28 votes
Accepted

Why did Jesus begin his ministry at age 30?

Why did Jesus begin his ministry at age 30? Jesus a sympathetic High Priest that can sympathize with our weaknesses. For this reason, he came to earth born as a man having flesh and blood, and ...
  • 13.2k
26 votes

How could King Herod have killed John the baptist in Matthew 14?

There are three Herods in scripture. 1 The one that killed the infants at the time of Jesus' birth - 'Herod the Great'. 2 The one that killed John the Baptist - 'Herod Antipas'. (Also 'the Tetrarch'....
  • 28.1k
21 votes
Accepted

How could King Herod have killed John the baptist in Matthew 14?

Here is an extract from Wikipedia about the Herodian family (source): Herod the Great (born c. 74 BC, ruled 37–4 BC), client king of Judea who built the Second Temple (in Jerusalem) and in the New ...
  • 82.4k
16 votes
Accepted

When was Jesus made both Lord and Christ?

At birth, what titles did Jesus already possess? Luke 2:11 & 21 (NKJV) "For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." "And when eight ...
  • 958
12 votes

When did, "Satan fall from Heaven like lightning." Luke 10:18?

OP: Is it possible, through the interpretation of scripture, to determine approximately when this event happened? Yes, I believe it is. Luke 10:18 in Greek (SBL GNT), with the New American Standard ...
  • 24.6k
11 votes
Accepted

Has the lengthened day of Joshua 10 been modeled in a simulation to show how this could have occurred?

The short answer is that, no, despite a persistent urban legend that NASA modeled this on one of their early computer systems, the reality is that such a simulation is impossible. According to Dr. ...
  • 7,563
8 votes
Accepted

At what exact moment did Jesus transition from being rich to being poor according to 2 Corinthians 8:9?

At what exact moment did Jesus give up His "wealth?" Answer: It depends on how we interpret 2 Corinthians 8:9 as suggested in the OP. I. Was this at his birth? Well, we might be even more ...
  • 8,906
8 votes

Did the Chief Priests change their minds about crucifying Christ during the festival?

In brief, this incident is yet another instance of the duplicity of the Jewish leaders. Jesus should not have been executed because: The trial that delivered was illegal for numerous reasons such as ...
  • 82.4k
7 votes

Luke 3:1-3 was Luke mistaken about the year in which John the Baptist's preaching began?

Tertulian (being a Roman) would have used a Roman calendar system of dating reigns of emperors. So, the part year of AD 14 would have been considered Tiberius' accession, and AD 15 would have been ...
7 votes

When did God create the waters in Genesis 1:2?

”When did God speak these waters into being?” The answer is given in the Hebrew text בראשׁית ברא אלהים את השׁמים ואת הארץ The fact is that God ברא (created) the השׁמים (heavens - plural) in (the) ...
7 votes
Accepted

Was Benjamin born before or after Joseph was sold into slavery?

Let us review the material from the previous question as per the appendix below. We are not told exactly when Benjamin was born but there is a window of a few years to choose. We know that Joseph was ...
  • 82.4k
6 votes

Why is there a difference of 100 (or 50) years in the age of the patriarchs at their first sons' dates of birth between the LXX, SP and MT?

Both textual traditions (along with the Samaritan Pentateuch, which has similarities with each) predate Christianity by centuries. Basically, texts, whether religious, or otherwise, present a rainbow-...
6 votes

Can the Bible's relative chronology be made an 'absolute' chronology?

OP: So, can the Bible's relative chronology be translated into absolute dates? In a word, no. The converse, however, is possible, and I take it this is what is intended from the way the question ...
  • 24.6k
6 votes
Accepted

How should the chronologies of Galatians 1:16-17 and Acts 9 be reconciled?

The texts in question In Act 9:20-28 we read: Acts 9:20 Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God. 21 Then all who heard were amazed, and said, "Is this ...
6 votes

At what exact moment did Jesus transition from being rich to being poor according to 2 Corinthians 8:9?

2 Cor 8:9 says this: For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich. There are several ...
  • 82.4k
6 votes

At what exact moment did Jesus transition from being rich to being poor according to 2 Corinthians 8:9?

Jesus was the poorest of the poor when he cried upon the cross as he had nothing left, including his only clothes. At the ninth hour, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” ...
  • 2,860
6 votes

How did Elijah send a letter to King Jehoram, if Elijah had already been taken to heaven?

This question is an exact replica of the same question on Got Questions. The answer is - also - on Got Questions, after the question. So I have just copied the answer to here : Jehoram is anointed ...
  • 28.1k
6 votes
Accepted

When was the Gospel of Mark written?

Executive Summary The Gospel of Mark was probably composed in Rome shortly after the death of Emperor Claudius (died AD 54). I will use the writings of Clement of Alexandria & Paul's epistle to ...
5 votes

What might "on the third day" stand for in John 2:1?

Jn 1:43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida Jn 2:1 On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, ...
5 votes
Accepted

When did, "Satan fall from Heaven like lightning." Luke 10:18?

Context, Context, Context When reviewing this passage, it is important to remember three facts Most scholars believe that this book of the Bible is written to a gentile, "Theophilus" So it seemed ...
  • 7,563
5 votes
Accepted

Is there a chronological issue in Matthew 10 and 12?

Matthew 9 32 While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed and could not talk was brought to Jesus. 33 And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was ...
  • 214
5 votes
Accepted

How did the first disciples of Jesus come to be?

The disciples (James, John, Peter and Andrew) were called personally by Jesus after they, like many others, went from Galilee down to Judaea to repent and be baptised under John's ministry. They must ...
  • 28.1k
5 votes
Accepted

As Mary was too poor to offer a lamb after giving birth to Jesus, offering birds instead, does this prove the Magi had not yet pitched up with gold?

I suggest that the short answer is yes. In a post shared here I made the case that: The gifts of the Magi were very likely used to finance the trip to Egypt Joseph & Mary didn't yet have those ...
5 votes

How old was Jacob when he first saw Rachel?

Issac gets married at the age of 40.Genesis 25:20 Jacob was born when Issac was 60 years old. Genesis 25:26 Issac dies at 180 years(Genesis 35:28). So Jacob was 120 years old when Issac died. Jacob ...
5 votes
Accepted

2 Timothy 4:3-4. Is Paul referring to the church in his day, or the church of today?

I propose 4 central pieces of context: The verb Ἔσται ("there will be") is given in the future tense--Paul is anticipating something that will happen Paul is speaking to Timothy (giving ...
5 votes
Accepted

What does Revelation 14:11 mean by "they have no rest, day or night"?

'If any man worship the beast' ... 'he shall be tormented in fire and brimstone' ... 'before the holy angels and before the Lamb' ... 'And the smoke of their torment ascends up to ages of ages' ... '...
  • 28.1k

Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible