Dr Paul Allen

English: Sara was the wife of Abraham and the mother of Ishmaelas described in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) 2 Samuel 4:4 Generations of scribes, working for the most part in anonymity, have faithfully rendered the Bible as the best preserved work of the ancient world. Although each pen stroke was the result of a scribe’s action, there are in fact very few places where a scribe appears to have  intentionally altered the “received” text. Such changes in the Hebrew Bible are identified by the scribal tradition as tiqqune sopherim (“emendations of the scribes”). Various rabbinic lists enumerate specific emendations, ranging in total from seven to eighteen. Most of these early scribal emendations were introduced based on religious motives in an effort to preserve the sanctity and dignity of the Biblical  text. For example, Genesis 18:22 reports that “the men turned away and went toward Sodom , but Abraham remaine...

( ) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Author: Cripplegate . Mark 3 features a phrase unusual for its apparent awkwardness. In his rebuke of the scribes , Jesus accuses them of committing the unforgivable sin , which is of course blaspheming the Holy Spirit . While there are lots of debates on what exactly it means to commit this sin, one major fact is often overlooked in this discussion: before condemning the scribes for committing the unforgivable sin, Jesus makes an astounding statement. He asserts that “every kind of blasphemy can be forgiven the sons of men…” Why does Jesus use the phrase “sons of men”? This is the only recorded time Jesus used that phrase to describe humans, and it stands out as being unnatural. After all, have you ever said “sons of men”? The context of Mark 3 is rife with demonic activity. Satan has tempted Jesus ( Mark 1 ), and Jesus began his public ministry by casting out a demon. But even more recently, as Jesus was pushed to the countryside, his ministry ...

The Pharisees and the Herodians Conspire Against Jesus (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 23:27–28 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees , hypocrites ! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones” ( v. 27 ). Hypocrisy is a dangerous sin because few hypocrites consciously say one thing while doing another. In most cases we ignore the contrast between our words and deeds, keeping ourselves blissfully unaware of how we live inconsistently with our professed beliefs. When this happens we overlook our sins, falling into habitual transgression without even knowing it. Sometimes we are so blind to our misdeeds that we need confrontation in order to see our sin. This has certainly been true of many scribes and Pharisees, whom Jesus calls out near the end of His earthly ministry.  This passage gives us the sixth woe our Savior pronounces upon these leaders for their hypocrisy ( Matt. 23:27–28 ). This time Chr...

T he Aleppo Codex is a medieval manuscript of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), associated with Rabbi Aaron Ben Asher. The Masoretic scholars wrote it in the early 10th century, probably in Tiberias, Israel. It is in book form and contains the vowel points and grammar points (nikkudot) that specify the pronunciation of the ancient Hebrew letters to preserve the chanting tradition. It is perhaps the most historically important Hebrew manuscript in existence. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Generations of scribes, working for the most part in anonymity, have faithfully rendered the Bible as the best preserved work of the ancient world. Although each pen stroke was the result of a scribe's action, there are in fact very few places where a scribe appears to have intentionally altered the "received" text. Such changes in the Hebrew Bible are identified by the scribal tradition as tiqqune sopherim ("emendations of the scribes"). Various rabbinic lists enumerate spec...