Category: Bible Questions

I was simply wondering where Mary Magdelene was introduced in the Bible. I would also love to know what you think about the hype that she and Jesus had more of a connection than the church led/leads on. But that is a secondary question, so if you do not have time/effort, my real question is where was she introduced.

Thank you very much

Lincoln A

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Mary Magdalene is first mentioned in the writings of the Bible in Matthew 27:56.  On a timeline of Biblical events she is mentioned in Luke 8:2 as one of the women who “ministered unto him of their substance.”

What about all these guesses that she was actually the woman adulterer who washed Christ with her tears, that she married him, that she is the sister of Lazarus?

Here are the facts as the Bible gives them.

Christ delivered her from evil spirits; seven devils went out of her.  She, with others,  gave financial support to Jesus out of gratitude (Luke 8: 2-4)
She was with Christ as he suffered on the cross. (John 19:25)
She remained by the cross till the end and waited till the body was taken down and placed in the garden sepulchre of Joseph of Arimathaea, (Matthew 27:61; Mark 15:47; Luke 23:55)
With Salome and Mary the mother of James, she “bought sweet spices that they might come and anoint” the body. (Mark 16:1)
She was with Mary the mother of James at the sepulchre early the next morning (Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:2)
Mary Magdalene had been to the tomb, found it empty, and saw the angels who explained that he was not there. (Matthew 28:5; Mark 16:6)
Jesus appeared to her first after his resurrection. (John 20:14,15)

In each of the cases above the writer makes clear, he is writing of Mary Magdalene.   Nowhere is her name used to suggest that she was the repentant sinner, married to Jesus or the sister of Lazarus.  Just as there are many Jennifers, Heathers and other common female names today so were there many Marys in the Bible.

How long was a year in Bible days?  For example, was Methuselah really 969 years old as in 365 days times 969, or did their years have fewer or more days than ours today?

Thanks!
Lyne Hitt

There is such insignificant change in the earth’s spin and revolution that the times and seasons have remained the same for the last 6000 years: 24 hour days and 365 1/4 day years ( based on revolutions around the sun and revolutions of the earth.)   That would mean Methuselah did live 969 of our years.  You might enjoy this information from Tom Whiting on the astronomical earth year.

“I know the spin rate (one day) is slowing down due to the gravitational effects of the moon…..about 3 millionths of a second per year  (65 million years ago, the dinosaurs had a 20 hour day)….but I’ve never read where our speed around the sun has changed over the millennia.

In fact, I would assume that as we spiral in closer to the sun (very slowly) we would actually speed up, thus a slightly shorter length of the year.  But then again, the sun is continuously losing mass through the fusion process to produce energy, so that would allow the Earth (and all the planets) to drift outward slowly, thus lengthening the orbital (yearly) time period. Perhaps the two effects offset each other, because I’ve read nothing about the “year” growing longer (or shorter) as the centuries and millennia go by.  But if it has, it certainly is not measurable in our lifetimes, and it would probably affect our calendar by only one day every few million years. “

There are two places Muslims say the Bible refers to Mohammed by name.

The first is John 14:16, 26
And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever
Here is the reasoning used by Muslims based on the translation from Greek
The word “comforter” is translated from the word “Paraclete” (“Ho Parakletos” in Greek). Muslims say the Greek Periqlytos that means Ahmad or Mohammed. These are Greek words. Muslims claim that ‘paraclete’ (which is in the Bible) should be a different word ‘Pericletos.’
Parakletos in Greek is interpreted as “an advocate”, one who pleads the cause of another, one who councils or advises another from deep concern for the other’s welfare (Beacon Bible Commentary volume VII, p.168).

Muslims say the English translation that refers to this comforter as The Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit is incorrect. The correct interpretation is a holy spirit or, in other words, a man with a holy spirit. (SP)

Additional verses about the comforter make it clear this is not referring to a man.

The Comforter cannot be seen by the world “The world cannot accept him because it neither sees him nor knows him” John 14:17
The Comforter “abides with you and will be in you.” John 14:17 Mohammed does not abide in people.
The Comforter is sent by the Father in Jesus’ name, “whom the Father will send in my name”. (John 14:26) Mohammed never claimed to be sent in Jesus name.
The Comforter ” will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” referring to the disciples
(John 14:26). Muhammad did not help the disciples remember what Jesus taught them.
The Comforter will “be with you forever” (John 14:16).
As you can see, the Comforter cannot be Muhammad.

Again Muslims say Solomon refers to Muhammed. The word used is the Hebrew ‘Machmaddim’. Muslims claim that this word is a reference to Muhammad for two reasons, The word Machmad (singular of Machmaddim) sounds a bit like the name Mohammed and it means ‘one who is worthy of praise’ so Muslims say this is Mohammed.The context of the passage identifies the person described as Machmad as someone in the time of Solomon (Song 3:11) who is loved by a Shulamite (Song 6:13). He is red-haired (Song 5:10). None of these descriptions fits Muhammad.

Muslims also claim prophecies are referring to Christ such as this one in Deuteronomy 18:15 of the King James Bible are referring to Mohammed.
The LORD, thy God, will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;

Muslims claim this is referring to Mohammed as Mohammed was raised up as a prophet and spoke the words given by God. However, Mohammed was not from among the Israelites and, therefore, cannot be the prophet spoken of here or in other verses.
From Matthew Henry’s commentary we read this verse is..”intended as a promise of Christ, and it is the clearest promise of him that is in all the law of Moses. It is expressly applied to our Lord Jesus as the Messiah promised (Acts 3:22; 7:37), and the people had an eye to this promise when they said concerning him, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world (Jn. 6:14); and it was his Spirit that spoke in all the other prophets, 1 Pt. 1:11.”

If you search the Internet, you will find many Muslims suggesting why the Bible is referring to Mohammed and even more Christian sites refuting this.

Throughout Bible history no scholar ever suggested these prophecies refer to a son of Ishmael.

Tom writes: God said that he had heard of all the wickedness in Soddom and Gomorrah and he would go there to see if it was true and if so he would destroy it. As in “if you find 50 good people will you spare the city?” God said ‘If I find 50 I will spare the city” Also, why would God need a rainbow to remind himself of his promise to never flood the world again? God can forget?

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Better Biblical scholars than I have commented on the story of Sodom and Gomorrah that occurred around 1900 BC on the Biblical Timeline.

Sodom and Gomorrah, Genesis 18:20-33

This is from Wesley on Genesis 18:21 “Not as if there were anything concerning which God is in doubt; but he is pleased thus to express himself after the manner of men.” Or this from Jamison, Fausset Brown Commentary “language used after the manner of men. These cities were to be made examples to all future ages of God’s severity; and therefore ample proof given that the judgment was neither rash nor excessive” As the saying goes “actions speak louder than words.” Did God actually go see? No. He already knew. God was assuring Abraham that his protecting hand would be over the city for the sake of even a few righteous. Or he would remove the righteous. He removed Lot and those of his family who would come.

This also happened just before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. The Christians were given a sign of the coming destruction and when it happened they fled the city so that they were not there when the city was destroyed. (see the very end of the article on The Signs of the Last Days)

As to the Bow: This is found in Genesis 9:13-15 God initially refers to the bow as a token in verse 13. In verse 15 he uses the words “I will remember” Or the original Hebrew has been interpreted “I will remember” but the original Hebrew could also have been written “In remembrance” In other words it marks the covenant not to remind God but as a token or signifier of the covenant. Like a wedding band. Do you need a wedding band to remember the marriage (Oh wait! I forgot. I’m married.) Or is it a token of the covenant of marriage that was made? The bow is a token of the covenant in remembrance of God’s promise.

Both of these incidents remind us of God’s love for and willingness to communicate with us that we might be prepared or take actions. To be protected as did Lot, the Israelites on the night of the Passover. Just before the Exodus and the ancient Christians who fled Jerusalem before it was sacked by Rome.

Recently M. Anderson wrote to tell us we had a mistake on the Amazing Bible World History Timeline. Genesis 11: 26 tells us “And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran.”

The Amazing Bible Timeline shows Terah as 130 years when Abraham is born. We use Bishop Ussher’s dates as the basis for the Timeline. His are the dates found in the Authorized King James Bible. When calculating the ages of each person Bishop James Ussher took into account all the scriptures regarding that person. Using additional scripture verses we have to conclude that Terah was at least 130 when Abram (Abraham) was born.

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Consider that Terah died at age 205 (Genesis 11:32), that Abraham moved from the land of Haran after Terah’s death (Acts 7:4), and that Abraham was 75 when he departed Haran and moved to the land of Canaan (Genesis 12:4). Then that means Terah was at least 130 at Abraham’s birth (205 – 75 = 130). But what about the scripture you quote? We can only assume this means at least one of the sons was born when Terah was 70 and the rest after that date since there are other scriptures that suggest these sons were not triplets. Why is Abram (Abraham) listed first if he was not the eldest? Most likely because he is the most important in the genealogy of the chosen people leading up to Christ. We appreciate any and all feedback on the Amazing Bible Timeline. Each reprinting includes suggestions for enhancements, so please keep sending them.

Here’s a letter pointing out a possible error and an overlooked fact.

I have really enjoyed using the Bible Timeline along with my studies, and appreciate this awesome resource. It really helps to have a clearer picture of all of the events and how they relate to one another. Thank you for the PDF version of the timeline. This is a great bonus!
I know that the timeline states that there may be inconsistencies due to a number of different factors, but I was curious about one in particular and hoping you could explain it to me.
In Exodus 12:40 it says that the Israelites lived in Egypt for a total of 430 years to the day when Moses lead them out. On the timeline there is only about 200 years between the time when they came to Egypt and the Exodus of Moses. This seems like a big discrepency, and I’m am interested to know why this doesn’t appear to line up with scripture. I understand the enormous task of trying to put all of this information on a single resource, and I know it can’t be 100% accurate due to conflicts in the historical record. I was just hoping you could help clear this up for me.

The dating of the time in Egypt – either 215 or 430 years – is one point of contention among those striving to develop a Biblical chronology.

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We used James Ussher’s chronology for our biblical dates. As you know, his chronology is the most widely accepted. The question becomes why did he place the dates when he did. Bishop Ussher worked with a variety of biblical manuscripts and historical resources. The verses mentioned do say the Israelites lived in Egypt for 430 years in the Masoretic text.

Other manuscripts (the Samaritan Pentateuch and the Septuagint) add the words “and Canaan” after Egypt in the above quote, so that it reads “the length of time the Israelite people lived in Egypt and Canaan was 430 years”. This made the beginning of the 430 year period when Abraham arrived in Canaan. This is 215 years earlier than Jacob’s arrival in Egypt, and would shorten the Israelites’ period in Egypt to 215 years (215 + 215 = 430). This was the view taken by James Ussher.

However, in Acts 7:6, Stephen states that Abraham’s descendants were to be “enslaved and mistreated four hundred years”. But then in Galatians 3:16-17 Paul makes reference to a 430 year period from Abraham leaving Haran to Moses receiving “The Law”. As you can see, biblical chronologists work to coordinate all the verses and use multiple sources.

We appreciate any and all feedback on the Amazing Bible Timeline. Each reprinting includes suggestions for enhancements, so please keep sending them.

Dominique writes: I found your website to be extremely informative – thank you for providing answers/perspectives to difficult questions.

If I may ask a question of my own: I was wondering about the similarities between myths and the occurrences of the Bible and Jesus (i.e. virgin birth, death and Resurrection etc.) – other myths seem to share similar attributes, some preexisting the Gospel. How does one deal with the issue of time in respect to other religions/myths claiming Christianity borrowing from them, and getting a solid grasp of the historicity of Jesus Christ.

This is a common question.

The way I explain it is that the reverse is true. While the myths you mention may preexist New Testament times, they do not preexist Adam or Noah and his sons.  The Bible does not claim and reinterpret stories from other peoples and religions, it restores the true story that was earlier known, then corrupted by those other peoples and religions.

Adam, Noah, and Abraham all understood the full gospel. Adam and his sons sacrificed the first-born of the flock symbolizing the coming Christ.   Moses writes of this in passing while later giving the Mosaic law – full of symbolism of the atonement of Jesus Christ for the sins of man.

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Isaiah wrote of the virgin birth (Isaiah 7:14), the crucifixion and resurrection (Isaiah 53) and more. David‘s psalms often describe in detail Christ’s suffering.  We must assume that the details and purpose of Christ’s birth, life and death were known since the beginning of time.

Throughout time, as people turned from the Lord and lost the full truth, some of the stories were retained, corrupted and handed down as myths.

While the myths you mention may preexist New Testament times, they do not preexist Adam or Noah and his sons.