Greetings from Gary Shogren! Who are we? Every year we open a Facebook "club", whose members can learn a new ancient language (we have done Biblical Aramaic, Latin) or read Scripture in the original languages (the whole Septuagint; the Torah; the Hebrew Poets and Latter Prophets; the New Testament, twice; also the Apostolic Fathers). For... Continue Reading →
Join us as we read the Psalms in Hebrew in 2024
Who are we? I have been a seminary professor for many years. Every year I open a Facebook club, whose members can learn a new ancient language (we have done Aramaic, Latin) or to read Scripture in the original (the whole Septuagint; the Hebrew Torah; the New Testament and the Apostolic Fathers in Greek). For... Continue Reading →
Reading Club! In 2023, 6 books from the Hebrew Scriptures
Who are we? I have been a seminary professor for many years. Every year I open a Facebook club, whose members can learn a new ancient language (we have done Aramaic, Latin) or to read Scripture in the original language (the whole Septuagint; the Hebrew Torah; the Greek New Testament). For this coming year we... Continue Reading →
The New Testament doctrine of election
I was fresh out of university when the editors of the Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary asked me to write the article on election. My starting point is exegesis of texts, not systematic theology. You can read the original article in volume 2:441–444; the following is slightly paraphrased. The nature of this article is a panoramic... Continue Reading →
Why read the Septuagint from cover to cover?
Last month we announced a two-year safari, reading through the Septuagint version of the Scriptures, from cover to cover! Our friend David Baer (PhD from Cambridge, specialist in the Septuagint of Isaiah) has decided to join the group. He wanted to say a few words! Why read the Septuagint? The whole Septuagint??!! Over two years??!!... Continue Reading →
Facebook Reading Club! – the Septuagint over Two Years
Our Goal: A two-year excursion through the Septuagint, including the Deuterocanonical books, from January 1, 2019 through the close of 2020. We will offer weekly reading plans that will average about a chapter and a half per day; for example, the week of January 1-6 we will read Genesis 1-12 LXX. The Psalms will be... Continue Reading →
Paul had the Bible memorized!
It is common knowledge that the apostle knew by heart the entire text of the Hebrew Scriptures. He also was able to cite another version at will: the Greek version of the Bible known as the Septuagint. This is the version he almost always quote in his letters to Greek-speaking Christians. Thus: when he quoted... Continue Reading →
A Year of Aramaic and Syriac!
October 10, 2016 is the day! We will be launching Peshar (Aramaic for "interpretation"), our new Facebook group for learning and reading Aramaic and Syriac. If you can already read biblical Hebrew and would like to expand your skills, let me know if you want to join! Visit HERE. Within a few weeks we will be... Continue Reading →
Yeshua? Iesous? Jesus? Some other form? Who’s right?
The reader may download the entire article as a pdf file, especially given the presence of long technical footnotes׃ Shogren_Yeshua Iesous Jesus Some other form Who’s right. The results from the TLG search, mentioned in the article, may be downloaded here: Ιησους in TLG first 1000 references The headlines are usually IN BOLD PRINT!! With lots of... Continue Reading →
Does John 4:22 say that salvation is just for Jews?
[Note – this is a very live topic in Latin America, and I wrote this for the church there. I also offer it for the English-speaking church]. Every time I write that salvation is for all who believe the gospel; that Gentile believers are not obligated to be circumcised or observe the 613 laws of... Continue Reading →