Peter J. Leithart

The bride’s description of her lover is a description of a statue: He has a head of gold (v. 11), hands of gold adorned with beryl (v. 14), an abdomen of ivory with sapphires (v. 14), and legs of alabaster set in pedestals of gold (v. 15).  This conjures up the temple and the tabernacle, . . . . Continue Reading »

Andre LaCocque ( Romance, She Wrote: A Hermeneutical Essay on Song of Songs ) offers an intriguing interpretation of Song of Songs 6:12-13, well-known as one of the most difficult sections of the Song, a passage over which other commentators frequently despair.  Through a series of verbal . . . . Continue Reading »

The lover sets the banner of love over his beloved (2:4), and then the bride declares that her lover is a banner prominent among ten thousand (5:10).  Both use military imagery; the banner is a military standard. But then the imagery works the other way, and the bride is bannered: as awesome . . . . Continue Reading »

Who are the daughters of Zion in the Song?  Literally, they are the bride’s “bridesmaids” who sometimes verge on being the bride’s rivals.  They might also be cities of Israel.  As the capital, Jerusalem is the Bride, but the other cities that serve and honor . . . . Continue Reading »

In his Theology of the Body Explained: A Commentary on John Paul II’s , Christopher West perceptively notes that John Paul II cut through “the false dichotomy between the typically labeled ‘liberal’ concern for social justice and the ‘conservative’ concern for . . . . Continue Reading »

John Paul II again: “the resurrection of Christ is the final and fullest word of the self-revelation of the living God as ‘God not of the dead but of the living’ . . . . It is the final and fullest confirmation of the truth about God, who from the beginning has expressed himself . . . . Continue Reading »

In discussion Jesus reply to the Sadducees in Matthew 19, John Paul II makes this brief comment abut the meaning of covenant: “Although, due to sin, bodily death has become man’s lot and access to the tree of Life . . . was denied to him . . . , nevertheless, when the living God enters . . . . Continue Reading »

When Judas returns the thirty shekels of silver, the chief priests and elders tell him (in the NASB) “see to that yourself” (Matthew 27:4).    Pilate says virtually the same thing to the Jews during the trial of Jesus: As he tries to wash off the stain of Jesus’ blood, . . . . Continue Reading »

INTRODUCTION Jesus predicted that His disciples would be “delivered” to Gentile kings and governors, and testify to them (Matthew 10:17-20).  But it happens to Jesus first.  The disciple is not above His master.  Jesus the King goes first before the Gentiles. THE TEXT . . . . Continue Reading »

Zechariah ends with “In that day there shall no longer be a Canaanite in the house of Yahweh of hosts.” How’d we get Canaanites in the house of the Lord to begin with?  Sweeney points out that the LXX of Zechariah 11:7 assumes a different vowel-pointing than the MT, and thus . . . . Continue Reading »