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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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Christian Middle Ages?

J ohn van Engen argues in a 1986 article that the romanticized “legend of the Christian Middle Ages” doesn't hold up to historical scrutiny. Until the Reformation and counter-Reformation, Europe was only superficially Christianized, full of paganism and quasi-pagan “residuals” from pre-Christian cultures. Besides, the vision of a unified, deeply…

April 7, 2017

Evolution and Purpose

A ccording to many biologists and philosophers of science, evolution has eliminated all notion of purpose, teleology, and form from biology. Living things are machines that operate by chemical and physical processes, guided by the purposeless process of natural selection. Stephen Talbott begs to differ , at length and devastatingly.…

April 7, 2017

Sir Virgil Thomson?

C hristopher Carroll reviews two volumes of music criticism written by Virgil Thomson at the NYRB . Carroll characterizes Thomson as a “knight errant” because of principles like this one, enunciated in his book, The State of Music : To expose the philanthropic persons in control of our musical institutions…

April 7, 2017

An Elaborate Medieval Hoax?

E amon Duffy tells the fascinating story of a Yale library manuscript, Beinecke MS 408, a book of herbal lore and astrology, written in an indecipherable code. It is also known as the “Voynich manuscript” because of the role of Wilfrid Michael Voynich (a “ Polish-Lithuanian bookdealer and adventurer”) in…

April 7, 2017

Between Rabbi and Outlaw

I n a review of new editions of the works of Israeli novelist S.Y. Agnon, Robert Alter highlights Agnon's debts to both his Jewish heritage and modernist revolt against tradition. His description of Agnon's story collection, A City in Its Fullness , captures both sides: “The stories, some folkloric, many…

April 7, 2017

Millennial Wrongs and Rights

G arry Wills is the NYRB's resident expert on Evangelicals, and he gives an overview of the Evangelical movement under three headings—crowds, drama, and cycles. It's familiar territory, and much of it is unexceptional—neither mistaken nor particularly insightful. But Wills does include a bit of each—mistake and insight. He spends…

April 7, 2017

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