Looking at ancient copies (manuscripts) of the Old Testament is necessary if we are to reconstruct the earliest wording of the texts, but the manuscripts can also shed light on the ancient scribes, their work, and perennial challenges of interpretation. For example, 4Q Jeremiah A (dates to around 225-175 B.C.E.), one of the Qumran Scrolls, has some interesting wording at Jer. 14:6. Dr. Andrew B. Perrin is Professor of Humanities at Athabasca University. His publications include

Lost Words and Forgotten Worlds: Rediscovering the Dead Sea Scrolls and Horizons of Ancestral Inheritance: Commentary on the Levi, Qahat, and Amram Qumran Aramaic Traditions.

B.A. in Classical Languages (Greek, Latin, Hebrew): https://bit.ly/3JDT7US

M.A. in Biblical Exegesis: https://bit.ly/432V97F

The RSV's translation of the "cleansing of the temple" in John 2:15 is in part, "And making a whip of cords, he drove them all, with the sheep and oxen, out of the temple." John's Greek, however, suggests that Jesus was using the whip only on the animals, which might have other implications for interpretation. Dr. Croyis the author of a widely used beginning Greek grammar, A Primer of Biblical Greek, and The Mutilation of Mark's Gospel, among other things. His newest book, forthcoming in December, 2025, is The Martyrdom of Polycarp: Translation, Introduction, and Commentary. He previously held teaching posts at Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Wycliffe Hall, Oxford University, and Southern Nazarene University, at the last of which he continues in a part-time teaching role as Professor of Greek and New Testament.

B.A. in Classical Languages (Greek, Latin, Hebrew): https://bit.ly/4ov2J2Z

M.A. in Biblical Exegesis: https://bit.ly/47D9xGd

The opening words of Matthew's Gospel are translated as, "An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah" (NRSV), or "This is the genealogy . . ." (NIV), or "This is a record of the ancestors . . ." (NLT). A comparison with the parallels in Genesis and a look at what Matthew actually composes suggest that Matthew had something else in mind. David Capes, formerly Dean of Biblical & Theological Studies at Wheaton College, is the host of Exegetically Speaking and the Director of Academic Programming at the Lanier Theological Library & Learning Center, which sponsors this podcast series along with Wheaton College. His publications include The Divine Christ: Paul, the Lord Jesus, and the Scriptures of Israel.

B.A. in Classical Languages (Greek, Latin, Hebrew): https://bit.ly/47eidS5

M.A. in Biblical Exegesis: https://bit.ly/4hc5Omd

The Colossian churches had shifted their attention from Christ to calendrical matters, mediatorial figures, mystical visions, and philosophical notions. Paul is calling them to focus on Christ, who is the center and circumference of reality. In 2:9, Paul's language makes Christ's full deity unavoidable and unmistakeable. Dr. Malcolm Yarnell III, who has been on this podcast before, is Research Professor of Theology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and is Teaching Pastor at Lakeside Baptist Church. His publications include God, Volume 1 of Theology for Every Person. The second volume, Word, is forthcoming (February, 2026).

B.A. in Classical Languages (Greek, Latin, Hebrew): https://bit.ly/48gx7tf

M.A. in Biblical Exegesis: https://bit.ly/4o8XupB

The NRSV translates John 7:38, "Out of the believer's heart shall flow rivers of living water." Behind that stand entangled questions of the punctuation of the Greek sentences (punctuation is lacking in the earliest manuscripts), the meaning of the word κοιλία (koilia), and whose koilia is in mind. Another translation could be, "Out of Jesus' womb flow rivers of living water," which fits nicely with John's wider context. Dr. Jennifer McNeel is a NT professor at St. Mary's Ecumenical Institute in Baltimore, MD. She also teaches at United Lutheran Seminary and is active in leading church retreats. She has authored Paul as Infant and Nursing Mother: Metaphor, Rhetoric, and Identity in 1 Thessalonians 2:5-8 and Under Her Wings: Mothers and Motherhood in the New Testament.

B.A. in Classical Languages (Greek, Latin, Hebrew): https://bit.ly/489nuws

M.A. in Biblical Exegesis: https://bit.ly/3KurwWj

Peter's Greek wording in 1 Pet. 2:17 suggests a subtle but potent leveling of people and Roman king in Peter's kingdom vision. Dr. Jason Maston is Professor of Theology at Houston Christian University, where he is also Associate Dean, School of Christian Thought, and Director, BA to MDiv Program. His publications include (author) Divine and Human Agency in Second Temple Judaism and Paul: A Comparative Study and (co-editor) Five Views on the Gospel. He is currently writing a theology of 1 Peter as part of the New New Testament Theology series being published by Cambridge University Press.

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B.A. in Classical Languages (Greek, Latin, Hebrew): https://bit.ly/4nmygUL

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Modern students of biblical Hebrew learn that the "pointing" (symbols for vowels) of the commonly used Masoretic text of the OT was added to the Hebrew consonants in the medieval period, and that the meaning of a passage can depend on the pointing used. Depending on the pointing chosen, Jeremiah 7:7 can be translated as, "I will let you dwell in this place," or as, "I will dwell with you in this place." Was the ambiguity of the unpointed text intentional? James Hoffmeier is Professor Emeritus of Old Testament and Near Eastern History and Archaeology at (former) Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. His publications include The Archaeology of the Bible and Akhenaten and the Origins of Monotheism.

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B.A. in Classical Languages (Greek, Latin, Hebrew): https://bit.ly/4nmygUL

M.A. in Biblical Exegesis: https://bit.ly/4pvq85V

In a healing story shared by the first three Gospels, Luke reports a uniquely worded response of onlookers, translated in the NIV as, "We have seen remarkable things today." The key Greek word is παράδοξα (paradoxa), which is in fact noncommittal on the morality of what is in view. Dr. Thomas Schmidt is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Fairfield University. His most recent book, Josephus and Jesus: New Evidence for the One Called Christ (Oxford) examines the description of Jesus given by the Jewish historian Josephus. Through generous donor, it is available for free on the book website: JosephusandJesus.com. His other publications include, The Book of Revelation and its Eastern Commentators: Making the New Testament in the Early Christian World.

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As of Paul's first (existing) letter to them, the Corinthians are still struggling to understand and practice their faith in their native, non-Jewish environment. In a passage centering on the knowledge of God and idolatry (1 Corinthians 8-10), Paul begins by stating the central Christian confession of the true God, which is a modified version of the Jewish Shema (Deut. 6:4). Rev. Dr. N. T. Wright is Senior Research Fellow at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford University, and Emeritus Professor at the University of St. Andrews and the former Bishop of Durham. His work has established him as a foremost voice among New Testament scholars of the present generation, not least due to his many commentaries, topical studies, and the multi-volume, Christian Origins and the Question of God. He has been with this podcast a few times before.

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M.A. in Biblical Exegesis: https://bit.ly/3JL47Qa

Hebrew poetry is rich in parallelism of sound (phonological), words (lexical), meaning (semantic), and grammar, through which meaning is conveyed. Psalm 150 illustrates these devices, and manages to strike its climactic note through the breaking of them. Chandler Dean is working on her M.A. in Biblical Exegesis at Wheaton Graduate School.

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B.A. in Classical Languages (Greek, Latin, Hebrew): https://bit.ly/4792UvI

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