Bible Questions from my dad

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Pergamum

Ordinary Guy (TM)
Hello;

My dad is reading through the Bible and asks many good questions; some basic, some deep....

I am swamped.

Could you help me formulate very simple answers to these questions!? I need some time with my family and it will take 2 weeks otherwise to answer these questions (and I want to answer them quickly while my dad is interested. He is slowly working through Scripture and I want to encourage him while the zeal is there).

Here they are. Remember, short and simple answers without a lot of jargon or special terminology. Keep it simple, irenic, not preachy and not overly negative.:



#1- Should we be using the Living Bible and the Good news Bible , or should we stick with the King James Version. I ask because we have had just a few contradictions.

Example = Samuel 6--13 to 19, King James says 50070 were killed and the Living Bible says only 70 killed, I just want to get it right.

#2- When were the Hebrews first called Jews.

#3- What did Saul do wrong in --- Samuel 13-- 10 thr 14.

#4- In Samuel 19--18 thr 24 Prophesied, as used there what does it mean?

#5- Samuel 28--13 thr 25 where did Samuel come from when the familiar spirit called him up the grave, or from Heaven, from a Limbo nether world?

#6- Samuel 2 Six Six Uzzah touched the Ark and was killed for trying to stop it from falling. I don't get it .

#7-Can a person do Bad things For good reasons or V.Versa. Example = Judges 11---29 thr 30 The Vow, The Sacrafice.

#8- What is the Wave Offering and the Heave Offering.

#9- Joshua 10--12 it speaks of the Book Of Jasher-- were the Sun and Moon stood still for the prayers of one man. What is the Book Of Jasher?

#10- Were there other people in the world at the time of the Tower Of Babel-- at other places or was that everyone in the world right there. Thats when the languages were changed, so if there was other people. Then what. What are your thoughts on that?

This is not a question But, Moses by the order of God gave the people land , BEFORE IT WAS EVEN TAKEN or CONQUERED. I read that Hitler did the same thing in WW2. He had already give different states in the U.S. to various people and groups.

#11- Was Moses married to an Ethiopian ==Miriam Exodus 15--20 Miriam Numbers 12--1




Thanks guys! I await your answers, from which I will try to compile and send back.
 
I'll take stab at a couple of these:

#1- Should we be using the Living Bible and the Good news Bible , or should we stick with the King James Version. I ask because we have had just a few contradictions.

The Living Bible and Good News Bible are both 'paraphrases'. That means the translators of these Bibles try to show you what the verses mean to them in order to simplify the scriptures. They take the scripture and interpret the meaning for you. Usually they're right, sometimes they're a little wrong. The Living Bible is one of the more respected paraphrased versions around.

The KJV is a 'translation'. It is a more literal and accurate version, but sometimes might not make as much sense. The translators of the KJV try to interpret the words for you. Because of the way they talked back then, the KJV can be very hard to understand sometimes.

Personally, If I had the chance, I'd probably get him a ESV translation because it's a good translation that's more accurate than the Living Bible and easier to read than the King James. You can read the ESV online for free here.

As for the 'Biblical contradictions', I'd suggest you / he take a glance here They address some of the contradictions and offer some possible reasons why they exist.

#2- When were the Hebrews first called Jews.

The first time the term 'Jew' is seen in the Bible is 2 Kings 16:6. Historically - it was the name given to someone who was member of the kingdom of Judah.

And I agree with Jim, it helps to use a good commentary. The Matthew Henry Concise commentary is good and cheap. Actually you can use it for free online here.

It also helps to keep a good Bible dictionary on hand also. I like Easton's and you use it here for free also.

I'll also be praying that God will help your father understand the Bible and grow in faith as he reads it.
 
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#3- What did Saul do wrong in --- Samuel 13-- 10 thr 14.

Saul was the king, not the priest. It was the priest’s (Samuel's) job to make the offering to God. NOT the king’s job. When Saul didn’t wait for Samuel, he showed that he didn’t have faith in God and that he wouldn’t follow God’s rules. He showed himself unworthy to be God’s king because of what he did.
 
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I can answer #6, but I'm in class right now and I need to reference some things.

It has a lot to do with Uzzah being from a certain clan of Levites that had certain charges, duties, and rules, one of which was not so much as looking at the holy things of the tabernacle. Uzzah looked and touched. The punishment was death.
 
#4- In Samuel 19--18 thr 24 Prophesied, as used there what does it mean?

They are speaking the words that God 'put' in their mouth. In other words, they are saying what God tells them to. More than just that, in 1 Samuel 19:24 it seems that God also put Saul into some sort of trance, which would be very compelling and humbling to say the least. ;)
 
#5 Commentators are divided about this one. Many, such as Matthew Henry, think that it is a demon made to look and talk like Samuel. Others think that God closed the distance from earth to heaven in order to show Saul just how far he had gone wrong. I am not sure where I am on it. But I do find amusing the comment of one writer: "Death has not mellowed Samuel."

#7 It is certainly possible for people to have right motives while doing wrong activities. However, I would argue that is not happening in the case of Jephthah's daughter. Making the oath in the first place was the mistake, as if Jephthah could actually twist God's arm to save Israel by means of an oath. Judges shows Israel's ad-hoc rulers in all their warted "glory," and that God saved Israel anyway.

#8 Wave offering is part of the consecration of priests. Waving the breast of the ram (this is found in Exodus 29:26ff) symbolizes the consecration of the priests. A heave offering is usually translated as a peace offering in other translations (and for this, see Leviticus 7). It was not an offering to obtain peace with God, but rather an offering of thanksgiving to God for peace enjoyed between God and man.

#9 The book of Jashar is a book now lost to us. The importance of the reference is that the author of Joshua was using a written source for this particular story, a fact which in no way impinges on the authority or inerrancy of Scripture. There are several other books that the Bible mentions that are now lost to us.

#10 It is my opinion that all people groups and all language groups originated at Babel when God saw that humanity was not fulfilling the creation mandate to multiply and fill the earth. The confusion of language forced people to fill the earth. It is speculation to argue that there were other people groups around back then: the Bible does not mention any other people groups.

#11 It is possible that Moses' first wife (who was a Midianite according to Ex 2:16-21) died, and then Moses married Zipporah, who was indeed from Cush, another name for Ethiopia.
 
Perhaps a one volume Bible commentary would answer most of the questions and be a good gift for him.

Amazon.com: New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition: Books: D. A. Carson,R. T. France,J. A. Motyer,Gordon J. Wenham

Thanks brother. But he is not a big reader and these commentaries would remove him from direct contact with Scriptures. He is working his way through the Scriptures and so I do not want to distract him, but provide him simple, concise answers - which will satisfy him. In the past asimple 2 sentence response directly related to his question was enough.
 
Anyone else, I send these all tomorrow. Maybe I will send them one by one or two by two so that he can ponder them individually.
 
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