What did New Testament Christians pray for?

 I've been blogging for quite a while, perhaps too long.

This link leads to my most important post, which considers prayer in the New Testament church. It's a little long, but most of it is quoted scripture. To summarize, "each other" is the answer to the question of the title of this post.

Forgive me, Lord, for not being a better example of this kind of prayer. Thanks for reading!

Sunspots 993

 

Gizmodo discusses the history of the domestication (sort of) of cats.

NPR (and other outlets) discuss the evolution of kissing.

Gizmodo reports that astronomers may have found an exomoon. (A satellite of a star which is not in our solar system.)

Heart, Mind, Soul and Strength tells us how to stay happily married.

Ken Schenck on how the New Testament doesn't always interpret the Old Testament in context.

Sunspots 990

 

Things I have spotted that may be of interest to others. Graphic from NASA.

Bible Scholar Ken Schenck on the different interpretations of early Genesis.

Schenck also has posted an analysis of what the Bible says about God's omniscience. It's not as straightforward as I thought..

Sojourners has an article on ministering to Christians with dementia (usually in their home). Sojourners allows you to read two articles a month, free.

Gizmodo has a chilling report on the firing of the Centers for Disease Control head, less than a month after she was confirmed, by Rober F. Kennedy, Jr., and how he is not using real science in his decision-making.  

Gizmodo also reports that a significant number of people say that they are in some sort of relationship with a chatbot.

Sunspots 988

A Zdnet article tells us that most attempts to use Artificial Intelligence in businesses do not really help those businesses.

National Public Radio discusses the recent renovation of the White House rose garden.

Joel Edmund Anderson explains Ecclesiastes. 

The Evidence is Plain blog describes how the Answers in Genesis Ark Encounter departs from AiG's own supposed standard, of following literally what the Bible says. The Ark Encounter includes lots of made-up stuff about Noah.

Gizmodo reports that the Trump family has made billions in cryptocurrency.

NPR discusses the use of "um" in speaking.

Thanks for reading.

The "Begats"

Some of you may be familiar with the King James Version of the Bible, which occasionally uses language that is not quite right for the 2020s. 

If you heard, or read, a lot of that Bible, you probably remember the begats, long lists  of who parented (almost always who fathered) whom, often with little or no comment on the individuals in such lists. Here's a sample, from 1 Chronicles chapter 1:

1:1 Chronicles 1:10 And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be mighty upon the earth. 11 And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim,

13 And Canaan begat Zidon his firstborn, and Heth,

18 And Arphaxad begat Shelah, and Shelah begat Eber.

20 And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah,

34 And Abraham begat Isaac. The sons of Isaac; Esau and Israel.

The Bible search web page that I use says that there are 139 instances of the word, begat, in the Bible, mostly in the Old Testament. That doesn't count different forms of the word, including a begotten in John 3:16. We don't use the word, begat, under ordinary circumstances. But, if used over and over again, as the King James does, it is likely to stick in our minds.

What lessons can we learn from the many begats in the Bible? One lesson is that the Bible accommodated the paternal society of the ancient Hebrews. It also has non-paternal features, such as the matter of the daughters of Zelophehad getting property - see Numbers 26-27, 36, Joshua 17:3, 1 Chronicles 7:15; the spiritual leadership of Moses's sister Miriam; the leadership of Deborah (Judges 4-5); Jesus respecting his mother in association with his first recorded miracle; the teaching ministry of Priscilla;  and the spiritual leadership of Samson's mother. God uses both paternal and maternal features. in the unfolding story of the Bible. God allowed the paternal structure of ancient societies -- He adapts His messages to His audiences.

Another lesson is that everyone is important to God. All those names were of people who were important to themselves, and important in relationships with others. They had parents, children, other relatives, and co-workers and friends. The Bible will  endure, and, at least by name, so will the Ludim and Heth and the others.

Another lesson is that God dealt with families, such as the Levites, or the descendants of David, or the Rechabites.

Another lesson is that God is not in a hurry. Presumably, He could have used a condensed list of people, making, say, Shelah and Hazarmaveth unnecessary. But He didn't.

Thanks for reading!

Bears in the Bible

Image from Pixabay.

A search for the topic, bears (animals) in the Bible, is complicated by the abundance of occurrences of the word "bear," used to describe carrying something, physical, or mental, as in giving birth (bearing a baby) or laboring because of emotional stress (bearing grief).

This post is concerned only with bears as animals. There are a few such references in the Bible.

For more about the biology of bears, see the Wikipedia article. From that article, it appears that the bears mentioned in the Bible, which must have lived in Eurasia, were similar, or even part of the same species, as those found in North America. There is also a Wikipedia article on cultural depictions of bears, as for instance, in the story of Goldilocks and the three bears.  

The first Bible reference to bears is in the dialog between Saul and David, with David stating that, since he was able to defeat a predatory bear, he could defeat Goliath.

In 2 Samuel 17, warning is given that attacking David and his followers is like attacking a bear with offspring. Proverbs 17 has a similar idea, about a female bear protecting her offspring. So does Hosea 13.

In 2 Kings 2, Elisha apparently causes two female bears to attack some boys who were mocking him.

In Job 9, the constellation known as the Bear is mentioned, along with other groups of stars. (The King James version uses Arcturus, not bear, whereas the World English Bible has "bear.") Job 38 repeats the use of the Bear as a constellation.

In Proverbs 28, a wicked ruler is compared to an angry bear, or to a lion.

In Isaiah 59, the Israelites, who have lost their way spiritually, are compared to frustrated bears.

In Daniel 7, Daniel is asked to interpret a dream that the king had, in which an animal like a bear appeared.

In Amos 5, a bear is symbolic of putting oneself (or one's people) in danger.

There are no uses of the bear, an animal, in the New Testament.

I previously posted a study of the use of the word "lion" in the Bible.

Thanks for bearing with me in this study.

Immigration: What the Bible says about it

See this post for a discussion of what the Bible says about immigration. (It says quite a bit!)

Lions in the Bible

 

Image public domain - source, here. 

Lions in the Bible

A search, using the Bible Gateway, returned 119 occurrences of "lion," "lioness," or other derivatives of the word, "lion" in the Bible. Links below are to some of these scriptures, as given in the World English Bible, which is public domain. Other versions are readily available from the targets of these links.

Genesis 49:9; Numbers 23:24, 24:9; Deuteronomy 33:20-22 are comparisons of one of the tribes of Israel, or of the whole nation, to a conquering lion. Genesis 49:9-10 is part of the prophecy of Jacob, about the character and future of his sons. A name sometimes used for Christ, "the Lion of the tribe of Judah," is based on this passage. (See Revelation 5.)

Judges 14 includes the story of Samson, who killed a lion with his bare hands, and the results of this action.

1 Samuel 17 describes David, speaking to Saul, about how God helped him to fight off one or more lions.

2 Samuel 1:23, 17:10, and 23:20, praise valiant men, who fought like lions.

1 Kings 7:29 and 36 describe the use of lion figures as part of the appearance of the temple.

1 Kings 10:19-20 describe the use of lion figures in Solomon's throne. (Also 2 Chronicles 9:18-19)

1 Kings 13 includes a story of a prophet who disobeyed God, and was killed by a lion.

1 Kings 20:36 is, again, part of a story of a man being killed for disobedience to God.

2 Kings 17:25-26 tell us that God sent lions to kill some of the non-Jews that had been placed in Israel, because they didn't worship Him.

1 Chronicles 11:22 says that Benaiah, son of Jehoida, killed a lion. 

1 Chronicles 12:8 compares an elite band from the tribe of Gad to lions.

Job 4:10-11 describe the life of lions.

Job 10:16, 28:8 and 38:39 mention lions. 38:39 uses the word "lioness."

There are 11 mentions of lions in the Psalms, 7 in Proverbs. Ecclesiastes 9:4 mentions a lion, as does the Song of Solomon. That last reference also has the first of 8 uses of the word, "leopard," in the Bible. There are no occurrences of "tiger," which is not surprising, since tigers do not, and did not, live in Bible lands. There are no mentions of "cat," either, although there were cats, probably the ancestors of modern domestic cats, in Bible lands.

There are 10 uses of "lion" in Isaiah, who also uses "lioness." Isaiah 11 tells us about the coming "peaceable kingdom," wherein lions will be vegetarians, and other currently dangerous animals, and children, will get along with each other. Isaiah 65 repeats that idea. However, this is Isaiah 35:9: "No lion will be there, nor will any ravenous animal go up on it. They will not be found there; but the redeemed will walk there." Matthew Henry's commentary doesn't mention the possible differences between Isaiah 35:9 and the other passages. Neither does A. R. Fausset, or John Calvin.

See this post, which has reproductions of some of the 62 versions of The Peaceable Kingdom, which were painted by one man, Edward Hicks, and comments on this body of work.

Jeremiah refers to lions 10 times, all of them as examples of danger. The same is true of Lamentations 3:10. 

Ezekiel uses the word 10 times, also. Five of these are about how a nation started out well, like a lion cub, then went astray and was punished. But Ezekiel also presents the idea of "living creatures," with four faces, one of them that of a lion. And he describes the future final temple, which, like the first temple, has lion faces as part of the decoration.

Daniel uses the word 9 times. All but two of these are about the story of the den of lions. The next-to-last tells of God's delivery from lions, and probably also does. But the last reference, Daniel 7:4, is about some sort of angel (?) like those presented in Ezekiel.

Hosea has 4 occurrences, all about someone being like a lion.

Joel says that an invading nation will have teeth like a lion.

Amos has 4 verses that use the word, all deriving lessons from lion behavior.

Micah's one reference is about the remaining Jews being like a lion among other nations.

Nahum has 8 uses of the word, two of them "lioness," in three verses.

Zephaniah has 1 use, comparing the officials of unbelieving Israel to preying lions. 

There is 1 use in Zechariah.

In 2 Timothy, Paul compares God's deliverance of Paul, his servant, to being rescued from a lion.

Hebrews 11:33 says that the heroes of faith stopped the mouths of lions, through their faith, which is probably referring to Daniel's experience.

1 Peter 5:8 compares Satan to a roaring lion, trying to devour believers.

5 of the uses in Revelation are as part of the description of a "beast," and I won't discuss these.

† A passage in Revelation 5 tells about the Lion of the tribe of Judah, Christ. He is also described as a lamb in the same passage. Either way, He has won the victory, and will be praised for it. This title, Lion of the tribe of Judah, is used for Him only in the first and last books of the Bible. (See Genesis 49:9-10)

Lions are Christ-like in that they are awe-inspiring, graceful, alert, powerful, not subject to being preyed on or afraid of other animals, and have social lives. It's no wonder that C. S. Lewis's Narnia books have a lion as Christ-figure.

Thanks for reading!

Update, May 25, 2025: I have now published a similar post on the use of "bear" in the Bible.