Elijah Prays About Rain

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Elijah was a man of like nature with ourselves and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth its fruit. (James 5:17-18)This article is dedicated to my wife, Lauren Sue.

From Ezekiel 17:24 and 21:3 to Luke 23:31: A Survey of the Connecting Jewish Tradition

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Introduction

Material from Ezekiel 17:24, and more often 21:3 (20:47 in the English Bible) has often been cited as the source of Jesus’ saying in Luke 23:31, “If they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?” Other commentators have questioned this assumption. If the material was borrowed from Ezekiel, however, was it borrowed directly or was it sifted through hundreds of years of usage, only to find its way into the mouth of Jesus?

When addressing these questions, it becomes immediately apparent that despite the numerous interpretations offered, there has been no attempt to gather all the pertinent sources together. Nor has there been any attempt to offer anything resembling a comprehensive analysis of all the relevant material.

Divorce and Remarriage in Historical Perspective

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However, in the best manuscript readings of Luke 3:19 and Matt. 14:3, her husband is unnamed.

The Historical Jesus, a Tanna?

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Two Gospel accounts, “The Rich Young Person” (Matt. 19:16-30, Mark 10:17-3, Luke 18:18-30) and “On Almsgiving” (Matt. 6:1-4), that share similar content, structure, and argumentation with two discussions that appear in the Mishnah and Tosefta shed light on the use of rabbinic literature for the study of the Gospels.

The Sons of His Will

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The manuscript history of Luke 2:14 is split between εὐδοκία (eudokia, “favor”) and εὐδοκίας (eudokias, “of favor”), the Greek possessive form of the word. … This evidence decisively tipped the scales in favor of the Hebraic understanding of Luke 2:14, that “men of favor” should be translated “the saved people of God.” There is no longer any reason to use the English phrases “Goodwill to men,” “men of goodwill” or even “men with whom God is pleased” when translating Luke 2:14. … As Simeon said as he took Jesus in his arms, “My eyes have seen your salvation” (Luke 2:30)…. — wp:paragraph –>

God sent an angel to announce the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem (Luke 2:11).

If Your Eye Be Single

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Couched within Jesus’ teaching is an idiom which is difficult to translate, “If your eye is single, your whole body is full of light” (Matt. 6:22). … Nevertheless, in Matthew 6, where you would expect to find the idiom, “good eye,” the adjective used in our saying is not καλός (kalos, good, pleasant) but ἁπλοῦς (haplous, single, simple)…. In particular, attention should be given to the language of spiritual dualism (i.e., light-darkness; love-hate) present in Matthew 6:22-24 and the use of the Qumran term “mammon” for wealth. … Matt. 6:24 and Luke 16:13), which also appears in the Dead Sea Scrolls, to caution his disciples about divided loyalty.

Repentance: God Inhales

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Preface In March of 1998 I participated in an annual conference sponsored by the Centre for the Study of Biblical Research. Several sessions had been designated for me to speak, and during one of them I presented “Repentance: God Inhales.” The response from the audience seemed favorable, so upon returning to Wichita Falls, Texas, (where Janet and I lived for 22 months), I began entertaining the idea of transcribing, revising, editing, and eventually publishing the material in printed form. To achieve this goal, I received considerable assistance from others. Diana and Ronnie Hicks volunteered as transcribers.