How many children did Abraham have, one or two?Genesis 22:2, Hebrews 11:17, and Galatians 4:22 tell us different things. What about Ishmael and Isaac? Aren’t they both the children of Abraham?
16
Dec
2021
petra1000
I am a born again christian who loves the Lord and I am taking bible classes online
I am a born again christian who loves the Lord and I am taking bible classes online
15
Dec
2021
Gal. 4:14 – Isn’t it arrogant for Paul to compare himself with Christ in this way?
Problem: Paul says that the Galatians treated him “as Jesus Christ himself” (Gal. 4:14). Should Christian leaders be viewed as Christ himself?
14
Dec
2021
Gal 4:3 – What does Paul mean by the “elemental things of the world”?
Problem: The expression “elemental things of the world” has confused commentators for years. Ben Witherington writes, “The meaning of this last phrase is certainly one of the most debated issues in all of Pauline studies.”[1] This is, no doubt, because the Greek term stoicheia “was capable of taking on a wide variety of specific meanings as it was used in different spheres of ideas.”[2] For instance, the author of Hebrews uses it of the basics of spirituality (Heb. 5:12), and in extrabiblical Greek, Plato used stoicheia of teaching children the “alphabet” or the “ABC’s.”
What does Paul mean by this difficult phrase in the context of Galatians 4?
13
Dec
2021
Gal 3:17 – Was Paul wrong in saying that 430 years passed between Moses and Abraham?
Problem: Paul says that 430 years passed between the time of Abraham to Moses. However, Abraham lived in roughly 2,000 BC, and Moses lived in roughly 1440 BC. This would mean that Paul’s chronology was off by over a hundred years.
12
Dec
2021
Gal 3:17 – Does Paul err in the amount of time between Abraham and the time the Law was given?
Problem: In Galatians 3:17, the apostle states that a period of 430 years elapsed between the time of God’s promises to Abraham (Gen.12:1–3), which was about 2000 b.c., and the giving of the law to Moses, which was around 1450 b.c. This would be a mistake of over 100 years.
11
Dec
2021
Gal 3:16 – Was the seed singular or plural?
Problem: Paul quotes Genesis 22:18 in his letter to the Galatians. He writes, “God gave the promises to Abraham and his child. And notice that the Scripture doesn’t say ‘to his children,’ as if it meant many descendants. Rather, it says ‘to his child’—and that, of course, means Christ” (Gal. 3:16 NLT). Paul takes notice of the fact that Genesis 22:18 refers to the singular child (or “seed”) of Abraham, rather than the plural children. However, critics notice that “seed” in the Hebrew was a collective singular noun. That is, even though it is singular, it refers to the entirety of Abraham’s offspring—not a singular person.
10
Dec
2021
Gal 3:13 – Is Christ blessed or cursed?
Problem: Paul declares that Christ was cursed of God, “having become a curse for us.” However, the Bible declares repeatedly that Christ was blessed of God (cf. Ps. 72:17), the one worthy to receive “glory and blessing” forever (Rev. 5:12).