They Admitted They Changed the Bible!Scribes changed our Bible. In some cases, they even told us where and why. These are called the Emendations of the Scribes: deliberate alterations, admitted in the fine print of the Masoretic notes by the very scribes credited with preserving the text behind our Bible. In this class, Ross Nichols of HOREB Institute examines their own admissions and what the text said before they touched it. It might surprise you.Watch the video [⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HERE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠]

Five Exercises for Better Bible Study!For more than two thousand years, a lion stood on the watchtower in the book of Isaiah — and readers struggled to explain why. Then a scroll was discovered in a cave near the Dead Sea, and the lion simply vanished.In this informative session, Ross Nichols works through five fascinating cases where English translations differ, ancient witnesses matter, and footnotes open the door to better Bible study. Do our translations always reflect the best available reading of the source text? What can ancient manuscripts, early translations, and parallel passages teach us? And how can careful comparison help us study the Bible with greater clarity and confidence?This class offers a practical demonstration of how textual criticism — properly understood — benefits serious students of Scripture.Watch the video [⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HERE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠]

Jehoash Inscription: PROOF of David's Hidden Heir?A queen seizes the throne. The house of David nearly disappears. One child survives.Hidden away in the Temple for six years, Jehoash emerges from secrecy to become king of Judah. His story brings together Athaliah, the house of Ahab, the royal line of David, Jehoiada the priest, and one of the most dramatic rescues in the Hebrew Bible.But the story does not remain on the page.A mysterious inscription surfaced, claiming to speak in the name of King Jehoash and describing repairs to the house of YHWH. Some have called it a modern forgery. Others have argued that it may be ancient.Who was Jehoash? Why was he hidden? And did this contested stone really bear his name?Join us as we follow David’s hidden heir, the wicked queen who tried to erase him, and the inscription that still divides scholars.Watch the video [⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HERE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠]

Shapira vs. Dead Sea Scrolls: An Authenticity TestTwo scrolls. Both were reportedly discovered by Bedouin in caves near the Dead Sea. One was condemned as a forgery. The other is accepted as ancient and authentic.In this class, Ross K. Nichols revisits one of the most influential arguments against the Shapira Scroll: the claim that its leather strips were cut from the lower margin of a Torah scroll. First advanced in the nineteenth century, this “cut margin” theory became central to the verdict against Shapira — and it is still repeated today.But was the case really closed?This episode compares the old accusations against what we now know from the Dead Sea Scrolls, including one remarkable manuscript from Qumran that raises fresh questions about the long-standing verdict.Watch the video [⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HERE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠]

Could This Be The ORIGINAL Ten Commandments?In 1883, Moses Wilhelm Shapira presented a set of ancient-looking leather strips containing what he claimed were Moses’ final words to the children of Israel. At the heart of that controversial manuscript was a striking version of the Ten Commandments, unlike the familiar forms preserved in our Bibles.After the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, some of the very features once thought impossible began to look far less impossible.In this class, Ross K. Nichols takes a historical and objective look at the Decalogue preserved in the Shapira Fragments and asks, "Could This Be The ORIGINAL Ten Commandments?" Watch the video [⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HERE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠]

Do We Know What Was REALLY Written on the Tablets?Most people know them as the Ten Commandments, but that is not the name by which the biblical writers know them.They are said to have been spoken from the midst of the fire, written by God on tablets of stone, and placed at the heart of Israel’s covenant tradition. But when we slow down and read the texts carefully, a surprising question emerges:Do we know exactly what was written on the tablets?In this class, Ross K. Nichols takes a historical and objective look at one of the Bible's most famous and least questioned subjects. Rather than beginning with later tradition, we will follow the textual clues and ask what the Bible itself says about the words God wrote on two stone tablets.Watch the video [⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HERE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠]

Did We Forget to Commemorate the Bible’s Greatest Day?The biblical writers are deliberate. The priestly calendar assigns festival dates to the great events of Israel's story, and the people are commanded to remember. But one day, called the greatest event in human history since creation, is not assigned a specific date by the biblical text itself and has no obvious commemoration on any biblical calendar.Does that strike you as strange? It should.In this class, we examine what the primary sources actually say, reveal the name for the day, and learn how it came to be associated with the festival known as Shavuot and Pentecost. We are not here to settle the ancient debate. We are here to show you that it exists — and that the primary sources are more honest about the silence than the tradition has been.Watch the video [⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HERE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠]

Did Jesus Claim to Be God?Few questions have generated more debate in Christian history. For centuries, countless believers, theologians, preachers, and church councils have answered with confidence—but what happens when we set later theology aside and return to the earliest written records?In this class, we investigate one of the most controversial claims ever made about Jesus. Rather than beginning with creeds, councils, or inherited assumptions, we will follow the texts themselves and ask what they actually say about Jesus, God, authority, worship, and the words Jesus claimed to speak.This study is not about attacking faith, but about asking an honest historical and textual question:Did Jesus claim to be God?Join me as we examine the evidence carefully, critically, and firsthand.Watch the video [⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HERE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠]

Knowing Noah: The Man Behind the MythsMany of humanity’s most ancient stories share a tale as old as time itself: the account of one righteous man, specially chosen to save the human race from a catastrophic flood that nearly ended all life on earth. We know him as Noah in the Hebrew Bible, the Christian New Testament, and the Koran, but other ancient peoples also preserved versions of this man’s story. In this class, we go on a textual quest for the historical Noah, the man, not just the myth. Who was he? What made him “righteous… blameless… one who walked with God”? What can we know about Noah, the man behind the Myth? What do our earliest sources say?Watch the video [⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HERE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠]

Extraterrestrial: The Bible Out of This WorldMuch of our study of the Bible focuses on life here below on earth, among human beings, and on the practical, ethical, and moral concerns of the biblical writers. But the Bible also preserves another side of ancient belief. Again and again, it describes heavenly visitors, visions of God in His heavenly court, manifestations of God Himself, and mysterious aerial phenomena such as chariots of fire, wheels within wheels, and the beings associated with them. In this class, we will look behind the veil where earth meets the heavenlies and explore some of the Bible’s strangest and most otherworldly visions, with primary focus on the Hebrew Bible and ancient texts that illuminate its world.Watch the video [⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HERE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠]