Introduction Judith is work of religious fiction without the pretense of recounting actual history. The story opens with a fictionalized Nebuchadnezzar making war on an invented King of the Medes, Arphaxad. The first hearers of Judith would catch this, clueing them in to understand Judith for its religious value. The real Nebuchadnezzar was king of […]
The Apocrypha, Lesson 5: The Greek Portions of Daniel, Pt. 3
June 4, 2017 by
Earlier, we learned about the Prayer of Azariah, the Hymn of the Three Young Men, and Susanna. Today, we study Bel and the Serpent. Who or What is “Bel”? The Babylonian god, “Bel” is a variant of the word, “Baal,” which means “Lord” and is another name for the Babylonian god, Marduk. Non-biblical sources […]
The Apocrypha, Lesson 4: The Greek Portions of Daniel, Pt. 2
May 27, 2017 by
Last week, we looked at the Prayer of Azariah and the Hymn of the Three Young Men, which are placed between Daniel 3:23 and 3:24. Today, we study the story of Susanna, which becomes Daniel, chapter 13. Susanna Susanna is the story of a woman, whom two “dirty old men” accused of committing adultery. […]
The Apocrypha, Lesson 3: The Greek Portions of Daniel, Pt. 1
May 27, 2017 by
The Protestant edition of Daniel is written in Hebrew (1:1-2:3, 8:1-12:13) and Aramaic (2:4-7:28). The Daniel of the Septuagint is all Greek, with some portions not being a translation but with an original Greek text. These include a couple of liturgical pieces: The Prayer of Azariah and the Hymn of the Three Young Men, which […]
The Apocrypha, Lesson 2: How We Lost the Apocrypha
May 18, 2017 by
Last week, we learned what the Scriptures were for Jesus and his Apostles: The Septuagint, the Greek-language version of the Old Testament. Jesus also affirmed this in His Scripture quotes, which favored the Septuagint and when He told the Sadducees they didn’t know the Scripture, referring to the book of Tobit (Matthew 22:29). In 397 […]
The Apocrypha, Lesson 1: Background–The Jews Lose their Hebrew
May 18, 2017 by
In Jesus’ day, Greek was the “universal” language around the Mediterranean world. Earlier, most Jews lost their ability to read and speak in Hebrew during their captivity in Babylon. Hebrew became the domain of rabbis, who learned it to read the Scriptures. We learn of this loss in Nehemiah. Read Nehemiah 8:1, 5-8 The household […]
Romans, Lesson 30: Greetings and Conclusion
April 30, 2017 by
After asking the congregation in Rome to welcome Phoebe, a deaconess, and likely the courier for his letter, Paul now mentions many names in the congregation at Rome. Read Romans 16:3-15 Jewish Male (5) Jewish Female (2) Gentile Male (13) Gentile Female (7) Acquila Prisca (Priscilla) Epaenetus (Greek) Mary (common Jewish […]
Romans, Lessons 28-29: Paul’s Appeal and a study on Deaconesses by way of Phoebe
April 30, 2017 by
Paul shared his plans to visit Rome on his way to Spain. But first, he needs to deliver the monetary aid to the Jerusalem Christians, and so he makes a request of the Roman Christians. A Final Appeal Read Romans 15:30-32 What does Paul ask of the Roman Christians, in general? What does […]
Romans, Lesson 27: The Liturgy Being Lived Out
April 2, 2017 by
By finishing with the hope the Christian has, the resurrection of the body, given to him by faith through the Holy Spirit, Paul begins his conclusion. What he does, which we may consider is unusual, is he includes two conclusions. The first is for the “stronger brother,” the Gentiles (Romans 14:15-21). (His conclusion for the […]
Romans, Lesson 26: What Those in Christ Have
March 25, 2017 by
The stronger brother is chided not to abuse his Christian freedom toward the weaker brother (Romans 14:13-21), for what does not proceed from faith is sin (Romans 14:23). Apart from faith, everything a person does is tainted with sin and, thus, not perfect enough to merit anything before God. So, we turn to Christ to […]
