317-548-2146

Law of Moses, Deuteronomy 4:35, 32:17, and Daniel 7

Law of MosesIn Hebrew, two side-by-side nouns form a construct chain, which may express a possessive relationship between two nouns, where the first is the construct noun and the second is the genitive noun. However, a construct chain has a broad semantic range....

Genesis 4.1 and Procreation

Do you think procreation is a possible interpretive option for qanah in Genesis 4:1 (i.e., “I have procreated a man…”)? Why or why not?The narrator of Genesis states, “Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave...

Views of Creation

Historical creationism asserts that God created the universe, which lasted for an indeterminate amount of time, prior to God preparing the land for habitation in six days.[1] Historical creationism appears to be the most appropriate interpretation of the Creation...

Old Testament Literary Analysis

Literary Features and TechniquesThe narrative of David and Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 11:1-27 provides a quintessential example of a tragic moral collapse. However, the depth of meaning and significance of the narrative may remain hidden without adequate attention paid to...

Applying Old Testament Law

Daniel Hays asserts that Christians should utilize the Old Testament Law by interpreting and applying it based on an approach he refers to as principlism.[1] The traditional approach of interpreting the Mosaic Law consists of classifying laws into categories of moral,...

The Synoptic Problem

Thomas D. Lea and David Alan Black may best define the synoptic problem by asking how it is possible to account for the numerous similarities and differences between the Synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke (Lea and Black, 114). The Gospel of Luke suggests that...

Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes

According to J. Julius Scott, the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes were Jewish sects or denominations (Scott, 200). Due to the emphasis on orthopraxy, it is common for the differences between the groups to pertain more to activity than theology (Scott, 201). However,...

Matthew’s Purpose in Telling Jesus’s Birth

Thomas D. Lea and David Alan Black explain that Matthew’s purpose in the telling of the birth of Jesus was to persuade the Jews of Jesus’s Messiahship (178). Accordingly, Matthew juxtaposed Jesus, the legitimate king of the Jews, with Herod, and likely...

Jewish Worldview Intertestamental Period

Julius Scott summarizes the Jewish worldview during the Intertestamental Period in four phases. First, the Jews of the first century believed that God continues His involvement in a universe that He created separate from Himself and inherently good (Scott, 268). In...

Jewish Attitudes Toward Gentiles

The basic attitudes of first-century Jews toward the Gentiles were diverse. According to J. Julius Scott, the evidence suggests a general disdain by Jews toward the Gentiles (335). However, exceptions to the general attitude did exist with an acceptance of certain...