I appreciate this opportunity to return to some issues concerning the Targum of Job that I raised in Where Is the Aramaic Bible at Qumran? Scripture Use in the Land of Israel and to evaluate Jack Poirier’s response entitled, The Qumran Targum of Job as a Window into Second Temple Judaism: A Response to Randall Buth.
The Cross and the Jewish People
One of the most poignant pictures which exemplify the chasm of historical misunderstanding between Jews and Christians is that found in Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem. It is a photograph of a life-size crucifix that stood outside an unknown German village prior to World War II. In a twist of tragic irony a sign was hung on the cross to warn Jews not to enter the village. It read: “Jews are not welcome here.”
Casting Down Modern Imaginations
Some scholars have plausibly argued that the Enlightenment’s preoccupation with the problem of knowing was a direct product of the Lutheran and Reformed “theologies of the Word” that emerged from the Reformation…
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.
One God and Lord
The restoration of the Jewish homeland, Israel, and the reconnection of the Church to its Jewish roots are not unrelated phenomena. Many sectors of the Body of Messiah today are being stimulated and enriched by the “nourishing sap” of Israel’s faith, scriptures and scholarship. We are discovering that there is scarcely a single New Testament subject that cannot be amplified, deepened, or balanced by a Hebraic perspective. As disciples of Yeshua, we are deeply indebted to Israel.
Where Is the Aramaic Bible at Qumran? Scripture Use in the Land of Israel
The documents at Qumran allow us to reconstruct Scripture access in the Province of Judea in the first century. From the evidence, we must assume that the Qumran community and the other Jewish communities in the land had direct access to the Hebrew Bible, generally understood it, and were interested in teaching that related directly to the Hebrew text.
Leah’s Tender Eyes
The King James Version translates Genesis 29:17 as follows: “Leah was tender eyed; but Rachel was beautiful and well favoured.” The New International Version has, “Leah had weak eyes,” while the New American Bible reads, “Leah had lovely eyes.” What did the Hebrew original mean to say?
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.
The Sabbath Was Made for Man
Jesus was no rogue rejecting the Jewish opinion regarding the sanctity of the Sabbath. Instead, he tried to balance the importance of God’s instruction with the extenuating demands of the human setting.
The Teaching of Balaam
Revelation 2:12-16 is one of those occasions when it is necessary for the Christian reader to be familiar with first-century Jewish interpretation of an Old Testament account.
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.
Something Greater Than the Temple
In Jesus’ statement about the Temple he did not speak of himself, he spoke of the needs and value of his disciples.
The Man Who Would Be King
Scholarship has recognized the similarities between the Parable of the Talents and the historical account of Archelaus’ attempts to inherit the kingdom of his father, Herod the Great. When Herod died, Caesar Augustus divided the kingdom between Herod’s three sons, Archelaus, Antipas and Philip.
“Give unto Caesar”: Jesus, the Zealots and the Imago Dei
The retorts of Hillel and Jesus exemplify innovative developments in Jewish thought during the Second Temple period, developments that were established on the biblical notion that man was created in the image of God—Imago Dei (Gen. 1:27).
Were the Pharisees “Legalistic”?
If we define legalism as “works righteousness,” then we cannot apply it to the Pharisees, because the Pharisaic understanding of piety was not based upon this concept.
666: One Number or Three?
Any objective reading of Revelation can hardly fail to see the importance of this number within the author’s web of historical signifiers.
Looking Back at Forty Years in Israel
On the 4th of July I completed forty years of residency in Israel. Josa has been here almost as long–since 1968, with an additional ten months as a tourist in 1966/1967.
An Interview with Barbara Chambers, JP Office Administrator
You may have received a letter from her. Or maybe you met her at a conference or workshop. In one way or another, she has had a part in your connection with Jerusalem Perspective. Her name is Barbara Chambers and she has been our office administrator since the end of 1994.