Peter J. Leithart

King Ahaz’s name tells it all. His name means “possessor,” and the verb means “grasp” or “seize” and in nominal uses means “possession” or “portion.” As King of Judah, Ahaz has his portion and his realm. But in Isaiah the verb is . . . . Continue Reading »

In his Discourses on Livy , Machiavelli notes that a great empire requires people to inhabit it, and goes on to explain the two methods for increasing populations: “This may be effected in two ways, by gentleness or by force. By gentleness, when you offer a safe and open path to all strangers . . . . Continue Reading »

In the thirteenth-century Nestorian work, The Book of the Bee , we find an account of Alexander’s battle with, among others, Gog and Magog. A nineteenth-century translation by Earnest Budge is available online, and the relevant section reads: “When Alexander was king and had subdued . . . . Continue Reading »

According to Plutarch’s Fortunes of Alexander (329b-d), Alexander wisely rejected the advice of Aristotle, which was “to treat the Greeks as if he were their leader, and other peoples as if he were their master; to have regard for the Greeks as for friends and kindred, but to conduct . . . . Continue Reading »

In exploring the privation view of evil, Barth says this: “If God’s reality and revelation are known in His presence and action in Jesus Christ, he is also known as the God who is confronted by nothingness, for whom it constitutes a problem, who takes it seriously, who does not deal . . . . Continue Reading »

Timothy Gray’s monograph on Temple in the Gospel of Mark, The: A Study in Its Narrative Role (now happily published in an affordable edition by Baker) is excellent. Gray pays close attention to intertextual and intratextual echoes as he examines Mark’s account of Jesus’ entry to . . . . Continue Reading »

In a story on the Chinese obsession with Strauss and Karl Schmitt ( TNR , 12/30), Mark Lilla gives this neat precis of Schmitt’s critique of liberal politics: “Schmitt was by far the most intellectually challenging anti-liberal statist of the twentieth century. His deepest objections to . . . . Continue Reading »

Another paper from Warren Gage, “The Typology of the Word,” is available here. Just click on “Downloads” and look for the paper. . . . . Continue Reading »

Mike Bull offers this suggestive reply e to my earlier post on the Romans and the swine: Based on the structure of the early chapters in Matthew, the story of the Gadarene is a Day of Atonement ( http://www.bullartistry.com.au/wp/2009/09/08/why-jesus-healed-some/ ). Matt 1 - Genesis Matt 2 - Exodus . . . . Continue Reading »

Was first-century Judaism in a condition of continuing exile? Wright says Yes. Many have questioned him. Perrin’s book, Jesus the Temple , offers an argument in support of Wright’s conclusion. Israel was driven from the land into exile because of a failure to keep Jubilee, a failure to . . . . Continue Reading »