Posts Tagged ‘Israelites’
Did Israel all speak the same language?
Question: Was Israel of one language? Did the nation of Israel all speak the same language? Thank you. Answer: Israelites spoke Hebrew. After the captivity, Aramaic was spoke a good bit and portions of the Old Testament are written in Aramaic. During Jesus’ day, Aramaic was the common language and Hebrew was the “religious” language,…
Read MoreHow could the law be a dividing wall if other nations could become Israelites?
Question: Exodus 12:48-49 tells us that someone from another nation (a Gentile) could be circumcised and keep the Passover (in other words obey God) and become part of Israel (a Jew). Verse 49 says that there’s one law for everyone. Jew or Gentile must obey the same law. It seems that both Jew and Gentile had…
Read MoreThe Gospel of the Circumcision and the Uncircumcision
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/GospelOfTheCircumcisionAndTheUncircumcision.mp3 Text: Galatians 2:1-10 I. I suppose a casual reader could read verse 7 from our text and come away with the idea that two different messages were being taught. A. One being taught to the Gentiles and a different message being taught to the Jews. B. Yet the goal of the gospel was to unite Jews…
Read MoreWas Abraham a Gentile or a Jew?
Question: Was Abraham a Gentile or a Jew? I heard that he was first a Jew, but I also heard that He was a Gentile before and then a Jew. Answer: “Does this blessedness then come upon the circumcised only, or upon the uncircumcised also? For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for…
Read MoreWill Jews be judged under the law or the new covenant?
Question: Will Jews be judged under the law or the new covenant? Answer: There is only one covenant in effect today. “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Everyone is judged according to Jesus’ teachings. “He…
Read MoreWhat is the difference between Hebrew, Israel, Jew, Canaan, etc.?
Question: God promised to bring the people of Israel to the promised land, and the Jews went to the promised land, but wasn’t there more people in Israel than just the Jews? Answer: I’m having trouble with your question because I think there are some problems with definitions. Hebrew This was the term to refer…
Read MoreAre Jews a race or a religion?
Question: Are Jews a race or a religion? Answer: In the Bible, the concept of “race” does not exist. The Bible talks about nationalities, but not “race.” See How did the different races come about? for more details. The word “Jew” is a derivation of “Judah.” When the kingdom of Israel divided, the ten northern tribes continued…
Read MoreWhy did God choose the Jews?
Question: “Why did God choose the Jews?” is what a lady in Bible study asked me recently. My first thought was, “Why did God make the sky blue?” recognizing that the people which became the Israelites were completely made that way by the laws of God, not by themselves (the people thus an arbitrary point).…
Read MoreDid an Israelite have to be born again under the Old Law?
Question: I have two questions: Did the Old Testament believers’ experience being “born again” or “regeneration” as experienced with the New Testament believers through Jesus Christ? Are born again believers still considered to be “sinners” or “saints” and why? Answer: There are several passages that use the allegory of birth to explain the change that…
Read MoreHow can one become a Jew?
Question: In Esther 8:17, how can one become a Jew? Answer: “And in every province and city, wherever the king’s command and decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a holiday. Then many of the people of the land became Jews, because fear of the Jews fell upon them” (Esther 8:17).…
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