Canon and Versions

It is a great privilege to read and try to understand and interpret a biblical text. One of the crucial steps is to go back to the text in the original languages. If one does not know Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek, one should consult a number of translations in order to notice differences and be aler...

Jewish notions of anthropology in the Second Temple period resist systematization. They floated in a sea dominated by Greek philosophy and ideas about the human soul, death, and the afterlife that themselves are diverse and at times somewhat contradictory. Unshakable was the Jewish conviction of ...

The second coming of Jesus Christ is usually described with cosmic language: cosmic signs in the heavens or earth-shattering events on this planet. This apocalyptic dimension seems to have a counter argument in 2 Peter 3:12—the believer is to look for and hasten the coming of the day of the Lord. On the basis of the translation of the participle speudontas some have taken this passage to mean that human beings can influence the timing of the second coming, while others have opposed this view—arguing instead that the participle should be translated as “eagerly awaiting” instead of “hasten.” Additionally, scholars have had different opinions about who and how people can influence the Parousia. Additional questions have been raised: Is this passage referring to the believer as an individual or the church as a body of believers? And is orthopraxy or social concern the criteria for the “hastening”? This presentation briefly examines various models of explanation for 2 Peter 3:12 and then resolves the passage by examining it in its larger context.

Among Adventists the question of the reliability of Bible translations and especially the question which Bible translation to choose have come up again. In his lectures Walter Veith, a zoologist, claims that the so-called Textus Receptus must be chosen on which the King James Version (KJV) and ...

I. Background The Gospel of Judas has received a lot of attention recently, when the National Geographic Society ran an article in its magazine. This society has also received the right to publish the gospel and cover it in print and on television. The Gospel of Judas is a Coptic text that was f...

This is the second volume of the Devotional Commentary Series and it is also written by George Knight. The first volume was on Hebrews. This new work surpasses the other in length by almost fifty pages. Exploring Mark is a concise treatment of Mark’s Gospel and provides good background informat...

Part One - A Divine Hand Guiding The history of modern language translations of the New Testament is fascinating and yet sometimes poorly understood. What happened to the original New Testament writings as they came from the hands of the apostles? What types of witnesses to the New Testament are ...

Many Seventh-day Adventist are aware of the on going debate in our church over which Bible should be read, the Kind James Version (KJV) or one of the modern versions. Much of the discussion has originated with those who believe the KJV is the only Bible that should be used by God’s remnant people...

Mention has already been made, in the fourth and final division of the preceding document, concerning Ellen White’s appraisal of the revised versions of the Scriptures that were extant in her day. But since Seventh‑day Adventists hold, as an article of faith, that Mrs. White was an authentic, gen...

In her writings of the Holy Scriptures Ellen White made use of the various English translations of the Holy Scriptures that were available in her day. She does not, however, comment directly on the relative merits of these versions, but it is clear from her practice that she recognized the desira...