Language Studies

This is not so much a difficult saying as an interesting saying. Zephaniah is regarded as one of the least known prophets, a contemporary of the more familiar Jeremiah, just predating the reforms of King Josiah and recovery of the Hebrew Book of the Law (2 Kings 22:8-13). In the Sabbath Jewish synagogue services, accompanying the reading of the…

"Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah …

"Then he took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, 'All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient!'" (Exodus 24:7, NAS) This verse does not appear to cause concern other than the voluntary binding obligation of the Israelites to obey the terms of the …

This statement from Isaiah 6:9-10 and Jesus' reasoning for giving his teaching in parables are meant to explain his actions. The reality is that the reader is all the more in…

"Then he took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, 'All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient!'" (Exodus 24:7, NAS) This verse does not appear to cause concern other than the voluntary binding obligation of the Israelites to obey the terms of the …

This verse seems to proscribe a rather severe penalty for merely calling someone a fool, a common term in the Old Testament book of Proverbs. Commentators have looked at this verse and examined the minutiae of the language and sometimes seen an increasing severity of punishment in the three situations of anger, raca, and 'you fool', just…

C K Barrett writes that "This paragraph [verses 1-8]... is notoriously difficult". Is Paul commending absence "from the body" because this will be presence "with the Lord"? If so, how is this accomplished, through the freedom of an immortal soul no longer constrained by the body? Does the body impede our enjoyment of God's presence? The section…

This passage concerning Saul, Samuel and the witch of Endor, continues to raise problems for some readers, not least myself! A closer examination of just one feature of the story, therefore, is warranted. Many have said that since the text says, "When the woman saw Samuel" (1 Samuel 28:12), it must have been Samuel on a simple literal…

"The problems raised by the account of Saul's encounter with the witch of Endor in 1 Samuel 28 are legion!". Amongst the problems are the Bible's disapproval of all forms of spiritism, necromancy, witchcraft - the penalty for involvement usually being death (Deuteronomy 18:9-12; Exodus 22:18; Leviticus 19:26,31; 20:6,27; Jeremiah 27:9-10). This said…

According to the United Bible Societies' translators handbook "There are two problems here. First, the verb phrase translated "set his heart" can mean "pay attention, notice." Second, upon him may be taken to refer to God or to man".F1 HartleyF2 suggests omitting "his heart" altogether, arguing that it came in by accident to form a Hebrew…

In Jesus' mixed criticism (for he praises them in a backhand way in vv.2-3) of the Scribes and Pharisees he scathingly calls them blind guides still able to strain out a gnat and yet to miss the blindingly obvious camel. This is another typically Middle Eastern hyperbole, just as the camel doomed to never fit through the proverbial needle…

Male or female? Was Junia(s) a female apostle? The masculine, Junias (NIV, NAS, RSV, NEB, NJB, The Message, YLT), could be a shorter form of Junianus or the feminine would be Junia (so AV, NKJV, NRSV, NLT, REB, Weymouth). The Greek is consistent as an accusative 'iounian (Strong's #2458, Louw-Nida Lexicon #03267 / 93.178) which could represent…