A Virtual File Cabinet for Our Studies of Christian Origins & Hebraic Faith
Deciphering Deuteronomy by Ross K. Nichols TV Playlist•11 videos Deciphering Deuteronomy is [Roxss’s] latest in-depth walk through the Torah portions from the Book of Deuteronomy. This featured series offers fresh insights from an academic, historical-critical perspective, including text-critical analysis, source criticism, and engagement with ancient manuscripts such as the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Samaritan […]
Continue ReadingExtract from transcript of Christine Hayes’ lecture 18 Literary Prophecy: Micah, Zephaniah, Nahum and Habbakuk from the Open Yale Courses. Chapter 5. The Book of Habakkuk [00:19:46] The Book of Habakkuk was written during this period, so 600 to the destruction — somewhere in those years. That’s the period in which the Babylonians attacked Jerusalem […]
Continue ReadingFrom ChatGPT 9/14/2025 before Rob Couch’s sermon on the book and the prophet. Critical scholars treat Joel as a small prophetic book whose date, setting, and purpose are not obvious from the text itself, so they focus on four main issues: 1. Date and Historical SettingJoel never mentions a king, foreign oppressor, or clear historical […]
Continue Reading[Isa 58:6-12 ASV] 6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? 7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the […]
Continue ReadingFrom Christine Hayes’ Lecture 23 Summary in Dropbox Post-exilic prophets like Haggai, Zechariah, and Third Isaiah articulated eschatological hopes to address the disillusionment of returning exiles. Haggai (520 BCE): Blamed the community’s hardships on their failure to rebuild the temple (Haggai 1:4-6) and saw Zerubbabel as a potential Davidic messiah. From Christine Hayes’ Lecture 23 […]
Continue ReadingFrom ChatGPT on 7/25/2025. Critical Bible scholars widely acknowledge that the name “Moses” (Hebrew: Mosheh, מֹשֶׁה) is likely of Egyptian origin and is related to the Egyptian word “ms” or “mes,” meaning “child of” or “born of,” commonly used as a suffix in Egyptian theophoric names. In Egyptian, the verb ms(i) means “to give birth,” […]
Continue ReadingFrom ChatGPT on 5/15/2025. King Hezekiah of Judah, who reigned in the late 8th century BCE, is recognized for initiating significant religious reforms aimed at centralizing worship in Jerusalem. These reforms were both religious and political, seeking to consolidate religious practices and strengthen the kingdom’s unity. Biblical Accounts The Hebrew Bible portrays Hezekiah as a […]
Continue ReadingFrom Claude.ai, 4/28/2025. The Authorship of the Book of Micah: Critical Scholarly Perspectives The question of who wrote the book of Micah is considerably more complex than the traditional view that attributes the entire text to the 8th-century prophet Micah of Moresheth. Critical biblical scholarship has extensively examined this question, considering linguistic features, historical references, […]
Continue ReadingFrom Claude.ai 4/28/2025 Solar Eclipses in the Time of Micah and Isaiah: Critical Scholarly Perspectives When examining the biblical texts of Micah and Isaiah for references to solar eclipses, critical scholars have identified several passages that may allude to such astronomical events. This is a fascinating area where astronomy, history, and biblical interpretation intersect. Potential […]
Continue ReadingThe three prompts below were responded to in Explanatory Mode by Claude.ai when I was working on my sermon for Rob Couch’s Preaching and Teaching course during the spring of 2025. Prompt 1 – Prepare a brief presentation of the prophet Micah’s life at the time of the Assyrian invasion and King Hezekiah’s reforms. The […]
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