Judeophobia: 7 Common Myths

This page contains a post by Joseph Nobles to the BAS General Discussion Forum where he summarizes the book by Christy Cobb Judeophobia and the New Testament: The Undergraduate Classroom (Christy Cobb, pp. 21-28) and The Seminary (Tom de Bruin, pp. 29-34) Noble’s Disclaimer: The contents of this post are not my [Joseph Nobles, BAS […]

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Jewish Attitudes Toward Magic

See second paragraph below about Moses and Aaron about out performing Egyptian Magicians. Scroll below the pdf to see ChatGPT responses with Scriptures. ChapGPT Responses The account of Moses and Aaron outperforming the Egyptian magicians appears in the Book of Exodus, particularly in the narrative leading up to and during the Ten Plagues of Egypt. […]

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Shema

Multiple responses from ChatGPT on 7/18/2025. The words of the Shema, recited daily by Jewish individuals, including rabbis, come from Deuteronomy 6:4-9, but in traditional Jewish practice, the Shema is often expanded to include several additional verses. Here’s the full text of the Shema Yisrael as it’s commonly said in daily prayers: The Shema (Deuteronomy […]

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Samaritans vs. Jews: WHY?

From ChatGPT on 6/27/2025 Here’s a comprehensive look at why critical Bible scholars believe the distrust and dislike between the Samaritans and Jews ran deep in antiquity—politically, ethnically, religiously, and culturally: 1. Ethnic and cultural origins – “mixed race” stigma After Assyria conquered the Northern Kingdom (~722 BCE), they deported many Israelites and resettled the region […]

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The Ark of the Covenant

Below is an extract from Dr. Joel Baden’s book The Historical David: The Real Life of an Invented Hero. This extract was posted at BSA here. Jerusalem had a cult before David, but it was not an Israelite cult because Jerusalem was not an Israelite city. As the very name of the city shows, Jerusalem […]

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Was Killing Fish Considered a Sacrifice?

Claude.ai Prompt 1 in Explanatory Mode – Did the killing of fish have any religious requirements? This is actually a fascinating question that reveals something quite profound about ancient Jewish religious thinking and how they categorized the natural world. To understand the religious requirements around fish, we need to think about how ancient Jewish law […]

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