We rarely think about the way languages work because communicating in our native tongue comes so naturally to us. The Bible was written in ancient Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek-languages no modern reader can claim to have a native understanding of. A better understanding of how language works should help us understand the Bible better as we seek to discern the original intent and meaning of each b…
The Bible was not written and received in a historical vacuum-in fact, the social and historical context of the Bible illuminates key understandings that may have been otherwise missed. Biblical scholars use many different approaches to uncover this context, each engaging various aspects of the social and historical world of the Bible-from religious ritual to scribal practice to historical even…