A Virtual File Cabinet for Our Studies of Christian Origins & Hebraic Faith
From Claude.ai on 5/10/2026. Follow-up to the summary of Ehrman’s interview of Collins here. Prompt: Collins mentions [in the summary linked above] the intellectual class in Yavne and Babylonia. Provide context and background to the people to whom he is referring and their history. Cite all sources in line. Claude responded: Here is a detailed […]
Continue ReadingExtracts from Weekly Blog Recap. All references of “I” below are to Bart Ehrman.
Continue ReadingExtracts from the BAS article by Jeffrey P. García by the same name. Jeffrey P. Arroyo García is Associate Professor of Biblical Studies at Gordon College. He specializes in the Gospels and Greco-Roman Jewish literature.
Continue ReadingFrom BAR – Another representation of the menorah that stood in the Second Temple was discovered by the late Nahman Avigad. While excavating the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City, Avigad found a menorah graffito incised in the plaster of a house wall just 300 yards from the Temple Mount. Measuring 8 inches tall, it dates to the first century […]
Continue ReadingFrom ChatGPT pm 11/9/2025 there are two responses and a third about Jesus calling her ‘daughter’ in the next verse. 3rd Prompt – What is the Greek word and its full meaning in English for daughter in the next verse? Mark 5:34 NRSV — “He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; […]
Continue ReadingA: During the Hasmonean/Maccabean period, when they needed laws, and took up the laws written by the past scribes who wanted the average folks to obey, but few had done so. [my understanding] “When did Judaism begin?” is not a naive question. Every answer to this question would require presenting an acceptable definition of Judaism. […]
Continue ReadingFrom Shabbat of the Full Moon: Early biblical laws demand a cessation of labor every seven days, but that was unconnected to Shabbat, which was originally a full moon celebration by Prof. Jacob L. Wright Summary: Two Separate Institutions The texts explored above suggest that the populations of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah commemorated […]
Continue ReadingFrom ChatGPT 10/10/2025. In the American Standard Version (ASV), it reads: Jehovah saith unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, Until I make thine enemies thy footstool. (Psalm 110:1) In the NRSVue, it reads: The Lord says to my lord, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.” This verse is […]
Continue ReadingFrom Bart Ehrman‘s response on April 28, 2025, at 9:03 pm here: There is certainly a good bit of “anti-Judaism” in parts of the NT and a whole lot more as we moved into the second century and beyond. But none of this is “anti-semitism” in the modern sense. Anti-semitism is hatred/persecution of Jews because […]
Continue ReadingMultiple 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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