Category: 101 Most Misunderstood Verses

101 Most Misunderstood Verses Bible Backgrounds Biblical Language Issues HAGALAH Inductive Study Methods Old Testament Studies

Though Your Sins be Made White as Snow, You Still Might Goof Isaiah 1:18: Part 2—Nasty Grammar Questions

September 9, 2016 Andrew Sargent

In part 1 of this series, I focused on the tendency to make too many assumptions about color terms in the Bible. The dilemma is that while we have no…

101 Most Misunderstood Verses Bible Backgrounds HAGALAH Inductive Study Methods Old Testament Studies

Though Your Sins be Made White as Snow, You Still Might Goof Isaiah 1:18: Part 3—Context

September 7, 2016 Andrew Sargent

In parts 1 & 2 we discussed the wide range of possibilities available to us for Isaiah 1:18 in keeping with both the flexibility of dye/color imagery in the Biblical…

101 Most Misunderstood Verses Bible Backgrounds Biblical Studies Old Testament Studies Text Criticism Issues

Re-imagining David and Goliath—Hey Big Boy?

August 31, 2016 Andrew Sargent

We’ve been discussing the puzzle of David’s assault on Goliath, whether David hit Goliath in the head or the leg, given that the Hebrew terms for forehead and grieve are…

101 Most Misunderstood Verses Bible Backgrounds Biblical Studies HAGALAH Inductive Study Methods Old Testament Studies

Re-imagining David and Goliath—Slings of Outrageous Proportion

August 29, 2016 Andrew Sargent

In our last David and Goliath post, we considered the puzzle regarding David’s defeat of Goliath. The place where David struck Goliath in 1 Samuel 17:49 is the same Hebrew…

101 Most Misunderstood Verses Bible Backgrounds Biblical Language Issues Biblical Theology HAGALAH Inductive Study Methods Old Testament Studies

Re-imagining David and Goliath: Foreheads, Legs, and Sling Stones

August 26, 2016 Andrew Sargent

Imagination has a good deal to do with how the story of David & Goliath is used in modern times, even among scholars and in commentaries. Given its status as…

101 Most Misunderstood Verses Biblical Studies New Testament Studies NT's Use of the OT Old Testament Studies

A Tongue Lashing over Tongues

August 19, 2016 Andrew Sargent

Let’s face it, the Corinthian church was a mess. They remind me of the struggles of frontier ministers, like Peter Cartwright, who once beat the crud out of some hecklers,…

101 Most Misunderstood Verses Biblical Language Issues Old Testament Studies

An Argument for Flexible Interpretation in Isaiah 44:18

August 17, 2016 Andrew Sargent

The identity of “HE” in Isaiah 44:18 is in the end a mystery, but the question itself and the journey that results from the pursuit of an answer is invaluable.…

101 Most Misunderstood Verses Biblical Language Issues NT's Use of the OT Old Testament Studies

Who Put the Us in Genesis?

August 12, 2016 Andrew Sargent

In Genesis 1:26, we find, “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” Genesis 3:22 reads, “Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has…

101 Most Misunderstood Verses Bible Backgrounds Biblical Language Issues Old Testament Studies

Becoming Like our Idols in Isaiah 44:18

August 8, 2016 Andrew Sargent

We’ve been considering the identity of the grand “HE” in Isaiah 44:18. Speaking of those who make and worship idols, Isaiah says, “They do not know; they do not understand…

101 Most Misunderstood Verses Biblical Language Issues HAGALAH Old Testament Studies

God, Idols and the Human Heart in Isaiah 44:18

August 5, 2016 Andrew Sargent

In our last post on Isaiah 44:18, “Why Is It So Hard to Translate Isaiah 44:18?” we posited the translation “They do not know; they do not understand because he…

101 Most Misunderstood Verses Bible Backgrounds Biblical Studies Biblical Theology Inductive Study Methods Old Testament Studies Theology

Take My Daughters, Please!—The Righteous Offering of Lot’s Daughters

August 3, 2016 Andrew Sargent

Yes, you read that title correctly, but don’t throw stones, yet. There are things to be discovered in this event that our modern gender issues, word meanings and culture may…

101 Most Misunderstood Verses Biblical Language Issues

Why Is It So Hard to Translate Isaiah 44:18?

August 1, 2016 Andrew Sargent

I will never understand why it is so hard to get a good translation of Isaiah 44:18. (Actually, I do understand, but that wouldn’t have made such a catchy first…

101 Most Misunderstood Verses Biblical Language Issues Biblical Theology Old Testament Studies

The Great HE in Isaiah 44:18: Does God Keep People from Repenting?

July 29, 2016 Andrew Sargent

Who is the grand “HE” in Isaiah 44:18. Of Idol makers and Idol worshipers, Isaiah says, “They do not know; they do not understand because he plastered over their eyes…

101 Most Misunderstood Verses Biblical Studies Biblical Theology Old Testament Studies

Drama and Ditty in Isaiah 28:1-13

July 27, 2016 Andrew Sargent

Isaiah 28:10 is one of those verses that people love to use as a tagline to add a feeling of dedicated, diligent, and trustworthy study of Scripture in their endeavors,…

101 Most Misunderstood Verses Bible Backgrounds Biblical Studies Biblical Theology HAGALAH Inductive Study Methods Old Testament Studies Theology

Getting out the Pagan Within Part 5: The Significance of the Central Saying—A Biblical Theology of I Samuel 15:27-31

July 25, 2016 Andrew Sargent

Samuel’s speech to Saul in 1 Samuel 15:28-29 contains an important theological message for both Saul and the reader. It’s meaning, however, has been concealed within rather strange cultural practices…

101 Most Misunderstood Verses Bible Backgrounds Biblical Language Issues Biblical Studies Biblical Theology Old Testament Studies

Psst…. Yahweh Doesn’t Mean “I AM”

July 18, 2016 Andrew Sargent

In a place like the world of the Bible where people were given names like “Festive” (2 Samuel 3:4~ Haggith), “Hot” (Genesis 10:1 Ham), and “Wild Goat” (Nehemiah 7:58~Jaala), you…

101 Most Misunderstood Verses Bible Backgrounds Biblical Language Issues HAGALAH Inductive Study Methods New Testament Studies

Body Parts, Wives and Other Stuff in 1st Thessalonians 4:4

June 20, 2016 Andrew Sargent

Let’s consider three different translations for 1 Thessalonians 4:4 in context. Paul uses a figure of speech that has many people scratching their heads. The King James takes a rather…

101 Most Misunderstood Verses Bible Backgrounds Biblical Studies Biblical Theology HAGALAH Inductive Study Methods Old Testament Studies

Getting out the Pagan Within Part 6: A Biblical Theology of I Samuel 15:27-31 in Context

June 3, 2016 Andrew Sargent

In our last few posts on 1 Samuel 15:27-31, we attempted to unpack the text in context in order to draw out of it, the narrator’s intended theological message… i.e.…

101 Most Misunderstood Verses Bible Backgrounds Biblical Studies Biblical Theology HAGALAH Inductive Study Methods Old Testament Studies

Getting out the Pagan Within Part 4: The Sanctimonious Serenades of Saul—A Biblical Theology of I Samuel 15:27-31

May 30, 2016 Andrew Sargent

So far, we have considered 1 Samuel 15 from a different angles. We have discovered how serious Saul’s sin is. A sin akin to defiling the Ark of the Covenant…

101 Most Misunderstood Verses Bible Backgrounds Biblical Language Issues Biblical Studies Biblical Theology HAGALAH Inductive Study Methods Old Testament Studies

Getting out the Pagan Within Part 3: The Sense of Snatching Samuel’s Skirt—A Biblical Theology of I Samuel 15:27-31

May 27, 2016 Andrew Sargent

We are looking at the divine condemnation of Saul’s dynasty in 1 Samuel 15, having already considered the seriousness of the sin which lead directly to it. In the midst…