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The position in the question, that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is not original to Matthew 28:19 is held today by very few scholars. Those that do point to a quotation from the early church historian Eusebius. In Demonstratio 3.6, he replaces "name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit" with "my name."
This is then taken as a direct quote from the copy of ...
19
The (relatively) small amount of bronze needed to make that serpent/snake (or נְחַשׁ נְחֹשֶׁת nĕḥaš nĕḥōšet) in the story of Num 21:4-9,1 even if it was as large as the monument now on Mount Nebo in Jordan,...
...would still have been quite small compared to the amount of bronze (let alone silver and gold) needed to make the utensils required for the ...
17
The Phrasing is Not a Direct Comment on Jesus being over 40 Years Old
Irenaeus is in error with his logic here, partly because he is missing the context and particular significance of the statement.
Background
Rather than being a direct comment on Jesus' age (i.e. over 40 years old), the number 50 is stated because of its significance in Levitical service. ...
15
For an early date
Among the arguments in favor for an early date (i.e. during emperor Nero) is:
A temple seems to exist in Rev 11, but the temple was destroyed in AD 70. The counter argument is of course that this temple is a part of a symbolic vision and should not be mixed up with the physical temple.
Revelation addresses the tension between the Jews and ...
15
I did look into this for a paper on Revelation and First Enoch (The Canonicity of Apocalyptic Literature). Whenever it was written, Revelation aims to encourage Christians during an imperial persecution.
Arguments for a Late Date (A.D. 96)
As external evidence they point to the early church writers like Iraneus (Against Heresies 5.30.3), Victorinus of ...
15
What are the reasons for identifying Ezra's Artaxerxes as Artaxerxes I vs Artaxerxes II?
Why is there a problem?
In Ezra 7:7, reference is made to Ezra's arrival in Jerusalem in "the seventh year of King Artaxerxes" (= 458 BCE), as depicted earlier in the chapter:
7:1 Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra ... 7:6 ... ...
15
No. The tetragrammaton was not used in Jesus' time. Faithful Jews would avoid saying it so as to not transgress the third commandment. The most common circumlocution was "Lord" (Andonai in Hebrew or Kurios in Greek), though he might also be referred to simply as "Heaven."
In answer to Jesus using El from the cross. El is the common word for God from all ...
15
The question of how "adoption" as used metaphorically by Paul relates to modern notions of adoption is not as important as comparing it to other ancient understandings. Once this is in place, however, the further comparison of the concept from Roman antiquity with modernity (in industrialized West, by implication?) can benefit from those findings.
The Texts
...
14
This theory is pretty credible. There a great deal of scholars which entertain this idea who are collectively known as Panbabylonists. This seems to raise the ire of many purists who would like to believe that Genesis was influenced by God alone.
In my opinion, however many fail to consider the idea that perhaps sections of Genesis were not derived from ...
14
I regret that I do not have access to the article by Johnston, but I understand his gist from Susan’s answer.
First of all, the argument that “research has failed to turn up any evidence for the use of eunuchs as officials in Egypt” is likely to convince only those who believe that the story of Joseph is an authentic record of historic events. It will not ...
13
The word used to describe Potiphar's relationship with Pharaoh (37:36, 39:1) is sārı̂s, which is indeed commonly glossed "eunuch" (e.g. BDB; cf. LXX εὐνοῦχος). However, to my knowledge no major English translation, including the KJV, translates it thus in this pericope (rather "officer" or "official"). There are several reasons for this, but perhaps the most ...
12
The very first miracle Jesus performed was a living illustration of his mission to cleanse. What did Jesus mean that his hour had not yet come? His hour to perform miracles? His mother surely was not asking him to perform a miracle, for he had never even done any miracles. Besides that, he immediately performed the miracle, something he would not have ...
12
It is very important to keep in mind that we have no manuscripts of Macion's gospel and no translations of it. Furthermore, we have no extant neutral or pro-Marcion commentaries. The two commentaries we have, by Tertullian and Epiphanius, have a strongly anti-Marcion agenda, furthermore they disagree with each other at some key points. This makes saying ...
12
Regarding "key differences":
When one battles, one has also encountered - no issue.
When one engages, one has also met - no issue.
When one is said to have been killed "by" a commander of troops, that does not mean one was necessarily killed directly by that commander. It can just as easily have been by the troops that were under his command. For example, ...
11
There are several creation accounts in antiquity from two main areas in the fertile crescent; Babylon/Sumer and Egypt. I will attempt to summarize and compare/contrast points of each creation myth with Genesis, so I will apologize at the outset to readers for the long answer. I'm sure the OP did not realize what a tall order this was, and as curiousdannii ...
11
"Anachronism" is not a distinctive technical term in biblical hermeneutics, nor does it have a nuance which would distinguish it from its meaning in English more broadly. The Wikipedia article catches it nicely: "anachronism" is
...a chronological inconsistency in some arrangement, especially a juxtaposition of person(s), events, objects, or customs from ...
11
Before anything, though, I must say that no, king Joash would not know that he must strike the ground five or six times. But, he really should have did that. All verse emphasis mine.
First of all, we would have to look at the reason why Elisha would be angry at an answer to a seemingly minuscule command,
2 Kings 13:14 (NKJV)
14 Elisha had become sick with ...
11
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. Danny Faulkner writing for Answers in Genesis
From time to time, one hears that NASA computers have proved the account of the unusual day that accompanied the ...
10
The ancient Hebrews used a lunar calendar; each month began with the sighting of the new crescent, and continued until the next sighting, which means that approximately half of the months had 29 days, and approximately half had 30. In order to keep the months in the correct seasons the Hebrews (like the Babylonians, Greeks etc.) must have practiced some form ...
10
In the Introduction to 1 John in the NIV Study Bible, Donald W. Burdick writes:
Author:
Unlike most NT letters, 1 John does not tell us who the author is. The earliest identification of him comes from the church fathers: Irenaeus (A.D. 140-203), Clement of Alexandria (A.D. 155-215), Tertullian (A.D. 150-220) and Origen (A.D. 185-253) all designated the ...
9
The Pharisees were one of several sects active in Judaism in first century Judea. The other main sects were the Sadducees, the Zealots, and the Essenes. Of these sects, the Pharisees and Sadducees were the ruling parties. The ruling council, the Sanhedrin, was made up of the top Pharisees and Sadducees (the Sadducees were a priestly clan). Gamaliel being a ...
9
In Ps. 69:21 it says,"They gave Me also gall for My meat; and in My thirst they gave Me vinegar to drink."
This is after the Psalmist says in vs 9,"For the zeal of thine house hath eaten Me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen on Me."
Both scenes were witnessed in the life of Jesus: when He drove out the moneychangers out of the ...
9
Here are the key lines of Ezekiel 29:3 in Hebrew:
הִנְנִי עָלֶיךָ פַּרְעֹה מֶלֶךְ־מִצְרַיִם
hinĕnî ʿāleykā parʿōh melek-miṣrayim
(Behold I am against you, Pharaoh, king of Egypt,)
הַתַּנִּים
הַגָּדוֹל הָרֹבֵץ בְּתוֹךְ יְאֹרָיו
hattannîm haggadōl hārōbēṣ bĕtôk yĕʾōra(y)w
(the great dragon who lies in the midst of his rivers...)
Textual ...
9
The short answer to your questions is that none of these books have survived. This is not surprising; a very large number of books existed in the ancient world of which only a tiny minority have been preserved till now.
But specifically to your first example: the Greek historian Ctesias claimed to have known the royal notebooks (basilikaì diphthérai), “in ...
9
Yes, Baptism is well attested in Jewish sources dating from both before and after Christ. These are both for mainstream Judaism and sectarian.
From before Jesus, one finds clear references to baptism in the Dead Sea Scrolls. See for example, 1QS (The Community Rule) and 4Q274-276 (The Purity Texts).
From sources dating after Jesus (but portraying ...
9
The view one takes on the credibility of the assertion is going to depend largely on one's presuppositions and level of allowance for the Bible text to speak for itself.
If the Torah (Law, i.e. "teaching" is the idea in Hebrew, not just the actual commands and prohibitions), which includes Genesis, was formed contra what critical scholars claim, and instead ...
8
I think it is clear that the final redactor(s) thought of Elohim as one, and therefore as the sole-one who created mankind (human beings).
The phrase 'Let us make...' is a borrowed-motif from other Ancient Near East cultures, and alludes to the concept of a Divine Council (Assembly) - something that the final redactor(s) believed based on the following ...
8
It seems that the Romans initially allowed the Jewish authorities to exercise capital punishment, but withdrew the privilege some time during Jesus' life.
The historian Josephus writes of an instance in which stonings occurred, probably around the year 62 CE. The short version is as follows:
The Roman prefect of Judæa, a man named Porcius Festus, died ...
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