Unanswered Questions
427 questions with no upvoted or accepted answers
10
votes
3answers
294 views
Is Leviticus 16:2 an explanation or instruction?
The Lord said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron that he is not to
come whenever he chooses into the Most Holy Place behind the curtain
in front of the atonement cover on the ark, or else he will ...
10
votes
4answers
377 views
Did Jesus call his disciples before or after going to the Capernaum synagogue?
I have a question concerning a potential contradiction in the order of events in Galilee.
In Luke 4:31-36, Jesus visits the Capernaum synagogue and heals the man of unclean spirits. Early in Luke 5, ...
9
votes
4answers
411 views
Why are there so many unusual weapons used in Judges?
There are a number of unusual or unconventional weapons used in the book of Judges:
Shamgar uses an oxgoad to strike down Philistines (3:31)
Jael uses a tent peg to kill Sisera (4:21)
Gideon's army ...
8
votes
1answer
262 views
Hebrew translations of the Aramaic Texts
Several sections of the Old Testament are written in Aramaic. With the Old Testament, we will often examine translations like the Greek Septuagint, the Aramaic Targumim, and the Syriac Peshitta in ...
7
votes
3answers
410 views
How might Matthew 16:22 in the Codex Vaticanus be best translated to reflect the etymology of the text?
While translating Matthew 16 today, I ran across what the NET Bible calls a "highly elliptical expression" in verse 22:
καὶ προσλαβόμενος αὐτὸν ὁ Πέτρος ἤρξατο ἐπιτιμᾶν αὐτῷ λέγων·
Ἵλεώς ...
6
votes
1answer
63 views
When Jesus states, πρὶν Ἀβραὰμ γενέσθαι ἐγὼ εἰμί (John 8:58), is he speaking of the period when Abraham was called Abram?
After Jesus took action which resulted in a man blind from birth seeing, a controversy over the man's identity ensues. Near the end of the dispute the man responds to those who are interrogating him ...
6
votes
1answer
780 views
Luke 15:8-10, Silver Coin Semedi Headdress in 1st Century Palestine?
In Luke 15, verses 8-10, the Bible tells a story about a woman who loses a silver coin or drachma:
“Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep ...
6
votes
2answers
1k views
What is the proper understanding of παιδία in 1 John?
"Children" and/or "little children" are found 13 times in 1 John. Seven (2:1, 12, 28;3:7, 18; 4:4; 5:21) are the word τεκνίον, which is the diminutive of τέκνον which is used four times (3:1, 2, 10; 5:...
6
votes
1answer
1k views
Is there an implicit comparison between the lines of Cain and Seth?
Many commentators note that the lineage of Cain in Genesis 4 is followed by a genealogy of Seth in Genesis 5 and compare the two lines, treating Cain's line as godless and Seth's line as godly. This ...
6
votes
1answer
229 views
Psalms superscripts: completion or choirmaster?
Many (56) of the Greek Psalms begin (in what is the superscript in English on most chapters, not represented at all in a few):
Εἰς τὸ τέλος.
This is a mystery to me. The NETS translates it, ...
5
votes
4answers
75 views
Psalm 146:3 son of man?
Psalm 146:3 (KJV) states
Do not put your trust in princes, or in the son of man, in whom there is no help.
Depending on the translation, it says "Mortal man" "a son of man" "...
5
votes
0answers
71 views
Is the letter to Titus a more relevant source of John's “the Word,” ὁ λόγος, than Philo, Hellenistic philosophy, or Jewish Wisdom literature?
When considering the meaning of terms Paul applied to Jesus in the letter to Titus, the phrase "the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ" (2:13) is much debated. There are grammatical arguments for ...
5
votes
1answer
184 views
Proper exegesis of 2 Timothy 3:12 and reading
I thought the normal translation of 2 Timothy 3:12 was pretty cut and dried. I never really questioned it deeply which is unusual because I do what I can using English language tools (since I am not a ...
5
votes
0answers
106 views
Anyone know why Σιλωάμ in John 9:7 has the μ at the end
Anyone know why Σιλωάμ in John 9:7 has the μ at the end. The Hebrew New Testament (Bible Society of Israel) has הַשִּׁלּוֹחַ (apparently qal passive participle) with no ending m sound from the Hebrew ...
5
votes
2answers
115 views
Romans 8:23 - 'within' or 'among'? ἡμεῖς καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐν ἑαυτοῖς στενάζομεν
The ἐν ἑαυτοῖς of Rom 8:23 is typically rendered in English as 'within ourselves' or 'inwardly'.
ἡμεῖς καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐν ἑαυτοῖς στενάζομεν
Could it not also be rendered 'among ourselves'? Is there ...