Peter J. Leithart

In the second book of Thomas Elyot’s mirror of magistrates, his 1531 The boke named the gouvernour , Elyot treats the vice of ingratitude, which he describes as “the most damnable vice and most against justice.” Elyot places gratitude and ingratitude in the context of friendship, . . . . Continue Reading »

Tarkovsky on long shots: “If the regular length of a shot is increased, one becomes bored, but if you keep on making it longer, it piques your interest, and if you make it even longer a new quality emerges, a special intensity of attention.” . . . . Continue Reading »

When John first turns to see Jesus, he first sees lampstands, then the garments of Jesus, and finally the face and body of Jesus. He moves from the lampstands of the holy place, to the veiling garments that cover the Son of Man, beyond the veil to the Son of Man Himself. . . . . Continue Reading »

My colleague Toby Sumpter points out that the series of judgments in Isaiah 9:8-21 is following a sacrificial sequence. First, Yahweh threatens to break down the brick altars and sycamore shrines of Israel. They rebuild them, so He cuts them in pieces, like a sacrificial animal. They keep sinning, . . . . Continue Reading »

Babel is the first brick construction in Scripture (Genesis 11:3). They burn earthy clay to make it into building material for the city and teh tower that reaches to heaven. Egypt also deals in brick, and puts Israel to work making the bricks for its storage cities, its neo-Babels (Exodus 1:14; . . . . Continue Reading »

Oppression is an Egypt-word in Scripture, the root of the noun “taskmasters” in Exodus (3:7; 5:6, 10, 13, 14). But Egypt is not the only oppressor. The next time the word is used is in Deuteronomy 15, where anyone who refuses to release debtors in the seventh year is considering an . . . . Continue Reading »

Yahweh delivered Israel from the yoke of Egypt (Leviticus 26:13), and put her to work in His own field. He warned, though, that they would receive an iron yoke if they failed to plow faithfully (Deuteronomy 28:48). That heavier yoke first takes the form of the yoke of Solomon. The word . . . . Continue Reading »

Isaiah 9:1 is structured around a contrast between the “beginning time” and the “after time.” In the beginning time, Yahweh treats the land of Zebulun and Naphtali “lightly,” but in the after time, He will cause it to be heavy, glorious. This movement from light . . . . Continue Reading »

Isaiah 9:3 is organized in a fairly neat chiasm, with a triple use of the word “joy” ( samach ) in the center: A. You multiply the nation B. You make great their joy ( simchah ) C. They rejoice ( samach ) before you B’. As the joy ( simchah ) in harvest A’. As men are glad ( . . . . Continue Reading »

There’s land, and there’s sea. Israel and the nations. What then are islands? Bits of land within the sea. Kings of the islands bring tribute to the Davidic king (Psalm 72:10), and the islands rejoice when God reigns over the earth (97:1). Isaiah 11:11 says that the Lord will recall His . . . . Continue Reading »