Tag Archives: Persian Empire

New Testament Doctrine: Matthew 2:1-15

Posted on May 29, 2021 by ehurst

It’s not possible to make sense of this passage without a substantial look at the historical background. Astrology figures large in our text as the presumed background of the visiting Magi. While Matthew’s comment that they came from “the east” … Continue reading →

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Law of Moses — Nehemiah 2

Posted on April 3, 2021 by ehurst

So far as anyone can tell, Ezra remained in Jerusalem after his book ends with the reforms in 457 BC. The various nations around them had lost all their hopes of seducing the Judeans. So they began a campaign of … Continue reading →

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Law of Moses — Ezra 10:1-17

Posted on March 27, 2021 by ehurst

Before his trip to Jerusalem, Ezra had already been involved in a project of collecting various manuscripts and documents associated with Moses and Israel, and assessing which were to be considered Scripture. It’s almost guaranteed this was a large project … Continue reading →

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Law of Moses — Ezra 6

Posted on March 13, 2021 by ehurst

We jump a couple of chapters. In them, we see that the mixed multitude of pagans Esarhaddon had shipped into the northern kingdom, eventually called “Samaritans,” came and asked to participate in building the new temple. Keep in mind that … Continue reading →

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Law of Moses — Ezra 3

Posted on March 6, 2021 by ehurst

The Edict of Cyrus is dated most commonly 538 BC. It probably took a couple of years for the first group of 50,000 returnees to get everything organized. Then the journey would have taken no less than four months to … Continue reading →

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Law of Moses — Ezra 1

Posted on February 27, 2021 by ehurst

So we left off with the King of Judah being subject to Pharaoh. Josiah’s heir took the throne in 609 BC and lasted three months as an evil king before Pharaoh deported him to Egypt. Instead, a younger brother was … Continue reading →

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A Mountain to Move

Posted on August 6, 2020 by ehurst

You don’t have to play along, but I’m declaring for you folks what God is doing in my life right now. By now I hope you’ve read the companion post for this on the other blog (that blog is gone). … Continue reading →

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Daniel the Man

Posted on May 8, 2020 by ehurst

The Ancient Near Eastern (ANE) rulers as a whole operated with far greater wisdom than is common in governments today. Their assumptions about reality were radically different from anything in the West; they held to an entirely different epistemology. In … Continue reading →

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Reviewing Daniel’s Statue

Posted on February 22, 2018 by ehurst

Review the prophet’s vision of the statue in Daniel 2. As with any proper parable, the image has meaning that branches out into all directions. It bears applications of divine wisdom to far more than one element in human existence, … Continue reading →

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