Category: Jewish Context and Culture
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When the Dirt Speaks
Archaeology and the Historical Reliability of the Bible For more than two centuries, a dominant narrative in skeptical scholarship claimed that the Bible was myth layered over faint historical memory. Nineteenth-century higher criticism approached the Old Testament with deep suspicion. Entire people groups were dismissed as imaginary. Kings were labeled…
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What It Meant to Bear the Name
Why “Name” Meant Authority, Character, and Presence Modern readers hear the word “name” and think label. A sound. A personal identifier. Something printed on a birth certificate or driver’s license. In the biblical world, however, “name” carried ontological and covenantal weight. It meant far more than designation. It conveyed authority,…
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The Ancient World of the Paranormal
From Cult Temples to Haunted Doll Rooms “They sacrificed to demons that were no gods, to gods they had never known.”Deuteronomy 32:17 (ESV) A Clarifying Note for Readers Not all ancient peoples held identical beliefs about idols, and not all modern readers who question this topic are dismissive of history…
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Second Temple Judaism and the World of Jesus
And why it matters for interpretation “When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son.”Galatians 4:4 Jesus did not appear in a vacuum. He entered a world shaped by centuries of history, trauma, hope, and expectation. To understand His words and actions rightly, we must understand the…
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Clean and Unclean
Why these were not moral categories and how misunderstanding them distorts the Gospels “Nothing outside a person that goes into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.”Mark 7:15 Few biblical concepts are more misunderstood than the idea of clean and…
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Covenant Thinking vs Contract Thinking
Why God’s relationship with His people is built on faithfulness, not fine print “I will be your God, and you shall be my people.”Jeremiah 31:33 Modern readers often approach their relationship with God as though it were a contract. A contract is built on terms, performance, and enforcement. Each party…
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Honor and Shame Culture
Why reputation, restoration, and public identity mattered more than private guilt “The one who covers an offense seeks love, but whoever repeats a matter separates close friends.”Proverbs 17:9 Modern Western readers often approach the Bible through the lens of guilt and innocence. We tend to think primarily in legal categories.…
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Hebrew Thought vs Greek Thought
How ancient Jews understood truth, knowledge, and obedience differently than modern Western readers “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.”Proverbs 3:5 One of the greatest obstacles to understanding the Bible is not translation. It is assumption. Most modern readers approach Scripture…
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