Septuagint (LXX) text vs. Masoretic (MT) text Old Testament – know your Bible! by Fr. John Whiteford In the “Encyclical of the Eastern Patriarchs” of 1848, which was a reply to the epistle of Pope Pius IX, “To The Easterns,” the Patriarchs of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, along with the other assembled bishops stated: […]
More on the Star of Bethlehem
December 19, 2015 By
On the Star of Bethlehem Every year around Christmas, reports appear in the papers or on television which claim to give an astronomical explanation of the Star of Bethlehem: It was a comet, we’re told, or a supernova, or a reading in an astrological horoscope. These speculations miss the early Christian understanding of the Star […]
Last Preparations for the OT Challenge
September 6, 2015 By
by Fr. John A. Peck This Saturday, Sept. 12, we will direct you to the password for access to the reading schedule in our ebook “Learning the Old Testament the Orthodox Way.” Before we get into the Challenge itself, here is a final checklist of things you should have or have planned for. Tell your […]
Masoretic Text vs. Original Hebrew
August 31, 2015 By
by Fr. Joseph Gleason I used to believe the Masoretic Text was a perfect copy of the original Old Testament. I used to believe that the Masoretic Text was how God divinely preserved the Hebrew Scriptures throughout the ages. I was wrong. The oldest copies of the Masoretic Text only date back to […]
Resurrection in the Old Testament?
June 17, 2014 By
by Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon When we search for Old Testament evidence that ‘Christ must rise,’ we should be prepared to look at the Hebrew Scriptures through the lens used by the New Testament writers. Simply put, what prophetic passage did they have in mind when they declared, “it was necessary for the Christ to […]
The Great Book of Kings
April 6, 2014 By
by Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon The division between the two Books of Kings comes from the Greek translation known as the Septuagint. When this translation was made in the third century before Christ, a purely physical consideration obliged the copyists to break Kings into two parts. Whereas the Hebrew language has no formal vowels, Greek […]
The Lost Heroine Of The Old Testament: Part 3
May 29, 2013 By
Susannah, Jesus & the Church Part Three of this series shows precisely why young Christians today should ALL know the story of Susannah. by Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon But if Susannah is to be likened to the unjustly accused Joseph, how much more to Jesus in the context of His passion. Both Jesus and Susannah […]
The Lost Heroine Of The Old Testament: Part 2
May 28, 2013 By
Susannah the Heroine Part Two describes the – dare I say- hesychastic quality of Susannah’s prayer and virtue, the patristic witness of her struggle, and the parallels between her and Joseph of Egypt. Truly, a great heroine of the Old Testament, and a model for all Christians. by Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon Susannah, whose name […]
