My research is focused on the interpretations of biblical texts in the contexts of ancient culture, languages, and history.
Paul's letters to Rome and to Galatia were written for two different communities who had different ideas about how gentiles belonged to the Jewish church. Geography mattered, but so did the social context. This week we focus primarily on Rome and how the antagonism towards the Jews influenced...
Some people read Galatians as an anti-Jewish letter, but the key to understanding Paul's message is rooted in the Galatian context. Galatian gentile believers wanted to be circumcised to become Jews. They felt that would give them something that they otherwise did not have, but Paul tried to...
How is the message about a God who made covenants with a particular people in a particular land move into the gentile world? This was a perplexing issue for the early church, and the early Jewish leaders used the book of Leviticus to help solve the problem. The Apostle Paul...
This recording is a shiur (lesson) - a live teaching, complete with audience participation at a messianic synagogue (about 45 minutes long). This session explores the commandments and customs of Shavuot, focusing on their spiritual significance for Messianic Jews in particular. Yet even non-Jewish followers of Messiah will find this...
Do you know about Shavuot, the holiday called Pentecost in the Christain Bible? This is a short informational (and entertaining) video that gives a very brief overview of the festival and how it is celebrated today by various Jewish communities....
Rachel Elior is a Professor of Jewish Philosophy and Jewish Mystical Thought at the Hebrew University. In this talk, she delves deep into some foundational topics of Kabbalistic thought and focuses on the belief in nothingness. Disclaimer: this video is an academic lecture, an hour and a half, and definitely...
Aramaic language is much closer to Hebrew than Greek. And since a version of Aramaic was widely spoken in Israel in the first century CE many feel that its valuable to consider the NT message in Syriac to see the nuance of meaning. The presumption is that much more in...
Today, New Testament exists in many languages. But New Testament in Syrian Aramaic (Syriac) is a very ancient translation. Some Syrian Aramaic manuscripts even predate the copies of the Koine Greek New Testament used as a base of the original texts of the New Testament. Aramaic was widely spoken in...
About 1,300 years ago, some unknown scribe in Roman-dominated Palestine took a book of the Gospels in Syriac, erased its original text, and reused the parchment for another purpose. The parchment was scarce in antiquity, so existing texts were sometimes erased, recicled and materials were reused for new books....