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Hermeneutics

The Structure of the Joseph Narrative

(Genesis 37:2 – 50:26) A. Generations of Jacob, 37:2a B. Joseph hated by brothers, 37:2b C. Jacob’s discriminatory blessing, 37:3-4 D. Rule over family: vision, 37:5-11 E. Joseph seeks brothers, 37:12-17 F. Joseph "killed," 37:18-36 G. Judah’s sin, ch. 38 H. Imprisonment, though undeserved, ch. 39-40 I. Famine and Pharaoh,…

by James B. JordanJanuary 4, 1999
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Exodus

Crisis Time: Patriarchal Prologue, Part 5

Moses and Jesus The gift of the Father is a son, but we must be ready to give our sons back to Him when it is time. The gift of the Brother is an estate, but we must be ready to give our estates back to Him when it is…

by James B. JordanJanuary 4, 1999
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Ecclesiology

Of The Church

An Exposition of Chapter XXV of the Westminster Confession of Faith I. The Catholic or universal Church, which is invisible, consists of the whole number of the elect, that have been, are, or shall be gathered into one, under Christ the head thereof; and is the spouse, the body, the…

by Mark HorneDecember 5, 1998
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Biblical Horizons

From Plato to NATO: The Idea of the West and Its Critics

From Plato to NATO: The Idea of the West and Its Critics , by David Gress (New York: Free Press, 1998). This book came into my hands after I had finished my series of essays on Western Civilization. It is so good that I was tempted to summarize it in…

by James B. JordanDecember 4, 1998
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American Politics

Buchanan and Free Trade

In a recent issue of the Chalcedon Report (March, 1999), R. J. Rushdoony praises Patrick Buchanan’s book The Great Betrayal (Boston: Little Brown, 1998), a defense of protectionism. Rushdoony claims that the conflict between free trade and tariffs is a religious conflict, and he is correct. Unfortunately and surprisingly, he…

by James B. JordanDecember 4, 1998
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Esther

Crisis Time: Patriarchal Prologue, Part 4

Joseph and Esther The third patriarch was Joseph, and the third phase of pre-gospel history is the Restoration. We have not spent time looking particularly at the Joseph narrative heretofore, because it is different in cast from the Abraham and Jacob ones. There is no explicit promise, fulfillment, and crisis…

by James B. JordanDecember 4, 1998

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Falling Angels

The four living creatures are “in the midst” and “around” the throne of the Enthroned one (Revelation 4:6). They continuously sing the Sanctus, and when they do the 24 elders fall down to prostrate themselves to the Enthroned one (v. 10). Given the arrangement, they cannot help but prostrate themselves…

May 10, 2014

Grateful Performance

Bruce Ellis Benson argues in The Improvisation of Musical Dialogue that the distinction of “composing” and “performing” doesn’t “describe very well what musicians actually do.” In place of this “binary” scheme, he offers an “an improvisational model of music, one that depicts composers, performers, and listeners as partners in dialogue.…

May 10, 2014

Solving the Piketty Problem

Alex Tabarrok has as solution to the problem of capital accumulation that Thomas Piketty identifies as the driver of inequality ( Capital in the Twenty-First Century ): Change the birthrate of the rich: Increasing fertility rates would do the trick: “If every wealthy family has 4 children, wealth per person…

May 9, 2014

Godziller

Watch the trailer and tell me that Godzilla hasn’t become Godziller. Now I have proof. One “Dr. M” observes that he’s tripled in size since he was first sited in a movie theater near you: “In 1954 Godzilla was a mere 50 meters (164 ft). In the newest movie, Godzilla…

May 9, 2014

Who Is Worthy?

John sees a book at the right side of the enthroned Father, and a “strong angel” asks, “Who is worthy to take the book and open it by breaking its seals?” The Father Himself is worthy (4:11) to receive all glory, honor, and power. Yet no one mentions Him as…

May 9, 2014

Sprouting Wings

God created winged-things (Genesis 1:21; kanaf ), and they were preserved in the ark (Genesis 7:14). But there aren’t many references to winged-things in the first book of the Bible. At the Exodus, Yahweh sprouts eagle wings and carries Israel from Egypt (Exodus 19:4, the first use of pterux in…

May 9, 2014

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