Old Testament Texts

Introduction The book of Amos is a small book—nine chapters, 146 verses, and about 2,050 Hebrew words— but it is a challenging book. Works on this book are legion, the interpretation of almost every clause is debated among scholars, and all kinds of methods have been applied to its study—from his...

Genesis 2:1–3 contains the first biblical text on the seventh-day Sabbath, which is also the first whole day of human history, as it comes chronologically at the end of the whole event of creation when humans are created. This is therefore a foundational text for the historical and theological un...

Dr. René Gehring, the author of this volume in German, is the president of Seminar Schloss Bogenhofen in Austria. Following an introduction, the book is divided into five chapters, the first four of which investigate the Trinity in the Old Testament, in the New Testament, in the writings of Ellen...

Jacques Doukhan has brought back for analysis and discussion Daniel 11, one of the most difficult passages in biblical apocalyptic literature, raising new questions and offering some new readings through the use of a new approach to the text. Doukhan’s academic training in literature and text ana...

The Decalogue is a precious gift endowed to humanity by God Himself (Exod 31:18), uttered (Exod 20:1; Deut 5:4–5, 24) and written (Exod 24:12; 31:18; Deut 5:22) by Him. It presents the foundational principles to preserve life and defines how one maintains the vertical (first four commandments) an...

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One major theme in the book of Job is: Why do the righteous suffer? As the focus in a cosmic drama between the forces of good and evil, Job struggled with this ancient conundrum that robbed him of children, wealth, and health—leaving him devastated and his life threatened. This presentation examines the basis of Job’s avowal, which suggests an eschatological twist engendering hope and the realization that suffering, in whatever form, is meaningless if viewed from the fragmented lens of current realities. Outside the biblical worldview, the existential problem of suffering is difficult to understand. Faithful believers experience difficult and hopeless situations that threaten their well-being and faith in God. This presentation, therefore, concludes that although the cosmic dimensions of human suffering may not always be apparent, as in the case of Job, believers can overcome by exercising unwavering faith rooted not in the externals (material prosperity) but rather in the internals (a conscious and deepened relationship with God); such faith rekindles hope amidst hopelessness and stretches to the hereafter.

Understanding and interpreting the last three chapters of the book of Daniel have always been a challenge to scholars and readers of the Bible. The central prophetic content of Daniel 11:2b–12:3 that refers to the mysterious kings of the north and the south has been particularly obscure. Though this section has been either studied superficially or totally ignored in Adventist literature, during the last twenty years there has been a change toward this prophecy. This presentation also evaluates new approaches to Daniel 11 facing Adventism. This study recognizes the basic importance of grammatical and syntactical work in the exegetical enterprise. Furthermore, it demonstrates that structural analysis provides better comprehension of the passage and the flow of thoughts contained in it. It also deals with the parallelism of the Danielic prophecies and hints the chapter itself provides for its interpretation. These guidelines offer a structure for understanding Daniel 10–12.

This study uses the biblical-historicist method of interpreting the prophecy of Daniel 11. The interpretation of this chapter follows a Christocentric, cross-centered interpretation where the first part (11:1-29) focuses on the great controversy before the cross, dealing with the literal history of kingdoms in geographic areas. The second part (11:30-45) focuses on the great controversy during the Christian era after the cross between spiritual Israel and apostate Christianity where kingdoms and places take on spiritual and global meanings. When interpreting texts in the context of the time of the end, these are not explained with its focus on literal Israel with its Middle Eastern background, but in the light of spiritual Israel with its spiritual and universal perspectives.

This presentation accepts and assumes the solid work done by other Seventh-day Adventist scholars in establishing the date of 457 BC as the starting date for the 2,300-day prophecy of Daniel 8:14, and AD 1844 as the ending date of the prophecy. Building on these biblically based conclusions, this study explores fresh evidence from Scripture, chronology, and Karaite history in order to determine if there can be more precision with regard to the starting and ending dates of the 2,300 day-year prophecy. It concludes that the time period of the prophecy certainly begins in the autumn (not spring) of 457 BC—probably on the Day of Atonement, October 30—and ends on the Day of Atonement in AD 1844, which, according to the biblical reckoning, almost certainly fell on October 22 that year, not September 23.

With the disillusionment in some circles regarding the prophetic day-year metric, it is time to reconsider the biblical data and turn away from the uninformed gossip that has fueled the uncertainties. This paper assumes an intimate connection between the eighth and ninth chapters of Daniel, and rather than dwelling on the specifics of Daniel 8:14, examines the impact of Daniel 9:24–27 in the NT corpus. If it can be demonstrated that Daniel 9 legitimately employs the year-day principle, then that provides solid evidence for the traditional chronology of the vision of Daniel 8. Not only is the vision of Daniel 9 key to the understanding of the mission of Messiah, but it also outlines a series of specific markers that include the appearance, mission, and death of Messiah. The writers of the New Testament recognized some of these chronological pointers as evidenced by a string of (20+) references, throughout the NT, that speak of “the fullness of time.” The obvious question is, “What time?” This paper demonstrates that the time they spoke of was Daniel’s prophecy found in Daniel 9.