Codex Sinaiticus: What It Is and Why It Matters
Codex Sinaiticus is often discussed as though its age alone settles every New Testament textual question. I do not think that is careful enough.…
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Easter: Should Christians Celebrate It?
The word Easter can start an argument among Christians very quickly. Should we use the day to remember the resurrection, call it Resurrection Sunday,…
The Sin of Achan: What His Story Teaches Us Today
Achan's story is hard to read. A sin hidden beneath one tent brought defeat and death to the whole camp of Israel, so what…
Being Taken or Translated in the Bible: What It Means
Does the Bible ever describe something like teleportation? A few passages may sound that way at first, but Enoch, Elijah, Ezekiel, Philip, Paul, and…
The Priestly Breastplate: What It Meant
What was the priestly breastplate, and why did Aaron carry Israel’s names over his heart? It can be tempting to begin with theories about…
The Mark of Cain: What Was It and Why Did God Give It?
People have offered all kinds of ideas about the mark of Cain, but Genesis never tells us what it looked like. So what does…
Goliath in the Bible: Why David’s Victory Matters
Goliath is one of the best-known people in the Bible, but I think we miss 1 Samuel 17 if we turn it into a…
The Nazirite Vow: What the Bible Teaches
The Nazirite vow can sound mysterious when we first meet it in Scripture. Was it a special path for unusually devoted people, and should…
The Levite’s Concubine: Understanding the Horror of Judges 19
Why would God preserve a chapter as terrible as Judges 19? The account of the Levite’s concubine is painful to read, and it should…
Shamgar and His Oxgoad: What the Bible Tells Us
We only meet Shamgar twice in Judges, and both references are brief. Even so, the details are hard to forget: he used an oxgoad,…
God’s Promise to Abraham: Land, Descendants, and Blessing
When I read God's promise to Abraham, I have to slow down because its parts are easy to blur together. God spoke about Abraham's…
King Herod’s Wickedness: A King Who Feared Jesus
When I read Matthew 2, I’m struck by the contrast between Herod and Jesus. This is more than a dark episode in the Christmas…