The number ‘666’ has become a part of our culture, showing up in horror movies, and horror spoofs alike for generations. There are reports of people refusing to use phone numbers with the sequence in it, or finding significant in financial markets when values of 666 appear. The number comes from The Book of Revelation 13:18 “let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number or a man; and his number is six hundred threescore and six”. This just one of many numbers that appears in the bible whose meaning has been distorted, miss applied and misunderstood. (more…)
One of the most iconic figures in Jewish history is King David; his humble beginnings, his valiant rise to glory, and his tragic fall from grace. It is his humble beginnings that interest me. It is not a story of an underdog, rather a lesson of not prejudging or drawing conclusions from what amounts to false assumptions. (more…)
By New Testament times, Palestine was a very cosmopolitan place with most citizens being multilingual. If you read my previous blog, you can imagine, Jews would have spoken Hebrew, Aramaic, Egyptian and Greek; and with the expansion of Rome, yet another foreign empire to oppress the children of Israel, they would have learned Latin as well. When you consider Jesus communicated with a Roman centurion (Matt 8:5-13), Pontius Pilate (John 18:28-38), discussed the Torah with religious leaders at age 12 (luke 2:28-52), and spoke with a Samaritan women ( John 4:4-26), it seems Jesus was likely conversant in at least the four languages of Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek and Latin.
The Christian bible as we have it today, varied in versions as it is, went through numerous incarnations before the canon was finally established in the 7th Century AD. In this entry, I am providing a brief history of how the Old Testament came about. There are a few words that pop up when discussing the bible and I have listed them here so that you don’t get confused:
Scripture – inspired writings which may or may not be accepted as part of official canon. Canon– list of specific scripture that are accepted as authoritative. Vulgate – 4th century Latin translation of the bible, published in 382 AD by Jerome. Pentateuch – also known as The Law, includes the first 5 books of the bible, also known as the torah. Septuagint– translation of Hebrew bible into Koine Greek, also known as the Greek Old Testament Targum and Peshitta – the Targum is the Jewish translation of the old testament into Aramaic; the Peshitta is the Christian translation, also known as the Syriac. Extant– still in existence, surviving. Extant manuscripts are early or original manuscripts that are still in existence. Diaspora – dispersion of Jews beyond Israel. Occurred in 600 BC and 70 AD. Hebrew– a Semitic language of the children of Israel; a member of the ancient people living in Israel and Palestine and descendants of Jacob. Tanakh – Hebrew bible. Torah – specifically means the five books of Moses, but is also used to refer to the collective Jewish scriptures. Talmud– the spoken torah (more…)
For the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, commonly known as the Mormon church, there are 4 canons of scriptures.
• The Bible
• The Book of Mormon
• The Doctrine and Covenants
• Pearl of Great Price
Most Christian religions exclusively use the bible with various differences. The Catholic Bible contains what many refer to as apocryphal books for example. Most English speaking Protestants rely on the King James Version of the Bible. The LDS church is perhaps unique in that it accepts additional books that are not related to the biblical narrative.
Here is a brief explanation of each of the texts: (more…)
The bible begins with the story Adam and Eve. Who were Adam and Eve and when did they live? If you have read my blogs ‘What is Genesis 1 Talking About Part 1 & What is Genesis 1 Talking About Part 2’, you will be familiar with my distinction between figurative and fictional. Often people look at the bible and, since the way the story is told does not match with how a modern historian would record the events, they conclude that the story must be fictional. The story however, can be both figurative and true. Today we have developed both expository and poetic writing styles and we forget that, thousands of years ago, these two styles were merged. For example, we can pick up a book on the history of World War I written in a forthright and objective manner, and we can also pick up a poem such as Flanders Fields. When we read “We are the Dead. Short days ago” we know full well that this is not literally the dead speaking, but rather a poetic way of expressing the trauma of war in ways that a factual exposition cannot.
If we work from the assumption that Adam and Eve were real people, we need to also recognize that the text is both telling history and telling a story. Adam and Eve could have been real people, but the text in Genesis presents them as archetypical people. Einstein, for example, was a real physicist, but he has become an archetype for someone who is really smart. Calling someone an Einstein does not mean Einstein never existed. (more…)
The New Testament begins with four books known as the gospels: Mathew, Mark, Luke and John. Each book records the life of the Saviour from a different perspective and should each be considered testimonies rather than biographies. The books are certainly not consistent in what events they record. The vast majority of the material in the Book of John, 97%, is unique to that book, on the other hand, only 7% of Mark is unique to itself. There are, to my knowledge, just 11 events that are recorded in all four gospels, and these include the baptism of John, feeding the 5,000, the crucifixion and resurrection. If you want to learn about the Saviour’s early years, only Luke records his birth and early childhood, and only Matthew records the arrival of the wise men and subsequent slaughter of innocent children. Mark and John start right into his ministry. (more…)
If you believe that the Bible is complete and that there is no more cannon, that is ok with me. But the bible does not require it to be so. The following verses from the bible are the ones most often shown to me to prove that the bible is completed.
Can the bible be added to?
Revelation 22:19And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. (more…)
Is Isaiah really that difficult to understand? The challenge with this book is mostly to do with historical context. We are not familiar with the geography and customs of his day so we miss most of the references. Just imagine if someone 3,000 years from now picked up a book from today and had to try to understand references such as Yugoslavia, dog-days of summer, WiFi or selfie. It is not that Isaiah is complicated, the problem is we need a guide to understand his references. The bottom line is, there is no getting around having to put in some effort to learn the references. Fortunately, there are lots of scholars who have done all the homework for you. But this begs the question, why is Isaiah so much more difficult than other Old Testament books that also require historical context? The reality is, few people properly understand anything in the Old Testament because of a lack of detailed study. This lack of study is what produces creationists who think genesis 1 is talking about the formation of the universe. At least, that is my opinion. (more…)
In order to understand the poem, you need to understand the poet. Understanding the circumstances that brings about the text will help you understand the intended message. Isaiah is perhaps the most familiar prophet of the Old Testament, and also the least understood. Many people use the Book of Isaiah as an example of what is difficult about the bible. I have found that the greatest stumbling block to understanding Isaiah is a lack of familiarity with the man himself. Once you get a handle on his circumstances such the geography and customs of Isaiah and the people he is talking to, the passages open up. (more…)
