Home »
Archive by category Biblical Studies (Page 10)
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 be in quite a state—lots of biblically and theologically refined and impassioned teachers, but a lot less compassionate...
Continue reading
September 22, 2016 Andrew Sargent
New Testament Studies
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” leads naturally to Jesus’ denouncement of Torah food laws[1]—A happy day for squirrel hunters and scallop eaters the...
Continue reading
September 21, 2016 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Bible Backgrounds, Biblical Language Issues, Biblical Studies, HAGALAH, Inductive Study Methods, New Testament Studies, NT's Use of the OT
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 though I have never actually eaten dolphin or alligator, I’d happily try them if you slathered them with...
Continue reading
September 19, 2016 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Bible Backgrounds, Biblical Studies, HAGALAH, New Testament Studies, NT's Use of the OT
I learned Hebrew from a Rabbi.[1] 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 class in the world of the Hebrews, into the world of the Jews. He said things like, “Greek...
Continue reading
September 16, 2016 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Bible Backgrounds, Biblical Language Issues, Biblical Studies, HAGALAH, Meeting the Jesus of Mark, New Testament Studies
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 Studies from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and is nearly finished with a Masters degree in New Testament studies from the...
Continue reading
September 14, 2016 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Biblical Language Issues, HAGALAH, Inductive Study Methods, Old Testament Studies
No Comment
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, a powerful prediction of His work, centuries before the “shadow” of the Spirit loomed over Mary. Unfortunately, that...
Continue reading
September 12, 2016 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Bible Backgrounds, Biblical Language Issues
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 instance in Scripture in which “scarlet” garments, or scarlet in general is set against white in terms of...
Continue reading
September 9, 2016 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Bible Backgrounds, Biblical Language Issues, HAGALAH, Inductive Study Methods, Old Testament Studies
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 world and the grammatical flexibility of Hebrew poetry and verbs in general. We posited 6 interpretations commonly given...
Continue reading
September 7, 2016 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Bible Backgrounds, HAGALAH, Inductive Study Methods, Old Testament Studies
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 identical.[1] We’ve looked at the nature of slings and sling stones (To which we will shortly return). Some...
Continue reading
August 31, 2016 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Bible Backgrounds, Biblical Studies, Old Testament Studies, Text Criticism Issues
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 term for the greaves of bronze on Goliath’s legs in 1 Samuel 17:6. We posed the question: Did...
Continue reading
August 29, 2016 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Bible Backgrounds, Biblical Studies, HAGALAH, Inductive Study Methods, Old Testament Studies
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 one of the most repeated lessons in Sunday School, right up there with the prodigal son and the...
Continue reading
August 26, 2016 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Bible Backgrounds, Biblical Language Issues, Biblical Theology, HAGALAH, Inductive Study Methods, Old Testament Studies
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 think, and more rewarding than you can imagine. Here are 12 quick reasons why you should: Learning Biblical...
Continue reading
August 24, 2016 Andrew Sargent
Biblical Language Issues
No Comment
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, only to have them return for his evening service and dedicate their lives to Christ. The scene in...
Continue reading
August 19, 2016 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Biblical Studies, New Testament Studies, NT's Use of the OT, Old Testament Studies
The identity of “HE” in Isaiah 44:18[1] is in the end a mystery, but the question itself and the journey that results from the pursuit of an answer is invaluable. Isaiah says of Idol makers and Idol worshipers, “They do not know; they do not understand because he...
Continue reading
August 17, 2016 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Biblical Language Issues, Old Testament Studies
No Comment
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 become like one of us, knowing good and evil.” These are two of the most profound, yet debated,...
Continue reading
August 12, 2016 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Biblical Language Issues, NT's Use of the OT, Old Testament Studies
No Comment
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 because he plastered over their eyes so they cannot see, their hearts so they cannot understand.” While Calvinists...
Continue reading
August 8, 2016 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Bible Backgrounds, Biblical Language Issues, Old Testament Studies
No Comment
I’ve been asked to preach Psalm 82 in a couple weeks. I was a bit wary at first. The text is rife with scholarly controversy and I was uncertain that I had the time to disentangle the text’s mysteries. Then, a tad embarrassed by my own cowardice, I...
Continue reading
August 5, 2016 Andrew Sargent
Biblical Theology, Old Testament Studies, Society
No Comment
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 plastered over their eyes so they cannot see, their hearts so they cannot understand.” The all important question...
Continue reading
August 5, 2016 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Biblical Language Issues, HAGALAH, Old Testament Studies
No Comment
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 have concealed from us. Let me explain and you might even be sorry you thought to punish me....
Continue reading
August 3, 2016 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Bible Backgrounds, Biblical Studies, Biblical Theology, Inductive Study Methods, Old Testament Studies, Theology
No Comment
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 line.) Let’s start with these two: (NIV) They know nothing, they understand nothing; their eyes are plastered over...
Continue reading
August 1, 2016 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Biblical Language Issues
No Comment
