Anselm of Canterbury and the Preservation of God's Word

"And 'tis no small miracle how God has so long preserved and protected this book [the Bible]; for the devil and the world are sore foes to it" (Anselm of Canterbury)

See https://afterall.net/quotes/anselm-of-canterbury-on-scripture/

Compare Isaiah 40:8.

"All Scripture" or "Every Scripture"? (John Feinberg and 2 Timothy 3:16)

The Greek word pasa may be translated either “all” or “every.” If the former is used, then what this verse says relates to Scripture taken as a whole. If the latter rendering is chosen, then the verse claims that each or every individual Scripture, taken distributively (i.e., verse by verse, and even sentence by sentence), has the qualities named in the rest of 3:16. Either rendering of pasa is possible in this context. Some say it must mean “every” because the next word, graphē, appears without the definite article.11 Others don’t find this compelling because graphē is so frequently used in the NT to refer to Scripture that there is no need for a definite article to designate which writing is under consideration.12 Yet others opt for “every” on contextual grounds. Their point is that in verse 15 Paul speaks of the whole of Scripture with the phrase “sacred writings,” so now in verse 16, as a counterbalance to verse 15, he focuses on each individual passage of Scripture.13 In my judgment, there are neither grammatical nor sufficient contextual grounds to favor one rendering over the other. Thankfully, no significant theological point hinges on whether we translate pasa as “all” or “every.” If we choose the former, it is all-inclusive, so no specific passage need be left out. If the latter, where every passage of Scripture taken individually is the thought, no passage is omitted, so the meaning is the same as "all" anyway. There is a point, however, that must not be missed. Whether one renders pasa as “all” or “every,” this word means that the qualities attributed to the thing pasa modifies, i.e., graphē, are qualities possessed by every single part of the graphē. That is, Paul affirms that every single verse of Scripture possesses equally the qualities he will mention. The word pasa in this verse is a major reason why evangelicals believe in the plenary (full, total) inspiration of Scripture. Of course, 2 Timothy 3:16 isn’t the only source of this notion, as we shall see.

Feinberg, John S. Light in a Dark Place (Foundations of Evangelical Theology) (pp. 119-120). Crossway. Kindle Edition. 

Brief Review of the Ten Commandments (A Book Written by Mark Rooker)

Rooker, Mark. The Ten Commandments: Ethics for the Twenty-First Century. B & H Academic, 2010. 234 pp.

This book is academic and scholarly, but accessible. It elucidates each of the Ten Commandments (the Decalogue) and discusses the Decalogue's ancient context while showing its practical application for today. I have derived much benefit from perusing this work. Rooker is thorough and writes coherently, but knowledge of some Hebrew is required.

Now I want to deal with particular commands that the book analyzes: we'll review issues like God's name and blasphemy, the Sabbath, killing/murder, and covetousness.

1) Treating God's name in a worthless manner (Exodus 20:7):

The third command of the Decalogue prohibits using God's name in a worthless way. Rooker illustrates how this command was given within the context of pagan invocations to Egyptian deities as an example. One Egyptian prayer demonstrates the seriousness of lightly uttering Ptah's name; similarly, the third commandment enjoins Israel not to "misuse" God's name (the name of YHWH).

Just what is meant by God's name though? Rooker argues that "name" denotes the deity (God) himself or his essence/character. That is the meaning which name commonly had in the Ancient Near East: Adam names the animals under God's direction and Isaac gives the wells that he reopens, the same names his father had given them (Genesis 26:18). See also Genesis 17:5; 17:15; 32:28-31; 2 Kings 24:17. The Hebrew word shem may signify the “fame, honor, power, or reputation” of a person or persons (Rooker); additionally, we are told that the name of God refers to his nature, being, person, and teaching. After considering these aspects of the divine name, Rooker then discusses the personal name of God (YHWH/Jehovah).

Like many scholars working in OT studies, Rooker uses Yahweh as a reconstructed pronunciation for the Tetragrammaton: he points out that the root for the name is hwh. Since the divine name appears within the context of Exodus 3:14, it apparently means "He causes to be" or "He brings into existence" (Rooker). While God's name is peerless and holy, Rooker insists that shem refers to more than a label or moniker for God: his name (shem) signifies his reputation, characteristics, his being, divine righteousness and God's hesed, but I would contend that it might denote his personal name too. See Psalm 143:11-12; Isaiah 42:8; 1 Kings 8:41-42; Psalm 83:18; 145:21; Jeremiah 23:27.

I conducted an electronic search for "Jehovah" in Rooker's study, and the name evidently does not appear in the book: he opts for Yahweh instead. However, just what does it mean to take God's name in a worthless way? Is pronouncing the name enough to be charged with blasphemy in God's eyes?

"Any invocation of the Lord or calling on His name that is insincere or needless is simply perfunctory and constitutes taking God’s name in vain" (Rooker).

That is probably only a brief description of what it means to treat God's name worthlessly; Rooker shows this to be the case later in his book. He thinks Exodus 20:7 forbids employing God's nomen "in a magical incantation, false swearing, or a general inappropriate use."

2) The Sabbath Law in Exodus 20:11-12

Rooker argues that the Sabbath is no longer binding on God's people/Christians today, but we can still gain benefit from the principles undergirding that day.

Apollos of Alexandria

I've always found it interesting that Luke the physician wrote about "a certain Jew named Apollos," who was "a native of Alexandria" and an eloquent man well-versed in the Scriptures (Acts 18:24-28). What factors contributed to his intellectual tendencies? How did Apollos' cultural environment influence his personal development? This discussion examines his social context and the vivid description that Luke applies to this man.

Alexandria, for one, was the hub of higher learning in the first century. The famed Alexandrian Library was located in that city; hence, a number of well-known scholars conducted rigorous investigations there, such as Aristarchus (he formulated a heliocentric theory of the cosmos) and brilliant Hypatia along with Philo Judaeus and Eratosthenes (he calculated the circumference of the earth thereby ascertaining that it was round). The Alexandrian Library, which was eventually burned down, housed 400,000 volumes according to Seneca. Others estimate that anywhere from 500,000 to 700,000 volumes were in the great library at one time. Indeed, Alexandria was a center of learning (sophia).

More important than what the library of Alexandria contained, however, was the fact that a number of Jewish scholars lived in this sophisticated city of Egypt. Therefore, it is fitting that the LXX (Septuagint version of the Bible) was produced in Alexandria. This Greek translation was probably completed sometime between the years ca. 285-150 BCE. Work on the LXX commenced during the reign of Ptolemy II Philadelphus, but the story about the LXX found in the Letter of Aristeas is probably a legend, although the name Septuaginta (in Latin) meaning "seventy" eventually stuck.

Apollos likely gained his eloquence, knowledge of the Scriptures, and secular learning in this academic and scriptural center. Certain scholars have debated whether we should translate LOGIOS in Acts 18:24 as "eloquent" or "learned." The NWT settled on "eloquent" while others favor "learned." With a tinge of humor, Ralph Earle says that Apollos was no doubt both "eloquent" and "learned." Nevertheless, he seems to have placed scriptural learning first in his life. That is probably why Apollos was humble enough to accept correction from others, who did not share his erudition (Acts 18:26). Paul was probably thinking of Apollos (inter alios) when he wrote:

"For you behold his calling of you, brothers, that not many wise in a fleshly way were called . . ." (1 Cor. 1:26)

Source:

Ralph Earle, Word Meanings in the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1986).