Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Before considering the details of the Leviticus, we must have before us certain matters that have been established in Genesis and Exodus. These are things that we as Israelites already know when we first hear Moses report what God dictated to him in Leviticus. Adam Let us begin with Adam.…
(continued from issue 142) 2 “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘An adam, 1 when he brings near from you p a Nearbringing 2 to Yahweh, from livestock 3 from the herd and from the flock you p shall bring near your p Nearbringing. 4 2.…
Trying to Deal Honestly with Luke 10.25-37; 18.18-30; and Parallels When Christ enjoins upon the young man the duty of following him (Mt. 19:23), he does not give a counsel, but a command to all in common because no one can have a hope of salvation unless he follows Christ…
Initial Observations: How the Gospel Challenged the Pharisees In another paper , I argued that the “Law-Gospel” hermeneutic, as applied to Luke 10.25-37; 18.18-30, resulted in a fundamental misreading of the text. Thinking of the context of those passages in Luke’s Gospel has given me some further reflections on how…
I recently heard of a new English translation of the Bible being prepared by men concerned to preserve a literal word-for-word rendering of the Hebrew and Greek but also sensitive to ecclesiastical tradition. I wrote to the committee and asked if they were going to fix the traditional translation of…
All Christians struggle with sin. Many times even relatively mature Christians commit sins they thought they had long since left behind and end up struggling anew with sinful habits in thought, word, or deed. Naturally, this means they must rouse themselves to action in putting to death the deeds of…
Showing page 240 of 309
Showing page 2 of 43
In the Song of Moses (Deuteronomy 32), Moses says that the vine of Israel grew from a cutting from Sodom’s vine, from the vineyard of Gomorrah. Such vines produce only bitter fruit or worse - venom from dragons ( tanniyn ; vv. 32-33). The image is picked up in Isaiah,…
Yahweh promises to give the land to Abram, but not yet: “for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete (Heb. shalem )” (Genesis 15:16). When their iniquity settles in, when it lives peacefully in the land without opposition or disturbance, then the time is ripe for God to…
It’s one of the most famous passages in Schweitzer’s The Quest of the Historical Jesus: A Critical Study of its Progress from Reimarus to Wrede , perhaps the most famous in all New Testament studies : “The son of man lays hold of the wheel of the world to set…
Two afternoon readings converge nicely. Why does love remain? asks Jacob Taubes ( The Political Theology of Paul (Cultural Memory in the Present) ). Why do we need love when we’re perfect? Because for Paul God’s power is perfected in weakness. “We are not as the Gnostics see us,” he…
Augustine ( Answer to Faustus, a Manichean: (Works of Saint Augustine) , 12.31) observes that Joshua’s name was not “thoughtlessly” given to him at birth. Rather, he was first called “Hoshea,” and his name was changed to Joshua/Jesus to make it clear that he was a foreshadowing of a later…
Yahweh tell Ezekiel that he is a singer or a musician who entertains Judah with his sensual song. His song seduces them to listen, but they won’t do what Ezekiel tells them to do (Ezekiel 33:32-33). John and Jesus are also singing prophets, though their tunes are different. John sings…
Showing page 790 of 2212
Your weekly digest for all things Theopolis.
