17
votes
Accepted
John 8:57 and the age of Jesus, before his crucifixion
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.
...
- 20k
17
votes
Why will Dan not be in heaven? What did he do worse than his brethren?
The real key is that TWO names are missing from the list of territorial tribes and have been replaced. We need to watch these names, because they point us towards the symbolic meaning of the list. I ...
- 4,885
15
votes
Accepted
What evidence is used to support the claim that Isaiah was written before the reign of King Cyrus?
Prima Facie evidence
The primary evidence is that the text claims to have been written by Isaiah the son of Amoz, and that his career spanned portions of the reigns of Kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and ...
- 15.9k
14
votes
Was Potiphar, being a captain of an Egyptian guard, likely a eunuch?
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 ...
- 5,255
13
votes
Accepted
Was Potiphar, being a captain of an Egyptian guard, likely a eunuch?
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 ...
- 26.2k
12
votes
What are the similarities and differences between the Genesis creation account and other creation stories of the time
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 ...
- 7,634
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. ...
- 7,634
10
votes
Accepted
In the time of Jesus, were the Jewish authorities allowed to execute?
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 ...
- 544
10
votes
Accepted
To whom was the letter 1 John written?
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 ...
- 8,632
8
votes
The Ten Commandments were based on the Code of Hammurabi?
I don't know of any scholar who denies that Hammurabi wrote a code of laws before Moses received the Ten Commandments and the accompanying law. So if the question is: Did Moses invent the idea of ...
- 207
8
votes
Why will Dan not be in heaven? What did he do worse than his brethren?
Not just Dan was not on the list, the sequence was not orderly arranged too. Also Manasseh was part of Joseph's tribe. So the list reveals something unusual. If we reviewed the meaning of the names ...
- 3,103
8
votes
Accepted
Son of theos vs son of kyrios
We can translate John 11:27 from Greek to English.
John 11:27 (Greek New Testament)
λέγει αὐτῷ· ναὶ κύριε, ἐγὼ πεπίστευκα ὅτι σὺ εἶ ὁ χριστὸς ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ
θεοῦ ὁ εἰς τὸν κόσμον ἐρχόμενος.
She said to ...
- 1,471
7
votes
Accepted
Who was Neri, father of Shealtiel?
The idea in brief
A recent (2015) work, The First Nativity (Part II): History and Theology of Our Incarnate Lord and Savior by Joseph David Rhodes contains a good discussion of Neri. In short, the ...
- 4,192
7
votes
Should Luke be considered a 'primary' source concerning events in Jesus' life?
To discern what constitutes a "primary" source requires asking some research question or other:
a "primary source" is any evidence which bears on the question's answer or solution;
a "secondary ...
- 24.7k
7
votes
Acts 15:5 - Could Christians remain Pharisees?
Paul state after his conversion that he is still Pharisee on two occasions
Acts 23:6
Now when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other
Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “...
- 169
6
votes
What are the similarities and differences between the Genesis creation account and other creation stories of the time
(Continued answer. See the introduction, table of contents and the first part of this answer here.)
Creation myth of Ptah
The creation myth of Ptah comes from Memphis which was created as the ...
- 7,634
6
votes
Accepted
In Genesis 24:2 why did Abraham have his servant make his oath under his "thigh"?
Definition
The Hebrew term often translated "thigh" is ירך (yārēḵ; יָרֵךְ), which HALOT notes can refer to (my numbering; HALOT has only 2 entries and groups a number of meanings under #1 of there ...
- 20k
6
votes
Accepted
Did Jesus recover the lost tribes of Israel?
This question is great and requires a thoughtful response. I would like to draw your attention to Paul's writings concerning this:
What if He did this to make the riches of His glory known to the
...
- 761
6
votes
Accepted
How did Paul became a Roman citizen?
Paul was born a Roman citizen:
And the chief captain answered, With a great sum obtained I this
freedom. And Paul said, But I was free born (Acts 22:28).
This means that a) Paul's father was a ...
- 15.9k
5
votes
What are the similarities and differences between the Genesis creation account and other creation stories of the time
(Continued answer. See the introduction, table of contents and the first part of this answer here.)
Ogdoad of Hermopolis
The creation myth of the Ogdoad is the oldest creation myth and It is very ...
- 7,634
5
votes
Did Luke use Josephus as a source?
Richard Carrier "Luke and Josephus (2000)," writes:
"There has long been the observation that Luke-Acts contains numerous
parallels with the works of Josephus, generating three different
...
5
votes
In Hebrews 4:12 what is the difference between ψυχή ("soul") and πνεῦμα ("spirit")?
The verse in question resembles what many scholars have termed pre-literary creeds and hymns (See, e.g. How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation of A Jewish Preacher from Galilee by Bart Ehrman, ...
- 2,191
5
votes
Accepted
Did houses only have one room 2000 years ago?
A typical 1st century family home in Palestine was not one room but several rooms, on one or two floors, around a common open courtyard. Each room opened to the central space, so one lampstand in the ...
- 2,601
5
votes
What textual clues are there that the original readers of Genesis would have understood 11:27–50:26 in a different way than Genesis 2:4–11:26?
There are a number of indicators:
Themes
In the texts in Chapter 11 and earlier, all of the stories are about God's punishment of mankind. While the theme of salvation is present in these texts, ...
- 7,634
5
votes
What did the label "abomination" indicate in Egyptian society?
The ancient Egyptian equivalent of the Hebrew תּוֹעֵבָה (tôʿēbâ) is bawut:
Although bwt is sometimes still translated ‘abomination’, the consensus of contemporary Egyptologists suggests a meaning ...
- 2,601
5
votes
Does Leviticus say that leprosy can be cured with two birds?
No, this passage does not say that leprosy can be cured using birds. The rite described here is not about "curing" at all. Rather, it is about the ritual purification. These verses describe the first ...
- 26.2k
5
votes
In Genesis 24, camel reference
The gamal refers to both two-humped camels and dromedaries. If you are referring to the same archaeology studies I have looked at, some things need to be born in mind when applying it to the Biblical ...
- 22.2k
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