Recent JP Articles

  • The Lord’s Prayer Chanted in Greek
    Listen to a recent recording of the Lord’s Prayer sung in Greek in the style of a Gregorian chant.
  • Faithful or Faithless Slave
    In Faithful or Faithless Slave Jesus encouraged his disciples to emulate Moses, the faithful slave in all God’s house.
  • New Audio JP: “What’s Wrong with Contagious Purity? Debunking the Myth that Jesus Never Became Ritually Impure
    Listen to a recent article on Jesus and ritual purity.
  • Character Profile: Beelzebul
    Get acquainted with this mysterious and sinister figure.
  • Unexpected Thief
    A householder might be surprised by a thief, but those who know the Son of Man is coming need not be caught unawares.
  • What’s Wrong with Contagious Purity? Debunking the Myth that Jesus Never Became Ritually Impure
    The view that Jesus could not be affected by impurity and that Jesus was able to spread his purity to others is based on faulty assumptions and invalid inferences.
  • Be Ready for the Son of Man
    What are the ethical demands of the parousia?
  • Поредица от статии: Свещеници от Новия завет
    В тази поредица професор Шмуел Сафрай запознава читателите с няколко видни свещеници — потомци на Аарон, брата на Моисей — които играят роля в Новия завет. Статиите в тази серия включват:
  • Waiting Maidens Parable
    In the Waiting Maidens parable Jesus warned his listeners not to behave like the foolish maidens who forgot to bring oil for their torches.
  • Свещеник от смяната на Авия
    Свещеническата смяна на Авия била кръстена на един от свещениците, които се завърнали в земята на Израел със Зоровавел и Исус (Неемия 12:4). Това била свещеническата смяна, към която принадлежал Захария, бащата на Йоан Кръстител.
  • The Seven Types of Pharisees and the Fear of God in the Synoptic Gospels
    Ancient Jewish sources attest to a debate over which motivation for keeping the commandments—fear or love—was most highly to be esteemed. This debate surfaces, among other places, in the Talmudic discussions of the seven types of Pharisees. These seven types and the debate over love versus fear illuminate important aspects of Jesus’ teaching.
  • A Jewish Solution to the Synoptic Problem
    Watch this two-part video lecture here.
  • New Audio JP: “He Could No Longer Openly Enter a Town: A Synoptic Study in Light of an Early Luke”
    Listen to a new article by Lois Tverberg.
  • JP Celebrates David Bivin’s 85th Birthday
    To honor David on this special occasion several authors of Jewish and Christian backgrounds contributed articles to JP.
  • The Sin Against the Spirit: Matt. 12:31-32; Mark 3:28-29; Luke 12:10
    Jesus’ saying about the sin against the Holy Spirit belongs to developing Jewish ideas regarding the gradation of sin and punishment. It also reflects his high self-awareness.
  • From the Galilee to Jerusalem: Luke as a Source for the Routes of Jewish Pilgrimage
    Luke’s Gospel preserves valuable evidence of pilgrimage routes that would have been utilized by Jewish pilgrims in the Second Temple period.
  • Plant a Tree in Israel to Honor David Bivin
    With a donation of $18 a tree will be planted in Israel in David’s honor as a lasting tribute to his lifetime of achievement.
  • Halakha in the Gospels
    The Gospels describe Jesus and his followers as keeping halakha to a relatively high extent; they were a group to whom the law was important.
  • ‘Look at…all the trees’: Trees in the New Testament Gospels
    An examination of the role trees play in the New Testament Gospels.
  • He Could No Longer Openly Enter a Town: A Synoptic Study in Light of an Early Luke
    According to Mark, after one of Jesus’ very first miracles, Jesus would no longer openly approach a town in public, but instead avoided the crowds who continually sought him out.
  • The Expectation of Sabbatical Redemption within Ancient Judaism and Luke-Acts
    Luke-Acts attests to the connection of the movements of John the Baptist and Jesus to ancient Jewish hopes of sabbatical redemption.
  • (Why) Did Jews Hate Tax Collectors–Or Did They? The Evolution of a Modern Stereotype in Biblical Studies
    The popular image of tax collectors ostracized from Jewish society demands a second look.
  • Jesus’ Words, Evangelist’s Contribution and Implicit Biblical Reference: The Case of Matthew 21:43-44
    Evidence from Qumran combined with a likely scriptural allusion suggest a non-ethnic interpretation of Matthew’s editorial additions to the parable of the Vineyard and the Tenants.
  • Престижната задача на Захария
    Не било необичайно свещеник да види видение или да чуе небесен глас в светилището по време на принасянето на тамян. Йосиф Флавий разказва, че докато първосвещеникът и владетел Йоан Хиркан принасял тамян в светилището, той чул глас, който обявил, че синовете му току-що са победили сирийския цар Антиох (Юд. Древ. 13:282).
  • First and Last
    The first one now will later be last, for the times, they are a-changin’. —Bob Dylan
  • Йоан назиреят
    От Мишната изглежда, че обетът за въздържание дори от определени части от гроздето предполага приемане на целия назирейски режим. Според Назир 1:2 дори ако някой даде обета: „Ще се въздържам от ядене на гроздови семки и люспи от грозде…, той става назирей”.
  • Two Neglected Aspects of the Centurion’s Slave Pericope
    Ritual impurity and the tensions resulting from Roman imperialism are two aspects of the Centurion’s Slave pericope that often go overlooked.
  • Coming From All Directions
    Whether one has a seat at the eschatolgical banquet depends on one’s participation in the Kingdom of Heaven here and now.
  • Closed Door
    In Closed Door Jesus brought home the message of the Great Banquet parable to his audience.
  • Исус и устната Тора: Краят на дрехата му
    Новият завет посочва ясно, че Исус, като всички религиозни евреи от първи век, е носел цицийот. Това са пискюлите, които били прикрепяни към четирите ъгъла на нечия мантия, според заповедта в Числа 15 и Второзаконие 22. Спазването на тази заповед от страна на Исус е илюстрирано по един драматичен начин от историята на жената, която страдала от кръвоизлив в продължение на дванадесет години.
  • Външният вид на Исус: Прически и бради в библейски времена
    Никой не знае със сигурност как е изглеждал Исус в очите на своите съвременници. Въпреки това има доказателства, които предполагат, че косата на Исус може да е била доста къса—черна или тъмна на цвят—и брадата му да е била късо подстригана.
  • Исус носеше ли кипа?
    Въпреки че свещениците са носели подобна на тюрбан шапка, другите евреи от периода на Втория храм не са покривали главата си.
  • Narrow Gate
    To obtain the Tree of Life one must pass through the Narrow Gate.
  • “They Know Not What They Do”: The History of a Dominical Saying
    How Luke 23:34 became embroiled in the Church’s conflicted relationship with its Jewish Roots.
  • Поклонението по времето на Исус
    Според Лука Йосиф и Мария ходели на поклонение в Ерусалим на всяка Пасха. Изискването за поклонение в Храма в Ерусалим се споменава в пасажите от Писанието, които се отнасят до трите ежегодни празника: Празника на безквасните хлябове, Празника на седмиците и Празника на шатроразпъването.
  • New Way to Support JP
    Visit JP’s new TeePublic store.
  • Why Do You Call Me ‘Lord’?: On the Origins of Jesus’ Dominical Title
    The confession “Jesus is Lord” is the simplest and earliest Christian creed. But how did referring to Jesus as “Lord” begin?
  • Houses on Rock and Sand Parable
    The choice is between doing what Jesus says or letting everything fall into ruin.
  • Образованието на Исус
    Човек може да си състави доста точна представа за това какво е правил Исус в детството и юношеството си.
  • “Banquet in the Kingdom of Heaven” complex
    How commitment to social justice in this world determines one’s place at the messianic banquet in the world to come.
  • Evidence of Pro-Roman Leanings in the Gospel of Matthew
    Hindsight and political expedience shaped the author of Matthew’s view of the Roman Empire.
  • Sanctus and Gloria
    Professor David Flusser investigates the Jewish background of the angel’s song to the shepherds, “Glory to God in the highest….”
  • Aesop’s Fables and the Parables of the Sages
    The meshalim (proverbs and parables) of the sages shed light on the development of Aesop’s fables and on variant versions of the fables within the complex Aesopic tradition.
  • Sermon’s End
    The narrative conclusion to Jesus’ homily on the Torah and the Kingdom of Heaven.
  • The Social Jesus: Beyond an Individualist Reading of the Capernaum Synagogue Incident
    In the social reading of the Capernaum Synagogue incident Jesus restores the tattered fabric of the community, exchanging the way things were for a newer and better way.
  • Teaching in Kefar Nahum
    A clash between entrenched demonic powers and one proclaiming the Kingdom of Heaven.
  • Набожните еврейски родители на Исус и тяхното дете-чудо
    В разказа за детството на Исус, описан в първа и втора глава от Eвангелието на Лука, Лука представя Мария, Йосиф и Исус в една отлична светлина. Майката и бащата на Исус проявяват набожност далеч отвъд обичайната, а младият Исус изгаря от желание да бъде в храма и да изучава Тора с учителите на Израел.
  • “Showing Proper Humility” complex
    A lesson in derech eretz (“proper conduct”).
  • Return to the Galil
    How a bare statement about Jesus’ return to the Galilee was pressed into the service of the author of Luke’s apologetic goals, the author of Mark’s kerygmatic program, and the author of Matthew’s theological agenda.
  • Tangled up in Techēlet: Tzitzit (Ritual Tassels) in the Time of Jesus
    Although the wearing of tzitzit is enjoined in Scripture, we do not find records of its actual observance until the Second Temple period.

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