the only prophet regularly referred to by God as "son of man" (ben adam). This is particularly interested to Christians since Jesus took the title "Son of Man" upon himself (ὁ υἱός τοῦ ...
-1
votes
2answers
72 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?
7
votes
4answers
465 views
Synthesizing Differing Translations of Proverbs 18:24
In the King James, Prov. 18:24 reads "A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother." This appears to be an admonition for the reader to ...
6
votes
1answer
48 views
What is a “reinked” manuscript?
So, I'm checking a variant in the CNTTS critical apparatus and look up some info on a couple manuscripts that support a reading. According to CNTTS the manuscript is "a reinked manuscript of the ...
7
votes
2answers
229 views
Signficance of name change from Saul to Paul
Acts 13:9 appears to record the moment Saul's name changes to Paul:
Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said...
(Prior to this time, ...
6
votes
9answers
648 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
36 views
Galatians 4:13: What was Paul's “infirmity of the flesh”?
Galatians 4:13 A.V.
Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you at the first.
10
votes
6answers
551 views
What was lacking in Christ's afflictions?
In Colossians 1:24, I read:
Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church ...
8
votes
3answers
143 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 ...
1
vote
1answer
42 views
Who or what are the “no gods” in Galatians 4:8?
The Apostle Paul wrote to the Galatians concerning their former lifestyle. In this regard, he mentions the following.
Galatians 4:8-9 (NASB)
8 However at that time, when you did not know God, ...
0
votes
1answer
21 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 ...
5
votes
2answers
95 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 ...
5
votes
0answers
62 views
“which translated means…”
I am told that many scholars believe that the words of Jesus which we have presented to us in Greek were originally spoken in Aramaic. What confuses me then is why there are instances in the Greek ...
8
votes
4answers
469 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 ...
1
vote
1answer
72 views
Does 2 Samuel 22:27 mean that God can be unrighteous?
With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure ; and with the froward thou
wilt shew thyself unsavoury (2 Samuel 22:27)
and
All the words of my mouth [are] in righteousness; [there is] nothing
...
4
votes
1answer
120 views
Meaning of (et)“את” and (v'et)“וְאֵ֥ת” in Genesis 1:1
Genesis 1:1
In the beginning בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית
created בָּרָ֣א
God אֱלֹהִ֑ים
(unknown word) אֵ֥ת
the heavens הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם
(unknown word) וְאֵ֥ת
the earth הָאָֽרֶץ׃
I ...
7
votes
2answers
90 views
What language(s) would the Jewish Christians in the various Macedonian cities have spoken?
In Acts 16-18, Paul is shown moving from city to city in Macedonia - e.g. Phillipi, Thessalonica, Berea, Corinth - many of to whom he would later write letters. Acts 17:2 explains that it was his ...
1
vote
3answers
118 views
Why does the Hebrew word “chesed” in Psalm 136 have two meanings?
Psalm 136:23 & 24 use the same Hebrew word that is sometimes translated as "grace". The ESV uses "steadfast love" in those verses:
It is he who remembered us in our low estate,
for his ...
8
votes
3answers
800 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 ...
5
votes
2answers
236 views
What does 'Dominon' mean in Genesis?
"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and ...
18
votes
5answers
8k 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?
3
votes
2answers
98 views
Is the water jar in John 4:28 a symbol?
At the end of Jesus' conversation with the woman by the well, John records
28 So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to
the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me all ...
9
votes
4answers
283 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
52 views
Those who believe are “especially” saved?
1 Timothy 4:10 (NET emphasis mine) reads:
In fact this is why we work hard and struggle, because we have set our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of believers.
...
2
votes
0answers
31 views
Which is the day described in verse Amos 8:9?
"In that day," declares the Sovereign Lord,
I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight.
Amos 8:9
Can somebody explain when this will happen and what will be ...
8
votes
2answers
181 views
If a “house divided cannot stand” how did non-disciples cast out demons?
Really what I'm getting at is two lines of reasoning I see in gospel accounts that seem to contradict one another.
In particular I'm thinking of the pericope in which Jesus is accused of casting out ...
5
votes
2answers
174 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
2answers
297 views
What are the “shields of the earth”?
The end of Psalm 47 reads:
God reigns over the nations;
God sits on his holy throne.
The princes of the peoples gather
as the people of the God of Abraham.
For the shields of the earth ...
