Peter J. Leithart

Armies travel on their stomachs, and, as Pastor Sumpter will show today, Israel marches out of Egypt as an army. But the exodus is a haphazard operation if there ever was one. The Israelites leave with the unleavened bread cakes that they baked before leaving, but they have no traveling provisions . . . . Continue Reading »

Pharaoh drives Israel out of Egypt (Exodus 12:39), just as Yahweh drove Adam and Eve from Eden (Genesis 3:24) and Cain from the land (Genesis 4:14). The analogy could work in several directions. Israel has eaten forbidden fruit in Egypt, and Yahweh drives them from the good land of Goshen into the . . . . Continue Reading »

INTRODUCTION: STRUCTURE There are five identified collections of Proverbs in the book. The choices are set up in the opening section, identified as “proverbs of Solomon, the son of David” (chapter 1-9). Chapter 10 begins another section, also identified as “proverbs of . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Corinthians 10:14-22 forms a paragraph of its own. Prior to this section of 1 Corinthians 10, Paul is drawing out an extended comparison between Israel’s exodus and wilderness wanderings and the state of the Corinthian church. After verse 23, he draws the conclusion that eating and drinking . . . . Continue Reading »

Paul’s hymn(s) to Christ in Colossians 1-2 are constructed as a large chiasm: A. 1:16-20: head; “rulers and authorities” B. 1:19-20: fullness of deity in Christ; reconcile through cross C. 1:21-23: formerly hostile, now established and steadfast D. 1:24: rejoice, flesh E. 1:26-27: . . . . Continue Reading »

In Genesis, circumcision is a sign of the weakness of flesh. Abraham’s flesh is a good as dead, and Sarah’s womb is barren. Yahweh’s promise will be fulfilled only if Yahweh does something that flesh cannot do. Circumcision is a renunciation of hope in flesh, a confession of . . . . Continue Reading »

In his commentary on Genesis (Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible) , Rusty Reno cites a number of patristic sources to support his claim that the new covenant does not mean a rejection of circumcision but rather its expansion. Ambrose: “Circumcision of the past ceases when circumcision . . . . Continue Reading »

Assmann points out that monotheisms of various sorts arose in the ancient world along various paths. Gods might be translated from one religion to another, from one nation to another. Gods might take on an ever-expanding list of hyphenated names. Gods might eb re-imagined as the soul of the cosmos. . . . . Continue Reading »

The Economist ‘s “Lexington” correspondent offers a cheer or two to the Tea Party movement. It starts snidely: “They are not French.” Snarky, but it has a serious point: For all the frothing attacks on the Tea Party from Democrats, none of them have barricaded streets . . . . Continue Reading »

Israel worshiped the gods of Egypt while in Egypt (Joshua 24:14). What did that involve? As explained by Jan Assmann ( Of God and Gods: Egypt, Israel, and the Rise of Monotheism (George L. Mosse Series) ), it involved participation in the whole religio-political system of ancient Egypt. Much of . . . . Continue Reading »