All Questions
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 ...
9
votes
2answers
99 views
Are there any hermeneutics principles that can be related to scientific principles?
Do any principles commonly used in the field of hermeneutics have any counterparts in scientific principles? Is there a corollary in hermeneutics to the requirements that science demands as far as the ...
8
votes
7answers
485 views
According to Scripture, how should we interpret Scripture?
There have been many principles proposed for how to properly interpret Scripture. Some of those principles actually come from Scripture. Here are some examples of principles which seem to come from ...
8
votes
4answers
1k views
Are Job's friends the voice of the Accuser?
I have often struggled with the book of Job, wondering what rubric should guide my interpretation as I read through the speeches of Job's "friends". They say so much that is "true" (so much that ...
8
votes
4answers
733 views
How tall was Goliath?
In 1 Samuel 17, David intends to battle against Goliath and ultimately wins by slinging a single stone into his forehead before decapitating him. As Wikipedia can confirm, there are multiple accounts ...
8
votes
3answers
258 views
Does the Hebrew in Judges 4:4 explicitly identify Deborah as a woman?
I have no skill at reading Hebrew, so I was using some tool to try and parse the sentence in Judges 4:4. I noticed that the definition given for the second word (אִשָּׁה) is "woman"; but what I'm ...
8
votes
4answers
363 views
Why didn't Joseph try to contact his father from Egypt?
Then Joseph could not restrain himself before all those who stood by
him; and he cried, "Cause every man to go out from me!" And there
stood no man with him while Joseph made himself known unto ...
8
votes
4answers
1k views
Has the meaning of “Love” changed enough to warrant substitutions in Bible translations?
The culturally accepted uses of the word "Love" seem to be a trite shadow of its biblical meaning. Common use of "Love" is now interchangeable with "Like," "Enjoy," or "Emotionally attachment" of ...
8
votes
3answers
272 views
Is there a sacramentalism in the “Bread of Life” discourse?
The "Bread of Life" discourse in John 6:22-59 seems to have all the components of a good discussion on the Lord's Supper (or Eucharist, or communion, or whatever your tradition calls it): Jesus is ...
8
votes
2answers
510 views
What happened to the 500 witnesses in 1 Corinthians 15?
This week I taught Sunday School from this text:
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was ...
8
votes
5answers
510 views
What does Jesus mean in Matthew 26:64 with “You have said so”?
There was a question recently about this verse and what Jesus actually meant here. So, I thought I'd post this question to see what you guys thought.
In Matthew 26, Jesus is before the Sanhedrin. ...
8
votes
5answers
342 views
Who named the wrong priest in Mark 2:26?
Here's a story Jesus told about David according to Mark 2:23-28 (ESV):
One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. ...
8
votes
3answers
120 views
What are the holy Scriptures that Timothy has known from his youth?
In 2 Timothy 3:14-15 it's written to Timothy:
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy ...
8
votes
2answers
162 views
Who Killed Saul?
I am enjoying my ride through 1 & 2 Samuel. I remember there being a contradiction contest/tag and here's a "contradiction" that got me thinking.
What should we make of Saul's death? In 1 Samuel ...
8
votes
2answers
521 views
Per 1 Cor 10:8, when did God kill 23,000 for sexual immorality?
I was going through 1 Corinthians 10, doing my best to not fixate on verse 13 until i knew the context :) when I read this:
8 We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in ...
8
votes
2answers
621 views
Why does Noah curse Canaan?
Genesis 9:23-25 NLT, reads,
Then Shem and Japheth took a robe, held it over their shoulders, and backed into the tent to cover their father. As they did this, they looked the other way so they ...
8
votes
3answers
450 views
What is morphological analysis, as it relates to Bible study?
As far as I can tell, morphological analysis is a technique used by Bible students to better understand the original languages in context.
How does one go about using a tool such as Robinson's ...
8
votes
3answers
91 views
How many animals is the King of Zion to ride according to Zechariah?
I've read that Zechariah prophesied that the King of Zion would enter the city on a donkey with another donkey in tow. But the passage seems to indicate just one animal to me:
Rejoice greatly, O ...
8
votes
2answers
567 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
2answers
1k views
What did Paul mean when he said, “work out your own salvation?”
Philippians 2:12 (ESV)
12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,
...
8
votes
2answers
130 views
Why is the blind man in John 9 sent to the pool that means “sent”?
In John 9, Jesus performs the miracle of healing the blind man in a rather unorthodox manner. He first creates some mud or clay out of the dirt and his saliva, then he "anoints" the man's eyes, and ...
8
votes
2answers
194 views
Was there some connection between barley bread and Gideon in the mind of the Midianites?
Before attacking the Midianite camp, Gideon does a little spying:
When Gideon came, behold, a man was telling a dream to his comrade. And he said, “Behold, I dreamed a dream, and behold, a cake of ...
8
votes
1answer
226 views
Was Goliath killed twice?
In 2 Samuel, we are told that Goliath was killed by Elhanan:
19 In another battle with the Philistines at Gob, Elhanan son of Jaare-Oregim the Bethlehemite killed Goliath the Gittite, who had a ...
8
votes
2answers
116 views
Should the title in Isaiah 9 be translated?
Translators publishing for the Christian market translate the title in Isaiah 9:6:
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his ...
8
votes
1answer
186 views
Does Luke's supposed profession matter when interpreting his work as an author?
Paul makes reference to a physician named Luke:
Luke the beloved physician greets you, as does Demas.—Colossians 4:14 (ESV)
Tradition also assigns Luke as author of the gospel that bears ...
8
votes
2answers
236 views
What was Ruth's legal status?
I apologize in advance for the length of the question.
The book of Ruth is incredibly romantic and powerful, but I don't understand the legal portion of the drama:
Now Boaz had gone up to the ...
8
votes
3answers
234 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 ...
8
votes
4answers
422 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 ...
8
votes
2answers
584 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 ...
8
votes
3answers
279 views
Is Revelation 3:14 saying that Christ was created by God?
Revelation 3:14 (KJV)
14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
Most ...
8
votes
2answers
166 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 ...
8
votes
3answers
675 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 ...
8
votes
1answer
1k views
Is Deuteronomy 22:28 talking about rape?
Some folks assert that this passage describes the Torah's sole punishment for rape:
If a man comes upon a virgin who is not engaged and he seizes her and lies with her, and they are discovered, ...
8
votes
4answers
872 views
Are good works supposed to be seen or not?
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches his disciples, saying, "In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." (Matthew ...
8
votes
5answers
3k views
What is the “hidden manna” and the “white stone”?
From Revelation 2:17:
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a ...
8
votes
2answers
924 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 ...
8
votes
1answer
558 views
Is Paul's visit to Jerusalem detailed in Galatians 2 the Jerusalem Council?
Paul details a meeting with Peter, James and John in Galatians 2:1-10 (ESV):
Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. I went up because of ...
8
votes
1answer
68 views
How is literary dependence or relationship established?
I see many claims that texts are related to or dependent upon each other in many publications. For example:
Although Paul did not write Hebrews, the text possesses a crucially important ...
8
votes
2answers
174 views
In the Peshitta NT, what was the original meaning of the word often translated “first day of the week”?
Is there an Aramaic word for "week" different from "Sabbath?"
Is the word for Sabbath used in the Peshitta New Testament in the following passages:
But on the eve of the Sabbath, when the first ...
8
votes
3answers
203 views
Is David the Godfather?
As David neared the end of his life, he calls Solomon to himself and gives him some final instructions recorded in 1 Kings 2:1-10. It starts out how you'd maybe expect, with David admonishing Solomon ...
8
votes
2answers
129 views
Was Balaam a true follower of Yahweh?
The idea that Balaam may have been a true follower (or even prophet) of Yahweh seems troubling on a number of fronts:
How could there be a pre-Mosaic Yahweh-worshipper living near the Euphrates (Num ...
8
votes
2answers
167 views
How should the first line of Judges 5:2 be translated?
So at some point, I'm hoping to be able to answer this question. In the meantime, though, I keep running into more questions, this one concering the first line of the Song of Deborah (Judges 5:2).
It ...
8
votes
3answers
70 views
How does this KJV phrase change the understanding of 1 Tim 6:5?
How does the understanding of 1 Tim 6:5 change with the phrase "from such withdraw thyself" which is found only in the KJV and NKJV?
1 Timothy 6:3-5 (NKJV)Emphasis added
3 If anyone teaches ...
8
votes
2answers
459 views
The difference between living by and walking by the Spirit
Galatians 5:25 (NASB) says:
"If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit."
What is the difference between living by the Spirit and walking by the Spirit?
8
votes
1answer
576 views
“Sealed” (ἐσφραγίσθητε) in Eph. 1:13
Eph. 1:13 (NASB) says:
In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation--having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,
What ...
8
votes
2answers
165 views
“Until they see the kingdom of God” in Luke 9:27 and parallels
What are the possible interpretations of "will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God"? Which is most likely correct?
Luke 9:27:
But I say to you truthfully, there are some of those ...
8
votes
2answers
288 views
What is “Regula Fidei”?
What is "Regula Fidei" and is this principle of interpretation considered obsolete by those who practice the Grammatical Historical approach to hermeneutics or does it survive in some form?
8
votes
3answers
124 views
Does Genesis contain a “death sandwich”?
Recently David Musgrave of Amridge University and Gordon Rugg of Keele University presented research that suggests the entire book of Genesis contains an inclusio on the words "life" and "death". ...
8
votes
3answers
174 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
82 views
Was the Leningrad Codex a direct descendant of the Aleppo Codex?
Here is what I think I know about these two codices
(correct me if I'm wrong):
both the Aleppo and Leningrad Codices were complete codices of the Hebrew Old Testament
the Leningrad Codex was (is?) ...
