Questions tagged [authorial-intent]
Questions investigating a text's meaning by discerning what its author intended it to mean.
129
questions
1
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2answers
26 views
What does Isaiah mean by “Wash you, make you clean”? (Isaiah 1:16)
Isaiah 1:16
Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before
mine eyes; cease to do evil; (KJV)
The repentance motif is continued in the next few verses, including the great ...
2
votes
2answers
45 views
What is the significance of John 3:25?
I’m having trouble connecting John 3:25, which talks about John’s disciples getting into a discussion with a Jew about purification, with the following verses about Jesus baptizing and people ...
8
votes
4answers
1k views
Why did Pilate refer to Jesus as Christ/Messiah?
Why did Pilate refer to the fact that Jesus was called (by some) Christ/Messiah during his debate with the Sanhedrin...given that Pilate knew it was envy that motivated their accusations against Jesus ...
1
vote
3answers
103 views
What does Revelation 8:8 refer to - a volcano or maybe a meteorite?
What do you think Revelation 8:8 refers to, a volcano or maybe a meteorite?
Rev 8:8 - The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a
huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A ...
1
vote
1answer
33 views
When does γραφή refer to the Tanakh vs additional holy writ vs writings in general?
The word γραφή ("scripture, writing") is used to refer to a variety of written documents - I'd like to understand the similarity or difference in meaning across 4 passages.
It can refer to:
...
5
votes
2answers
84 views
Do Titus 1:2 + 2 Timothy 3:16 mean that scripture is inerrant?
Amended for clarity
Two passages from Paul that are often used together:
In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised
before the world began; (Titus 1:2)
All scripture is given by ...
2
votes
1answer
40 views
Who is Jacob asking to bless Joseph?
This question is prompted by some downvoting I received in another response. I have my own answer, but am curious as to how this will be answered/interpreted by others - maybe testing mine?
The ...
3
votes
3answers
109 views
Is Acts 26:14 testifying Jesus spoke : Hebrew or Aramaic?
Is Acts 26:14 testifying ישׁוּעָ Jesus ( Ἰησοῦς) spoke עִבְרִי Hebrew (Ἑβραΐδι) or ܐܪܡܝܐ Aramaic?
When studying Acts 26:14 from the [ESV] translation, we read :
" And when we had all fallen to ...
3
votes
2answers
43 views
Did the Greek Septuagint ignore the Hebrew name change of Mikayehu מִיכָֽיְהוּ to Mikah מִיכָ֔ה in Judges 17:4-5?
Did the Greek Septuagint ignore the Hebrew name change of Mikayehu מִיכָֽיְהוּ to Mikah מִיכָ֔ה in Judges 17:4-5?
When we read "Judges" / שֹֽׁפְטִ֑ים Shoftim 17:4-5 in the Tanakh, we notice ...
1
vote
2answers
52 views
What is the “the grace of God” which is not nullified in Galatians 2:21?
What is the "the grace of God" which is not nullified in Galatians 2:21?
Galatians 2:21 | NASB
"I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ ...
1
vote
1answer
29 views
Is Mark 4:36-39 a fulfillment of Psalm 144:7? [closed]
NIV | Psalm 144:7
"Reach down your hand from on high; deliver me and rescue me
from the mighty waters, from the hands of foreigners"
If hands of foreigners could pull on a boat like mighty ...
1
vote
2answers
63 views
In Daniel 2:34, Does the word אֶבֶן Stone symbolize אב Father and בֶן֙ Son : merging together as one אֶ֙בֶן֙ Stone? [closed]
In Daniel 2:34-45, Does the word אֶבֶן Stone in hebrew symbolize אב Father and בֶן֙ Son : merging together as one אֶ֙בֶן֙ Stone to begin God's kingdom on earth?
3
votes
3answers
38 views
In Deuteronomy 32:40, does The Lord of Israel claim to dwell below the highest heaven?
In Deuteronomy 32:40, why would The Lord say "I lift My Hand to heaven" - Does The Lord of Israel claim to dwell below the highest heaven?
NIV | Deuteronomy 32:40-41
"40 I lift My Hand ...
3
votes
2answers
327 views
Did Moses fast for 81-days straight in Deuteronomy 9:9-18?
Did Moses fast (without food or water) for 81-days straight in Deuteronomy 9:9-18 | Or did Moses eat & drink in verses 12-17?
If the descent from Mount Horeb, destruction of the Golden Calf, and ...
18
votes
5answers
4k views
Should we put God to test or not?
Moses says "don't put God to test" (Deut. 6:16), but Malachi say "put God to test" (Mal. 3:10).
You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah." ...
3
votes
1answer
46 views
Purchased - from whom? (Acts 28:20)
I have an exegetical query regarding Acts 20:28
Acts 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, ...
8
votes
2answers
91 views
Did the men of Solomon's time preferred lighter skin women?
Song of Solomon 1:5 I am dark, yet lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem,
like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon.
6 Do not stare because I am dark,
for the sun has gazed upon me.
My mother’s ...
2
votes
2answers
70 views
Why was the word “Bishop” used in Titus 1:7 and 1 Peter 2:25 [KJV] instead of “Guardian” (ἐπίσκοπον)?
Why was the word "Bishop" used in Titus 1:7 and 1 Peter 2:25 [KJV] instead of "Guardian" / "Episkopon" (Ἐπίσκοπον)?
1 Peter 2:25 [KJV]
[25] "For ye were as sheep ...
1
vote
2answers
43 views
What does Proverbs 23:10 mean regarding the prohibited entry in “Fields of Orphans”?
In the Ivri (עִבְרִי) / Hebrew (ἑβραιου) text of Proverbs 23:10, we find a strange warning.
Proverbs 23:10 [MT
"Do not remove an ancient boundary, and do not enter the fields of the orphans" ...
2
votes
1answer
100 views
Was Deuteronomy 32:1-43 a Duet sung by Moses & Joshua?
Was Deuteronomy 32:1-43 a Duet sung by Moses & Joshua?
Regarding Deuteronomy [MT] - Chapter 32: verses 1-43, we are told in verse 44 : "And Moshe came and spoke all-words of this-Song into-...
3
votes
4answers
133 views
What does “sanctified” mean in John 10:36?
John 10:36 KJB "Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?"
In this verse what is Jesus being sanctified ...
3
votes
2answers
180 views
In which sense has the woman become defiled in Deuteronomy 24:4?
Deuteronomy 24:1-5
If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he
finds something indecent about her, and he writes her a certificate of
divorce, gives it to her and sends her ...
3
votes
2answers
39 views
Blood as cause for ritual defilement in Lamentations 4:15?
Hebrew in Lamentations 4:14-16 reads:
נָעוּ עִוְרִים בַּחוּצוֹת, נְגֹאֲלוּ בַּדָּם; בְּלֹא יוּכְלוּ,
> יִגְּעוּ בִּלְבֻשֵׁיהֶם. {ס} טו סוּרוּ טָמֵא קָרְאוּ לָמוֹ, סוּרוּ
> סוּרוּ אַל-...
2
votes
3answers
494 views
Should Psalm 47:4 use of word “inheritance” associated with Ancient Israel's land's physical borders or inheritance in Jesus Christ?
Psalm 47:2-6 (NASB)
2 For the Lord Most High is to be feared, A great King over all the
earth. 3 He subdues peoples under us And nations under our feet.
4 He chooses our inheritance for us, The glory ...
5
votes
2answers
158 views
Is the “four hundred years” the equivalent of the “four generations” in the Gen. 15:13-16 prophecy?
Gen. 15:13
Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred
years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own
and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there.
...
3
votes
1answer
51 views
What action is the author referring to by the phrase, “wait on the Lord”?
Several verses have the phrase "wait on (or upon) the Lord." For example:
Psa 37:9
For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD,
they shall inherit the earth.
Isa 40:31
...
0
votes
1answer
29 views
Ephesians 2: 1- in what way we are “dead” , the functional or relational death of spirit i?
Text: Eph. 2:1
"even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved"
0
votes
1answer
35 views
Meaning of “that my joy may be in you” John 15:11
In English, the word "in" is overloaded, and it's possible to read this in (at least) two ways:
Jesus is stating that he will take his joy and somehow inject it
into the disciples (like "I put my ...
3
votes
2answers
114 views
What does justice/judgment (mishpat) refers to in Psalm 105:7?
In Psalm 105 (ESV), the Psalmist asks Israel
to "remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered" (v5), where he reviewed how the LORD delivered them from ...
1
vote
1answer
142 views
Is Stone activity timeline in Daniel 2:34-44 defined?
In Daniel 2, a stone crushes the statue of Nebuchadnezzar's vision. This stone grows and covers the Earth. "In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be ...
1
vote
0answers
95 views
In Daniel, is there a connection between the 62 Years of Darius/Cyrus and the 62 Weeks?
I am interested in locating both patristic resources and peer-reviewed scholarly works, concerning the existence of a possible connection between the following two passages from the Book of Daniel :
...
4
votes
1answer
53 views
Emphasis in Isaiah 50:11
Does the phrase here translated - "this you shall have of mine hand" - refer to the the previous portion of the verse, or does it refer to the latter portion of the verse?
Is 50:11Behold, ...
3
votes
4answers
220 views
What are the “things above, where Christ is seated” as said in Colossians 3:1-2?
What are the "things above, where Christ is seated" as said in
Colossians 3:1-2 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the
things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right ...
4
votes
4answers
288 views
What is the correct English translation from Greek and meaning of Hebrews 1:6?
What is the correct English translation from Greek and meaning of Hebrews 1:6 ?
A few translations are:
( AKJV ) And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world,
he saith, And ...
3
votes
3answers
770 views
What does “by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they” mean in Hebrews 1:4?
What does "by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they" mean in
Hebrews 1:4 being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by
inheritance obtained a more excellent name than ...
2
votes
4answers
8k views
What is the meaning of “lampstand” in Revelation 2:5?
What is the meaning of "lampstand" in Revelation 2:5 ?
Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the
works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your
...
2
votes
3answers
76 views
In Revelation 13:11 why does the “lambkin” have horns?
In Revelation 13:11 the author appears to be contrasting the lamb-like physical appearance of the animal with the ferocious speech. In fact, he compares the animal to a "lambkin":
[Rev 13:...
3
votes
3answers
238 views
Does Ephesians 5:3 mean that if a person fall into sins “sexual” or “covetous” he/she should not confess it to anyone in the Church?
Does
Ephesians 5:3 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness
must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.
mean that if a person fall into sins that are "sexual" or ...
0
votes
2answers
119 views
What does “even as” mean in Ephesians 1:4?
Ephesians 1:3-4 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in
the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the
...
2
votes
4answers
971 views
What does “bewitch” mean in Galatians 3:1?
What does bewitch mean in Galatians 3:1?
Galatians 3:1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It
was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as
crucified.
From the ...
3
votes
5answers
220 views
What is the difference between “putting on Christ” in Galatians 3:27 and “becoming God's righteousness” in 2 Corinthians 5:21?
What is the difference between putting on Christ in
Galatians 3:27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ
have put on Christ
and becoming God's righteousness in
2 Corinthians 5:21 ...
2
votes
2answers
547 views
What does “obey the truth” mean in Romans 2:8?
What does obey the truth mean in this verse?
Romans 2:8
but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey
the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.
What is the truth ...
2
votes
4answers
270 views
How ought we to understand Zeresh's response in Esther 5:14?
Esther 5 describes how Haman was incensed by Mordechai’s arrogance and couldn’t tolerate his existence anymore. V. 10 describes how Haman convened with his cronies to plot and devise a plan how to ...
1
vote
2answers
121 views
What is the “reconciliation” mentioned in 2 Corinthians 5:20?
What is the reconciliation mentioned in
2 Corinthians 5:20 Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as
though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf
of Christ: Be ...
3
votes
2answers
1k views
What does “take away sin/sins” mean in John 1:29 & Hebrews 10:11?
What does takes away the sin mean in
John 1:29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said,
“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
and take away sins in
...
1
vote
1answer
485 views
What is the difference between “old man” in Romans 6:6 and “flesh” in Romans 8:1?
What is the difference between "old man" in
Romans 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him,
that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not
serve sin.
...
3
votes
2answers
504 views
What is the difference between adultery, fornication, uncleanness & lasciviousness in Galatians 5:19
Galatians 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are
these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
What is the difference between adultery, fornication, uncleanness & ...
1
vote
3answers
415 views
Strange use of tenses in Mark 11:24
In Mark 11:20-26 Jesus addresses Peter and the other disciples about the fig tree that he caused to wither earlier in Mark 11:13-14.
Seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if perhaps ...
3
votes
9answers
539 views
What does “baptism now saves you” mean in 1 Peter 3:21
What does baptism now saves you mean in
1 Peter 3:21 Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the
removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good
conscience—through the ...
1
vote
2answers
610 views
Could Jesus actually have risen from the dead on the fourth day, instead on the third day?
I was reading Luke 24:7 just now. The verse is about an angel who tells the disciples that Jesus was going to rise the third day. I noticed that it didn’t say on the third day, or after the third day. ...
