All Questions
4
votes
2answers
502 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 ...
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?
...
4
votes
1answer
107 views
How do Revelation 19 and 20 relate to one another?
I know some people think that the visions in Revelation 20 are a chronological continuation of the one at the end of chapter 19, while others think that the visions in chapter 20 are a re-framing and ...
4
votes
2answers
394 views
Did Luke use Josephus as a source?
Richard Carrier summarizes an argument made by Steve Mason in his book Josephus and the New Testament that Luke knew of Josephus' Jewish War (79 CE) and Jewish Antiquities (94 CE). At it's core, the ...
4
votes
2answers
506 views
Was the Beloved Disciple the author of the Fourth Gospel?
One very common interpretation of the Gospel of John is that the Beloved Disciple was the author of the book. (Presumably, he was interested in obscuring his identity for some reason.) But other ...
4
votes
2answers
305 views
Peter's Denial and the Rooster Crowing
In Matthew 26:34, we see Jesus telling Peter that before rooster crows, you will disown me three times:
“Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown ...
4
votes
2answers
92 views
What specific charge is brought against God in Romans 9:14?
In Romans 9:14, Paul asks the question, "What then shall we say? Is God unjust?" He replies, of course, "Not at all!" And then seemingly he goes on to give a reason for why God is not unjust. However, ...
4
votes
2answers
2k views
Does Jesus refer to aliens in John 10:16?
Jesus said:
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.—John 10:16 (ESV)
Who are ...
4
votes
3answers
183 views
When did Jonah compose his prayer in chapter 2?
Almost the entity of Jonah, chapter 2 is a prayer to God:
Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish. He said:
In my trouble I called to the Lord,
And He answered me;
From ...
4
votes
3answers
147 views
Did Jonah expect to die when he was thrown overboard?
In Chapter 1 of Jonah there is the familiar scene of him on the boat with the pagan sailors in the midst of a deadly storm. Jonah tells the men, "Pick me up and throw me into the sea, and it will ...
4
votes
1answer
89 views
What sort of disaster is Joel addressing?
In the first two chapters, Joel seems to be talking about an ecological disaster.
Joel 1:20 (NJPS):
The very beasts of the field
Cry out to You;
For the watercourses are dried up,
And fire ...
4
votes
2answers
406 views
What are higher and lower criticism?
What is historical criticism (also known as higher criticism)? What is textual criticism (also known as lower criticism)? How can they help us understand the scriptures? How can they interefere with ...
4
votes
2answers
3k views
Who were the Hellenistic and Hebraic Jews of Acts 6:1?
In Acts, it talks about a division in Judaism that I had not heard of before:
Acts 6:1 (NIV)
In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained ...
4
votes
1answer
202 views
How is Psalm 34 linked to 1st Samuel 21?
The annotation of Psalm 34 (ESV) reads:
Of David, when he changed his behavior before Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away.
Clearly this is a reference to 1 Samuel 21:10-15 ...
4
votes
4answers
230 views
Is the rich man in James 1:10 a brother?
Is "the rich" in this passage also a "brother" like the lowly?
James 1:9-10 (ESV)
Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the ...
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 ...
3
votes
1answer
54 views
When did separation between Israel and Judah happen?
Before the First Book of Kings there was only one nation - Israel named after Jacob (whose other name was Israel and who was called the Father of Israel). But in the Second Book of Kings it is not ...
3
votes
1answer
117 views
Is the name Israel intended to be ambiguous?
Jacob is renamed Israel by God as explained in this passage:
Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the break of dawn. When he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he ...
3
votes
1answer
74 views
Have the “many” in Psalm 4 received blessings or were they already blessed?
Psalm 4 is a David psalm about prayer. It includes this stanza that seems to contrast the psalmist with other people:
There are many who say, “Who will show us some good?
Lift up the light of ...
3
votes
1answer
205 views
How many “layers” are there to the Scriptures?
In my quest to understand hermeneutics, I am at the stage of reviewing the different "layers of meaning" to the Scriptures. So far I have identified two layers; a "literal" meaning and a "divine" ...
3
votes
4answers
169 views
What is the connection between manna and living on the Word of God?
In Deuteronomy 8, Moses gives the theology of manna:
And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know ...
3
votes
5answers
606 views
Why did the Law of Moses tolerate polygyny (polygamy) but not polyandry? [closed]
Why did the Laws of Moses tolerate men having multiple wives, but did not grant the same type of toleration to women? I am not asking why God tolerated polygyny, although that may be included in the ...
3
votes
3answers
872 views
What is the story behind mourning for Hadad-rimmon in Zechariah 12:11?
Zechariah, like Revelation which draws on it, is a tough nut to crack but very rich. In the twelfth chapter, the prophet records the word of Yahweh that
The sorrow and mourning in Jerusalem on ...
3
votes
2answers
300 views
Why was the priestly exam of a woman suspected of adultery not applied to men (Numbers 5:11-31)?
In the book of Numbers, there is a very interesting test for a woman suspected of committing adultery. After some initial discussion, if the woman refuses to admit her sin, or is innocent, the priest ...
3
votes
2answers
67 views
Why is the man going to measure Jerusalem in Zechariah 2:2?
In the second chapter of his book, Zechariah records a vision in which he saw a man with a measuring line going to measure Jerusalem. I'm not sure what this is supposed to signify. Two verses later, ...
3
votes
2answers
96 views
Does reaping in Galatians 6:9 refer to salvation?
Related to: Does Galatians 6:9 contain a causality that could imply works salvation?
In the immediate context (based on verse 8), reaping in Galatians 6:9 appears to refer to salvation.
Galatians ...
3
votes
2answers
518 views
What are the possible interpretations of 1 John 2:19?
What are the possible interpretations and implications of 1 John 2:19, specifically as it relates to the doctrine of eternal security?
1 John 2:19 (NASB)
19 They went out from us, but they ...
3
votes
3answers
741 views
What Scriptures is Paul referring to in 1 Cor 15:4
In 1 Cor, when Paul is laying out the the tradition of the resurrection to his readers, he lays out a tradition with his own testimony at the end.
1Cr 15:3-8 For I delivered to you as of first ...
3
votes
2answers
160 views
What does Paul mean by “if we preach…contrary to [ourselves]”?
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble ...
3
votes
1answer
218 views
What was Onan's sin?
Genesis 38:6-11 (NJPS):
Judah got a wife for Er his first-born; her name was Tamar. But Er, Judah’s first-born, was displeasing to the Lord, and the Lord took his life. Then Judah said to Onan, ...
3
votes
3answers
278 views
Does Paul reject the idea of celebrating holidays in Galatians?
Paul has some very strong words against the Galatians implying that they are returning to their former state:
Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not ...
3
votes
2answers
125 views
Does base-10 numbering in Genesis 4:24 argue against the Wiseman hypothesis?
This question is a bit esoteric. Looking at numbers in the Bible I noticed this story about one of Cain's decedents:
And Lamech said to his wives,
“Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;
O wives of ...
3
votes
1answer
54 views
What is the “high estate” that the lowly brother has in James 1:9?
A question was raised in one of my answers asking this question. I thought it deserved its own treatment. So, here it is for your consideration:
In James, we read:
James 1:9 (ASV)
But let the ...
2
votes
1answer
43 views
Who is the bride of Christ?
If the church is the bride of Christ"
Eph. 5, II Cor. 11:2:
I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to
one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to ...
2
votes
2answers
120 views
How can Psalms 68:18 be translated as in Ephesians 4:8?
In Psalms we have:
You ascended on high,
leading a host of captives in your train
and receiving gifts among men,
even among the rebellious, that the Lord God may dwell there. (Psalms 68:18, ...
2
votes
2answers
79 views
What does Psalm 68:18 refer to in context?
In the NIV, Psalm 68:18 reads:
When you ascended on high,
you led captives in your train;
you received gifts from men,
even from the rebellious—
that you, O Lord God, might ...
2
votes
1answer
79 views
Could ἀρχαὶ in Romans 8:38 be 'the past' rather than 'ruler' or similar
All translations seem to render ἀρχαὶ in Romans 8:38-39 as 'ruler' or something similar, for example:
ESV:
38For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present ...
2
votes
2answers
331 views
Where did Abel get the idea to sacrifice sheep?
The purpose of this question is to examine if Abel's hermeneutic principles can be reversed out of the text. The presupposition is that Abel had access to the information contained in Genesis 1-3. ...
2
votes
3answers
114 views
Old Testament connection between circumcision and (re)birth? [closed]
In the New Testament, spiritual circumcision is equated with the new birth.
Does a circumcision-birth connection exist in the Old Testament or Tanakh? I've thought about posting this at Judaism.SE or ...
2
votes
2answers
131 views
Does Galatians 6:9 contain a causality that could imply works salvation?
Related to: Does reaping in Galatians 6:9 refer to salvation?
Galatians 6:9 (NASB)
9 Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.
If the word ...
2
votes
2answers
356 views
Is El-Shaddai “Sky God” where Sky==Breasts?
I found the name "El-Shaddai" mysterious, but while going over Genesis, found the following passage (Gen 49) Wikisource translation
From the god of your fathers, and he will help you, and the ...
2
votes
1answer
79 views
How did the proverb about Saul and the prophets come about?
I asked a previous question about Saul and the prophets in 1st Samuel 10:9-13, but now I've read on and I see an alternate origin story:
David made good his escape, and he came to Samuel at Ramah ...
2
votes
0answers
65 views
Genealogies of Jesus by Matthew and Lucas (Luke) [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Jesus's genealogy: 28 generations or 41 since David?
Can anyone explain me why the difference between the two genealogies of Jesus give by theses two authors?
2
votes
1answer
93 views
Who is speaking in James 2:18?
I don't mean by my question that I'm looking to identify a particular individual. I'm just confused by the statement made there. James begins this section in verse 14: "What good is it, my brothers, ...
2
votes
1answer
100 views
Does the Sadducees' question in Mark 12 imply polygamy was considered sinful?
The passage in question is Mark 12:18-23 (ESV):
And Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection. And they asked him a question, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a ...
2
votes
4answers
390 views
Which hermeneutical approaches support a literal interpretation of the Creation account?
I had always been told that a day meant 24 hours, but a systematic theology textbook I read disputed that pretty well. (Please do not address this item in particular. This isn't the question I'm ...
1
vote
1answer
126 views
Grammar-Literal Translation of Genesis 1:3 and 12:3
In Biblical Hebrew there are two simple verb types (Qal and Niphal) which convey no causation. Are the below revisions of the King James Version more accurate to the thoughts expressed by the grammar? ...
1
vote
2answers
56 views
At what point in his narrative does the prophet Yona appear to die?
Christ essentially appealed to Yona being dead three days and three nights in the heart of the sea as proof that he too would be dead three days and three nights in the heart of the earth (i.e., the ...
1
vote
1answer
48 views
Existing beliefs or contents of the text more formative in hermeneutics?
This answer states:
In general: philosophy informs one's reading of a text, not the other way around.
This statement in itself is an answer to one of the biggest issues of hermeneutics: the way ...
1
vote
2answers
136 views
Are biblical texts concerning slavery transcultural or finite? [closed]
This question concerns cultural analysis as a principle in biblical hermeneutics, specifically the determination if a biblical statement has a finite application or if it is transcultural. But rather ...
