Below is a transcript of a lecture delivered at Disputatio for NSA on Friday, September 17. INTRODUCTION In February of 1666, the English physician Richard Lower performed what he called a ?spectacular experiment?E Using a crude syringe made from a quill and a bladder designed by Christopher Wren, . . . . Continue Reading »
Another flawed, wooden, speculative, error-ridden translation from Kings, which may still be helpful to someone. I’ve tried to reflect the difficulties and confusions that arise from the Hebrew text, and believe I had succeeded at least in that. Now his house Shlomoh built thirteen years. And . . . . Continue Reading »
INTRODUCTION When they allude to the typology of the temple, the NT writers seem to be operating with something like the medieval ?quadriga,?Ethe ?fourfold sense of Scripture.?E They know about a literal temple in Jerusalem; they see the temple allegorically foreshadowing Christ and His Church . . . . Continue Reading »
Here’s another lecture outline, largely based on recent work I’ve done in Kings. INTRODUCTION As I like to tell my theology students, the movie Shrek is a goldmine of hermeneutical insight. Nearly every joke in the movie depends on the viewer knowing something that is not presented in . . . . Continue Reading »
Here is an outline of a lecture I will be giving at the Christ Church Ministerial Conference later this month. In addition to some new material, it includes material from various earlier outlines and notes posted on this site. INTRODUCTION Scripture teaches that Jesus?Edeath was a sacrifice . . . . Continue Reading »
INTRODUCTION Solomon first devoted his efforts to building a house for Yahweh. When that was complete, he began to build his own house (7:1), which included a number of buildings (7:1-12; cf. 9:10). The design of the Solomon?s own house reinforces his status as the son of Yahweh who lives in a . . . . Continue Reading »
Barth issues a sharp caution for those who frequently condemn the Reformed emphasis on the “primacy of the intellect” ( CD 1.1): “What man does when he uses this faculty, when he thinks and tries to understand, can in fact be indolence, hubris or both like any other human . . . . Continue Reading »
I’ve wondered why the earliest and some of the greatest Arthurian legends were first written down by Frenchmen (Chretien de Troyes, eg). Turns out, the answer is pretty simple. As Richard Barber explains in his The Holy Grail: Imagination and Belief , “In the late eleventh century, the . . . . Continue Reading »
The Bible gives a lot of attention to sacred architecture. About 1/3 of the book of Exodus is a detailed and repetitive description of the dimensions and furnishings of the tabernacle. We have two descriptions of the temple of Solomon, in 1 Kings 6-8 and 2 Chronicles 1-7. The last quarter of . . . . Continue Reading »
Deuteronomy 12:10-12 Deuteronomy 12 forms an important part of the background for the narrative of the temple-building in 1 Kings. Here, the Lord promises to give rest to Israel, and in 1 Kings 5 Solomon tells Hiram that Israel now has rest from their enemies around them. In Deuteronomy 12, Moses . . . . Continue Reading »