The Real Yeshua

We all think, act, and communicate in ways that are primarily predetermined by our culture. We didn't choose our culture any more than we chose our parents.  We are born and immediately immersed in whatever culture we happened to live in. If you had been born in another culture – you would be a very different person than you are today . Read the complete article at -- http://bhcbiblestudies.blogspot.com/2014/05/using-culture-key-to-unlock-meanings-of.html

What language did Jesus speak? Beginning in the middle of the nineteenth century a mistaken notion – Jesus only knew and spoke Aramaic -- took hold that has by-and-large continued to dominate both scholarly and popular opinion. Yet, the results of a century of archaeological evidence have challenged this assumption and brought a sea change of understanding regarding the linguistic environment of first-century Judaea. The inscriptional and literary evidence reflects a reality not unlike what we find with the Dead Sea Scrolls. Of the 700 non-biblical texts from the Qumran library, 120 are in Aramaic and 28 in Greek, while 550 scrolls were written in Hebrew. Read the complete article at -- http://mosaicmagazine.com/picks/2014/05/judean-lingo/

Back in the late 1980s, after participating in discussions that took place in our Bible studies and meetings in which endless arguments and debates flared up over the interpretations of verses or religious doctrines, I created the BHC Bible Study Guideline. Our Belief Systems must be large enough to include all the Facts; Open enough to be tested; and, Flexible enough to change when errors or new Facts are discovered! It was amazing to witness the transformation that took place when the participants focused on identifying or finding the facts and then comparing them to their beliefs – especially when hardcore fundamentalists were involved. It didn’t take long for participants to realize that – people who ignore the Facts, refuse to be tested, and cling to errors – are living lives & making important decisions based on illusions – not truths – and that doesn’t really make any sense! If the BHC Bible Study Guideline has benefited your life – or if its new ...

Then Yeshua said to the crowds and to the disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. Therefore, whatever they may tell you do and keep; but do not do according to their works; because they say and do not.” (Matthew 23:1-3) The three verses above contain clues that reveal a great deal about the real Yeshua and his Jewish world. The first clue reveals a great deal about the two groups that gathered to hear him – the crowds and the disciples . The information recorded in the Synoptic Gospels ( Matthew, Mark & Luke ) also reveal a great deal about Yeshua as a rabbi . There can be little doubt that this was how most of the Jewish people viewed Yeshua. However, it is important to understand that being a rabbi before 70 CE in Judea and Galilee was very different from being an American rabbi today. Pay close attention to the underlined words below: There were hundreds and perhaps thousands of such rabbis circulating in the land of Israel in Jesus’ day. These ...

When Yeshua was about 10 years old (6 CE), Judea became part of a larger Roman province, called Iudaea , which was formed by combining Judea proper (biblical Judah ) with Samaria and Idumea (biblical Edom ). Even though Iudaea is simply derived from the Latin for Judea , many historians use it to distinguish the Roman province from the previous territory and history. Iudaea province did not include Galilee , Gaulanitis (the Golan ), nor Peraea or the Decapolis . [i] Its revenue was of little importance to the Roman treasury, but it controlled the land and coastal sea routes to the bread basket Egypt and was a border province against the Parthian Empire because of the Jewish connections to Babylonia (since the Babylonian exile). Egypt seems to have had grain surpluses often enough, so that they could be stored in state granaries and even be exported. During Roman times the country was one of the bread baskets of Rome. In Egypt, we find barley cut at the end o...

I receive many inquiries asking about which Hebrew-English Interlinear Bible I would recommend. For a list of Bible Study Tools I recommend for the Hebrew Bible click on --   http://bhcbiblestudies.blogspot.com/2014/01/basic-tools-for-studying-hebrew-bible.html  

If you have read many of my blogs, you know how much I stress the importance of knowing as much as you can about the culture of Second Temple Judaism when you read the words of Jesus. It was his culture. But, there is another culture that you should be aware of too -- if you rely on English translations of the Bible – the culture of the translators . Here is an example from Matthew 12:1 of the King James Version : At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn ; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn , and to eat . Read the complete article at -- http://bhcbiblestudies.blogspot.com/2014/01/corn-or-maze-know-culture-of-translator.html