Miracle

:For other uses, see Miracle (disambiguation).

Miracles as described by the Bible

The description of most miracles in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) and in the Christian New Testament are generally the same as the modern-day definition of the word: God intervenes in the laws of nature.

Related Topics:
Hebrew Bible - Old Testament - New Testament

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A literal reading of the Biblical accounts shows that there are a number of ways this can occur: God may suspend or speed up the laws of nature to produce a supernatural occurrence; God can create matter out of nothing; God can breathe life into inanimate matter. The Bible does not explain details of how these miracles happen.

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The Bible also attributes many natural occurrences to God, such as the sun rising and setting, and rain falling.

Related Topics:
Natural occurrences - Sun - Rain

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Today many Orthodox Jews, most Christians, and most Muslims adhere to this view of miracles. This view is generally rejected by non-Orthodox Jews, liberal Christians and Unitarian Universalists.

Related Topics:
Orthodox Jews - Muslim - Unitarian Universalists

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Some events commonly understood to be miraculous may not be instances of the impossible. For instance, consider the parting of the Sea of Reeds (in Hebrew Yâm-Sûph; often mistranslated as the "Red Sea"). This incident occurred when Moses and Israelites fled from bondage in Egypt, to begin their exodus to the promised land. The book of Exodus never says that the Reed Sea split in an immediate fashion, and the "waters a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left" could be figurative. The text might rather be interpreted to say that God caused a strong wind to slowly drive the shallow waters to land overnight. In this scheme there is no claim that God pushed apart the sea as it is shown in many films; rather, the miracle would be that Israel crossed this precise place, at exactly the right time, when Moses lifted his staff, and that the pursuing Egyptian army then drowned when the wind stopped and the piled waters rushed back in.

Related Topics:
Sea of Reeds - Hebrew - Red Sea - Moses - Israelite - Bondage - Egypt - Exodus - Wind - Staff - Army

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Most events later described as miracles are not labeled as such by the Bible; rather the text simply describes what happened. Often these narratives will attribute the cause of these events to God.

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