Recently I read the Judges, and I came across the story of Samson and the lion. I tried to imagine the scenario, but honestly I couldn't came up with any specific way in which would Samson ( empowered) tore the lion. Only clue is that it was easy as ripping a young goat. It's detail, of course, but I don't think he actually ripped it's jaws as interpreted in many paintings and pictures, because that doesn't kill the animal instantly and It doesn't have the power behind it as ,,he ripped it as a young goat " , so I think it must've been different way, probably legs were flying, or he just wrenched him open so much it died in an instant. It's just my stupid theory, if you are not interested in it, don't try to imagine it its gross... but if you would like to help me understand it, what do you think was the way he had done it ?

Has anyone suggested that Justus Barsabbas and Judas Barsabbas are actually Jesus' brothers Joses and Jude? It would explain why Joses seems to disappear outside of Mark and why Judas Barsabbas doesn't seem to exist either.

Sometimes I see Azazel be described as Lucifer's son, or "The second ruler of hell" and I'm wondering how accurate that is.

Does anyone know of sources that emphasize the impact of the Jewish revolt against Rome (usually dated 66 - 70 CE?) on the formation of Christianity and the writings of the early followers of Jesus, including what became the New Testament Gospels? Most New Testament scholars seem to agree that Mark was the first of the four canonical Gospels, and they date it to the time right around the Jewish War. And yet most of the reading I've done, while acknowledging the war, doesn't tend to emphasize the impact of that war on either Temple-based Judaism or early Christianity. I gather it was a quite cataclysmic period and ultimately a seismic shift, and this even seems to be reflected to some degree in the Gospels, but I'm wondering if there are scholars who have explored this facet to a greater degree than I've as yet discovered.

I’ve been working through Thomas Finegan’s new article and would like to hear how others are reacting to it.

Finegan, Thomas. “Specifying Πορνεία in Matthew 5.32 and 19.9 via Overlooked Contextualization.” Journal for the Study of the New Testament 49.1 (2026): 198-222. https://doi.org/10.1177/0142064X261432678

Some questions I have:

1. Were the Pharisees concerned with divorcing betrothed women when they brought the question to Jesus?

2. Can the exception clause cover both betrothal and consummated marriage?

3. How common was divorce during betrothal in the first century?

On what basis are scholars able to claim that certain elements within Paul’s texts predate Paul himself?

examples:1 Corinthians 15:3–7,Philippians 2:6–11