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…
Showing page 263 of 309
Showing page 7 of 43
A few thoughts on baptism inspired by reading a dozen student papers on the water symbolism of Exodus: 1) Several students pointed out that Moses was “baptized” as an infant. I’d never thought of it that way, but it works from various directions. Moses’ water-salvation is linked to the flood…
In the spirit of shameless self-promotion ?Eand what drives web sites like this except shameless self-promotion? ?EI am happy to announce that my book on Jane Austen, Miniatures and Morals , is now available from Canon Press. For those who don’t particularly like Austen, remember this: Every book you buy…
The following suggestion is inspired by the renowned scholar Josh Davis: The “wheeled stands” made by Hiram for Solomon’s temple form a gauntlet of water stretching to the east of the temple. A worshiper approaching the temple passes through the water, reliving the experience of the exodus. Inside the temple,…
In his excellent and stimulating book, The Intellectual Origins of the European Reformation , Alister McGrath includes a chapter on early Reformation hermeneutics, and its relation to the medieval quadriga. He also notes the close connection between the developments in hermeneutics and the Reformation treatment of justification. A couple of…
And he made the cast-metal sea Ten in cubit from from its lip until its lip Round all around And five in cubit its height And a cord thirty in cubit Surrounded it all around. Now gourds from below to its lip all around surrounding it Ten in cubit caused-to-go-round…
It is a curious fact that one of the Hebrew words for “cup” is the same as the word for “threshold” (SAF). This could be pure coincidence, but I wonder. Cups function as temple instruments in Ex 12:22; 1 Ki 7:50; Jer 52:19. And there are “guardians of the threshold”…
Showing page 2052 of 2212
Your weekly digest for all things Theopolis.
