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Codex Vaticanus Says What?!
Matt 27:49b contains an unusual textual variant that is found in manuscripts 01, 03, 04, 019, 67, 1780, 2586, 2680, 2766. In at least two of these (1780 and 2766) a later corrector tried to remove the variant reading. The variant reading is the addition of the following: “αλλος δε λαβων λογχην ενυξεν αυτου την…
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Seven Sages and Revelation 16:5
The Precepts of the Seven Sages (or “Sentences of the Seven Sages” or “Injunctions of the Seven Sages“) is a collection of concise wisdom. There are nearly 150 statements in list, and seems to cover various moral and ethical rules in the form of maxims or gnomic commands. They are thought to originate around the…
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Eternal Fire and Sodom
John Gill in commenting on Jude 7, and the punishment of “πυρὸς αἰωνίου” (eternal fire) that came upon Sodom, mentioned Philo. Philo, in his work, “On Abraham,” comments on Sodom and its punishment, thus: XXVI(133) “The country of the Sodomites was a district of the land of Canaan, which the Syrians afterwards called Palestine, a…
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The Wrong Standard of Error – Continued
Listening to Steve Schwenke, I came across an argument that echoed Jack McElroy’s claim (rebutted here) that the King James translators made choices, not errors. Specifically, in his January 5, 2023, video (“Response to Mark Ward’s Avoiding Ruckmanism“), Steve Schwenke states: 45:40-50:00 Why should I acknowledge that there are errors if there are none? Why…
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Preparing for the Revelation 16:5 Debate – Responses to Howe, Jones, Daniels, and McElroy
In preparing for a planned debate on Revelation 16:5, I checked out the following KJV advocacy books: “The KJV is for Me: Why I use the King James Bible,” by Christopher E. Howe. While this book from 2021 has a little structure to it, it reads much more like a manifesto than like a piece…
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The Woman of Revelation 12 cannot possibly be Mary
People sometimes notice that the woman of Revelation 12 has a child who will rule the nation with a rod of iron, and from that they assume that the woman is Mary, since ruling the nations with a rod of iron is something ascribed to Christ. However, the woman of Revelation 12 cannot possibly be…
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Jonathan Edwards (mis-?)quoting Revelation 16:5
One of my favorite Christian philosophers is Jonathan Edwards. In this instance, however, Edwards seems to have made a slight error that is significant primarily to someone like myself, with an intense interest in the text of Revelation 16:5. The misquotation is found in one of Edwards’ sermons, the short title of which is shown…
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Christianus Fridericus Matthaei on Revelation 16:5
From 1782 to 1788, Christianus Fridericus Matthaei (1744-1811) published a critical text based (I’m told) on a collation of about 70 relatively late manuscripts. The Apocalypsis (Revelation) section was published in 1785. His text of Revelation 16:5, naturally, does not include Beza’s false correction to the text. What follows are Matthaei’s main text, his apparatus, and…
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Psalm 37:8 – Background to the King James text
A word of caution about this post. This is essentially a work in progress post that provides some thoughts I had about the background to the King James Version translation of Psalm 37:8. (source) In a recent interview, Mark Ward recently pointed out how hard this verse is to the modern ear (link). This has…
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The Majesty Argument for the King James Version
Dr. Donald L. Brake, Sr. wrote “A Monarch’s Majestic Translation: The Kings James Bible: The Remarkable Relevance of a Seventeenth-Century Book to the Twenty-First Century.” Dr. Brake may not consider himself a King James advocate (see from 44:45 for a few minutes in this interview), but — in various forms — the idea that the…