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The article presents the discussion on Bernard and Ecclesiases. Topics include Bernard being known for the "Biblical" style of writing and for the inclusion of many Biblical citations, allusions, and reminiscences; Ecclesiastes helping in setting down the foundation of a three-stage progression towards mystical love; and bespeaking a radical failing in the essential disposition of fear of the Lord.

Commentators have long noted and discussed the several difficulties of Rom 5:12. Among them is that, while the verse appears to open with a comparison (Διὰ τοῦτο ὥσπερ δι᾿ ἑνὸς ἀνθρώπου ἡ ἁμαρτία εἰς τὸν κόσμον εἰσῆλθεν ..., "Therefore, just as through one man sin came into the world ..."), the second part of that comparison is never clearly formulated. Instead, the verse seems to trail off with no obvious conclusion to the comparison (καὶ οὕτως εἰς πάντας ἀνθρώπους ὁ θάνατος διῆλθεν ..., "and so death came to all men ..."). Many have suggested that Paul simply lost track of his thought, and modern translations and commentaries typically accept the incoherence, translating "and so" and often concluding the sentence with a dash. However, this is not the only syntactic possibility. This article aims to supplement John Kirby's discussion of the adverbial meaning of καὶ οὕτως ("even so") in Rom 5:12, a translation that understands the verse to be a complete and cogent comparison. I will survey a broader range of linguistic evidence, taking note of the textual history of Rom 5:12 and will reconsider the contextual objections to this translation. I will show that syntactically and conceptually "even so" or "in the same way" is the best translation of καὶ οὕτως in Rom 5:12. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several passages in classical Jewish liturgy consist of biblical verses, assembled mostly from the book of Psalms, without introduction or additions. Two such passages, which appear in the preliminary prayers (סוקי לזמרא? 'verses of song') before the standard morning worship, mix and match verses from several psalms to form independent literary works. These works present a distinct theological statement different from any made by any of their constituent verses. Biblical authority is marshaled to assure the worshipper of the reliability of God's eventual salvation and to give support to the worshipper's appeal that God restore to the Jews their former status and their ancestral land. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An examination of the word מקנה in four biblical occurrences (Gen 34:23; Josh 22:8; Ezek 38:12-13; and 2 Chr 14:14) reveals that it may be interpreted as "cattle/livestock" in these cases only after emendations and disregard of the structure, rhetorical pattern, and literary and historical contexts of the verses. Alternately, it is shown that inconsistencies and/or problems of translation disappear, in all four instances, after מקנה is identified as denoting raw metal. This metallurgical meaning of מקנה, explicitly evoked in Josh 22:8 and Ezek 38:12-13, is also supported by other metallurgical expressions derived from qny and its closely related roots, qyn and qn?. The disregard of such a meaning, evidenced from the Septuagint to modern scholarship, confirms that a part of the metallurgical terminology in the Bible was forgotten in the time interval between the re- daction of the book of Chronicles and the Greek translation of the Bible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the biblical chapters and verses of Luke 1–2 that focuses on the arrival of Jesus Christ. It mentions that the Gospel of Luke represent letters attributed to the apostle, and states that Luke follows Mark's outline anecdotes. It also mentions that Greek written shares several qualities of ancient histories and biographies.

The article discusses the message of the chapter Isaiah 2 of the Old Testament of the Christian Bible having a contrast to chapter 1, where there is a call out of the prophet to live God's people as God commands. It also discusses the communication of the judgment of God by First Isaiah and the focus of the new future and transformation for God's people.

The article offers an addenda to Psalm 145, one of the best known biblical passages in the Jewish liturgy. Topics covered include the two commendable figures of Psalm 45, possible reasons for the introduction of the prologue, and an analysis of the second addendum, the Va'anahnu verse which is appended to the psalm as an epilogue.

The christological hymn in Philippians 2, rich as it is in theological potential, has always been a fruitful locus in the history of biblical interpretation for engaging in a number of doctrinal disputes which revolve around questions of the nature of Christ. Thus, an analysis of any chapter in the history of interpretation of the hymn (or at least parts of it) is necessary for understanding the ways in which Paul's text has informed christological discourse or, vice versa, how certain ways of thinking about Christology inform interpretations of the passage. In the sixteenth century, the hymn also serves as a jumping-off point for discussions of the authority of scripture in matters of doctrine, for whether Paul provides sufficient doctrinal fodder to ground an orthodox doctrine of the Trinity (particularly of the consubstantiality of the Father and the Son) will be brought into question, in particular, by Erasmus. Erasmus’ understanding of the passage, as it appears in his Annotations, was criticised by numerous Catholics, and the ensuing debate (especially between Erasmus and Lefèvre) is fairly well known. The response Erasmus (and the surrounding debate) elicits from John Calvin, however, has scarcely been mentioned and, to my knowledge, never been examined in depth – this, despite the fact that Calvin's engagement with Erasmus on Philippians 2:6–7 departs from his usual method of perspicua brevitas in commentary writing, and constitutes a significant digression on an array of christological and hermeneutical issues. These two verses, and their reception in the sixteenth century, provide a useful lens for analysing the christologies and the hermeneutical strategies of two biblical humanists who, perhaps, are not often enough considered alongside one another. A close reading of these two exegetes’ interpretations of Philippians 2:6–7 will be followed by a consideration of the significance of their emphasis on the radical humility of Christ, which emphasis serves as a departure from the bulk of the antecedent exegetical and theological tradition. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This essay presents a brief introduction to and an edition of Nicholas of Ockham's Leccio at Oxford, which begins with the biblical verse, O altitudo diviciarum sapiencie et sciencie Dei (Romans 11. 33). This leccio may have been Nicholas's inaugural sermon as a Master of Theology at Oxford and therefore dates to 1286. Whatever the precise genre of Nicholas's leccio, the text is also important because much of it copies entire sections of St Bonaventure's (d. 1274) Collationes in Hexaëmeron. Nicholas's text is therefore a witness to Oxford University practices of the late thirteenth-century and to the late thirteenth-century reception of Bonaventure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the in-depth understanding of the scripture Psalm 46. It states that the three stanzas of psalm concern on superscription, the destruction brought by God on the enemy of Israel, and Divine protection. It also discusses several approaches in understanding the scripture including the messianic approach, the metaphoric approach, and a synthesis approach.

The article presents an analysis pertaining to the Biblical verse found in Matthew 6:19-34 through a narrative approach. The plot and subplot is analyzed, which includes a detailed explanation of the plot and characters in the story from the said Gospel of Matthew. It explains the irreconcilability of God and mammon or wealth, and the conflict it represents.

The article reflects on the review of the article "The Construction of Three Passages from St. Paul", by Edmund Hill and also focuses on its influence on scholarly interpretations. It mentions that in his interpretation, Hill offered his own observations about the passage and criticizes the "Revised Standard Version (RSV)" translation of the second part of the verse. He also criticized first of all the translation "to the glory of God" and suggested that the Greek text should best be understood in short jerks. He also pointed out that "the RSV translation reduces to nothing the balance between di' autou at the beginning and di' 'êmôn at the end."

The article offers suggestions as well as explanation of various Bible chapters and verses, for teaching children during Easter. It suggests the use of a vine and its branches to illustrate children the relationship of Jesus Christ and human beings and explains verses from Acts 10 to teach how gentiles receive the Holy Spirit. It also recommends describing the God's selection of different people for performing various tasks.

The titles more found in 1 Cor 6.12-20 and in the unity of chapters 5-7 are presented. The proposals of articulation of the pericope in the unit to propose, from such titles and articulation, reading the pericope, the themes that are considered central are exposed. These issues are a proposal of biblical theology to the pericope in its context. This inspires the christian embodied existence, which is the subject of the thesis of the author, where introduces and motivates the exegesis there exposed. The themes chosen in the pericope are porneia and body, sin against the body, the body of Christ and the temple of the Holy Spirit. Alternatives mutually excludents are sexual contact with the prostitute, that involves the entire corporal existence, and belonging to the body of Christ, in which we are inserted through the Holy Spirit, of which we are the temple. Christian identity, life style and behavior, theology and ethics are inseparable. These relations were not understood by many corinthians, which Paul has in view. The body is central to the pericope, permeates the entire First Letter to the Corinthians, and is related to the Gospel itself of Paul as theology of the body. Porneia engages the whole person in a stable manner and is one of the problems that place the community in conflict, alongside other controversies known, and related, such as those relating to the charisms, idolatry, and the authority itself of Paul. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the doctrinal implications and correspondence of the Bible verse 2 Timothy 2:11-13 into the systematic studies on eschatology and soteriology. It states that eternal life's definition in the Bible verse has been considered to be an identification with Jesus Christ's subtitutionary death on the cross. Moreover, the denials of Biblical characters Phygelus and Hermogenes.

The article focuses on the Bible verse John 15:6 on the inevitability of fruitbearing in Scrupture. It explores the viticulture and vineyard management at the time of Jesus Christ and several viticultural terms in literal sense on the cleaning, pruning, and clearing of fruits. It also discusses God's affirmation on the fruitbearing process and the continued process of sanctification.

The article focuses on the Bible verses titled "The Father's Clear Testimony" that can be found at John 5:37-47, which discuss the teaching of Jesus Christ on the conditional perspicuity of Scripture. It states that a grammar analysis have been made for the verses' 37-47 to better relate the real theological definition of the texts. It also relates the concept weighing by the United Bible Societies of the Scripture.

The final bîmînékā of Ps 17:7 has been deliberately delayed; it qualifies all four verbal elements in the verse and serves to reinforce one of the psalm's central motifs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers the history of the transmission of the opening verses of the Fourth Gospel and the ways in which the text was divided or not divided into segments by commentators (e.g. Ptolemy, Heracleon, Irenaeus, Cyprian, Chrysostom, Augustine, Cyril, Philoxenus), liturgical systems and the scribes of early manuscripts (e.g. Arabic, Armenian, Coptic, Ethiopic, Georgian, Greek, Latin, Syriac). There is then investigation of the division of the text in the period of print from 1495 (the first printing of Jn 1.1-14) to the present. It is found that systems that regarded Jn 1.1-5, 1-14, or 1-17 as a unit preceded those that regarded 1.1-18 as a unit and that these earlier analyses each have distinct exegetical advantages over the common modern position of viewing 1.1-18 as a unit. The reasons for the currently preferred division and its exegetical consequences are explored with the conclusion that Jn 1.1-18 should not be regarded as the prologue of the Fourth Gospel. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Reconstructing the relationship between Israel and Phoenicia one can find an outstanding source in Ezek 26-28. In these chapters we find traces of the political, economic and religious life of the city of Tyre: Ezek 26 reflects the siege and downfall of the city and seems to look back to the campaign of Alexander the Great who brought after 333 BCE the Near East under his control; Ezek 27 deals with a Tyrian trade list-an evaluation of this text gives important insight into the Tyrian system of trade; and in Ezek 28, the authors of the text demonstrate their knowledge about Tyrian rituals and myths. Even if this information is given in a prophetic oracle against Tyre which is full of hybrid intentions and tendencies one cannot leave beside the facts reported in these chapters because the authors were obviously familiar with large segments of Phoenician and Tyrian cultural life and thought. Evaluating this familiarity in a critical way it may be possible to expand our data for the reconstruction of Phoenician history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents several biblical passages, psalms, verses and readings which discuss discipleship, way of life and death. It states that Jeremiah 18:1-11 involves the power of metaphor, which particularly relates clay with divine power. It says that Psalm 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, and 14-17 expresses the eternity of God and the power of God's wrath confronting human iniquity. Meanwhile, it mentions that Philemon 1-21 is the shortest of St.Paul's letters with 26 simple and complex verses.

The article offers biblical reflections of scriptures for August 1, 2010. It says that the book Ecclesiastes symbolizes a stage of thinking with regards to Israel's religious growth and considers the existence of human as cyclical. It states that Psalm 49 verse 10 reminds everyone that death is the destiny of every human including the poor, the rich, and the powerful. Moreover, it mentions that the belief concerning life after death would happen in hundred years during the time of Maccabees.

The article examines the first 14 verses of Genesis 43 that details the transition from the brothers' first trip to Egypt to the forthcoming second trip. It states that the narrative devices are given focus to understand the characters' actions and the plot's development. It notes that the first part of the second verse notes that the family of Jacob consumed all the supply of grain that has been brought home from Egypt.

The article offers an analysis on the I Samuel 20 verse "It's an event not pure, for its not pure." Topics covered include the story of the friendship of Biblical personalities David and Jonathan as recorded in the verse, the unusual construction of the verse, stating twice that David is not pure, and a political interpretation of the biblical text.

The article presents some observations of Romano Penna regarding the use of the future in Romans chapter six verse five and eight (Rom 6, 5.8). According to Penna, both verses in Rom 6, 5.8 refer to the logical future, the moral life of the Christian in the present historical existence. She also says that both verses refer to the present but with an eschatological perspective. Further, she noted that both verses in Rom 6, 5.8 refer to the eschatological future but with anticipatory reflections in the moral life of the Christian.

The article presents several biblical reflections in relation to the Advent season. It features several biblical passages from Isaiah, Psalm, 1 Corinthians, and the Gospel of Mark. It also features several papers that explore and give reflections regarding Advent season. It also includes the ideas and illustration relative to the Advent season as preparation for the Christmas season such as putting Christmas decorations and caroling.

According to Origen Genesis 1-3 is an anthropological key-text. The account of man's creation in Gen. 1,26f deals with the creation of the inner non-material man in the image of God, whereas Gen. 2,7 deals with the creation of the human body, the outer man, which is not created in the image of God. Some later critics claim that according to Origen Gen. 2,7 is about the creation of a non-material luminous body. In Origen's opinion only the inner man can reach perfection. The outer man can never be perfect, but will be destroyed. To deepen our understanding of, how Origen understands the mortality of the human body, some short sayings about the meaning of Gen. 3,21 are interpreted. In the few places where Origen refers explicitly to Gen. 3,21 there is no clear picture of how he interprets this verse. The most precise observation we can make is that in his view the skin coats denote the mortal corporality that surrounds the inner man. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses bible passages to be read on the Fourth Sunday of Easter on April 29, 2007. A passage from the Revelation 7: 9-17 illustrates an instructive hymn text from the Apocalypse, reminding people about the gospel of Jesus as the shepherd, who is also the Lamb, the One whose trust has been placed in God's salvation and who directs the faithful to eternal life. Another passage is from John 10: 22-30 which takes people back to the time just before Jesus sufferings and crucifixion.

The article discusses bible passages to be read on the Sixth Sunday of Lent and Palm Sunday on April 01, 2007. The reading from Psalms 118: 1-2, 19-29 talks about a celebration from a victory consummated by God wherein Jesus Christ's entry to Jerusalem is of a royal triumph. The reading from Isaiah 50: 4-7 encourages people to be obedient and notice the seal of baptism. Meanwhile, the reading from Philippians 2: 5: 11 talks about Jesus Christ as the ultimate model of humility.

The article discusses bible passages to be read on Maundy/Holy Thursday on April 5, 2007. The reading from Exodus 12 talks about God's instructions to Moses for the first Passover and the absolute promise of salvation, and the fact that God instructs people to have bond of kinship. A reading from Psalms carry the theme about God's gift of salvation that brings people closer, even strangers and kin. During the eucharistic prayers, God is praised because of his holiness.

The article discusses bible passages to be read on Good Friday on April 6, 2007. The reading from Isaiah 25: 13 to 53: 12 reflects more than just the political struggles of the Jews in Babylon and spreads a confident sense of God's mercy and justice. Another reading which is from Psalms 22 illustrates a thanksgiving to God despite past calamity and sufferings of people. These readings calls people to give thanks to God and pray for their sufferings and acknowledge the way to surpass those.

The article discusses bible passages to be read on Easter Vigil, day and Night on April 7-8, 2007. The reading from Genesis 1: 1-24a illustrates the creation of humankind based on God's image and likeness while the reading from Psalms 136, is a psalm of thanksgiving for God's deeds, for He is good and his steadfast love endures eternally. All readings celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ and encourage people to recognize new Christian life.

The article discusses bible passages to be read on the Second Sunday of Easter on April 15, 2007. The reading from Acts 5 talks about the story of a trial before the religious high council in Jerusalem wherein Peter and John, the disciples of Christ, have preached their teaching. Another reading which is from the Revelation 1 tells about the second coming of Jesus Christ wherein people are encouraged to see Jesus and so believe.

The article discusses bible passages to be read on the Third Sunday of Easter on April 22, 2007. A passage from Acts 9: 1-6 tells about the connection between the experience of Saul, who is called to follow the risen Jesus Christ, and the other disciples, as well as people. Another reading from Revelation 5 illustrates a hymn of praise offered to the Christ that was slain. A reading from John 21: 1-14 encourages people to offer and spread love to each other as Jesus shows his love to humanity.

Discusses the book of Mark chapter 5 verses 1-20. Location of Jesus in the passage; Information on the orientation of the Lord and the evil spirits called Legion; Overview of humanity as existing in the sin of Adam.

Presents interpretations of several verses in the Bible relating to Pentecost used in homily service. God's plan for salvation in the story of the first Pentecost discussed in the book of Acts; Affirmation of God's love for Israel in the book of Isaiah; Response of Apostle Paul to a question raised by some members of the community regarding spiritual gifts recorded in I Corinthians.

The article discusses the two different versions of the Decalogue regarding the Sabbath in Deuteronomy and Exodus. It states that the statement in the Book of Exodus about Sabbath mentioned the word "remember" while in the Deuteronomy it said "observe" and "to make." According to the author, the two books have different focus such as in Exodus it reflects the eventual relevance of the Sabbath commandment to mankind while Deuteronomy concentrates on the implementation of the commandment in Israel.

The use of Psalm 68 in Eph. 4:8 has proved to be one of the most difficult interpretive problems in this enigmatic letter. In this article I will engage and critique a leading interpretive proposal and then offer an alternative reading that exploits the elements of divine triumph and divine warfare in Ephesians, and that satisfactorily accounts for the quotation and elaboration by the writer in vv. 9-10. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although most exegetes consider God or Lady Wisdom to be the speaker in Isa. 55.1-3, the one who speaks in v. 1 is the personified Lady Zion. She is present in this first scene of the chapter, as an analysis of the enclitic personal pronoun ך, (v. 5) makes clear. She answers her God alter being addressed several times in ch. 54 and therefore begins a dialogue which is continued by YHWH himself and closed by a commentator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Addresses problems in the interpretation of the Epistle to Titus. History of the exegesis; Current interpretation of the Epistle to Titus; Assessments of the main theme in the Epistle to Titus.

Scholars universally dismiss the reference to an eighth heaven in Apoc. Abr. 19.6 as a late addition, but they have apparently done so without fully understanding the difficult sequence of activity in chaps. 15-19. With the help of other texts, the confusing web of spatial indicators in these chapters can be mapped out in a sensible and logical manner. This article not only argues that the narrative is more coherent than previous accounts have assumed, but also that the eighth heaven is a necessary part of the narrative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents an analysis of the identity of a group of Jews described in the book of John 8:33. Confusion on the characterization of the group; Views of scholars on the group identified in the book; Separation between believers and unbelievers; Arguments on the group of believers and unbelievers; Group of people from Jerusalem who were seeking to kill Jesus Christ.