Matthew records three quakings: First of the sea (8:24), then of the land at Jesus’ death (27:51), and then at His resurrection (28:2). Each time there’s a quaking, someone comes from a tomb. In chapter 8, after Jesus calms the storm He encounters two demoniacs in the country of . . . . Continue Reading »
The opposition of literal v. figurative language is problematic for a number of reasons, one of them being that words can become quasi-figures without ever ceasing to be literal. Suppose I write a short story in which the word “gardenia” appears several times. In each case, it is . . . . Continue Reading »
Wherever Jesus goes, people flock to Him seeking favors. Some want to be healed; some want a relative healed; some want to have a place on His right or left hand in the kingdom. Everywhere Jesus goes, He distributes favors. Jesus the Godfather. . . . . Continue Reading »
As soon as Jesus has come down from the mountain from which He preached, His new Sinai, a leper “coming-to worshiped Him” (Matthew 8:1). In the LXX, “coming-to” ( proserchomai ) means a liturgical approach, Aaron’s approach to the altar (Leviticus 9:7) or the . . . . Continue Reading »
In an article on dead metaphor, Andrzej Pawelec contrasts Lakoff and Johnson’s ballyhooed (by them!) notion of “cognitive metaphor” with the romantic view of metaphor propounded by Shelley and other poets. ”Lakoff’s view is ‘scientific’: he looks . . . . Continue Reading »
Knowledge cannot be separated into natural and supernatural. Why not? Because the object of both is the same: The object of both is Christ. Augustine over-schematized Colossians 2:3, but he was on the right path when he interpreted it to mean, “In Him are hid the treasures of wisdom . . . . Continue Reading »
What is Augustine’s de Trinitate about? Luigi Gioia ( The Theological Epistemology of Augustine’s De Trinitate ) summarizes the treatise in one phrase: “love comes first.” He fills that out with some lovely summaries. ” Love comes first because the inner . . . . Continue Reading »
John Sailhamer ( Pentateuch as Narrative, The ) suggests that, contrary to most interpretations, Genesis 1:14 does not describe the creation of the sun, moon, and stars. He argues instead that the heavenly lights existed from the moment “God created the heavens and the earth” . . . . Continue Reading »
INTRODUCTION Jerusalem, the Daughter and Bride of Yahweh, has become a harlot (Isaiah 1:21). But Yahweh promises to purify her with fire, and raise her up as the chief of the world’s cities (2:1-4). THE TEXT “How the faithful city has become a harlot! It was full of . . . . Continue Reading »
Isaiah 1:15 is organized as a neat chiasm. At the center is Yahweh’s rejection of Judah’s prayers, but at the ends are references to hands: A. in your spreading your hands B. I will hide my eyes C. when you multiply prayers B’. I will not hear A’. hands covered with . . . . Continue Reading »
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