bible

bible March 2, 2017

Was Jesus really a carpenter?

Matthew 13:55 states:

Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?

Mark 6:3 (ESV) states:

Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary …

bible February 28, 2017

What scripture is Paul referring to in Ephesians 5:14?

In Ephesians we find that light (religious truth) is described as very powerful as it is able to make dead things living just by shining on them.

But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,
“Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”

(Ephesians 5:13-14, ESV)

However, this is no direct quote of any biblical passage, so I imagine Paul simply puts it in his own words to apply it to the context. But what is ‘it’; what scripture is he paraphrasing here which fully suits the context? Why is it an appropriate verse to quote in this context?

bible February 25, 2017

Translating κυριακὸν and κυριακῇ as an adjective (dominical) instead of indicating belonging

A translation of the bible in Spanish (La Biblia Textual – 3ra Edición) translates:

κυριακὸν δεῖπνον = cena dominical (dominical supper) — 1 Corinthians 11:20

and

κυριακῇ ἡμέρᾳ = día dominical (dominical day) — Revelation 1:10

A marginal note says that these words must be translated as an adjective instead of indicating belonging.

Nevertheless, most of the translations translate these verses as “Lord’s supper” and “Lord’s day”, respectively. Although the Lord’s day is traditionally identified as Sunday, did Paul have in mind the day Sunday on 1 Corinthians 11:20? Is it plausible to translate κυριακὸν and κυριακῇ as an adjective (dominical) instead of indicating belonging?

bible February 22, 2017

What was Jesus referring to by "the eye of the needle"?

What is the opinion on Jesus’s use of the phrase “the eye of a needle” in Mark 10:25:

And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?”—Mark 10:23-26 (ESV)

Could it refer to the small gate which required a camel to unladen and cross through on its knees or could it be an extreme analogy?

bible February 19, 2017

The Centurion Cornelius

In Acts 10 it states:

1 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. 2 He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. (NIV)

My understanding is that Roman soldiers of this period (Augustus through to Septimus Severus [193-211 CE]) were prohibited from marrying [“The men serving in the army, since they could not legally have wives, were granted the privileges of married men.” Cassius Dio 60.24.3]

This raises the question who are the οἴκῳ of verse 2? Are these an illicit family, thus raising questions of “devout and God-fearing;” or are they merely servants and retainers? If the former does indicate that since such non-married living and family arrangements were unofficially sanctioned by Rome, that Cornelius’ situation was an application of Acts 17:30 being in play, that his ignorance was overlooked until his repentance?

bible February 15, 2017

When did Abraham see Jesus’ day? John 8:56-57

And why did the Jews think Jesus was saying that he had seen Abraham when Jesus just spoke of Abraham seeing his day (and therefore him)?

John 8:56-57 (ESV)

56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.”

57 So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?”

What is the logical progression here? Is there a translation issue?

I’m looking for how the Jews leaped to questioning that Jesus had seen Abraham rather than questioning how Abraham had seen this day. If you can show how they would be fine with the latter, you still need to solve why they think Jesus is claiming to have seen Abraham (and not the other way around). Or said differently, how did Abraham seeing Jesus’s day also mean or necessitate that Jesus had seen Abraham?

The main question remains how and/or when did Abraham see Jesus’ day, but I want to make sure your answer then informs our understanding of the Jew’s response.

bible February 13, 2017

Is mount horeb the same as mount Sinai?

Psalms 106:19 (NKJV)

19 They made a calf in Horeb, And worshiped the molded image.

Exodus 18:31 (NKJV)

18 And when He had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the Testim…