Category: Bible Backgrounds

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

Concubine as Paradigm

August 2, 2017 Andrew Sargent

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…

Bible Backgrounds Biblical Language Issues Biblical Studies Biblical Theology HAGALAH Inductive Study Methods Old Testament Studies Theology

How to Think Like a Biblical Theologian

July 26, 2017 Andrew Sargent

To those who mainly regard the Bible as a source for answering their every question about God and the world, biblical theologians can be a real pill, and biblical theology…

Bible Backgrounds Biblical Studies Communication

Artifact Communication in the Bible

July 24, 2017 Andrew Sargent

I’d like to draw your attention to artifact communication—the use of things to affect the understanding of another. Things have shared meaning within a community. Like a band of gold…

101 Most Misunderstood Verses Bible Backgrounds HAGALAH New Testament Studies NT's Use of the OT Old Testament Studies

Do the New Testament Writer’s Care About Context, Part 6: Common Hermeneutical and Homiletical Practices Inform Us

May 1, 2017 Andrew Sargent

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…

Bible Backgrounds HAGALAH Inductive Study Methods Old Testament Studies

Bawling Baruch: Seek Them Not… Radio Spot. Take a Listen

April 26, 2017 Andrew Sargent

In this edited sermon, I consider Jeremiah 45 in historical, grammatical and literary context. Baruch has been called away from a life of promise to play second fiddle to a…

Bible Backgrounds HAGALAH Old Testament Studies

Hezekiah’s Date with Destiny… The Radio Spot. Take a Listen

April 21, 2017 Andrew Sargent

If a person sets the various stories of Hezekiah into chronological order a fascinating pattern emerges. Hezekiah is a man of great faith during a time great crisis. He is…

101 Most Misunderstood Verses Bible Backgrounds Biblical Language Issues HAGALAH New Testament Studies NT's Use of the OT

Mixed Netzer: How does Jesus as a Nazarene Fulfill Scripture… The radio spot

April 19, 2017 Andrew Sargent

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…

Bible Backgrounds Biblical Language Issues HAGALAH New Testament Studies NT's Use of the OT

What Does “Son of God” Really Mean in the Gospel of Mark

April 14, 2017 Andrew Sargent

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,…

101 Most Misunderstood Verses Bible Backgrounds HAGALAH Inductive Study Methods Meeting the Jesus of Mark New Testament Studies

True and False Religion… the Radio Spot. Take a Listen

April 10, 2017 Andrew Sargent

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…

Bible Backgrounds Biblical Theology New Testament Studies NT's Use of the OT Old Testament Studies

New Creation: A New Years Day Celebration… the radio spot. Take a listen.

February 24, 2017 Andrew Sargent

This is a heavily edited New Years Day message that I delivered at Darlington Congregational Church in Pawtucket Rhode Island a few years ago. Being heavily edited, it is not…

Bible Backgrounds Theology

Inconceivable for Its Day: Notes on The Reliability of the Bible

February 17, 2017 Andrew Sargent

Today we have a guest blogger. Melodie Sargent is a student at Northpoint Bible College and has written a short reflection paper on issues related to the reliability of Scripture.…

Bible Backgrounds Biblical Studies Inductive Study Methods Old Testament Studies

Getting Isaiah, Part 3: What the Figure is He Talking About?

January 30, 2017 Andrew Sargent

Okay, so the Prophetic books in Scripture are both awesome and awfully difficult to understand. They have a pesky habit of preaching under divine inspiration about events that they never…

Bible Backgrounds Biblical Studies HAGALAH Old Testament Studies

Getting Isaiah, Part 2: Twelve Events Standing Behind Every Prophecy in Isaiah

January 25, 2017 Andrew Sargent

In my last post, I introduced the background to the book of Isaiah in vague pictures designed to capture the essence of the political, social & religious dynamic at work…

Bible Backgrounds Biblical Studies Old Testament Studies

Getting Isaiah Part 1: The Problem with Getting Isaiah

January 23, 2017 Andrew Sargent

Let’s be honest. Reading “The Prophets” is hard. Well, reading them isn’t hard, at least not in translation, but understanding them is. I’m talking about books like, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel…

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

Historical Hermeneutics and Saul’s Grabbing of Samuel’s Hem in 1 Samuel 15:23-31

January 20, 2017 Andrew Sargent

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…

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

Nazarenes, Rednecks, and Other Well-meaning Slurs

January 18, 2017 Andrew Sargent

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…

101 Most Misunderstood Verses Bible Backgrounds Old Testament Studies

The LORD God Walking in the Cool of the Judgment Scene: Genesis 3:8 in Light of Storm Theophany

November 28, 2016 Andrew Sargent

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…

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

Train Up a Child and Everything Is Your Fault, Part 3: Is Proverbs 22:6 a Promise?

November 14, 2016 Andrew Sargent

In two previous posts 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…

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

Train Up a Child and Everything Is Your Fault, Part 2: What is the way of the Child?

November 11, 2016 Andrew Sargent

In a previous post, we turned our attention to a literal rendering of Proverbs 22:6, which being one of the most hurled about texts, whether in accusation, self-defense, or hopeful…

101 Most Misunderstood Verses Bible Backgrounds

What Makes a Pagan Pagan?: The Word Faith Heresy

November 4, 2016 Andrew Sargent

I am a patient scholar. I regard the entire process of biblical interpretation as a complex interdependence of people over millennia trying to plumb the depths of Scripture through an…