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.
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.
The Apostles and Prophets as the Foundation of the Church (Eph. 2:20)
This essay discusses a rhetorical device that has played an important role within postliberal writings: the idea that any appeal to the canons of logical necessity and/or conceptual consistency is in itself a defection to “another” foundation, that is, to a foundation set up in opposition to the role of Jesus Christ as the “church’s one foundation.”
The BiblePlaces Newsletter
I want to bring to your attention an exciting and colorful newsletter. If you are a teacher or student of the Bible, you will want to subscribe to it. It’s free!
Abraham’s Temptation, Forerunner of Jesus’ Temptation
When tempted, both Jesus and Abraham vanquished their tempter with words of Torah, just as Israel’s teachers exhorted their students to do.
Tutorial 1: Significance of Idioms
Are there cases where Jesus was using an idiom in his language and the meaning has been lost in ours?
Yad Hashmona: Don’t Miss It on Your Next Trip to Israel!
JP’s editor-in-chief, David Bivin and his wife Josa recently moved to a new home at Yad Hasmona. In this post Josa Bivin gives a virtual tour of the unique community where she and David now live.
Jesus’ Final Journey to Jerusalem
Trace the route of Jesus’ final pilgrimage to Jerusalem with Todd Bolen.
Tutorial 2: Customs
Some common Christian practices have no foundation in Jesus’ actions or teaching.
Blessed Be the “Name”!
We may have misunderstood, or partially misunderstood, many biblical expressions that contain the idiom, “the name of.”
Selected Examples of Rewriting in Mark’s Account of Jesus’ Last Week
It has been noted that in instances where Mark’s editorial hand restructured his story, Luke has preserved a more primitive form of the account, a form that is independent of Mark’s influence. Gospel scholars need to properly evaluate Mark’s editorial style and acknowledge that frequently a theological agenda influenced his rewriting.
“Prophets and Kings”: The Evangelist Luke’s Curious Doublet
In a beautiful statement that probably referred to the Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus proclaimed to his disciples, according to Luke, that “many prophets and kings” desired to see and hear what they (his disciples) are seeing and hearing. Matthew preserves the same saying, but in Matthew’s account the doublet is, “prophets and righteous persons.” The wording of Jesus’ saying in these two accounts is so similar that it appears likely that their slight differences reflect literary, or editorial, changes rather than different versions of the saying uttered by Jesus on different occasions. If so, which of these gospel accounts preserves the more original form of Jesus’ saying? Did Jesus say “prophets and kings” or “prophets and righteous persons”?
Cataloging the Gospels’ Hebraisms: Part One (Luke 10:23-24)
Hebrew idioms leap out from every page of Jesus’ life story.
John’s Baptism of Repentance
All of the Gospels open with a description of John the Baptist’s proclamation of a “baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Mark 1:4). In this brief study we want to consider both the form of John’s baptism and his distinctive call to accompanying repentance.
Fishers and Hunters: A Fishy Reading of Jeremiah 16:16
Based on on a “fishy” interpretation of Jeremiah 16:16, some Christians see it as their duty to warn Diaspora Jews of a coming persecution.
Jesus and the Essene Passover
Fifty years of scholarship concerning the Dead Sea Scrolls have brought clearer understanding concerning a fascinating stream of Jewish piety which existed during the final days of the Second Temple.