On December 25, Christians around the world will gather to celebrate Jesus’ birth. Joyful carols, special liturgies, brightly wrapped gifts, festive foods—these all characterize the feast today, at least in the northern hemisphere. But just how did the Christmas festival originate? How did December 25 come to be associated...
Why Greek Tools Can Be Dangerous Never before have there been such powerful tools for zooming in on the details of Greek. These are useful and I’m glad to have them. But I wince when they are misused. And they are often misused. By zeroing in on single words,...
During the winter of 2017, archaeologists working in a Jerusalem suburb, discovered the foundations of a Roman structure dating to the 1st century B.C.E. What they found was building remnants and a part of a common round column. The exiting part is that the column had writing on...
Historians have argued for centuries – in the face of contradictory primary sources – both about when and how the Roman Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and the nature and extent of his faith. Was he a convinced believer, brought to a new understanding of God and the world by his own...
As research in Qumran scrolls continues some questions are answered and new ones arise. There is still so much we do not know about the Qumran texts collection. There are still so many things we are trying to piece together in regards to the people who left those scrolls behind....
One day my theological thinking about the gift of salvation was challenged by an individual who believed that “God wants ALL people to ‘be saved'”. By the way, there is nothing wrong with such a belief, but it is a broadly-debated opinion. I recognize that many people hold this...
In this article, I want to discuss the importance of context, terminology and precise translation of the original text (be it Greek or Hebrew). When it comes to the interpretation of biblical texts and conclusions drawn from them these building blocks are the foundation. Theology cannot exist without interpretation and...
Can you read the Bible in the original languages? Yes, anyone can! Well, if you don’t know how yet, you can certainly learn… And there is a way to do that without taking many years to learn Greek and Hebrew. Don’t get me wrong some study is required,...
A gold earring portraying the head of a horned animal was unearthed under the Givati Parking lot near Jerusalem’s City of David National Park. The earring belongs to the second or third century B.C.E. > “The jewelry was found inside a building that was unearthed during the...
