Searched and Known # 6: The Alternative Uses of Elohim (Psalm 82:6; John 10:34)

Ethan McG. has posted a new edition of his apologetics podcast: Searched and Known # 6.  You can listen to this episode here.

In this episode Ethan and I discuss the alternative meanings of the Hebrew word Elohim, from gods, to angels, to judges, to Jehovah.

We especially discuss the usage of the word in Psalm 82:6: "Ye are gods [elohim]" and Jesus' citation of this verse in John 10:34: "Ye are gods [theoi]." Though some have improperly taken this citation to bolster some form of polytheism, we make the argument that in Psalm 82 the term means "judges." When Jesus cites the verse in John 10:34, his point is to castigate the Jews who rejected him.  His rhetorical point:  You were not offended when corrupt men were given the title of judges [theoi; elohim], but you are offended when I, a fully sanctified man, is called the Son of God (see John 10:35-36).

JTR

Searched and Known # 5: Who was Abijam's mother?

Ethan McG has posted Searched and Known # 5:  Abijam's Mother [Listen here]. In this episode Ethan and I discuss the perceived difficulty in harmonizing the identification of Abijam/Abijah's mother in 1 Kings 15:1-2 and 2 Chronicles 13:1-2:

1 Kings 15:1 Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam the son of Nebat reigned Abijam over Judah. 2 Three years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom.

2 Chronicles 13:1 Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam began Abijah to reign over Judah. 2 He reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Michaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam.

JTR

Search and Known # 4: Ahimelech and Abiathar: Reconciling 1 Samuel 22:20; 2 Samuel 8:17; 1 Kings 4:4; etc.

Ethan McG. has posted another edition (# 4) of Searched and Known to sermonaudio.com. In this episode he and I discuss the challenge of a supposed contradiction posed in the Skeptic's Annotated Bible between 1 Samuel 22:20 (which notes that Ahimelech had a son named Abiathar) and 2 Samuel 8:17 (which notes that Abiathar had a son named Ahimelech).

I pointed out that the SAB referenced the commentary for this verse in the Oxford Annotated Bible suggesting that the names possibly "should be reversed," and that even the Macarthur's Study Bible note on 2 Samuel 8:17 says the text "is best accounted for by a scribal copying error."  I suggested that these textual explanations do not confirm a sense of the text's authority and preservation for the reader and are unnecessary when reasonable and faithful interpretations of the traditional text are at hand.

Once we got into the discussion of this apparent contradiction I noted that it is actually more complex than it appears on the surface since it involves a number of related issues, especially regarding the role of Abiathar in the later Biblical narrative (1 Kgs chapters 1-4).  Still, the best explanation of 2 Samuel 8:17 is simply that Abiathar, the son of Ahimelech, also had a son whom he named Ahimelech.

Here are some more extensive notes that I took on these and related texts, including a critique of an alternative explanation by C. J. E. Johnson.

When Ethan first told me our subject was going to be Ahimelech/Abiathar I thought we would be discussing Mark 2:26 and Jesus' reference to Abiathar (rather than Ahimelech), an often cited supposed "error."  This reminded me of a perfectly awful (imho) article by Andrew Wilson on this topic that appeared in Christianity Today back in September 2015.  The article has the dreadful title, "When Jesus Got the Bible Wrong: the Messiah made a 'mistake' for a good reason," and offers the fanciful explanation that Jesus intentionally made an errant reference to Abiathar (rather than Ahimelech) to make a theological point. This would be another example of an explanation that causes more mischief than help.  Geisler and Howe's explanation of Mark 2:26 makes more sense than Wilson's when they point out that Jesus' statement simply is not an error since these things did happen "in the days of Abiathar the high priest" [i.e., during his lifetime, even if he was not yet high priest at the time when his father, Ahimelech, gave David the shewbread] (When Critics Ask, p. 370).

JTR

Search and Known # 3: How many sons did Abraham have?

Image:  Pedro Orrente's "The Sacrifice of Isaac" (c. 1616)

Ethan McG. has posted Searched and Known # 3, an ongoing apologetics series in which we respond to various supposed contradictions in the Bible noted in the Skeptic's Annotated Bible.

This episode responds to the challenge; How many sons did Abraham have?  The apparent contradiction:  Genesis 22:2, 12, 16 and Hebrews 11:17 describe Isaac as Abraham's only son, but other passages say he had more than one son.  He had Ishmael by Hagar, Sarah's handmaid (Gen 16:15) and he had six sons by Keturah (Gen 25:1-2).  So, Abraham had eight sons and not one.

The response:  The Bible can refer to Isaac as Abraham's only son, because he was Abraham's only son by Sarah, the only son of promise through whom the covenant would continue and through whom the promise to Abraham would be fulfilled (Gen 3:1-3).  It is from the line of Isaac that Jesus would come.  Paul can refer to Jesus as "the seed of Abraham" (Gal 3:16) and describe all believers, whether Jew or Gentile, as the spiritual seed of Abraham (Gal 3:29).

JTR 

SK # 2: Do Paul and James contradict each other on faith and works?

Ethan McG. has posted a new edition of Searched and Known.  This time he and I discuss the supposed conflict between Paul and James, Romans 4 and James 2, faith and works.

In the discussion I called attention to Calvin’s discussion on this issue in his Institutes, Book III, chapter XVII, sections 11 and 12.  Calvin argues that James and Paul are not in conflict because the same God speaks with one voice in both:

What then?  Will they drag Paul into conflict with James?  If they consider James a minister of Christ, his statement must be so understood as not to disagree with Christ speaking through Paul’s lips.

Warning:  Whereas in SK # 1 we were able to sit in the same room to record our discussion, this time I had to speak with Ethan over skype and the sound quality for my part of the conversation is pretty rough.  You can, however, hear Ethan clearly.

JTR

Searched and Known # 1: How many men did the chief of David’s captains kill in one day (800 or 300)? Reconciling 2 Samuel 23:8 and 1 Chronicles 11:11

CRBC member Ethan McG., fresh out of college, fresh back from short term mission service in Japan, and fresh into a new tech job with a local company has started a new podcast he has titled "Searched and Known" (a quote from chapter one in the Second London Baptist Confession 1689).  He wants the focus of the podcast to be on apologetics, with each episode aimed at giving an answer to an apparent contradiction within or an objection to particular Biblical passages.

My family had supper with his family one evening last week, and after supper we sat down for a few minutes to record a conversation on 2 Samuel 23:8 and 1 Chronicles 11:11 where the issue is whether David's captain slew 800 men (2 Samuel 23:8) or 300 men (1 Chronicles 11:11).

I have uploaded SK # 1 to CRBC's sermonaudio site.  You can find it here.  Hope to add other episodes in the future.

Here also are some notes I used for the conversation:

I.  The Problem:

How do we reconcile the following two accounts?:

A.  2 Samuel 23:8:

KJV 2 Samuel 23:8 These be the names of the mighty men whom David had: The Tachmonite that sat in the seat, chief among the captains; the same was Adino the Eznite: he lift up his spear against eight hundred, whom he slew at one time.

NIV 2 Samuel 23:8 These are the names of David's mighty men: Josheb-Basshebeth, a Tahkemonite, was chief of the Three; he raised his spear against eight hundred men, whom he killed in one encounter.

NAS 2 Samuel 23:8 These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Josheb-basshebeth a Tahchemonite, chief of the captains, he was called Adino the Eznite, because of eight hundred slain by him at one time;

NKJV 2 Samuel 23:8 These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Josheb-Basshebeth the Tachmonite, chief among the captains. He was called Adino the Eznite, because he had killed eight hundred men at one time.

B.  1 Chronicles 11:11:

KJV 1 Chronicles 11:11 And this is the number of the mighty men whom David had; Jashobeam, an Hachmonite, the chief of the captains: he lifted up his spear against three hundred slain by him at one time.

NIV 1 Chronicles 11:11 this is the list of David's mighty men: Jashobeam, a Hacmonite, was chief of the officers; he raised his spear against three hundred men, whom he killed in one encounter.

NAS 1 Chronicles 11:11 And these constitute the list of the mighty men whom David had: Jashobeam, the son of a Hachmonite, the chief of the thirty; he lifted up his spear against three hundred whom he killed at one time.

NKJV 1 Chronicles 11:11 And this is the number of the mighty men whom David had: Jashobeam the son of a Hachmonite, chief of the captains; he had lifted up his spear against three hundred, killed by him at one time.

II.  Wrong-headed analysis:

A.  Skeptic:  This is a simple, irreconcilable, and inexplicable “error” that undermines the authority and integrity of Scripture.

For skeptics the purpose of pointing out such passages does not come from real interest in understanding this passage but in gaining a foothold for rejecting the teaching of the Bible altogether (existence of God, the moral law, the claims of Christ, etc.).

B.  Liberal/Mainline Evangelical:  Capitulation to modern critical skepticism.

Example:

MacArthur’s Study Bible note on 2 Samuel 23:8 on the “800”:  “Probably a textual error.  1 Chronicles 11:11 has “three hundred”, the likely number (p. 463).

III.  Faithful analysis (harmonization):

Note:

1.  Those who faithfully collected the OT books were not fools.  They would have been aware of this difference but saw no appalling contradiction in incorporating both.

2.  Reasonable explanations can be found.  See the comments of Matthew Poole at 1 Samuel 23:8:  “Object. But this man is said to have slain only three hundred in 1 Chron xi.11…..”  He offers three alternatives:

a.  Refers to two different battles.

b.  He slew 300 personally and 500 more via his men, for a total of 800.

c.  Refers to two different men:  father and son.