Jesus and the Syrophoenician Woman: Gentile Salvation
Syrophoenician is the word for someone who lived in Phoenicia during the time in which it was part of the Roman province Syria, as it was during the time of Jesus's ministry. It's a combination of the words Syria and Phoenicia....
Forgiveness and the Remission of Sins
The phrase “remission of sins” shows up in most translations of the Bible in at least a few places. When John the Baptist is born, for example, his father Zechariah makes a prophecy about him that mentions the remission of sins...
Who is Esaias in the Bible? Answered by a Christian Scholar
In English the name “Esaias” is usually written as “Isaiah,” which is closer to the original Hebrew spelling, but the spelling “Esaias” is closer to how it would be spelled in ancient Greek (Ἡσαΐας). This matters because Greek ...
“I Believe in God the Father”: Creeds and Controversies
If you’ve been around any older Christian traditions, such as Catholicism, or even some Lutheran or Methodist groups, you’ve probably heard them talk about “the Creed.” The general idea behind a creed is that it’s an official s...
What is the longest book in the Bible? And the shortest?
Questions about which book of the Bible is the longest or the shortest are a little misleading because the answers depend entirely how you count. The first issue is that there isn’t a single canon of scripture. The older canon ...
Symbolism: What is the meaning of an owl in the Bible?
There are a variety of verses in the Bible that refer to owls, though how many depends on the translation. For example, the New King James version refers to owls explicitly in Leviticus 11 verses 16, 17, and 18; Deuteronomy 14,...
What is algum wood in the Bible?
Algum is a type of wood that’s referenced in the Old Testament. It was one of the main types of wood used by Solomon in the construction of Solomon’s Temple. Almug and algum are both variants of the same word, originally writte...