All Questions
1
vote
2answers
118 views
Was Nathan a false prophet?
After David established himself in Jerusalem, Nathan prophesied:
“The Lord declares to you that He, the Lord, will establish a house for you. When your days are done and you lie with your fathers, ...
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? ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
16
votes
3answers
486 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
864 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, ...
11
votes
3answers
238 views
Where does the “slippery slope” of allegorical interpretations start?
Besides the Grammatical Historical Approach to hermeneutics, various allegorical or metaphorical approaches exist. It seems to me that if you approach a text with the assumption that the whole thing ...
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 ...
10
votes
4answers
460 views
What translation best translates the word “vanity” (in the KJV) in Ecclesiastes?
The word "vanity" (KJV) in Ecclesiastes has been mistranslated in the NIV as "meaningless".
Is "vanity" the best translation for the hebrew word hebel (Strongs 1892), does a newer version do it more ...
8
votes
2answers
165 views
Is dispensationalism a theological framework or a hermeneutical approach?
I most often hear about dispensationalism in the context of a theological framework where God's relations with men are understood to be divided up into different periods of time or dispensations each ...
7
votes
1answer
91 views
Did Paul expect Timothy to see “the last days”?
In 2 Timothy, Paul warns Timothy as follows:
2 Timothy 3:1-5 (ESV)
3 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of ...
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 ...
6
votes
3answers
590 views
Were the Nephilim in Genesis 6 aliens?
Could Genesis 6:1-4 be talking about aliens? (ESV):
When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were ...
6
votes
4answers
179 views
In what way was Jesus' prayer heard (Hebrews 5:7)?
Hebrews 5:7 (ESV):
During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of ...
4
votes
2answers
106 views
Did Joshua execute innocents?
We read that Achan confessed his sin of taking spoil that was proscribed for the Lord:
Achan answered Joshua, “It is true, I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. This is what I did: I ...
2
votes
4answers
4k views
Why does God say he only revealed his name, Yahweh, to Moses?
Responding the the meta call for contradiction In Exodus 6:2 we find the following quote:
And God spoke to Moses and said to him
I am Yahweh. And I showed to Abraham, to Isaac, and to ...
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. ...
11
votes
5answers
4k views
Why did the tabernacle use the colors blue, purple and scarlet?
I see a lot of blue in the tabernacle, and when moving it. For example:
Then they are to cover the curtain with a durable leather, spread a cloth of solid blue over that and put the poles in ...
11
votes
3answers
398 views
How should James 2:18 be translated?
James, when making the argument that faith without works is dead, makes this statement:
James 2:18-19 (ESV)
18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith ...
11
votes
7answers
869 views
What does “image” in Genesis 1:26-27 mean?
Genesis 1:26-27 (ESV)
26Then 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 birds of the heavens and over the ...
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, ...
10
votes
4answers
447 views
Is there a modern English translation of the Bible that uses the second-person plural pronoun?
I'm looking for a modern translation of the Bible (ideally in the public domain) that retains the distinction between second-person plural and second-person singular. In Early Modern English (the ...
10
votes
2answers
298 views
What is a Horizon of Understanding and how can it be applied to understanding the Bible?
Hans-Georg Gadamer uses Horizons of Understanding as a model for communication, and the concept of fusion of horizons is sometimes put forth as a way of explaining how one can approach a "text", but ...
9
votes
3answers
1k views
What is the third heaven that Paul mentions in 2 Corinthians 12:2?
2 Corinthians 12:2 (NIV)
2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows.
What is ...
9
votes
2answers
193 views
Did Job believe in an afterlife where wrongs could be righted?
At the end of his life, Job seems to have been content with his lot despite his time of suffering recorded in the rest of the book. Some have suggested that the reason he had for contentment is that ...
9
votes
2answers
745 views
What is the significance of “east” in the Scriptures?
There seems to be some significance to the east in the Scriptures.
The garden is planted in the east of Eden
Cherubim are stationed on the east side of the Garden of Eden
Parts of the burnt offering ...
8
votes
3answers
167 views
What is the difference in the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of God?
Some assert the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of God refer to the same thing while others say they are synonyms. Which is accurate?
For example: Luke 17:21 uses Kingdom of God while Matthew 11:11 ...
8
votes
2answers
549 views
When was the book of Joel written?
The word of the LORD that came to Joel the son of Pethuel. Hear
this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath
this been in your days, or in the days of your fathers? Tell ...
8
votes
3answers
435 views
How does Jesus' argument from David and the show bread work?
Jesus defended his disciples gleaning on the Sabbath by retelling a story about David. Mark 2:23-28 (ESV):
One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his ...
8
votes
3answers
208 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 ...
7
votes
2answers
115 views
What were the Corinthians doing when they “baptized on behalf of the dead”?
In the very center of an argument about the general resurrection, which the Corinthians questioned, Paul says:
Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead ...
7
votes
3answers
328 views
How does the Noah's Ark narrative relate to the Gilgamesh flood account?
How does the Noah's Ark narrative relate to other the Gilgamesh flood account?
For reference, the Biblical flood account is in Genesis 6-10 and the Gilgamesh flood account is on Tablet XI. The ...
6
votes
1answer
40 views
What are the earliest dated Latin manuscripts of the Bible?
What is the dating of the earliest Latin manuscript of the Hebrew Tanakh (Old Testament)?
What is the dating of the earliest Latin manuscript of the New Testament?
Who is in current possession of ...
6
votes
2answers
630 views
Is the “captain of the Lord's host” an angel or God Himself?
After Joshua and the people of Israel crossed over the Jordan and before they assaulted Jericho, Joshua had this strange encounter:
Once, when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man ...
6
votes
1answer
441 views
In light of Isaiah 7:15-16, how could Jesus be the promised child born of a virgin?
Isaiah 7:14 is the famous verse in which King Ahaz is promised that a virgin (or a young woman—I know the translation issues) shall conceive. This prophecy is even quoted in the New Testament ...
6
votes
5answers
656 views
Who is being “taken” in Matthew 24:40-41?
Matthew 24:40-41 (ESV)
Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two
women will be grinding oat at the mill; one will be taken and one left.
One of the interpretations ...
5
votes
1answer
51 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 ...
5
votes
2answers
276 views
Does the New Testament predict Jesus' return on Rosh Hashanah?
The day of the Lord's return is sometimes associated with trumpets in the New Testament:
For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and ...
5
votes
4answers
340 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? ...
5
votes
2answers
1k views
Why did Abraham stop at ten in Genesis 18:32?
Genesis 18:16-33 recounts the story, "Abraham Pleads for Sodom" (NIV). When conversing with God, Abraham asks God if He would destroy the city if there were 50 righteous people in it. God replies No, ...
4
votes
2answers
101 views
What is Paul's advice on anger?
Paul writes:
Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.—Ephesians 4:26-27 (ESV)
The first issue I see is that the first clause ...
4
votes
1answer
95 views
Who is “I” in Psalm 4
Several verses in Psalm 4 are in the first person, for example in verse 1:
Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and ...
4
votes
3answers
491 views
Jewish interpretation of Genesis 1:26?
I am under the impression that the Trinity is a Christian idea, and that the Jews did not view God as "three in one and one in three". How, then, was the following passage interpreted by the people ...
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 ...
4
votes
2answers
736 views
Was Jesus anointed once or twice on the feet with perfume?
Disclaimer: I've already asked this question on Christianity SE and got a great answer. I'm asking it here to get an expert response (and because it is one of my favourite stories). If the community ...
4
votes
2answers
253 views
What's Paul (of Tarsus)'s view on the bodily resurrection?
In 1st Corinthians 15 Paul records the eyewitness accounts of Jesus' resurrection:
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance ...
4
votes
6answers
1k views
What is the “first resurrection”?
Finishing up the year in the Bible, I heard this passage:
Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been ...
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 ...
4
votes
1answer
285 views
Why was the Trinity Doctrine, found in 1 John 5:7-8 KJV, kept in the NKJV when it is believed to be inauthentic?
1 John 5:7-8
King James Version (KJV)
7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the
Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
8 And there are three that ...
