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Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.

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Judges

Book Review: E. John Hamlin, At Risk in the Promised Land: A Commentary on the Book of Judges

E. John Hamlin, At Risk in the Promised Land: A Commentary on the Book of Judges International Theological Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990. For anyone who has developed a taste for the rich biblical theology of Meredith Kline, James B. Jordan, Vern Poythress, and others, it is difficult to find…

by Peter LeithartJuly 17, 1993
Exodus

The Rock That Followed Them

". . . and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock that followed them; and the rock was Christ" (1 Corinthians 10:4). Paul’s passing comment about the rock that followed the Israelites in the wilderness has often been treated as a bit of…

by Peter LeithartJuly 17, 1993
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Biblical Studies

Elijah and Moses

Several months ago, my brief article entitled "Elijah’s Exodus" was published in Biblical Horizons . Since that time, further study has made it evident that Elijah’s exodus in 1 Kings 17 is part of a larger pattern in which Elijah’s ministry closely parallels Moses’. The following parallels are evident: Elijah…

by Peter LeithartJuly 17, 1993
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Exodus

The Footstool of His Feet

The translation and theology of the Hebrew term kapporet have long been puzzling to scholars. On the translation of the term, I have nothing new to offer. I wish instead to concentrate on the theological symbolism of the kapporet . The kapporet was the solid gold slab that laid "above"…

by Peter LeithartJune 17, 1993
Exodus

A Note on Exodus 22:31

Peter Leithart's article entitled " Prey in My House" pointed out that tearing flesh is a sign of kingly rule and dominion, and that God is portrayed as the Lion-King who tears flesh. The tithe brought to God’s house provides the money for the torn flesh of the sacrifices offered…

by James B. JordanJune 4, 1993
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Biblical Chronology

Jubilee (Part 3)

The Seventy Years of Sabbaths 2 Chronicles 36:20-21 reads: "And those who had escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon; and there they were slaves to him and to his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the word of Yahweh by the mouth…

by James B. JordanApril 4, 1993

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Spiritualization?

Stephen Finlan ( Problems With Atonement , 20-29) offers a sixfold typology of “spiritualization” of sacrifice that includes “moralizing interpretation of ritual,” “internalizing,” the use of ritual imagery for non-ritual realities, at the extreme an outright “rejection of ritual.” What he identifies as “spiritualization” is certainly present in both Jewish…

May 19, 2014

Pauline Typology

Stephen Finlan ( Problems With Atonement , 30-31) observes that “Paul not only interprets OT types, he sometimes sees the antitype in the type.” The Rock that followed Israel was not simply a pointer to Christ but was Christ. Israel already experienced baptism and enjoyed spiritual feasts in the wilderness.…

May 19, 2014
Reformational Catholicism

Catholicity Starts At Home

At the Trinity House site this morning, Joe Anderson and Tim Nichols argue that catholicity, like love, begins with those nearest to us.

May 19, 2014

Universal Praise

Does everything always participate in a cosmic liturgy? Maybe. But that’s not the picture we get from Revelation 4-5. Instead, we get a progression. Initially, only the four living creatures worship (4:8), then the twenty-four elders (4:10), then both together (5:8), then myriads of angels (5:11), then everything created in…

May 17, 2014

Worthy God

In a 2001 article in JSNT , Russell Morton analyzes the Jewish and Hebrew-Bible background for the scene in Revelation 4-5. But this does’t explain every detail. In particular, “the acclamation of ‘worthy’ is not found in the hymns of the Hebrew Bible” but is “a typical feature of Hellenistic/Roman…

May 17, 2014

Up With Overconfidence

In a piece at the New York Magazine site , Matthew Hutson reviews evidence that overconfidence increases the confidence that others place in you. He cites a Berkeley study from 2012 that showed “that overconfidence increases one’s status. Subjects who overestimated their abilities at group tasks were more respected and…

May 17, 2014

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