Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
The initial chapters of Joshua demonstrate that Joshua is a new Moses, completing the task that Moses began. Moses is named ten times in the first chapter; though dead, he still dominates the scene. The book begins with the announcement of Moses’ death (1:1); Yahweh promises to fulfill what He…
The way in which you should defend and prove the Christian Faith and the way in which you debunk alternative belief systems is not the same way that you came to know that Christianity is true and that all alternatives are false. This is important because confusing the two ways…
If we want to learn the best way to proclaim and defend the Gospel, we can do no better than to go to the Bible for guidance. Indeed, not only do we find examples for how to present God’s Word, but we also find examples of problems we will face.…
As Christians we all want to see nonchristians convert to faith in Christ by the grace of God. Even more, we probably want to be instrumental in such a conversion–for that would be a special blessing. But let’s be honest: we all hope that such an opportunity will be a…
Day 3 The third day completes the initial structuring work and the initial filling work. First, God separates land and sea, putting the sea below the land. This reproduces the configuration that has just been set up in heaven: land over sea. The earth is being modelled after heaven. There…
In this essay, I wish to present some facts not familiar to many Christians, and draw some possible inferences. My purpose is to help us all become more familiar with the Psalter as God has set it out in its final and canonical form. To begin with, let us consider…
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Exodus 21:26-27 requires a slave-owner to release a slave if he destroys his or her eye or tooth. Shalom Paul ( Studies in the Book of the Covenant , 78) claims that this is unprecedented in ancient law codes. He admits that "a slave is not considered the peer of…
The Hebrew word for "east" is mizrach . The Hebrew word for "altar" is mizbeach . A pun? Perhaps. The bronze altars in the tabernacle and temple were in the court to the east of the front doorway (the eastern) doorway of the sanctuary. The mizbeach was on the mizrach…
In Ezekiel 47, the prophet is shown a vision of a rebuilt temple. A river flows from the throne of Yahweh, under the threshold on the east of the house, and out to the land. As it flows, is makes the land fruitful, and when it reaches the Dead Sea…
For several decades, James Wood has bestridden the world of literary criticism like a Colossus. But Thomas Meaney suggests that there is something amiss in Wood-World. Meaney argues that "What distinguished Wood from most of his contemporaries and immediate predecessors was his focus on matters of aesthetic liberty over social…
A recurring theme of medieval treatments of beauty, writes Umberto Eco (Art and Beauty in the Midlde Ages), is "the beauty of being in general. It was a period in whose history darkness and contradiction may be found, but its philosophers and theologians had an image of the universe that…
Proverbs 5:15-23 follows the warnings of 5:1-14 concerning the seductive adulterous woman. The adulterous woman tempts by promising pleasure and, even more importantly, through flattery (vv. 2-3). The adulterous woman is attractive because she makes a young man feel oh so good about himself. Solomon goes on, however, to point…
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