Way back in September of 2010 I had posted a lecture I gave at church where I attempted to explain the real issue involved in translating Genesis 1:1-3. Rather than meanings of words like bara', the real issue is the relationship of the clauses (and the nature of...
Genesis
The Errancy and Inerrancy Problem Illustrated: The Case of Genesis 48:21-22
I was recently received a question about inerrancy from a student in my MEMRA institute. Readers here know I've spent a lot of time on that subject (see the archived page). My short answer was that the difficulty in talking about inerrancy and errancy is defining what...
Syriac E-Sources
If there are any out there who like Syriac, this is pretty cool. I'm actually not one of them. I actually suggested that it be removed from my graduate program in favor of Akkadian and more Ugaritic. The reason is that languages and literature pre-dating or...
X-Box PaleoBabble: The Book of Enoch as a Video Game
Someone sent me this link today, knowing I've spent a good deal of time studying 1 Enoch. The book of 1 Enoch is now the basis for an impending X-Box video game (there is a sample trailer at the link - Japanese version). Check it out. What I saw looks cool, but I'd...
Genesis & Creation – Class 4 of 4
Editor's note: Replaced original link; here is the fourth/ final in the series of lectures on creation that Dr. Heiser gave at Grace Church Bellingham from September to October 2010: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=589NDmbH9nk
Genesis & Creation – Class 3 of 4
Editor's note: Original link replaced, and added the previous class of this series where Dr. Heiser spoke at Grace Church Bellingham on the creation of Genesis 1 in light of the ancient Near East. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOWTdhAFEh4...
Genesis 1:2 and the “Gap Theory”
Blogging has been a bit tough lately. This post (like everything else I'm working on presently) is overdue. Some have asked for some comments about the validity of the gap theory - the idea that Genesis 1:1 speaks of the initial creation, while Genesis 1:2 describes...
Genesis & Creation – Class 1 of 4
Editor's note: Original broken link replaced. Here is the first in a series of four lectures about Genesis and creation that Dr. Heiser gave at Grace Church Bellingham in September to October 2010. In this lecture, Dr. Michael Heiser tackles one of the most debated...
On John Walton’s Understanding of Hebrew Bara’
Some of you have asked for a summary of where I disagree with Walton on bara'. What follows below is an exchange between John Hobbins (another friend of mine and Hebrew scholar) and Walton. My reservations are essentially those that are expressed by Hobbins. Hobbins...
Genesis 1 and Its ANE Polemic, Part 2
Here's a recent article by John Walton on this issue. it is more up-to-date than Hasel. You'll notice that he cites Tsumura and others in objection to seeing tehom as the primeval opponent. Tsumura favors a Genesis polemic that more or less has Canaanite, not...
God as Creator of All Things — Including the Material Already Present at Genesis 1:1
For this post (and the next one) to make sense, you need to recall the initial post on Genesis 1. The conclusion of that post (and the powerpoint video) was that, according to the Hebrew syntax of Genesis 1:1-3, Genesis 1:1 ("when God began to create...") was NOT the...
Genesis 1 as a Polemic Against Ancient Near Eastern Religious Cosmologies
We might as well jump into this. As a way to get everyone into the conversation, here is an article to read. It's by Gerhard Hasel and entitled, "The Significance of the Cosmology in Genesis 1 in Relation to ANE Parallels."
Christian Fundamentalism, Aliens, UFOs: What About Matthew 24:37-38 and Daniel 2:43?
As promised, in this post I'll be wrapping up my "Understanding the Christian Fundamentalist View of Aliens and UFOs" by addressing Matthew 24:37-38 and Daniel 2:43. My last few posts on that thread have directed readers to my Naked Bible series on why an obsession...
Genesis 1 and Creationism, Part 2
In this post I want to hit on what is known as the "literary framework" view of Genesis 1. Basically, this view suggests that what happens on each of the creation days makes no scientific sense -- but makes very good sense in terms of a deliberate literary design to...
Genesis 1 and Creationism
I'll be presenting this topic in church next month, so this powerpoint video is a warm-up of sorts. It's one the *real* issue in Genesis 1 with respect to the "timing" of creation: the clause structure. You probably just yawned, I know. But a majority of you asked...