All Questions
6
votes
1answer
111 views
What about the noncanonical books quoted in Jude?
The book of Jude contains many quotes and references to the Old Testament. However, there are two quotes which seem to be from elsewhere.
The first is attributed to The Assumption of Moses.
Jude ...
6
votes
1answer
170 views
Why are 2 Peter and Jude usually together in commentaries?
It seems pretty standard for commentaries to be written on the combination of 2 Peter and Jude. Obviously they both share the subject matter of false teachers, but I assume there are reasons beyond ...
6
votes
2answers
330 views
What does “invoke the name of the LORD” mean in Genesis?
The phrase "call upon the name of the LORD" turns up occasionally in Genesis:
Genesis 12:8 (ESV)
8 From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with ...
6
votes
4answers
852 views
Why does Jesus tell the disciples to buy swords?
Luke 9:3 and Luke 22:36 seem to form an inclusio. In chapter nine, Jesus instructs the Twelve, "Take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra tunic." But in chapter 22, ...
6
votes
3answers
527 views
Was Moses the probable author of Genesis?
I've been operating under the assumption that Moses was the author the book of Genesis (or at least the recorder of a bunch of oral traditions).
This document suggests a different view. ...
6
votes
1answer
124 views
What led to the division of Ezra-Nehemiah?
Modern consensus is that the books of Ezra and Nehemiah actually comprise a single work which was subsequently divided into two. How is it that scholars realized this was the same book (Does it have ...
6
votes
3answers
464 views
What's going on with Saul and the prophets?
After Samuel anointed Saul, he sent him home with a few signs that will be fulfilled in 1st Samuel 10:9-13 (NJPS):
As [Saul] turned around to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart; and all ...
6
votes
2answers
2k views
Jacob's name is Israel. So why is he still called Jacob?
When born, Jacob is given the name "Jacob" meaning, "trickster, supplanter, heel grabber." After he wrestles at Jabbok, he is renamed "Israel" meaning "strives with God." However, after this ...
6
votes
3answers
3k views
What is the significance of 153 fish?
John 21:11
Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn.
Is there any significance to the number 153? Or ...
6
votes
2answers
148 views
Does Genesis 3:16 imply that there was pain / sorrow before the fall?
Genesis 3:16 says:
To the woman he said, I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your
conception; in sorrow you shall bring forth children; and your desire
shall be to your husband, and he ...
6
votes
5answers
4k views
When did Jesus change his view on preaching to Gentiles?
In John 10:16 Jesus says (ESV quoted):
And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.
The ...
6
votes
2answers
604 views
What does Hebrews 6:4-6 mean?
This passage is a bit confusing. Could someone please shed some light on how we are to interpret what Paul is saying here?
Hebrews 6:4-6 (NIV)
It is impossible for those who have once been ...
6
votes
2answers
242 views
Is 1 Corinthians 11:19 intended as irony?
My question is about the following text:
But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. For, in the first place, ...
6
votes
2answers
609 views
What is the significance of Ezekiel's description of God's heavenly chariot in chapter 1?
Chapter 1 of Ezekiel contains a famous description of God's heavenly chariot (the maaseh merkava):
...as I was among the captives by the river Chebar, the heavens were
opened, and I saw visions ...
6
votes
2answers
182 views
Does John 7:15 mean Jesus was untaught?
John 7:15 (ESV):
The Jews therefore marveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning,1 when he has never studied?”
The footnote is:
7:15 Or this man knows his letters
So there ...
6
votes
3answers
357 views
Is Paul suggesting that Philemon release Onesimus from slavery?
The key passage in Philemon 1:15-16 (ESV):
For this perhaps is why [Onesimus] was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, no longer as a bondservant but more than a ...
6
votes
2answers
131 views
Why is “raah” usually translated differently in Amos 3:6 and 9:4
Why is "raah" usually translated differently in Amos 3:6 and 9:4, even in a super-literal translation:
6Is a trumpet blown in a city, And do people not tremble? Is there affliction in a city, And ...
5
votes
4answers
121 views
How can we determine when an image is a symbol?
Put simply, a symbol is a tangible representation of an intangible idea. Authors, both ancient and modern, use symbolic images to convey abstract concepts. The problem with symbols, however, is that ...
5
votes
2answers
164 views
Do the Dead Sea Scrolls argue against Aramaic primacy?
One of the arguments for Aramaic being the original language of the New Testament is the theory that Hebrew was replaced by Old Aramaic as the vernacular language in Judea following the Babylonian ...
5
votes
1answer
88 views
Literary independence of the synoptics
Which scholars, historical figures, or churches have argued that the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) were all written independently without access to any of the other gospels? What ...
5
votes
5answers
164 views
Are there any rules on which things in Revelation must be interpreted literally and which symbolically?
Are there any rules on which things in Revelation must be interpreted literally and which symbolically? The one that comes from the back of my mind is that if a certain thing or a character is already ...
5
votes
1answer
166 views
What is the significance of Methuselah's name?
I've heard that Methuselah's name was given to him by Enoch in response to a prophecy concerning the flood. Since he seems to have died in the year of the flood (according to the Masoretic and ...
5
votes
1answer
78 views
What are the proverbs about giving collateral for someone else teaching about loans?
The book of Proverbs gives serious warning about taking on a loan:
Just as the rich rule the poor, so the borrower is servant to the lender. —Proverbs 22:7 (NLT)
But it seems to focus much more ...
5
votes
1answer
71 views
Does Romans 13:8 include a prohibition of taking loans?
Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. —Romans 13:8 (ESV)
The most immediately obvious exegesis of this verse would be to take it to ...
5
votes
0answers
59 views
Luke 23:43: “I say to you today, you will be with me in paradise” or “I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise”? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Comma? “Verily I say unto thee to day, …” or “Verily I say unto thee, to day…”
Luke 23:43: “I say to you today, you will be with me ...
5
votes
2answers
84 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 ...
5
votes
4answers
104 views
Silence of the idols and silence of the people before Yahweh in Habakkuk 2:18-20
Habakkuk 2:20 has a powerful sound:
But Yahweh is in his holy Temple.
Let all the earth be silent before him.
I feel there are depths here that I am not plumbing. What is the connection here ...
5
votes
3answers
4k views
What does it mean for someone to be another person's “portion”?
Searching for the word "portion" brings up a lot of results in the Bible. Sometimes it means a portion of food or of money. But what exactly does it mean in the following context:
LORD, you alone ...
5
votes
1answer
57 views
Does Mark 1:32 indicate two separate time periods?
The NET Bible reads:
When it was evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were sick and demon-possessed.—Mark 1:32 (NET)
Two time references are present:
"When it was evening" ...
5
votes
1answer
94 views
Who are the people God sent to deliver Israel in 1 Samuel 12:11?
The NET gives the following information about the list of names found in 1 Samuel 12:11:
In the ancient versions there is some confusion with regard to these names, both with regard to the ...
5
votes
2answers
561 views
Is 1 Corinthians 14:33-35 an interpolation?
One of the answers to the question about what 1st Corinthians 14:34-35 means suggests that the passage is a later interpolation. From the quote by J.W. Wartick, included in the answer, there are ...
5
votes
3answers
919 views
Who was the Beloved Disciple?
According to Wikipedia:
The Gospel [of John]'s authorship is anonymous. Its Chapter 21 states it derives from the testimony of the 'disciple whom Jesus loved.' Along with Peter, the unnamed ...
5
votes
2answers
138 views
Is “calling on the name of the Lord” in Acts 9 literal or figurative?
How did Paul fetch out the followers of Jesus in Acts 9?
I've always thought that it was simply their practice of calling on the name of the Lord (precisely "Jesus") aloud as the phrase "calling on ...
5
votes
2answers
101 views
How does Paul answer the charge that God is not just?
Soldarnal asked a question about what charge Paul is defending God against in Romans 9:14. Assuming the charge is that God is unjust because chooses to love some and hate others on the basis of His ...
5
votes
1answer
463 views
Historically, how was Jonah classified in terms of literary genre?
I've been reading through a lengthy discussion at this site over the historical nature of Jonah. One position that has been advanced is that there are internal text indicators that the narrative is ...
5
votes
3answers
332 views
What did the blind man from Bethsaida see?
Mark 8:22-26 (ESV):
And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and ...
5
votes
1answer
72 views
What restrictions would Paul have been preaching against in Colossians 2?
Colossians 2:20-23 (ESV)
20 If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— 21 "Do not handle, Do ...
5
votes
1answer
2k views
What is an anagogical interpretation and when should it be considered?
First of all, what exactly is an anagogical interpretation? What is a good example of a text that can be understood to be anagoge?
Secondly, what textual clues should one look for when considering ...
4
votes
2answers
79 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 ...
4
votes
2answers
58 views
How should רָגַז be translated in Psalm 4?
A quick survey of English translations of Psalm 4:4 shows that there is little agreement about how ragaz should be rendered:
NIV
In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your ...
4
votes
1answer
83 views
Would the Pharisees go to Pilate and secure the tomb on the Sabbath?
This is in relation to another post in which the question was asked why the Sabbath was called "the day after the Day of Preparation."
It strikes me odd that Pharisees would be about this sort of ...
4
votes
4answers
74 views
Is synoptic parallelism a valid hermeneutic?
I'll give an example:
Matt. 4:17 (KJV)
From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Mark 1:15 (KJV)
And saying, The time is fulfilled, and ...
4
votes
2answers
120 views
What is the function of the sandwich stories in Mark?
I was reading an introduction to Mark and the author notes that Mark is fond of using so-called "sandwich-stories" where he begins to tell one story, and then interupts it to tell another story before ...
4
votes
2answers
72 views
Is Hosea 11:1 referencing the initiation of the Exodus or the sojourn in Egypt?
The New JPS translation of Hosea 11:1 reads:
I fell in love with Israel
When he was still a child;
And I have called [him] My son
Ever since Egypt.
This seems to indicate that when ...
4
votes
2answers
182 views
Why are the Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS) significant?
Is there anything that the Dead Sea Scrolls made clearer regarding the texts of the Old Testament? Did their discovery change the way we view the development of the Tanakh?
4
votes
2answers
116 views
Matthew 27:62: “the day that followed the day of the preparation” - Why not call Sabbath a Sabbath?
In the following verse
Matthew 27:62 Now the next day, that followed the day of
the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto
Pilate
Why didn't Matthew simply say "on ...
4
votes
2answers
81 views
Murder on the way to Shechem in Hosea 6:9
Hosea 6:9 (NLT) reads:
Priests form bands of robbers, waiting in ambush for their victims. They murder travelers along the road to Shechem and practice every kind of sin.
Hosea seems intent on ...
4
votes
2answers
251 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 ...
4
votes
1answer
41 views
Were the disciples that certain?
John 17:8b:
They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.
I'm guessing that this is a translation issue, but I'm curious to hear expert opinion. Here Jesus ...
4
votes
2answers
495 views
Why is Isaac called Abraham's only son? [duplicate]
Continuing the response to the meta call for contradiction.
In Genesis 22, we find the following passage:
And it was after these events that the God tested Abraham; and said to him "Abraham", who ...
