30
votes
What translation/version of the Bible would Chaucer have read?
Chaucer (almost certainly) used the Vulgate, the 4th-century Latin translation by Jerome, the text that was the usual scripture of the Catholic Church in the medieval period.
I added the caveat “...
- 63.9k
21
votes
Accepted
The Torah is written without vowels?
As other answers have mentioned, what is meant is simply what is said: many renderings of the Torah leave out the vowel markers (and punctuation). As several comments have offered, this is a common ...
- 453
20
votes
The Torah is written without vowels?
Vowels in Hebrew - called n'kudot - are written as dots and lines surrounding the letters. In an actual Torah - written on parchment - these symbols aren't there.
As an example, here's a picture of a ...
- 27.2k
17
votes
Do the Bible and the Epic of Gilgamesh really contain the same rare proverb about the strength of a triple-stranded rope?
The relevant passage in the Bible is easy enough to find: it is Ecclesiates 4:12 (see Bible Hub):
And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken. (...
- 51.1k
15
votes
Accepted
In The Mezzotint by M. R. James, what is a "Door Bible"?
It's a mispronunciation of Doré Bible.
The mispronunciation is quite natural: to an English speaker's eye, Doré looks like "Dore", which would be a homophone of "door" in English. It also fits with ...
- 76.7k
14
votes
Did the Lord of the Flies have any kind of religious reference more specific than just the Devil?
The entire book can be seen as an allegory for the Bible. It has a startlingly large number of allusions to Jewish and Christian myths and stories. Here are some of them:
The island, in the ...
- 4,552
10
votes
Which flood story was first: Genesis or The Epic of Gilgamesh?
Walther Sallaberger's book Das Gilgamesch-Epos. Mythos, Werk und Tradition (C. H. Beck, 2008) discusses the flood story
mainly in the context of the Standard Babylonian version of the Gilgamesh Epic. ...
- 51.1k
10
votes
Which part of the Bible supposedly talks of a leader with a mark on his forehead?
The woman is referring to Gorbachev as the first Beast from Revelation, who is given authority by the Dragon (representing Satan). According to Revelation 13:1-7:
And I stood upon the sand of the sea,...
- 972
9
votes
Of what veil does Thoreau speak and what does he mean by being missing in this passage from "A Plea for Captain John Brown"?
User @MattThrower is correct regarding the "tearing of the veil"--a Biblical allusion indicating a significant death. This answer elaborates a bit more on the context and why Thoreau is ...
- 331
9
votes
Accepted
"That Christ deny’d divorce to his own", what does Milton mean here in this phrase from "The Doctrine & Discipline of Divorce"?
By his own, Milton means the apostles. The context of both Matthew and Mark makes this clear. The Pharisees ask Jesus about divorce. Jesus replies that given what Moses said, divorce cannot be ...
- 31.5k
8
votes
Did the Lord of the Flies have any kind of religious reference more specific than just the Devil?
Existing answers have covered a few of these concepts, but there was plenty of Christian iconography apart from the devil who promoted evil among mankind.
The island itself, particularly Simon's ...
- 866
8
votes
Of what veil does Thoreau speak and what does he mean by being missing in this passage from "A Plea for Captain John Brown"?
The reference to the temple veil is an allusion to the Biblical story that the veil in the temple in Jerusalem which separated the two holiest rooms in the temple was torn at the moment of Christ's ...
- 23.6k
7
votes
Literary genres of Mark and Q in the two-document hypothesis?
There is a lot to unpack here, and it can be difficult to explain everything that you're actually wanting to know unless you have a baseline of knowledge of Mark and Q scholarship. So instead of ...
- 1,143
7
votes
Did the Lord of the Flies have any kind of religious reference more specific than just the Devil?
The allusions mentioned above are true in some regard; although, some clarity could be made about the Christian idea of sin. Christianity affirms that each individual has the choice of, even the ...
- 71
7
votes
Accepted
Meaning of "S. Epiph. her. 78" in the Douay-Rheims Bible (1635)
“S.Epiph.” is Saint Epiphanius of Salamis (c. 320–403) and “her.” is his book Against Heresies (c. 378), also known as the Panarion or “bread-basket”. The book catalogues 80 Christian groups or ...
- 63.9k
6
votes
Accepted
How much does "The Parable of the Old Man and the Young" differ from the original Bible story?
How much does this poem differ from the Bible story?
The poem appears to be mostly consistent with the original Biblical story (starting with Gen. 22:3, through part of Gen. 22:13). As to your three ...
- 6,050
6
votes
Why is Jesus upset with God?
Any analysis of this line needs to begin with the understanding that "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" is a direct quotation of (and thus a reference to) Psalms 22. Psalm 22 begins ...
5
votes
Why does Nick say that Moses was 130 years old when he died?
Jeffrey Archer is a convicted perjurer, with a long record of, at the very least, embroidering his lifestory (claiming to have attended a prestigious public school, been an undergraduate at Oxford ...
- 2,583
4
votes
Accepted
Are angels ever depicted as having golden halos floating above their heads in the Bible?
The only direct description of an angel in the Bible is in Revelation 10:1 (emphasis added):
And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a
cloud, and a rainbow was upon his ...
- 450
4
votes
"I've seen your flag on the marble arch"
In an article in Haaretz, Elon Gilad and Ruth Schuster write:
The “marble arch” may allude to Titus’ Victory Arch in Rome, a
monument celebrating the Roman final victory over the Jews. If so,
...
- 3,529
4
votes
What does "we are not careful" mean in this context?
It means: "We are not worried [that we will answer you wrongly]".
Careful:
marked by wary caution or prudence M-W
The men in the story are just saying that they don't feel like they need ...
- 141
4
votes
Which part of the Bible supposedly prophesies a time when everything would be lush but man wouldn't be able to use any of it?
As far as I can remember, there is nothing like this in the Bible. Like many Biblical “quotes”¹ this is more likely a case of something misremembered and distorted.
A notable example of this would be ...
- 3,285
3
votes
Does Puzzle the Donkey have an allegorical relationship with any entity in the Book of Revelation or the Bible at large?
Yes and no.
Yes because he resembles the great prostitute in the way that he misguided the whole world.
But no because most of the characters in the Chronicles of Narnia don't primarily represent ...
- 431
3
votes
Psalm 23:4 syllable division: how does the original Hebrew come to 11 syllables?
Here is the relevent portion of the verse in its original Hebrew:
גַּ֤ם כִּֽי־אֵלֵ֨ךְ בְּגֵ֪יא צַלְמָ֡וֶת לֹא־אִ֘ירָ֤א רָ֗ע
Which can be broken up as follows (with a hyphen between syllables):
גַּם (...
- 130
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