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
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 can feel more than a little threatening… I get that. We are, however, worth getting to know. Thus,...
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July 26, 2017 Andrew Sargent
Bible Backgrounds, Biblical Language Issues, Biblical Studies, Biblical Theology, HAGALAH, Inductive Study Methods, Old Testament Studies, Theology
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
I have a vision for the rest of my life. You may not care for it, but it sure means a lot to me. I want a cabin in the woods, on a lake, miles from the nearest neighbor. I want an office looking out over the water...
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July 7, 2017 Andrew Sargent
Biblical Studies, Old Testament Studies, Society
When reading biblical poetry, one must learn to connect with the poem on more than one level. While it is important to carefully define the Hebrew words being employed in any passage, and to track a poem’s use of parallelism and word pairs, and to follow the overall...
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June 28, 2017 Andrew Sargent
Biblical Studies, Biblical Theology, Inductive Study Methods, Old Testament Studies
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
Ruth is one of my favorite books, but I have a serious problem with it. The problem is the name. Now, I know that the Jews also called the book “Ruth” and that I should respect that, but honestly I just can’t bring myself to do it. The...
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June 9, 2017 Andrew Sargent
Biblical Theology, Old 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
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
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 hated prophet… to share in Jeremiah’s suffering and rejection. He is less than excited by the call...
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April 26, 2017 Andrew Sargent
Bible Backgrounds, HAGALAH, Inductive Study Methods, Old Testament Studies
This is a heavily edited message about the power of poetry as a vehicle for the inspired word of God. Poetry is not a mere vessel for the message of poetic sermons, but is part of the message, holding secrets to meaning, and the power of emotive connection....
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April 24, 2017 Andrew Sargent
HAGALAH, Inductive Study Methods, Old Testament Studies
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 all the more remarkable considering his father, who was a true reprobate who sold out Judah to...
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April 21, 2017 Andrew Sargent
Bible Backgrounds, HAGALAH, Old Testament Studies
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
In this series I am unpacking seven paths of investigation that a person should take in his or her attempt to understand a New Testament author’s USE of an Old Testament passage. Many imagine that texts like Matthew 2:15—in which an historical comment in Hosea 11:1 is used...
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March 31, 2017 Andrew Sargent
New Testament Studies, NT's Use of the OT, Old Testament Studies
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
In this series we are laying the ground work for analyzing the common suggestion that Matthew 2:15 proves that the New Testament writers don’t care about the original context of the Old Testament texts that they interpret …and, thus, neither should we. I insist that they did care...
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March 15, 2017 Andrew Sargent
Biblical Studies, New Testament Studies, NT's Use of the OT, Old Testament Studies
In part 1 of this series I introduced the common accusation that Matthew 2:15 proves that the New Testament writers don’t care about context. Matthew takes a text that was clearly intended to make an historical statement about God’s deliverance of Israel from Egypt and declares it to...
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March 13, 2017 Andrew Sargent
Biblical Studies, New Testament Studies, NT's Use of the OT, Old Testament Studies
We have invited Melodie Sargent, a student at Northpoint Bible college, back again to deliver another blog post. This time her attention is turned the importance of rhetorical structure in the first prophetic sermon of Amos. Enjoy. Amos 1:3–2:16 Background During the righteous reign of King Uzziah (Amos...
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March 3, 2017 Andrew Sargent
HAGALAH, Old Testament Studies
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 only short, but also gets to the point without a lot of hoopla. I consider the importance that...
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February 24, 2017 Andrew Sargent
Bible Backgrounds, Biblical Theology, New Testament Studies, NT's Use of the OT, Old Testament Studies
