Exegetically Speaking

What sort of work do the Scriptures forbid on the Sabbath? What sort of work is allowed? Attention to the Hebrew words used in connection with the Sabbath and in other contexts sheds some light on these questions. Dr. Baruch Kvasnika is President of Jerusalem Seminary, which equips believers to understand their faith in and through the land of the Bible. His dissertation at The Hebrew Univer...

Toward the close of his short letter to Philemon, Paul offers to pay any debt Onesimus may owe Philemon, and adds (ESV), "I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it—to say nothing of your owing me even your own self." The last words are often viewed as heavy-handed, but are better understood as an instance of paralipsis in which Paul "brings up something without bringing it up." He is employing a tactful approach to ment...

In an important line, Paul is frequently understood to be referring to at least two laws, the law of Moses, which the apostle is no longer "under," and a law of Christ, which he is still "under" (1 Cor. 9:21). Jewish parallels and the Greek words Paul uses suggest, however, that it is Paul's commission to preach the gospel that can override some Mosaic laws when they hinder his mission. Paul appears to be a tra...

In the opening line of Mark's Gospel Jesus is referred to as "the Son of God," except that the Greek phrasing in this instance, somewhat non-typically, lacks any definite article. That this idiom echoes imperial propaganda is seen to be likely when a Roman centurion employs the same wording as he observes how Jesus died on their cross. Dr. Christopher Hays, a return contributor to this podcast, is president of ...

When the king of Egypt is first introduced in our OT book of Exodus he is not named, nor thereafter. But the book itself in Hebrew is called "Names," and even the midwives are named (Exod. 1:15). Egyptians tended to treat the kings of their enemies the same way. Dr. Oliver Hersey is the 11^th president of Jerusalem University College. This college, located on the southwestern corner of Mount Zion, e...

John's longer letter begins with a series of clauses headed by neuter relative pronouns without clear antecedents. In particular, the neuter gender draws our attention. To what do they refer and how does this relate to John's larger concerns? Dr. Elizabeth Mburu, who contributed earlier to this podcast, is Associate Professor of New Testament and...

Looking at ancient copies (manuscripts) of the Old Testament is necessary if we are to reconstruct the earliest wording of the texts, but the manuscripts can also shed light on the ancient scribes, their work, and perennial challenges of interpretation. For example, 4Q Jeremiah A (dates to around 225-175 B.C.E.), one of the Qumran Scrolls, has some interesting wording at Jer. 14:6. Dr. Andrew B. Perrin is Profe...

The RSV's translation of the "cleansing of the temple" in John 2:15 is in part, "And making a whip of cords, he drove them all, with the sheep and oxen, out of the temple." John's Greek, however, suggests that Jesus was using the whip only on the animals, which might have other implications for interpretation. Dr. Croyis the author of a widely us...

The opening words of Matthew's Gospel are translated as, "An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah" (NRSV), or "This is the genealogy . . ." (NIV), or "This is a record of the ancestors . . ." (NLT). A comparison with the parallels in Genesis and a look at what Matthew actually composes suggest that Matthew had something else in mind. David Capes, formerly Dean of Biblical & Theological Studies at Whe...