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The Four: A Survey of the Gospels
Defending Constantine: The Twilight of an Empire and the Dawn of Christendom
From Behind the Veil: The Epistles of John
Deep Exegesis:The Mystery of Reading Scripture
1 & 2 Kings
Brazos Theological Commentary
The Promise Of His Appearing: An Exposition Of Second Peter
A Great Mystery: Fourteen Wedding Sermons
Deep Comedy: Trinity, Tragedy, And Hope In Western Literature
Miniatures & Morals: The Christian Novels of Jane Austen
The Priesthood of the Plebs: A Theology of Baptism
A Son To Me: An Exposition of 1 & 2 Samuel
From Silence to Song: The Davidic Liturgical Revolution
Ascent to Love: A Guide to Dante's Divine Comedy
Blessed Are the Hungry: Meditations on the Lord's Supper
A House For My Name: A Survey of the Old Testament
Heroes of the City of Man: A Christian Guide to Select Ancient Literature
Brightest Heaven of Invention: A Christian Guide To Six Shakespeare Plays
Wise Words: Family Stories That Bring the Proverbs to Life
The Kingdom and the Power: Rediscovering the Centrality of the Church
The word for “bride” (kallah) has a strange career in the Old Testament. Up through 1 Chronicles 2:4, it exclusively means “daughter-in-law.” In the six uses in Song of Songs, it is translated as “bride,” and after the Song the prophets use the word almost exclusively to mean “bride” (cf. the exceptions in Ezekiel 22:11 and Micah 7:6).
Does this mark out a progression in Israel’s history with Yahweh? Is the canon as a whole following the sequence of the allegory of Ezekiel 16, where Yahweh first adopts Israel as daughter and then takes her as bride?
And, is the repeated “sister-bride/daughter-in-law” of the Song of Songs a hint of Trinitarian theology – a clue that Yahweh is to Israel Father and Brother, adoptive Parent and Bridegroom?
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Tuesday, February 9, 2010 at 6:26 am
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