Revisiting Eshet Chayil (“Woman of Valour”)
I look at the Hebrew word chayil, used in Proverbs 31:10 for an eshet chayil, and at the Greek word andreia (“courageous”), used to describe some Bible and early Christian women.
I look at the Hebrew word chayil, used in Proverbs 31:10 for an eshet chayil, and at the Greek word andreia (“courageous”), used to describe some Bible and early Christian women.
John 15:2a is usually understood as being about unproductive branches being removed, but some propose a new way of interpreting this phrase.
In this blog post, I give a brief overview of the Greek and Hebrew words used in the Bible for divorce.
The Greek word adelphoi is used over 100 times in Paul’s letters. Is “brothers and sisters” or “siblings” an acceptable translation?
Here is a list of over a dozen early and medieval scholars who took Junia’s name in Romans 16:7 to be feminine. Junia was a woman and not Junias, a man.
Here is a short review of Suzanne McCarthy’s book, Valiant or Virtuous?: Gender Bias in Bible Translation. Her book is on a topic close to my heart.
The word “manhood” occurs twice in the English Standard Version. Does this word convey what Paul wanted to say in Eph. 4:13? In what other ways does the ESV create a masculine bias.
This short post looks at the verb authenteō (authentein) in 1 Tim. 2:12. My claim is that “to have, exercise, usurp authority” is an inadequate and misleading translation.
Though it sounds heartless, even preposterous, to modern Westerners, the Deut. 22:28-29 law, for a rapist to marry his victim, may have benefitted the raped woman. Here’s why.
What did Eve do to help Adam? Here are two very different views from three top scholars about Eve’s role as helper in Genesis 2.
Is the Hebrew word teshuqah, traditionally translated as “desire” in Genesis 3:16, better translated as “single-minded concentration” or “devotion”?
Many Christians are dissatisfied with English translations that seem biased towards men when, in fact, many passages are gender-inclusive. So, what is the best Bible translation?
Here are some better translations of Malachi 2:16 that faithfully reflect the Hebrew grammar and do not have God saying, “I hate divorce.”
In 1 Timothy 3:2 and in 2 Timothy 2:24 is a rare Greek word, didaktikos. This word is usually translated as “able to teach” but it may mean “teachable.”
Scot McKnight observes that the rhetoric about English Bible translations is more about politics than it is about reality.
Titus 2:5 contains a Greek word usually translated as “workers at home,” but the King James Bible has “keepers at home.” Which is the correct? What did Paul mean?
We need to use gender-accurate and gender-inclusive pronouns so that we do not imply a gender bias in the Bible and in church when none is intended.
The King James Bible is a great English translation, but is it the best? This article looks at 7 aspects of the KJV translation.
Most modern translations of the New Testament rely on the Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament. One of the editors of recent editions of this Greek New Testament is scholar Barbara Aland. This article provides a brief history of the Nestle-Aland text and a brief biography of Barbara Aland.
Some wise words from C.S. Lewis, Wayne A. Meeks, and John H. Walton about learning the biblical languages, especially New Testament Greek.
Here are a few interesting resources I’ve found useful in regard to trusting the authority and authenticity of the New Testament.
How is this increase in biblical and theological scholarship from women being received by the church? And how will it affect the church?
The gender of Junia, Nympha and Euodia has sometimes been obscured, and some speculate that Stephanas (1 Cor. 1:16; 16:15ff) was also a woman minister whose gender has been obscured.
Since the Bible is God’s message to humanity, shouldn’t everyone be able to read and understand the “plain sense” of Bible?
Mary Kassian does not like the NIV 2011. Her article “10 Reasons Why the New NIV is Bad for Women” has been doing the rounds, but her concerns don’t make sense.
The New Living Translation (NLT) seems supportive and inclusive of women because it often translates adelphoi as “brothers and sisters” but it promotes male authority.
Mark L. Strauss, a co-author of “How to Choose a Translation for all its Worth,” has written a helpful critique of the English Standard Version (ESV).
Out of the almost 100 theologians and scholars who contributed to the ESV Study Bible not one of them was a woman. They were all men!
This article is about Junia—a minister mentioned by Paul in Romans 16:7—using and critiquing the ESV as a reference. Was Junia really a female apostle?
Many people have had a narrow and lowly view of the meaning of “helper” (ezer) used for Eve in Genesis 2:18 & 20. How is ezer used elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible?
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© 2022 Marg Mowczko