Category:
Scholarly-ish
The Great Cheese Inquisition
Every once in a while when I am studying something in my Bible, I get distracted and go off on an interesting tangent. (Actually, this happens frequently.) The other day as I was looking up references to the Ten Commandments (more on that later, maybe), I came across 1 Samuel 17:18, which in the English…
Whipping up Conflict
Below is an excerpt from my latest Inspire a Fire post: “If anyone ever asks you, ‘What would Jesus do?’ Remind them that flipping over tables and chasing people with a whip is within the realm of possibilities.” I stumbled across this quote online, along with a picture of Jesus driving vendors from the temple.…
Some Doubted
I was reading the other day from Matthew 28, after Jesus’ resurrection: Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw Him, they worshipped Him; but some doubted (Matthew 28:16-17). Some doubted. I love how bluntly that is stated. One might think that having…
Doubting Thomas Sunday
The Sunday after Easter is Doubting Thomas Sunday. It’s true across multiple denominations, and it’s true whether you are on a one year lectionary or a three year lectionary. You may have heard Thomas’ story so many times you think you’ve heard it all. Come with me anyway. On the evening of that day, the…
Shepherds
Some of the most interesting questions are raised during Bible study. Like this one, that came about while reading Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth: And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them… And the angel…
Biblical Hebrew: Week 1
Allow me to tell you what I think I know about the Hebrew alphabet. There are 23 letters in the Hebrew alphabet. Some people say there are 26. And immediately we come upon the main lesson of Week 1: In Biblical Hebrew, there is an alternate opinion, spelling, symbol, and/or pronunciation for just about everything.…
Hebrew
This weekend, I began reading Hebrew. I don’t mean the book of Hebrews; I mean the language Hebrew. Although to be honest, I didn’t actually read Hebrew so much as I just looked at it. “Reading” implies comprehension. I am signed up to take a Biblical Hebrew class this fall. I am really looking forward…
The
Here’s an interesting game to play. Someone shout out a word… what’s the first Bible passage that springs to mind? Perhaps someday I’ll study enough Hebrew and Greek to attempt an original language word study. But for now, here is a word study in English. Stick with me here, this is cool. When I think…
The Ending of the Easter Story
Jesus the Christ was put to death on Good Friday, but that is not the end of the story. Very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb…And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back – it was very large. And…
The Beginning of the Easter Story
Jesus the Christ was born on Christmas Day, but that is not the beginning of the story. The coming of Jesus was foretold throughout the Old Testament. The prophets announced throughout Israel’s history that a Messiah would come. But even that is not the beginning of the story. We could argue that the Easter Story…
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Meet Janet!
Janet Beagle, PhD is the founder of The Mustard Patch. She divides her time between the Midwest and New England, and if she’s not writing, she’s probably out hiking with her 2-and 4-footed friends.