Does Hebrew have two words that would differentiate between the love of Christ for Peter and Peter’s love for Christ?
Christ’s Folded Napkin (John 20:7): Is it significant that the napkin that had been around Jesus’ head when he was buried was found in the empty tomb folded?
Does the folded “napkin” in Jesus’ tomb mean anything?
Studying the Gospels Synoptically
A synopsis allows us to see the differences in each Gospel—which is often valuable in understanding the texts and determining the better readings.
Call No Man “Father”
The word abba (אַבָּא), which literally means “the father” in Aramaic, but also can mean “our father” or “my father,” was brought into Hebrew and used in the endearing sense of “daddy.”
Another Look at the “Cleansing of the Temple” Story
Based on archaeological excavations near the southern wall of the temple, the research of Shmuel Safrai, and a nuance of the Hebrew verb that is one of the equivalents for Greek ekballein (drive out, banish; throw out; throw away, reject; cast out of a place, expel; remove, get rid of; put out), it may be necessary to reinterpret the gospel accounts of Jesus’ “cleansing” of the temple, even suggesting a different location for Jesus’ action.
Did the Early Scribes Understand John 9:3 Correctly?
The punctuation found in later manuscripts was added by scribes, and is not original to the New Testament.
The “Only Begotten” Son
As a small boy growing up in Alabama I had a deep love of God and a real hunger to know him better. By the age of eight I had read the entire Bible. But, like most people, I often struggled to understand what the Scriptures were saying. Many verses didn’t seem to make sense.
Romans 11: The Olive Tree’s Root
Paul spoke about Israel as a “cultivated olive tree” whose rootage was in the Patriarchs, particularly Abraham. Some Bible commentators, however, interpreted the root of the olive tree as Christ or his messianic program.
Let Him Who Is Without Sin…
When the story of the woman caught in adultery (John 7:53-8:11) is read within the setting of the Second Temple period, it resonates with authentic attitudes and issues.
Learning Is for Life
Sharing personal insights from his own spiritual journey and his study of the Scriptures, the late Dwight Pryor, founder of the Center for Judaic-Christian Studies, reflects on the life of Jesus for Christian readers of JP.
The New International Jesus
Inaccuracy in translating either through ignorance or because of an obscure manuscript reading is to be expected, but to skew wittingly due to academic bias or religious tendentiousness smirches the reputation of a venerable profession.
The Nature of Jesus’ Task
Christians read their Bibles through a lens of historical hindsight to illuminate certain features of Jesus’ teaching. Jews living in the first century did not have this benefit, and even one as saintly as John the Baptist struggled with aspects of Jesus’ messianic conduct.
What Was Simon Peter Wearing When He Plunged into the Sea?
Was Peter actually fishing naked, or was he merely “stripped to the waist,” as the Living Bible says? And what did he put on before swimming to Jesus?
Paraphrastic Gospels
As Robert Lindsey realized in 1962, Mark reworked Luke’s Gospel in writing his own. Mark liked to substitute synonyms for nearly anything that Luke wrote. If, for instance, Luke used the singular of a noun, Mark substituted the plural form of the same noun in writing his Gospel. And vice versa: if Luke used the plural, Mark substituted the singular. In this article, Robert Lindsey surveys a unique substitution category found in Mark’s Gospel: the replacing of one verse of Scripture with another.
Streams of Living Water: The Feast of Tabernacles and the Holy Spirit
This year the festival of Sukkot, or Tabernacles, takes place on October 9—16. JERUSALEM PERSPECTIVE has asked the famous biblical landscape reserve, Neot Kedumim, to provide our readers with some of the reserve’s wonderful insights into this festival, and Neot Kedumim staff member Beth Uval has contributed the following.
Six Stone Water Jars
In 1969, large stone containers were unearthed in the Jewish Quarter excavations in Jerusalem’s Old City. “What were these vessels used for?” the archaeologists asked. The Gospel of John provided the answer.
What’s Wrong with John 21:7?
There seems to be a problem with John 21:7. The text states that Peter was naked. Did good Jews in that time ever go out fully naked?
Remember Shiloh!
Without paying attention to ancient Jewish exegesis one can easily miss the full impact of Jesus’ statement, “den of thieves.” Was Jesus solely addressing the vendors, or was he aiming at bigger game?