Thursday, December 31, 2015

Last Chance to Make 2015 Tax-Deductible Donation

Today is the final opportunity to make a 2015 tax-deductible donation to support the work of the Biblical Heritage Center. It must be made online for us to receive it today. Your help is greatly valued and appreciated. To donate go to -- http://biblicalheritage.org/BHC/donate.htm

Sunday, December 27, 2015

Once upon a time a Preacher, Professor & Rabbi . . .

Once upon a time a Preacher, Professor & Rabbi . . .” sounds like the beginning of a good joke, but in this case it is the beginning of a twenty-five journey. I am the preacher, Dr. Ike Tennison is the Professor and the Rabbi is Jeffrey Leynor. Our destination was to more accurately understand the words of our Bibles and the histories of our religions – Christianity and Judaism. We specifically wanted to focus on the first century CE when both of our religions were Jewish sects and part of Second Temple Judaism and learn more about how one of those sects – the Jesus Movement – became a universal Gentile religion, and the other – the Pharisees – became Rabbinic Judaism. What we discovered, however, is much more important than what we planned. Today, the social bonds that are required to hold Americans together and make it possible for our democracy to exist are breaking down and many of the problems we face – political, economic and religious – are the result. We believe that what we discovered on our journey has the power to strengthen those bonds and bring Americans together -- especially those with Judeo-Christian values and heritages. Click on “Once upon a time a Preacher, Professor & Rabbi” at -- http://www.myerscommunications.us/biblical-heritage-center-resources-page.html

Thursday, December 17, 2015

Jacob’s Descendants who Go to Egypt: The MT Versus the LXX.

A close look at the different references to Jacob’s descendants, and their number in both the MT and the LXX shows how the tradition of Jacob’s descendants developed over time. Genesis 46:8-27, in Parashat Vayigash, lists Jacob’s descendants who came to Egypt; in the Masoretic Text (MT) they total 70, whereas in the Septuagint (LXX), they total 75.  In other words, the MT is missing five names found in the LXX.