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When Did God Reveal His Name as Yahweh? Understanding Exodus 6:3
Did Abraham know God by the name Yahweh? If you read Genesis, the answer seems obvious. Yahweh’s name is all over the place. Yet Exodus 6:3 appears to say otherwise. God tells Moses, “I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by my name the LORD I did not make myself known to them.” Is this verse teaching that God did not reveal His name to Abraham? This question regularly comes up in my Old Testament studies class. Is there a contradiction between Genesis and Exodus 6:3? I don’t think so. But to understand the passage, we must consider what God means by making himself known. In most English translations, LORD in capital letters represents the name Yahweh (unless you’re reading the LSB, which uses Yahweh). That name occurs 165 times in Genesis, including in conversations involving the patriarchs. We therefore need an explanation that…
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Did Joshua 21 Fulfill the Land Promise to Israel?
Should we expect God to bring Israel back to the promised land someday? Some Christians argue that Joshua 21:43–45 settles the question. God gave Israel all the land He promised, everything was fulfilled, and there is no reason to expect a future fulfillment of the land promise. I’ve seen this argument frequently in discussions online. And I understand why the passage might initially seem convincing. Joshua uses comprehensive language about God’s faithfulness. But does that mean every aspect of the land promise was exhausted during the conquest? We need to look carefully at both the promise itself and the context of Joshua. What Did God Promise Abraham? The land promise begins in Genesis 12:7, where God tells Abram, “To your offspring I will give this land.” Genesis 13:15 adds an important detail: the land would belong to Abraham and his offspring “forever.” Genesis 15:18 specifies the boundaries, extending from the…
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Ezekiel 40–48: Will There Be Millennial Sacrifices?
How could anyone believe that animal sacrifices will return after Jesus offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for sin? Isn’t that a denial of the sufficiency of the cross? This objection frequently comes up in discussions of the millennial kingdom. Some Christians regard the idea of future sacrifices as so obviously wrong that they dismiss it without much discussion. But the question deserves careful attention. We need to understand what Scripture says about future worship and what the sacrificial system actually accomplished. I believe there are too many passages that discuss a future temple to simply dismiss it out of hand. Furthermore, I believe when we understand the sacrificial system, future sacrifices are completely compatible with Christ’s finished work. Which Temple Are We Talking About? First, we need to distinguish a temple rebuilt in unbelief from the temple associated with the Messiah’s kingdom. Sometimes people miss that 2 Thessalonians 2…
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Did Joseph Really Have a Coat of Many Colors? What the Hebrew Says
I still remember learning the story of Joseph and his brothers in Sunday School growing up. I remember watching the story played out on a flannelgraph where the main character, Joseph, was displayed in his brightly colored “rainbow” coat. I also remember going to a local theater to watch the musical, “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat.” These were landmark times in my life. But were these teachings mistaken? It is no surprise that most people think Joseph was the object of jealousy of his brothers because of his coat of many colors. Consider the following translations of Gen 37:3. ESV Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors. NASB Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, because he was the son of his old…
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Who Was Ahasuerus in the Book of Esther?
Sometimes comparing Bible translations raises interesting questions. Consider how the NIV and ESV introduce the king in Esther 1:1: Translation Esther 1:1 NIV “This is what happened during the time of Xerxes…” ESV “Now in the days of Ahasuerus…” At first glance, these translations seem to identify two different kings. Was Esther married to Xerxes or Ahasuerus? Ahasuerus, Xerxes, or Artaxerxes? The Hebrew text calls the king אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ (ʾAḥašwērōš), traditionally rendered Ahasuerus in English. This Hebrew form corresponds to the Old Persian name Xšayāršā, which Greek writers rendered as Xerxes. The ESV therefore preserves the form found in the Hebrew text, while the NIV uses the king’s more familiar historical name. It is not that the king possessed two unrelated names. Rather, the same Persian name took different forms as it passed into Hebrew and Greek: Thus, both translations identify the same ruler: Xerxes I, the son and successor of…
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Was Paul Against Circumcision, Or Not?
Most Christians assume that the Apostle Paul was adamantly against circumcision. After all, this is the man who warned the Galatians that receiving circumcision could make Christ “of no advantage” to them (Gal 5:2). He even declared that those who accepted circumcision were obligated to keep the entire Mosaic Law (Gal 5:3). Those are strong words! So, the matter would seem straightforward: Paul opposed circumcision. But then we continue reading the New Testament and discover something surprising. Paul personally circumcised Timothy (Acts 16:3). Not only did Paul circumcise him, but he did so immediately after participating in the Jerusalem Council, where the apostles had just decided that Gentile believers did not need to be circumcised. At first glance, Paul’s actions appear inconsistent. Was Paul against circumcision or not? Why would he refuse to circumcise Titus but then turn around and circumcise Timothy? Was he compromising his convictions? Or was something…
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The Feast of Booths, the Transfiguration, and the Kingdom of God
The Feast of Booths is not something we often take the time to study because understanding it requires spending considerable time in the Old Testament. Yet the New Testament assumes that its readers are familiar with it. In fact, knowing about the Feast of Booths helps us better understand the Transfiguration in Matthew 17 and, even more, the Kingdom of God. What Is the Feast of Booths? The Feast of Booths (Sukkot in Hebrew) was an important celebration in both the Old Testament and New Testament eras. It was one of the three annual feasts during which all the males in Israel were required to appear before the Lord in Jerusalem (Deut. 16:16). The Feast of Booths was an eight-day celebration (beginning on Tishri 15 on the Jewish calendar), which falls around September or October on our calendar. During this feast, the people lived in temporary shelters (booths) and presented…
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Is It Wrong to Eat Human Flesh?
Okay, weird title. But this is a question that came up recently, and it is an interesting theological exercise. Is eating human flesh wrong? We are not talking mainly about overt cannibalism, where one commits murder in order to eat human flesh. That is clearly wrong. We are mainly talking about a survival scenario, such as being stranded on a boat or in the mountains, where survivors eat humans who have already died in order to survive. For example, the survivors of the 1972 plane crash in the Andes ate their companions to survive. Is it wrong for a Christian to eat human beings who have already died? Although this question may seem bizarre, it actually helps us think through some deeper biblical realities. Sometimes strange ethical questions force us to ask what we really believe about humanity. Are human beings merely biological organisms? Are our bodies just empty shells…
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How Tall Was Goliath? 9 Feet or 6 Feet?
David killing Goliath with a sling is one of the most beloved and well-known Bible stories. In fact, sports announcers will still sometimes use the phrase, “It is a David versus Goliath story” to describe an underdog taking down the favorite. Those who grew up in church quickly became familiar with the story of the little boy David killing the mighty Philistine giant, Goliath. However, some of the details of the David vs. Goliath story need fleshing out. For one thing, it is likely that although he fought for the Philistines, Goliath was likely a descendant of Anak. Another issue is whether Goliath would qualify as a giant or not. This is actually a bit of a text-critical issue in the book of Samuel! Compare the following English translations. CSB Then a champion named Goliath, from Gath, came out from the Philistine camp. He was nine feet, nine inches tall. NET Then a champion came out…
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The Distant Starlight Problem and Genesis 1
A common objection to the young earth creation position is the distant starlight problem. This starlight problem is usually framed with the following information. First, starlight travels approximately 186,000 miles per second. Therefore, the distance starlight can travel in a year is approximately 6 trillion miles, and is referred to in astronomical measurements as a light year. Thanks to the Hubble Telescope, we are able to see many stars that are invisible to the naked eye. One such star, named Icarus, is 9 billion light-years from Earth. In simple terms, the above information means the light from Icarus took 9 billion years (traveling at 186k miles per second) to reach earth. That is a long distance and a long time! However, at the same time, this seems to be incongruent with a young earth creation position, which posits a young age for the earth (usually defined as 6-10k years old).…