Home » Posts tagged Bible (Page 3)

Passion and Awe in Psalm 8

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...
Continue reading

Learning How Communication Works, So You Can Work it Better

A centipede was happy – quite!Until a toad in funSaid, “Pray, which leg moves after which?”This raised her doubts to such a pitch,She fell exhausted in the ditchNot knowing how to run. (Katherine Craster (1841-74) A spider met a centipedewhile hurrying down the street,“How do you move at...
Continue reading

A Biblical Theologian in a Systematic Theology World

When I passed inspection for receiving my ministerial license, the individual responsible for my review spread out, like a row of piano keys, the many pages of answers I gave to the theological questions I was asked to address in the process. He ummm-ed a bit, scratched his...
Continue reading

10 Things You Need to Know About Hebrew Poetry

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...
Continue reading

3 Reasons Every Christian Leader Should Learn Biblical Languages

I realize that the second someone makes a statement like, “Every Christian leader should learn biblical languages,” feelings of condemnation erupt. “So, everything I’ve done for X  years was a misguided waste?” “So, I’m not good enough?” “So, I can’t properly interpret the Scriptures in English?” If I...
Continue reading

Nazarenes, Rednecks, and Other Well-meaning Slurs

I love puzzles, always have. Growing up, I saw puzzles of all kinds as a natural exercise of my desire to be a detective someday, tracing out subtle clues to help me zero in on bad guys. Becoming a biblical scholar, then, has always seemed right on target...
Continue reading

Bible Study as Conversation: The Interdependence of Ages

I’ve been sharing my thoughts of late on the subject of reading Scripture in translation and the common discomfort that Evangelicals usually feel when scholars suggest that there is some vital element of Bible study that those who are dependent on translation are missing. I am unapologetic over...
Continue reading

Bible Translations are Both a Blessing and a Curse

I hardly need to recount the blessings of translating the Bible. It is the most basic sense of preaching… translations seek to present the word of God, the Gospel of God, the Gospel of Christ in a language that people from every part of the world can understand....
Continue reading

Can You Trust Translations of the Bible?

I was asked once to deliver a lecture titled, “Is the Bible Reliable?” I asked, “Reliable for what?” One asks, “Can you trust translations of the Bible?” I counter ask, “Can you trust translations of the Bible to be or do what?” Can you trust translations of the...
Continue reading

Who Put the Us in Genesis?

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

Becoming Like our Idols in Isaiah 44:18

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

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 plastered over their eyes so they cannot see, their hearts so they cannot understand.” The all important question...
Continue reading

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 line.) Let’s start with these two: (NIV) They know nothing, they understand nothing; their eyes are plastered over...
Continue reading

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 literal approach. 1 Thessalonians 4:3-6 reads: For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye...
Continue reading

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 bless or curse them in keeping with promises made concerning general or specific expressions of loyalty to another....
Continue reading

Social Media Auto Publish Powered By : XYZScripts.com