I wholehearted recommend listening to this beautiful song, written by JP’s own Brian Becker and his lovely wife Toni.
Engaged: Clarifying A Few Words (over Mexican Dinner)
Ever since 1991 when I first received my back-issues of JP in the mail, I’ve remembered Bivin’s “To Destroy The Law” article from Issue #6. I had grown up with several teachings about Jesus’ fulfillment of the law of Moses, but this article clearly pointed out that if Jesus had communicated this in his mother-language and those words were translated into English we would probably have a completely different understanding of Matthew 5:17. It’s that pesky middle-language of Greek which so taints our understanding of Jesus’ message.
Hebraisms in the New Testament
The text of the New Testament contains many Semitic elements, some of which are Hebraisms. The Synoptic Gospels show evidence for the existence of wordplays and idioms that are typical of Hebrew.
Engaged: Eternally Dwelling In Hell?
Becker discusses a JP article where one verse of Mark has Jesus using an idiom which might be misunderstood by translators. Becker purports that the discovery should engage our readers on the topic of death after death.
A History of the Intersection of JP, JS, & Brian Becker
Fifteen years ago, I met David and Josa Bivin at a seminar in Tulsa, OK, made possible by HaKesher. As an introduction, I would like to share with you the cord that weaves my life with David’s family.