Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
The story of Judges 19 and the subsequent chapters are some of the most shocking and appalling accounts in all of Scripture. The callousness of the old host and the Levite, and the monstrous brutality of the men of Gibeah, leaves us feebly scrabbling for words by which to surmount…
David has become king. He has conquered the capital city of Jerusalem. He has brought the ark of Yahweh into the city and placed it in a tent. He has stationed Levites at the tent to offer sacrifices of praise. An anomaly hits him: He has a cedar-paneled palace, and…
In Part 2 of this series we traced what we have of the development of the epiclesis in the liturgy of the Church. In this third and final part we’ll look at the theological implications of this and how we may apply what we’ve learned. As we saw in Part…
In a 2014 piece published in First Things , I offered a "wish list" for Protestant churches, a checklist for a future catholic Protestantism. The wish list doesn't cover everything. It doesn't mention those things that Protestants, especially Evangelicals, already do, often exceedingly well, things like missions and evangelism and…
In the first part of this series we examined the meaning of “blessing” in Scripture and its parallels in Jewish liturgical tradition, but did not find anything that we could properly call an epiclesis (an invocation of the Holy Spirit). We did find examples of invocation of Jesus to “come”…
When the Aaronic priests were ordained, the blood of the ram of "filling” was placed on the lobe of the right ear, the right thumb, and the right big toe (Lev. 8:22-24). Similarly, the cleansing rite for a leper included smearing the right ear lobe, thumb, and big toe with…
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Why is the location of Joab?s house mentioned (1 Ki 2:34)? The wilderness is the place of Israel?s 40-year sojourn, prior to the entry into and conquest of the land of Israel. Thus, the reference to the wilderness connects with the Joshua typology that is evident elsewhere in the chapter…
Solomon clearly considers his execution of Joab to be an act of justice: Yahweh is bringing the blood that Joab shed back on his own head. And Solomon also indicates that the execution of Joab is necessary to clear David’s house of blood-guilt. This is suggested in two ways. First,…
Solomon clearly considers his execution of Joab to be an act of justice: Yahweh is bringing the blood that Joab shed back on his own head. And Solomon also indicates that the execution of Joab is necessary to clear David’s house of blood-guilt. This is suggested in two ways. First,…
A rough and wooden translation of 1 Kings 2. And drew near the days of David to die. And he commanded Shlomoh his son, saying, ?I myself walking in the way of all the earth. You be strong. And you be as a man. Do the guard duty of Yahweh…
The late Allan Bloom points out in his interpretive essay on Plato’s Republic that Socrates’ attack on poets is qualified by the fact that he ends the Republic with a myth, the reincarnational myth of Er. Socrates banishes the poets, but offers a return if the poets will submit themselves…
According to Robert Solomon’s account, Romanticism did not LEAD to nationalism; it was nationalism. In particular, it was a German nationalist reaction to the perceived threat of French and English Enlightenment thought: “Cosmopolitan philosophers in London or Paris might pretend that they could speak for all humanity, but equally serious…
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