All Questions
6
votes
1answer
44 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 ...
7
votes
4answers
264 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 ...
12
votes
2answers
396 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 ...
6
votes
5answers
681 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 ...
7
votes
3answers
98 views
What are the evidences that 'morphe theou' in Philippians 2:6 means 'God's nature'?
Is there any evidence that μορφῇ θεοῦ (morphe theou) in Philippians 2:6 means the "nature" of God the Father? Is there a NT evidence and contemporary first century evidence that morphe is used as ...
2
votes
4answers
228 views
Who was Moses supposed to say sent him, “Ehieh” or “Yahweh”
Continuing the response to the meta call for contradiction.
In Exodus 4:13-14, Moses is talking to God:
And Moses said to God, "Here I come to the sons of Israel, and I told them, the God of your ...
5
votes
3answers
108 views
Does John distinguish between terms for love?
It's fairly common knowledge that there are four Greek words for love, but it's not clear from the Wikipedia article whether certain distinctions persist from Ancient Greek to Koine, namely the ...
4
votes
2answers
562 views
Comma? “Verily I say unto thee today, …” or “Verily I say unto thee, today…”
The reading of Luke 23:43 differs depending on how we punctuate it:
And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.
Or
And Jesus said unto him, ...
5
votes
2answers
51 views
Locations of the graves of the Patriarchs
The Book of Acts at 7:16-17 states that Jacob died and was "carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem."
But Genesis ...
0
votes
2answers
134 views
Why is God called the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? [closed]
Jesus termed God as mentioned in the title. On what account did he do that specifically regarding these three fathers? Why did he not say: The God of Noah? Or the God of Joseph? Or the God of Moses? ...
1
vote
4answers
238 views
What is the status of the Law in the Messianic Age? [closed]
In Isaiah 2:3, we are told the following:
And many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ...
8
votes
2answers
926 views
At what point did Abraham know he was talking to God in Genesis 18?
At the start of the story in Genesis 18, Abraham does not seem to know who the three men are:
Looking up, he saw three men standing near him. As soon as he saw them, he ran from the entrance of ...
3
votes
1answer
50 views
Whose idea was it to send the spies to scout the land of Israel?
In Numbers 13 we are told that God commanded Moshe to sends the twelve spies to scout out the land:
1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying:
2 'Send thou men, that they may spy out the land of ...
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 ...
3
votes
1answer
29 views
Did 70 or 75 Hebrews go down to Egypt with Jacob?
Acts 7:14 states that "Joseph sent word and invited Jacob his father and all his relatives to come to him, seventy-five persons in all." This seems to contradict Deut. 10:22, Ex. 1:5; and Gen. 46:27 ...
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?
7
votes
5answers
425 views
What is the head covering referring to in 1 Corinthians 11:4-6?
There's a passage of text that has always confused me. I'm curious if there's any special historical context for this passage or if there's some understanding of these commands that I'm completely ...
4
votes
2answers
1k views
Did Jesus heal everyone? [closed]
Looking at the Biblical accounts of Jesus, did He heal everyone with whom He came into contact?
I'm not aware of any explicit mention of Him not healing anyone, but I wonder if there are any hints?
...
2
votes
5answers
197 views
What is the referent of “body of Christ” in 1 Corinthians 11:29?
In 1 Corinthians 11:29 Paul warns about judgment on those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ:
So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy ...
9
votes
5answers
370 views
Is Ecclesiastes a book of negative wisdom?
When I was younger, I thought that because Ecclesiastes was so dour, it was a sort of negative wisdom—something like, "This is how crazy you get when you don't follow God." However, this ...
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
1answer
79 views
Was Jesus unaware of Joel 2:32?
Matthew records Jesus saying:
Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to ...
9
votes
1answer
119 views
Why is Genesis careful to record the exact dates of the flood?
Genesis 7:11 (NIV emphasis mine)
In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month—on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates ...
2
votes
1answer
56 views
What does “break bread” mean in Acts 20:7 and 11?
These are the verses:
7 On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight. 8 ...
7
votes
2answers
267 views
Why did God “change His mind” with Balaam?
There are so many interesting questions regarding the account of Balaam in Numbers 22-24. But for now, let me focus on the one that is most puzzling to me: Why did the Lord seem to "waffle" in His ...
7
votes
2answers
843 views
Is “breath of life” in Genesis 2:7 is the same as spirit?
And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. Genesis 2:7 (KJV)
What is the meaning of "breath of life" ...
2
votes
2answers
63 views
Who was taken captive in Numbers 21:1?
And the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who dwelt in the South, heard tell that Israel came by the way of Atharim; and he fought against Israel, and took some of them captive.—Numbers 21:1 (JPS)
...
10
votes
2answers
225 views
Is there any significance behind Jesus' use of the word “love” in “John 21:15-17”
In John 21:15-17 (ESV), we read:
15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter,
“Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him,
“Yes, Lord; you know that ...
10
votes
4answers
604 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 ...
0
votes
0answers
45 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
...
-1
votes
2answers
184 views
Did women contribute to the temple in exodus 35:22?
Finishing the response to the meta call for contradiction, here is the last contradiction/inconsistency I found in Genesis/Exodus/Leviticus.
In Exodus 35:22 we find the following passage.
And the ...
-1
votes
2answers
226 views
Why is a singular verb used to describe both Moses and Aaron?
Continuing the response to the meta call for contradiction.
The following contradiction is invisible in English. It appears in the Hebrew of Exodus 4:29.
וַיֵּלֶךְ מֹשֶׁה, וְאַהֲרֹן; ...
5
votes
3answers
91 views
Are the rings for carrying the incense altar pure gold?
In Exodus we read about the structure of the altar for burning incense:
You shall make an altar for burning incense; make it of acacia wood. It shall be a cubit long and a cubit wide—it ...
5
votes
3answers
339 views
Did Pharoah have free will?
Pharoah starts by hardening his own heart, but then God hardens it (here is the list of verses). Did God remove Pharoah's free will?
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 ...
10
votes
1answer
372 views
Exodus 6:3 - what is the significance of God's different names in the Tanakh?
Exodus 6:3:
And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob by the name of
God Almighty, but by My name JEHOVAH was I not known to them. (KJV)
This is a strange and unique verse in the ...
1
vote
1answer
28 views
What constitutes “destroying God's temple” as in 1 Corinthians 3:17?
In 1 Corinthians 3:17, Paul warns, "If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple." (ESV)
This verse is often brought up often in ...
2
votes
3answers
314 views
Differences in Genesis creation stories
It is sometimes depicted that the basic argument to read "the creation story" (Genesis 1) as a non literal story are modern science and the evolution theory. But I believe that the biggest problem ...
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 ...
3
votes
0answers
65 views
What did Job believe?
Job 9:2 says:
In truth I know that this is so; But how can a man be in the right before God?
Is this a rhetorical question, or he is sincerely wondering how to be justified before God? Depending ...
4
votes
1answer
86 views
Are kruvim also angels?
Some use Ezekiel 28 as a prooftext that Satan is an angel. It specifically says that the subject is a כְּרוּב (kruv) (Ezek. 28:14). Are kruvim also angels?
Addendum: Well, what I meant was, are ...
4
votes
2answers
170 views
Does Paul command the Corinthians to remain unmarried?
1 Corinthians seems pretty clear that remaining unmarried is the lifestyle that Paul prefers for Christians:
1 Corinthians 7:8 (NASB)
But I say to the unmarried and to widows that it is good for ...
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 ...
7
votes
1answer
169 views
How would stoning of an adulterer actually be carried out under the Law’s of Moses?
How would stoning of an adulterer actually be carried out under the Law’s of Moses?
In John Chapter 8 there is the familiar story of how Jesus prevented a stoning of a woman who had committed ...
6
votes
2answers
174 views
Did God create the constellations?
A little late on this challenge, but here goes:
In Job 38:31-32, the LORD questions Job, "Can you bind the beautiful Pleiades? Can you loose the cords of Orion? Can you bring forth the constellations ...
11
votes
3answers
408 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 ...
6
votes
1answer
43 views
Who are the disciples to fear in Matthew 10:28?
Who is Jesus telling the disciples to fear here in Matthew 10:28 (ESV):
"And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in ...
4
votes
2answers
148 views
How can the sacrifice of one animal atone for many? [closed]
It is often thought that the fundamental principle of atonement is "life for life."
In Lev. 6:2, if an individual sinned, he would bring a "trespass offering to YHVH" (Lev. 6:6), and the kohen would ...
4
votes
1answer
69 views
Who was Matthew 5-7 addressed to?
Matthew 5 begins:
1Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
2And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: ESV
and Matthew 7 ends:
...
6
votes
2answers
140 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 ...
