Peter J. Leithart

INTRODUCTION Because it contains so many Messianic passages (e.g., 7:1-14; 9:1-7; 11:1-10; 42:1-4; 53:1-12), Christians have long regarded the book of Isaiah the prophet (so called in Isaiah 37:2; 38:1; 39:3) as a kind of “fifth gospel.”  This week, we begin our study in the book by . . . . Continue Reading »

Exodus 8:22-23: in that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, in which My people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there, in order that you may know that I am the LORD in the midst of the land.  I will make a difference between My people and your people. Tomorrow . . . . Continue Reading »

For the Egyptians, frogs are symbols of fertility.  Heqet, the Egyptian goddess of childbirth, has a frog’s head.  When frogs start breeding in the Nile, it’s a sign that the divine Nile’s generosity.  But there can be too much of a good thing.  Fecundity is good . . . . Continue Reading »

Thomas Oord, whose Defining Love I briefly and sharply criticized here yesterday, writes to tell me that his forthcoming book will fill in some of the gaps I complained about in his book.  He writes, “You may like to know that the book was published in the same month and year as my other . . . . Continue Reading »

Cartun has some other interesting links up his sleeve: “‘God ( elohim ) occurs, as was previously pointed out, eighteen times in its various forms. The ‘Nile,’ a god to Egypt, is the only other single word repeated eighteen times total in the plagues narrative.  These . . . . Continue Reading »

I’ve been musing all day on the possibility that the somehow symbolize Israel.  The Nile turns to blood because Pharaoh has been killing Hebrew babies in the river, and the frogs swarm just like the Hebrews had done (cf. Exodus 1:7). Now I come across a 1991 article from the Union . . . . Continue Reading »

In an essay in Andre Wenin, ed., Studies in the Book of Genesis Literature, Redaction and History (Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium) , Benedicte Lemmelijn argues that the plague narrative is playing off of the creation narrative of Genesis 1-2.  Citing Z. Zevit’s work . . . . Continue Reading »

The Passover is, like the Law itself, to be on the hand and the forheads of Israel (Exodus 13:16).  It is to be like a phylactery attached to the “frontlet between the eyes.” Eyes are organs of investigation and judgment, and putting the Passover between the eyes means that Israel . . . . Continue Reading »

Frogs come up from the Nile and “cover” the land of Egypt (Exodus 8:6), and later locusts do the same (10:5). Earlier, the same verb ( kasah ) is used to describe the waters “covering” the mountains in the flood (Genesis 7:19-20).  The plagues covering Egypt are another . . . . Continue Reading »

Gordon T. Smith’s Transforming Conversion: Rethinking the Language and Contours of Christian Initiation is quite satisfying.  He’s got all the right enemies, revivalism in particular, and he wants to sketch out an account of conversion that overcomes all the dualisms that dog the . . . . Continue Reading »