And Justice for All: The Theological Thrust of Psalm 82
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…
God, Idols and the Human Heart in Isaiah 44:18
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…
101 Most Misunderstood Verses
Bible Backgrounds
Biblical Studies
Biblical Theology
Inductive Study Methods
Old Testament Studies
Theology
Take My Daughters, Please!—The Righteous Offering of Lot’s Daughters
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…
Why Is It So Hard to Translate Isaiah 44:18?
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…
The Great HE in Isaiah 44:18: Does God Keep People from Repenting?
Who is the grand “HE” in Isaiah 44:18. Of Idol makers and Idol worshipers, Isaiah says, “They do not know; they do not understand because he plastered over their eyes…
Drama and Ditty in Isaiah 28:1-13
Isaiah 28:10 is one of those verses that people love to use as a tagline to add a feeling of dedicated, diligent, and trustworthy study of Scripture in their endeavors,…
101 Most Misunderstood Verses
Bible Backgrounds
Biblical Studies
Biblical Theology
HAGALAH
Inductive Study Methods
Old Testament Studies
Theology
Getting out the Pagan Within Part 5: The Significance of the Central Saying—A Biblical Theology of I Samuel 15:27-31
Samuel’s speech to Saul in 1 Samuel 15:28-29 contains an important theological message for both Saul and the reader. It’s meaning, however, has been concealed within rather strange cultural practices…
101 Most Misunderstood Verses
Bible Backgrounds
Biblical Language Issues
Biblical Studies
Biblical Theology
Old Testament Studies
Psst…. Yahweh Doesn’t Mean “I AM”
In a place like the world of the Bible where people were given names like “Festive” (2 Samuel 3:4~ Haggith), “Hot” (Genesis 10:1 Ham), and “Wild Goat” (Nehemiah 7:58~Jaala), you…
Rubber Ball Follies: A Lesson in Discernment
The painful lessons of life make the deepest impact on our delicate, and yet ever so dull, minds when we are children. Indeed, I’ve come to refer to pain as…
101 Most Misunderstood Verses
Bible Backgrounds
Biblical Language Issues
HAGALAH
Inductive Study Methods
New Testament Studies
Body Parts, Wives and Other Stuff in 1st Thessalonians 4:4
Let’s consider three different translations for 1 Thessalonians 4:4 in context. Paul uses a figure of speech that has many people scratching their heads. The King James takes a rather…
A Crash Course in Covenant Cutting: The Types
Covenant is a Genre based on the concept that the Holy is actively involved in the affairs of Man, Holding Men to their oaths. Men call upon the gods to…
101 Most Misunderstood Verses
Bible Backgrounds
Biblical Studies
Biblical Theology
HAGALAH
Inductive Study Methods
Old Testament Studies
Getting out the Pagan Within Part 6: A Biblical Theology of I Samuel 15:27-31 in Context
In our last few posts on 1 Samuel 15:27-31, we attempted to unpack the text in context in order to draw out of it, the narrator’s intended theological message… i.e.…
101 Most Misunderstood Verses
Bible Backgrounds
Biblical Studies
Biblical Theology
HAGALAH
Inductive Study Methods
Old Testament Studies
Getting out the Pagan Within Part 4: The Sanctimonious Serenades of Saul—A Biblical Theology of I Samuel 15:27-31
So far, we have considered 1 Samuel 15 from a different angles. We have discovered how serious Saul’s sin is. A sin akin to defiling the Ark of the Covenant…
101 Most Misunderstood Verses
Bible Backgrounds
Biblical Language Issues
Biblical Studies
Biblical Theology
HAGALAH
Inductive Study Methods
Old Testament Studies
Getting out the Pagan Within Part 3: The Sense of Snatching Samuel’s Skirt—A Biblical Theology of I Samuel 15:27-31
We are looking at the divine condemnation of Saul’s dynasty in 1 Samuel 15, having already considered the seriousness of the sin which lead directly to it. In the midst…
101 Most Misunderstood Verses
Bible Backgrounds
Biblical Language Issues
Biblical Studies
Biblical Theology
HAGALAH
Inductive Study Methods
Old Testament Studies
Getting out the Pagan Within Part 2: The Seriousness of Saul’s Sin —A Biblical Theology of I Samuel 15:27-31
Okay, Saul goofed. He failed to perfectly enacts a rather brutal command to exterminate another people group. It’s hard to get our modern hearts around this too much. We aren’t…
This Little Light of Mine: Life in the Presence of a Consuming Fire
Even though I specialize in Old Testament Studies and interpretive methodology, I still find certain areas of study quite difficult to unravel. The world of the Old Testament has many…
101 Most Misunderstood Verses
Bible Backgrounds
Biblical Language Issues
Biblical Studies
Biblical Theology
HAGALAH
Inductive Study Methods
Old Testament Studies
The Unseemly Assumptions about Samson
Today we have a guest Blogger. John Donnelly, 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…
A Crash Course in Covenant Cutting: The Structures
Okay, so let’s get one thing straight; covenant is a genre. In fact, covenant is a genre with several sub-genres. (I’ll discuss sub-genres in another post.) This means that covenant…
Putting a Ring on It: The Holy Spirit, Baptism & Covenant
Joseph Bonham, M.A. is today’s guest blogger. Joseph has his own blog called the Biblical Bean, linked below. In addition to a Bachelors in Biblical Studies, he holds a master…
Bible Backgrounds
Biblical Language Issues
Biblical Studies
Biblical Theology
HAGALAH
Old Testament Studies
Freeze! This is the Covenant!
We’ve been discussing some important points about Covenant both in Scripture and in the ancient world. So, if you’ve been following my string of posts on Covenant, here are our…