Who were these God-fearers? God-fearers were a large group of sympathizers among Gentiles with one-God worship of the God of Israel. Their existence is documented in numerous Jewish texts of the period, using a multitude of Greek terms (theosebeis, sebomenoi, phoboumenoi, metuentes). The most famous example of all is obviously Cornelius, an Italian soldier who had started to […]
“heap burning coals on his head”
This idiom originates in Proverbs and is cited once in the New Testament: If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you. (Proverbs 25:21-22 ESV) To the contrary, “if […]
Does “ask in my name” (John 14:13-14, 15:6, 16:23-26) mean that all prayers must end in “in the name of Jesus”?
The context is this: Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. (John 14:13-14) You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, […]
Why did God give the Law to the Israelites?
This is an interesting question with several mutually possible ways of answering. Although some elements of the Law appear to have already been in place with the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the 10 Commandments and the detailed Law were given only from the time in the wilderness onwards. The following are explanations that the […]
What does “the rock that followed them was Christ” mean? (1 Corinthians 10:4)
This is one of Paul’s best known types or patterns of Christ from the Old Testament: For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 3 […]
what does the Bible mean by those who deny the resurrection of the dead?
There are three New Testament passages that specifically mention denial of a resurrection of the dead: “There came to him some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection” (Luke 20:27 ESV) 12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the […]
Machmaddim (Song of Songs 5:16)
Song of Songs 5:16 “His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.” Problem: The underlined word is the Hebrew Machmaddim. Moslems claim that this word is a reference to Muhammad for two reasons, The word Machmad (singular of Machmaddim) sounds a […]
What about the souls under the altar? (Revelation 6:9)
Revelation 6:9 “And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held.” This passage is sometimes read super-literally to support the teaching of the immortality of the soul, that souls of the […]
Does BibleQ have a Facebook group for discussion?
Yes it does now: https://www.facebook.com/groups/bibleq
“I am in the Father and the Father is in me” (John 14:11), and “I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you” (John 14:20)
The context of John 14 8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I […]