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The Contours of the Land in Israel's History
The Land of Palestine
The land of Palestine took its name from the Philistines (the Pelishtim in Hebrew) who settled along the Mediterranean coast from Joppa to Gaza about 1300–12...
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Ellipsis’ Ugly Head (John 12:7) —Monday's with Mounce 254
We don’t talk much about ellipsis in first year Greek, but it is a grammatical fact that occurs more than you might think.
An ellipsis is wh...
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Did Jesus “Accept” Human Testimony? (John 5:34) — Mondays with Mounce 253
Semantic range can be a pesky fellow. Take for example the range of meaning held by λαμβάνω.
In John 5:31 Jesus starts by saying, “If I bear...
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Where are the blind pastors? (1 Cor 12:22) —Mondays with Mounce 252
I just attended the Global Access Conference hosted by Joni and Friends. Everybody needs to attend something like this because it will make ...
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Did the Israelites Walk or Swim? (Heb 11:29) — Mondays with Mounce 251
Allowing for the fact that we all hear words a little differently, I was surprised to read that in many translations the Israelites really d...
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Can “Or” Mean “And”? (1 Thess 2:19) — Mondays with Mounce 250
Paul tells the young Thessalonian church, “For what is our hope or (ἤ) joy or (ἤ) crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is ...
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Paragraphs (Col 2:9 and 4:10) — Mondays with Mounce 249
Lately I have been fascinated by the more subtle methods of translation. One of the problems of first year Greek training is that we have to...
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Do We Entrust God with Our Soul or with Everything? (1 Peter 4:19) — Mondays with Mounce 248
Peter concludes a discussion on suffering with these words. “Therefore, let those suffering in accordance with God’s will entrust (παρατιθέσ...
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Divine Passives and Seminary Education (Eph 3:19) — Mondays with Mounce 247
I came across a great “divine passive” that has some interesting implications for how we study the Bible and train our seminarians and preac...
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The Joys of Ellipsis (John 12:7) — Mondays with Mounce 246
When Mary anointed Jesus’ feet, Judas objected to the extravagant waste of money. Jesus responds, “‘Leave (Ἄφες) her alone,’ Jesus replied. ...
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Ellipsis (What Is Missing in Luke 2:49?) - Mondays with Mounce 245
Here is a great example of why translation involves interpretation, and why a “word-for-word” approach can often fail.
When Jesus’ parents f...
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Man, a Man, Men, at Familymas (Matt 9:8) — Mondays with Mounce 244
It is amazing what difference a little word like "a" can make. Since Greek does not have the indefinite article, we primarily use it accordi...
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Subtle Ways of Translating — Mondays with Mounce 243
I never cease to be amazed at the literary quality of the NIV. Yes, I know, I am on the committee, but I am thinking about verses that I fin...
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When Grammar Fails (Matt 10:10) — Mondays with Mounce 242
One of the great conundrums in the Synoptics is the issue of whether Jesus told his disciples to take a staff, not take a staff, or don't ta...
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What’s Wrong With a “Dumb Man”? (Matt 9:32) — Mondays with Mounce 241
One of the benefits of working with Joni and Friends is that I have developed some sensitivities to the disability community. What I once di...
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When Is "Them" Confusing? (Luke 9:26) — Mondays with Mounce 240
There is no question that "they" is becoming the pronoun of choice to refer back to either a singular or plural antecedent. Like it or not, ...
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Relative Pronouns Revisited (Eph 1:6) — Mondays with Mounce 239
ἧς in Eph 1:6 gives us a good opportunity to review our understanding of relative pronouns. Warning: 2nd year Greek ahead.
The prepositional...
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