Peter J. Leithart

More specifically, what’s in Noah’s name? Much, says Michael Morales in The Tabernacle Pre-Figured (164-7).“The keys words of [Genesis] 6.5-8 form a paranomastic allusion to the name of Noah (nch): ‘regretted’ (nacham) 6.6, 7 (which meaning is contrasted to its use . . . . Continue Reading »

What was Noah’s ark? A boat? Not really. As Morales points out (The Tabernacle Prefigured, 157), the word used for ark (tabah) isn’t a normal term for a sailing vessel.Some have suggested the word derives from Egyptian words meaning coffer, chest or palace, house. The Akkadian flood . . . . Continue Reading »

Derrida parodies Kant’s “On a Newly Arisen Superior Tone in Philosophy” with his late essay, “On a Newly Arisen Apocalyptic Tone in Philosophy’ (published, with Kant’s essay, in Raising the Tone of Philosophy.Kant’s essay criticizes the mystagogues who . . . . Continue Reading »

Kant claims that philosophy got off to a bad start when the word itself stopped being used in a strict sense to name a wissenschaflichen Lebensweisheit and is transferred to speculation and mysticism.As Derrida summarizes the point (Raising the Tone of Philosophy), “no harm would have . . . . Continue Reading »

Kant likes Plato the academic. He doesn’t like Plato the letter-writer, teacher, and sender of messages. The latter is, through no fault of his own, too much the Schwarmer for Kant’s tastes.The dividing line between the good and bad Plato - or, more accurately, between Plato and Kant - . . . . Continue Reading »

A couple of weeks ago, I saw a New York magazine report on Whisper, the latest in social media. Whisper users post their updates, secrets, and statuses anonymously. Other users can “heart” or reply. User stats aren’t public, but the company says it gets over 3 billion page . . . . Continue Reading »

When the glory of Yahweh appears to Ezekiel by the Chebar river, it appears as a teeming cloud of cherubim surrounding a throne on which a molten figure is seated (Ezekiel 1:22-28).The glory is a model of the cosmos; or, better, the cosmos is modeled on the glory. The clue is in the description of . . . . Continue Reading »

From the beginning of the Bible, sanctuaries and buildings and other enclosed places are conceived of as feminine. Eve is “built” (banah) from the rib of Adam; the first “architecture” in the world is the woman. Throughout the Torah, we find analogies between sanctuary . . . . Continue Reading »

“Let him give his cheek to the smiter, let him be filled with reproach” (Lamentations 3:30).In context, Jeremiah is speaking of afflicted Israel, which he himself embodies as the prophet. “I have hope in Him,” Jeremiah writes (v. 24) and then turns to a meditation on the . . . . Continue Reading »

Lamentations 3:43-44 are set in parallel:A. You covered yourself with anger and pursued usB. You have slain and not sparedA’. You have covered yourself with a cloudB’. So that no prayer can pass through.Both A sections speak of Yahweh hiding Himself behind a veil - first of anger and . . . . Continue Reading »