The Johns Rylands Fragment P52

January 23, 2014

One of the most significant biblical manuscripts is but a fragment measuring only 2 1/2 by 3 1/2 inches, and containing only a few verses from John (18:31-33, 37-38). It is the oldest known copy of any portion of the New Testament, dating back to Hadrian’s reign (AD 117-138). Biblical scholar and textual expert Bruce M. Metzger (deceased, 2007) wrote:

Although it had been acquired in Egypt by Bernard P. Grenfell as long ago as 1920, it remained unnoticed among hundreds of similar shreds of papyri until 1934. In that year C. H. Roberts, Fellow of St. John’s College, Oxford, while sorting over the unpublished papyri belonging to the John Rylands Library at Manchester, recognized that this scrap preserves several sentences from John’s Gospel. Without waiting to edit the fragment along with others of a miscellaneous nature, he immediately published a booklet setting forth a description of the fragment,its text, and a discussion of its significance.

On the basis of the style of the script, Roberts dated the fragment in the first half of the second century. Though not all scholars are convinced that it can be dated within so narrow a range, such eminent palaeographers as Sir Frederic G Kenyon, W. Schubart, Sir Harold I. Bell, Adolf Deissmann, Ulrich Wilcken, and W. H. P. Hatch have expressed themselves as being in agreement with Roberts’s judgment.

Although the extent of the verses preserved is so slight, in one respect this tiny scrap of papyrus possesses quite as much evidential value as would be the complete codes. Just as Robinson Crusoe, seeing but a single footprint in the sand, concluded that another human being, with two feet, was present on the island with him, so p52 proves the existence and use of the fourth Gospel during the first half of the second century in a provincial town along the Nile, far removed from its traditional place of composition (Ephesus in Asia Minor). Had this little fragment been known during the middle of the past century, that school of New Testament criticism which was inspired by the brilliant Tubingen professor, Ferdinand Christian Baur, could not have argued that the Fourth Gospel was not composed until about the year 160. (The Text of the New Testament, 3rd edition, pp. 38-39).

As stated above, the fragment p52 is in Manchester, England, encased in a climate controlled cabinet.

John Rylands Papyrus p52. Photo by wikimedia-commons.

John Rylands Papyrus p52. Photo by wikimedia-commons.

 

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Posted by Leon Mauldin

William Ramsay on the Halys River and North Galatia

January 17, 2014

Sir William M. Ramsay (1851-1939), archaeologist, scholar, and author, was a champion of the South Galatia position (i.e., the N.T. letter to the Galatians was addressed to Antioch of Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra and Derbe) at a time when the North Galatia theory had been accepted for centuries. In his book, A Historical Commentary on St. Paul’s Epistles to the Galatians, he deals with the geography of north Galatia, giving evidence to eliminate that as the area intended in the book of Galatians. He was seeking to understand the geography of Galatia especially and specifically in the mid 1st century AD.

In that portion of his historical introduction, Ramsay mentions the Halys River and how it divided Galatia into two parts.

The country afterwards called Galatia was in primitive time divided ethnographically and politically into two parts, eastern and western: the division was made by the river Halys, which in this part of its course runs in a northerly direction towards the Black Sea. Galatia east of the Halys seems to have been originally reckoned to Cappadocia, though part of it was probably sometimes described as included in Paphlagonia; but the bounds of those countries were so indeterminate, and the ancient writers themselves were so ignorant of the geography of those lands, that it is quite impossible to say anything positive and certain on the subject. . .

Eastern Galatia lies mostly in the basin of the Halys (Kizil-Irmak, the “Red River”). The Halys itself has very few and quite insignificant tributaries. In Eastern Galatia the Delije-Irmak (whose ancient name is unknown) is the only tributary of any consequence; and most of the country lies in its basin; but the river, though it looks large on the map, carries very little water except in flood, when it becomes a broad and raging torrent, exactly as its name indicates, the “Mad River”. . .

Galatia west of the Halys, which was much larger than the eastern country, was the most important and the most typical part of the country; most of our scanty information relates to it; and in general, when any statement is made about North Galatia, the writer has the western part of it in his mind. This western region was originally part of the vast land called Phrygia; and, clearly, the population of the country in the early part of the fourth century were known to the Greeks as Phrygians (Φρύγες). (Ramsay, W. M. (1900). A Historical Commentary on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians (pp. 15–17).

Halys River near the Black Sea. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

Halys River near the Black Sea. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

Sir Ramsay referenced the Halys as the Kizil-Irmak. Note the sign here at the bridge crossing the river.

Halys River/Kizil-Irmak. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

Halys River/Kizil-Irmak. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

Click images for larger view.

1 Comment | Bible History and Geography, Bible Places, Bible Study, Biblical Interpretation, New Testament, photography, Travel, Turkey | Permalink
Posted by Leon Mauldin

God Will Send the Hornet

January 3, 2014

I have been thinking today about the hornet. There are three biblical references.

Ex. 23:28: And I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before you.

Deut. 7:20: Moreover the LORD your God will send the hornet among them until those who are left, who hide themselves from you, are destroyed.

Josh. 24:12: I sent the hornet before you which drove them out from before you, also the two kings of the Amorites, but not with your sword or with your bow.

Each of these passages refer to God’s intervention on behalf of Israel during the conquest of Canaan. There is no doubt that when hornets pursue you, that you get out of their path asap.

This afternoon I brought down a hornet’s nest that was situated perhaps 20 feet up in a tree. The nest is fascinating, and a testimony to the work of a wonderful Creator Who has well equipped His creation.

Hornet's nest. Photo by Linda Mauldin.

Hornet’s nest. Photo by Linda Mauldin.

BTW I did not climb the tree. I shot the limb in two at that point just above my thumb.

2 Comments | Bible Study, Old Testament, photography, Uncategorized | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by Leon Mauldin

The Five Day Bible Reading Schedule

January 1, 2014

A Bible reading schedule which we have used and highly recommend is the one arranged by Mark Roberts. It is free. It takes the reader through the Bible in one year. Mark writes:

Are you looking for a reading plan for 2014? Consider the Five Day Bible Reading Schedule. It makes it much easier to complete the Bible in one year because you only have to read five days a week, not seven. This gives you time to catch up if you fall behind. Many Christians have successfully read the Bible with this plan and you can too!
With the Five Day Schedule you can read the entire Bible in 2014 or just the New Testament reading five days a week.
Best of all, it’s FREE. You can download your copy here:
www.BibleClassMaterial.com
May the Lord bless us all to know Him better through His Word.

Samaritan Pentateuch at Mt. Gerizim. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

Samaritan Pentateuch at Mt. Gerizim. 

Photo shows Husney W. Cohen, a Samaritan priest and director of the Samaritan Museum, with Samaritan scroll, along with Ferrell Jenkins (center) and Leon Mauldin (right). The Samaritans accept only the first five books of the Old Testament.

I am so thankful for the easy access to the scriptures, and to the proliferation of good translations!

1 Comment | Bible Study, Israel, New Testament, Old Testament, photography, Turkey | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by Leon Mauldin

Just Weights and Measures

December 23, 2013

Our last couple of posts have illustrated some texts from Deuteronomy. Yet another text we want to consider is found in Deuteronomy 25:13-15:

13 You shall not have in your bag two kinds of weights, a large and a small. 14 You shall not have in your house two kinds of measures, a large and a small. 15 A full and fair weight you shall have, a full and fair measure you shall have, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

The Israel Museum has a set of scales on display that would be illustrative of this text.

Set of ancient scales. Israel Museum. Photo ©Leon Mauldin.

Set of ancient scales. Israel Museum. Photo ©Leon Mauldin.

There are also some examples of standard weights.

Standard weights in biblical times. Israel Museum. Photo ©Leon Mauldin.

Standard weights in biblical times. Israel Museum. Photo ©Leon Mauldin.

At left is the beqa, at center is the pym (pim), and at right is the nezif. Of special interest to Old Testament studies is the “pim,” the Hebrew word occurring only in 1 Sam. 13:21: “and the charge for a sharpening was a pim for the plowshares, the mattocks, the forks, and the axes, and to set the points of the goads” (NKJV). This is speaking of the days of King Saul when the Philistines had a monopoly on the blacksmith industry. Others translations render, “They charged two-thirds of a shekel to sharpen plowshares and cutting instruments, and a third of a shekel to sharpen picks and axes, and to set ox goads” (NET).

The NET BIBLE has this textual note:

This word, which appears only here in the OT, probably refers to a stone weight. Stones marked pim have been found in excavations of Palestinian sites. The average weight of such stones is 0.268 ounces, which is equivalent to about two-thirds of a shekel. This probably refers to the price charged by the Philistines for the services listed. See P. K. McCarter, I Samuel (AB), 238; DNWSI 2:910; and G. I. Davies, Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions, 259.

As illustrated above, the pim, the standard would be on one side of the scales. The customer would put an equal weight of silver on the other side (this was before coinage).

Consider some related passages (NKJV).

Leviticus 19:36 You shall have honest scales, honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin: I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

Proverbs 11:1 Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD, But a just weight is His delight.

Proverbs 16:11 Honest weights and scales are the LORD’s; All the weights in the bag are His work.

Proverbs 20:10 Diverse weights and diverse measures, They are both alike, an abomination to the LORD.

Proverbs 20:23 Diverse weights are an abomination to the LORD, And dishonest scales are not good.

Ezekiel 45:10 You shall have honest scales, an honest ephah, and an honest bath.

Micah 6:11 Shall I count pure those with the wicked scales, And with the bag of deceitful weights?

We made a previous posts regarding scales to illustrate Daniel 5 here.

Click on images for larger view.

 

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Posted by Leon Mauldin

Gleanings for the Poor

December 20, 2013

Mosaic legislation provided for meeting the needs of the poor among Israel:

19 “When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. 20 When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over them again. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. 21 When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not strip it afterward. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. 22 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this (Deuteronomy 24:19-22, ESV).

One instance of the application of these provisions of gleaning after the harvest being left for the poor is found in the book of Ruth (see esp. ch. 2). This text also forms the backdrop for the rhetorical question of Obadiah 1:5 (context: complete destruction of Edom; no “gleaning” to be left.”

I’m also interest in the inclusion of the olive tree in the Deuteronomy text. Olives were a staple in biblical times. Olive trees are plentiful in Israel today, requiring little water, and can be grown on almost any terrain (including land too steep for farming). Again, the Deuteronomy legislation required that the owners left whatever remained after harvest for the poor of the land.

On a recent trip to Israel we spent one day visiting sites in the West Bank (PA), including Shechem. While there we saw some folks (a family?) gathering olives. The work is largely done by hand.

Gathering Olives at Shechem. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

Gathering Olives at Shechem. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

Behind these folks, but out of sight, is Mt. Gerizim.

Here is a close-up. It looks like they have a tarp of some kind to catch the olives.

Gathering Olives at Shechem, close-up. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

Gathering Olives at Shechem, close-up. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

I think they were looking to see who that was taking their photo, you think?

Click on images for larger view.

1 Comment | Bible History and Geography, Bible Study, Israel, Old Testament, photography, Uncategorized, West Bank | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by Leon Mauldin

Build a Parapet on Your Roof

December 7, 2013

Reading recently in Deuteronomy I came across the following text: “When you build a new house, you shall make a parapet for your roof, that you may not bring the guilt of blood upon your house, if anyone should fall from it” (22:8, ESV). The NET renders, “guard rail.”

It  would be difficult to understand the meaning of that passage if we only read through 21st century eyes. The roof on my house is steep. It is much too steep for me to consider walking on it, or anybody else for that matter, except for roofers or repair men. There is no need for me to put a guard rail around my roof.

But roofs in biblical times were generally different (both Old and New Testament), being flat, and serving as a sort of “patio” or additional room. This is illustrated by the reconstructed two-story Talmudic house at Katzrin in the Golan:

Housetop at Katzrin in the Golan. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

Housetop at Katzrin in the Golan. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

It is not hard to visualize how several people might be on a housetop such as this. I might note that the above photo does not have a guard rail around the housetop, but does illustrate the need for one and the practical nature of the command in the Deuteronomy text.

Understanding this can make several biblical texts come alive:

Proverbs 21:9 It is better to live on a corner of the housetop than in a house in company with a quarrelsome wife.

Looking ahead to the Roman destruction of Jerusalem, Jesus said, “Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house” (Matt. 24:17).

Acts 10:9: “On the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray.” Context: Men from Cornelius of Caesarea sent down the coast to Joppa where Peter was residing, to ask him to come to Caesarea to preach the Gospel there.

Click image for larger view.

We have previously posted on Katzrin here.

4 Comments | Bible History and Geography, Bible Study, Biblical Interpretation, Israel, New Testament, Old Testament, photography, Travel | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by Leon Mauldin

The Tabernacle at Shiloh

November 23, 2013

I had the occasion to visit Shiloh while in Israel last month. A special area of interest is the proposed site of the tabernacle.

Proposed site of Tabernacle at Shiloh. Photo by Greg Picogna.

Proposed site of Tabernacle at Shiloh. Photo by Greg Picogna.

The tabernacle stood here for about 400 years, from its installment during the Conquest (Josh. 18:1), to its destruction in the days of the Judges by the Philistines (1 Samuel 4), during the final days of Eli.

Site of Tabernacle at Shiloh. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

Site of Tabernacle at Shiloh. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

Todd Bolen reports that recent excavations have discovered an altar at Shiloh, and provides the link here.

We have previously posted several articles on Shiloh here and here and here.

At this point there are very few info signs on the site.

It is truly an exciting place to visit.

Click on images for larger view.

1 Comment | Bible History and Geography, Bible Study, Israel, Old Testament, photography, Shiloh, Travel | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by Leon Mauldin

Jesus Pays the Half Shekel Tax

November 13, 2013

In Matthew 17, an  unforgettable event transpired in the lives of Peter and Jesus:

When they came to Capernaum, those who collected the two-drachma tax came to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the two-drachma tax?” 25 He said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?” 26 When Peter said, “From strangers,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are exempt. 27 “However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for you and Me.” (Matt. 17:24-27).

In a very real sense, Jesus was uniquely the Son of God; His Father was/is the owner of the universe. A case could be made that as such, Jesus was exempt from paying the temple tax, a half shekel, an annual tax paid by every male Israelite. But to avoid causing an occasion of offense, Jesus paid the tax. Peter would never forget the day that he went to the sea (Sea of Galilee) and pulled in the fish that had a shekel in its mouth, payment for two.

I had the opportunity to photograph the temple tax in the Israel Museum a few weeks ago.

Half Shekel. Israel Museum. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

Half Shekel. Israel Museum. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

This is a Tyrian half-shekel, a silver coin dated about AD 47-48. The placard provides the following information:

Every Jewish male over the age of twenty was obligated to pay a yearly tax to the temple. The Tyrian half-shekel silver coin was used for this purpose. The funds raised were used for maintenance, the purchase of sacrifices, and, indirectly, as a means of conducting a census.  Because Tyrian coins were not particularly common, they needed to be purchased from money-changers in the Temple. The coin depicts the Tyrian god Hercules-Melqart on one side and an eagle standing on the bow of a boat on the other.

It is our desire that such photos and info help illuminate our reading of Scripture.

Click on image for larger view.

3 Comments | Bible History and Geography, Bible Study, Israel, New Testament, photography, Travel | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by Leon Mauldin

Reflections on the Cities of Refuge

November 11, 2013

Our previous three posts have featured the three cities of refuge on the western side of Jordan: Kedesh, Shechem and Hebron. There were also three on the Transjordan, making a total of six. These were to serve as sanctuary to one who was guilty of accidental manslaughter, such as when an ax head flew off the handle, etc.

I was recently reading Warren Wiersbe’s commentary on Deut. 19, pertaining to the cities of refuge and related matters. Wiersbe was tying in the OT city of refuge with the New Testament application made in Hebrews:

In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. 19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, 20 where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek (Heb. 6:17-20)..

Really, the comparison is one of contrasts:

1. The OT resident of a city of refuge was not guilty of murder, though he had accidentally shed man’s blood. But all those who have fled to Christ for refuge ARE guilty of sin (Rom. 3:23).

2. The accidental man-slayer had to dwell in the city of refuge until the death of the High Priest. But now there is a High Priest who never dies, “Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them” (Heb. 7:25).

Jacob’s well, referenced in John 4, is very near the ruins of ancient Shechem. It is housed inside a Greek Orthodox Church, the interior of which was completed in 2007. We were able to visit the church and the well while at Shechem last month.

Shechem Jacob's Well Greek Orthodox church interior. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

Shechem Jacob’s Well Greek Orthodox church interior. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

A very cordial Greek Orthodox Priest was on duty during our visit there. Here is a view of the church from the outside:

Jacobs Well Greek Orthodox Church Outside. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

Jacobs Well Greek Orthodox Church Outside. Photo by Leon Mauldin.

Click on images for larger view.

2 Comments | Bible History and Geography, Bible Study, Biblical Interpretation, Israel, New Testament, photography, Shechem, Travel | Permalink
Posted by Leon Mauldin

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