Communication at its most basic is the use of symbols to affect the understanding of another. The symbols at a communicator’s disposal are both verbal and non-verbal. Verbal tools are spoken & heard symbols that represent ideas. Non-verbal tools are unspoken symbols that represent ideas. Phonology—uses words (individual...
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July 14, 2017 Andrew Sargent
Biblical Language Issues, Biblical Studies, Communication, HAGALAH
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If you still aren’t convinced that learning biblical languages is worth the effort and time it will take to learn them (which is not as much as you imagine), I’ll list an additional 3 ways that learning biblical languages can enhance your ministry. Remember! when I use the...
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July 12, 2017 Andrew Sargent
Biblical Language Issues, Biblical Studies
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Well, now I’ve done it. I’ve brought up right brained and left brained in a public setting. I’m sure I’ll hear about it from critics. So, let me ward off some of the flack by confessing from the get-go: [Disclaimer: I am not a medical doctor, nor a...
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July 10, 2017 Andrew Sargent
Biblical Language Issues, Biblical Studies, Biblical Theology, Old Testament Studies, Theology
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I don’t know about you, but I am constantly bombarded by “helpful” suggestions about all the things I ought to be doing about my health, my work, my family, my finances, all those books I’ve just GOT to read. Frankly, it’s exhausting just hearing about it all. So...
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July 3, 2017 Andrew Sargent
Biblical Language Issues, Biblical Studies
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Don’t allow self-defensive thoughts like, “So, everything I’ve done for X years was a misguided waste?” “So, I’m not good enough?” “So! You think I can’t properly interpret the Scriptures in English?” prevent you from taking that next vital step in your dedication to radically improving your knowledge...
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June 23, 2017 Andrew Sargent
Biblical Language Issues, Biblical Studies
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Poetry, by definition, is usually regarded as distinct from another category of writing called Prose. To express it simply, Prose is normal writing. It reflects the speech patterns of typical daily conversation, even if a bit more planned and carefully refined. Poetry then is an alternate way of...
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June 19, 2017 Andrew Sargent
Biblical Language Issues, Biblical Studies, Inductive Study Methods, Old Testament Studies
I realize that the second someone makes a statement like, “Every Christian leader should learn biblical languages,” feelings of condemnation erupt. “So, everything I’ve done for X years was a misguided waste?” “So, I’m not good enough?” “So, I can’t properly interpret the Scriptures in English?” If I...
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June 16, 2017 Andrew Sargent
Biblical Language Issues, Biblical Studies
This is an edited sermon about the meaning behind Matthew’s claim that Joseph moving to Nazareth was a fulfillment of Scripture. It explores the meaning of “fulfillment” in the New Testament, the history of the city, the nature of Matthew’s use of the prophets, the problem with spelling...
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April 19, 2017 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Bible Backgrounds, Biblical Language Issues, HAGALAH, New Testament Studies, NT's Use of the OT
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In this edited sermon, I address the common misinterpretation of the line in Isaiah 29:18 Where there is no vision, the people perish. First people fail to quote the whole proverb. It goes, “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is...
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April 17, 2017 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Biblical Language Issues, Biblical Studies, Biblical Theology, HAGALAH, Inductive Study Methods, Old Testament Studies
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I am pleased to welcome Othello Mugugu back as a guest blogger today. He originally hails from Zimbabwe, has a Bachelors from Northpoint Bible College, Serves in the American Army, has completed his Masters in Religious Studies from Providence College in Providence Rhode Island. Today he has allowed me to...
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April 14, 2017 Andrew Sargent
Bible Backgrounds, Biblical Language Issues, HAGALAH, New Testament Studies, NT's Use of the OT
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We’ve been considering the claim that Matthew’s appeal to YHWH’s historical deliverance of Israel from Egypt in Hosea 11:1 is proof positive that the NT writers cared little to nothing for the original context of the passages they quoted. They had, it is claimed, a Jesus hermeneutical lens...
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March 20, 2017 Andrew Sargent
Biblical Language Issues, New Testament Studies, NT's Use of the OT, Old Testament Studies
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I’ve been teaching an Isaiah class of late and we had an amusing time last night considering the way the New Testament Scholars have handled the quote from Isaiah 40:3 when it appears in the gospels. I don’t suppose there is some deep and dark secret meaning to...
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December 30, 2016 Andrew Sargent
Biblical Language Issues, Biblical Studies, HAGALAH, Meeting the Jesus of Mark, NT's Use of the OT, Text Criticism Issues
In my series, 101 Most Misunderstood Passages, there are different sorts of texts that I tackle. Some I am adamant about. Others are reasonable curiosities. The rest fill out the range between them. It reminds me of my “Historical Geography Course” at Jerusalem University College (Yes, that Jerusalem)...
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November 25, 2016 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Biblical Language Issues, Old Testament Studies
In two previous posts, we’ve been considering the radically altered translation of Isaiah 59:19 between the King James Version and most other modern English translations. While the pertinent portion of the KJV reads, “When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall...
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November 23, 2016 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Biblical Language Issues, Old Testament Studies
In a recent post I began a discussion on the problems with the KJV’s translation of Isaiah 59:19, whose part of concern reads, “When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.” We isolated three problems...
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November 21, 2016 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Biblical Language Issues, Old Testament Studies
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The pertinent part of Isaiah 59:19 reads in the King James Version, “When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.” Isaiah 59:19 is one of the most oft quoted texts in Scripture, memorized thus even...
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November 18, 2016 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Biblical Language Issues, Old Testament Studies
In two previous posts[1] I’ve been discussing Proverbs 22:6 and the translation issues involved in what seems a rather ambiguous central phrase, “upon the mouth of his way” which seems best when translated “according to his way.” We considered how only two of the six suggested interpretations of...
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November 14, 2016 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Bible Backgrounds, Biblical Language Issues, HAGALAH, Inductive Study Methods, Old Testament Studies
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In a previous post, we turned our attention to a literal rendering of Proverbs 22:6,[1] which being one of the most hurled about texts, whether in accusation, self-defense, or hopeful soothing, suffers much in the shadow of questionable translation. The problem phrase “על־פי דרכו upon the mouth of...
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November 11, 2016 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Bible Backgrounds, Biblical Language Issues, HAGALAH, Old Testament Studies
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Proverbs 22:6 is one of the most quoted, potentially mistranslated and, thus, misunderstood verses in the Bible. As commonly rendered, it is interpreted as a glorious promise of “do it right & it’ll be right” in regard to parenting. It is also often used as an anchor of...
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November 9, 2016 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Biblical Language Issues, HAGALAH, Inductive Study Methods, Old Testament Studies
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I’ve been sharing my thoughts of late on the subject of reading Scripture in translation and the common discomfort that Evangelicals usually feel when scholars suggest that there is some vital element of Bible study that those who are dependent on translation are missing. I am unapologetic over...
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November 2, 2016 Andrew Sargent
Biblical Language Issues
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