Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
Midwives are rarely mentioned in Scripture, but play a prominent role in the first chapter of Exodus. The word midwife is used seven times in verses 15-22, though it is used only twice elsewhere in the Old Testament. The reason, I think, is not merely that the midwives were heroic…
Leviathan (41:1-11) is the climax of the theophany, the culmination of the Lord’s speech. His final answer to Job’s injudicious charges against God’s justice. After hearing God rehearse the characteristics of Leviathan and His absolute power over him, Job instantly repents in dust and ashes. He confesses, "I know now…
Our purpose in this study is to lay out the chronology and history of the Kingdom of Judah from the reign of King Josiah to the completion of the exile of the Jews under Nebuchadnezzar, with particular attention to the events recorded in Jeremiah and Ezekiel. The Empire of Assyria…
Protestants have always insisted that the sacraments bring no benefit without a response of faith, but this seems to undermine infant baptism, since infants do not appear to be able to exercise faith. Luther and Calvin held together their insistence on faith with infant baptism by claiming that infants can…
Traditional Presbyterian theologians regularly cite 1 Corinthians 11:28 as an argument against the practice of paedocommunion. Children must be able “to examine themselves” before they come to the table. Supposedly this text demands a certain level of intellectual capability as well as the capacity to engage in self-conscious introspection, both…
Yahweh’s two speeches at the end of the book of Job (38-41) should bring some closure to the book. The prologue has the whole cosmic order arrayed against the blameless and upright Job, "a man who feared God and shunned evil" (1:1, 8; 2:3). Yahweh’s capstone speeches affirm God’s absolute…
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2 Kings 23:21-23: Then the king commanded all the people, saying, Celebrate the Passover to Yahweh your God as it is written inn this book of the covenant. Surely such a Passover had not been celebrated from the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor in all the days…
The reform of King Josiah is one of the high points of the history of Judah, and Josiah one of the great heroes of the faith. But we should also consider what this story reveals about the condition of Judah. As we consider the virtues of Josiah, don’t lose sight…
In a rapid survey (TLS May 26) of the cultural uses of the Odysseus-Cyclops encounter that ranges from Kant’s “Cyclopean thinking” to Charles Lamb’s version of the Odyssey to Joyce, Salman Rushdie, Derek Walcott, and the X-Men Edith Hall includes these intriguing tidbits: “Lamb was taking his cue from an…
In his autobiography, Wagner describes the effect of Aeschylus’ Oresteia on his sensibilities and work: “I could see the Oresteia with my mind’s eye, as though it were actually being performed; and its effect on me was indescribable. Nothing could equal the sublime emotion with which the Agamemnon inspired me;…
Hezekiah is the greatest; 2 Kings 18:5 says so: “He trusted Yahweh, the God of Israel; so tyhat after him there was no like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among those who were before him.” Josiah is the greatest; 2 Kings 23:25 says so: “before him there…
Hezekiah is the greatest; 2 Kings 18:5 says so: “He trusted Yahweh, the God of Israel; so tyhat after him there was no like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among those who were before him.” Josiah is the greatest; 2 Kings 23:25 says so: “before him there…
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