Sermons and Biblical Studies

Hershel Shanks The Codex Sinaiticus contains the oldest complete copy of the New Testament—from the mid-fourth century. Originally it contained the Old Testament too, but most of that is now missing. The Codex Sinaiticus is one of the big three—not Ford, GM and Chrysler, but Sinaiticus, Vaticanus and Alexandrinus—fourth- or fifth-century codices of the Septuagint … Continue reading “WHO
OWNS CODEX SINATICUS?
HOW THE MONKS AT MT. SINAI GOT CONNED”

Gary A. Byers In a sense, this book is the culmination of Leen Ritmeyer’s life and career. Of the April 1984 International Congress of Biblical Archaeology in Jerusalem, when his collaborative work with Benjamin Mazar was presented, Ritmeyer wrote, “At this defining moment in my life, I realized the unraveling of the mysteries of the … Continue reading “A
REVIEW OF THE QUEST: REVEALING THE
TEMPLE MOUNT IN JERUSALEM, BY LEEN RITMEYER
(JERUSALEM: CARTA, 2006)”

Bryant G. Wood In the Spring 2004 issue of Bible and Spade, I reported on the important discovery of a royal precinct at Rameses, the setting of events recorded in the early chapters of Exodus (reprinted in this issue). The article summarizes the results of excavations undertaken from 1993 to 2000. In the present article … Continue reading “NEW
DISCOVERIES AT RAMSES”

Bryant G. Wood Introduction When Jacob and his family migrated to Egypt settled in “the land of Rameses.” Initially they were property owners there (Gn 47:11, 27). Soon, however, the Egyptians subjected the Israelites to bondage, using them as slave laborers to build the city of Rameses (Ex 1:11). When Israel left Egypt after 430 … Continue reading “THE
ROYAL PRECINCT AT RAMSES”

John Roskoski1 Etam in the Samson Narrative The Samson narratives (Judges 13–16) contain the exchange of hostilities between Samson and the Philistines that transpired between Israel, the territories of Dan and Judah, and Philistia. Our present focus will be on the events narrated in the text of Judges 13:25–15:20, the middle chapters of the Samson … Continue reading “LOCATING
ETAM: SAMSON’S ROCK OF REFUGE”

Scott Lanser Erich D. Schwartz Israel Crossed the Reed Sea (Yam Suph) The voice of the Tanach, the Hebrew OT, is simple and clear—the Israelites crossed the yam suph. Yam is “sea,” suph1 is “reeds”; together, they mean “Sea of Reeds.” In the OT, the yam suph was a definite location, and a large one. … Continue reading “THE
RED SEA IN THE NT”

Henry B. Smith, Jr. “My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge” (Hos 4:6). One of the most serious problems facing the Church in the 21st century is the problem of Biblical illiteracy. Simply put, most professing Christians do not possess a sound and coherent understanding of the Bible, beginning with sound doctrine and general … Continue reading “BIBLICAL
ILLITERACY”

John Long Introduction The Shroud’s Earlier History is a four-part review of the historical evidence for the Shroud of Turin from the first century to the beginning of the 15th. In Part 1, we saw that a mysterious object slowly emerged in antiquity as a cloth on which Jesus supposedly imprinted His face, and which … Continue reading “THE
SHROUD’S EARLIER HISTORY
PART 2: THE GREAT CITY”

Gordon Franz Nine-branched candelabrum used in the celebration of Hanukkah. Two friends of mine, believers in the Lord Jesus living in Israel, shared with me their excitement over the impending birth of their firstborn child. I inquired as to the due date of the child’s birth. The proud father-to-be replied, “The doctor said the child … Continue reading “JESUS
CELEBRATES HANUKKAH!”

Gordon Franz What is one of the greatest proofs of the inspiration and inerrancy of the Scriptures? I believe that fulfillment of Bible prophecy is one of the greatest proofs that the Bible is true. Over and over again the Old Testament prophets predicted certain events in the life of the Lord Jesus hundreds of … Continue reading “WHO
IS IMMANUEL?”