Reflections and meditations about the Bible by Peter DeHaan, PhD.
In earlier posts, I noted that after the Israelites left Egypt, they spent 40 years in the desert before entering the land God promised for them. I also observed that Moses waited 40 years before leading them out of Egypt. This makes for an unnecessary delay of 80 years. However, why were they in Egypt […]
The Israelites left Egypt for what should have been an eleven-day trek across the desert to the “promised land.” However, because of their disobedience, God gave them a 40-year timeout in the desert. This, however, may not have been the first delay. Prior to that, Moses sensed that his place was to rescue his people, […]
After the Israelites left Egypt, God gave them a 40-year timeout in the desert. This was because of their lack of trust in his pledge to provide for them as they entered into the land he promised. This meant that what should have been an eleven-day journey, ended up being a 40-year desert experience—which for […]
When God told Moses to confront Pharaoh and lead the Israelites out of Egypt, Moses objected. He said, “I have never been eloquent… I am slow of speech and tongue.” Moses’ self-perception was that he was not able to do the job God asked of him, that he lacked the essential qualifications needed for success. […]
In continuing our discussion on Bible translations, let’s pretend I’m translating an ancient text. In doing a strict word-for-word translation, I come up with: “She hit him, I never said.” Even with punctuation inserted—which is a requirement—it is confusing (and sounds a bit like Yoda). Somewhat modifying a strict word-for-word methodology might result in: “I […]
In the FAQ section of A-Bible-A-Day, one question is “Which version or translation of the Bible should I use?” The short answer is to pick whatever version you will actually read. Unfortunately, there is much vociferous, albeit unwarranted, debate about this issue. With what seems like a countless list of versions to pick from, they […]
Asking respectful questions about the Bible is not a sign of rebellion or indication of disbelief, but can be a means of more fully pursuing the God who is revealed in the Bible. It is from this perspective that I’ve been pondering the creation account and asking some questions. My final query is: Question 6: […]
Continuing with my questions about the Genesis account of creation—but never doubting that we and the world we live in were created by God—focus on the person of Cain—who killed his brother Abel—asking questions 3, 4, and 5. Question 3: At this point in the story, only three (living) humans have been identified: Adam, Eve, […]
By faith, I believe that God created us and the universe in which we live. But that resolute statement does not preclude questions about the biblical account of our origin. Here are two of them: Question 1: On the fourth day of creation God made the sun to separate day from night and to mark […]
In my prior posts, In the Beginning, Creation or Evolution, and the Time-Space Continuum I pondered about the reality behind our origins. The Bible’s book of Genesis provides us with an explanation of how things began. This is an account that would have been comprehensible to ancient man, one that would have sufficiently answered the […]