Genesis as Ancestor Epic, Part II: What is an Ancient Creation Story?
In a recent post we began discussing the nature of Genesis as an ancestor epic—the stories that a people tell themselves about how they almost weren’t a people. Crises have…
Genesis as Ancestor Epic, Part I: Getting with the Program
When reading any document it helps to know what you are reading. Is this document a comic meant to be funny, mocking or otherwise derisive? Is this document a fiction…
101 Most Misunderstood Verses
Biblical Studies
Biblical Theology
New Testament Studies
NT's Use of the OT
Old Testament Studies
Law, What’s it Even Good For?
So, in a recent post I discussed the church’s first heresy (Judaizers/the circumcision party) who sought to require gentiles to become Jews before becoming Christians, or in addition to becoming…
101 Most Misunderstood Verses
Biblical Studies
Biblical Theology
New Testament Studies
NT's Use of the OT
The First Christian Heresy & First Church Council
So, I’ve been discussing Torah food laws and how the two main texts that Christians appeal to for ignoring them are improperly interpreted. Mark 7 is talking about Halakic regulations…
101 Most Misunderstood Verses
Biblical Studies
Biblical Theology
New Testament Studies
NT's Use of the OT
Old Testament Studies
Torah Food Laws & Gentile Lobsters
One of the challenges of being a Biblical theologian rather than a systematic theologian (no disrespect to Systematic theology or Systematic Theologians intended) is to speak about theological issues rooted…
101 Most Misunderstood Verses
Bible Backgrounds
Biblical Studies
HAGALAH
Inductive Study Methods
New Testament Studies
NT's Use of the OT
He’s No Idiot: Peter’s Interpretation of the Vision of the Sheet in Acts 10
In an earlier post, we discussed how common interpretations of the words spoken from heaven to Peter in Acts 10:13, “Rise, Peter, kill and eat” and in Acts 10:15, “What…
101 Most Misunderstood Verses
Bible Backgrounds
Biblical Studies
HAGALAH
Inductive Study Methods
New Testament Studies
NT's Use of the OT
Peter & Ezekiel Argue with God and Win: Acts 10 in Light of Ezekiel 4
We’ve been discussing the Traditions of the Elders, Halakah and food laws in Mark 7. Convinced that the Christian church is not responsible to keep Torah food laws (And rightly…
101 Most Misunderstood Verses
Bible Backgrounds
Biblical Studies
HAGALAH
Inductive Study Methods
Intertestamental History & Literature
New Testament Studies
NT's Use of the OT
Some Traditions Deserve to Die: The Traditions of the Elders in Mark 7
In previous posts, we’ve discussed the misconception that many people have about the discussion that Jesus has with the Pharisees over “The Traditions of the Elders” in Mark 7. That’s…
Jesus’ & Peter’s Love Struggle in John 21:15-17: A Common Fiction
I love word studies. This is one passion that I share with many a pastor… for whose ministries I am grateful. If everyone had my particular gifting, the church would…
101 Most Misunderstood Verses
Bible Backgrounds
Biblical Language Issues
Biblical Studies
HAGALAH
Inductive Study Methods
New Testament Studies
NT's Use of the OT
Mark 7:19 and the Little Participle that Could
Recently, we’ve discussed the controversial aside which Mark seems to have added in Mark 7:19 to the effect that Jesus’ debate with the Pharisees over the “Traditions of the Elders”…
101 Most Misunderstood Verses
Bible Backgrounds
Biblical Studies
HAGALAH
New Testament Studies
NT's Use of the OT
Jesus vs. the Law: Torah, Halakah, and Jesus’ Declaration of Dietary Deliverance in Mark 7:19
Anyone who knows me knows that I enjoy the gastric freedom of gentile existence. Whether my arteries enjoy it is another discussion altogether. I love lobster, shrimp, and bacon, and…
101 Most Misunderstood Verses
Bible Backgrounds
Biblical Language Issues
Biblical Studies
HAGALAH
Meeting the Jesus of Mark
New Testament Studies
Jesus May Have Declared All Foods Clean But I Still Won’t Eat Chilled Monkey Brains
I learned Hebrew from a Rabbi. Then I had to re-learn it from other sources. The Rabbi, you see, had a rather relaxed philosophy of language learning. He immersed our…
101 Most Misunderstood Verses
Biblical Language Issues
HAGALAH
Inductive Study Methods
Old Testament Studies
What You Didn’t Know You Didn’t Know about the “Still Small Voice” Could Fill A Blog Post
Today we have a recently engaged guest Blogger. John Donnelly is a Biblical Literacy Ministries Educator, Church Planter, & Part-year missionary to India. John has a Master’s in Old Testament…
Though Your Sins be Made White as Snow, You Still Might Goof Isaiah 1:18: Part 1—Red to White
Isaiah 1:18—almost every Christian I know can quote it. It is a common favorite of preachers who see in this verse a solid Old Testament promise of forgiveness in Jesus,…
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
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
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?
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
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
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…
12 Quick Reasons Why Christian Leaders Should Learn Biblical Languages
If you consider yourself a leader in the church, whether pastor or lay leader, you should seriously consider taking the plunge to learn biblical languages. It is easier than you…