Shared with Permission from Criswell Theological Review Interpreting The Wisdom Books: An Exegetical Handbook by Edward M. Curtis as part of the Handbooks for Old Testament Exegesis series edited by David M. Howard, Jr. Grand Rapids: Kregel Academic, 2017, 204 pp., $21.99 Paperback. In Interpreting The Wisdom Books:...
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July 10, 2024 Andrew Sargent
Old Testament Studies, Reviews
In part two of A Still Small Voice in the Cool of the Day we conclude our discussion on two often overlook storm theophanies, one in Genesis 3 and the other in 1 Kings 19. (FYI: I highly recommend the works of Gregory Beale. I studied with him...
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July 3, 2024 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Bible Backgrounds, Biblical Language Issues, Old Testament Studies
I’ve found myself in a bit of a quandary when trying to help other believers see Genesis the way that I have come to see it after years of studying culturally relevant Ancient Near Eastern creation and flood stories, culminating in my Doctoral Dissertation on the subject. You see,...
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July 2, 2024 Andrew Sargent
Bible Backgrounds, Biblical Studies, Biblical Theology, Old Testament Studies
Proverbs 29:18 is a two part proverb, but few quote the whole thing... thus they misunderstand it meaning completely.
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June 15, 2024 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Old Testament Studies, Politics
There is an interesting twist, if you’ll pardon the pun, in the tassel command from Numbers 15:38-41 when it is woven (sorry I just can’t stop myself) into the new context of Deuteronomy 22:9-12. Here we have a series of commands against mixtures followed by the Tassel Command....
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March 4, 2023 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Bible Backgrounds, Biblical Studies, HAGALAH, Old Testament Studies
The giving of the tassel to the Israelites in Numbers 15:38-41 is a powerful symbol of God’s love and acceptance, a divine gift to aid them in their struggles against sin, and an ever visible reminder of their privilege and responsibility as a kingdom of priests.[1] The shocking...
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March 3, 2023 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Biblical Studies, HAGALAH, Inductive Study Methods, Old Testament Studies
I’ll never forget a visit I made many years ago to a full scale temple model with my wife. The woman running the guided tour was just chuck full of… interesting tidbits… you thought I was going to write nuts didn’t you… well shame on you. Actually she...
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March 2, 2023 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Biblical Language Issues, Biblical Studies, Old Testament Studies
The tassel attached to the Hebrew male’s outer garment is a wonderful example of artifact communication in the Bible. That is, the tassel is an item used in Israel to communicate a particular meaning within that culture… one which is foreign and, thus, unintelligible to most of the...
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March 1, 2023 Andrew Sargent
Bible Backgrounds, Biblical Studies, Biblical Theology, Communication, Old Testament Studies, Theology
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December 9, 2021 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Biblical Studies, Contexualization, Old Testament Studies
John 8:7 is especially popular with non-Christians who resent any suggestion within Christianity that they are sinners in need of salvation. It is usually paraphrased, “He who is without sin, cast the first stone.”[1] Sounds good doesn’t it?— Don’t judge me! John 8:7 is a “Get-out-of-Jail-free card” for...
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October 8, 2019 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Bible Backgrounds, Biblical Studies, Biblical Theology, HAGALAH, Inductive Study Methods, New Testament Studies, NT's Use of the OT, Old Testament Studies
There was once a man with a great prayer life and a bothersome cat. Wishing to be left alone while he prayed, he leashed the cat to the post of his bed where it couldn’t reach him. That man had a daughter who wanted a great prayer...
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October 6, 2019 Andrew Sargent
Biblical Theology, Old Testament Studies
If one reads the prophets, he or she will notice rather quickly that one of the great themes of the prophets is a call for justice in society. The wealthy and powerful have a way of getting what they want in life and protecting what they get. Those...
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October 4, 2019 Andrew Sargent
Biblical Theology, Old Testament Studies
One can hardly keep from noticing that the writing prophets (Isaiah through Malachi) seem a tad preoccupied with combating the societal inclination in Israel (and the nations) to Idolatry. We can speculate as to the exact process by which men became idol worshippers—many speculate based on Scriptural passages...
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October 2, 2019 Andrew Sargent
Old Testament Studies, Society
An atheist close to me was raised as a conservative Christian. The gospel never penetrated his heart, but he was, on the whole, a well behaved kid who absorbed a strong sense of morality, obedience to authority, concern for his neighbor’s well-being, work ethic, sobriety and self-restraint. He...
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September 30, 2019 Andrew Sargent
Old Testament Studies, Society
No Comment
Even a brief scan of 1 Samuel 15 should be enough to perplex the average reader. Here YHWH commands Samuel to command Saul to utterly destroy a people called the Amalekites. (Sounds like a somewhat bloodier version of most homes… “Sally, tell Tommy to tell Alice to clean...
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April 23, 2019 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Bible Backgrounds, Biblical Language Issues, Biblical Studies, Biblical Theology, HAGALAH, Inductive Study Methods, Old Testament Studies, Text Criticism Issues
So you are reading a prophetic vision story in the Bible, perhaps say, 1 Kings 22:19ff, and God appears sitting on a heavenly throne. Have you ever asked yourself the question… “Who invented the throne… God or People?” For that matter, who invented the chair? Did God sit...
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April 22, 2019 Andrew Sargent
Bible Backgrounds, Old Testament Studies
Once upon a time in a far away land, people made covenants. They were very happy with their covenants and everyone understood them. These covenants were so powerful in their message and work that the great God of the land, Yahweh he was called by those who knew...
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April 19, 2019 Andrew Sargent
Bible Backgrounds, Old Testament Studies
So you read the whole Old Testament. You read it several times. Having immersed yourself in the literature that your Bible, by its basic structure, seems to promise as the precursor to the rest, you finally turn to the New Testament. This is how it always goes isn’t...
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April 16, 2019 Andrew Sargent
Bible Backgrounds, Biblical Theology, HAGALAH, Inductive Study Methods, Meeting the Jesus of Mark, New Testament Studies, NT's Use of the OT, Old Testament Studies
I will never forget my first Master’s paper at Regent University. I called it, “How They Got This Out of That.” I worked hard in my undergraduate programs (Yes, programs plural… I had a sordid flirtation with more than one Bible College before beginning my graduate studies.) but...
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April 15, 2019 Andrew Sargent
Bible Backgrounds, Inductive Study Methods, Meeting the Jesus of Mark, New Testament Studies, NT's Use of the OT, Old Testament Studies, Text Criticism Issues
To the Hebrews context mattered a good deal. Our own struggles to understand the use to which some New Testament writers put certain Old Testament texts may make us doubt that they cared about the Historical Grammatical and Literary context of a passage but we would be wrong....
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May 28, 2018 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Bible Backgrounds, Biblical Studies, HAGALAH, Inductive Study Methods, NT's Use of the OT, Old Testament Studies
