Questions tagged [hebrew-bible]
The Hebrew Bible (Biblia Hebraica) refers to the Jewish Tanakh. Questions about specific texts should only be tagged with the name of the text. This tag is reserved for questions related to a collection of texts within the Hebrew Bible rather than only one individual text within this collection.
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How do Jewish scholars differ from Christian scholars in their approach to the Tanakh?
What are the characteristic differences between how Jewish scholarship approaches the text of the Tanakh (Old Testament) and that of Christian scholars? If their approach was the same I assume they ...
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Why is the Septuagint (LXX) significant?
What is the LXX and why is it so noteworthy that there is a Greek translation of the OT? Wouldn't it be better to directly reference manuscripts in the original languages?
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Where does the Tanakh differ from the Christian Old Testament?
Relating to this question: Is the Jewish Tanakh same as the 'Old Testament' which Christians use?
Do they contain the same books and is the textual content same? If not where do they differ?
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Why does the Septuagint contain non-Tanakh books?
The deuterocanonical books, treated as part of the Bible by the Orthodox and Catholic churches, are accepted because they appear in the Septuagint. However, they are excluded from the Jewish Bible, ...
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Exodus 6:3 - what is the significance of God's different names in the Tanakh?
Exodus 6:3:
And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob by the name of
God Almighty, but by My name JEHOVAH was I not known to them. (KJV)
This is a strange and unique verse in the ...
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What does "milk and honey" refer to?
Beginning in Exodus 3:8*, the land promised to the Israelites is often described as "flowing with milk and honey":
I have come down to deliver them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them ...
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Isa 63:9 - Afflicted or not afflicted?
The NASB is fairly typical of Isa 63:9 which says:
In all their affliction He was afflicted ...
This is a good representation of the Hebrew according to the MT. However, I note that only a few ...
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Why are "Judah" and "Israel" distinguished in many verses?
Even though Judah is one of the tribes of Israel (Exo. 31:2), why, then, are Judah and Israel often distinguished when they occur in the same verse?
For example, in Jer. 30:4 (KJV), it is written,
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Ancient Hebrew Calendar(s) and Modern Translations of "Years"
When we read Genesis or Samuel/Kings/Chronicles (or any OT book that attempts any sort of reliable chronology), what are reasonable meanings of the word (translated) "year?"
Suppose I wanted to ...
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In Genesis 6:4 how should נְפִילִים (nephilim/giants) be translated?
Are there other translations of the word "Giant"? Please note that this question is related to this question.
Genesis 6:4 KJV
There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that,
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What is meant by "as numerous as the stars of the sky"?
The Bible in a few places references the stars as a large number. Genesis 22:17, Deut 1:10, Deut 28:62 all make statements referring to the Nation of Israel being as "numerous as the stars of the sky"....
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What means did the people have to correctly interpret "lifted up" in John 12:32?
Studying John 12, I came across these verses which record the words of Jesus when some godfearing greeks wished to see Him:
20 Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks......
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Did Jesus read the Tanakh in Aramaic?
The NT written in Greek masks to some extent details about the life of Jesus. But when the gospels go through the effort of quoting Jesus directly in his final moments, they are left translating His ...
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μονογενῆ, should John 3:16 be translated with "one-of-a-kind" or "only begotten"?
John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only (μονογενῆ) Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life."
My question resides in the greek term ...
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Was Haman an Agagite?
Esther 3:1 says
After these things did king Ahasuerus promote Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes that were with him.
Wikipedia says &...
user9777
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In Numbers 22:28 did Balaam's donkey actually talk?
We know there is nothing impossible for God to do. But it seems there is something figurative about Numbers 22:28 when it says the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey.
Then the Lord opened the ...
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Have any of the books mentioned in but not included in the Old Testament been preserved?
At various places in the Old Testament, the authors refer to books not included in the Bible. A few examples:
And all the acts of his power and of his might, and the declaration of the greatness of ...
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Why were they always meeting their future wives at the well?
Rebekah was approached at the well to marry Isaac. Jacob met Rachel at the well and Moses also had his first encounter with Ziphora at the well.
Below are the references to the three cases I cited ...
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What does the Old Testament phrase 'cut off from their people' mean?
What does the Old Testament phrase 'cut off from their people' mean?
I have often read it, but am having difficulty imaganing how it may have actually been practiced? If it was determined that so and ...
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What is the meaning of the phrase in Jonah 4:10b "... IN A SON OF A NIGHT and perished IN A SON OF A NIGHT." (literal translation from Hebrew)
This is a literal translation of the phrase שֶׁבִּן־לַ֥יְלָה הָיָ֖ה וּבִן־לַ֥יְלָה אָבָֽד in Jonah 4:10b. What is the meaning of the phrase, "son in a night" and "perish in a night.&...
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What evidence is used to support the claim that Isaiah was written before the reign of King Cyrus?
I'm studying the book of Isaiah at the moment and have been trying to understand the prophecy of the reign of Cyrus from Isaiah 45-52.
Here's a sample that refers to him:
Cyrus, God’s Instrument
Thus ...
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What is "the Lord's Day" in Revelation 1:10?
The phrase, the Lord's day, found in Revelation chapter one, occurs only once in the New Testament. What grounds do we have to determine what day John was speaking about (the day his readers would ...
user2027
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When did the Levites say to their father and mother "I have not seen him" as mentioned in Deuteronomy 33:9?
When did the Levites say to their father and mother "I have not seen him" as mentioned in Deuteronomy 33:9 ?
And of Levi he said, Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be with thy holy one, whom ...
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What was Nicodemus supposed to know from the Old Testament about being born again?
“Nicodemus said to Him, "How can these things be?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things?”
John 3:9-10 NASB
Jesus asks Nicodemus ...
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What kind of harm is Naomi concerned about for Ruth?
Following Ruth gleaning the field and being seen favorable in Boaz's eyes, Ruth 2:22 (NIV) says:
Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It will be good for you, my daughter, to go with the women ...
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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?
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Should the word 'satan' be left untranslated, merely be transliterated and left to the traditional connotations?
The word 'satan' is being used and heard as if it were a name. How could it be rendered in a way not distracting from its actual meaning of opposition and enmity?
The texts where this is an issue are ...
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Does St. Paul refer to the Old Testament as 'the Old Testament' in 2 Corinthians 3:14?
The text is as follows (the context is the Jews who did not accept Christ had a spiritual veil over their eyes, which prevents them from recognizing and accepting the truths of the New Covenant):
2 ...
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Psalm 110:7 what does "he shall drink of the brook in the way" mean?
Psalm 110:7 "He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head."
It seems almost out of place considering the Psalm seems to be talking about God. So what does it mean? ...
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Who is "not speaking" in Jeremiah 10:5?
In the beginning of Jeremiah 10 there is a discussion of those who cut down trees, and then erect them and decorate them. I assume this was some sort of idolatrous practice. In verse 5 the verse ...
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Did God want to kill Moses?
In Exodus 4:24 (NASB)
But it came about at the overnight encampment on the way, that the Lord met Moses, and sought to put him to death.
Did God want to kill Moses?
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What are the many Sabbaths referred to in scripture?
As I was studying this morning, I came across Ezekiel 20:12
Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them.
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How is the Shema interpreted by those who think Israel had henotheistic beliefs?
Deut. 6:4 says,
שְׁמַ֖ע יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵ֖ינוּ יְהוָ֥ה ׀ אֶחָֽד ׃(Westminster Leningrad Codex)
"Hear O Israel, the Lord our God the Lord (is) one:"
I know there are a few people ...
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Isaiah 38:21 - The Cake of Figs: Medicinal or Miraculous?
Isaiah 38:21 (ESV),
21 Now Isaiah had said, “Let them take a cake of figs and apply it to the boil, that he may recover.”
This verse is in response to the greater narrative regarding King Hezekiah's ...
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Zechariah’s vision: one or two donkeys?
Jesus Enters Jerusalem - Gustave Doré 1832-1883
Triumphal Entry of the Messiah in Jerusalem
This is Zachariah’s famous vision/prophecy:
Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout, daughter of Jerusalem!...
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Why would Deborah’s death be recorded, and not that of Rebekah herself (Genesis 35:8)? And why was she buried beneath a terebinth?
In the "chapter of three deaths" (Deborah, Rachel, and Isaac), there is this brief and enigmatic verse: "But Deborah, Rebekah's nurse died, and she was buried beneath Bethel under an ...
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What are God's voice, charge, commandments, statutes & laws that Abraham kept?
What are God's voice, charge, commandments, statutes & laws that Abraham obeyed & kept
Genesis 26:4-6 and I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of
heaven, and will give unto thy ...
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Was God tired while creating the universe?
Exodus 31:17 (ESV) reads:
It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in
six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he
rested, and was refreshed.
I ...
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Whose rod is used to wrongly strike the rock in Numbers 20?
Num 20:8-9 "Take the rod; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it may yield its water. You shall thus bring forth water for them out ...
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In Exodus 34:33, did Moses speak with the Israelites veiled or unveiled?
The Hebrew text of Exo. 34:33 states,
לג וַיְכַל מֹשֶׁה מִדַּבֵּר אִתָּם וַיִּתֵּן עַל פָּנָיו מַסְוֶה
One website sites,
So, did Moses speak to the Israelites with a veil upon his face or ...
user862
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Are the words Tartan and Rabshakeh Assyrian titles or proper names in Isaiah?
A recent argument involved two passages from Iasiah, 20:1 and 36:2:
When looking at the most modern translations and comparing them with older ones there is – as a tendency I presume – a glaring ...
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What is the significance of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel?
Two patriarchs have their named changed. Abram becomes Abraham and Jacob becomes Israel:
Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations ...
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What evidence suggests Luke's "Psalms" is shorthand for the whole "Writings" division of the Hebrew Bible?
In the traditional Hebrew Bible layout there were three major groupings: the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings. It seems like a pretty easy connection to say that when Luke mentions “Moses and all ...
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Does God order that infants be dashed to pieces in Hosea 13:16?
Three days ago I got into an argument with my Atheist friend, who said that God orders that infants be dashed to pieces and that every women with child shall be ripped open, does God order this to ...
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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 ...
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Is the resurrection taught in the Old Testament?
Luke 20:27 (NKJV) says:
Then some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came to Him and asked Him,
It says they didn't believe in the resurrection. Is this true?
Is the ...
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How do you reconcile Nehemiah 13:1-3 with the fact that King David's great-grandmother was Moabite?
In Nehemiah 13:1–3 the Jews returning to Jerusalem separated themselves from people with mixed decent, including Ammonites and Moabites:
On that day they read from the Book of Moses in the hearing ...
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Who is he and what is the name of his son? Proverbs 30:4
“Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what ...
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How can we trust the Hebrew Bible to be accurate when the oldest MSS go back only to about the tenth century C.E.?
The oldest complete MSS of the Hebrew Bible is from about the tenth century C.E.? We have portions of manuscripts from the years between 200 B.C.E. and 200 C.E.(the Dead Sea scrolls) but nothing like ...
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Why did Hebrews 9:4 claim Aharon's Staff was in the Ark- contradicting [Numbers 17:25 | 1 Kings 8:9 | 2 Chronicles 5:10]?
The NT author of Hebrews 9:4 recounts items in the Ark of the Covenant (while at the >> desert tabernacle).
[Hebrews 9:4]
"Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid ...
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