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Category Archive: Bible - OT

Lovely Like Jerusalem - June 08, 2007
For Protestants, one of the best pieces of news in the past century has been the revival of biblical studies among Catholics. It's been said (by Mark Noll, of all people!) that, with the new Catholic lectionary, more Scripture is...

Yahweh/Iehave - April 04, 2007
"Yahweh" is often thought to be a purely modern rendering of the Hebrew name, but Smalley finds a medieval glossator who writes the name as "Iahave." She goes on: "The 'monstrous form' Jehoveh was already known to Christians in the...

These Ten Times - July 12, 2006
In Num 14:22, Yahweh charges that Israel has tested Him "these ten times." Ronald Allen offers this list of 10 rebellions in his Expositor's Bible Commentary: 1. Israel's fear that Pharaoh would destroy them, Ex 14:10-12 2. Marah, Ex 15:22-24...

Red Heifer - November 22, 2005
Nicole Rouen offered an intriguing discussion of the red heifer purification law (Num 19) as an "anti-sacrifice" or "inverted sacrifice." At a number of points, the actions and concerns of Num 19 overlap with those of the sacrificial texts. The...

Exhortation, September 18 - September 18, 2005
In today's sermon, we'll learn about Joshua’s zeal for fighting the enemies of Yahweh in order to conquer the land of promise. While he is fighting five kings, the sun begins to go down. He could easily have said, "Enough...

From Former Prophets to Deuteronomistic History - July 11, 2005
Here's a PhD thesis: What is going on, philosophically and theologically, in the transition from viewing Joshua-2 Kings as Former Prophets (Jewish tradition) to seeing them as Historical Books (evangelical) to seeing them as Deuteronomistic History (contemporary academic consensus). There's...

United generations - July 03, 2005
Zechariah 8:4-5: "Thus says Yahweh of hosts: Old men and old women will again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each man with his staff in his hand because of age. And the squares of the city will be filled...

Alter on Douglas - March 09, 2005
Robert Alter reviews Mary Douglas's latest book, Jacob's Tears: The Priestly Work of Reconciliation, in the March 3 issue of the London Review of Books. Douglas's book deals with two main areas, the first historical and the second anthropological. Alter...

Written or Oral? - November 24, 2004
Does the OT show signs of being a product of long oral tradition? In his 2004 book Biblical Narrative and the Death of the Rhapsode (Indiana University Press), Robert S. Kawashima argues that it does not. He believes that the...

OT Historiography - October 19, 2004
Iain Provan, Philips Long, and Tremper Longman's A Biblical History of Israel begins with several excellent chapters on OT historiography, and on historiographical issues in general. Some highlights of the discussion (highlights to me at least): 1) The authors challenge...

The Critical History of Israel's Priesthood - October 18, 2004
According to the critical consensus, 2 Samuel 8:18, 20:26 and 1 Kings 4:5 above show no acquaintance with �P�s�Enotion that priesthood was restricted to members of the tribe of Levi; from this evidence, inter alia, the conclusion is drawn that...

First Church of the Bitter - October 08, 2004
Ask any church planter, and he'll tell you that one of the dangers of starting a new work is that it tends to attract all the people who are disaffected and discontented from the churches of the surrounding area. They...

Locative Manifestation of God - September 30, 2004
Throughout the OT, there are repeated references to Yahweh's "name" dwelling in the place of Yahweh's choosing (Deut 12; 2 Sam 7; 1 Kings 6-8). Frequently (as in 1 Kings 8:16), there is a pun on the word "name" (SHEM)...

Cups and Thresholds - September 22, 2004
It is a curious fact that one of the Hebrew words for "cup" is the same as the word for "threshold" (SAF). This could be pure coincidence, but I wonder. Cups function as temple instruments in Ex 12:22; 1 Ki...

Freedman Again - April 21, 2004
Freedman comments, "It may be pure coincidence that the Book of Genesis begins with the words beresit . . . elohim, 'In the beginning, . . . God. . .,' while the book of Ezra-Nehemiah ends with the words elohay...

Chronicles and Writings - April 21, 2004
David Noel Freedman suggests in his book on the unity of the Hebrew Bible a reason for the repetition of the decree of Cyrus at the end of 2 Chron and the beginning of Ezra. He points to certain manuscripts...

Freedman on the Hebrew Bible - April 17, 2004
David Noel Freedman's book, The Unity of the Hebrew Bible contains a number of fascinating and compelling suggestions about the structure of the OT. 1) He suggests that the Hebrew Bible can be neatly divided into 4 sections of almost...

Death Penalty - March 24, 2004
Here are some notes for a lecture I'm presenting on March 24: Death Penalty in the Mosaic Law and Today INTRODUCTION The Mosaic law establishes the death penalty for a number of crimes. Not every violation of the 10 commandments...

The "Voice" - February 10, 2004
Azzan Yadin argues in an article in the JBL (122/4: 601-26) that in several passages of the OT, the Hebrew word QOL refers to a hypostatic, mediating reality. That is, when the text says "I heard the voice speaking," it...

Gage on Typology - December 10, 2003
Warren Gage of Knox Seminary in Ft Lauderdale is a treasure. In a very rich and as-yet unpublished paper on the typology of Samson, Gage points out a number of very striking typologies. He suggests, for instance, that Absalom is...

Omri and David - October 06, 2003
There are numerous indications of parallels between the history of the Omride dynasty and the history of the kingdom of Judah (and of the Northern Kingdom). One is that a king in both the Omride and Davidic dynasty dies at...

The Most Spiritual Man - August 21, 2003
Who was the most spiritual man of the Old Testament? Judging from word count alone (admittedly not an infallible guide), the answer would have to be Samson. The Spirit comes on him four times, more than any other OT character....

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