In considering the meaning of a simple word like concubine one finds an excellent example of the challenges that face modern attempts to represent many biblical terms. Sometimes we not only lack the words to properly translate, but we also lack the mental categories to emotionally understand. Technical...
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August 2, 2017 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Bible Backgrounds, Biblical Language Issues, Biblical Studies, HAGALAH, Old Testament Studies
Mat 18:19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. 20 “For where two or three are gathered together in my...
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July 19, 2017 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Biblical Studies, Biblical Theology, New Testament Studies
So in Chapter 2 verse 15, Matthew deems Joseph’s return to Israel after a quick escape from Herod by hiding out in Egypt for a time to be a fulfillment of Hosea 11:1, which says, “Out of Egypt have I called my son.” Many have suggested that such...
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May 15, 2017 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, New Testament Studies, NT's Use of the OT, Old Testament Studies
Let’s consider the 7th of seven paths of investigation needed to unlock potential rationales behind NT authors’ use of OT texts. Matthew 2:15 says that an historical comment in Hosea 11:1 is “fulfilled” in Jesus’ childhood departure from Egypt. Does this prove that NT writers didn’t care about...
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May 12, 2017 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, New Testament Studies, NT's Use of the OT
Today I want to consider the 6th of seven paths of investigation that a person should take in an attempt to understand a New Testament author’s USE of an Old Testament text. Do texts like Matthew 2:15—in which an historical comment in Hosea 11:1 is said to “be...
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May 3, 2017 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, New Testament Studies, NT's Use of the OT, Old Testament Studies
Today I want to consider the 5th of seven paths of investigation that a person should take in an attempt to understand a New Testament author’s USE of an Old Testament text. Some falsely imagine that texts like Matthew 2:15—in which an historical comment in Hosea 11:1 is...
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May 1, 2017 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Bible Backgrounds, HAGALAH, New Testament Studies, NT's Use of the OT, Old Testament 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
No Comment
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...
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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
This is the 8th narrative sermon in the Gospel of Mark in which Jesus’ confrontation of the Pharisaic regulations called “The Traditions of the Elders,” which are a body of 18 new oral laws passed by the religious leaders in order to drive a wedge of hatred...
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April 10, 2017 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Bible Backgrounds, HAGALAH, Inductive Study Methods, Meeting the Jesus of Mark, New Testament Studies
Matthew 2:15 is one of those passages that bothered me a lot when I was a young Bible college student. After reading the original passage from which this “fulfillment” was quoted, I asked a prof in class one day, little realizing the historical significance of my wording, “How...
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March 8, 2017 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Biblical Studies, HAGALAH, New Testament Studies, NT's Use of the OT
No Comment
The garment hem plays an unexpected role in many Scriptures. It is unexpected because we have nothing like it in our western world. Below is a link a recent lecture I delivered on the subject of the importance of reading Scripture within ITS OWN historical context and not...
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January 20, 2017 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Bible Backgrounds, HAGALAH, Inductive Study Methods, Old Testament Studies
I love puzzles, always have. Growing up, I saw puzzles of all kinds as a natural exercise of my desire to be a detective someday, tracing out subtle clues to help me zero in on bad guys. Becoming a biblical scholar, then, has always seemed right on target...
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January 18, 2017 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Bible Backgrounds, Biblical Studies, Biblical Theology, HAGALAH, New Testament Studies, NT's Use of the OT, Old Testament Studies
Matthew 27:46 reads, “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Many have taken this text as preaching “the Divine Rejection of Christ on the Cross”—that Jesus “took...
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January 5, 2017 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Biblical Studies, HAGALAH, New Testament Studies, NT's Use of the OT, Old Testament Studies
One of the most popular quotes by Christians about Jesus on the Cross is a quote by Jesus on the Cross. In Matthew 27:46 it says, “About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God,...
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January 2, 2017 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Biblical Studies, Biblical Theology, New Testament Studies, NT's Use of the OT, Systematic & Historical Theology
In my last blog I began discussing issues of grammar and word meaning in Genesis 3:8. The text is typically translated with something akin to “And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and...
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November 28, 2016 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Bible Backgrounds, Old Testament Studies
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
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
