After Paul’s turn to Christ, what was his relationship to Torah? The traditional and almost undisputed answer is that he renounced Torah-observance for disciples of Christ—except to imitate Jewish behavior to evangelize among Jews. Yet to me it seems more logical that a Jew, such as Paul claims to be (2 Cor 11:22; Phil 3:5-6), […]
In Acts 18:1, Paul arrives in Corinth and there he finds accommodation in the home of Aquila and his wife Priscilla, recently arrived from Rome. Acts 18:3 offers an explanation for the relationship between Paul and Aquila – “by trade they were tentmakers” (Ac 18:3). Translators and commentators have understood the word “skenopoios” as a […]
TL;DR: Meals in the ancient biblical world carried deep social, spiritual, and symbolic meaning far beyond simple eating, and understanding these customs helps unlock the meaning of many biblical passages. The mealtime customs depicted in ancient biblical texts are still practiced by many people living in the lands the Bible describes. In this region of […]
In Jewish tradition, Abraham is the center and point of departure from where the narrative of the origins of the Jewish people is weaved. Non-Jews are, in Jewish discourse, related to Adam, and even more so, to Noah. Interestingly, although some early followers of Jesus referred to a small set of laws that have been […]
5 And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. The description of John’s ministry continues in the Gospel of Mark, painting a clear picture: people of Jerusalem and Judea overwhelmingly accepted John’s ministry, submitting to his call […]
Various aspects of Dead Sea Scrolls study may inform our attempts to better understand nascent Christianity. In this paper, however, I will focus upon one particular aspect—the relation between the pat-terns of belief peculiar to a specific sect and those reflecting broader contemporaneous trends. In Qumran scholarship, this general issue has been addressed on a […]
Video Insight of the Week: What does Hallelujah mean in Hebrew? The English word “Hallelujah” is a Hebrew loanword, which means that it came to us from Biblical Hebrew and has been absorbed in the exact same form in modern speech. Hallelujah is not only a loanword; it is also a compound word, as it […]
The Biblical command enjoined on modern Christ-followers is crystal clear – they must bless the People of Israel. Whether someone comes from traditional or evangelical Christian backgrounds, nothing at all is different. The Bible is still the Bible. We read of God’s words to Abraham in Gen.12:3a: “I will bless those who bless you (וַאֲבָרְכָה […]
The voice in the wilderness is one of the favorite badges of identity for both New Testament Gospels in its featuring of John the Baptist, and the sectarian writings of Qumran community. 1-3 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, the […]
TL;DR: The ‘Synagogue of the Freedmen’ mentioned in Acts 6:9 was a Jerusalem synagogue whose members were descended from freed Roman slaves, as indicated by the Latin loanword ‘libertini’ used in the Greek text. Prof. Peter Shirokov is a long time colleague. I learn from him each opportunity I get. I am excited that he has […]
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