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
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
Being that few of my friends and neighbors have names that really mean something to us, (Other than Marsha Mello, Amanda Lynne, and Justin Case Yelle). I am intrigued about the psychological impact of living in a culture that makes you feel like you stumbled into a mafia...
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March 16, 2018 Andrew Sargent
Bible Backgrounds, Biblical Language Issues, Biblical Studies, Biblical Theology, Old Testament Studies, Text Criticism Issues
I’ve been teaching an Isaiah class of late and we had an amusing time last night considering the way the New Testament Scholars have handled the quote from Isaiah 40:3 when it appears in the gospels. I don’t suppose there is some deep and dark secret meaning to...
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December 30, 2016 Andrew Sargent
Biblical Language Issues, Biblical Studies, HAGALAH, Meeting the Jesus of Mark, NT's Use of the OT, Text Criticism Issues
A few posts back, I began a discussion on the contrast between the scholarly handling of Isaiah 40:3 in the Hebrew and its appearance in both the Greek versions and each of the gospel accounts—Mark 1:3, Matthew 3:3; Luke 3:4; John 1:23. By the way, both texts appear...
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December 23, 2016 Andrew Sargent
Text Criticism Issues
I launched a few posts back into a discussion of the scholarly handling of Isaiah 40:3 in both the Hebrew texts and the Greek texts. In the Hebrew, a voice cries out for someone to prepare a path in the wilderness for the coming dignitary—God—twice. The Greek translations...
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December 21, 2016 Andrew Sargent
Text Criticism Issues
I’ve mentioned previously that I tend to be rather open to discussions about theology and the meanings of Biblical texts, but that I also have two groups running around the Evangelical community who provoke my ire—Word Faith teachers & King James Only teachers. I’ve written frequently of late...
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December 19, 2016 Andrew Sargent
Text Criticism Issues
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...
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August 31, 2016 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Bible Backgrounds, Biblical Studies, Old Testament Studies, Text Criticism Issues
