Explore our collection of theological essays, biblical studies, and reflections on faith and culture.
A while back a friend told me that his church had finally introduced weekly communion. He told me that they were having an 8:00 a.m. service on Sundays for anyone who wanted to have communion. At present only about five people were coming to this service, but he was hopeful…
According to James B. Jordan’s outline of Deuteronomy, the first commandment section runs from 6:1 to 11:32, and the second commandment section begins with 12:1. 1 That this division of the text is sound is confirmed by a comparison of 6:1 with 12:1. Deuteronomy 6:1 announces that "this is the…
Calling Jerusalem the "holy city" comes so naturally to Christians that it comes as something of a surprise to realize how infrequently the phrase is used in Scripture. Not only is Jerusalem rarely called holy, but in the Old Testament this classification is found only in texts that refer to…
Nicodemus’s conversation with Jesus in John 3:1-15 is often regarded as an illustration of the tremendous stupidity of the Jews of our Lord’s day. Those who take the passage this way fail to recognize the profound nature of Nicodemus’s questions and of Jesus’ answers. In verse 3, Jesus tells Nicodemus…
In his book 1994? , Harold Camping asserts that the life spans of the primeval patriarchs of Genesis 5 & 11 were actually epochs, one after another. This together with other mistakes in interpretation yields for him a creation date of 11013 B.C. From here, Camping tries to work out…
I have received a number of letters asking for my comments on this difficult passage. Here is my best shot! 2. Now I praise you because you remember me in everything, and hold firmly to the traditions, just as I delivered them to you. This statement opens a new section…
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Galatians 4 is clearly about the law’s role as guardian and steward in charge of Israel during her minority. But Paul’s description of Israel applies just as well to Adam. Adam was created a minor son, an infant, but was promised an inheritance. Paul hints at the Adamic dimensions of…
Matthew 21:23-25 (possible 26:16) all takes place on a single day. Jesus comes to the temple a second time, wrangles with the priests and Pharisees, prounounces woes over them, predicts the destruction of the temple and the final review of sheep and goats. This is the “day of Yahweh,” the…
Jesus’ parable of the wedding feast (Matthew 22:1-14) is normally taken as a parable about Jesus’ ministry. The invitees who refuse to come are the Jewish leaders of Jesus’ day, and the people from the streets are the tax gatherers and sinners or the Gentiles. The man cast out is…
Jesus’ parable of the wedding feast seems grotesquely exaggerated. Invitees killing the messenger? A wedding host destroying a city? A poor slob without a tux being thrown into “outer darkness”? In a 1996 JBL article, Richard Bauckham addresses these oddities by highlighting the political dimensions of the parable. The feast…
Daniel Olson ( CBQ 2005) revives JM Duncan Derrett’s suggestion that the parable of the wedding feast in Matthew 22:1-14 is dependent on the LXX of Zephaniah 1. After offering a translation of both passages in parallel, showing verbal links, he adds: “In addition to these highlighted correspondences . .…
INTRODUCTION This section of Proverbs focuses on issues of image, wealth, work, and treatment of employees (vv. 8-12), and ends with two verses that deal again with the use of the tongue (vv. 13-14). The final verses connect this section to the preceding section of this chapter (12:1-7). Thus, the…
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