Category: Old Testament

Adam and Eve Mourn the Death of Abel

Gospel Doctrine Lesson 5- Moses 5:16-41; 6:26-63; 7:13, 17-47, 68-69

February 1, 2026 /

 

I’m bumping this post for utility, although I haven’t had time to rework it.

Text: Moses 5:16-41; 6:26-63; 7:13, 17-47, 68-69

As always, time compels us to be selective in what we focus on. Today, it’s all about Cain.

First off, we need to understand that Cain has nothing to do with Canaan. That association is an accident of English transliteration and pronunciation. They sound similar in English, but in Hebrew Cain/qayin (accent on first syllable) has no relation at all with Canaan/kena’an (kuh-nah-ahn, accent on middle syllable.) If there’s any descent of Cain in the Bible, it’s… Moses’ father-in-law Jethro, who is a Kenite. Or rather, a Cain-ite, if we’re being more consistent.  As the intro paragraph of the Anchor Bible Dictionary article on Kenites says, “The Kenites—or more correctly the Qenites—were a community or clan whose ancestry was traced to an eponym, biblical Cain (Heb qayin ). The Kenites constituted a non-Israelite group, frequenting the wilderness near Sinai…” The text thus portrays Moses marrying  Jethro’s daughter Zipporah, a non-Israelite who is the namesake of Cain, if not a descendant.

If Cain has nothing to do with Canaan, he does have something in common with Cainan/qeynan who appears in Genesis 5:9-12. (See the genealogy discussion below.)

Cain and Master Mahan- I think this is a great opportunity to bring a human-centric and Christ-centric focus to the lesson. Continue reading

Elohim, Jehovah, the Father, the Son, AND The Trinity, AND John’s Logos: Getting Some Things Clear

January 6, 2026 /

As we begin to study the Old Testament again, this time with multiple translations, we Latter-day Saints tend to ask some of the same questions over and over. “Is it the Father or the Son speaking here? How can I tell them apart? Isn’t Jehovah the premortal Jesus, and so LORD or Jehovah always means Jesus?” Yes. But also… no. And to understand both why we keep asking those question and what the answers really are, we need to start with… the Nicene Creed.

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Part 1— Church Resources, and Why Scholarship Can’t Be Separated from Doctrine or Discipleship

December 31, 2025 /

I sometimes hear criticism of my work or approach which seeks to shunt it aside by labeling it as “scholarly,” “academic,” or “educational.” These critics imply that to make use of such materials in preparing lessons inappropriately turns Seminary or Come Follow Me into an “academic” setting instead of a “doctrinal” or “discipleship” setting.  They argue that discipleship has no need of any scholarship. I find this false dichotomy somewhat frustrating, and I’ll address it more in part 2. Continue reading

My updated bookshelf

Bibles and Translation part 2: Family, Seminary, Institute, and Missionaries

December 24, 2025 /

(Part 1 here)

Just in time for Old Testament, the Church has reshaped its policy around Bible translations. While the KJV remains the official Bible of the English-speaking Church, Latter-day Saints are now strongly encouraged, it seems, to use other translations as well. This has the effect of making scripture more accessible and understandable, and increases the joy and enthusiasm of scripture study. It helps us communicate better with our Christian neighbors, who are unlikely to use the KJV, and helps us avoid the problems that come from only reading the KJV. (See this article in Religious Educator.)

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Let’s Talk about the Bible and Translation

December 17, 2025 /

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’re aware of an announcement of changes to the Church Handbook about use of (and attitudes towards)  non-KJV translations.  I’m thrilled about this; I’ve also been on planes and deprived of sleep for the last two days, but finally had a good night’s sleep, so let’s try this while it’s still timely. Caveat: written quickly, unrevised, and under sleep deprivation.

And for anyone new here, I read daily in Greek and Hebrew, and have published on Bible translation.

Much of the conversation around translations can be sidestepped by making sure  we’re all  operating with the  conceptual understanding, which is this:

There’s no such thing as THE Bible.

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Black Friday and Boston reports

November 25, 2025 /

Logos has two sets of study Bible notes I recommend on sale. I don’t know how long these will last: the Jewish Study Bible notes, and the Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible notes, both of which I highly recommend. Per the demo video on this post, you can link these (or others) together to whatever translation(s) you want for your daily reading.

As it turns out, you can legitimately download the former for free in PDF now, though the price is offset by the format. Go here and click on PDF.

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