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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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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David and Jonathan - why the secret meeting? [duplicate]
In 1 Samuel 20, David and Jonathan arrange an elaborate plan to allow Jonathan to secretly communicate with David regarding Saul's plans to kill David:
1 Samuel 20:18-23 (NIV)
18 Then ...
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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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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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Are the 7 appearances of "Jehovah" in the KJV significant or random?
Why did Tyndale (and later, the KJV translating committees) keep Jewish tradition by translating the Tetragrammaton as LORD thousands of times, but make exceptions by translating it as "Jehovah" only ...
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Leviticus 20:27 - Why is this verse at the end of the chapter?
This verse, "A man or a woman who has a ghost or a familiar spirit shall be put to death; they shall be pelted with stones—their bloodguilt shall be upon them," is the last verse of the chapter. ...
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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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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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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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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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Judges 5:30 - The Hebrew word for womb or damsel translated as "two". Why?
Judges 5:30
One interpretation says: http://biblehub.com/esv/judges/5.htm
‘Have they not found and divided the spoil?—
A womb or two for every man;
The word Strong's #7361 ra·ḥă·mā·ṯa·yim means ...
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Judges 4:4- Woman, wife or burnt offering by fire?
Judges 4:4 says:
Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time.
The Hebrew word אִשָּׁ֣ה (Strong's number 802 and 801) can be translated either "woman" - "wife" ...
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Ezra 5:1 > Could the prophet Haggai be a prophetess?
Ezra 5:1
Now the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them.
Upon further investigation ...
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Numbers 12:2 Translation issue
One translation of Numbers 12:2 says:
And they said, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” And the Lord heard it.
In the interlinear Bible I see the ...
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Who or what is the author speaking about when he wrote 'walls' in Isaiah 49:16?
Isaiah 49:16, New American Standard Bible (NASB):
16 “Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your
walls are continually before Me."
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What is the significance of "naming" descendants after someone else, e.g. Tamar in 2 Samuel 14?
Is there any significance that David's son Absalom names his only daughter "Tamar" after Absalom's sister named "Tamar"?
Also, what is the significance of the name "Tamar" meaning "Palm Tree" as it ...
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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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Are the Hebrew Scriptures in general to be understood as continuous discourses or fragmental remains of much larger collections? [closed]
I often encounter the idea that the Hebrew Scriptures, or at least many of them, are summaries or fragments of larger works. However, considering the value and tight control that the Jews seem to have ...
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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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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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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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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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Were there 600,000 Israelites, or 600 "soldiers"? [duplicate]
This question is a follow-up from this answer where a user on Christianity.SE claimed that the Hebrew words for "thousand" and "soldier" were mixed up in the transcription and translation of the Bible,...
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Was Abiathar the son of Ahimelech or was Ahimelech the son of Abiathar? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Was Abiathar the son of Ahimelech or was Ahimelech the son of Abiathar?
According to the following three verses, Abiathar was the son of Ahimelech:
1 Samuel 22:20.
1 Samuel ...
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How often does the Bible use "God of Jacob" versus "God of Israel"? [closed]
The Bible uses both "God of ...Jacob" and "God of Israel". How often does it say each version? Is there a place I can look up the actual references?
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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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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 do we learn from the different usages of "aman" and "batach" in the OT?
aman (Strong's H539) and batach (Strong's H982) are both used in the OT to imply some level of trust in God.
And he believed (aman:H539) in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. (...
user146
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Does Genesis say where evil came from? [closed]
The first hint of evil in the Tanakh seems to come in Genesis 3:1 (NJPS):
Now the serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild beasts that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really ...
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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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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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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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