Nebuchadnezzar “broke” ( shavar ) the bronze furnishings of the temple and carried the bronze away to Babylon. “Breaking” is just what Israel was supposed to do to the idols of the land ( shavar is used in Exodus 23:24; 24:13; Deuteronomy 7:5). It is what faithful kings did . . . . Continue Reading »
The list of (mostly) bronze items taken from the temple into Babylonian exile in 2 Kings 25:13-17 is intricately put together. It begins and ends with references to pillars (vv. 13a, 17), and then mentions the bronze sea and the water stands (vv. 13, 16; the order is reversed the second time - . . . . Continue Reading »
Latvus, in the aforementioned article, interestingly notes the parallel between Gedaliah’s instructions to the people to submit to and not fear Babylon, so that “it shall be well with you” and the Deuteronomic exhortation to obey Yahweh so that it will be well (Deuteronomy 4:40; . . . . Continue Reading »
In an article on 2 Kings 24-25 in The Postcolonial Biblical Reader , Kari Latvus notes tyhe two lists of deportees in 2 Kings 24:12a-14/15-17: “The writer’s interest is focused on those who are somehow connected to the royal court or have wealth or status in society based on certain . . . . Continue Reading »
Between Genesis 10-11 and 2 Kings, “Babel” (or “Babylon”) is never mentioned. It comes up again in the description of the fall of the Northern Kingdom in 2 Kings 17: The King of Assyria brings men from Babel and sows them into the Northern kingdom. The word . . . . Continue Reading »
When Sheba visits Solomon, she brings spices. 1 Kings 10 uses the word besem four times (vv. 2, 10 [2x], 25), suggesting that the spices come from the four points of the compass. Spices are exotic in Israel, a sign of the Gentiles flowing to the mountain of God. What were the spices . . . . Continue Reading »
The word “spices” is used in only two contexts in 1-2 Kings, first when Sheba visits Solomon bearing spices, as well as all sorts of other treasures (1 Kings 10:2, 10, 25), and second when Hezekiah receives a visit from the Babylonians (2 Kings 20:13). Though the scenes are similar, . . . . Continue Reading »
When the “young men” of Bethel mock Elisha, he calls out two bears that kill forty-two of them (2 Kings 2:24). Later in 2 Kings, Jehu slaughters forty-two relatives of Ahaziah of Judah during his purge of the house of Ahab (2 Kings 10:14). What’s up with that? The young men of . . . . Continue Reading »
Deuteronomy 12:18: you shall you shall eat them before the LORD your God in the place which the LORD your God will choose, you and your son and daughter, and your male and female servants, and the Levite who is within your gates; and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God in all your . . . . Continue Reading »
Pauline Viviano has a bit of fun at my expense over on the America website(www.americamagazine.org/blogs/client). She’s “reviewing” my commentary on 1 & 2 Kings, but instead of actually discussing my book, she mocks typological interpretation and my use of it in particular. She . . . . Continue Reading »
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