Welcome! Start here!
See what the blog “Bible Differences” can provide and how it may be of use to you. I focus mainly on the New Testament, but occasionally look at something from the Old Testament.
A list of Scriptures already studied can be found at “Scriptures“.
Deacon’s wives or Deaconesses? 1Tim. 3:11
Can a deacon be disqualified due to the bad behaviour of his wife? I suppose there would be people who would like to interpret 1Timothy three verse eleven that way. To what extent should translators of the Bible, with their superior knowledge of the original languages and insight into the culture be lead by the context to choose a word that would enforce a specific understanding of a verse? Continue reading
I post this most interesting article by Dan Wallace that he originally posted on the blog “Parchment and Pen” on 13 September 2007.
In it he describes inter alia the criteria paleographers use to date a manuscript. Continue reading
Ceremonial washing of eating utensils, Mark 7:8 In Mark 7:1-4 the evangelist first gives the background to a conversation Jesus had with the Pharisees and teachers of the law. They were concerned with the fact that Jesus’ disciples ate bread without first ceremonially washing (baptizo) their hands. Mark then mentions how the Jews were very unyielding with their demand on washing all eating utensils, even the couches or tables! In His answer, Jesus addresses a real concern, the caring of the elderly. According to the older versions of the Bible, in verse eight Jesus again mentions the washing of the utensils as a nearer orientation for His answer, while modern versions bring the conversation directly to the point concerned. The challenge before us is to discern which version rather would represent the original autograph, and try and explain how this variation could have originated. Continue reading
Signs of the Times
In Mark 13:29 we are confronted with an interesting situation where the Greek can be translated in two ways. Jesus says: “Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it/He is near (ἐγγύς ἐστιν), right at the door.” The verb ἐστιν in this sentence is third person singular, and personal endings do not designate gender. It could be “…it is near” or it could be “…He is near”. When there are more than one possible translation, the translator has to choose what he deems the most probable meaning of the sentence. In this case the subject of the sentence might be the destruction of the temple, or the coming of the Lord, or even the time for the event might be the subject of the verb in this sentence. Continue reading
80 Was Grace translated out of Luke 9:55-56?
In Luke 9:53-56 we find an incident where it might seem as though the modern versions of the Bible have removed grace for the Samaritans. But when a version is so commonly found in modern translations of the Bible, the reason therefore should be examined
The words printed dark are absent in modern translations.
Luke 9:53-56: And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem. And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elijah did? But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. And they went to another village. Continue reading
When one becomes aware of how many differences there are between older and modern versions of the Bible, one can become alarmed. But when someone attributes these differences and omissions to one or the other Gnostic conspiracy against the Christendom, the modern versions as well as the translators can easily come under suspicion. It is therefore of utmost importance that the real facts are faced to enable one to make an informed decision. Sometimes a difference might be deemed trivial. Sometimes there is a logic explanation. Yet an honest study reveals something of the causes for variations. That enables one to understand other similar variations. Continue reading
(Re-blogged from Tim Challies’ blog: http://www.challies.com Not only Tim gives an excellent description of this important fragment, but he also explains how some variations in ancient manuscripts of the NT could have originated. – Herman)
In this series we are tracing the history of Christianity in 25 objects, 25 relics of the past that survive today. Having visited the Vatican Museum to look at Augustus of Prima Porta, we travel now to England, to the University of Manchester, to peer at a tiny fragment of papyrus. Carefully encased within a climate-controlled cabinet in the John Rylands Library is Rylands Library Papyrus P52, the St. John’s fragment. Continue reading
