(Underlining marks a quotation/allusion. [Brackets] mark a textual variant.fnWhen two (or more) different copies of an original manuscript disagree on any given word or phrase — addition, omission, word order, etc. — the disagreement is called a "textual variant". ~99% of existing textual variants are either minor (like spelling), obviously not original (often appearing only in a few late manuscripts), or don't affect meaning (like "Jesus Christ" vs. "Christ Jesus"). The ~1% that remain do not affect any central doctrine of Christianity. The BOS Bible only marks significant textual variants that affect the meaning; smaller variants that do not affect meaning won't be marked for readability. "Love" with a caret ("^love") is agapé.fn"agapé" The Greek words ἀγάπη (agapé, noun), and ἀγαπάω (agapaó; verb) are typically translated "love". However, unlike our English word "love" – which primarily speaks of affection and feelings — agapé centers on choice and behavior. It’s the "love" based on will, choice, behavior, and action; not feelings. (Feelings-based love is the Greek word φιλέω (phileó), which properly means "brotherly love/affection".) Thus, you could hate someone passionately and still treat him with "agapé". Agapé "love" is best understood as the pursuit of what is most beneficial to someone or something, regardless of the cost to yourself or the type of response received from the person or thing. It can also indicate a preference for someone or something over other things. An asterisk (*) indicates a verb in the Greek perfect tense.fnThe Greek perfect tense signifies a completed action in the past with a result and/or an ongoing state that extends into the present. For example, Hebrews 12:2 says in part: "He *sat down at the right hand of the throne of God"; the verb for "sat" is in the perfect tense, indicating that He sat down once (completed action in the past), and also that He remains seated until the present moment (ongoing state).)
Glossary
Note: this glossary is currently a work in progress; entries that do not expand will be added as time permits
Ages/of ages
“ages” and “of ages” are the Greek words “αἰών” (aión, noun form) and “αἰώνιος” (aiónios, adjective form) respectively. The adjective form is typically translated “eternal”, as in “eternal life”. The noun form refers to a whole time period, (Keizer, “Life Time Entirety”) such as a person’s lifetime (an older Greek sense), an age/epoch (e.g., 2 Cor 4:4), or even time in its entirety, making its meaning similar to “forever” (e.g., John 14:16). The adjective form is similarly context-dependent, and the New Testament context often dictates a meaning similar to “forever” (but not always: e.g. 2 Tim 1:9). Alternately or additionally, it can indicate the quality of a time period — indicating greatness/severity — like the English idiom “of ages” (e.g. “battle of the ages”). Thus, “of ages” was chosen for the adjective form so that both the time and quality senses remain visible.
Clean/unclean
Covenant
Faith
Flesh
Forgive/forgiveness
Grace
The Greek word is “χάρις” (charis), most often translated “grace”, “gift”, or “thanks”. It was a technical term in the 1st century, referring to the Patronage system in place. The Patron (from “pater” = “father”) would give gifts or do favors (both called a charis). A charis was always given/done freely to anyone who would be grateful for it, and this person then became a “client” of the patron. The clients were expected to reciprocate by telling everyone what the patron had done, and offering their services to the patron whenever the patron needed them. This reciprocal act was also called “charis”, and the ones who reciprocated were “being faithful” by giving thanks in this way. Both were done out of gratitude, not legal obligation. A client who wasn’t faithful and grateful probably wouldn’t receive any more charis from his patron, or any other patrons. The patron was responsible for taking care of all his clients, and making sure their needs were met. New Testament usage typically casts God the Father as a Heavenly Patron, to whom Christians should be grateful and faithful because of the gifts He has given us. (e.g. salvation, provision, protection, etc.)
Holy
Justification
Law (Torah)
Make purification
Pure/Impure
Purification offering
In the Old Testament, this is typically the Hebrew “חַטָּ֖את” (khat-tat); in the New Testament, it’s typically “περὶ ἁμαρτίας” (peri hamartias), which is what the Septuagint (an ancient translation of the Old Testament into Greek) used to translate the Hebrew. It’s traditionally translated “sin offering”, but that translation has less support in high-level scholarship. The Hebrew word can mean “sin”, but it can also mean “purification” (e.g. Numbers 8:7). This offering was used to purify uncleanness, whether or not a sin was committed. Thus, it was required even when no sin was committed, such as after childbirth (Leviticus 12:1-8), for certain diseases (Leviticus 14), etc. High-level, peer-reviewed scholarship dedicated to the field (e.g. Milgrom, Levine, Gane, Sklar, Wright, Gorman, etc.) is largely united on the “purification offering” understanding. The BOS Bible has aligned itself with that high-level, peer-reviewed scholarship in its translation.
Ransom
Redemption
Repent/repentance
Righteous/righteousness
Salvation/save
Soul
“soul” is the Greek word “ψυχή/psuché” and Hebrew word “נֶפֶשׁ/nephesh”. The BOS Bible translates these words as “soul” for consistency, and so the full meaning of “soul” isn’t obscured by different translations in different places. They closely overlap in meaning and are typically translated “soul” or “life”. They refer to the animating force of a living thing, and thus can also refer to its life, or to the whole of any person or creature, including animals (e.g. fish in Revelation 8:9 and Genesis 1). They are frequently used as an emphatic reference to a person’s whole self, including longings, deep emotions, and inner life. (e.g. Ps 42:11) Note: while “soul” has significant overlap in meaning with “spirit”, the words have distinct meanings and usages throughout scripture. For example, lions tear apart a soul in Psalm 7:2, and a “dead soul” is mentioned in Leviticus 21:11; “spirit” has no analogous usages, and it returns to God at death (Ecc 12:7; Acts 7:59). The adjective forms of soul and spirit are contrasted in 1 Corinthians 2:14-15; see also: Hebrews 4:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:23.
Sin
Click to Collapse the GlossaryMiscellaneous instructions
- Let brotherly love continue.
- Don’t overlook hospitality to strangers, for through this some hosted angels without knowing it.
- Remember the prisoners as if being *bound with them, and the men being oppressed since you yourselves are also being oppressed in body.
- Marriage should be consideredfn“Marriage should be considered honorable by all” could also be translated “Marriage is honorable in all”. The Greek sentence lacks a verb, so the sense must be supplied by translators. Because Greek often omits verbs and carries them over from previous sentences/verses, and because this verse is in the middle of a long list of commands, imperative force was chosen here. However, a verb of being (“is”) wouldn’t be incorrect either. Either or both senses could’ve been intended. honorable by all, and the bed should be undefiled, for God will judge fornicators and men who have sex with other men’s wives.fn“men who have sex with other men’s wives” is one word in Greek, it’s masculine here and thus usually translated “adulterers” in this verse. However, the Greek (and Hebrew) words specifically mean a man (married or unmarried) having sex with another man’s wife (or betrothed). While the English word “adultery” means either spouse having sex with someone else, the Biblical words – both Greek and Hebrew – divide sexual sins into two classes based on the marital status of the woman. A man having sex with another man’s wife (or betrothed) was adultery. A man having sex with an unmarried woman was fornication. Both are very serious sins – see the final clause of this verse – but they are differentiated by the Greek and Hebrew words.
- Your way of life should be without the love of money, being content with what you possess, for He Himself has said: “I definitely won’t desert you, and most definitely won’tfn“and most definitely won’t”. In Greek, this is a triple negative (and not, no, not) to add very strong emphasis. While double negatives are occasionally used to add emphasis in Greek, triple negatives are extremely rare and make the statement even more definitively negative. Since English double negatives cancel each other out (instead of adding emphasis) the words “most definitely” were added to keep the very strong emphatic sense of the Greek. forsake you.”fnquotation/allusion to Deuteronomy 31:6
- So being confident, we are to say: “The Lord is my helper, I will not fear, what shall man do to me?“fnquotation/allusion to Psalm 118:6
- Remember the men leading you – whoever spoke the word of God to you – whose faith you should imitate, carefully observing the outcome of their conduct.
- Jesus the Anointed is the same yesterday, and today, and through the ages.
- Don’t be led astray by various and strange doctrines, for it’s good for the heart to be established by grace, not foods, by which the men walking in them weren’t benefited.
- We have an altar from which the men ministering in the tabernacle don’t have authority to eat.
- For the bodies of the animals whose blood is brought into the Holy of Holies by the high priest as a sin offering,fn“as a sin offering” is two words in Greek, which more literally mean “for sin” or “concerning sin”. This Greek construction was frequently used in the Septuagint (an early translation of the Old Testament into Greek) to translate the Hebrew that is usually rendered in English as “sin offering”. See also Romans 8:3, Hebrews 10:6, and 10:8. those bodies are burned outside the camp.fnquotation/allusion to Leviticus 16:27
- Therefore, Jesus also suffered outside the gate so He might make the people holy through His own blood.
- Accordingly, we should go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach.
- For we don’t have an enduring city here, but we seek the coming one.
- Therefore, through Him we should offer a sacrifice of praise to God through everything, that is, the fruit of our lips confessing His name.
- Yet don’t overlook the doing of good and fellowship, for God is well-pleased with such sacrifices.
- Be persuadedfn“Be persuaded” is one word in Greek, typically translated “obey” in this verse. It occurs over 50 times in the New Testament and is almost always translated persuade/convince/trust, etc., which is also the word’s primary definition. (It’s also the root of the Greek word translated “faith”.) Further, it’s in the passive voice here, meaning something is being done to the subject (“be persuaded), and not the subject doing something (“obey”). Thus, “be persuaded” is literal, while the traditional translation of “obey” is interpretive. Further, “obey” cannot be the intended sense here; see Matthew 20:25-26, and notice the future tense with imperative force in verse 26. by the men leading you and yieldfn“yield” this Greek word properly refers to yielding of combatants. A modern analogy might be when a modern wrestler “yields” the fight to his opponent, granting the opponent victory. This word is only used in this verse, and nowhere else in the New Testament. to them (for they keep watch for the sake of your souls since they will be giving an account) so that they might do this with joy and not internal groaning, for that would be unprofitable for you.
- Pray for us, for we’re persuaded that we have a good conscience, desiring to conduct ourselves nobly in all things.
- And I greatly urge you to do this, so I might be restored to you more quickly.
Closing and benediction
- Now, may the God of peace – the One who brought back from the dead the Great Shepherd of the sheep by the blood of the covenant of ages, our Lord Jesus –
- equip you with everything good in order to do His will, working in us what is pleasing in His sight through Jesus the Anointed, to whom be the glory through the ages of the ages, Amen.
- And I urge you brothers, bear with this word of encouragement for I wrote to you in few words.
- You know that our brother Timothy has been released, with whom I will see you if he comes sooner.
- Greet all the men leading you and all the holy ones. The men from Italy greet you.
- Grace be with you all, [Amen].
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