Search — Theology Explorer

authenteo BGU 1208 papyrus evidence

BGU 1208: the key papyrus document for authenteo

Mike examines the famous papyrus letter BGU 1208, one of the most important extra-biblical uses of authenteo.

1 Timothy 2:12 1 Timothy 2:12 authenteo church fathers

Additional church fathers and their testimony on 1 Tim 2:12

Mike provides further patristic evidence for how authenteo was understood in the early church.

authenteo Coptic translation Gothic translation

Ancient translations of 1 Tim 2:12: how authenteo was rendered

Mike examines how the earliest Bible translations rendered authenteo, providing important evidence for its meaning.

authenteo Douglas Moo translation history

English translation history of authenteo and the NIV 'assume authority' rendering

Mike traces how English translations have rendered authenteo from Wycliffe to the present.

1 Timothy 2:12 authentein 1 Timothy 2:12 Andreas Kostenberger

Kostenberger's syntactic study: two infinitives joined by oude

Mike presents Andreas Kostenberger's influential syntactic analysis of 1 Tim 2:12.

1 Timothy 2:12 1 Timothy 2:12 authenteo have authority translation

Application of authenteo conclusion: 'have authority' is the correct translation

Mike summarizes the full case for translating authenteo as 'have authority.'

1 Timothy 2:12 1 Timothy 2:12 authenteo have authority translation

Conclusion 8: 'Have authority' is the correct translation of authenteo

Mike restates the translation conclusion.

Mike Winger idea 2018-01-10

JW misconception #1: Clouds represent judgment/hiddenness

JW misinterpretation of 'clouds' in Matthew 24:30

Matthew 24:30 Clouds of heaven Matthew 24:30 Visibility debate

Abraham Joseph Smith Book of Abraham

Joseph Smith purchases the mummies and scrolls for $2,400; claims one scroll was written by Abraham's own hand

The acquisition and initial claims about the papyri

Joseph Smith Book of Abraham 1835

Smith's diary entries document ongoing 'translation' work on Egyptian alphabet and grammar in late 1835

Documentary evidence from Smith's own journals

Abraham Joseph Smith Book of Abraham

LDS Church president's diary corroborates that Smith translated Abraham's own handwriting using the Urim and Thummim

Secondary LDS historical witness to Smith's translation claims

Joseph Smith Book of Abraham Brigham Young University

LDS professor at BYU commented that the rediscovery of the papyri was 'a far more' significant test of LDS claims

Internal LDS academic recognition of the significance of the papyri rediscovery

translation comparison Joseph Smith testability of religious claims

Unlike the Book of Mormon (golden plates taken away), the Book of Abraham papyri CAN be tested — this is unique

The Book of Abraham as a uniquely testable LDS truth claim

translation comparison LDS Church Book of Abraham

The LDS Church's own official article on lds.org admits the characters on the papyri do not match the Book of Abraham text

The LDS Church's own admission in its official online materials

Joseph Smith Book of Abraham Joseph Smith diary

LDS apologist claim that Smith received direct revelation (not translation) is refuted by his own diary

Responding to a viewer question about the LDS apologetic counter-argument

Book of Abraham Great Chicago Fire Metropolitan Museum of Art

LDS apologist argument #1: the 'Short Scroll Theory' — the recovered fragments are only part of a longer scroll

Review of LDS apologetic responses to the papyri problem

Joseph Smith Book of Abraham inspired translation

LDS apologist argument #3: Smith did not 'translate' in the conventional sense — he was receiving spiritual impressions triggered by the images

Third main LDS apologetic counter-argument

Abraham Joseph Smith Book of Abraham

Refutation of the 'spiritual impression' translation argument: Smith's own documents say it was written by Abraham's own hand — not a spiritual trigger

Mike's counter to the spiritual impression theory

Mike Winger idea 2018-04-18

Translation comparison of Isaiah 24:1: KJV 'upside down' vs. NKJV/ESV/NASB/NIV renderings expose Mead's selective use of an English idiom

Mike uses Logos Bible Software to compare translations live, demonstrating that the KJV's 'turn it upside down' is an English idiom not supported by a literal Hebrew rendering.

Isaiah 24:1 NIV hermeneutics David Mead

Mike Winger idea 2018-03-14

Hebrew 'Elohim' is even more flexible — used for angels, human judges, deities, and the God of Israel

Extending the semantic range discussion to the Hebrew word for God

semantic range Elohim Hebrew vocabulary

Mike Winger idea 2018-03-14

Greek article 'that' (hē) in James 2:14 — 13 of 16 translations include it, pointing to 'that particular faith' as the referent

Textual note on James 2:14 — 'can that faith save him'

James 2:14 textual criticism translation practice James 2:14

Mike Winger idea 2018-03-21

Q&A — Why didn't God send each country a Bible in their own language to prevent mistranslation?

Follow-up question on biblical reliability and translation

hermeneutics biblical inerrancy Bible translation

Mike Winger idea 2018-03-21

Q&A — King James Version: not the best available today due to language change and manuscript discoveries

Question on Bible translation quality

ESV Bible translation King James Version

Mike Winger idea 2018-03-28

1 Chronicles 20 or 23 — translation differences between NKJV, ESV, and NASB: Mike defers to post-livestream comment response

Q&A — Joseph May's question about translation discrepancies in 1 Chronicles

1 Chronicles 20 translation differences 1 Chronicles 20 NKJV

Jonah 1:17 Matthew 12:40 Jonah 1:17 Matthew 12:40 Biblical Hebrew - dag

Objection: the Bible incorrectly classifies whales as fish (Jonah 1:17; Matthew 12:40)

Ra claims the Bible is scientifically wrong for calling the creature that swallowed Jonah a fish when whales are not fish

Leviticus 11 Taxonomy anachronism Bible and science Translation issues

Objection: bats are classified as birds in Leviticus 11 — Mike's rebuttal using Hebrew 'oph'

Ra claims the Bible incorrectly puts bats in the same category as birds in Leviticus 11

Translation issues Biblical languages Semantic range

Translation limitations: English lacks words that exist in Hebrew/Greek (e.g., 'hand/wrist/arm')

In explaining the taxonomy issue, Mike illustrates how original-language words sometimes have no single English equivalent