Author Most likely an anonymous Jew. Matthew the tax collector may have been the first missionary to the author’s community. It’s hard to say exactly why the book gained his name. Date Most scholars date this gospel between 85 and 95 AD. By then, the gospel of Mark was in wide circulation and this gospel READ MORE
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1st Sunday of Lent Year B
The Lectionary and Scripture Interpretation during Lent Genesis 9:8-15 Background of the book Genesis 6-9 tells the story of Noah and the flood, a story that pre-dates the Jewish people. This is the first covenant in the Bible, and it’s important to note that God makes it with all of humanity and every living creature. READ MORE
6th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B
The Lectionary and Scripture Interpretation during Ordinary Time Leviticus 13:1-2, 44-46 Background of the book 13:1-14:57 is a section that deals with impurity caused by tzara’at. In the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament), this was translated as the Greek word lepros from which we get the word leprosy. This word should not READ MORE
5th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B
The Lectionary and Scripture Interpretation during Ordinary Time Job 7:1-4, 6-7 Background of the book This passage uses three metaphors for life, each of which was a proverbially wretched state of life in that culture: military service, day labor, and simple slavery. Job says that day-to-day living is a drudgery, wanting what you can’t have, READ MORE
The Johannine Epistles: 1, 2, & 3 John
Author During the first two centuries of Christianity, the “Johannine Epistles” (1, 2, and 3 John) were probably not a part of the canon of scripture. When they began to be accepted as authoritative, they were often attributed to the same author as the Gospel of John. Textual evidence indicates that, although there are similar READ MORE
4th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B
The Lectionary and Scripture Interpretation during Ordinary Time This week’s theme is all about authority – who has it and where did they get it from? Deuteronomy 18:15-20 Background of the book 18:14-21 are all about the office of the prophet. For a Jew, there’s God (top) and then there’s Moses, only slightly below God. READ MORE
The Acts of the Apostles
Author Luke was a physician and an artist from Syria. He was highly educated, well-versed in Greco-Roman style. He has the finest Greek writing in the New Testament. He was not an eyewitness to the events but he interviewed eyewitnesses and drew from the oral collections. He was also not very familiar with Palestinian geography READ MORE
Philippians
Author This is an undisputed letter, meaning that it’s universally accepted that Paul wrote it. It’s also certain that he wrote it from prison but what’s not certain is which prison. Most scholars think it was written at Ephesus. Date Because of the uncertainty over where Paul was when he wrote it, it’s difficult to READ MORE
Hebrews
Features Author Authorship of this book is highly contested and often debated. Eusebius in the second century attributed it to Paul. The earliest codex (a manuscript in book format) from around 200AD placed it right after Romans, implying Pauline authorship. In the early 200s, Origin taught that the Greek in this book was a different READ MORE
3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B
The Lectionary and Scripture Interpretation during Ordinary Time As is usually true during Ordinary Time, there are a variety of themes that emerge from the readings. The one I would like to highlight is that of the unlikely messenger. Jonah 3:1-5, 10 Background of the book At the start of the book of Jonah, God’s READ MORE