Hineni in Hebrew: “Here I am” from God and Man
The word “Hineni” literally means “Here I am.” It is generally used as a response to someone who calls for you. In the context of the Old Testament, some people interpret it as a response of total surrender, but it can’t quite ...
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 ...
Was Jesus a Rabbi?
In the New King James version of the Bible, Jesus is first called a Rabbi by Judas, in Matthew 26:25: “Then Judas, who was betraying Him, answered and said, ‘Rabbi, is it I?’” The context for this verse is significant: Jesus ha...
Who was Phanuel? Archangel or Father of Anna?
Phanuel the angel is not mentioned in the Bible. This figure comes from the Book of Enoch, where he belongs to the ranks of the good angels who serve the God of gods. Those good angels are opposed to the fallen Watchers, a grou...
What is the meaning of Jehovah Shammah?
Jehovah Shammah is a transliteration of the Hebrew phrase יְהוָה שָׁמָּה, which means “God is there.” The phrase is the same as “Yahweh Shammah” because “Jehovah” and “Yahweh” are both variations of the same Hebrew word. Ancie...
Abdiel: Milton's Angel who Scorned the Devil - By a PhD
The name “Abdiel” appears in the Bible only one time, in 1 Chronicles 5:15: “Ahi the son of Abdiel, the son of Guni, was chief of their father’s house” (NJKV). In this passage, Abdiel appears as someone’s father in a genealogy,...
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 ...
Gideon's Altar: What does "Jehovah shalom" mean?
Jehovah Shalom means something approximating, “the Lord is Peace”, and is sometimes used more loosely to mean, “the Lord is my peace” or that the Lord gives peace. The phrase occurs only once in the Bible, in the book of Judges...