INTRODUCTION Isaiah warns Judah not to trust man (2:22), and then gives the reason: Yahweh plans to remove all the powerful men from Jerusalem and Judah (3:1). THE TEXT “For behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, takes away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stock and the store, the whole supply . . . . Continue Reading »
Exodus 13:7-9: And it shall be, when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, which He swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, that you shall keep this service in this month. Seven days . . . . Continue Reading »
In Genesis, firstborn sons are a brutish lot. Cain is the firstborn of firstborns, also the first fratricide. Ishmael mocks Isaac and is driven from Abraham’s camp. Esau would have been another Cain but for his brother Jacob’s wiliness. Jacob’s elder sons conspire to send Joseph . . . . Continue Reading »
Abel is righteous, but ends up dead at the hand of his brother. Jacob is perfect, and survives, in spite of Esau’s attempts to kill him. That progression foretells the progression of Israel’s exiles. In Egypt, they are “Abel,” exalted at first but eventually enslaved and . . . . Continue Reading »
Why did Yahweh send Israel to exile? Appealing to 2 Kings 25 and Ezekiel 17, Jon Levenson suggests that “Subjugation to the Babylonian emperor was indeed punitive, but the purpose of the punishment was to train the vassal in the ways of covenant fidelity. . . . We see here a chastened royal . . . . Continue Reading »
On Sinai, Moses intercedes for Israel, asking Yahweh to go with them. First, Yahweh promises to send His Angel ahead; finally, He promises to go before Israel Himself. The sequence of events from Exodus 19-40 is a double-covenant sequence. Israel agrees to do all that Yahweh commands, and . . . . Continue Reading »
Exodus lists the nations of the land of Canaan seven times, and the lists shift through the book. The lists are: Exodus 3:8: give land of 6 nations (Canaanite, Hittite, Amorite, Perizzite, Hivite, Jebusite). Exodus 3:17: give land of 6 nations (same as in 3:8). Exodus 13:5: give land of 5 nations . . . . Continue Reading »
At the center of Lamentations, Jeremiah confesses that Yahweh is his portion (3:24). That’s said of the Levites: They have no land, so Yahweh is their portion and inheritance (Numbers 18:20). By driving Israel from the land, Yahweh makes them all Levites, all priests, who all have Yahweh as . . . . Continue Reading »
A couple of notes on Esther, following up on suggestions made by student papers. First, one student pointed to the chronology of Esther, which I’d never paid much attention to. The story takes place over a number of years, from the third-year feast (1:3) to the seventh-year exaltation of . . . . Continue Reading »
Do the dead praise God? asks the Psalmist (88:10; 115:17). Yes, says the book of Jonah: As he descends to the roots of the mountains and the gates of Sheol, Jonah sings Yahweh’s praises (Jonah 2). A song of hope and triumph erupting from the grave: This is the sign of Jonah. . . . . Continue Reading »
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