This information is based on the Authorised Version (KJV). Other versions differ. By word count there are two shortest verses, both with 7 words each: LORD, remember David, and all his afflictions Ps 132:1 His foundation is in the holy mountains. Ps 87 : 1 The longest verse has 45 words: For in the hand […]
Is “leprosy” in the Bible the same as the disease that’s called leprosy nowadays?
Leprosy (Hansen’s Disease) did not exist in the Ancient Near East. The Bronze Age Hebrews had no word for ‘leprosy’ (Hansen’s Disease). Leviticus 13 and14, chapters containing laws concerning ‘leprosy’, are talking about a non-lethal but possibly infectious skin disease which will clear itself up if left alone for a couple of weeks. The relevant scholarly literature has […]
How can you be reconciled with someone who has something against you?
Jesus says: So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. (Matt 5:23-24) The problem is that this is easier said than […]
Did Gehazi still have leprosy in 2 Kings 8:4?
In 2 Kings 5:27 Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, is struck with leprosy:1 Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and to your descendants forever.” So he went out from his presence a leper, like snow. However, in 2 Kings 8:4 he is talking to the King. People with leprosy were excluded from regular society […]
What is significant about “stars” in the bible? Do they represent things apart from themselves?
Sometimes in the Bible ‘stars’ are simply just that: literal stars, ‘fixed luminous point[s] in the night sky which [are] large, remote incandescent [bodies] like the sun’.1 For example: When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that […]
What is the difference between faith and belief?
There is no difference between ‘faith’ and ‘belief’ — they are the same thing. Although the words are different in English, the New Testament, for example, only has one family of words (from the root peithō (Strong’s #3982) in Greek) that are translated as both ‘faith’ and ‘belief’. Part of the reason why the Greek […]
Did Noah close the door of the ark seven days before the flood?
There are two parts to this. First, it was God who shut the door of the ark: And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him [Noah]. And the LORD shut him in. (Genesis 7:16) But this did take place seven days before the rain started: And […]
Was Jesus’ comment in Matthew 16:18 the start of the Roman Catholic church?
“I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church”. (Matthew 16:18) Though it is likely that Peter did spend some time in Rome in later life (cf. 1 Peter 5:13) and probably died there in the persecutions instigated by Nero, the tradition that Peter was the first bishop of […]
Does Matthew 8:20 contradict John 1:38-39 on whether Jesus had a home?
Matthew 8:20 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” John 1:38-39 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are […]
What does the Bible say about marriage continuing into eternity?
The Sadducees, who did not believe in the resurrection, tried to trap Jesus. They told the story of seven brothers, the first married a woman and died, the second married the same woman and then died, and so on. The Sadducees presumably thought that Jesus would either have to admit that this women would have […]