On the Making of Papyrus

“The only ancient description we have of the making of papyrus is that of Pliny the Elder in his Natural History Book XIII. He wrote in the latter half of the first century A.D., and while some scholars have questioned whether he had actually seen the process due to some of his remarks, even if he got it second hand, this is valuable first century information… (Pliny, Natural History, 13.74-82)”

Paper is made from the papyrus plant by separating it with a needle point into very thin strips as broad as possible. The choice quality comes from the center, and thence in the order of slicing. The (choice) quality in former times called ‘hieratic’ because it was devoted only to religious books has, out of flattery, taken on the name of Augustus, and the next quality that of Livia, after his wife, so that the ‘hieratic’ has dropped to third rank. Paper of whatever grade is fabricated on a board moistened with water from the Nile: the muddy liquid serves as the bonding force. First there is spread flat on the board a layer consisting of strips of papyrus running vertically, as long as possible, with their ends squared off. After that a cross layer completes the construction. Then it is pressed in presses, and the sheets thus formed are dried in the sun and joined one to another, (working) in declining order of excellence down to the poorest. There are never more than twenty sheets in a roll. See pictures and read article at -- http://www.patheos.com/blogs/bibleandculture/2014/11/03/on-the-making-of-papyrus/

Hearing the Real Yeshua’s Voice – Understanding His Message & His Movement

Blessed are the SHALOM makers,
for they shall be called sons of God.

Who are the SHALOM makers? TZEDAQAH (righteousness) is one of the most important words in the Hebrew Scriptures, the Bible of Yeshua (the real Jewish Jesus). The teachings of Yeshua make it very clear that TZEDAQAH is the most important word to him, too. We have witnessed what happens when “believers in Jesus” understand the teachings of Yeshua – they stop believing institutional doctrines and start revealing the image of God through their acts of TOV. Read the complete blog at -- http://therealyesua.blogspot.com/2014/12/hearing-real-yeshuas-voice.html

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As 2014 comes to an end and we prepare for 2015, we are asking those who consider the work of the Biblical Heritage Center important to help fund the work by making a generous year-end donation.

BHC provides streams of information designed to help people understand their biblical heritages – all of the things that have been linked to a biblical text. We publish this information in our newsletter Discovering the Bible, BHC Google Group, BHC Blog, The Real Yeshua Blog, From One Jesus to Many Christians Blog, BHC Bible Study Blog, Twitter, Facebook pages, and the BHC website – and we do not charge people for it.

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Thank you & Shalom,

Jim Myers

Five Bible Verses You Need to Stop Misusing

The other day, someone gave me a note with Nahum 1:7 printed at the top:

“The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble.

He cares for those who trust in him.”

For some reason, they neglected to include the next line, which continues the thought from verse 7:

“But with an overflowing flood he will make a complete end of Nineveh.”

Okay, so maybe the fuller version doesn’t deliver quite the same Hallmark moment. And maybe that’s the problem with how many Christians use the Bible. Christians read (and quote) Scripture in tiny, artificial fragments all the time. And by doing so, do we alter the meaning without even realizing it. Digital Bible apps make it easier than ever to Twitterize holy writ. But we’ve been doing it for ages. Read the complete article at -- http://www.faithstreet.com/onfaith/2014/04/01/five-bible-verses-you-need-to-stop-misusing/31534

Importance of Time Markers & Who Came Up With Sex

Always watch for clues that reveal how much time passes in the verses of the Bible that you are reading. Not only will this help you better understand the context of what you are reading, it will make you aware of what happened in that period of time. This will often help fill in blanks about what took place in that period of time; it may also raise some very interesting questions.

And the man knew his woman Chavah,

and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. (Genesis 4:1a)

Remember the Hebrew word YADA, which was translated “knowledge” in the name of the forbidden tree – Tree of Knowledge of TOV and RA? It is translated “knew” in this verse, but here it functions as a well-known euphemism for “sexual intercourse.” This is the first act of sex in the Bible. It is also a good example how much time can pass in just one verse. Let’s look at the things that took place in the lives of the man and woman, beginning with the moment they were driven from Yahweh’s Garden Temple:

(1) The man and woman were driven from the Garden.

(2) They traveled from the Garden to the place where Yahweh created the man.

(3) The man and woman had sex.

(4) The woman became pregnant.

(5) The woman gave birth.

Now let’s consider what took place in the time period the above things happened and the blanks they reveal. The first blank is the time it took the man and woman to travel from the Garden to their new home – the ground where Yahweh made the man.  Was it close to the Garden or hundreds of miles away? Keep in mind that they had to walk to wherever it. It is also important to understand that the moment they left the Garden was the beginning of the transition into a completely new way of life. They had to find shelter, food, and water to survive. They had to deal with pain for the first time as they walked and worked. And then, they had to deal with the memories of what each one of them did in the Garden – and memories of what the other one had done -- that led to their pain! How often did that subject come up? How many times did their conversations begin with -- “If you hadn’t done . . .!”?

Another blank is the question of how they came up with the idea to have sex. Stop and think about the physical mechanics of sex. What led them to do that the first time? They had no parents or friends to explain “the birds and bees” to them. How long was it before they came up with THAT idea?  Were they sitting around a campfire one night and one of them said to other – “Hey, I just had an idea; you want to try something?” Another blank is did they have sex during their trip or after they had settled in their new homeland?

All of the above blanks about time are unknown, but, the moment she became pregnant, we finally have a time marker we understand – at least nine months will pass until she gives birth. But, a lot of new blanks pop up when we consider what happened in that time period. First, put yourself in the woman’s shoes as each month passes and she experiences the changes in her body – not knowing what is going on. Next, put yourself in the man’s shoes as he watches those change. And then, keeping in mind that they had no idea what was happening, she gave birth! Think about what would have gone through each of their minds at that moment! And, after all of that, how much longer did it take them to connect the dots that sex caused babies?

As you can see, when we become aware of how much time passes in the passages we read in our Bible – even in just one verse -- it will not only expand our understanding of the events that are recorded, but raise other important questions. Now let’s take another look at the verse above and the nine months of events recorded in it:

And the man knew his woman Chavah,

and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain.

I bet you think about the verse differently than you did when you read it at the opening of this Bible study. Be sure to add this to your Bible Study Tool Kit and always consider how much time passes in the verses you read from your Bible.

Shalom,

Jim Myers

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Did Jesus try to start a new religion?

Did Jesus want to start a new religion or was his goal to teach his fellow Jews how to be more faithful to the Jewish Scriptures of the Jewish religion that he practiced? Read the latest Real Yeshua Blog at -- http://therealyesua.blogspot.com/2014/12/did-jesus-try-to-start-new-religion.html