Some thoughts arising from a sermon by Toby Sumpter yesterday, where he worked out an understanding of holiness whose roots are in the first use of “holiness” terminology in Genesis 2. Sabbath is the original holy “thing,” and it is holy time, which is consummated time, the . . . . Continue Reading »
Genesis 1:1:9-11: Then God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, . . . . Continue Reading »
On Day 3, Yahweh gathers the sea and dry land appears. But the language of Genesis 1:9-10 concerning the “gathering” of seas is odd. IN verse 9, the verb most frequently means “wait” or “look for” (Genesis 49:18; Job 3:9; Psalm 25:3, 5, 21; 27:14; 37:9, 34; . . . . Continue Reading »
Genesis 17 is the great transition in the story of Abraham. Just prior, he has fathered a child with Hagar. It’s the high point of the story so far: Abram, the Big Father, finally has a son. But it’s not the son who will carry the promise. It’s the best flesh can do, but . . . . Continue Reading »
What would Israel learn from telling and retelling the story of Abraham, the father of their nation? For one thing, they would be receiving a far different discipleship and pedagogy than nations whose fathers were phallic gods. David Leeming notes that “All Australian male ancestor gods of . . . . 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 »
Genesis 17 is chiastically organized, with internal chiasms spinning out of it. The overall chiasm is: A. Abe 99, v 1a B. Yahweh appears, v 1b C. El Shaddai: establish covenant, v 2 D. Abram falls on face, v 3a E. God speaks: changes Abe’s name, vv 3b-8 F. Circumcision, vv 9-14 E’. God . . . . Continue Reading »
Abram builds altars all over the land (Genesis 12:7-8; 13:4, 18; 22:9), wherever Yahweh appears to him. But what does he do at those altars? He “calls upon the name of Yahweh” (12:8; 13:4). None of the normal terminology of sacrifice is used in these passages - no “offering” . . . . Continue Reading »
A few days ago I said that the flood was the first time flesh was cut. That is true with respect to the particular phrase “cut off flesh” (Genesis 9:11). Several readers have pointed out, though, that there are a couple of cutting episodes prior to the flood. Adam’s . . . . Continue Reading »
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