Questions tagged [history]
Events in the Bible, the wider cultural background of those events, and the biblical text itself, all have a historical dimension.
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Daniel 7:4 noun antecedent
Just a grammatical construction question about Dan 7:4:
which was lifted up, made to stand, and given the mind of a man
the eagle, its wings, or both?
I understand that it is natural to assume that ...
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The Scapegoat and the Scarlet Wool - Epistle of Barnabas
The Epistle of Barnabas is a second century text classified as one of the Apostolic Fathers, Greek texts which immediately follow the New Testament, which is studied by New Testament specialists.
In ...
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How many posts did the courtyard of the Holy Tabernacle have?
Exodus 27:9-16 says:
Make a courtyard for the tabernacle. The south side shall be a hundred cubits[c] long and is to have curtains of finely twisted linen,
with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases ...
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The last person in Daniel 11. Who is it?
31 “His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and
will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the
abomination that causes desolation. 32 With flattery he will corrupt
...
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Codex Vaticanus initial text
Could anyone tell me why the first few textual (scripture-containing) pages in the Codex Vaticanus online copy are in cursive? As far as I know, the Codex is dated to the 4th century, at which time ...
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What is the historicity of the Paschal prisoner release custom in Mark? [duplicate]
The gospel of Mark (and other gospels) states that there was a Roman custom of releasing a prisoner in Judaea during the feast of Passover in Mark 15 6-8:
6 Now at the festival he used to release a ...
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Galatians 1:19 the brother of the Lord
Could any of you respond to Jesus mysticist like Richard carrier on Galatians 1:19. He claims James (Jesus' brother) is not in the category of apostles. Can you prove that James is in the category of ...
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Is it possible that 2 Thessalonians 2:13-16 is an interpolation?
Could you respond to this? Richard Carrier claims that 2 Thessalonians 2:13-16 is an interpolation. Could someone respond to this? I can't respond myself because I'm not a New Testament scholar. I'll ...
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How can one Refute Richard Carrier's claim of "Jesus Mythicism" in Gal. 4:4?
"The Christ myth theory, also known as the Jesus myth theory, Jesus mythicism, or the Jesus ahistoricity theory, is the view that the story of Jesus is a work of mythology with no historical ...
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How old was Joshua during the Conquest? How many years between his death and the first oppression?
According to Joshua 24:29 Joshua died at the age of 110. I am wondering how many years elapsed between the Entry in the Holy Land (the Conquest) and his death (or alternatively: how old was he at the ...
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Acts Chronological Timeline
Where can I find an accurate chronological timeline that includes the events of the Book of Acts, Paul's letters, and (also it would be nice) connections with Classical Roman history? I see many ...
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The Canaanite in Gen 12:6
The Bible says 'And the Canaanite was in the land' in Gen 12:6. Is this referring to a specific person or this is just a linguistic error in translation that is meant to refer to the group of people.
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Are there prominent textual criticism books defending the faithful preservation of the gospels in modern Bibles compared to the original manuscripts?
Numerous skeptics assert that modern Bibles are the result of a succession of copies of copies of copies of copies, implying that across centuries of transcription, translation, and interpretation, or ...
user56622
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Did any King obey and actually make a Copy of the Law first-hand?
Precepts Concerning Kingships Foreseeing the fallen nature of the Israelite nation, forsaking God's rule over them, Moses laid down some precepts every king should follow.(1 Samuel 8) Most of us are ...
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When Jesus read from the Scroll of Isaiah, did he translate it into Aramaic?
What language did Jesus speak when he read Isaiah 61:1,2? Would Aramaic be spoken in the synagogue?
Luke 4:16-19 New International Version 16 He went to Nazareth, where
he had been brought up, and on ...
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Were there any significant differences in the responsibilities or authority of Annas and Caiaphas as high priest?
Luke writes that Annas and Caiaphas were high priests.
In Luke 3:2, while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of
God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.
Here Annas is ...
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2 Kings 23:4 indicates that there were pagan idols in the Temple. Is it possible the Ark of the Covenant had a statue of Yahweh then or at any time?
I came across an article that indicated that Thomas Römer argues that the Ark of the Covenant had a statue of Yahweh on top, and possibly even a statue of 'Yahweh's Asherah'. I can't think of a ...
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Did Paul assert the status of his own writings as scripture when he declared in 2 Timothy 3:16 that "All scripture is God-breathed"?
2 Timothy 3:16-17 NKJV:
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be ...
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What does it mean "the earth is God's footstool"?
Footstool is used several times in scripture.
Matthew 5:33-37 NKJV
33 “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You
shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ ...
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Do any secular scholars affirm that 1 Corinthians 15:3-5 is an early creed?
In 1 Corinthians 15:3-6, St. Paul provides us with an early historical creed, this creed was something that St. Paul tells us that he had received (1 Corinthians 15:3) and lists those who were ...
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What were the main differences between the Sadducees and Pharisees?
The Sadducees and Pharisees are frequently mentioned in the Gospels because Jesus had a near-constant disagreement with them.
Matthew 22:15-22 NKJV
15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they ...
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Allusion to Herod the Great in Matthew 7:24-27?
I've been working on the Sermon on the Mount in my devotional reading recently, and I had a question of historical curiosity come up.
The passage in question is the concluding "House on the rock/...
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What synagogue-rules allowed the 'formerly blind man' to be put out of the synagogue?
Generally, we often see in Bible study that the Pharisees would "kick them out of the synagogue because they didn't want people to believe in Jesus". But, that doesn't address the actual ...
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Why was it normal for Jesus and apostles to teach in (and perhaps be rejected from) so many NT Jewish synagogues?
I want to know what was being taught in the synagogues and what the rules were so that Jesus and the apostles of Acts did what they did.
Why were they welcome as non-teachers and why were they ...
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What is Second Temple Jewish Monotheism?
Second Temple Jewish Monotheism has come up in reference to:
John 1:1
The Messiah
Paul's Apostolic greetings and prayers
Currently 33 questions tagged with second-temple-judaism
The most guidance ...
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Does the usage of "all" in Matthew 24:37-39 indicate that Jesus believed in a global flood, encompassing all people worldwide?
Matthew 24:37-39 ESV
37 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, ...
user56622
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How long (as in weeks, months, years) did Paul persecute the Church for? Is there an estimated timeframe that is agreed upon by most theologians?
Did Paul persecute the Church for years, or was the timeframe shorter, as in months? What do most scholars believe regarding this?
Acts 8:3 (BLB) - But Saul was destroying the church. Entering houses
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Does any historical precedent suggest that the Romans would tolerate Paul's crusade in Acts 9:1-2, because he got a Jewish priest's approval?
Q. Does any historical precedent suggest that the Romans would tolerate Paul's crusade in Acts 9:1-2, because he got a Jewish priest's approval?
[Act 9:1-2 NASB95] [1] Now Saul, still breathing ...
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Historical basis for 'evangelion' in specific military context?
The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the son of God.
I heard a sermon once that claimed the word evangelion (good news, gospel) as used in Mark 1:1 was meant to specifically refer to a ...
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Did the author of the Book of Judith realize that Nebuchanezzer was really a Babylonian? (Judith 1:1)
Judith 1:1
It was the twelfth year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, who ruled
over the Assyrians in the great city of Nineveh.
Nebuchadnezzar was the ruler of the Babylonian Empire and his capital ...
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Who are other spies that surveyed the land in Numbers 14?
“And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes:” Numbers 14:6 KJV.
Numbers 13:4-16 only speaks on Caleb going, but ...
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Is the high priest Hilkiah (2 Kings 23:24) also the father of Susanna (Daniel 13:2 in Catholic Bibles)?
In 2 Kings 23:24, the high priest Hilkiah plays an important role in discovering a lost 'Book of the Law' in the Temple of Jerusalem:
Josiah purged the consultation of ghosts and spirits, with the
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Does the double portion of the firstborn inheritance imply not just honour but also responsibility?
The Old Testament links Israel with the firstborn's double portion of the inheritance.
Exodus 4:22
Then say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord says: Israel is my
firstborn son."
Deuteronomy 21:...
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Does 2nd Peter have extant manuscripts that are a combination of Greek and Aramaic?
I heard from somewhere (I cannot recall) that the extant manuscripts of 2nd Peter were written in a combination of Aramaic and Greek, is there any evidence for this?
Example: (1 particular manuscript ...
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Did the dialogue with "the Woman at the Well" forecast, by anticipation, Jesus's prophecy about the Destruction of the Temple in Matthew 24?
Startling Statement Within the conversation with the Woman at the Well, Jesus made this astounding statement:
Believe Me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither in this ...
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Why are women and children viewed as plunder in Deuteronomy 20:14?
Deuteronomy 20 is about how Israel should wage war against nations that are far from them (excluding Canaan)
However, I am having trouble understanding why verse 14 views women and children as plunder,...
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Did Jesus use a reference to Herod Archelaus in the Parable of the Ten Minas?
The Parable of the Ten Minas (Luke 19:11-27) is nearly identical to the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30).
Perhaps the most surprising variation of the Ten Minas is that it references the ...
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Son of theos vs son of kyrios
I'm hesitant to speak in absolute terms about this, but perhaps it can be generally agreed upon that in many cases where we see Χριστὸς we tend not to see κυριος as a relational lexicon to describe ...
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"Him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay" (1 Kings 19:17). Whom did Elisha slay?
We know the prophet Elijah called fire down from heaven, killing bands of soldiers; and we know he slew the prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel. But his successor, Elisha, who had received the double ...
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Why will Dan not be in heaven? What did he do worse than his brethren?
The entire tribe of Dan is absent from the list of those tribes which are to be found in heaven.
Here is the list given in Revelation 7.
And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there ...
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Was the stone at the tomb of Jesus square shaped? [closed]
Archeologist Amos Kloner claims that it isn't historically probable that Jesus' tomb had a circle shaped rock blocking it.
Kloner argues that we don't find many circle shaped rocks blocking tombs ...
user53371
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What kind of image did "dragon" (δράκων) in Revelation give to John and first century Christians?
Question about the term δράκων in passages such as Revelation 12:3 and Revelation 13:4 and Revelation 16:13.
(I am not asking about the symbolic meaning of whom or what the Dragon represented, as that ...
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Is the trial of Jesus before the Sanhedrin too illegal to be true?
The story that we have in the gospels of Mark and Matthew (Mark 14:53-65; Matthew 26:57-68) of the Trial of Jesus before the Sanhedrin seems to contradict many passages in the Mishna in the tractate ...
user53371
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Is the Mishnah a reliable source for analyzing the norms of Jewish shepherds in Luke 2?
It all started when reading a question about the shepherds in the field at the birth of Jesus:
And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
...
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Who had 'turned away' from Paul in 2 Timothy 1:15?
You are aware that all who are in Asia turned away from me, and among
them Phy′gelus and Hermog′enes.
Many commentators interpret this to refer to those who were with Paul in Rome but had now ...
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When did chapter and verse numbers start being used? [closed]
In the gospels (and other places) there are quotes of other books of the Bible but only the text with no numeric references e.g. (John 1:1).
In Jesus's time and before, a quote by anybody did not ...
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Did the ENTIRE Egyptian army drown at sea?
The following is an excerpt of a critique on "Reason to Believe":
Under these conditions, were the Ten Plagues and a total crush of the Egyptian army in the Red Sea waters to happen, as we ...
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What does "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit" warn against? (Zech. 4:6)
This is the word of the Lord to Zerub′babel: Not by might, nor by
power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. (Zech. 4:6)
The word חַיִל is usually translated as "might" here. But more ...
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Ephesians 2:2 symbolism of "air"
KJV:
Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world,
according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now
worketh in the children of disobedience
Quoting part ...
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Ezekiel 28:13-14 Was Eden on a mountain?
Relevant Scripture
Ezekiel 28:13-14
3 You were in Eden, the garden of God;
every precious stone was your covering,
sardius, topaz, and diamond,
beryl, onyx, and jasper,
sapphire, emerald, and ...
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