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“If their approach was the same I assume they would come to the same theological conclusions” Texts that aren't dense legalese, e.g. books like the Bible which contain stories, parables, philosophies and statues, are necessarily rich with ambiguity and mystery. There is no way that a book like the Bible could unambiguously inform any ...

First, to recap, Jesus had just made some pretty huge claims, culminating in the one you quoted in v30. They Jews were incensed by this, and about to stone him for blasphemy, when he went with the "not guilty" plea, and used this quote from Psalm 82 as his defense. His argument is this: If God himself (speaking through the Psalmist) can refer to another as ...

In general the Tanakh is the same as the Christian Old Testament. The differences are: Some Christians use a few extra books, which are called deuterocanonical (or apocrypha, by those who reject them). These books are found in the earliest Greek translation of the Tanakh, but were later rejected by the rabbis. The books of the Tanakh are usually printed ...

The original washing of hand before eating applied only sanctified food such as to cohanim (descendents of Aaron) when eating trumah, Levites when eating maaser and to other people when eating maaser sheni in Jerusalem on the pilgrimage holidays of Passover, Weeks and Tabernacles. About the time of Jesus, the Pharisees began a custom of eating hulin ...

Here is a chart which gives a comparison of the books and order: (source website) The other important thing to remember is that the Jewish Tanach exists primarily in Hebrew and is augmented by commentary from within the Jewish tradition. Any translation, especially one whose translation was influenced by other theologies will deviate in terms of content. ...

The basic difference is Jesus Christ. That may sound trite or rude, but it needn't be. A Christian hermeneutic that is faithful to itself will base its reading of the Old Testament on the way Jesus and the Apostles used the Old Testament. This hermeneutic was rather shocking even to Jesus' disciples (i.e. Christians) even at that time (and I assume Jewish ...

Jews and Christians both consider the tanakh to be important scripture (usually seen as of divine origin, though individual denominations/movements may vary). They differ in how they derive meaning from that text, however. In this answer I'm going to describe some approaches used by each group, but it's important to note that there isn't much that's ...

In Judaism circumcision is a sign of entry into the brit (covenant) and applies only to Jews. While birth is of course a prerequisite, circumcision accomplishes a different goal. Note that (male) converts must also be circumcised, and if parents do not circumcise their son he must do it himself when he reaches the age of bar mitzvah, obligation to the ...

The first two thirds of Psalm 23 (from verses 1 to 4) is an extended metaphor comparing God to a shepherd and the Psalmist to His sheep. (The final two verses shift to banquet imagery.) Since the Psalm is attributed to David, the intention is to remind us of David's upbringing and early adulthood as a shepherd. According to Phillip Keller in A Shepherd ...

God proclaims his name to Moses as Yahweh, Yahweh, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. (Ex 34:6-7a, NIV) A few verses beforehand we read I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will ...

What does aman mean when it doesn't mean “faith/belief”? But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat thereon. And Aaron and Hur held up his hands, the one on the one side and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady (emunah, אמונה) until the going down of the sun. -Exodus 17:12, KJV The ...

Interesting answers... Looking at the Hebrew (and some other translations), I would hazard that another accurate translation would be something like: Thus says Hizqiyyahu: This day is a day of distress, and of reproach, and of disgrace. For the children have come to the moment of breaking, but there is not enough strength for birthing. So it's not a ...

It's a proverbial expression but can be understood at face value. If a mother doesn't have the strength to deliver her child, it becomes a very dangerous situation for both her and the child. This would certainly be a cause for distress, as the child and mother are likely to die (or the mother is already dead). In this context it means they are in great ...

No connection with rebirth in OT, strong connection with renewal of covenant, Joshua 5:2 for example, or continuity of covenant in the person of the newborn male. Renewal of covenant ceremonies including circumcision, for members of Ethiopian and Russian immigrant communities, have been held in Israel in recent years. In addition to being a condition of ...

The Hebrew word for week is literally a time period of seven (#7620 Strong's). In Deut. 16:9 it is certainly used to refer to a time period of seven days. In Genesis 29:18-30 it is clearly used to refer to a time period of seven years! Thus, Upon seeing this word one must ask, "a time period of seven whats?" We are dependent upon textual and historical ...

The Wikipedia article on the sabbatical year, called the shmitta year is a good start. Here are some additional comments. For non-farmers, the sabbatical year affects observant Jews mainly with respect to which agricultural produce they do or do not buy or eat. For Jews living outside the land of Israel the primary observance is not acquiring or eating ...

This will be a partial answer, intended primarily as a supplement to Monica Cellio's answer, since she mentioned that she is an expert in Jewish approaches but not in Christian approaches. (I can't add anything to her answer on Jewish approaches, so I won't bother trying to cover that material!) There are a variety of Christian approaches to the TaNaKh ...

You just about have your answer right in the question. The short answer is that moving eastward seems to relate to exile, while moving westward is a return to the garden and the presence of God. The long answer: The garden is planted in the east of Eden The garden is the primeval meeting place between God and man. It is the first sanctuary, where man is ...

Perhaps not the entire answer, but the Sun does rise in the east. So for practical reasons, the door of the tabernacle and temple should face east so that there is light for ceremonies early in the morning. (It would be facing the west if ceremonies happened in the late afternoon, I suppose.) It may be that the rising sun is invoked as a symbol of God's ...

Precis While I would agree with the statements of Ray's answer, that Jesus is giving himself "breathing room" and is setting up (and continuing a larger point) arguments for his deity, I also believe that this text uses a cutting pun that is revealed in a broader examination of the text's context as well as the five separate Hebrew meanings of the word ...

The shebat (rod) has the meaning of a 'tribe' or a 'sceptre'. The primary role of the king was to protect his people. The rod is symbolic of the power of God in discipline for his own and judgement for others. It is a protection from danger from within and without. A closely related word 'Shabbath' means 'rest', which is possible under the competent ...

The Hebrew noun ערוה is often translated "nakedness" and paired with the verb גַלֵּה, often translated "uncover". You can find many uses of this phrase in Leviticus 18, where it's applied to various close relatives (don't uncover the nakedness of your mother, sister, etc). The implication here is "don't have sex with these people", considering "sex" ...

Jewish scholars use the method of Pardes which is an acronym for Pashat, Remez, Drash, Sod. Pashat is the literal interpretation. Christians have learned much from Jewish expositors in this. Rabbinic exposition of the literal meaning is not much different than Christian. Remez looks at hints and follows their lead. For instance, Jesus's quotes of OT ...

Didn't see a reference to this great passage anywhere, so I thought I'd tack it on for any future readers. "Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He [Jesus] explained to them [the disciples] the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures," (NASB, Luke 24:27). Spoken after Jesus's resurrection, but before his ascension, this ...

Here are some possible methods of arriving at a body count: Everyone mentioned except Enoch and Elijah, as per Bob Jones's note Only those mentioned of meeting an untimely end Those mentioned as meeting an untimely end, plus reasonable assumptions about casualties on all sides in battles, famines or other events mentioned Since the OT is not history in ...

I've read the passage again in NIV and it's pretty clear from that translation that this is an image of "distress and rebuke and disgrace". That is the similarity between when a child can't be delivered because of missing strength and the Assyrian threat is over the city. I didn't notice this because none of the common translation in my native language ...

If we had nothing but the Book of Job to go by, and we had to interpret the Book of Job through the Book of Job, then we would be compelled to look at Job 9:32-33, which read as follows: Job 9:32-33 (NASB) 32 For He is not a man as I am that I may answer Him, that we may go to court together. 33 There is no umpire between us, who may lay his hand ...

The citation in Ezekiel 4:6 is exactly identical with a similar case of judgment in Numbers 14:34, where the Israelites were confined to the wilderness for 40 years so that each year corresponded with each day that the spies were in the land. In both Ezekiel 4:6 and Numbers 14:34, the expansion of "days into years" stemmed from the iniquity of the Israelites ...

Adam Kadmon (as taught by the rabbis) is both Divine Light and Man. This is also the claim of the Christian Messiah. (See John 1:1-4.) It is he that will fully reveal God to man. Another claim of Jesus. "If you have seen me, you have seen the Father". It is not common among Jews since it is only taught to faithful Jewish men over the age of 40. Job ...

The key general differences between Jewish and Christian thought concerning the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) lie not so much in their respective methodologies of interpretation (which are very similar), but the precedent and priority each gives to the respective biblical covenants (Abrahamic, Mosaic, Davidic, and New Covenants). For example, according to the New ...