Peter J. Leithart

In his dialog with Slavoj Zizek (published as The Monstrosity of Christ: Paradox or Dialectic? (Short Circuits) ), Milbank cites Meister Eckhart’s suggestion that there is an analogy between the Father/Son relation and the relation of justice to a just man: “if the Father and the Son, . . . . Continue Reading »

Following the interpretation of Rashi, Nicholas of Lyra understood the Song of Songs as an allegory of Yahweh and Israel, leading up to the New Covenant when the Lord took a bride from every nations. As Nicholas sees it, this is the reason for the complexity and difficulty of the Song: “the . . . . Continue Reading »

The odd Hebrew phrase “in the bone of the day” (translated as “the very same day”) occurs in Genesis 7 (Noah enters the ark), Genesis 17 (circumcision of Abram’s household), Exodus 12 (Passover), and Leviticus 23 (day of atonement). Though the phrase is used a few . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Peter 3:10-12: He who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit.  Let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His . . . . Continue Reading »

The Bible devotes a surprising amount of attention to vessels – plates, forks, bowls, pots, pans, and snuffers.  One long and repetitive chapter of Numbers describes a 12-day procession during which leaders from each tribe bring forward animals, grain, and incense for the tabernacle . . . . Continue Reading »

Jeremiah describes invaders chasing Israel across the mountains of the land, pursuing them as swiftly as eagles (Lamentations 4:19).  They can’t keep going; out of breath, they are ambushed and taken into exile. Why are they breathless and weak?  Because “the breath of our . . . . Continue Reading »

Idols have noses, but can’t smell (Psalm 115). That means, for starters, they can’t breathe in the aroma of sacrifice.  So what’s the point of turning animals to smoke? It also means that they are not to be feared.  If their noses don’t breathe in, they can’t . . . . Continue Reading »

Eve was created from Adam’s rib.  She had a body, and a female body.   But the Pentateuch gives little attention to the female body as such.  Women are described as beautiful, or not (Leah).  But only Deuteronomy 49:25 uses, for instance, the word “breast” ( . . . . Continue Reading »

Why didn’t the Son come in the flesh just outside Eden?  The erotic theology of the Song of Songs provides a possible hint.  Throughout the Song, the lovers admire each other’s bodies and express their longing desires to be together.   Union comes at the end of reciprocal . . . . Continue Reading »

When I taught literature, I told students that poetry is a “concentrated excess of language.”  Song of Songs 2:16a is poetry of poetry. Woodenly translated, it says, “My beloved to me, and I to him.”  The overlapping structures in that deceptively simple statement . . . . Continue Reading »