If Jesus is the "only begotten son" of God, how do you explain Psalms 2:7 where God tells David, "You are my son; today I have begotten you"? Thanks.

Sincerely,
Looking For Psalm Answers

Dear Looking For Psalm Answers,

Psalm 2:7 is a prophecy about Jesus.  David wrote many psalms, and some of them were prophetic.  The second Psalm is a prophetic psalm.  The reason we know this for sure is because in Acts 13:33, the apostle Paul specifically says that Ps 2:7 is talking about Jesus.

David was of the lineage of Christ, and there were times that God had him write Psalms that were in the first person – but referring to Christ.  Peter also mentions another occasion like this in Acts 2:25-31.  God specifically used David to write about Jesus in the first person because Jesus would be a descendant of David (Acts 2:30).

In Leviticus 12, why were women who gave birth commanded to give a sin offering?  This seems to imply there is something inherently sinful about giving birth, which doesn't make sense.

Sincerely,
Born Free

Dear Born Free,

It is hard to tell for sure why this law was written the way it was.  Most scholars agree that there is much that we don’t fully understand about the details surrounding Old Testament sacrifices.  There are a few possible answers, but certainly nothing definitive.

1. This sin offering could be associated with physical uncleanness, not a moral failing.  In Num 19:9-17, we see the ashes of a sin offering being used to purify people from the uncleanness associated with touching dead bodies, sickness, etc.  All of these impurities were ceremonial impurities – but not sin in the sense that we think of it in New Testament terms.  A mother was unclean from the blood involved in childbirth.
2. It may fit into the category of a generic sin offering because all people sin (Rom 3:23).  Job made sacrifices for his children in case they might have sinned (Job 1:5).  As the mother began the process of raising and nurturing a child, this sin offering would have served as a generic sin offering for previous sins she had committed unwittingly (Num 15:27).

Those are two possibilities, but as we said, there is no definitive answer that we are aware of.  This may fit into the category of “the secret things belong to God” (Deu 29:29).  No matter what, it doesn’t prove that childbirth is inherently sinful because God commanded Adam and Eve to “go forth and multiply” before sin entered the world (Gen 1:28).  God would never command mankind to do something that was wrong.

Did Moses have children?  I was watching the Prince of Egypt the other day when I was babysitting my cousin, and the question came to my mind after the movie was over.  Does it say anything in the Bible about him having any kids?  I asked a couple other people, and they had no idea either.  Some said ‘maybe’, and others said ‘no’.

Sincerely,
Looking For Junior

Dear Looking For Junior,

Moses did have children.  After Moses was banished from Egypt, he met a woman named Zipporah and married her (Ex 2:21).  Eventually, Moses and Zipporah returned to Egypt to free Israel from slavery.  Ex 4:20 says that when they returned to Egypt, they brought their sons with them.

Were Adam and Eve the first Jews and monotheists?  If not, who was the first race, and when did that one race start believing in many gods?

Sincerely,
Race To The Start

Dear Race To The Start,

We all come from Adam and Eve (Gen 3:20).  Therefore, we are all of the same race – the human race.  Racism, bigotry, racial pride, etc. are all manmade ideals and have nothing to do with Biblical principles and teachings.

Adam and Eve were not Jews.  The Jewish nation began with a man named Jacob (Jacob was also named Israel – Gen 32:28) and his twelve sons.  The descendants of the twelve sons of Jacob became the nation of Israel (Gen 49:28 – twelve sons = twelve tribes).  It is that nation that was first known as the Jewish nation.

As for when people first started believing in multiple gods… the Bible doesn’t tell us when it started.  It may have started as early as the tower of Babel (Gen 11:8-9), but we do not have a Biblical (or secular) record of when polytheism began.

In Exodus 7:10, it says that Aaron's staff turned into a snake.  I have heard that in the Hebrew language, the word they used for what his staff turned into translates into crocodile.  Have you heard of this?  Does the Bible contain many of these mistranslations?

Sincerely,
Editor-In-Chief

Dear Editor-In-Chief,

The Hebrew word you are referring to is ‘tanniyn’ and it means snake or serpent.  Depending on the context, the word ‘tanniyn’ can be used for a sea serpent/beast, dragon, dinosaur, or snake.  Ex 7:10 isn’t mistranslated; it is appropriately translated using the context of the surrounding verses.

People often hear these stories of the Bible being mistranslated, but it is important to remember that every Greek and Hebrew scholar on the planet is constantly searching the Bible and studying Its translation.  If there were an error, half a dozen translators would scream, “Foul!” within five seconds.  The Bible translation has stood up to rigorous academic scrutiny from atheist and religious alike.  Ex. 7:10 is a perfectly acceptable translation from the original Hebrew.