Category: Biblical Languages
Mark 1:1-8, the Amateur Exegete Version (AEV)
Part of my daily routine includes spending time in the Greek New Testament. Since last year I’ve been going verse-by-verse in the Gospel of Mark. For a time I was simply reading the text, consulting a couple of commentaries, and taking notes on anything… Continue Reading “Mark 1:1-8, the Amateur Exegete Version (AEV)”
Musings on Mark: He’s Out of His Mind!
“And his family heard it and came down to seize him: for they were saying that he was out of his mind.” Mark 3:21, my translation We often take for granted that in our New Testament we have four Gospels sitting side-by-side. We don’t… Continue Reading “Musings on Mark: He’s Out of His Mind!”
The Mystery τῆς εὐσεβείας
A few weeks ago I sent out the following tweet. The old "Christianity is not a religion; it's a relationship." "Without any doubt, the mystery of our religion [τῆς εὐσεβείας] is great…." (1 Tim. 3:16) "Religion [θρησκεία] that is pure and undefiled before God,… Continue Reading “The Mystery τῆς εὐσεβείας”
Was Jesus Magical? Larry Hurtado on “Semitic Language in Mark”
Larry Hurtado, a biblical scholar based out of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, recently wrote a blog post addressing the question of whether some of the Semitic terminology used in the Gospel of Mark are examples of magical incantations. The passages in question… Continue Reading “Was Jesus Magical? Larry Hurtado on “Semitic Language in Mark””
Some Thoughts on SJ Thomason’s Response to Elisha Ben Abuya
In December Twitter user Elisha Ben Abuya posted to his blog a piece on Isaiah 53. In it he lays out his case that the passage which Christians attribute to divine prophecy about Jesus is actually about Israel and is hardly prophetic at all.… Continue Reading “Some Thoughts on SJ Thomason’s Response to Elisha Ben Abuya”
Musings on Mark: Conflict Among the Synoptics
Καὶ εὐθὺς τὸ πνεῦμα αὐτὸν ἐκβάλλει εἰς τὴν ἔρημον. καὶ ἦν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ τεσσεράκοντα ἡμέρας πειραζόμενος ὑπὸ τοῦ σατανᾶ, καὶ ἦν μετὰ τῶν θηρίων, καὶ οἱ ἄγγελοι διηκόνουν αὐτῷ. Mark 1:12-13 In the last “Musing on Mark” post, we addressed the “wild animals” comment that… Continue Reading “Musings on Mark: Conflict Among the Synoptics”
Musings on Mark: Mark 1:1 and the Case of the Ambiguous Genitive
Ἀρχὴ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ [υἱοῦ θεοῦ]. – Mark 1:1 The word “of” is a funny little preposition. Not only does it look weird to me every time I write it, it is also one of the most versatile of all the prepositions and perhaps… Continue Reading “Musings on Mark: Mark 1:1 and the Case of the Ambiguous Genitive”
The Amateur Exegete 