What does the Bible mean when it refers to a “Daughter of Zion”?
The “daughter of Zion” is mentioned several times in the Old Testament, usually in prophecy and once in poetry. “Zion” meant Jerusalem and, later, Israel as the people of God. “Daughter of Zion,” then, does not refer to a specific person. It’s a metaphor for Israel and the loving, caring, patient relationship God has with…
What is the Gemara?
The Gemara is a body of literature within the Talmud. The Talmud is an expansive work that contains rabbinical teachings from roughly AD 200—600, broadly divided into two parts: the Mishnah and the Gemara. After the Mishnah was completed around AD 200, its content was subjected to intense study and debate by scholars for centuries.…
How should Christians respond to the Arab-Israeli conflict?
October 7, 2023, introduced some of the worst violence seen in decades in Israel and the Gaza Strip. Yet conflict over the region known as Palestine has evolved constantly since the end of World War I. The tragic discord between Jewish and Arabic people includes facets of religion, territory, ethnicity, economics, and politics. Our age…
What is a mikvah?
A mikvah in the Hebrew Bible is a gathering or collection of water. The word came to refer to a pool of water used for ceremonial cleansing. One who is impure or ceremonially unclean before immersion will be pure or ceremonially clean after immersion in a mikvah. A person would have to be ceremonially clean…
When did the separation of humanity into Jews and Gentiles occur?
Although there is no direct mention of the time when the Jews and Gentiles became separated, there are two primary lines of thought. First, some view the separation occurring with the descendants of Adam and Eve. According to this view, the chosen line of Seth was always separate from the rest of humanity. Therefore, Seth’s…
If the Jewish people do not offer animal sacrifices, how do they believe they can receive forgiveness from God?
For all intents and purposes, the Jewish practice of animal sacrifice ended in AD 70, the year that the Romans destroyed the temple in Jerusalem. With the temple gone, there is no longer a place for the sacrifices to be offered according to the Mosaic Law (see Deuteronomy 12:13–14). Repeatedly in the Old Testament, the…
What is a priest?
A priest is a minister of any religion—true or false, good or evil—who is given authority to teach the sacred information and perform the sacred duties to preserve and bring that faith to others. Priests usually serve as a representative between people and a higher power, being, or set of beings. Priests are intermediaries between…
What is Messianic Judaism?
Messianic Judaism is the term given to the belief system of Jewish people who believe and have accepted Yeshua (the Hebrew name for Jesus) of Nazareth as the promised Messiah of the Hebrew Scriptures. These Jewish people do not stop being Jewish, but they continue to remain strong in their Jewish identity, lifestyle and culture,…
What are phylacteries?
Phylacteries, sometimes called tefillin, are small, square leather boxes containing portions of Scripture worn by Conservative and Orthodox Jews during prayer services. Phylacteries are worn in pairs—one phylactery is strapped on the left arm, and one is strapped to the forehead of Jewish men during weekday morning prayers. The word phylactery comes from a Greek…
Who are the Natsarim?
The Natsarim (Hebrew for “Nazarenes”) are a religious sect that mixes biblical truth with the Torah, the Jewish festivals, and the philosophies of men. They are part of the Hebrew Roots movement. The Natsarim claim to follow the Jesus defined in the four gospels, and they refer to Him as Yeshua HaMashiach (“Jesus the Messiah”).…