Zechariah’s flying scroll is written with curses. Another place where curses are written down is Numbers 5, the jealousy test for a woman suspected of adultery. The verb “cut off” or “purged” ( naqah ) in Zechariah 5:3 is also used in Numbers 5, to describe . . . . Continue Reading »
The woman Wickedness is carried from the land in an ephah covered with a lead weight (Zechariah 5:6-7). It is a parodic ark of the covenant, containing a harlot instead of the tablets of the law. Why an ephah? The Old testament regularly demands that Israel use accurate weights and . . . . Continue Reading »
In Zechariah 5:5-11, a woman named Wickedness is put into an ephah and removed to Shinar, where a temple is built for her. This is a complex parody of the exodus. Yahweh brought Israel out of Egypt on eagles’ wings; here we have a picture of the wicked being born out of the land by . . . . Continue Reading »
In Zechariah 5, the prophet sees a scroll flying through the air and is told that it is the “curse that is going forth over the face of the whole land.” That vision conjures several other passages and scenes in the Bible. The phrase “face of the land” is used . . . . Continue Reading »
Zbigniew Herbert’s “I Would Like To Describe” is about as good a refutation of subject-object dualisms as you’re going to find. I would like to describe the simplest emotion joy or sadness but not as others do reaching for shafts of rain or sun I would like to describe a . . . . Continue Reading »
Bakhtin ( Problems of Dostoevsky’s Poetics (Theory & History of Literature) ) famously characterized Dostoevsky’s fiction as “polyphonic.” His novels were characterized by multiple voices that were never merged into the author’s single voice. As Bakhtin . . . . Continue Reading »
There’s been a good bit of discussion recently asking whether the Jews are included in the “all nations” to which Jesus sends His disciples. Is Matthew suggesting that Jesus has abandoned the Jewish mission, and now turns to the Gentiles? Or are the Jews included among . . . . Continue Reading »
Jesus has been lost to the grave, but three days later reappears with all authority in heaven and on earth. His brothers (28:10) follow Him to Galilee, and find Him on a mountain, where the eleven bow down and worship (28:17). Some doubt. Well they might, and not just the . . . . Continue Reading »
The Hebrew Bible ends with Cyrus’ decree. It ends with a new beginning. Matthew ends with Jesus’ riff on Cyrus’ decree, the great commission. It too ends with a new beginning. The Bible ends with the cry of Maranatha. Though the canon is closed, and the Bible promises . . . . Continue Reading »
Jesus’ final promise to His disciples consummates the covenantal promise of Immanuel: I will be with you, says the one who is “God With Us.” What is not so obvious in English is the way the Greek depicts this reality in the word order. The statement begins with the . . . . Continue Reading »
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