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Month: February 2015

Archaeological Evidence for the Bible

Archaeological Evidence for the Bible

Critics who brush off the Bible as a compilation of mythology and legends, do so overlooking the fact that archaeologists have made thousands of discoveries over the past century that have verified hundreds of details in the Bible. The articles, audio, books, and videos in the link below explain some of these exciting discoveries and why you can be confident in the Bible.

Archaeological Evidence for the Bible

Ancient Flood Narratives

Ancient Flood Narratives

The traditions of ancient peoples throughout the world share in common the inclusion of flood stories. The Mesopotamian accounts have garnered the most discussion since they are culturally closer to the Biblical material than any of the other non-Scriptural narratives. The most famous Mesopotamian flood account is the Babylonian version, found in the library of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal (seventh century B.C.) as part of the larger Epic of Gilgamesh.

In this epic, Gilgamesh searches for a man named Utnapishtum (the equivalent of the Biblical Noah), whose story is then recounted. When one of the highest gods, Enlil, becomes annoyed by the cacophony of noise coming from human beings, he decides to inundate and destroy them all in a catastrophic deluge. Enki, the god of waters, reveals Enlil’s intent to the mortal Utnapishtum, directing him to construct an enormous boat and load it with pairs of animals. Instructed not to reveal the reason for this mystifying building project, Utnapishtum is further commanded at a critical point to take his wife on board with him. For seven harried days and nights Utnapishtum and his wife are tossed about in this vessel as floodwaters engulf the earth. When the waters finally subside, the boat lodges atop a tall mountain. Utnapishtum sends out a dove, a swallow and a raven, the last of which fails to return, apparently having located nourishment. read more

Ancient Creation Narratives

Ancient Creation Narratives

The Lord God, the Almighty . . . made the whole universe”—Revelation 4:8,11 NJB

In contrast to the Biblical cre­ation narratives, ancient creation stories from Mesopotamia, Egypt and Syria-Palestine do far more than try to explain how the physical world came into being. Creation myths often elevated the particular god of a particular shrine to supremacy over all other gods in order to validate the pres­tige of that deity, that shrine or the city in which the shrine was located.

For example, Egyptian creation myths tend to assert that a primordial mound or “Island of Creation” arose from a primeval ocean and that a specific god created all things from that location. Several Egyptian shrines, however, claimed to be the site of that primordial mound and asserted that the god of their respective shrine was the great creator god. read more

Who Were the Nephilim?

Who Were the Nephilim?

There are only two Biblical references to the Nephilim (Ge 6:4; Nu 13:33), people of “great size” (v. 32) from whom the Anakites were said to have descended. Upon glimpsing these imposing inhabitants of Canaan, ten of the twelve spies became demoralized and terrified. The Nephilim may have been similar in appearance to the Rephaites, a race of strong, tall men with whom the Anakites are compared in Deut­eronomy 2:21.

The Nephilim are described in Genesis 6:4 as having been mighty men who lived before the great flood. The author of Genesis linked them to “the sons of God” (other translations render this “sons of the gods”), either in terms of being identical to this group or of being their offspring. Three theories have been pro­posed regarding the parentage of these Nephilim (these hypotheses do not address the problem of how they might have sur­vived the flood to appear in Canaan at the time of the spy expedition): read more

What is Textual Criticism? Has the Bible Been Changed?

What is Textual Criticism? Has the Bible Been Changed?

“All people are like grass, and all their glory is like that of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever”—1 Peter 1:24,25 NIV

Any book copied by hand is likely to contain errors. Not surprisingly, there are copyists’ errors (called textual or scribal errors) in ancient Biblical manuscripts. The original copies of the books were lost long ago. Thus our sources for the Biblical ma­terials are limited to handwritten copies (of copies) of the originals. We do also have access to copies of ancient translations of the Bible into other languages, as well as citations of the Bible by early rab­bis and church fathers. Thus He­brew and Greek manuscripts of the Bible, together with early translations and citations of Scrip­ture, witness to the correct reading of a particular text. read more

The Bible and Pseudepigraphical Literature

The Bible and Pseudepigraphical Literature

Pseudepigrapha, meaning “false title,” refers to Jewish books that falsely claimed to have been written by Moses, Enoch, Abraham or some other ancient hero of the faith. Most pseudepigrapha were written be­tween 250 B.C. and A.D. 200. A few examples are as follows:

  • Testaments of the Twelve Patri­archs: A series of documents claiming to be the “testaments” of the patriarchs of the tribes of Israel, in which they by turn give exhortations to their descendants. This work was probably written in the second century B.C., but its present form seems to reflect revi­sion by a Christian. Depending upon interpretation, it may present a doctrine of two messiahs: a priestly messiah (from Levi) and a royal messiah (from Judah). In a manner typical of intertestamental Judaism, this work describes the Mosaic Law as the wis­dom of God but reflects also the influence of Stoicism, a Hellenistic school of philosophy.
  • Testament of Solomon: An outlandish tale, in which Solomon receives a magical ring from the archangel Michael and uses it to control demons, the book may have been written during the first or second century A.D.
  • Testament of Moses: A text in which Moses purportedly pre­dicts the history of Israel from the conquest under Joshua to the postexilic period, the book’s principal concern is the apostasy of Hellenistic Jews. The date of its composition is disputed; some suggest that it was composed during the first century A.D.
  • Psalms of Solomon: This is a first-century B.C. collection of psalms written in reaction to the Roman occupation of Palestine. These psalms anticipated the coming of a “Lord Messiah” who would lead pious Jews to overthrow the Roman forces occupy­ing the land. They are important for illustrating the Messianic fer­vor and religious turmoil that prevailed among the Jews in the days prior to Jesus’ birth.
  • Jubilees: Claiming Mosaic authorship, this work, essentially a retelling of Genesis and Exodus written between the second cen­tury B.C. and the first century A.D., has some curious emphases. For example, it devotes a great deal of attention to Rebekah and consid­ers the slaughter of Shechem (Ge 34) to have been a praiseworthy event. The book is also intensely concerned with priestly matters.
  • First Enoch: Early mystics of both Jewish and Christian back­ground were fascinated by Enoch, the man who, after having walked with God, “was no more” (Ge 5:24). First Enoch is the first of many “accounts” detailing Enoch’s ascent into heaven, but even this work is a composite of texts written from approximately the third century B.C. to the first century A.D. The narrative is highly fantas­tic in nature. For example, 1 Enoch 6-11 describes the rebellion of the “watchers,” the angels who, according to Genesis 6:1-4 (cf. Jude 6) took the daughters of men to be their wives. In 1 Enoch 72-82, a section referred to as the Astronomical Book of Enoch, Enoch is given a tour of the heavens by the angel Uriel and sees the gates out of which the sun and moon rise and set. This section is also highly concerned with calendar issues.

As a rule the New Testament authors avoided this material, but Jude appears to have made use of it in two places. In verse 9 he alluded to a story concerning Michael and the devil that is found in a version of The Assumption of Moses (as noted by Clement and Origen; the actual text is lost). Also, in verse 14 Jude quoted from 1 Enoch 1:9: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones.” lt is possible that through God’s providence some pseudepigrapha have preserved some genuine traditions and that Jude was able to discern the true from the false. Given the nature of these books, however, it would be per­ilous to treat them as reliable sources. It is also helpful to keep in mind that citation of a given work by a Biblical author does not in and of itself imply endorsement. Paul cited pagan poets (Ac 17:28; 1Co15:33; Tit1:12), and Jude’s references to 1 Enoch do not imply that he thought the book had canonical authority. read more

The Ending of Mark

The Ending of Mark

There are several different end­ings to the Gospel of Mark found in the vari­ous Greek manuscripts. Most Greek texts and several ancient transla­tions conclude with the ending familiar to us as Mark 16:9-20. The ear­liest Greek manuscript with that ending is from the fifth century, but evidence from the church fathers suggests that it was already in existence during the second century. Many scholars feel, however, that the vocabulary and themes of the traditional ending are inconsistent with the rest of the Gospel. read more

The John Rylands Papyrus

The John Rylands Papyrus

“Your new birth was not from any perishable seed, but from imperishable seed, the living and enduring Word of God. For all humanity is grass, and all its beauty like the wild flower’s. As the grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of the Lord remains for ever. And this word is the Good News that has been brought to you”—1 Peter 1:24,15 NJB

“This disciple is the one who testifies to these events and has recorded them here. And we know that his account of these things is accurate”—John 21:24 NLT read more

The Historical Value of Luke-Acts

The Historical Value of Luke-Acts

The historical accuracy of the Luke-Acts two-volume work is frequently challenged. Scholars dispute such issues as the dating of the reign of Quirinius (Luke 1:5; 2:2) and references to Palestinian geography (Luke 4:44; 17:11) and raise additional historical questions regarding the numerous speeches in Acts (e.g., Acts 2:14-36) and the harmonious portrayal of the early church (Acts 4:32-35). The most critical historical objection to Acts concerns the details of Paul’s ministry. Although certain passages suggest that Luke was a traveling companion of Paul (Acts 16:10-17; 27:1—28:16), some scholars deem this tradition untenable on the basis of perceived difficulties in harmonizing the life and perspective of Paul as presented in Acts with details about his life found in his letters. read more

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