All Questions
8
votes
4answers
661 views
In what sense would Nathanael have “seen” in John 1:51?
In John 1:51, Jesus tells Nathanael that he will "see the heavens opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man".
John 1:49-51 (ESV)
49 Nathanael answered him, "Rabbi, ...
8
votes
3answers
386 views
Historical interpretations of Ezekiel's vision of a temple
From Ezekiel 40 to the end, the author records a pretty detailed vision of a temple. Historically, what are the main ways this vision been interpreted?
Did the rabbis consider this vision to be ...
8
votes
1answer
183 views
Justify (δικαιόω) in James 2:24, Romans 3:28
James 2:24 says:
You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.
Romans 3:28 says:
For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.
What are ...
8
votes
2answers
69 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 ...
8
votes
2answers
190 views
Did Ahaz burn up his sons in the fire or pass them through the fire?
I believe the literal translation is that he passes his sons through the fire. Does that mean that they still lived but were scarred for life, or did they lose their lives?
2 Chronicles 28:3 ...
8
votes
4answers
566 views
What does “guardian/tutor” mean in Galatians 3:24
Galatians 3:24 reads in the ESV (and several modern translations)
So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.ESV
In the KJV it reads:
...
8
votes
1answer
165 views
How can we understand 1 Corinthians 12 without contradiction
To my reading, 1 Corinthians 12:4-30 could be summed up as: "Be content with the gifts/role God has given you because in his sight all the functions of the body of Christ are of equal importance".
...
8
votes
1answer
102 views
Temple in Psalm 138
The first verse of Psalm 138 is clearly stating David as author of the Psalm. In verse 2 it says:
I will bow down toward your holy temple
and will praise your name
for your unfailing love and your ...
8
votes
1answer
118 views
Twenty plus twenty-five plus fifteen in Ezekiel 45:12
Ezekiel 44-46 is covenant renewal or reiteration of the law. 45:10-12 is a reiteration of the law of just measures. Verse 12 says:
The shekel shall be twenty gerahs; twenty shekels plus ...
8
votes
2answers
186 views
Are there scriptural warrants for using the rule of first mention?
The rule of fist mention is used by various forms of allegorical interpretation. Rather than inventing an allegorical meaning, clues are taken from the first mention.
For example: Garments are ...
8
votes
3answers
445 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
2answers
135 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 ...
8
votes
2answers
101 views
What is the “systematic typology” hermeneutic method and how does it work?
There's a hermeneutic method that's been used on this site called "systematic typology". What is it? How does one apply it? Are there contexts where it is considered to be a particularly good or ...
8
votes
3answers
237 views
Why was Elijah so afraid of Jezebel that he fled immediately after performing a great miracle?
In 1 Kings 18, verse 16 onwards we read that Elijah performed a miracle.
He prays to God and brings fire down from heaven to consume the sacrifice.
He is shown as a courageous prophet who is not ...
8
votes
2answers
717 views
Was 'σκύβαλον' (skubalon) profanity?
In Philippians 3:8, Paul uses the word σκύβαλον (skubalon), which is usually translated as "dung" , "garbage", or "rubbish". I've heard that this was considered an impolite word with much stronger ...
8
votes
3answers
174 views
How to interpret Genesis 25:1-2?
In Genesis 25:1-2 we see:
"Abraham had taken another wife, whose name was Keturah. She bore him
Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah".
But even before that in Genesis 17 it says:
...
8
votes
1answer
106 views
What was the roof likely made of in Mark 2:4?
We were talking about this last weekend and I've been curious about it.
Mark 2:4 (NIV)
Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by ...
8
votes
1answer
212 views
How does Canon Criticism relate to the concept of a Gesamtbiblische Theologie?
It is my understanding that Brevard Childs's so-called canonical (or canon) criticism places an emphasis on looking at the Bible as a complete work. This reminds me of the concept of a Gesamtbiblische ...
8
votes
1answer
54 views
Will glory be revealed “in us” or “to us” in Romans 8:18?
Here's Romans 8:18 in ESV:
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
and here is Romans 8:18 in NKJV:
For I ...
8
votes
1answer
196 views
Pros and Cons of Barth's Commentary on Romans
What are the merits/problems with Karl Barth's commentary on Romans?
How much does he treat the details of the Greek?
What is his overall hermeneutic of the book? (Please steer away from explaining ...
8
votes
1answer
142 views
Who believes, is baptized, and is saved in Acts 16?
Acts 16 tells two accounts of Philippians being saved under the preaching of Paul. First is a woman named Lydia:
One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of ...
8
votes
1answer
381 views
Who were the “chief priests” and “Sanhedrin” in reference to the people trying to kill Jesus?
Mark 14:55 (NIV)
The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find any.
Wikipedia has shown me that ...
8
votes
1answer
88 views
Why does Mark provide two feeding accounts?
The Gospel According to Mark, in contrast to the other three gospels, provides two separate feeding miracles wherein Jesus multiplies loaves and fishes to feed five thousand and four thousand ...
8
votes
3answers
110 views
What is the judgment in Psalm 1?
The ending of Psalm 1 provides great hope for those who delight in the instruction of the Lord:
Not so the wicked;
rather, they are like chaff that wind blows away.
Therefore the wicked ...
8
votes
1answer
99 views
What is the intent of 1 Corinthians 11:19?
This verse is cited in support of the idea that differences of opinion among Christians is a good thing.
However on reading a different translation I got a little confused -
1 Corinthians 11:19 ...
8
votes
2answers
835 views
What does “word of God” mean in Hebrews 4:12?
Hebrews 4:12 (KJV)
12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and ...
8
votes
2answers
38 views
What did Jesus mean by “be perfect” in the Sermon on the Mount?
I asked this on the Christianity Stack Exchange site, and they told me it would be better here. So I here I am asking it...
Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is ...
8
votes
3answers
131 views
Did King Ahaz find a virgin mother?
In Isaiah 7, King Ahaz, the Judean king, is surrounded by the armies of Aram and Israel and things look bleak. At Isaiah 7:13-17, the prophet tells Ahaz that God will give him a sign that the seige ...
8
votes
3answers
121 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 ...
8
votes
2answers
358 views
The splitting of the Mount of Olives
Daniel Block, in his commentary on Ezekiel, speaks of a style in that book of resumptive exposition, in which a theme is initially dealt with briefly, and later examined in much more detail. Zechariah ...
8
votes
3answers
327 views
Is hermeneutics primarily descriptive or prescriptive?
I sometimes hear (particularly on this site) of hermeneutical "methods", such as the grammatico-historal approach, or literal-historical approach, or sensus plenior. These all seem to be tools or ...
7
votes
4answers
403 views
Did Jesus have the legal authority to cleanse the temple?
The narrative of Jesus' cleansing of the temple is present in all four gospels: Mark 11:15-17, Matthew 21:12-13, Luke 19:45-46, John 2:13-17. When He cleanses the temple, there does not seem to be any ...
7
votes
3answers
368 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? ...
7
votes
3answers
478 views
How many people were involved in the Exodus?
According to Numbers 1:20-46 (NJPS):
They totaled as follows:
The descendants of Reuben, Israel’s first-born, the registration of the clans of their ancestral house, as listed by name, head by ...
7
votes
4answers
362 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 ...
7
votes
5answers
720 views
What are the differences between Hebrew and Aramaic?
Can anyone give a review on the main differences between Hebrew and Aramaic? Of course, I am asking in the context of the Bible, but if there are some other known ones that lay outside of the biblical ...
7
votes
4answers
121 views
Before the Tower of Babel did all speak Hebrew as the original human language?
I find it fascinating that rabbinic literature suggests that Hebrew was the original human language. I have seen Christian authors also argue the same.
For example, from the Jewish Encyclopedia:
...
7
votes
2answers
2k views
Did Ruth uncover Boaz' feet, or something else?
Naomi advises Ruth as follows, in Ruth 3:
One day Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi said to her, “My daughter, I must find a home[a] for you, where you will be well provided for. 2 Now Boaz, with whose ...
7
votes
3answers
329 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 ...
7
votes
3answers
94 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 ...
7
votes
3answers
389 views
What are the arguments in favor of Markan priority?
The synoptic problem refers to scholars' attempts to understand the relationship among the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke (known as the synoptic gospels because they have so much material in ...
7
votes
2answers
106 views
Did Abraham leave Haran before or after his father died?
Genesis 11:31-12-1 appears to indicate that Abram left Haran after his father Terah had died. (The author of the New Testament book of Acts certainly saw it that way.)
Terah took his son Abram and ...
7
votes
3answers
268 views
How is this passage on the authority of women to be interpreted?
I have heard it said that 1 Timothy 2:11,12 is to be examined through the "lens" of culture but what Paul writes right after it in verses 13 and 14 seems to nullify that.
A woman should learn in ...
7
votes
4answers
928 views
Forgive us our “debts”? “sins”? “trespasses”? Which is the most accurate translation?
It seems that there are three popular versions of this passage in the Lord's prayer. "Forgive us our sins", "Forgive us our debts", and "Forgive us our trespasses".
I see one version here in the ...
7
votes
3answers
857 views
What are the differences between allegorical and typological interpretation?
In a recent discussion on a question about allegory, it was pointed out that allegory and typology are not the same thing. What are the differences between the two approaches? Is one a subset of the ...
7
votes
5answers
175 views
Was the word ἐπιούσιον used prior to the Lord's prayer? What does it mean?
The word ἐπιούσιον has been translated in numerous ways, but the greatest modern consensus is to translate the word as 'daily.' Was the word ἐπιούσιον used prior to the Lord's prayer (Mt. 6:11; Lk. ...
7
votes
3answers
84 views
What does “when children come to the moment of birth and there is no strength” mean in this context?
In 2 Kings 19 king Hezekiah faces a great threat to Jerusalem from the Assyrian king. He delivers a message to Isiah with the following words:
This day is a day of distress and rebuke and ...
7
votes
1answer
264 views
Jesus's genealogy: 28 generations or 41 since David?
These questions keep me wondering:
Firstly, how is it possible that Matthew and Luke came up with completely different genealogies of Jesus ancestors, if they are both following the masculine line?
...
7
votes
2answers
514 views
Did Adam and Eve not have sex in the Garden of Eden?
In the first few chapters of Genesis, we see God create Adam and Eve and then tell them to reproduce.
Genesis 1:28 (NLT)
28 Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill ...
7
votes
1answer
179 views
Is LXX “Enoch pleased God” a reasonable idiomatic translation of Hebrew “Enoch walked with God”?
The Septuagint translates the Hebrew phrase
וַיִּתְהַלֵּךְ חֲנֹוךְ אֶת־הָאֱלֹהִים
"Enoch walked with God," from Genesis 5:22 as
εὐηρέστησεν δὲ ενωχ τῷ θεῷ
"Enoch pleased God." I would have ...
